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The Love Curse of Melody McIntyre

Robin Talley (Goodreads Author)

3.84 · Rating details · 932 ratings · 265 reviews

Perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli and Nina LaCour, this #ownvoices romantic comedy from New York Times bestselling author Robin Talley has something for everyone: backstage rendezvous, deadly props, and a seemingly insurmountable obstacle to True Love.

Melody McIntyre, stage manager extraordinaire, has a plan for everything.

What she doesn’t have? Success with love. Every ...more

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Hardcover, 464 pages

Published December 1st 2020 by HarperTeen

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Feb 12, 2021 Miranda Reads rated it really liked it

3.5 stars

Just finished an Unboxing and Review Video for the December, January, Holiday and New Year's boxes from Once Upon a Book Club!

...more

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Feb 10, 2020 Iris marked it as to-read · review of another edition

queer theatre kids queer theatre kids QUEER THEATRE KIDS

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May 13, 2020 nat marked it as tbr-arc · review of another edition

making all the gays hate me by bragging i have an e-arc of this 😎

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Sep 01, 2020 -ˏˋJamieˊˎ- marked it as to-read

Shelves: have-access-tbr-out, tbr-ya-realistic, on-libby

Melody, stage manager extraordinaire???? You cannot tell me that this book wasn't written specifically for me, Jamie, also stage manager extraordinaire (or so I like to think).

...more

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Jan 14, 2021 Leah Waters rated it it was amazing

Shelves: we-need-diverse-books, romance, favorite-books, lgbtq, ya-fiction

I LOVED this book! Which I honestly didn't expect because I don't care about theater at all, but this book was such a joy to read. I highly recommend it to fans of rom coms, contemporary, theater--or just reading in general. :) ...more

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Nov 13, 2020 Sophie rated it it was ok

Shelves: contemporary, representation-matters, romance, sapphic, lgbt, young-adult

I’m sad because I really, really wanted to like this book. As soon as I learned about it I was so excited to read it because 1) sapphic romance, 2) theater kids and especially 2.5) backstage theater kids, 3) they’re doing Les Mis!! my fav musical!! and 4) a curse? ooooh sounds mysterious!

Sadly, the more I read, the less I enjoyed it. The biggest problem for me, was that I just couldn’t stand Melody, our main character. Which, when you don’t like the main character in a story, it’ll be way more d ...more

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Nov 22, 2020 The Nerd Daily rated it it was amazing

Originally published on The Nerd Daily | Review by Alexandra Nae

Before picking up this book, I wondered, “will this be my new favourite?”. I asked myself that question because everything about The Love Curse of Melody McIntyre is right up on my alley and I was really looking forward to reading it. Now that I’ve finished it, I have the answer to that innocent question: a big fat YES.

With humour and wit, great writing style, relatable characters, irresistible and swoony sapphic romance, and a flai ...more

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Dec 09, 2020 Izzie rated it really liked it

Shelves: queer-books-i-ve-read

This was such a lovely, sweet sapphic read and I had such a good time reading it. If you’re looking for something fun, lighthearted, queer, and totally theatre geek centred this is the perfect book for you.

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Jan 06, 2021 Anniek rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2-ya, 3-contemporary, audio, sapphic, bi-mc, 1-2020-releases, lgbtq

It's been a while since I've read a book I've disliked this much. I felt like it would never end, it was physically painful to read this. It's entirely too long for a YA contemporary, but I would never complain about that if it was good. But it really, really wasn't. I was bored out of my mind reading this, and the writing was awful and just... made no sense at times. I've loved Robin Talley's historical fiction novels I've read (Pulp and Music From Another World), but I really wouldn't recommen ...more

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Oct 29, 2020 Tilly rated it liked it

3 stars

After reading Robin Talley's "Music from another world", I was really excited to read this book! A queer romance based on a school production of Les Miserables? What's not to like?! Sadly quite a bit...

Firstly the things I enjoyed. This was a fun book, it made me smile and I did enjoy reading it.
I haven't read a YA book so focused on theatre (especially backstage) before so that was really interesting. Also I adore Les Miserables so I enjoyed all the references and could picture the set a ...more

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Nov 11, 2020 Skip rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This is very different in terms of style than the books I’m usually reading, but I really enjoyed it nonetheless. I found the writing to be refreshing and perhaps that’s due to it being YA, but it’s definitely also down to the writer.

