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| 9798212191333
| B0CLWXD1YR
| 3.73
| 552
| Apr 09, 2024
| Apr 09, 2024
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really liked it
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I’m on BookTube now! =) **This ARC was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are m I’m on BookTube now! =) **This ARC was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley & Blackstone Publishing.** ”She told me to follow the music, but I don’t know where it’s going to lead.” I was very excited to start “The Last Love Song” because it sounded like everything I like to read about in my books. Mamma Mia vibes, music, two POVs in different time-lines, a grief rep, a scavenger hunt with a mystery element and a Sapphic romance. I mean, what’s not to love? I was so ready to dive into this story and once I did, I had a really good time. I think for a debut this was great and despite a couple of little issues I had with the storyline I was still happy to tag along Mia’s scavenger hunt and to find out more about her mother’s mysterious past. I’ve never known how to really know her for everything she was. I’ve never known how to leave the little pieces of her I have or the people who need to hold on to those stories without saying them.” So what exactly is the book about? Well, we follow Mia Peters who lives in a small town and is the daughter of former country music star Tori Rose. Apparently, Tori’s death was kept quiet and no one wants to talk about what happened in the past. After graduation, her grandmothers give her letters in her mother’s handwriting, though and so an unexpected scavenger hunt for the whole truth and Tori’s past ensues. I’ve to admit that the premise of the story was very intriguing and I enjoyed to follow all those little hints alongside Mia. With every new letter, there comes another clue and the pages of Tori’s diary don’t only reveal how her career started but also hint at the identity of Mia’s father. I personally love scavenger hunts and the way it was done in here was a lot of fun and kept me guessing until the very end. "I have the angles of her features when I search for them, I have her songs in my heart, but I will never have her fate, and I will never get out of this town." Another thing that was done well, was Mia’s anxiety and her fear of always being compared to her mother. Mia was a great musician in her own right, but if you’re the daughter of one of the brightest country stars that ever shone, some people will always draw comparisons and see you as some sort of legacy. All of Mia’s insecurities stemmed from that and I think her character arc was very relatable and comprehensible. It’s not easy to deal with all of those expectations and the added pressure of Britt – her best friend and soulmate – leaving soon to follow her own dreams, certainly didn’t help. Still, at times I couldn’t help but feel a little frustrated with Mia because it was so obvious that she wanted to be with Britt, yet it seemed like she didn’t want to face that truth and conditioned it on how her mother’s scavenger hunt would end instead. Mia wanted someone else to make that choice for her and yes, that was extremely frustrating. Then again, she was still a teen and I guess if you’re that young and never knew your mom, you might crave some sort of guidance. ”When I look back, she’s already taken the stage, scanning the room, still searching for me in a way that I hope she one day – in six-almost-five days – won’t, if only so I can stop being the person who lets her down.” As we follow Tori Rose’s diary entries and her story unfolds, we discover that she didn’t always have an answer for everything, though. The reader gets to see a young Tori Rose at the beginning of her career, torn between adventurous life on the road and the quiet safety of the small town she grew up in. Her inner struggle reflected in the two boys that accompany her on her journey while she follows her dreams. And let me tell you this, those two boys couldn’t have been any more different even if they tried. "His voice was gentler than I'd kept mine. He made his way across the lobby, and I held his gaze again. Our melodies wound together. I didn't make a move until the song was over." "Dance with me," I said. "It's the perfect weather." He shook his head, took a bow, and extended a hand. I looped my arms around his neck. On the one hand, we had Patrick Rose, the mysterious boy with the rose tattoo who connected to Tori through their mutual love for music. And on the other hand we had David Summers, Tori’s childhood best friend who supported her no matter what and knew her better than anyone else. I loved how those two boys stood for different things in Tori’s life and the fact that one of them could be Mia’s father only made to read her POV even more intriguing. The only thing Tori Rose always knew was that she wanted to make music, but in order to do that she also had to make a choice. "She had choices, she had fears, she had songs that scared her, and she tried her best. She was a million paradoxes, and she wanted the music despite it all." So in the end both, Mia as well as Tori Rose, had to decide what they wanted and it was no easy choice for either of them. I think what Patrick and David represented for Tori Rose was exactly what Britt and Mia’s grandmothers represented for her. Choices, different paths with a million of possibilities and yes, this can be quite scary. Still, despite it all, I could always feel how much Mia loved her grandmothers and Britt. Both girls, Mia and Tori, felt torn inside and both had to find their own way. ”Her nose nudges mine, and our lips meet again, fingers tangling deeper in hair and hearts on sleeves. We burst and we break. We are dichotomies and paradoxes and lies and happily never afters. We are an ending that wants to be a beginning and a beginning that never got to start quite right. We are everything, and she is everything, and only I know that I truly wish I could go with her.” Even though Mia’s POV wasn’t as interesting as Tori Rose’s, I still loved her relationship with Britt and those two had a lot of chemistry and sweet moments that instantly caused me to pull for them. In addition, I’m such a sucker for the best friends-to-lovers trope and Britt and Mia definitely delivered on that front. What I really loved about this book were the beautiful lyrics, though. They made everything feel even more real and I could totally imagine them singing those songs on a stage together. Meaningful lyrics that rhyme are my kryptonite in books that feature music so this was amazing! "Better off with no hearts on sleeves, for mine's caged inside. Better off without the truth, for there's safety in our lies." ”And the songs in my heart won't be silenced by dawn, Because honey the music's been raging too long. So in this garden of dreams, constellations at its seams, I ask you this time: will you follow the music with me?" Finally yet importantly, before I end this review I’ve to mention a couple of things: Firstly: The fact that we got an elderly lesbian couple in the form of Mia’s grandmothers was awesome. I honestly need more representation like this in my books! For obvious reasons we so rarely get older LGBTQIA+ couples in stories, but I think representation like that is so important. Secondly: Kalie Holford nailed the grief representation for me. It ran like a common thread through the entire book and was palpable in many different ways. No matter if it was through Mia’s grandmothers that didn’t want to talk about Tori Rose, Tori’s old friends, people that knew her and spoke about her with Mia or even Mia herself who never got to know her mother and held on to her letters so tightly it hurt. Grief can have many forms and this was shown so nicely throughout the story. ”For all the pain her passing caused, I am so glad I met her, that she was part of my life. That’s the funny thing about loss, you know? You wish you’d never had to feel a hurt that deep, but you *knew* that person and you wouldn’t have had it any other way. For however long they were there, they meant something, and that is forever.” Despite all my enjoyment there were some things that didn’t make a lot of sense though and of course I want to address them in my review as well. For instance, I couldn’t understand why Mia’s grandmothers never spoke about Tori Rose. I mean she was their daughter and no matter how much it hurt, for the sake of their grandchild’s sanity alone they should have told her about her mother. And if we’re already talking about flaws in the story: I didn’t get how Mia was able to live in Sunset Cove all her life without finding out about her mother’s death. You would think that it’s impossible not to know everything about your famous country star mother in a city that is so clearly dedicated to her life and work. Not to mention that the press would have had a field day finding out who Mia’s father was. Under normal circumstances, Mia could have easily read about Tori Rose’s love life in all the tabloids and newspapers of that time. Especially in times like now in which all those things are archived online and you just have to follow the right link. So that part of the story felt a little unrealistic and I’m sure the author could have found a different way to keep the mystery alive than just not allowing the characters to talk about Tori Rose. ”You can outgrow places and people and still love them.” Conclusion: All told, “The Last Love Song” was a great debut novel that lived from its beautiful lyrics and intriguing storyline. The scavenger hunt element and the mystery around Tori Rose’s death and Mia’s father kept me invested and I really wanted to know how the story would end for both of those girls. I loved how the grief representation was handled and the fact we got a queer rep as well was the icing on the cake. So despite of some things not making a lot of sense I was still happy to follow Mia’s journey. 3,5 stars rounded up to 4, because at the end of the day this was a very enjoyable read and I had a good time reading it. ________________________________ This was a nice story and I really wanted to find out who Mia’s dad was. I liked that we had an elderly lesbian couple in this and the lyrics throughout the book were great. I gotta admit I was more invested in Tori Rose’s storyline than I was in her daughters, though. XD Full RTC soon! I’ll try to get it up asap because I was already late reading this ARC. >_< ______________________________ I got “The Last Love Song” as an ARC from NetGalley and I’ve been looking forward to read it ever since! Unfortunately life happened and I didn’t manage to get to it sooner. Anyway! I’m ready to dive into this and I’m extremely intrigued by the premise of the book. I love stories that blend the past and future together and have a music element. Mia’s mother is a country music star and we’re going on some sort of scavenger hunt through her city. Plus there’s a LGBTQIA+ rep and I’m always here for them! This said: I’m ready! Let’s do this! =) Find me on: My Blog Instagram ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Apr 29, 2024
