Cayla

Odd pacing but great characters

I've always loved time travel, and the way this story used time loops and Fixed Points was very cool. The pacing of the story was a little odd in places — some of the conflicts felt like they resolved too quickly in order to jump into a new one — but the well-rounded and fascinating characters more than made up for that. Having both Lex and Ember's POVs showed both sides of the world's moral conflict in a very accessible way, which was super cool.

Definitely worth the read.

This book is quirky and adorable and wholesome and many other things that would always have made me like it, but it also tells a variety of stories that are so incredibly important. The celebration of chosen family and the wonderful differences that span the human experience was so, so beautiful.

I came for the author of Red, White, and Royal Blue and the cute lesbian relationship, and I stayed for the whole sparkly cast of LGBTQ+ characters who shine in all of their own ways. So many of the characters could have been two-dimensional set pieces, but they weren't. This novel has so much life and celebration of community and queerness and belonging and love in all of its forms. I felt a lot of things while reading this, and in a way I felt like I sort of found a little piece of a home with its cast. Even though it was in NYC, where I have sworn I will never live. (My sister was in Flatbush for a little while and visiting was fun but I would not have wanted to stay.)

Anyway. I have no more words. I loved this book. It will now live in a chamber of my heart, where I will feed it with kind thoughts and fond memories and the occasional re-read.

Ideally I would give this 3.5 stars, but I've decided to round up because it really was a hell of a ride.

The pros:
- The sound design was incredible. It was immersive and well-balanced (at least it was in my AirPods, can't speak to other sound options) and I loved the dimension of it.
- The voice actors were all very good. All of the characters felt incredibly alive.
- It's Neil Gaiman. ‘Nuff said.

The cons:
- It's a bit odd to binge through. It is very episodic, which makes sense coming from comics but can be jarring for an audiobook, especially when some of the episodes are very connected with seemingly no break in storyline while others jump decades or continents without warning and the characters only sometimes reappear.
- The mouth noises. One of the characters eats prominently in an episode and I almost had to turn it off. Very gross. (Although this does speak to the good sound design again, so...)

That said, I will definitely be continuing on to part two.

This was definitely a fun read — some of the sillier moments had me legitimately snorting out loud on the train — and the characters shone with personality. Occasionally the more over the top sex humor from Leland was a bit much for me, particularly toward the latter half of the book, but enough of it smacked my funny bone that I couldn't be too bothered about it.

The reason for the middle of the road rating is mostly because of plot. The pacing was a bit funky, alternating between slow lag and sudden action without a lot of build up for either, so that made it kind of hard to stay invested for the full run of the book. Plus, a lot of the side characters felt a bit underdeveloped. Especially Jackson's mother, who was a terrible and homophobic person right up until she was... suddenly not? Because of one small and not all that great speech from her son's boyfriend? Didn't really buy that.

If you're looking for a fun romp with a lot of sex and dumb jokes, though, this is definitely the book for you.

I'm a bit conflicted on my rating of this book. On the one hand, I loved the characters and the overall concept of the world and the awesome representation. I really liked that understandable secrets led to rational discussions rather than misunderstandings and Big Explosions of Drama.

But on the other hand, the plot was... well, it kind of felt like it didn't exist? I mean, obviously things happened and the characters did things, but everything was so idyllic and the characters were all so sane and level-headed that it never felt like anything bad could even happen. And the pacing of events was so odd — sometimes slow and sometimes very abrupt — that it was hard to really get a feel for the movement of the plot. It felt more like a slice of life comic than a novel, I think.

So, bizarrely, it would seem that my favorite things about this book are also the things about it that ultimately left me feeling not totally satisfied. The world was so nice and the characters were so intelligent that the book just couldn't quite support a properly paced story arc. It definitely needed more conflict.

Overall, I would not recommend this book if you're looking to be kept on the edge of your seat or hit in the emotions, but I definitely would recommend it if you're looking to read something light and feel-good about a cool world of diversity and non-discrimination.

I read this all in one sitting kind of late at night so I'm still reeling a bit. Maybe should wait for it to settle before I review but meh. 

It wasn't quite the “take the old tale and twist it a little” I expected so much as it was a complete reinvention built on the crumbling foundation of the old tale, but damn if it didn't donkey kick me in the feels right at the end. The plot is sort of meandery and the non-linear format is occasionally a little slippery for the brain, but the depth of the writing is where the book really shines. It immersed me good. 

I'm a bit conflicted on my rating of this book. On the one hand, I loved the characters and the overall concept of the world and the awesome representation. I really liked that understandable secrets led to rational discussions rather than misunderstandings and Big Explosions of Drama.

But on the other hand, the plot was... well, it kind of felt like it didn't exist? I mean, obviously things happened and the characters did things, but everything was so idyllic and the characters were all so sane and level-headed that it never felt like anything bad could even happen. And the pacing of events was so odd — sometimes slow and sometimes very abrupt — that it was hard to really get a feel for the movement of the plot. It felt more like a slice of life comic than a novel, I think.

So, bizarrely, it would seem that my favorite things about this book are also the things about it that ultimately left me feeling not totally satisfied. The world was so nice and the characters were so intelligent that the book just couldn't quite support a properly paced story arc. It definitely needed more conflict.