Melody is the stage manager for the performing arts productions at her high school. She’s known as a serial monogamist, even as a junior. Like most people involved in theatre she follows a number of superstitions and her crew manages to convince her that for the sak ...more

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Feb 21, 2021 Amber rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, audiobooks, lgbtq

This book had me so stressed out! The lying, the drama, the mishaps, I swear I was about to tear my hair out!

Also, I don't know who I am this month having read two books revolving around acting and plays, the other book being Roman and Jewel. Not to mention the fact that I liked both of them!

I will say that this was a really fun and addictive read. I was questioning many of our MC's decisions, but this is a YA book and insta-love and friend drama is prevalent. The fact that I was so invested in ...more

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Nov 24, 2020 sarah added it

Huge thank you to HarperCollins for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

I’ll hand it to Robin Talley- for someone who was not part of high school theatre, she certainly can write the outrageous amount of unworthy stress that theatre kids put on themselves in a truthful manner. The first chapter of this book is oddly one of the most stressful things I’ve ever read? The mere thought of someone breaking up with a stage manager DURING a show while they are ACTIVELY CALLING CUES made m ...more

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Jan 28, 2021 Alice 🌙 rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2021, lgbt, young-adult, romance, audiobooks, contemporary, litjoy, scribd

525 ⭐
This was so cute! It made my nerdy theater heart so happy haha.

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Feb 17, 2021 Rebecca | Velvet Opus rated it really liked it

Shelves: lgbt, contemporary, romance, young-adult

There's no such thing as a perfect show...

This YA sapphic romance was super cute! It's got queer theatre kids, a production of Les Mis and strong teenage friendships. There's SO much theatre drama, with superstitions and rivalries between the cast and backstage crew, and the ROMANCE! It's fabulous!

I read this via the Libby App. ...more

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Jan 19, 2021 Lizzie Rhoades rated it liked it

Was this cute? Absolutely. And I was enjoying it all through the first half. But I hate the ending. To me, having Mel apologize to the whole cast and crew constantly for things that weren't her fault was ridiculous. Yes, she made some mistakes, and obviously lying isn't cool, but the crew and cast put a huge amount of blame on someone who gave 200% to the show. Nobody else took any responsibility for their parts in this. It switched to a moral of "things don't have to be perfect" at the end and ...more

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Dec 17, 2020 mafe rated it really liked it

Shelves: wlw, e-books, rc-2020, read-in-english

theater but make it extra gay

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Nov 28, 2020 Taschima rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: edelweiss-grind, e-arc-titles-done, stacking-the-e-reader

"If I fall in love, the musical's doomed."

A young adult rom com in which the stage manager, who everybody says is cursed, falls in love with one of the actresses and shenanigans ensue.

The book was structured beautifully, and reading it was a breeze (even though it felt quite long for a light rom com). The romance part was of course my favorite part, as it has a tiny bit of forbidden romance vibe to keep you on your toes. Mel and Odile are really super sweet with each other and communicate i "If I fall in love, the musical's doomed."

A young adult rom com in which the stage manager, who everybody says is cursed, falls in love with one of the actresses and shenanigans ensue.

The book was structured beautifully, and reading it was a breeze (even though it felt quite long for a light rom com). The romance part was of course my favorite part, as it has a tiny bit of forbidden romance vibe to keep you on your toes. Mel and Odile are really super sweet with each other and communicate in a real natural way. The one thing that brought the whole thing down for me was Mel's friends and how dramatic they can be.

I felt like it was extremely unfair of the other kids to expect Melody to prevent herself from dating/falling in love for the amount of time it took them to get through the production. The whole curse thing worked for the story, but it did make me really mad when the team came at Melody for the ridiculous curse and she just... accepted it. It just rubs me the wrong way, even though that is the only way the book could have feasibly gone. It seems theater kids are really super dramatic, who knew!? They blamed everything that went wrong on Mel, while expecting her to continue doing her job perfectly under such scrutiny.

Mel was not perfect by any means. She could be super into her job, the hours these kids spent on the theater department really makes you wonder how they could also keep up with their grades, to the point where she would neglect her relationships and friends. This is why the first scene we get Rachel, her then girlfriend, breaking up with her WHILE A SHOW WAS GOING ON, and even that somehow gets blamed on Melody later. Give this girl a break, this is high school, not Broadway.