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Jun 10, 2024
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Apr 29, 2024
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Kindle Edition
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| 1786331519
| 9781786331519
| 1786331519
| 4.21
| 1,607,004
| Mar 05, 2019
| Mar 05, 2019
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it was amazing
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I’m on BookTube now! You can find my channel here! =) ”DAISY: I had absolutely no interest in being somebody else's muse. I am not a muse. I am the someb I’m on BookTube now! You can find my channel here! =) ”DAISY: I had absolutely no interest in being somebody else's muse. I am not a muse. I am the somebody. End of fucking story." Trigger warnings: (view spoiler)[drug abuse, inebriation, abortion, addiction, infidelity, domestic abuse (hide spoiler)] For me “Daisy Jones & The Six” is such a hard book to review because 1.) It’s extremely quotable and I think I have about 5 pages worth of quotes, 2.) It tackles so many different issues and topics and 3.) There are a lot of characters to talk about! I mean it’s Daisy Jones and The Six after all! So with all the 7 band members and their friends/family/managers etc. it makes for one hell of a huge character cast. For months (and I really mean months here, because I finished the book at the beginning of October 2023) I didn’t know how to tackle this review and to be completely honest I still have no clue how to go about it. But today I decided I’d just start to write it and take it from there, because chances are high I might never even write a review if I go on like this. And quite honestly, this book is way too good not to write anything about it. Yeah, I’m aware about a gazillion of people already wrote down their opinion, but hey, I wanna give my two cents as a musician so you just gotta bear with me, okay? *lol* ”WARREN: Let me sum up that early tour for you: I was getting laid, Graham was getting high, Eddie was getting drunk, Karen was getting fed up, Pete was getting on the phone to his girl back home, and Billy was all five, at once.” As a former band member, I just have to address the rep of the band itself and the portrayal of the music industry back then. I mean, I wasn’t alive at that time, but I think Taylor Jenkins Reid did an amazing job at showing the motto of “sex, drugs and rock’n’roll” we all heard about. As for the way the musicians were portrayed, their love for music and how they went about creating new songs: All I can say is Taylor nailed that aspect for me, because whenever I read a scene about their process it felt like I was back with my own band. Starting with a jam session, throwing ideas back and forth, someone would have a couple of lyrics, another band member would have a guitar line and from there on out we’d create a completely new song. I felt that when I read the book and that was honestly such a wholesome, nice and nostalgic experience. It was almost like I was back with my own band. Though I have to admit that I felt kind of torn about the tension among the band members. There are a lot of things going on among Daisy Jones and The Six and there are many secrets, there’s mistrust and plenty of hurt feelings which I couldn’t relate to at all. For me my band was a found family and we knew literally everything that was going on in each other’s lives. ”GRAHAM: Billy was always in charge, you know? Billy wrote the lyrics, Billy composed and arranged all the songs. If Billy goes to rehab the tour is over. If Billy is ready to go back to the studio, we all have to report for duty. He ran the show. So “Honeycomb” was not easy for him. BILLY: We were all a team.” Maybe it was Billy being such an egoistic numpty most of the time?! *lol* I dunno, I mean speaking from personal experience every band has that one genius band member who runs the show and knows what they’re doing. They are the glue that holds the band together, because they are so passionate about music they sort of infect all the other band members with their genius and endless energy. They know when it’s time to trust the other band members, though. And well, Billy definitely wasn’t that kind of band leader, he only trusted himself and Teddy. (who was their producer, I think?) It was kind of fascinating to witness Daisy Jones and The Six’s rise to fame and to see how far they came as a band considering there was so much friction, discontent and resentment among their rows. I personally think my band and I would have never been able to get as far as we did if we would have had so much tension among us. *lol* ”We love broken, beautiful people. And it doesn’t get much more obviously broken and more classically beautiful than Daisy Jones.” The band thrived because of Billy and Daisy, though. Because both of them were exceptional musicians and their synergy on stage was powerful and infectious. No matter how they felt about each other off stage, when they were in the spotlight together they just worked. I think part of the books charm is the constant tension between them, the fact that there is something between them but neither of them wants to acknowledge it. It’s there, unsaid, unacknowledged, hanging in the air between them, crackling and simmering underneath the surface. And Daisy and Billy were aware that things between them would never work, which is the very reason they steered clear of each other and fought their chemistry every step of the way. ”KAREN: You know how sometimes people will describe other people and say they make you feel like you’re the only on in the room? Billy and Daisy could both do that. But they somehow did it with each other. They each seemed like they thought the other one was the only person in the room. Like we were watching two people who didn’t realize thousands of people were watching them.” Plus they both knew they were addicts and were aware of the struggles this entailed. Drug abuse and addiction play a huge part in this story and at times, it was extremely painful to read about their experiences. The way Billy slowly but steadily drifted off into his addiction because he felt like he had nothing to hold on to when he was on tour was really sad to witness. Not that Daisy’s addiction was any easier to read about. It was probably worse because the reader knows she’s such a talented, independent and amazing woman, but she’s craving connection and love so badly she’s withering away right in front of your eyes. Both of them are ruining themselves and there’s nothing you can do to stop it. I think as a reader this was hard to digest because you feel with the characters but you can’t intervene, you have to take it as it is and all you can do is to accompany them as they talk about their troubles in the past. You ache and hurt with them, just like you’d do with a real person you’re unable to help. If you ask me this is exceptional writing right there and Taylor Jenkins Reid truly excels at forcing you to feel all the feels. ”BILLY: You’ve taken a big, black, bold line and you’ve made it a little bit gray. And now every time you cross it again, it just gets grayer and grayer until one day you look around and you think, there was a line here once, I think.” ”DAISY: The drugs aren’t so cute anymore when you wake up with dried blood under your nose so often that cleaning it off is part of your morning routine, like brushing your teeth. And you always have new bruises and you don’t know why. When there’s a knot in the back of your hair because you have forgotten to brush it for weeks.” Of course this isn’t the only serious topic that’s tackled in here and I loved all the strong female characters we got! No matter if it’s Karen, Daisy, Simone or Camila, they’re all amazing and their friendships and bonds are so beautiful! None of them is taking any sh*t from the men in their lives and they all know who they are and what they want from life. The feminism is strong in this one and I loved it! Even more so because most of the band members are actually male, the managers are male, everyone who has power is male, yet the 4 women in this book could take on each and every single one of them and get away standing on top in the end. This is how strong FMCs are written! ;-) "You have to have one person in your life that you know would never do anything to steer you wrong. They may disagree with you. They could even break your heart, from time to time. But you have to have one person, at least, who you know will always tell you the truth." All of them have their own struggles and challenges to face and the variety of female representation and the various reasons that caused them to struggle in the sixties and seventies was written so well. The men in their lives might have influenced all their decisions and choices, but they never allowed them to define them. I loved the strong friendships between Daisy and Simone and Karen and Camila! Those women truly went through thick and thin and they supported each other with everything they had. "CAMILA: It's not my place to say what happened that day. All I will say is that you show up for your friends on their hardest days. And you hold their hand through the roughest parts. Life is about who is holding your hand and, I think, whose hand you commit to holding." If you ask me the secret star of the book is Camila, though. She was such a strong woman and I have all the respect for her. The way she had faith in Billy, I swear many women would have left him for less and she had their three kids to think about as well. I’m honestly in awe of this woman and for me she’s a saint because boy, I would have given Billy an earful! (I would have left him too. Guess that makes Camila a way better person than I’ll ever be. *lol*) I think Camila was such an interesting character and I loved her so much! She would have deserved so much better than she got and my heart broke for her repeatedly. Camila truly had to be a special brand of woman to be with Billy and to weather his ups and downs, I honestly don’t know how anyone would be able to get through that… ”No matter who you love, they will break your heart along the way. Billy Dunne has broken my heart a number of times. And I know