Overall, I would not recommend this book if you're looking to be kept on the edge of your seat or hit in the emotions, but I definitely would recommend it if you're looking to read something light and feel-good about a cool world of diversity and non-discrimination.

Odd pacing but great characters

I've always loved time travel, and the way this story used time loops and Fixed Points was very cool. The pacing of the story was a little odd in places — some of the conflicts felt like they resolved too quickly in order to jump into a new one — but the well-rounded and fascinating characters more than made up for that. Having both Lex and Ember's POVs showed both sides of the world's moral conflict in a very accessible way, which was super cool.

Definitely worth the read.

I am loving this series

I haven't been this enamored with an author's world-building in a while, and the fact that this world is packed with one of the snarkiest and most interesting cast of characters I've read about makes it ten times better. Every new plot twist and magical reveal brings a new depth to the story, and I've found that my intrigue in the world somehow manages to keep growing.

Despite the many unread books on my Kindle, I'm off to go buy book three now because I just can't leave these guys alone.

This book had some very good parts in it. Unfortunately, it also had some pretty bad parts in it, so it's a little difficult for me to properly describe how I feel about it.

As someone who grew up in the middle of nowhere and used my limited access to the internet to get hardcore into the world of fanfiction, there was a lot in the book for me to relate to. Lundin's descriptions of writing fic and of having literally no idea about your own sexuality are both pretty spot on.

That said, I really didn't like Claire. At all. I've shipped crack ships before, so I understand the vague frustration that comes from knowing it will never be canon. However, a really, really important aspect of fandom, in my opinion, is understanding that your view of the characters is just that: YOUR view.

Claire doesn't get that. She is convinced that the entire fandom feels the way she does, which then convinces her that she MUST convince the showrunner that it needs to be canon. She comes across as a zealous evangelist who refuses to understand that her view isn't the only one. Which is super unlikely, especially in fandom. Sure, some ships do often have an overwhelming majority, but there are ALWAYS others. Or people who prefer no ships at all and love the source material for other reasons.

If Claire had used the influence that she is (inexplicably) gifted to fight for the rights of fanfic in general, I would have been all for it. Instead, she alienates good people in favor of singlemindedly pursuing something that is really just for her own gratification. As Tess rightly points out, but of course Claire ignores her. Or rather, she adds a throwaway sentence about diversity into her zealous SmokeHeart speech at the end and for some reason that makes it all okay.

I dunno. This book had really good potential, but instead it seemed to represent the part of fandom that honestly can get really toxic and rude to anyone who doesn't think the same way they do, and I'm just not down for that.

And, while I try not to judge too much because I guess it's not technically hurting anyone, RPF does kind of freak me out. When you start getting invested in the personal lives of real people, things can get really messy, really fast. Especially when those real people don't actually feel or do what the fans wish they would. My point with this one is that the RPF Claire posted about Forest and Rico was WAY out of my comfort zone, and that knocked her from “overzealous and a bit inconsiderate” to “wow, she really doesn't care about anyone else's personal feelings, does she” in my eyes.

I'm usually willing to overlook some improbability in my books (which this one was full of) because it is fiction, but I can't overlook problematic characters like Claire.

I'm still giving this 3 stars because I really did enjoy some of the prose and the attempt to relate to fandom and people of all walks of life, but it really missed the mark by having such an extremist main character and giving her no real character development to realize why she might be wrong about some stuff.

Fandom and fanfic are amazing, beautiful things in so many ways. This book does not represent those ways. Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl and Ashley Poston's Geekerella are both much more my speed when it comes to fandom representation.

EDIT 11/10/18: Every time I think about this book or see it in a store, I cringe a little. It's like a mediocre food that has a worse aftertaste. Three stars just didn't feel right anymore, so down to two it is.

EDIT 10/23/21: I accidentally clicked into something and now Goodreads thinks I just barely reviewed this book. What the heck Goodreads, it's been three years and tbh I did not really want to have think this much about this book again. Blegh.

This was definitely a fun read — some of the sillier moments had me legitimately snorting out loud on the train — and the characters shone with personality. Occasionally the more over the top sex humor from Leland was a bit much for me, particularly toward the latter half of the book, but enough of it smacked my funny bone that I couldn't be too bothered about it.

The reason for the middle of the road rating is mostly because of plot. The pacing was a bit funky, alternating between slow lag and sudden action without a lot of build up for either, so that made it kind of hard to stay invested for the full run of the book. Plus, a lot of the side characters felt a bit underdeveloped. Especially Jackson's mother, who was a terrible and homophobic person right up until she was... suddenly not? Because of one small and not all that great speech from her son's boyfriend? Didn't really buy that.

If you're looking for a fun romp with a lot of sex and dumb jokes, though, this is definitely the book for you.

• 2.5 stars *
  
  The first half of this book was fairly solid. Wasn't blow-me-away fantastic but was easy to read and the characters intrigued me.
  