Odile was a surprise. She is this very talented actress, who has been already on Broadway and was cast for a Martin Scorsese movie. Everybody idolizes her, but she just wants to enjoy her senior year like any other kid. Broadway, movies, etc., are not all glamour and it can be quite lonely when you are left alone to tackle these things. Her trepidation with where her future career makes her vulnerable, also she is a huge theater nerd which is what attracted Mel to her in their first real conversation.

Overall super cute YA rom com with LGBTQ+ rep. Robin Talley makes reading about the backstage prep of the theater super interesting, and her writing is pretty seamless. The "obstacle" between Mel and Odile could be a tad over the top unbelievable, specially how the theater kids reacted to it, which kind of took me out of the reading rhythm. ...more

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Jan 25, 2021 Amanda Belcher rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2021, lgbtqia, ya, romance

Well, this was absolutely delightful. God, I miss theatre.

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Dec 20, 2020 Alexa Blart, Library Cop rated it really liked it

Shelves: childrens-and-ya, 2020-reads, lgbt, realistic-fic, two-girls-kissing

Pandered directly to the former theatre kid in me, but with a cute queer couple. Needless to say, I loved it.

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Oct 03, 2020 Emily rated it really liked it

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this wonderful story! This is my first ARC review as well, and it's a memorable one at that. I've not a huge YA collection but The Love Cure of Melody McIntyre had everything in it that I'd consider to make a successful YA novel: I'm going to take inspiration from Melody's highly organised bullet-points here:

1. An exciting theme of theatre: the school's productions offered a wonderful sense of close-knit scenes that made for an excellent mix of the bubbling Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this wonderful story! This is my first ARC review as well, and it's a memorable one at that. I've not a huge YA collection but The Love Cure of Melody McIntyre had everything in it that I'd consider to make a successful YA novel: I'm going to take inspiration from Melody's highly organised bullet-points here:

1. An exciting theme of theatre: the school's productions offered a wonderful sense of close-knit scenes that made for an excellent mix of the bubbling chaos of a high-strung cast and crew, in a bustling high school, as well as the unique opportunity to explore the intense characteristics of specific characters, and their relationships as they evolve throughout the story. It was a really true reflection on the high-energy, impulsive and reactionary relationships within the high school setting.

2. But it was also very real in its sense of teaching lessons - combining the striving aspirations (particularly of Melody) with considerations of working within a team. I felt the high-school domain of theatre critiqued the show-business world's cat-like attributes, particularly for the divide of cast and crew. But the final attitudes highlighted that, actually, working together, dispelling blame but uniting for the passions of the collective, is the most powerful force there is. The united sense towards the end of the novel had me cheering for the team!

3. Onto the main action in the show - and the title! Melody, the protagonist as the driven Stage Manager, is depicted as a sixteen year old with an impulsive romance history and I felt I could relate to her sense of selfhood, both in her designated career aspirations, with an organised motivation and passion, and her desires to discover herself and her personal desires. I was surprised to see how many partners Melody had had at the age of 16! But I think what I liked about this spin was her reflection on how genuine/ingenuine these feelings were. As someone who hasn't had those experiences but is a little older than Melody here, it was interesting to see that she admits she is a virgin and that really showed me that her relationships were centred on more than sex - the representation of a bisexual girl in this book was not making a big thing of 'unconventional' relationships (the book doesn't bat an eyelid to the gay teacher or the same-sex parenthood) but questions the meaning of feelings, the desires of adolescence, and ultimately falling in love. I love that this book normalised queer relationships as integral to the story but not significantly a factor of it as a book of 'oh look, this person isn't heterosexual'. I valued that a lot. It did, however, show an idyllic world where high-schoolers wouldn't comment on the fact that Melody had two dads, and the lack of comments on their openly gay teacher were something that (though I hope for a world one day where it is realistic) I couldn't see happening in my own world. But again, I think that the acceptance of these circumstances opened up a greater avenue to draw attention to the meanings behind feelings, not how those feelings look from the outside.

