30something_reads's reviews
754 reviews

This was so lovely and whimsical and then the last chapter had me ugly sobbing. 

So that was cathartic.

 

I liked some things about this one more than the first- mainly how this one wasn't written in a serialized way. (The story definitely flowed better and didn't run into the issue of feeling like we were just trying to get to the next spicy scene.) But I was hoping for it to be a tad angstier given Mark and Chet's history and families.

My biggest issue though is how this book was marketed as "rivals to lovers" and it really wasn't? Like, they were kind of rivals in the sense that they both worked at the same summer internship. But mostly they were just two competitive guys with a childhood history.

Eh, just one of those instances where I feel like trying to market something with generalized tropes is a disservice to the story.

Overall, still fun and light and sweet.

And one of my favorite things about this series so far is the way that these characters agonize over the coming out process, their partners are super supportive and patient, and then they just end up gracelessly blurting it out to groups of people who are then just like, "no fucking way, you guys are boning? that's crazy do you want a beer?" and life moves on.

 

I picked this up in my search for a novella like Crybaby and while this one really isn't comparable, I did end up enjoying it as it progressed.

This is about two housemates in college who stumble into an "experimental" relationship after one catches the other in a private moment (lol "private", but not private enough to make sure his bedroom door was locked apparently.)

I think the serialized format (gathered from the author's note) made this a bit too spice forward for me at times although it was all really well written.

My favorite moments were when these two finally started being vulnerable (outside of their sexual encounters) as their relationship progressed. There was a nice amount of angst involved. And it had a very sweet ending. 

I probably will pick up the next one at some point because I'm a sucker for animosity-fueled rivals to lovers.

I told myself  I was done with Ali Hazelwood's novellas and I should have kept that energy.  This felt like the other three she wrote and the audiobook didn't even have dual/duet narration to make it interesting. 🤷🏻

Wow, this was such a gorgeous graphic novel. Visually impeccable. And the story is fascinating.

I found myself struggling just a bit with some of the time jumps because they were not always labeled or easily identifiable. (I do think there were some nice differentiations with the color pallets used, but, again, it was not always easy to spot.) I did find my groove towards the end though.

I'll absolutely be continuing this series. 

Lol no.

Could I have technically sat through the last 20 pages and finished this? Sure. But I will not. 

A sweet treat. Delightful novella. Best friends to idiot lovers is my jam. Big Russian marshmallows are my kryptonite. Making someone a special meal as a love language will get me everytime. 

Jason: "Jesus. You're killing me here."
Sasha: "Good, die."

Sasha is me, I fear. 

I would have read 260 more pages of these two .

 While this follow up did not quite have the same emotional gut-punch as Season's Change, I still really enjoyed this overall. Brody and Seamus are such sweet characters and their hook up turned PR relationship scenario is a fun twist on the fake dating trope. In this we get to see these two high profile professionals deal with the fallout of being outed in industries that are not known for queer allyship (Big Four Sports and Country Music).

Despite the high stakes of their situation, I do think there was a surprising lack of drama though. Maybe it's just me but I feel like there were some really underutilized and obvious conflict opportunities (like Brody's ex, hello?) that could have amped up the tension.

As always though, Nary has a wonderful cast of side character's that are so incredibly easy to love. I also adored the Benji/Olly cameos. 

I was actually very surprised by this in that it was a much softer, character driven story surrounding the relationships between man and beast. It was very lovely. I was a little worried there at the end but all is well.

Incredible world building for such a short novella (But that is not surprising).

I'm melting. I'm a puddle. I adored these idiots so much. My God. This is what I mean when I say I want slow burn. The tension and the heart ache were killing me (respectfully). And I loved it all the more that it was a friends to lovers slow burn. They were just so good to one another before it ever became romantic. 


This was nearly perfect and the singular issue that I had was more of a me problem rather than the book. (I just didn't love a very specific situation they were put into. But I understand it was also a dramatic kind of turning point for them. I was just too stressed out for Olly in that moment and I only ever want him to be happy.)