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All the Things We Left Unsaid
Secrets make up the foundation of Veritas University.
They infiltrate every inch of campus, and its Kings, Alex Mitchell and Teddy Parker, are not immune. When Teddy’s twin brother, Tommy, is murdered, the foundation starts to crack and secrets threaten to tumble out. Everyone has something to hide, but someone within the golden gates surrounding Veritas will do anything to keep their secrets from being revealed.
As more students turn up dead and the local police scramble to apprehend the killer, one officer struggles to keep her past from interfering with the case. And while Teddy tries to protect everyone, Alex’s primary goal is to protect Teddy…winning him over would just be a perk. Through murder, blackmail, cryptic messages, ill-timed love confessions, and too many games to count, only one thing is certain:
No one is safe.
They infiltrate every inch of campus, and its Kings, Alex Mitchell and Teddy Parker, are not immune. When Teddy’s twin brother, Tommy, is murdered, the foundation starts to crack and secrets threaten to tumble out. Everyone has something to hide, but someone within the golden gates surrounding Veritas will do anything to keep their secrets from being revealed.
As more students turn up dead and the local police scramble to apprehend the killer, one officer struggles to keep her past from interfering with the case. And while Teddy tries to protect everyone, Alex’s primary goal is to protect Teddy…winning him over would just be a perk. Through murder, blackmail, cryptic messages, ill-timed love confessions, and too many games to count, only one thing is certain:
No one is safe.
353 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 16, 2023
96 people are currently reading
582 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
November 17, 2023
✦ holy shit i devoured this. literally binged it overnight and couldn’t stop. i loved alex and teddy so, so much 🥹 truly gave a soulmate vibe. childhood sweethearts. best friends. i adored the way they loved each other — whenever teddy needed alex, he always came in to help. always. and vice versa.
✦ the dark academia vibes this served!! i loved uncovering the social hierarchy of the school — the lower rungs, the middle ones, the topmost ones — which, of course, were reserved for our very own kings teddy and alex. 🤭 and i loved the way they both held each other up while also competing in every single thing. they were each other’s #1 champion but also challenger and i loved seeing that dynamic. literally ate it up. they both ruled veritas university and no matter what struggle came their way, they faced it together 🥺 i want a love like that. the games they played, the way they manipulated the people around them to get what they wanted — SO COOL. i loved the way they knew ever since they were six years old that they loved each other, and that nothing could ever tear them apart — come what may. they fought everyone for each other. no love truer than that.
✦ alex and teddy gave coballoway (kiss the sky / fuel the fire) but make it gay and i loved that.
✦ the friend group! i adored harry, caleb and elena so much. their banter was chefs kiss and they always had each other’s back, no matter what happened. 🥰
✦ seeing teddy and alex’s parents was so fun for me because the chaos that ensued there? i loved watching it all happen 😌 the way alex would try to embarrass teddy in front of their parents and teddy would always blush furiously. the way they’d always try to one-up each other in front of their parents while their moms would watch, entertained, and their dads, exasperated. it just fascinated me so much and i loved that aspect. 🖤
✦ i also didn’t expect the families to be that rich. i mean, uh, alex literally bought teddy a whole-ass amusement park just to “woo” him 🤣 rich people be like that. i loved seeing how influential they were, however, and i really appreciated seeing the moral greyness of so many characters.
✦ having jessica, a police officer from outside veritas, be a pov in this was a good option imo because i loved seeing her thought process in between being in these rich kids’ minds. it provided a startling contrast in the alternating povs and i liked seeing that. i also liked her as a character sm because what she’d gone through as a kid… i just wanted to give her a hug. i love how she’s also helping people out by choosing the profession she did. and her bond with natalie was so cute to see, too.
✦ the twist in the end!! i kinda saw it coming and also didn’t. i was livingggg for the way they’d murder for each other and be so ruthless 🦋 made my heart melt like anything.
✦ i do feel like this is one of those books you need to suspend disbelief in. if you start using your brain, you’d probably hate this because there are a few very unbelievable things that happen and it’s all very chaotic and crazy but i loved it despite (because of) that.
𓏲 . ˙ ˖ 🍂 ₊˚⏳⊹ ♡ 📜. ⊹ ࣪˖ 🕰️꒱
✦ overall i was just so intrigued with this read and enjoyed it so so much more than expected. a perfect read for the autumn/winter vibes. i’m super excited to see what’s next for our two world dominators!! the author mentioned that this isn’t the last we’ll be seeing of them and i can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.
✦ the dark academia vibes this served!! i loved uncovering the social hierarchy of the school — the lower rungs, the middle ones, the topmost ones — which, of course, were reserved for our very own kings teddy and alex. 🤭 and i loved the way they both held each other up while also competing in every single thing. they were each other’s #1 champion but also challenger and i loved seeing that dynamic. literally ate it up. they both ruled veritas university and no matter what struggle came their way, they faced it together 🥺 i want a love like that. the games they played, the way they manipulated the people around them to get what they wanted — SO COOL. i loved the way they knew ever since they were six years old that they loved each other, and that nothing could ever tear them apart — come what may. they fought everyone for each other. no love truer than that.
“until the stars die.”
“and forever after.”
✦ alex and teddy gave coballoway (kiss the sky / fuel the fire) but make it gay and i loved that.
“i’d say yes a million times over if i could. in every lifetime. in every universe. because there is never an end to the story where it isn’t you and me together, ready to take on everything that comes our way, whether that be a few murders or the entire world. you are… you are my everything, and i suppose i’m asking if you’ll be my king.”
✦ the friend group! i adored harry, caleb and elena so much. their banter was chefs kiss and they always had each other’s back, no matter what happened. 🥰
✦ seeing teddy and alex’s parents was so fun for me because the chaos that ensued there? i loved watching it all happen 😌 the way alex would try to embarrass teddy in front of their parents and teddy would always blush furiously. the way they’d always try to one-up each other in front of their parents while their moms would watch, entertained, and their dads, exasperated. it just fascinated me so much and i loved that aspect. 🖤
✦ i also didn’t expect the families to be that rich. i mean, uh, alex literally bought teddy a whole-ass amusement park just to “woo” him 🤣 rich people be like that. i loved seeing how influential they were, however, and i really appreciated seeing the moral greyness of so many characters.