I’ve broken his. But yes, that night watching them on SNL… that was one of the times that my heart cracked. But I just kept choosing trust and hope. I believed he was worthy of it.” Conclusion: All told, I loved every second of “Daisy Jones & The Six”! The fact we got real lyrics at the ending of the book only made this feel even more realistic and the format of interview transcripts gave the story a special and believable atmosphere. When you finish the book, you leave it with the feeling that Daisy Jones and The Six are actual people and this is quite an amazing feat. I felt like googling everything I could find about the band, and then had to remind myself they didn’t really exist. XD There’s some magic to Taylor Jenkins Reid’s books and I’ve yet to come across one of her books I didn’t enjoy. Let’s hope this day never comes! Anyway! If you like books that are told in interview style, if you love books about music, if you’re a fan of the sixties and seventies, if you love awesome characters and enjoy to read about their challenges and struggles, well, then this book is definitely for you. And just in case this didn’t come across in this super long review: I loved it! ;-) ___________________________________ This book was worth the hype. <3 I really enjoyed the music rep so much! Those characters felt so real and like the band actually existed! Billy was an ass, Daisy was and addict, The Six were a funny bunch and Camila … none of them deserved this woman! Period. Full RTC soon! Stay tuned! ;-) P.S.: I actually finished this in September but I was too slow to update. *lol* ____________________________________ I’ve heard so many things about this book it’s not even normal anymore. I think a couple of months ago the TV show came out as well and “Daisy Jones & The Six” was all over my feed again. The hype seems to be strong when it comes to this one so I’m curious and want to find out if it’s really THAT good. XD It’s a Taylor Jenkins Reid book, though and I loved “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” so I’m pretty sure I’ll enjoy this one as well. I mean music in a book is always great and since everybody and their grandma already knows why Daisy Jones quit the band it’s about time I find out too. *lol* Wish me luck! ;-) Find me on: My Blog Instagram ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Sep 04, 2023
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Oct 2023
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Sep 04, 2023
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Paperback
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| 0593463110
| 9780593463116
| 0593463110
| 3.64
| 5,155
| Mar 22, 2022
| Mar 22, 2022
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liked it
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I’m on BookTube now! You can find my channel here! =) ”Everyone acts like they knew what our relationship was like. They didn’t see our fights. They di I’m on BookTube now! You can find my channel here! =) ”Everyone acts like they knew what our relationship was like. They didn’t see our fights. They didn’t see the way Aidan got jealous when I was on tour, the way he texted me every time a tabloid wrote something about me, about him, about us.” I honestly don’t even know where to start with this review because I had such high hopes for “Kiss & Tell” and probably expected too much. I dunno if this is just a “me thing” or if it’s a valid reaction but as always I can only write about what I felt and thought while I read the book so that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I suppose it’s fair to say that people who are part of a very active fandom might not enjoy this story as much as people who only experience the hype through the media, because I read this book as a buddy read with my bestie and we’re both part of a fandom. We had many discussions about this book and for us a lot of the things that happened in this story just didn’t feel realistic or didn’t add up. As always this is just my subjective opinion but I’m going to back it up with facts so please bear with me and make yourself comfortable, because this is going to be a long in-depth review. *lol* ”It’s not the heartbreak that’s hard, it’s the attention. It’s having people think that who I am on stage is the same as who I am at home. Who I am in bed.” First things first, the things and topics I really enjoyed while reading “Kiss & Tell”. I absolutely loved the newspaper articles, interviews, documentary video transcripts; set lists etc. we got in between the chapters. This added so much to the story and made it feel more realistic. I mean the band was famous and had millions of fans so online forums where the fans discuss the newest band gossip, interview excerpts and advertisements for the concerts, etc. are all things that are basically daily business. It was a nice touch to have those things in between the chapters and it definitely helped to feel even more immersed in the story. ”No one at The Label has ever said it to my face, but they’ve made it clear in lots of subtle ways that I’m supposed to stay as twinkish as possible. Which sucks, because I’ve always been too stocky to achieve the true twink look. Years of hockey have given me a big butt and muscular thighs, and though I’ve slimmed down a bit since my hockey days, I’m still thicker than they want me to be.” Another thing I really liked was how the influence of the label was portrayed. Hunter and his band mates had to do so many things they didn’t really want to do but because they were expected of them they just had to deal with it and move on. For instance Hunter had to take part in cooking shows because as a gay boy everyone had that image of him standing in the kitchen. Which is bullshit and I was glad that this was addressed and that the band’s manager tried her best to fight those stereotypes. There were a lot of stereotypes in this book in general and throughout the entire story you could really see how much they hurt Hunter and what they did to him. The fact that the label even expected Hunter to cater to them and wanted him to be more twinkish, more feminine, less good at skating because everyone knew he was a bottom and apparently they aren’t good at skating even though Hunter played as a pro before his knee injury,…. I could go on and on. Throughout the entire book I could literally feel how torn Hunter felt about playing this role and that all those little things added up to an entire pile that threatened to suffocate him. ”And then I think about the shelter kids, and how happy they all were, despite what they’ve been through. And here I am, whining about writer’s block and a breakup. I try really hard not to cry in front of them, but I want to. They’re my age, and they’ve been kicked out of their homes; and here I am, safe and secure, whining about writer’s block.” Yet despite everything Hunter still wanted to do some good with his fame and tried to change the world for the better. Unfortunately his means were pretty limited by the label and I think because he was so young he didn’t know how to fight back and make a real change. And yes, you already called it, “Kiss & Tell” is some sort of coming-of-age story as well because after all the things Hunter experiences in this book he realizes who he truly is and what he wants from life. Truth be told, I think this story is more about Hunter finding himself than about the romance we were promised in the blurb. I personally was no huge fan of the romance because I didn’t like Aidan (Hunter’s ex) nor Kaivan his new love interest. If you ask me both of those boys were extremely toxic and I just couldn’t ship them with Hunter. ”Cymbals crash in my chest. I want to check him against the windows. I want to cry. I want to be mean to Aidan. I want to make him hurt the way he hurt me. I want him to stop hurting. I want us both to stop. I don’t know what I want.” The things Aidan did and how he betrayed Hunter’s trust?! It was extremely painful and I hurt with Hunt when everything blew up in the press. I mean that boy was 17 and suddenly his sex life was all over the internet. The things people said about him were so hurtful and it’s no wonder he tried to hide from the world. To deal with something like this at such a young age must have been more than just horrible. Also I was so angry on Hunters behalf because of all those fans constantly trying to find out if Aidan and him had sex and sticking their noses in things that weren’t their business. And once they found out the truth they started to slut-shame him. Like it’s okay that he’s gay but please he should never have any sex. Urgh! I’ve heard this from straight people so often it makes me sick to my stomach. Either you accept LGBTQIA+ people entirely or you don’t. Hypocrites. We’re not here to please your idea of a “clean queer”. Still, I think it was important this topic was addressed and given some room, because it happens way too often and Adib Khorram did a very good job at showing how much thoughts like this can affect young queer people. ”I don’t want people only to know me as Iranian, or as gay. I’m a whole person. I want to make music that brings people together. Good music, you know? Stuff that’ll stand the test of time. Not this manufactured crap, like all these boy bands where you can’t even tell which one is singing. It’s plug and play.” Okay and now let’s address the elephant in the room and the many not so good things about this book. Unfortunately there were plenty and one of my biggest issues was actually Hunter’s love interest Kaivan Parvani. I could not ship him with Hunter, because of all the bad things he said about boybands and the countless assumptions he made. I know the author obviously tried to give him a redemption arc but for me it didn’t work and it felt like too little too late, if you get what I mean? I don’t want to spoil all too much about this topic, but for the people who read the book or want to risk knowing beforehand I’ll just write this down in the spoiler section so that you’ll be able to understand why I just couldn’t with Kaivan: (view spoiler)[”Hey,” I say. “Sorry.” He sniffs. “It’s just, there were days when I was growing up that I thought I’d never get to do that.” “It’s okay. I know what you mean.” “How can you? You’ve been out forever.” I scoff and rest my forehead against his for a second. Honestly, this quote is just one of the many things Kaivan said that just didn’t sit well with me and all those things he thought about Hunter and boybands in general. I mean he basically tore them apart in his interviews and then he’s dating Hunter?! Also and let’s be totally real here, he was already dating Hunt when he said those words: ”But like, where did it really come from?” “Uh, that’s it?” Kaivan blinks. “Oh, really? I thought that was just a line. I figured The Label wrote it or something.” I shake my head. “No, we signed with them after. I told you, we write all our own songs. We did it for both albums. Produced them too.” Kaivan saying and thinking that Hunter’s bandmates and he are no real musicians because they are a boyband stung! Also him assuming they can’t play any instruments and that the label writes their songs! He said this quote above when he was already dating Hunter, mind you! So the excuse at the ending of the book fell totally flat for me. He thought those things, he said those things and even more importantly he BELIEVED the things he said!!! ”You don’t need to apologize. I just want you to understand. I haven’t always been as brave as you. I’ve had to do things and say things because at the time I thought that was the only way to survive.” Also THIS!!! I’m calling it bullshit! Yes, I might have believed him and accepted his redemption arc if he wouldn’t have said all those things WHILE dating Hunter! But he did and the things he said in earlier interviews only seemed to emphasize his opinion. There’s no way Kaivan didn’t believe all those things he said and that’s exactly why I didn’t buy his apology at the ending of the book. (hide spoiler)] Kaivan was such a red flag for me so I absolutely couldn’t ship him with Hunter. Quite honestly after everything that happened with Aidan, Hunter deserved so much better than him. I think I would have been okay with Hunter being alone for a while and in my opinion this definitely would have been a more realistic approach and a better ending than the one we actually got. Also speaking of Kaivan, he’s part of a band too and he has two brothers named Kamran and Karim who are ALMOST NEVER mentioned on page. I think the only thing I know is that one of them has a beard?! I found it very unbelievable that Kaivan is in a band with his two brothers but that we barely get to see them throughout the entire story. Which brings me right to the next part that was highly unrealistic and caused me quite a headache. We have the “absent parents” again and I hate that so much. I mean all the band members are minors, yet they are allowed to go on tour with their label and literally not a single one of their parents can take off from work and accompany them during their tour?! I’ve met the “Editors” when I was about 20 or so and back then all the members of the band were about 25 – 30. They still had their parents with them and I had a really nice chat with them at 3 a.m in the morning. So, not a single one of their parents showing up for their tour felt very unrealistic. They could have taken turns at least. Also and this is a real issue here: Hunter’s mom didn’t even visit him! You’re telling me that your son’s sex life was all over the internet and that wasn’t enough reason for you to jump into the next plane and to check on him?! If this would have been my kid I would have been there faster than Speedy Gonzales! A voicemail just doesn’t cut it. ”A delightful mosaic of ethnicities (with Vietnamese-, Brazilian-, and Indian-Canadian members) and an out gay member (Hunter Drake) make the band feel refreshingly representative of Canada today.” And this brings me right to the next issue I had with the story: The band members. We’re supposed to believe that Hunter is on tour with them and that they are around each other 24/7 yet they all don’t know what’s going on with each other?! Hunter must have been the most oblivious person ever not to notice that his band members had to deal with racist slurs and insults. I wasn’t 24/7 with my band members but damn I knew about literally everything that was going on in their lives! If you’re in a band the members are your found family and even if they don’t talk about the things that hurt them you freaking notice!!! If you spend so much time together, you’re bound to! Seriously! Hunter must have had eye-patches on both eyes and headphones not to notice anything. Also there was this article of all the band members being so diverse but we didn’t get any of that. I actually had to look up one of the newspaper articles at the beginning of the book to find their surnames: Ashton Nightingale, Ethan Nguyen, Ian Souza, Owen Jogia & Hunter Drake. All the other band members just appeared occasionally and every single one of them was one-dimensional. I know that Ethan got racist shit for being with his girlfriend, I know that Ashton is Hunters best friend and I know that Ian?! I think it was Ian who wrote songs with Hunter or was it Owen?! See my problem?!! I can’t even remember who wrote songs with Hunter because it was only mentioned briefly in the book and that was it. ”My face feels painted on, and I’ve been powdered to within an inch of my life, but the worst part is my wardrobe. I’m in a white cable-knit sweater with a literal rainbow across the chest. It’s heinous, and it’s not me, but what’s the point in fighting it anymore. In being the real me. No one wants the real Hunter Drake anyway.” Well, I think that’s also the main issue I had with the book. It was superficial and never dug any deeper. A newspaper article explains that the band is diverse and that every band member has a different cultural background, but nothing is ever explored. Only if it helps to show that the other band members have to deal with bad things too, like for instance the short conversation Hunter and Ethan had about racism. Or the problem with labels wanting their stars to have a certain image and forcing them into roles they don’t want to play. The topic is addressed, sure, but at the end, we get a half-assed solution. I mean am I really expected to believe that the people who discussed the way Hunter was supposed to kiss Kaivan in public (with less tongue btw.) and planned every little detail will actually just accept that Hunter will do whatever he wants in the future?! Am I really to believe that what he did at the ending of the book won’t have any repercussions for the band? He got such a huge shit storm for what happened with Aidan and now all his fans will be accepting and the label won’t try to do any damage control?! Are you kidding me?! And even more unrealistic, am I honestly expected to believe that Hunter’s half-assed apology will actually make his fans less angry?! He was basically like: “I know I messed up. I’m sorry. Won’t happen again.” Sure, and now everything is going to be okay and we’ll all just move on. If any idol would do this in times like these, they’d be cancelled. But we don’t get to see anything of the aftermath because the author apparently decided that this wasn’t interesting enough. Am I salty? Yes, yes I am. Because this book had so much potential! There were so many important topics that were addressed but never truly explored and I think that’s so damn sad! Of course I know you can’t tackle everything in a 300+ pages book, but if you address topics like that you have to go through with them. Maybe it would have helped to focus on just three issues and to deal with them properly?! I dunno, but the way it was done here there was just too much lost potential for me. ”Kaivan’s pulled away from me, and I move to stay with him, shoulder to shoulder, because there’s so many of them and they’re all looking at me, crying out for me. Wanting wanting wanting. A hand runs through my hair, pulls hard enough to pluck and a few strands, and someone screams in triumph. “ Same goes for Hunter’s mental health. I mean the way he felt whenever he stepped into a huge crowd and what it did to him that everyone just wanted a piece of him, but was unwilling to see him for who he truly was. The topic of mental health is obviously broached but nothing is done with it. It just stands there and is. Another chance missed to actually tackle an important topic. With all the things Hunter had to deal with and did you’d think he’d at least get some therapy but nope, the book ends on a seemingly positive note and for me that just wasn’t enough. It’s like throwing about a gazillion of problems at someone and then driving off into the sunset. So I stand by it, I really would have liked it if Adib Khorram would have focused only on about 2-3 issues, but given them room to be explored, challenged, addressed and tackled properly. Maybe that makes me a bean counter because this book was clearly written for entertainment but then again if it’s really just for entertainment why raise so many important issues? “And you’re my best friend too. After what happened with hockey, I wasn’t going to let anything get in the way of your new dream. So maybe I didn’t always tell you when things were hard for me. But it’s not because things weren’t hard. It’s because I didn’t want you to think I wasn’t all in. Because I am, for as long as you want.” The only two things that felt truly real and made me emotional were the talk Aidan and Hunter had when they met after that horrible incident and Hunter’s and Ashton’s friendship. At least they seemed to be closer than Hunter was to the other band members. All told, I’m very sad I can only give this book 3 stars because I honestly thought I’d love it. I absolutely adored “Darius the Great is Not Okay” and I really wish the author had been as careful and sensitive with “Kiss & Tell” as well. Unfortunately, this didn’t happen and the book and the topics that were addressed only seemed to stay on the surface. I guess for now I’ll leave it at that and hope that my next book by the author will be a winner again. *fingers crossed* ________________ Soooo… I have a lot of thoughts on this one. It wasn’t exactly what I expected it to be yet at the same time it still kinda delivered. I’ve to think hard about what I’m going to write about this story. Full RTC soon! Because as you all know I’m nothing but thorough. *lol* P.S: YAY! I finished this in May so I can count it to my Wrap Up! XD ___________________ I’ve been dying to read this book ever since I discovered it last year and I can’t wait to dive into it! I mean this has everything! Literally EVERYTHING, I love in my books: - A boyband - Fandoms and music - The troubles of being a public figure - Heartbreak and a secret love affair - An m/m relationship - And a great cover! I mean look at that gorgeous cover!! <333 Anyway! My bestie, the Yoongi to my V, and I decided to read the hell out of this in May and that’s exactly what we’re gonna do! ;-P Wish us luck that this will be as amazing as we hope it will be. *lol* May the boyband and fandom force be with us. XD Find me on: My Blog Instagram ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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May 08, 2023