I was gripped by this lighter read. It was a heartwarming happy ending kind of book and it brightened the 2 days it took for me to read it! It was super fluffy, and the rollercoaster effect of the relationships I became very quickly invested in, had me hooked all the way through. It was a drama within a drama, and a pleasure to absorb myself into. Whilst maybe not realistic in the more cynical views and situations a high school full of students, even today, might voice on LGBT+ families, it projected a world that aspires to a community love for expressing yourself - and where better to voice that than the theatre? ...more

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Dec 12, 2020 annikasplatzindieserwelt rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Okay. Off to the barricades: Let’s talk about "The Love Curse of Melody McIntyre"!
THIS. BOOK. IS. EVERYTHING.!❤️🎭

Did you ever ask yourself if a book was especially written for you? I did and "The Love Curse of Melody McIntyre" was one of them! This book got me helpless, I just HAD to love it. My inner musical-gay-heart was thriving the whole time whilst reading!💕

The book was full of musical references and oh damn, I LOVED it! Even tho I have to (re-)listen to all of them immediately now!😂

The ch ...more

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Dec 31, 2020 Charlotte rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: people who love theatre

Shelves: lgbtq-plus

cute & fun romance! i loved learning more about theatre through the book and it was so intriguing to see how much work goes into a musical! melody's friends were super annoying throughout most of the book though, especially gabby. ...more

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May 13, 2020 Michelle rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, young-adult, lgbtq, romance, fiction

ARC provided by the publisher via Edelweiss+ in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

3.5 - 4 stars

The Love Curse of Melody McIntyre is a fun rom-com that brings all of the drama of high school theater mixed with queer characters. The story follows Melody McIntyre, the stage manager for their school's theater performances. Their theater is deemed cursed after a fire burned it down years ago during a play that shall not be named. Now, in the present time, events occur that are random with no e ARC provided by the publisher via Edelweiss+ in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

3.5 - 4 stars

The Love Curse of Melody McIntyre is a fun rom-com that brings all of the drama of high school theater mixed with queer characters. The story follows Melody McIntyre, the stage manager for their school's theater performances. Their theater is deemed cursed after a fire burned it down years ago during a play that shall not be named. Now, in the present time, events occur that are random with no explanation, and the cast and crew make a list of actions that could possibly be triggering the curse. But when one of the possible triggers is Melody's love life, it throws in a whole new drama when Melody starts to fall for one of the actors, Odile Rose.

First off, as someone who did theater all throughout high school, this book was a wave of nostalgia and brought back all the happy memories of theater. Every little thing brought up in the book is exactly how I remembered it; from the gossip between crew about the cast and vice versa, to actors being over the top and entitled, and even to the superstitious beliefs of theater. It had it all!

I especially liked the book's format. It's set up as if you were watching a play with Scenes, an Intermission, and additions of notes, cast list, and more. It was very unique and added to the enjoyment of the book.

The characters are fun and lovable, but I especially loved Odile. Her story was very intriguing and heartfelt. Plus, to me, she's absolutely adorable and sweet. There were points I felt some of the characters were being unnecessarily harsh to Melody when it came to the curse and her love life. No one else had to really give something up or do anything personal for the curse, so it put all the stress and expectation on Melody. It frustrated me; however, those are sometimes the dramatics of high school theater.

Overall, this book is very cute and an enjoyable read, and I look forward to more books by Robin Talley! You don't have to love theater in order to love this book! ...more

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Jan 10, 2021 ari rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2021, best-releases-2020, sapphic, cover-love, lgbtq, young-adult, contemporary, must-add-to-hoard, ownvoices, funky-fresh

oh my god it’s queer theater kids

the only part of this that turned me off and made it 4 stars instead of 5 was the section written entirely in dialogue. it really annoyed me and made it hard to read. otherwise, 5/5. was mel really fucking annoying? yes! but she was trying, and i can vibe with that. also, i just really liked the concept :,)

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Nov 07, 2020 USOM rated it really liked it

(Disclaimer: I received this book from Edelweiss. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)

TW: slut shaming

More like a 3.5

The Love Curse of Melody McIntyre is a charming queer theater rom-com. I've only been exposed to the theater world at a glance, having done a few plays in high school, but there's a lot that goes on for a production. We never even had half as many special effects as the productions in the book! It's a love letter to drama, the power of belief, and figur ...more

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Oct 26, 2020 Alexx rated it it was amazing

Shelves: e-arc, october-2020-reads, really-really-good, absolutely-amazing, young-adult, diverse-reads, lgbtqia-plus, loved-it, romance, contemporary

Before I dived into this book, I wondered if it will be my next favorite read.

Now that I've finished it, I know the answer: a big fat YES.

This book was so good, and so funny, and so gay, I can't help but love it so much! From the writing style, the tone, the chemistry of the main characters, the romance, the plot, the theatricality of it all, everything! I knew I would like this book, but I didn't expect to love it this much. Definitely not complaining though!