✦ having jessica, a police officer from outside veritas, be a pov in this was a good option imo because i loved seeing her thought process in between being in these rich kids’ minds. it provided a startling contrast in the alternating povs and i liked seeing that. i also liked her as a character sm because what she’d gone through as a kid… i just wanted to give her a hug. i love how she’s also helping people out by choosing the profession she did. and her bond with natalie was so cute to see, too.
✦ the twist in the end!! i kinda saw it coming and also didn’t. i was livingggg for the way they’d murder for each other and be so ruthless 🦋 made my heart melt like anything.
✦ i do feel like this is one of those books you need to suspend disbelief in. if you start using your brain, you’d probably hate this because there are a few very unbelievable things that happen and it’s all very chaotic and crazy but i loved it despite (because of) that.
𓏲 . ˙ ˖ 🍂 ₊˚⏳⊹ ♡ 📜. ⊹ ࣪˖ 🕰️꒱
✦ overall i was just so intrigued with this read and enjoyed it so so much more than expected. a perfect read for the autumn/winter vibes. i’m super excited to see what’s next for our two world dominators!! the author mentioned that this isn’t the last we’ll be seeing of them and i can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.
March 16, 2026
Fat stacks, cold cash / You always had it real lavish, first-class / Trust fund, gold tongue / 80 grand in both your hands, but no love (Affluenza – Conan Gray).
More like Maybe We Should Have Left All This Unsaid, am I right? ...Is this thing on? I apologize in advance if this is becomes more and more incomprehensible, I have one thing to say and many ways to say it. So on that note, I didn’t really like All the Things We Left Unsaid, it’s exhausting rather than exhaustive, self-aggrandizing when humility would have grounded the narrative, and unsurprising despite the fact that it constantly tries to get a leg-up on the reader. It didn't help that this book and I had a bad first impression, as before the story even begins we're gifted with a pithy foreword saying, "To all the people who thought I’d never do it: Fuck you. I wrote a book." and damn, I guess we're really stretching the definition of the word "book" now. All the Things We Left Unsaid is a book in a world where books all of a sudden don't have things like plot or characterization or intrigue. Saying you're favorite book is All the Things We Left Unsaid would be like claiming you love music while your most listened band is Imagine Dragons. Really though, I’m just a little sad because I figured it would have been more in line with Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng because of the similar titles (word association is my passion). And whereas that book is an exploration of grief around losing a child, navigating through a marriage when the person next to you feels like a stranger, and the prospect of empowerment and what that means in the context of an interracial marriage where the woman feels trapped by societal expectations and the man feels emasculated due to racial stereotypes, All the Things We Left Unsaid is decidedly… not about that. It’s not really about anything. This is just one of those shirtless-man-books with a safer cover to imply that there’s something of substance to be had within the pages. It just sucks because it's hard for me to not feel bad for disliking All the Things We Left Unsaid as this was a buddy read and my buddy finished it in the first day while I lagged behind something awful. Damn, it’s like I’m in Gym Class all over again! Hello again 16th place in Mario Kart, my old friend. Anyway, the story here is that two groups of discount Romeo and Juliet families reign supreme as the elite of some high end college and for some reason people care. At the center of these two families are Teddy and Alex, two heated rivals locked in a wattpad “enemies-to-lovers” fanfic and both of them think they’re the most charming and adorable people on the planet. After the “devastating” murder (in quotes because nobody seemed to give a shit) of Teddy’s twin brother, Tommy, the world around them goes in shock as our cast of main characters try to pick up the pieces and come to terms with their new reality. Or at least, that would be the story trajectory if this were a book that followed book rules, but instead we get meandering for a couple hundred pages while emphasizing the forced and superficial “sexual tension” between Alex and Teddy.
And since All the Things We Left Unsaid didn’t seem interested in its own mystery and wanted to put all of its attention on the relationship side of things, then I’ll talk about the romance, of which… there wasn't one! Well, a good one, I mean. I made a joke up there about Heated Rivals, but that’s not even an apt description here because there’s no heat! And you know what? Scratch the “rivals” bit from the record as well because even though the narration is constantly going on and on about how Teddy and Alex compete with each other something vicious during school, there’s always a placating tone to the writing that reassures us that these two were always going to be the endgame couple. They're with each other no matter what, how sweet. But like… where’s the fun in that? Have we all collectively forgotten how stories are written!? Where’s the anticipation, the dramatic tension, why should I care about their relationship and whether or not they’ll end up together if the book literally tells us that they belong together like Mariah Carey from the start!? What is going on, seriously, I’d like to know. It's funny because going into this I figured that I'd have all the usual complaints about the Thrillers, but this book barely follows any kind of genre conventions (like narrative structure) that now I have to go back to the basics of hating. This shit has me twisted! My issue was that so many Thriller stories try their absolute hardest to, and say it with me, subvert expectations™, that in the process of doing so, they basically just end up tanking the entire story for nothing. They want to win against the reader so badly that they’ll make the book worse just to do so. “Ha! I bet you never guessed that twist, now did you!?” and it’s like… of course not, because we respected the the author enough to think that they wouldn't have written a story this dumb! And yet without fail, these Thriller book authors still decide to write the most out there and silly twists into their story in order to surprise and titillate, but instead just ends up leaving the reader feeling unsatisfied like Lin-Manuel Miranda. Even one of my favorite authors, Gillian Flynn, has momentary lapses in her stories where it becomes really funny rather than hauntingly impactful. But look, maybe I’m being too harsh, because even though I’ll admit that I put the Thriller genre of books at the lower end of my genre rankings (even lower than sports romances), there is still a structure that they mostly adhere to, and I can respect that. For example, even though it’s not my favorite writing technique, I still find myself flipping through the pages of a thriller novel at a fast clip due whenever I'm hit with an end-of-the-chapter cliff-hanger, but with All the Things We Left Unsaid, it’s so hellbent on clearing any possible misinterpretations about the characters that everything, from the twists to the motivations, are left out on the table from the first few chapters. Imagine writing a book where you don't want your audience interpreting the work.