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May 31, 2023
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May 08, 2023
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Paperback
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| 9798985502282
| B0BQFZS322
| 4.26
| 292
| unknown
| Feb 21, 2023
|
really liked it
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I’m on BookTube now! =) *I received this book as a free eBook ARC from NetGalley and Jetspace Studio in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for I’m on BookTube now! =) *I received this book as a free eBook ARC from NetGalley and Jetspace Studio in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for approving my request.* The premise of this book was pretty easy: A former k-drama star falls in love with a former k-pop idol and their forbidden romance causes a lot of trouble. So far, so good but “Idol Minds” is so much more than meets the eye. I’ve to admit that I was a little bit sceptical at first because in the first couple of chapters Jason isn’t exactly the most likable character and Tae Hyun seems to be a little bit standoffish. But then, then those two meet and right from the very first chapter they are in a room together you can feel that sizzling chemistry the blurb spoke about. The interesting thing is, they don’t like each other and hate each other’s guts which made for a very intriguing baseline for their future relationship. They just rub each other the wrong way but at the same time they can’t deny that they are attracted to each other and want to give in. I really loved their chemistry and the way they interacted. They might have started off at the wrong foot but they were reasonable enough to try to make things work. At first just job-wise but the more they talk with each other, the more they begin to understand where the other one is coming from and this was really so nice to see. They communicate and they open up and learn to speak about their past and most importantly they allow themselves to heal. Both of them have been hurt and while Jason hid it behind his Hollywood bad boy image, Tae Hyun dealt with it by never letting anyone get too close to him. Both their character arcs were well written and I had a good time finding out what happened before. Interestingly the author didn’t shy away from going for steamy scenes either and I think if I had to define their relationship it would be insta-lust that gradually turns into more. I mean they both were aware of each other before they met, they are both public figures after all, so insta-lust seems to be an adequate way to describe what happened between them. The more they get to know each other the more they start to flirt as well and I personally lived and breathed for their easy banter. Jason is a direct, unapologetic and extremely flirty character and Tae Hyun might be reserved and sensitive but he still knows how to handle Jason’s antics. So you can bet I had a field day reading their conversations and enjoyed them immensely. Another thing I have to mention in my review is that I absolutely adored the women in this book. No matter if it was Yoo Mi, Tae Hyun’s best friend, or Naomi Jason’s manager who is like a young mother hen that watches out for him, they both were amazing and added so much to the story. It’s always nice to read about strong women and those two definitely fell into that category. Plus I think the author did a very good job of portraying the k-pop industry as well. Jason and Tae Hyun have to learn to navigate its deep and cunning waters and there was a little nice mystery element in the story that had me guessing and wondering who the culprit might be. I’m not going to spoil anything about this here though, so you’ll have to read the book yourself if you want to find out what I’m talking about. ;-) What I will talk about are a couple of trigger warnings you should be aware of when going into the book. The topics aren't addressed all too strongly, but I still wanted to mention them just in case: (view spoiler)[homophobia, abusive parents, suicide (talked about on page), racism, MCs being outed (hide spoiler)] Conclusion: This said, I really enjoyed “Idol Minds” and whilst the first 20% or so made it a little bit hard to like the characters the rest of the book definitely made up for it. I guess you could say Jason and Tae Hyun are good for each other and bring out each other’s better qualities, which in all honesty, makes their love even more believable in my eyes. All told I’m pretty sure that everyone who loves k-pop and steamy m/m romances that feature strong female side-characters will have a good time with this book. I definitely did. ___________________________________ When I started reading “Idol Minds” I didn’t know if I’d love this story. I was thrown right smack into the book and Jason didn't seem to be a very likeable person at first. But oh boy, did I get proven wrong! I ended up enjoying his character arc so much and I absolutely loved the entire story line. Also the chemistry between Tae Hyun and Jason. Ahhh! <333 This was the perfect read for me and I enjoyed it immensely! Full review to come soon! Stay tuned! ;-) ____________________________________ I got this book as an e-ARC from NetGalley and Jetspace Studio and I’m so happy I was approved for it because this one sounds like a rare treat. I mean it’s m/m and the MCs are a former k-drama star and a former k-pop band member. Both of their careers aren’t going all that well and they are kinda forced to work together. Well, and apparently they fall in love. This is exactly the kind of book I like to read and I’m more than just ready to jump into it. XD Wish me luck! Find me on: My Blog Instagram ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jan 27, 2023
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Feb 03, 2023
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Jan 27, 2023
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Kindle Edition
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| Cho, Kat
*
| 1368064647
| 9781368064644
| 1368064647
| 3.77
| 5,089
| May 17, 2022
| May 17, 2022
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liked it
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I’m on BookTube now! You can find my channel here! =) "Was that what seven years did to someone? Did it take all their sweetest features and sharpen th I’m on BookTube now! You can find my channel here! =) "Was that what seven years did to someone? Did it take all their sweetest features and sharpen them just enough to make them dangerous? Because that dimple was a serious weapon." I already know I’ll have a difficult time putting my feelings for this book into words, because on the one hand it was a really cute love story about an idol and the girl-next-door falling in love, but on the other hand it tackled a lot of serious topics that weren’t addressed all that much?! I initially thought this would be a fluffy rom-com story but there was a lot more going on in “Once Upon a K-Prom” and I still don’t know how I feel about that. Hence my rating of 3,5 stars. I guess I’ll just have to start somewhere and then take it from there. ”But Robbie was my best friend and he wasn't moving twenty miles away. He was moving to the other side of the world. We'd clutched each other, tears streaming down our faces." I really liked the close friendship between Robbie and Elena, well, the one they used to have before Robbie was forced to move back to Korea and Elena was left behind. They were adorable and apparently already in love because you don’t wait 7 years to ask out your former bestie to prom without serious feelings being involved. XD So one day, all of a sudden Robbie ends up standing on Elena’s doorstep and asks her to go to prom with him. Of course Elena isn’t amused, because 1.) there is a camera pointed at them that records everything 2.) She’s a shy girl that avoids the spotlight like the plague and 3.) She didn’t hear from Robbie for YEARS and now he’s standing in front of her expecting her to say “yes.” Haha! I could understand why Elena wasn’t all too happy about this! XD ”Is it because you’re nervous going with someone like me?” Wow, he seriously thought I was starstruck by him. “To be honest, I don’t really follow your music,” I said, pursing my lips the way I used to see Allie do when someone annoyed her. “But I hear you’re doing well, so congratulations, I guess.” “What?” Robbie scowled and finally forgot to be handsome while doing it. Those two definitely started the rekindling of their friendship on the wrong foot, which was extremely amusing to read about. I kinda loved how Elena was totally not impressed by his status as an idol and only saw Robbie, the person, when he spoke with her. I’m sure not a lot of people treated him like that so spending time with Elena must have been a nice change to his normal life. And yes, sometimes we got a little glimpse of Robbie’s POV and this helped a lot to understand where he was coming from. ”Elena had looked so happy when she’d first opened the door, and then she’d looked horrified, like he’d been holding a knife instead of a rose. He’d fully expected her to give him the biggest hug as soon as she recognized him. The hard-squeeze hug that stole his breath that only Elena had ever given him. But instead, she looked like she’d rather die than touch him. Maybe that’s why he’d thrown up the idol shield. Because suddenly his nerves had taken over.” Elena tried really hard not to be charmed by him and truth be told the first 30% of the book were hard to read because everything was so damn awkward between them and Robbie as well as Elena put their foot in it …. every single time. All their interactions were extremely cringeworthy and for me this made it very hard to get into the book. I know the author did this on purpose, but this level of cringe just didn’t work out for me. So the first third of the book was hard for me to get through, but thankfully it got better after that. ”You don't deserve Robbie-oppa!" she said. "I don't want him," I finally said. "Why?" the girl's friend asked, stepping forward. "You think you're too good for him?" This was ridiculous. The fandom and how it reacted to Elena spending time with their idol was very realistic and I wasn’t surprised that she got a lot of hate at the beginning. There are many fans that think their idol isn’t supposed to be in love with someone and that if anything, they would be the right person for them. I know this is a thing in fandoms but I honestly don’t get how people can even think they might have a chance to have a relationship with their idol. Statistically speaking this is a chance