Full review will be posted soon on T ...more

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Feb 17, 2021 Jeimy rated it liked it

Unpopular opinion time: I intensely dislike books about theater kids. (It's why I have been avoiding reading Becky Albertalli's Kate in Waiting) Trope-wise they always have self-involved kids who only care about themselves, making their actions more selfish and immature than the average YA character.

Melody McIntyre is not the exception to the rule. In the very first scene of the book she gets publicly and dramatically dumped by her girlfriend in the middle of their school's production of Romeo a Unpopular opinion time: I intensely dislike books about theater kids. (It's why I have been avoiding reading Becky Albertalli's Kate in Waiting) Trope-wise they always have self-involved kids who only care about themselves, making their actions more selfish and immature than the average YA character.

Melody McIntyre is not the exception to the rule. In the very first scene of the book she gets publicly and dramatically dumped by her girlfriend in the middle of their school's production of Romeo and Juliet. The girlfriend's decision to interrupt the stage manager in the middle of a crucial scene was also too self-centered for my taste. However, Rachel is fed up that Melody always puts the theater first (which readers already knew thanks to the first-person narration, "I love theater more than life itself.") and decides that there is no better time than the present to let her feelings known.

The theater kids in this book believe that their theater is cursed and have come up with rituals to appease the gods. Each production has its own ritual and a comprehensive history of each production and the measures taken to ensure smooth sailing is kept in a shared drive that is viewable by all members of a production, but edited only by the current stage manager. So after the Romeo and Juliet's run was over, the crew members decided to host an intervention. You see, they believe that the productions are particularly cursed when Melody is dating someone (and as Melody seems to be a serial monogamist that seems to be quite often). They come at Melody with evidence and ask her to refrain from falling in love until the spring musical is over. Melody, who as I mentioned loves theater more than life itself, acquiesces. The crew decides not to tell the actors about the true superstition and come up with another inane ritual for the actors to take part in.

Enter Odile Rose, Beaconville High School's own rising star who even had a three-episode storyline in Game of Thrones and missed school to fly to Iceland for the shoot. (She is also being considered for an upcoming Martin Scorsese project and a Netflix series.) Although in and out of school due to her various projects, Odile is back and excited to play the role of Fantine in what will be her last high school production.

Though she is perceived as haughty, Melody soon finds that the opposite is actually true. Melody appreciates Odile's experience in Broadway and the insights Odile shares about other (non-high school) productions she has taken part in. Melody is also impressed that Odile is interested in the crew and willing to do hands-on assignments to help.

Inevitably, Melody begins to fall for Odile.

Odile confesses her feelings for Melody.

The two start secretly dating. They each have their own reasons for keeping their relationship secret, but since Odile does not believe in superstitions, Melody never tells her about how the crew believes it is Melody's love life that curses productions. As signs of the curse rear their ugly heads, Melody must decide how much she is willing to sacrifice in order to have a perfect production of Les Mis, Melody's favorite musical. ...more

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Dec 29, 2020 Max Heimowitz rated it really liked it

If I fall in the love, the musical's doomed.

A stage manager falls for an actress during a production of Les Misérables, and due to long-held superstitions, all sorts of disasters ensue. You see, at Melody McIntyre's high school, the theater is supposedly cursed, ever since a disastrous production that led to the theater burning to the ground many, many years ago -- each production since has invited its own set of unruly shenanigans. And this year's production is no different.

The best part of thi If I fall in the love, the musical's doomed.

A stage manager falls for an actress during a production of Les Misérables, and due to long-held superstitions, all sorts of disasters ensue. You see, at Melody McIntyre's high school, the theater is supposedly cursed, ever since a disastrous production that led to the theater burning to the ground many, many years ago -- each production since has invited its own set of unruly shenanigans. And this year's production is no different.

The best part of this book, without a doubt, is the romance. Odile Rose, actress extraordinaire and also 18-year-old high school senior is finally in town (and enrolled in school) long enough to audition and be cast in the school musical, and she catches the eyes of the one and only stage manager, Melody. But Melody is not allowed to fall in love, for any reason. It's the chosen "superstition" for the musical; if Melody falls in love, anything bad that happens, will happen.