So what’s the thinking here? That your book can't have a disappointing twist ending if there is none? Because I’m baffled, I tell you, BAFFLED! Teddy will be seen crying about his dead brother through one of Alex’s point-of-view chapters, but then in the next, it’ll instantly be revealed to us that they were fake tears and that he always hated Tommy. WHAT IS GOING ON HERE, HAVE WE NEVER HEARD OF DRAMATIC TENSION!?!?!?!? Reveal these things in a timely manner, don't just throw everything out there all willy-nilly without a care in the world!! The writing felt like its own PR team trying to put out fires after Timothée Chalamet had just talked shit about the opera. Um, all this is to say that I think this book would have been a lot better if we didn’t actually know the true core of the characters until the very end reveals all their secrets. The book is called All the Things We Left Unsaid, yeah? So, it would have been much more interesting if there were more of a focus on duplicity and the masks that people put on around their peers. Sure, you could argue that we see their truths because we're literally inside their heads, but people lie to themselves all the time. And even though the characters pride themselves on their overbearing and controlling nature, there's still an earnestness that feels counterproductive to the themes that the book was going for. Because when every character is awful from the start, then not only is there no reason to care about what happens to them throughout the story, but they also don't change. Hey, even evil characters need an arc. You think Breaking Bad would have been half as interesting had Walter White murdered ten snitches from the safety of his home in season one rather than five? No! There’s a process to these things and you have to let them play out naturally! As it stands, there’s no reason why this book couldn’t have just been a bulleted list of ideas and events, because who cares about a narrative process, right? Like, I’ve never before read a book that felt like the SparkNotes version of itself! And just as an addition, I don’t actually think following mean and ugly (on the inside) protagonists is as intriguing as a lot of authors seem to think it is. I know people are always going on and on about anti-heroes being more layered than heroic characters, but that doesn’t work as a blanket statement in and of itself. The only reason anti-heroes are often more interesting is because they’re allowed the freedom to be flawed. You can do the same thing with morally good characters, it’s just not as easy because most writers try to espouse some kind of life-lesson through them. Nobody wants a mouthpiece, we just want interesting characters. But yeah, what I’m trying to get at here is that the author seemed to have heard that anti-heroes are inherently more interesting and then ran with that sentiment thinking the very act of moral dubiousness would put in the work to make an gripping narrative.
“Spending the day before Thanksgiving rifling through a dead person’s room isn’t anyone’s idea of fun.”
Well, I’m here to say that it didn’t! What���s the point in writing a dark and twisted story if you don’t even try to dabble in the morality of it all? The struggle between good and evil, or if such a struggle even exists in the world of the ultra rich! Let's discuss it. "Food... water... atmosphere... nuance!" Why doesn’t this book want to talk about any of the topics it brings up!? PLEASE TELL ME, I WANT TO KNOW! Is it one of those weak ass John Green quotes where he tried to claim that he doesn't write stories with themes, thinking he's above it all? Because sorry buddy, if you're writing a book, then it has themes, even if you don't realize it. And sure, awful people doing awful things can be entertaining all on its own or whatever, but there has to be some emotional core at the heart of it all, because otherwise, we're not witnessing a dark and twisted story anymore, we're watching a cartoon. How am I supposed to find Alex and Teddy’s actions darkly sexy if they have the same one-note morality system as Dr. Eggman and Emperor Palpatine? All cackling like they'r on some Skeletor type shit. “Oooh, look at us, we’re all beautiful and rich, can you believe we’re also evil?” Uh, yeah? We can. You can’t make obscene amounts of money unless you’re evil, we’re hardly breaking any new ground here. In that sense, I was probably the wrong person to read this, because the one redeeming factor the book is supposed to have is featuring a gay romance between Alex and Teddy, and yet… I felt nothing. Because that’s just the thing, the hyper rich aren’t people of color, they’re not women, they aren’t queer folk; first and foremost, they’re rich people. Class above all else, and that’s an idea that’s hard to come to terms with, I know, but every character portrayed in this book is more alien and distant from me than anybody I’d come across at my local gas station. And I guess that’s supposed to be part of the “charm”, that we’re reading a story about people so far above us that we can’t help but be dazzled at their rich folk spectacle. Pshh yeah right, couldn't be me. Hey, another way I couldn’t relate to this book was just the very premise where the world actually revolved around these two characters. Sure, I know that it literally does, considering the book is about Alex and Teddy, but you’re job as a writer is to hide the tropes underneath a good story. Where's the immersion? Besides, if you have an arrogant and famously rich character, then their personal lives should be hollow and their relationships fraught. It’s like how Tony Stark’s best portrayal is in the Iron Man trilogy rather than The Avengers movies because he’s surrounded by characters who don’t like hin. You can’t write a character who thinks they’re charming and adorable and then have all the side characters find them charming and adorable too! It's about contrasts.
