Really, if you thought about it, I had to message him again. In a cool, casual, not desperate kinda way obviously. But with a question this time. So if he saw it and didn’t reply, then I’d know for sure he was ignoring me. That was the reason we’d come to North Carolina in the first place, after all, when Aunt Linda’s health took a turn for the worse and she’d needed some time away, to chill out and see family and actually enjoy herself for once. Obviously, my family wanted to see her, so we met her here at the lake, the farthest she could safely go for a holiday. It was the biggest trip I’d taken from California in years, so I’d been more than up for it. I’d been appointed the unofficial, unpaid, uncomplaining—but only because they’re so damn cute—nanny to her kids, and we’d rented side-by-side lake houses. Things had been good. Great, even. Best summer of my life I’d have said. After being forced to bunk together on the show, Skye and Maya find out they have two more things in common: They're both bisexual, and they're both developing feelings for someone on the show... someone who is NOT Jordy. 👀 Arthur is only in New York for the summer, but if Broadway has taught him anything, it’s that the universe can deliver a showstopping romance when you least expect it.

Maya's no fool though. She knows Jordy too well to fall for any of this smoke in mirrors. Jordy hasn't changed and that's fine by her. Maya isn't dreaming of becoming Jordy's one-true love, she's dreaming of revenge. Jordy was disgusting. I can smell that man. He’s probably the sort of guy that drenches himself in cologne. All fake smiles and bad attitude. I don’t know if he was based on a real person, but I sure hated him like he was real! the main characters. I love the idea of two girls on a dating show falling for each other instead of the man they're supposed to be chasing, so I was super excited for this romance. However, the main characters literally neither had any personality traits beyond their (justifiable) dislike for the main guy, who is both of their ex-boyfriend. Both characters were SO dry; I couldn't connect to them at *all* because they literally didn't have any discernible personality traits. It was odd! I have so many lovely things to say about everything in this book. Except for Jordy, that is. The jokes and the romance and the friendships and the overall girlpower, though? I am obsessed!

Only Mostly Devastated

Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Love Your Self Saturday #2: Dealing with my reading slump and overall brain fog/funk February 5, 2022 Ollie and Will have a summer fling.It's intense and passionate but once the summer is over Ollie is baffled by Will's silence.To make things worse Ollie and his family must move temporarily and Ollie starts a new school.Will's school and if Ollie was confused about Will's silence after their fling he's even more bewildered by Will's indifference to him at school. La última novela contemporánea LGTB que me hizo sentir así fue Con amor, Simon. ¡Hace ya un tiempo! Son muy similares en cierto sentido: instituto, personajes secundarios dinámicos y fuertes, un protagonista que narra los hechos con humor… Es un cúmulo de cosas que hacen que Only Mostly Devastating sea una bomba.

So, instead I choose anger. Anger can be channeled, and relieved. Anger makes me stronger. Anger builds my defences.”

How to Vote

Two years ago, Jordy broke Maya’s sixteen-year-old heart when he started dating Skye before he even broke up with her. Since his sister married into the royal family of Chalonne, Jordy has become famous and his version of the story – that she overreacted and couldn’t let go – follows Maya everywhere. When she’s invited to participate in a reality TV show about him reconnecting with his exes, she sees it as an opportunity to set the record straight (so to speak) and, most of all, get revenge. Definitely not as a chance to fall in love with the girl he cheated on her with. Except for creating one of my most hated men ever, though, Sophie Gonzales and her books are a little like best friends, and even if this metaphor started off as a little joke, I don't think it is anymore. I mean, think about it: I hate the premise. HATE IT. It’s basically a whole book about one of my least favourite things— women being pitted against each other. The WHOLE premise of the show is women fighting over this ✨man✨. Who is in fact, completely awful and made me so angry throughout the book.

Like, okay. Yes, if I sent another it’d be three in a row. Yes that was semi-stalker level. But I could rationalize this. The first message he’d ignored was in response to his own text on Saturday night. He’d said good night, and I’d said good night. End of conversation. He wasn’t required to respond. So I could barely even count that.I have to admit I don't really like reality TV, but for some reason I love to read about it. And this book was just... so much fun from start to finish. I read it in one sitting because I was just having such a good time. There can never be enough queer stories about romance—and when they are told with this much heart, humor and a swoon worthy story line, you never want them to end.” —Angelo Surmelis, author of The Dangerous Art of Blending In I loved the feminism in it and the sapphic romance had me yelling. I mean what's better than a rom-com about two girls teaming up to expose the lead guy on live television and they then end up falling for each other. Ollie has no intention of pining after a guy who clearly isn’t ready for a relationship. But as Will starts ‘coincidentally’ popping up in every area of Ollie’s life, from music class to the lunch table, Ollie finds his resolve weakening.

Wait. So Aunt Linda hadn’t passed away? The relief hit me so hard I almost missed Mom’s next words, too dizzy with happiness to focus. They don’t call it gently cascading for someone. You don’t gracefully descend for someone. You fall. Head over heels, right? And either someone catches you, or they don’t, and you don’t have any control over how badly bruised you are at the bottom of it.” So now, here's one of my biggest issues. None of the characters really stood out much to me, but when they did, I deeply disliked them. There was never a moment I was like "oh my gosh yes, I LOVE this character" but there were moments where I was like "oh my gosh no, I HATE this character" which is not something I want to feel when reading a book, since characters make or break a book for me. Ollie never expected his summer fling with unbearably sweet Will to survive after vacation, but when his family decides to stay in North Carolina, he lets himself hope. Those hopes are crushed when he learns that the guy he knew from summer isn’t the same one attending Collinswood High.Sophie Gonzales writes young adult queer contemporary fiction with memorable characters, biting wit and endless heart. Jordy was a piece of work. I’m being nice here, but he really, truly was. When Maya confronts Skye, even though Jordy had tried to manipulate her ahead of time, it starts off as a mess and ends as a mess, but in the best possible way. That is the moment their relationship started and I am SO glad for it because that is when everything came together. Randomly, one of my favourite things was the fact that Maya smuggled in her iPad because that would absolutely be me. I love my iPad. She also googled herself. Do I love that for me? Yes. Do I love it for Maya? No. I loved seeing what people were saying about her online and how she eventually challenged their perceptions. Maya was my favourite character. I loved her chaotic chapters. She started drama day one and I appreciate her for giving us the goods. But " Clueless" was extremely funny, which this book had its moments, but I didn't personally feel that humor played much of a role here. At least not constantly, like in " Clueless".