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A review by perusing_pages
A Series of Rooms by A.J. Barlowe
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
"I'm going to base this moment on who I'm stuck in a room with. It's what life is. It's a series of rooms and who we get stuck in those rooms with adds up to what our lives are." - House MD
Liam is turning 21, he's at a bar in the city with two of his friends (and I use that term loosely) Ben & Nathan, Liam is anxious and uncomfortable and would much rather be at home. In the bathroom, he meets Jonah a stranger who is obviously having a rough night too and they share a breif but kind encounter and go their separate ways thinking they wouldn't see the other again...but at the end of the night, due to Liam's friends´ stupid idea of a birthday "surprise" they do. And what follows as the story unfolds will break your heart.
Anyone who needs to should check content and TWs for this if needed. I will be trying to keep my review spoiler free as going into this blind having read nothing more than the blurb. I personally feel the story had more of an impact that way.
I am blown away that this is the authors debut novel. Liam and Jonah are incredible characters with so much depth and nuance to them. Liam is such a kind soul. He is a consent king, and I adored him and how he saw and interacted with Jonah. My heart broke for them both throughout but especially Jonah and all he goes through, the way this book was written was incredibly well done as almost none of the heavier themes were described in explicit detail yet the inferences, hints and space for the reader to fill in the blanks themselves were enough to pack a real emotional punch and tell the story well.
This is more of a love story than a romance in my opinion because there isn't really an on page romantic relationship between them in the way you would expect when thinking of a typical romance and even though them being partners is alluded to at the end their relationship definitely gave me more of a platonic love vibe than it did a romantic one. I also wanted more justice after everything Jonah went through, but I know the way this was written is indicative of the frank reality that a lot of these situations don't get justice served the way they should but that is why this just misses the five star mark for me. The audiobook was available with my Everand subscription, and it was fantastic. Both narrators did an incredible job with this story, and this was at least one of their debuts as a narrator. I am seriously impressed and definitely recommend adding this to your TBR/ TBL.
"Have you read the book, Liam? I'm pretty sure this story is about him getting swallowed by the whale."No," Liam said. "The story is about him getting out."
"Sneaking around wasn't really in Liams repertoire. For that matter neither was commuting to the city every weekend to live out some fucked up Pretty Woman fan fiction. But hey, life comes at you fast."
Liam is turning 21, he's at a bar in the city with two of his friends (and I use that term loosely) Ben & Nathan, Liam is anxious and uncomfortable and would much rather be at home. In the bathroom, he meets Jonah a stranger who is obviously having a rough night too and they share a breif but kind encounter and go their separate ways thinking they wouldn't see the other again...but at the end of the night, due to Liam's friends´ stupid idea of a birthday "surprise" they do. And what follows as the story unfolds will break your heart.
Anyone who needs to should check content and TWs for this if needed. I will be trying to keep my review spoiler free as going into this blind having read nothing more than the blurb. I personally feel the story had more of an impact that way.
I am blown away that this is the authors debut novel. Liam and Jonah are incredible characters with so much depth and nuance to them. Liam is such a kind soul. He is a consent king, and I adored him and how he saw and interacted with Jonah. My heart broke for them both throughout but especially Jonah and all he goes through, the way this book was written was incredibly well done as almost none of the heavier themes were described in explicit detail yet the inferences, hints and space for the reader to fill in the blanks themselves were enough to pack a real emotional punch and tell the story well.
This is more of a love story than a romance in my opinion because there isn't really an on page romantic relationship between them in the way you would expect when thinking of a typical romance and even though them being partners is alluded to at the end their relationship definitely gave me more of a platonic love vibe than it did a romantic one. I also wanted more justice after everything Jonah went through, but I know the way this was written is indicative of the frank reality that a lot of these situations don't get justice served the way they should but that is why this just misses the five star mark for me. The audiobook was available with my Everand subscription, and it was fantastic. Both narrators did an incredible job with this story, and this was at least one of their debuts as a narrator. I am seriously impressed and definitely recommend adding this to your TBR/ TBL.
"Have you read the book, Liam? I'm pretty sure this story is about him getting swallowed by the whale."No," Liam said. "The story is about him getting out."
"Sneaking around wasn't really in Liams repertoire. For that matter neither was commuting to the city every weekend to live out some fucked up Pretty Woman fan fiction. But hey, life comes at you fast."