Characters who are generally untouchable are made relatable to the audience from us being able to see the cracks in their persona, not just betting on the off chance that we'll all of a sudden get swept up in the grandiose nature of their lifestyle. Unless the point is hollow spectacle (like in The Wolf of Wall Street), then if you're telling a story, there has to be some substance. Come on, this is simple stuff here! Also, the very fact that Alex is even supposed to be the “king” of this random ass college was incredibly stupid. It’s like how in anime and manga, for some reason the class president and all the elite students wield actual tangible power and are actually respected by the student body. It’s super silly and really hard to take seriously, but had this book went along with, and had seen the potential in embracing its own heightened premise rather than trying to wax poetic about the “star-crossed lovers” angle or the dark and twisted relationship between Alex and Teddy, then I wouldn’t have had as much as a problem with this book. Besides, I just find the thought of anybody being popular in college to be really funny, and I thought that literally every side character, from the cops to the parents, being tuned into the dynamic between Alex and Teddy wasn't just unrealistic, but also really weird. Like, get a life people. Especially when the story should be about Teddy’s twin brother being murdered!? Like, focus up on what matters! Tangent to the tangent here, but it was also really funny how self-serious this book was considering the twins were named Tommy and Teddy. Like, what is Teddy doing worrying about infantile mind games with Alex when he has a shift to pick up at Nook’s Cranny. Anyway, there also wasn’t any surprise in the twist because the author never thought it’d be important to give the characters vulnerabilities that would imply that these people are human. “Can you believe these callous people would do such a thing!?” Uh yeah, because you never tried to dissuade us from thinking otherwise! Where are all the haunted characters? Everyone knows who they are from the start, we know who they are from the start, and then everybody remains the same as they were from the start! Why couldn’t we have a book where literally anybody's actions actually affect these fuckers in a real way? Trying to subvert expectations and surprise the readers by pretending like harrowing events make no impact on our characters doesn’t add anything to anybody’s character arc, but rather just proves that we’re following a bunch of tools.
A dark and twisted narrative needs to deal with rationalization, cope, and justification in order to tell a captivating story. Because if not… well, then the story becomes colorless and devoid reasons to emotionally invest in it. Nobody in this books cares about what’s happening or what’s going to happen if they don’t succeed, so why should we? Can you imagine if the heist in Six of Crows went off completely perfectly the first time without a hitch? That’d be the most boring book ever! This must be the new wave of literature, where there's no tension and no climax and no conflict throughout the entire novel and then things end with all the people the author likes having an unearned happily-ever-after. Which is all good, because I was worrying that this book would have something resembling a story. And if nothing else, all I'm going to say is that everybody in this book is ugly. Ugly at heart and ugly on the outside. I don’t care if the narration constantly tells us how beautiful Alex and Teddy are, in my mind, they’re ugly. They've got Teddy out here using the fact that his family is rich enough to buy not one private island, but two, and it's said like he gave some kind of epic RuPaul clap back where the only thing missing were the "oooh's" and "ahhhh's" from the studio audience. Settle down Zuckerberg, it wasn't cool to buy up native land and fuck up the ecosystem then, and it's definitely not cool now! Nobody's out here thinking it's badass to own an island. Sheesh, these characters and their colonizer ass mindset. "Could you just imagine if they were around, and saw highways on their sacred grounds. How would they feel about this modern city life" and all that. Now, I try not to say things all definitive like anymore (it tends to get me in trouble), but I just know that if I were dining at either of Teddy or Alex’s family mansions, they’d totally serve food so bland that I'd have thought COVID took away my taste. And if we were to eat the rich, just know that Alex and Teddy wouldn’t even be satisfying as an appetizer. So yeah, they're ugly. Hey, did you know that the development team behind Resident Evil: Requiem had their female staff members design Leon Kennedy’s new DILF look in the game? Well, it worked because he’s hot as fuck. Or how about when the people who made Mass Effect 2 used the same tactic for Thane Krios’ design, all giving him big soulful eyes and a beautiful backstory that’d make anyone swoon. Worked again, because Thane is hot as fuck. Yeah well, it turns out that not every women lead boardroom meeting centered on creating a sexy man knows what makes a sexy man, because both Teddy and Alex had rancid vibes, and said vibes made them ugly as sin. Anyway, that's it, that's the end. I didn’t like this at all. Hated it, even. But if I had to to say one last thing about this book, then it’d be that All the Things We Left Unsaid is Death Note fanfiction where Light and L fuck... and yet is somehow less gay.
Every day's your birthday / You threw a party but you kinda hate all your friends / So you're cryin' in a driveway / Killin' time, gettin' high, can't wait 'til it ends.
More like Maybe We Should Have Left All This Unsaid, am I right? ...Is this thing on? I apologize in advance if this is becomes more and more incomprehensible, I have one thing to say and many ways to say it. So on that note, I didn’t really like All the Things We Left Unsaid, it’s exhausting rather than exhaustive, self-aggrandizing when humility would have grounded the narrative, and unsurprising despite the fact that it constantly tries to get a leg-up on the reader. It didn't help that this book and I had a bad first impression, as before the story even begins we're gifted with a pithy foreword saying, "To all the people who thought I’d never do it: Fuck you. I wrote a book." and damn, I guess we're really stretching the definition of the word "book" now. All the Things We Left Unsaid is a book in a world where books all of a sudden don't have things like plot or characterization or intrigue. Saying you're favorite book is All the Things We Left Unsaid would be like claiming you love music while your most listened band is Imagine Dragons. Really though, I’m just a little sad because I figured it would have been more in line with Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng because of the similar titles (word association is my passion). And whereas that book is an exploration of grief around losing a child, navigating through a marriage when the person next to you feels like a stranger, and the prospect of empowerment and what that means in the context of an interracial marriage where the woman feels trapped by societal expectations and the man feels emasculated due to racial stereotypes, All the Things We Left Unsaid is decidedly… not about that. It’s not really about anything. This is just one of those shirtless-man-books with a safer cover to imply that there’s something of substance to be had within the pages. It just sucks because it's hard for me to not feel bad for disliking All the Things We Left Unsaid as this was a buddy read and my buddy finished it in the first day while I lagged behind something awful. Damn, it’s like I’m in Gym Class all over again! Hello again 16th place in Mario Kart, my old friend. Anyway, the story here is that two groups of discount Romeo and Juliet families reign supreme as the elite of some high end college and for some reason people care. At the center of these two families are Teddy and Alex, two heated rivals locked in a wattpad “enemies-to-lovers” fanfic and both of them think they’re the most charming and adorable people on the planet. After the “devastating” murder (in quotes because nobody seemed to give a shit) of Teddy’s twin brother, Tommy, the world around them goes in shock as our cast of main characters try to pick up the pieces and come to terms with their new reality. Or at least, that would be the story trajectory if this were a book that followed book rules, but instead we get meandering for a couple hundred pages while emphasizing the forced and superficial “sexual tension” between Alex and Teddy.
