Take a photo of a barcode or cover
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
5/5 stars
2/5 spice
Tropes:
Best Friends to lovers
Marriage of Convenience
Close proximity
Gay awakening
LGBTQIA rep
Latinx MCs and culture
Trauma/healing
Dual POV
Just... all the feels.
My rollercoaster of emotions was chaotic. I honestly went from anger to giddiness to "holy moly that was hot" to sweetness and then back to anger. I was ready to jump in the book and fight. But honestly this was such a great balance of real life and happy romance. I couldn't put it down and I really enjoyed getting to know these characters. Han and Kenny were just the best of friends and easily the sweetest couple. I was crying at their happy ending. Just... all the feels.
Overall, I highly recommend this book for all fans of LGBTQIA romance, MM romance, diverse characters, romances with heavy topics, and drag shows. Please read the trigger and content warnings before starting this book.
Thank you to Netgalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and offered voluntarily.
2/5 spice
Tropes:
Best Friends to lovers
Marriage of Convenience
Close proximity
Gay awakening
LGBTQIA rep
Latinx MCs and culture
Trauma/healing
Dual POV
Just... all the feels.
My rollercoaster of emotions was chaotic. I honestly went from anger to giddiness to "holy moly that was hot" to sweetness and then back to anger. I was ready to jump in the book and fight. But honestly this was such a great balance of real life and happy romance. I couldn't put it down and I really enjoyed getting to know these characters. Han and Kenny were just the best of friends and easily the sweetest couple. I was crying at their happy ending. Just... all the feels.
Overall, I highly recommend this book for all fans of LGBTQIA romance, MM romance, diverse characters, romances with heavy topics, and drag shows. Please read the trigger and content warnings before starting this book.
Thank you to Netgalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and offered voluntarily.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Biphobia, Homophobia
Minor: Addiction, Abortion, Death of parent, Abandonment, Deportation
.jpg)
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Deportation
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Grief, Alcohol
Minor: Abortion
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Biphobia, Blood
Minor: Abortion
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
📚 Review: Ugh. I’ve loved everything I’ve read by Sonora Reyes. They are such a great writer. You fall in love with the characters, feel the pain they feel, and feel all the joy with them. This book was so timely, and dealt with some really tough topics, but still left me feeling so hopeful and happy at the end. I highly recommend this book if you’re looking for a queer romance with three dimensional conflict and characters you will get to know and love.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Biphobia, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Deportation
emotional
tense
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Overall, I thought this book was very thoughtful and sweet.
Han needs a way to be able to stay in the US as a citizen and after his job falls through. His best friend Kenny figures out the predicament that Han is in and offers to get married so that Han can stay.
Going into it, however, I was expecting a bit more of a romcom, and that is definitely not what this is at all. It is very serious and very emotional, definitely check the content warnings before you go into it. Also, based on the synopsis, I thought that Kenny's ex would only be in the beginning of the book and that is not true at all, they are in the majority of the book, which unfortunately I really didn't care for.
While I appreciated the harder topics and the discussion around them, to me the relationship/romance was underdeveloped. They had too many other things going on to really have a lot of time to transition from friends to lovers and so I didn't really feel the romantic tension or connection between them. It also felt like there was a lot squeezed in having to do with the ex that maybe didn't all need to be there, I think the story about trying to get married without ICE figuring out what's going on would have been plenty and allowed the main issue and the relationship to take center stage.
I did think the friendships and family relationships were very well done and I loved how everyone tried to look after each other. I also really enjoyed the representation in the book and how much of it there was. I definitely felt how deep the friendships were, including Han and Kenny, and how much the characters loved each other in the friendships and being able to talk to each other and call each other out when needed. Also how they tried to protect both Han and Kenny.
Overall, I enjoyed my experience and I would recommend.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Han needs a way to be able to stay in the US as a citizen and after his job falls through. His best friend Kenny figures out the predicament that Han is in and offers to get married so that Han can stay.
Going into it, however, I was expecting a bit more of a romcom, and that is definitely not what this is at all. It is very serious and very emotional, definitely check the content warnings before you go into it. Also, based on the synopsis, I thought that Kenny's ex would only be in the beginning of the book and that is not true at all, they are in the majority of the book, which unfortunately I really didn't care for.
While I appreciated the harder topics and the discussion around them, to me the relationship/romance was underdeveloped. They had too many other things going on to really have a lot of time to transition from friends to lovers and so I didn't really feel the romantic tension or connection between them. It also felt like there was a lot squeezed in having to do with the ex that maybe didn't all need to be there, I think the story about trying to get married without ICE figuring out what's going on would have been plenty and allowed the main issue and the relationship to take center stage.
I did think the friendships and family relationships were very well done and I loved how everyone tried to look after each other. I also really enjoyed the representation in the book and how much of it there was. I definitely felt how deep the friendships were, including Han and Kenny, and how much the characters loved each other in the friendships and being able to talk to each other and call each other out when needed. Also how they tried to protect both Han and Kenny.
Overall, I enjoyed my experience and I would recommend.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Gaslighting
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Thanks to Forever for the free e-ARC of this book! All thoughts are my own!
Jackie needs some jail time. She’s fucked up, and I genuinely wanted to see her downfall. I wish we had gotten more closure on that part of the story. With how extreme her actions and behavior was, I needed there to be some sort of resolution to that part of the story. I couldn’t believe that she would just give up and leave them alone to save her reputation.
There was a trigger warning for physical and emotional abuse, but I feel like it needed to be more specific. It’s also probably my fault too, because I just assumed it was either parental abuse or past abuse since it wasn’t a very clear warning. I think it would’ve been better to have a more specific trigger warning for that situation. I’m not even someone who really needs trigger warnings. However, I believe others would benefit from a more precise warning.
I loved everyone else in this book, though. I loved the side characters, Leti and Tatiana!! They were amazing and so fun. I really enjoyed their connections to our main characters. I enjoyed our main characters as well, even if I feel like Kenny needs some serious help to undo all the damage Jackie did to him. Han was amazing. His family was amazing. I really loved them all.
The plot was good, I enjoyed Han’s journey to realizing he was gay. I loved his friendship and relationship with Kenny. This book is full of so much love and care for these characters and the world they’re navigating. It’s truly a story of hope and finding joy, even when it feels hopeless. I truly loved watching these characters in this book, living and loving every chance they could.
I really enjoyed their growth together and separately. They both deserve so many good things, and I adore them. I can’t wait to read Sonora’s next book!
There was a trigger warning for physical and emotional abuse, but I feel like it needed to be more specific. It’s also probably my fault too, because I just assumed it was either parental abuse or past abuse since it wasn’t a very clear warning. I think it would’ve been better to have a more specific trigger warning for that situation. I’m not even someone who really needs trigger warnings. However, I believe others would benefit from a more precise warning.
I loved everyone else in this book, though. I loved the side characters, Leti and Tatiana!! They were amazing and so fun. I really enjoyed their connections to our main characters. I enjoyed our main characters as well, even if I feel like Kenny needs some serious help to undo all the damage Jackie did to him. Han was amazing. His family was amazing. I really loved them all.
The plot was good, I enjoyed Han’s journey to realizing he was gay. I loved his friendship and relationship with Kenny. This book is full of so much love and care for these characters and the world they’re navigating. It’s truly a story of hope and finding joy, even when it feels hopeless. I truly loved watching these characters in this book, living and loving every chance they could.
I really enjoyed their growth together and separately. They both deserve so many good things, and I adore them. I can’t wait to read Sonora’s next book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Alcohol
Moderate: Addiction, Cursing, Homophobia, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Deportation