of one in a million. Or considering how many fans k-pop idols have probably even 1 in ten millions. I personally like to admire my idols from afar and know that it’s very likely I won’t even see them at one of their concerts. The chance of a k-pop group coming to Austria is almost non-existent. *lol* There I said it. I know the odds and I’m fine with them and will still cheer for my idols. I wish them nothing but happiness and that they’ll find someone who will love them as much as they love them. Unfortunately, not everyone is like that and despite being an Idol Robbie had a lot on his plate. ”You don’t understand what it’s like to be told who you’re supposed to be. To not be allowed to breathe wrong for fear it will be in an article for everyone to read and judge. I’m told how to act, how to speak, how to think by a company. And I have to toe the line or else I’ll lose everything.” That were very clear words and even though no idol would ever dare to utter them in public, I’m pretty sure that it’s the truth they have to live with every day. So the idol representation and what it entails was done very realistically and I appreciated this. And speaking of things that were done well: I absolutely loved all the other band members and how they were a part of the story. Of course they didn’t get all too much room because Elena’s and Robbie’s love story was the focus of the book, but the little we got was fun to read and I liked their dynamic as a band. Also the fact that there was a profile of every band member in between some of the chapters added a nice touch to the story and made it more tangible. Jongdae (JD) who was Robbie’s cousin was a little too serious for me but I loved Moon and he definitely would have been my bias if the band had been real. *lol* We had a lot of things in common and I liked that he was always so cheeky and direct. Bias material right there. XD ”I don’t think this is what Hanbin-hyeong meant by ‘fall in line,” Robbie breathed out beside my ear. I groaned and pushed at him. “This isn’t the time for your awful puns.” Robbie chuckled and pushed himself onto his elbows, relieving some of the pressure on my chest. “You okay?” he asked. His arms were like a shelter around me, blocking out the rest of the room. I couldn’t see anything but his face as it hovered over mine. Of course I liked Robbie too, but I honestly wish we would have gotten more cute k-drama moments like the one above! As much as I appreciated the realistic approach, I still wish their love-story wouldn’t have been THAT realistic. I mean, come on, the girl-next-door ending up with the famous and swoon worthy idol is already unrealistic enough so why couldn’t we have more cute moments like this? It’s one of the things that never seems to work out for me when I read an idol romance. I want to be swept away by the romance, as a reader I want to live out my unrealistic fantasies by reading books like that, so why does every author who writes k-pop romances have to make it so damn realistic? *lol* I already said that to my bestie and I’ll say it again: If I read a k-pop romance I don’t want realistic because I know it would never happen in real life! So why not cater to those needs and go all the way?! Yes, you can make it realistic when it comes to the fandom and the pressure idols have to live with but please not with the romance! I wonder if I’ll ever find a k-pop romance that will actually satisfy me in that regard. ”But Robbie had made me spill juice on my pristine outfit and I had to wear one of his old sweatshirts instead. It was too big on me, and I’d been pissed. It was reflected in my strained smile. Why Mom chose to display that photo of all my class pictures was beyond me. But it seemed weirdly fitting. Why put any effort into displaying your add-on kid?” Well, this out of the way I can focus on some of the things that really didn’t work for me and I’m pretty sure no one might have addressed this when they wrote a review about this book. Which is okay, because primarily this book is supposed to be a light rom-com and of course the romance is what you’ll write about. BUT and here comes my criticism that you can take with a pinch of salt, if an author goes for serious topics like bullying and points out the difficult relationships between the FMC and her family I really want those issues to be addressed and somewhat resolved by the end of the book. In here those topics were broached but never truly processed. We have Elena who is bullied by her class mates and apparently always shakes it off and then she’s bullied by an entire fandom until Robbie steps in and things turn out in a way where she’s suddenly the cool kid. So all her former bullies stop bullying her because she’s the It-Girl now. I don’t think I have to tell anyone why this is not a good way to handle things, because obviously not everyone who is bullied will become the love interest of a famous idol. I know some people will say I’m bean counting now and fair enough. Maybe I am. But considering the big influence the bullying had on Elena as a MC I really would have liked this to be realistic for once. Another thing that was part of the book was Elena always feeling inferior because her twin brother was everybody’s darling and she was just the other twin. At the end of the book Ethan and her have a heart-to-heart and things between them get better but for me personally it felt like it was too little too late. And last but not least, I have to address Elena’s problematic relationship with her mom which wasn’t resolved at all. Ethan always got everything he wanted and her mom was proud of him, yet she obviously didn’t really care about her daughter. Some might say it was just Elena’s perception and that she felt inferior even though she wasn’t but considering Elena’s mom actually acted like she didn’t care about her daughter and only seemed to show some interest once she was in the headlines for spending time with Robbie, I beg to differ. We never got a talk between those two, we never found out why Elena’s mom acted the way she did, we never got a glimpse at her thoughts. So this was very unsatisfying for me. Conclusion: This was a cute k-pop romance to read in between and once I got over the awkwardness that were the first third of the book I really started to enjoy the story. Not everything was sunshine and rainbows, though and there were some serious topics I didn’t think would be a part of this book. They were though and I wish the author would have taken a little more time to address them. Then again there’s only so much you can put in a book so I guess I’m just a bean counter. XD Either way I had a good time with “Once Upon a K-Prom” and will watch out for other books from Kat Cho. _________________________________ Okay, this was extremely cute and I really liked the k-pop aspect. Elena is the girl-next-door and Robbie is the idol that’s adored by the masses. This was an interesting dynamic. The beginning was very awkward, but I think that made it more realistic? I really loved all the other band members too. They were great but I think my faves were Moon and Jae. *lol* This was a sweet read for in between! Full RTC soon. ;-) __________________________________ When one of my favourite BookTubers said that she’d do a Ktropeathon and that this book would be the book the community chose to read together I had absolutely no other choice than to join! *lol* I mean “Once Upon a K-Prom” has been on my TBR ever since it was published and it has so many things I love in my books. And if you think I’ll go for one of my famous check-lists now, well you’re right! ;-) - K-Pop Romance - Former besties to lovers - Prom, and not just any prom, a K-Prom!!! - Famous Idol & unknown girl (aka Cinderella-ish plot) - Fandoms I don’t know about you, but I’m ready! =) Find me on: My Blog Instagram ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jul 03, 2023
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Sep 17, 2023
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Oct 16, 2022
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Hardcover
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| 3.73
| 1,740
| Aug 07, 2018
| Aug 07, 2018
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it was amazing
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I’m on BookTube! =) There, on her Instagram account, is the picture of Nate’s shoes with a caption that reads, “Anyone know the owner of these shoes? M I’m on BookTube! =) There, on her Instagram account, is the picture of Nate’s shoes with a caption that reads, “Anyone know the owner of these shoes? My Prince Charming brother is looking for his Cinderfella!” Gosh, I don’t even know where to start with this book! It was one of those stories you go into totally blind not knowing what to expect and then it kinda sweeps you off your feet and you’re so charmed that you just can’t seem to be able to keep your hands off of it. And if you think that this sounds like I fell in love: Well, you’re completely right, because I actually fell in love with this book! <33 I have no other words for it because wow, this was everything I wanted to read and even more. I was in a total reading slump when I picked up “Sometime After Midnight” and I’m so glad I followed my instinct and decided to go for this book instead of reading all the other 6 that were on my “currently reading”. ”I can chicken peck out a melody if I have to. But I think I’ll stick to singing. I never feel clumsy when I sing. “ And when he says that, I can hear it in his voice. Singers, even when they’re speaking, have better colors in their voices than other people. More vivid. More varied. His voice is smooth, a little breathy. If I had to guess, he could knock some jazz or R&B out of the park. Honestly, it were descriptions like the one above that made me love this book so much. You’d think I was a sucker for the love story (and I really was!) but what made this book so special and totally caused it to stand out from all the others was the musical aspect that was portrayed so well. I just loved to read about how Nate and Cameron perceived each other and the world around them. They were able to see each other’s raw talent and I lived and breathed for that. As a musician I felt so understood and it was amazing to see their mutual love for music on page. Those two characters didn’t just love music, they connected through it and if you’re a musician there’s really (almost) nothing that’s better than this feeling of connection. Not to mention their discussions about music and what they want to express with it. I mean, can someone please hold me while I cry?! XD ”He writes these words ... these gorgeous lyrics. Then he sings, and