And since All the Things We Left Unsaid didn’t seem interested in its own mystery and wanted to put all of its attention on the relationship side of things, then I’ll talk about the romance, of which… there wasn't one! Well, a good one, I mean. I made a joke up there about Heated Rivals, but that’s not even an apt description here because there’s no heat! And you know what? Scratch the “rivals” bit from the record as well because even though the narration is constantly going on and on about how Teddy and Alex compete with each other something vicious during school, there’s always a placating tone to the writing that reassures us that these two were always going to be the endgame couple. They're with each other no matter what, how sweet. But like… where’s the fun in that? Have we all collectively forgotten how stories are written!? Where’s the anticipation, the dramatic tension, why should I care about their relationship and whether or not they’ll end up together if the book literally tells us that they belong together like Mariah Carey from the start!? What is going on, seriously, I’d like to know. It's funny because going into this I figured that I'd have all the usual complaints about the Thrillers, but this book barely follows any kind of genre conventions (like narrative structure) that now I have to go back to the basics of hating. This shit has me twisted! My issue was that so many Thriller stories try their absolute hardest to, and say it with me, subvert expectations™, that in the process of doing so, they basically just end up tanking the entire story for nothing. They want to win against the reader so badly that they’ll make the book worse just to do so. “Ha! I bet you never guessed that twist, now did you!?” and it’s like… of course not, because we respected the the author enough to think that they wouldn't have written a story this dumb! And yet without fail, these Thriller book authors still decide to write the most out there and silly twists into their story in order to surprise and titillate, but instead just ends up leaving the reader feeling unsatisfied like Lin-Manuel Miranda. Even one of my favorite authors, Gillian Flynn, has momentary lapses in her stories where it becomes really funny rather than hauntingly impactful. But look, maybe I’m being too harsh, because even though I’ll admit that I put the Thriller genre of books at the lower end of my genre rankings (even lower than sports romances), there is still a structure that they mostly adhere to, and I can respect that. For example, even though it’s not my favorite writing technique, I still find myself flipping through the pages of a thriller novel at a fast clip due whenever I'm hit with an end-of-the-chapter cliff-hanger, but with All the Things We Left Unsaid, it’s so hellbent on clearing any possible misinterpretations about the characters that everything, from the twists to the motivations, are left out on the table from the first few chapters. Imagine writing a book where you don't want your audience interpreting the work.
So what’s the thinking here? That your book can't have a disappointing twist ending if there is none? Because I’m baffled, I tell you, BAFFLED! Teddy will be seen crying about his dead brother through one of Alex’s point-of-view chapters, but then in the next, it’ll instantly be revealed to us that they were fake tears and that he always hated Tommy. WHAT IS GOING ON HERE, HAVE WE NEVER HEARD OF DRAMATIC TENSION!?!?!?!? Reveal these things in a timely manner, don't just throw everything out there all willy-nilly without a care in the world!! The writing felt like its own PR team trying to put out fires after Timothée Chalamet had just talked shit about the opera. Um, all this is to say that I think this book would have been a lot better if we didn’t actually know the true core of the characters until the very end reveals all their secrets. The book is called All the Things We Left Unsaid, yeah? So, it would have been much more interesting if there were more of a focus on duplicity and the masks that people put on around their peers. Sure, you could argue that we see their truths because we're literally inside their heads, but people lie to themselves all the time. And even though the characters pride themselves on their overbearing and controlling nature, there's still an earnestness that feels counterproductive to the themes that the book was going for. Because when every character is awful from the start, then not only is there no reason to care about what happens to them throughout the story, but they also don't change. Hey, even evil characters need an arc. You think Breaking Bad would have been half as interesting had Walter White murdered ten snitches from the safety of his home in season one rather than five? No! There’s a process to these things and you have to let them play out naturally! As it stands, there’s no reason why this book couldn’t have just been a bulleted list of ideas and events, because who cares about a narrative process, right? Like, I’ve never before read a book that felt like the SparkNotes version of itself! And just as an addition, I don’t actually think following mean and ugly (on the inside) protagonists is as intriguing as a lot of authors seem to think it is. I know people are always going on and on about anti-heroes being more layered than heroic characters, but that doesn’t work as a blanket statement in and of itself. The only reason anti-heroes are often more interesting is because they’re allowed the freedom to be flawed. You can do the same thing with morally good characters, it’s just not as easy because most writers try to espouse some kind of life-lesson through them. Nobody wants a mouthpiece, we just want interesting characters. But yeah, what I’m trying to get at here is that the author seemed to have heard that anti-heroes are inherently more interesting and then ran with that sentiment thinking the very act of moral dubiousness would put in the work to make an gripping narrative.
“Spending the day before Thanksgiving rifling through a dead person’s room isn’t anyone’s idea of fun.”