This book boasts a rather enormous cast of characters, and while at first it seems like it may be overwhelming, they're woven into the story very organically. Each character has its idiosyncrasies, even if they're only on the page for a few moments. From people like Nick, the junior who's never been in a school production, to Dom, Melody's best friend and techie-turned-actor, to Rachel, Melody's most recent ex, or Gabby, Melody's assistant stage manager, or even Melody's dads and the theater teachers, everyone gets their due diligence, and each of their personalities is fleshed out sufficiently.

I've sat up in a tech booth, written cues with a stage manager and lighting designer, and watched shows come all together. Robin Talley has a lot of this down to a tee, and while I can't say so for sure, it reads pretty accurately to me! The only reason that I'm hesitant to give this a full 5 star glowing review is that the opening of the book did not hook me. It actually quite irked me. To have the nerve to break up with your girlfriend in the middle of the most complicated set of lighting cues that have to be manually called, and to get angry at her for not paying attention to you, of all people? Melody is running a show, for crying out loud, and your relationship drama and need for undivided attention in the middle of a show is unwarranted, and made me want to scream at Rachel. Because, no <3. We do not do that.

Qualms aside, this was incredibly enjoyable, with a delightfully diverse cast of characters and something right up my alley -- musical theater. Not perfect by any means, but an overall feel good story. I was smiling ear-to-ear at the end. I'll just say, sometimes the goofiest, most extravagant of promposals can get to me. I loved it. ...more

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Jan 27, 2021 Selene Velez rated it really liked it

Shelves: ya-contemporary, wlw-books

Overview: 4.0/5 🌟
Age Range: 13+

Brief Summary:

'The Love Curse of Melody McIntyre' follows high school junior and the drama program's stage manager Melody (Mel) McIntyre as she tries to avoid cursing their upcoming production of Les Mis by falling in love with one of the lead actresses. Now, how could Mel being in love sabotage her school's production? Well, every time Melody is in a relationship with someone from the crew, something terrible happens during the show. And as theatre superstitions g Overview: 4.0/5 🌟
Age Range: 13+

Brief Summary:

'The Love Curse of Melody McIntyre' follows high school junior and the drama program's stage manager Melody (Mel) McIntyre as she tries to avoid cursing their upcoming production of Les Mis by falling in love with one of the lead actresses. Now, how could Mel being in love sabotage her school's production? Well, every time Melody is in a relationship with someone from the crew, something terrible happens during the show. And as theatre superstitions go, naturally Melody being in a relationship means that something will go wrong. In order to 'protect' her friends and the production of her most favorite musical, Melody swears off love until the end of the show. Well, that would've been easy if she hadn't met Odile Rose, an upcoming star in the acting world who auditions for the spring play. Now, Melody must decide if allowing herself to fall for Odile is worth the risk of everything she and her closest friends have been working towards.

*Spoiler Free* Thoughts/Review:

I adored this book! It was super adorable, and I found it very easy to read in regards to the plot and language. I actually enjoyed Melody's character (I liked Odile much more but that's besides the point) and thought her rational and decisions are very true to how a seventeen year old junior who manages more than 30 other teens would act. Yes, Melody is a bit of a control-freak, which is why, when things get out of her control, the story becomes 10x better. If I could describe the two characters as Starbucks drinks, I would say Melody is a macchiato with another shot of espresso and a pump of vanilla, while Odile is the embodiment of a lavender latte or London fog. Odile is nothing like how one would expect a senior in high school who gets flown out to film GOT scenes and played Annie on Broadway to act. She's kind and compassionate, and notices the little things about people and appreciates them. She would definitely stay behind the group with you while you tie your shoe. Their relationship is so pure, and built on a genuine and sweet friendship. The romance and the angst of it kept me reading, along with the quick pace and clear writing style. It didn't get 5 stars because the side characters, while entertaining, weren't extremely remarkable and the major conflicts/resolutions were predictable, but sometimes you need a read like that.

If you're looking for a sweet friends-to-lovers romance that doesn't tokenize their wlw characters and want something that you can finish in a fairly quick time, definitely check this out! ...more

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About Robin Talley

Robin Talley

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I live in Washington, D.C., with my wife, our baby daughter, an antisocial cat and a goofy hound dog. Whenever the baby's sleeping, I'm probably busy writing young adult fiction about queer characters, reading books, and having in-depth conversations with friends and family about things like whether Jasmine's character motivation was sufficiently established in Aladdin.

My website is at http://www. ...more