his voice... it’s like something from a different planet, it’s so beautiful. And he listens to me. He listens and he gets me, maybe more than I get myself. When we write together, we’re a perfect team. It’s like we each have half of a song, so we have to put it together to make it whole. He’s my voice. I’m his music. THIS!!! Exactly this! T_T Still, before they reached this point there are many obstacles that stood in their way and it took them a while to figure things out and to trust each other. Considering the fact that Nate believes Cameron’s family and company was responsible for his father’s death this is no surprise though. It’s not easy to trust a stranger and it’s even harder to allow yourself to like someone who comes from such a well-known family like Cam. I sink to the floor next to him, kneeling, and fold his hands into mine. “Nate, I’m never safe. Anywhere. This is my life, no matter how much I try to avoid it, no matter how well Theo does his job. Because of who I am, people want to know things about me, and they don’t care about my privacy. And they don’t care about the privacy of anyone around me.” Which was another thing I really liked about this book. Nate’s troubles to accept his feelings for Cameron – the son of the very man he thinks is responsible for his father’s early death – Cameron’s famousness that made it extremely hard to get to know each other, their insecurities about their talents, Cam’s strained relationship with his father and their fear of failing. All those topics gave their story even more depth and added so much to my overall enjoyment. ”Ever just feel so incredibly drawn to someone that you have to cross a crowded room just to say hello? Or spend five minutes with someone and they’re already finishing your sentences? Or been so intrigued by a stranger that you stay up at night, wondering who they are? That you stay up at night, wondering exactly what it is about them that makes you feel like you have to get to know them?” Not to mention their adorable meet-cute and the way they fell for each other. Was it love at first sight? Yes, definitely, but even though it was, there was still some depth to it. They just connected and sometimes you meet someone and it feels like you knew that person all your life. I’m sure a lot of people experience this and quite honestly, my bestie and I are a good example as well. *lol* We met a couple of years ago and I have no idea how I lived before I knew her. XD Anyway! Back to the book! Nate and Cam weren’t just a great team they also supported each other and gave each other strength to do what needed to be done and this was amazing. And if I’m already talking about awesome things I have to mention the friendships in this book as well because Tess (Cam’s sister ) as well as Victor (Nate’s bestie)and Travis Blake were some of the best side-characters I ever encountered. ”I’ve heard you play. Not just the other night, but when you thought I wasn’t listening. When you tune my guitars or polish them after a show. You play whenever you can, and I have to tell you, Nate... you might be one of the best guitarists I’ve come across. Especially factoring in how young you are. And my fear for you is that you’re going to let what happened with your dad keep you from greatness.” Travis Blake was one hell of a great character and I loved that he had some sort of mentor role in this book. It’s always good to have a role model you can look up to and Travis was exactly that kind of person for Nate. It was so wholesome to see how Travis supported him and wanted him to be happy and to make his own music. And Tess as well as Victor were just great. I loved that Victor was so worried about Nate’s wellbeing and that he always watched out for him. Bestie goals right there! Still, the music aspect in this book! Ahh! To say it in my own words (and from the perspective of an artist and musician): It was the entirety of the book, the entire composition of emotions, words, wisdom and music that made this book such a lovely experience for me. ”And here’s the thing about art, Cameron. It hurts sometimes. And sometimes it’s best when it hurts. I think the song about my dad is one of those times. If we’re going to do this for real, we can’t be afraid to dig in and cry and rage.” All told I ended up loving “Sometime After Midnight” so much and I really didn’t expect this. What I expected was a fluffy and nice m/m Cinderella retelling romance and what I got was something completely different. It might have been no Cinderella retelling but it turned out to be a hidden and unknown gem that actually became my favourite read in April! Seriously, if you love music and are a sucker for the chemistry between two true musicians you should definitely pick up this book! I, for my part, loved it and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it too! ;-) _______________________________ This was such a sweet and absolutely great story! I loved that the focus was more on the music than on the romance in here. Don’t get me wrong, the romance was cute too but the music! <333 Ahhh! Everyone who loves music will enjoy this! This definitely got me out of my reading slump! YESH! *does a happy dance* Full RTC soon! ;-) ________________________________ I know there are 6 books on my "currently reading" but I just can't bring myself to pick up any of them?! I think I might be in some sort of reading slump again. >_< So I decided to put all those six books on hold and just go for one I wanted to read for ages! I need a fluffy m/m romance now and this sounds like it might deliver! Fingers crossed it will get me out of my reading slump! xD If a modern m/m Cinderella retelling with a focus on music doesn't do the trick there might be no hope for me. *lol* Wish me luck! Find me on: My Blog ___________________________ Are you telling me this is a modern m/m Cinderella retelling!? That includes two boys that love the same band and seem to be into music as well!? But when one of them figures out who the other is, he runs only leaving a picture of his doodled on Converse!? (Which is btw super relatable!) Give me this book right away! *snatches book and runs away with a mad laugh* P.S: I like that it's named "Sometime After Midnight" because we're all used to Cinderella running away at midnight and being worried before it. *lol* So after it is something new. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Apr 16, 2022
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Apr 22, 2022
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Feb 03, 2021
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Hardcover
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| 000824409X
| 9780008244095
| 000824409X
| 4.03
| 44,607
| May 03, 2018
| May 03, 2018
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it was amazing
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”Most adults see teenagers as confused kids who don’t understand much, while they’re the pillars of knowledge and experience and know exactly what is
”Most adults see teenagers as confused kids who don’t understand much, while they’re the pillars of knowledge and experience and know exactly what is right at all times.” It’s kind of funny how much this quote resonates with me even though I’m an adult in every sense of the word. I go to work, I pay my rent, I buy groceries for my family, I have a kid, ... So how come this book was such a perfect read for me? Well, the truth is, I am an adult but that doesn’t stop me from doing the things I love (for instance writing poetry and reviews) and maybe this has kept me kind of young? I dunno. XD I think I might not be your typical adult but then again who is? I guess you can already tell that this book made me think a lot and I have so many thoughts and feelings it’s quite a challenge to put them all into words. There were so many topics and situations that spoke to me and no matter if it was Jimmy’s POV as a musician, Angel’s POV as part of the fandom, the diversity and reps or the relationships between all of those lovely characters, I could relate to all of them! *lol* This book reminded me so much of my own youth and my life in general that it almost felt like Alice Oseman wrote it just for me. Like seriously! Alice how do you do this? I just loved every second of “I Was Born for This” and I never wanted it to end! If you ask me it could have had a 1.000 pages and it still wouldn’t have been enough. XD I have so many thoughts it feels almost impossible to get them all down on The characters: This is my spoilery spoiler warning and if you haven’t read the book yet, I’d recommend to turn around and to head in the other direction. *lol* Far be it from me to let my fellow readers jump into this unprepared. ;-) Fereshteh “Angel” Rahimi: ”And I know they’re both worried about my future. They don’t ever say it, but I know they know I’m average and average is disappointing for them. Especially compared to my brother. The pinnacle of ambition and success.” First of all I have to say how much I loved Angel’s true name! Fereshteh is such a beautiful name and if you ask me I’d have preferred her to go with her real name instead of Angel. <3 This said I really liked Angel and how she always tried to help everyone. She was such a kind and gentle soul and even though she had no idea what she wanted to do in life she was still a very strong character and able to stand up for herself. That argument she had with her parents broke my heart because I was about the same age when I had a similar conflict with my parents and I think they only just realized that I became a person who had its own opinion about things. XD I’m sure one day my kid and I will have such an argument too and I can only hope that she’ll know that I love her no matter what. I’m pretty sure that’s something every child and parent will have to go through. They grow up so fast and they steal your heart the moment you see them. Why am I getting all sappy now? *lol* Never mind! Let’s continue! I kinda liked the scene when Mac confronted Angel about being a “fandom celebrity” because *lol* that’s me whenever some of my GR friends claim that I’m popular on here. (Like what?!) And just for the record: I don’t think I am. I just write my reviews. That’s it. ;-) Or to say it with Angel’s words: “It’s just the internet.” *shrugs* Also I could relate to her feeling average. It’s hard to have an older sibling that is perfect in every sense of the way. Been there, done that, got the freaking t-shirt. *lol* So yeah Angel’s POV really hit home. XD ”Well, I didn’t realise you were some sort of fandom celebrity,” he says with the fakest smile I’ve ever seen. I laugh at him. “That’s a massive overstatement.” Jimmy