Well, I’m here to say that it didn’t! What���s the point in writing a dark and twisted story if you don’t even try to dabble in the morality of it all? The struggle between good and evil, or if such a struggle even exists in the world of the ultra rich! Let's discuss it. "Food... water... atmosphere... nuance!" Why doesn’t this book want to talk about any of the topics it brings up!? PLEASE TELL ME, I WANT TO KNOW! Is it one of those weak ass John Green quotes where he tried to claim that he doesn't write stories with themes, thinking he's above it all? Because sorry buddy, if you're writing a book, then it has themes, even if you don't realize it. And sure, awful people doing awful things can be entertaining all on its own or whatever, but there has to be some emotional core at the heart of it all, because otherwise, we're not witnessing a dark and twisted story anymore, we're watching a cartoon. How am I supposed to find Alex and Teddy’s actions darkly sexy if they have the same one-note morality system as Dr. Eggman and Emperor Palpatine? All cackling like they'r on some Skeletor type shit. “Oooh, look at us, we’re all beautiful and rich, can you believe we’re also evil?” Uh, yeah? We can. You can’t make obscene amounts of money unless you’re evil, we’re hardly breaking any new ground here. In that sense, I was probably the wrong person to read this, because the one redeeming factor the book is supposed to have is featuring a gay romance between Alex and Teddy, and yet… I felt nothing. Because that’s just the thing, the hyper rich aren’t people of color, they’re not women, they aren’t queer folk; first and foremost, they’re rich people. Class above all else, and that’s an idea that’s hard to come to terms with, I know, but every character portrayed in this book is more alien and distant from me than anybody I’d come across at my local gas station. And I guess that’s supposed to be part of the “charm”, that we’re reading a story about people so far above us that we can’t help but be dazzled at their rich folk spectacle. Pshh yeah right, couldn't be me. Hey, another way I couldn’t relate to this book was just the very premise where the world actually revolved around these two characters. Sure, I know that it literally does, considering the book is about Alex and Teddy, but you’re job as a writer is to hide the tropes underneath a good story. Where's the immersion? Besides, if you have an arrogant and famously rich character, then their personal lives should be hollow and their relationships fraught. It’s like how Tony Stark’s best portrayal is in the Iron Man trilogy rather than The Avengers movies because he’s surrounded by characters who don’t like hin. You can’t write a character who thinks they’re charming and adorable and then have all the side characters find them charming and adorable too! It's about contrasts.
Characters who are generally untouchable are made relatable to the audience from us being able to see the cracks in their persona, not just betting on the off chance that we'll all of a sudden get swept up in the grandiose nature of their lifestyle. Unless the point is hollow spectacle (like in The Wolf of Wall Street), then if you're telling a story, there has to be some substance. Come on, this is simple stuff here! Also, the very fact that Alex is even supposed to be the “king” of this random ass college was incredibly stupid. It’s like how in anime and manga, for some reason the class president and all the elite students wield actual tangible power and are actually respected by the student body. It’s super silly and really hard to take seriously, but had this book went along with, and had seen the potential in embracing its own heightened premise rather than trying to wax poetic about the “star-crossed lovers” angle or the dark and twisted relationship between Alex and Teddy, then I wouldn’t have had as much as a problem with this book. Besides, I just find the thought of anybody being popular in college to be really funny, and I thought that literally every side character, from the cops to the parents, being tuned into the dynamic between Alex and Teddy wasn't just unrealistic, but also really weird. Like, get a life people. Especially when the story should be about Teddy’s twin brother being murdered!? Like, focus up on what matters! Tangent to the tangent here, but it was also really funny how self-serious this book was considering the twins were named Tommy and Teddy. Like, what is Teddy doing worrying about infantile mind games with Alex when he has a shift to pick up at Nook’s Cranny. Anyway, there also wasn’t any surprise in the twist because the author never thought it’d be important to give the characters vulnerabilities that would imply that these people are human. “Can you believe these callous people would do such a thing!?” Uh yeah, because you never tried to dissuade us from thinking otherwise! Where are all the haunted characters? Everyone knows who they are from the start, we know who they are from the start, and then everybody remains the same as they were from the start! Why couldn’t we have a book where literally anybody's actions actually affect these fuckers in a real way? Trying to subvert expectations and surprise the readers by pretending like harrowing events make no impact on our characters doesn’t add anything to anybody’s character arc, but rather just proves that we’re following a bunch of tools.
A dark and twisted narrative needs to deal with rationalization, cope, and justification in order to tell a captivating story. Because if not… well, then the story becomes colorless and devoid reasons to emotionally invest in it. Nobody in this books cares about what’s happening or what’s going to happen if they don’t succeed, so why should we? Can you imagine if the heist in Six of Crows went off completely perfectly the first time without a hitch? That’d be the most boring book ever! This must be the new wave of literature, where there's no tension and no climax and no conflict throughout the entire novel and then things end with all the people the author likes having an unearned happily-ever-after. Which is all good, because I was worrying that this book would have something resembling a story. And if nothing else, all I'm going to say is that everybody in this book is ugly. Ugly at heart and ugly on the outside. I don’t care if the narration constantly tells us how beautiful Alex and Teddy are, in my mind, they’re ugly. They've got Teddy out here using the fact that his family is rich enough to buy not one private island, but two, and it's said like he gave some kind of epic RuPaul clap back where the only thing missing were the "oooh's" and "ahhhh's" from the studio audience. Settle down Zuckerberg, it wasn't cool to buy up native land and fuck up the ecosystem then, and it's definitely not cool now! Nobody's out here thinking it's badass to own an island. Sheesh, these characters and their colonizer ass mindset. "Could you just imagine if they were around, and saw highways on their sacred grounds. How would they feel about this modern city life" and all that. Now, I try not to say things all definitive like anymore (it tends to get me in trouble), but I just know that if I were dining at either of Teddy or Alex’s family mansions, they’d totally serve food so bland that I'd have thought COVID took away my taste. And if we were to eat the rich, just know that Alex and Teddy wouldn’t even be satisfying as an appetizer. So yeah, they're ugly. Hey, did you know that the development team behind Resident Evil: Requiem had their female staff members design Leon Kennedy’s new DILF look in the game? Well, it worked because he’s hot as fuck. Or how about when the people who made Mass Effect 2 used the same tactic for Thane Krios’ design, all giving him big soulful eyes and a beautiful backstory that’d make anyone swoon. Worked again, because Thane is hot as fuck. Yeah well, it turns out that not every women lead boardroom meeting centered on creating a sexy man knows what makes a sexy man, because both Teddy and Alex had rancid vibes, and said vibes made them ugly as sin. Anyway, that's it, that's the end. I didn’t like this at all. Hated it, even. But if I had to to say one last thing about this book, then it’d be that All the Things We Left Unsaid is Death Note fanfiction where Light and L fuck... and yet is somehow less gay.
