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A review by ssuprnova
Merry Measure by Lily Morton
2.0
I have one main concern::: ITS LITERALLY NOT A CHRISTMAS BOOK. is this normally a dealbreaker? Not if you DONT put merry in the title.
I just wanted another one of whatever the one i read before this was called! I want christmas gays! Christmas does happen at some point in this book apparently, but i literally only found out because a policeman mentioned it, not because anything christmassy happened at all. I have been betrayed. Robbed. Bamboozled.
Other than that, i have a bone to pick with female authors (who are, i believe, heterosexual? She mentions a husband and kids and of course she might be a wlw still, but this seems like cishet behavior) who write gay men in relationships in which words or acts of affection are met with plain horniness. Like when a dude confesses hes falling in love and the other dude yells I NEED TO FUCK YOU IMMEDIATELY across the table? (This actually happens! Not hyperbole!) We really do not be needing to sexualize mlm like this. Im not against smut in books. It just shouldnt be used like this?
Another point, connected to the previous one, is the fact that the characters get together like halfway into the book, even though one of them is supposedly very concerned about how the other's brother (and his best friend) is going to react, and i suspect its so that the author could fit more fucking in between. Which i dont love because, you know me, im here for the *clenches fist* yearning. And also, the whole brother's best friend thing ended up being super anticlimactic. And also the best friend calls his now partner his best friend towards the end. As in, "hello, boyfriend who is my childhood best friend's brother. You are now both my boyfriend and my best friend and your brother, who's been my best friend since we were very tiny, has been demoted to Friend." Which i hate!! Unnecessary. In fact, he also says several times that arlo is his favorite in the family, which is literally so mean to tom!!!
Overall its also just cheesy? Like, both the prose and the dialogue. I have a note at one point that just says "stephen king would hate op" and you know what, im right and i should say it! Never have i seen so many adverbs and descriptions of characters clothing. Sk rlly was onto something -they added absolutely nothing. Also, theres an antagonist that is so unhinged, in real life it would have been a non-problem because he simply would have gotten decked seconds after showing up. In my mind he wasnt even there.
The characters are fine but also a bit annoying? Jack is kinda cute at timed but overall hes also not super cool in that he more or less writes his concerns about his friend's opinion and reaction on a piece of paper, and then inmediately looks at it and goes "this sign cant stop me because i cannot read!" And fucks shit up anyway. Which is to say, hes inconsistent. My favorite characters were the side ones who are barely there, namely diana, the Token Female Friend whos dating the Token Heterosexual Brodude. Also, Tom, the OG best friend who just keepa on getting done dirty, poor guy.
Overall, my favorite part about this book is the fact that it introduced me to my new favorite word: discombobulated. Incredible. Amazing. Showstopping. The second star is for her.
I just wanted another one of whatever the one i read before this was called! I want christmas gays! Christmas does happen at some point in this book apparently, but i literally only found out because a policeman mentioned it, not because anything christmassy happened at all. I have been betrayed. Robbed. Bamboozled.
Other than that, i have a bone to pick with female authors (who are, i believe, heterosexual? She mentions a husband and kids and of course she might be a wlw still, but this seems like cishet behavior) who write gay men in relationships in which words or acts of affection are met with plain horniness. Like when a dude confesses hes falling in love and the other dude yells I NEED TO FUCK YOU IMMEDIATELY across the table? (This actually happens! Not hyperbole!) We really do not be needing to sexualize mlm like this. Im not against smut in books. It just shouldnt be used like this?
Another point, connected to the previous one, is the fact that the characters get together like halfway into the book, even though one of them is supposedly very concerned about how the other's brother (and his best friend) is going to react, and i suspect its so that the author could fit more fucking in between. Which i dont love because, you know me, im here for the *clenches fist* yearning. And also, the whole brother's best friend thing ended up being super anticlimactic. And also the best friend calls his now partner his best friend towards the end. As in, "hello, boyfriend who is my childhood best friend's brother. You are now both my boyfriend and my best friend and your brother, who's been my best friend since we were very tiny, has been demoted to Friend." Which i hate!! Unnecessary. In fact, he also says several times that arlo is his favorite in the family, which is literally so mean to tom!!!
Overall its also just cheesy? Like, both the prose and the dialogue. I have a note at one point that just says "stephen king would hate op" and you know what, im right and i should say it! Never have i seen so many adverbs and descriptions of characters clothing. Sk rlly was onto something -they added absolutely nothing. Also, theres an antagonist that is so unhinged, in real life it would have been a non-problem because he simply would have gotten decked seconds after showing up. In my mind he wasnt even there.
The characters are fine but also a bit annoying? Jack is kinda cute at timed but overall hes also not super cool in that he more or less writes his concerns about his friend's opinion and reaction on a piece of paper, and then inmediately looks at it and goes "this sign cant stop me because i cannot read!" And fucks shit up anyway. Which is to say, hes inconsistent. My favorite characters were the side ones who are barely there, namely diana, the Token Female Friend whos dating the Token Heterosexual Brodude. Also, Tom, the OG best friend who just keepa on getting done dirty, poor guy.
Overall, my favorite part about this book is the fact that it introduced me to my new favorite word: discombobulated. Incredible. Amazing. Showstopping. The second star is for her.