Kaga-Ricci: ”I don’t know who I am. Everything I do feels like a lie. I wake up every day and I have to be Jimmy Kaga-Ricci, this famous guy, and I have to smile at the camera and say hi to people but ... I don’t even know who I am underneath that.” Jimmy’s struggle is so real! I really liked Jimmy because he felt and thought so much about everything! His anxiety was tough to witness and even though I have no experience with anxiety in the way Jimmy feels it I know exactly how it feels to have a panic attack or a mental breakdown. Jimmy is a truly beautiful person inside and out but I think he had to go through a lot of shit when he came out as transgender and I’m pretty sure that only increased his anxiety. If you’re a public person to come out can be so much worse because everyone and their grandma knows it. And there will always be haters... no matter if you’re a nobody like me or a public person. Shitstorms can be so much worse when you’re the latter though. So it’s no wonder Jimmy almost broke under the pressure and I’m glad he decided to pull in the reins. The Ark came so far, they are popular enough to do what THEY want to do. ;-) I can’t help but wonder if idols or stars really feel like they’re living a lie. I mean there happens a lot that’s off screen and we never get to see it but if they really feel like they’re a fraud that would make me kind of sad. =S Guess we’ll never know. ”No, you don’t fucking know that, Rowan.” I raise my voice. “I’m not going to just sit and wait for things to change any more. I’m changing things. I’m doing what I want for once.” Lister Bird: ”Why else would anyone want to be around me?” he says. “I’m Lister Bird. Why else would anyone want to be around me other than to get with me?” Ahh poor Lister! He’s definitely the visual of the group and apparently has many fangirls. It’s no surprise that he’s obviously feeling very lonely though. Jimmy’s and Rowan’s friendship is very strong and he only ended up in the band because he could play drums. So I can totally see why he’d feel left out and not as much a part of the group as the other two. He basically had no one to talk to so it’s no wonder he became a party boy and got drunk. It was his escape from the things he had to deal with but it certainly wasn’t a healthy way to handle the pressure. Many stars seem to go down that road and it makes me really sad whenever I hear that they ended up in rehab. Lister is aware of his problems though so I hope Rowan and Jimmy will help him to find his way back into a life without alcohol. ”Sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean to shout at you. I’m just tired.” He puts the near-empty bottle down on the sink next to me, and then pats me gently on the cheek. “Hey. Jimmy. Sorry.” Then he wraps his arms around my shoulders and hugs me tightly. “Sorry for always being shit.” The relationships & ships: Angel & Jimmy: ”As we’re forcing our way out of the crowd, Jimmy clutches onto my hoodie with one hand, like a scared toddler. Is this weird? Probably. I love him more than my own fucking life. When I visualized their first meeting I definitely didn’t imagine them being scared shitless in a public toilet/bathroom. And I certainly didn’t see Jimmy with a knife in his hands, yet this is exactly what happened. *lol* Oh boy! Whenever I think about that scene I imagine myself meeting BTS in a toilet like that and haha to say it would make me super uncomfortable would be putting it mildly. XD What I know for certain is that I would try to speak with them and to ease their tension though. Angel did a great job considering the circumstances and I really loved her for helping Jimmy the way she did. Because quite honestly, if I would have no kid and no adult life I would help BTS like that too. Or well, even with my kid I’d probably invite them over to my flat and give them a safe space to crash and to calm down. (As long as they don’t tidy up my flat... *lol* Come to think of it 7 pairs of helping hands would be welcome though. ;-P) I know Jimmy’s grandfather would think we only do this because we have no life but I assure you: I have a life and I love and respect myself. That doesn’t mean that I can’t be kind to celebrities I never saw in person though. They are only human and if they are scared I will help them. Period. Angel and Jimmy might have a strange kind of friendship but they are there for each other and this is what counts in the end. The conversation they had about being a part of each other’s truth was really well written and I loved this scene so much. Music is a part of me and the people that make the music I adore are ultimately a part of me as well. So in that sense we’re all connected with our idols somehow. =) It’s a beautiful thought. ”You are ... the damn light of my life,” I tell him. “When everything is bad, when I wake up and want to go back to sleep and never wake up, you’re there for me.” “I’m not,” he whispers. “You are.” I swallow nervously. “If you want it to end ... I understand.” I pat my chest. “But ... I guess ... you’re ending a part of me too.” “Part of you?” “Without you ... without The Ark ... all I have is my dull life. You’re one of the few things I had in my life that was good and true. You’re part of my truth.” He blinks. “You’re part of mine too.” Jimmy & Rowan: ”How you doing, Jimjam?” “What?” I ask, not understanding the question. He squeezes my arms, then rubs them soothingly. “Are you calm?” Now let’s talk about the pic of Rowan and Jimmy sleeping together in their bed. *lol* OR let’s just talk about how close they are as friends! I mean it’s so obvious that they love each other a lot, just not in the way the fandom wants them to. There’s no Jowan, but I really adored their interactions and how much they seemed to care about each other. You can see that they are really close and that they are super comfortable around each other. I’m like that with my besties too and a very cuddly person. (Do whatever you want with that random info. *lol*) So for me to see their strong bond was really nice and even though they argued quite a lot in the ending it was only because they cared so much about each other. =) ”Jesus fucking Christ, I thought you’d been kidnapped. Thank God I still remember your fucking home phone number. God, look at you, sleeping in this tiny bed with a knife on your bedside table. Like, you could hurt yourself. God.” The fandom rep: ”Neither of us have any friends in real life who like The Ark, but that doesn’t matter, because we have each other. I used to try to get people to talk about The Ark with me – my school friends, my parents, my older brother – but no one really cared. I loved the interview they gave when they said “the fans like to overthink everything we do” and I had to agree so much! *lol* I mean JK shows his eye tattoo in an episode of RUN and ARMYs be like: OMG!!! WHAT DOES IT MEAN!!?? I’m ARMY myself so I can laugh about this and say that we’re all clowns. *lol* Anyway, what I want to say with this is that the fandom rep was so damn on spot I can’t even! Haha! Alice Oseman captured it so well and I loved that by inventing Juliet and Angel she also gave room to the fandom side that’s not just screaming and fainting fangirls/boys. You’d be surprised about how many of us are actually normal people that just love our boys and their music. XD If I’d get a chance to spend a day with BTS I’d probably just hang out with them, eat good food, play silly games and talk about God and the world. Maybe I could even persuade them to play guitar or e-bass with me? *lol* So yeah, pretty normal stuff. Also since my kid is so little she’d probably be the star in the room and they’d play and goof around with her. XD Because no matter how famous they are, they are still normal (okay, they are perfect!) people and I totally agree with the sentiment that they feel like they are my friends. In difficult times their music helps me to get through the day and they always make me smile which is pretty amazing. =) So if you ever come to Austria and read this BTS, write me and I’ll invite you over for a schnitzel and potato salad. Considering the dumpling incident I better don’t invite you for roast pork and dumplings though. *lol* ;-P ”They’re not like normal musicians. It feels like they’re our friends and they understand us and care about us.” The musician rep: ”A lot of them only like us because we have nice faces. But as long as we are here, the three of us, and we get to make music, and we get to live this life – playing our music in a new city every week, bringing smiles to millions of faces, leaving our mark upon the world – then everything is good, and fine, and okay.” As a former member of a band to read this rep made me very happy. It was so accurate and I think in the end we all just want to make music and to hang out together. A band is like a family. You spend so much time with your members that you know each other’s habits, hopes and fears. Sometimes you’ll be stuck together for weeks but you don’t care because as long as you’re together and making music everything is alright. You hug, you cry, you comfort each other, you hang out together, you cuddle, you laugh and joke. And you’re very close to each other and have a unique bond which many fans will ship because they think there has to be more to it. *lol* I don’t even know how many people shipped my bestie and me during band times but since even one of our teachers shipped us... well you get the idea. *lol* He was always just my bestie though. Like a brother. We went through thick and thin and even though our band doesn’t exist anymore (he moved to Germany) and we both have a family and lives that keep us busy, we’re still close and stay in contact. This said the musician rep of “I Was Born for This” was perfect and felt really personal. <3 So thank you Alice for writing it in this book! =) ”The three of us ... we were born to be together,” I say. “And I can’t leave that. I don’t want to leave that.” Conclusion: This book was made for me! I loved it so much and I’m sure it will always be one of my all-time favourites. =) The way Alice Oseman captured fandoms, showed the lives of musicians and represented anxiety was amazing and as always her character cast was super diverse. I’m so glad Alice writes books and I’ll continue to read everything she publishes. She has a rare gift and I’m thankful she shares it with the world. XD [image] ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Feb 2021
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Feb 14, 2021
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Feb 01, 2021
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Paperback
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