Every day's your birthday / You threw a party but you kinda hate all your friends / So you're cryin' in a driveway / Killin' time, gettin' high, can't wait 'til it ends.
February 26, 2023
I love love LOVE IT when an author starts out with a banger of a dedication. Mic drop.
To all the people who thought I’d never do it: Fuck you. I wrote a book.
You guys. There is so much to love about this book!!! The MCs, the friends, the moms!, Officer Evans (and her cat Lucifurr) and Chief Braxton. So much good chit chat and banter between all of these people. The unique academic setting with the whole concept of student rankings and the Royal Court. The hierarchy of it all was super interesting.
Veritas University feeds off secrets. The first thing every student learns upon entering its golden gates is to protect their secrets with their life.
Teddy and Alex rule Veritas University. Their parents are all best friends and all went to Veritas when they were younger. These two have basically grown up together. They have competed against one another for most of their lives. They are geniuses and like to play games with each other. They play games upon games upon games. Sometimes it's not even clear what the game is, but Alex and Teddy know and they are playing it.
The only person who can measure up to Alex is Teddy, and because of this, they have a sort of feud they like to engage in. Mostly, Alex just enjoys riling Teddy up. Teddy is the most fascinating person he has ever had the pleasure of watching.
Despite that, their intellects are evenly matched. And the few, almost nonexistent, places where Alex lacks, Teddy fills in and vice versa. They are perfect together. Sure, Alex wants to beat him out in academics, and he likes to bicker with Teddy and pull his strings, but when it comes down to it, Teddy is his as much as Alex is Teddy’s.
Whenever Teddy needs Alex, Alex is there. And whenever Alex needs Teddy, Teddy is there.
The main mystery here revolves around some students going missing and they wind up dead. The first one of them is Teddy's twin brother Tommy. Teddy and Tommy have a complicated history.
To say that Alex and Teddy were meant to be together is almost an understatement. They are soul mate goals. Essentially, they were born to be together. They are possessive of each other in every way, except sexually. At least for awhile.
And that is the thing: Alex isn’t the only one who knows they are endgame. Everyone does. Except for Teddy, who knows it but just isn’t ready to admit it yet.
“It would be easier if what?” Teddy asks as though he doesn’t know the next words that were going to come out of Alex’s mouth. Teddy knows. Alex knows Teddy knows. And Teddy knows Alex knows Teddy knows. That doesn’t stop Teddy from daring him to say it. Alex says nothing.
Let me tell you something, the plot twists in this book were SO WELL DONE. And OMG the surprise (to me anyway) reveal at the end. I did not see it coming! It put this book in a whole new light for me and wow it was something.
The only thing that could have improved this story for me would have been explicit descriptions of the sex. I felt like I was missing out on some steam there, but it did not detract from the story overall. And maybe that is just my personal preference.
Teddy and Alex…Teddy and Alex are strange. It’s something they’ve known for a long time. Their relationship is complicated. It’s a relationship, but it isn’t. And it’s confusing, but it isn’t. They are Teddy and Alex. Alex and Teddy. There isn’t one without the other.
Honestly, just another shout out to the moms here. Obsessed with them.
“Stop saying inappropriate shit in front of our mothers!” Teddy throws another roll. Alex dodges it this time. “They think it’s hilarious,” Alex says as Sofia and Lizzie laugh. They adore Teddy and Alex’s banter. They call it a form of courting. Alex calls it foreplay.
Lastly, the author leaves a very exciting note at the end. I cannot wait for more.
If you are looking for dark academia vibes where everyone has secrets, students have more power than the faculty, rich people being rich, and a dark mystery with some twists and turns, then you will enjoy this book!
Alex looked at him and said, “Until the stars die.” And Teddy responded, “And forever after.”
***I received an ARC of this book from Gay Romance Reviews and this is my honest opinion.***
To all the people who thought I’d never do it: Fuck you. I wrote a book.
You guys. There is so much to love about this book!!! The MCs, the friends, the moms!, Officer Evans (and her cat Lucifurr) and Chief Braxton. So much good chit chat and banter between all of these people. The unique academic setting with the whole concept of student rankings and the Royal Court. The hierarchy of it all was super interesting.
Veritas University feeds off secrets. The first thing every student learns upon entering its golden gates is to protect their secrets with their life.
Teddy and Alex rule Veritas University. Their parents are all best friends and all went to Veritas when they were younger. These two have basically grown up together. They have competed against one another for most of their lives. They are geniuses and like to play games with each other. They play games upon games upon games. Sometimes it's not even clear what the game is, but Alex and Teddy know and they are playing it.
The only person who can measure up to Alex is Teddy, and because of this, they have a sort of feud they like to engage in. Mostly, Alex just enjoys riling Teddy up. Teddy is the most fascinating person he has ever had the pleasure of watching.
Despite that, their intellects are evenly matched. And the few, almost nonexistent, places where Alex lacks, Teddy fills in and vice versa. They are perfect together. Sure, Alex wants to beat him out in academics, and he likes to bicker with Teddy and pull his strings, but when it comes down to it, Teddy is his as much as Alex is Teddy’s.
Whenever Teddy needs Alex, Alex is there. And whenever Alex needs Teddy, Teddy is there.
The main mystery here revolves around some students going missing and they wind up dead. The first one of them is Teddy's twin brother Tommy. Teddy and Tommy have a complicated history.
To say that Alex and Teddy were meant to be together is almost an understatement. They are soul mate goals. Essentially, they were born to be together. They are possessive of each other in every way, except sexually. At least for awhile.