  The second half of this book was a mess. The relationship between the two leads was a bumpy, potholed road full of miscommunication and zero empathy for the other's situation. Morgan, who I had liked at first, nose-dived into being very annoying. All character development was rushed through in short conversations and half-epiphanies, and the ending felt abrupt and somewhat undeserved.
  
  Pros:
  - Despite her rocky start, I did like Ruby. She got the most actual character development and was definitely the most interesting person in the book.
  - Some very potent LGBTQ+ issues were touched upon and some good points were made. However, the actual conversations were surface-level and didn't dive as deeply as they maybe should have, considering how important they were to the plot.
  - Someone did call Morgan on her bullshit when she got really out of hand. I had been worried it would be written off as justified because of her trials and tribulations, but thankfully it was not. Or at least not entirely.
  - Billy.
  
  Cons:
  - The romance wasn't paced well. Some of the back and the forth at the beginning was good, but there was a bit of instalove in the later parts that didn't make sense to me.
  - Bumpy messy second half as mentioned above.
  - A couple of characters got dropped toward the end, and I would have liked more resolution.
  - Morgan needed a lot more character development and understanding of how her situation and perspective, while important, was not the same as every other queer person.

The character development and interpersonal relationships were just as beautiful as the first book, if not even more so, but the prose felt very rambly and at times almost unedited. A few of the same points were made repeatedly throughout the book in almost the same way, and nearly every paragraph felt like it was at least a sentence or two longer than it needed to be. If it had been edited down to be the closer to the same length as the first book, I think it could have been a solid five stars.

Still a beautiful read though. I am glad it exists.

I'm actually having a hard time formulating all of the reasons why I loved this book, but here goes.

[EDIT: I tried to use a spoiler tag but apparently they don't work on mobile so I guess the whole review is getting hidden. Oh well. I am not about to ruin the ending of this book for anyone.]

- The way the mental health of the characters was gently worked into their personalities without entirely dominating their identity or being portrayed as their Character Flaw was so, so good. Both main characters had actual development arcs that felt real and right for them, and they had different ways of dealing with things that spoke to an actual difference in upbringing. I've read a lot of books recently where that kind of character work has been flat or just plain missing, so the depth of this one was especially wonderful to me.

- The sheer cuteness. It's marketed as a rom-com and it sure did deliver, but it also delivered on the other, non-romantic relationships. The support network and interpersonal development of the whole cast was so great.

- The social commentary. I definitely am not one to watch reality TV, especially the genre used as the backdrop of this story, but I really appreciated the angle that this plot took. SpoilerThe end did briefly make me think “No way, that would never happen,” but then I realized that's exactly why it needed to happen. If my default is to assume that a gay relationship would be unthinkable on reality TV, what does that say about society? As the author cited in the acknowledgements, “Paradox though it may seem . . . it is none the less true that Life imitates art far more than Art imitates life.” (Oscar Wilde) If our art shows that all relationships are valid and love is important, we can give life something to imitate.

- The feels. Obviously there was a lot of warm and fuzzy, but toward the end there was definitely some minor eye leakage. It was just impossible not to be invested in these characters and feel for them when things got rough.

- The writing. It was well-written, easy to read, and witty, which is obviously the best combo. All of the characters had fairly distinct voices and I highlighted so many things because they were just so hilarious. 10/10

So this was not a cohesive review at all but this book is potentially a new favorite and I will be returning to it, as well as keeping a sharp eye out for any books the author decides to publish in the future.

This series was absolutely amazing. It had everything I love in a book: an interesting and well-built magical world, characters with beautiful depth and variety of personalities, a plot that was often heartbreaking but always exactly what it needed to be, and prose that multiplied the emotions of the book tenfold.

And then the ending was just the right amount of happy and just the right amount of sad and entirely perfect.

I love these books.

It's hard to really argue with a cute, light, nerdy romance, so in that respect I enjoyed this book because it's all of those things. Unfortunately, it was hard for me to really get invested. (Honestly, if I hadn't been pressured by the fact that it was a library rental, I might have put off finishing it for quite some time.)

For me, there was a huge lack of urgency in the primary conflict. The fact that neither of them seemed to have any other idea of how they could fix their problems except this tournament win seemed odd, especially for Alden. (It didn't help that he eventually seemed to realize that himself which made it all feel even more pointless.) And then when it finally came to a head, the resolution was... oddly floppy. While I liked that they communicated and didn't make a massively stupid misunderstanding of the whole thing, it felt super anticlimactic.

I also did not feel particularly invested in either of the MCs. They both did an enormous amount of inner monologuing and, despite their supposed completely oppositional personalities, both of them were written in very similar voices. Half the time I wasn't sure whose chapter it was and had to wait until one of the characters said a name to figure it out. (And then a few paragraphs later I would have already forgotten again.) Having two first person POVs is becoming a lot more common, and I think people are forgetting what a risk it can be if your POV voices aren't super distinct. In this book, it served to make the whole thing fall a little flat for me. Payton was the only character who felt more dimensional, and they were only in it for a couple chapters. (Maybe that's why.)

Overall, it was a very cute story and I really loved the TCG aspect of it (Odyssey did sound super cool and was surprisingly well fleshed out), but without the depth of character and motivations to drive me, I can't say it'll be going on my favorites shelf.