And that is the thing: Alex isn’t the only one who knows they are endgame. Everyone does. Except for Teddy, who knows it but just isn’t ready to admit it yet.
“It would be easier if what?” Teddy asks as though he doesn’t know the next words that were going to come out of Alex’s mouth. Teddy knows. Alex knows Teddy knows. And Teddy knows Alex knows Teddy knows. That doesn’t stop Teddy from daring him to say it. Alex says nothing.
Let me tell you something, the plot twists in this book were SO WELL DONE. And OMG the surprise (to me anyway) reveal at the end. I did not see it coming! It put this book in a whole new light for me and wow it was something.
The only thing that could have improved this story for me would have been explicit descriptions of the sex. I felt like I was missing out on some steam there, but it did not detract from the story overall. And maybe that is just my personal preference.
Teddy and Alex…Teddy and Alex are strange. It’s something they’ve known for a long time. Their relationship is complicated. It’s a relationship, but it isn’t. And it’s confusing, but it isn’t. They are Teddy and Alex. Alex and Teddy. There isn’t one without the other.
Honestly, just another shout out to the moms here. Obsessed with them.
“Stop saying inappropriate shit in front of our mothers!” Teddy throws another roll. Alex dodges it this time. “They think it’s hilarious,” Alex says as Sofia and Lizzie laugh. They adore Teddy and Alex’s banter. They call it a form of courting. Alex calls it foreplay.
Lastly, the author leaves a very exciting note at the end. I cannot wait for more.
If you are looking for dark academia vibes where everyone has secrets, students have more power than the faculty, rich people being rich, and a dark mystery with some twists and turns, then you will enjoy this book!
Alex looked at him and said, “Until the stars die.” And Teddy responded, “And forever after.”
***I received an ARC of this book from Gay Romance Reviews and this is my honest opinion.***
February 21, 2023
Gay dark academia
Gossip Girl meets The Secret History? Yes
The petulant dynamic between Teddy and Alex. This is for all you soulmates, co-dependant, possessive relationship lovers out there.
Wealthy private university students with a side of murder.
Maybe a little wattpad-y but quality.
Shout out to the moms in this book for being so hysterical and supportive.
HEA, I promise
”I’ll love you until the stars die,” he whispers.
Goodness gracious these two childhood sweethearts.
Thank you, Gloria for putting this on my radar!
Gossip Girl meets The Secret History? Yes
The petulant dynamic between Teddy and Alex. This is for all you soulmates, co-dependant, possessive relationship lovers out there.
Wealthy private university students with a side of murder.
Maybe a little wattpad-y but quality.
Shout out to the moms in this book for being so hysterical and supportive.
HEA, I promise
”I’ll love you until the stars die,” he whispers.
Goodness gracious these two childhood sweethearts.
Thank you, Gloria for putting this on my radar!
November 19, 2023
This book was absolutely ridiculous and I had so much fun reading it. If you liked Pretty Little Liars or Gossip Girl or even Riverdale (the first couple of seasons, before things got really weird), I think you might like this book too. It was elite college kids doing things that only elite college kids can get away with. Throw in some murder, an interestingly portrayed and somewhat demented soulmates love story, awesome side characters, small town cops and more yachts, private jets and theme parks than any one person should ever have access to or be able to afford, and you have this crazy ass book. I can't wait to follow Teddy and Alex wherever they go next!
November 25, 2023
Alex leans forward to whisper, "Until the stars die." "And forever after," Teddy says.
BITCH. i randomly found this book and when i tell you it was made for me 😭 im not joking this was actually perfect the author is a genius. that ending... you should have seen my fucking jaw fly to the floor. alex and teddy 😭😭😭😭 dont get me started on them i'll start feeling light headed and collapse. their dynamic is so fucking serious to me. also the moms i love them so bad 😭💗 need the sequel now tbh.
BITCH. i randomly found this book and when i tell you it was made for me 😭 im not joking this was actually perfect the author is a genius. that ending... you should have seen my fucking jaw fly to the floor. alex and teddy 😭😭😭😭 dont get me started on them i'll start feeling light headed and collapse. their dynamic is so fucking serious to me. also the moms i love them so bad 😭💗 need the sequel now tbh.
March 1, 2026
What if Saltburn was also Pretty Little Liars and Cruel Intentions? It’d be this book! The story begins with a strong hook: someone has been murdered at this VERY exclusive university. But really, not *just* someone, he was actually the twin brother of one of the main characters. And from one of the wealthiest families. Is this a one and done murder or is there more to come? Who did this and why?!?! I love mysteries as much as I love romance so this was very much up my alley. I find it a little off putting when the tone is silly in a book that is supposed to be ~gothic~ and ~mysterious~ but the tone, writing and setting all were a perfect match here! No complaints. The writing style felt unique to me for the romance genre especially because it reads more like crime procedural writing. Plus, the big mystery plot reveal was so much fun! I think what you’ll find me repeating in this review most of all is different ways of saying: I liked that this was something different!
The connection between Teddy and Alex was strong. Mutual obsession and desire seeped from the pages. Years and years of pent up love, lust, hate, envy on both of their ends. Plus they were both interesting and morally grey characters that ultimately, I adored! Must characters be perfect angels to be lovable? I think not! You’ve heard of the black cat x golden retriever romance trope but this was more like black cat x black cat. Both Teddy and Alex are so prickly and tactile. Just as willing to attack each other as they are to cuddle up. Witty. Smart. Brash. Spoiled. Competitive. Loyal. Protective. Fearless. Well. I think really their only actual fear is losing each other. I think if the entire human race was wiped out but they had each other, they’d think that was a pretty good deal in the end.
Alex leans forward to whisper, “Until the stars die.” “And forever after,” Teddy says.
The connection between Teddy and Alex was strong. Mutual obsession and desire seeped from the pages. Years and years of pent up love, lust, hate, envy on both of their ends. Plus they were both interesting and morally grey characters that ultimately, I adored! Must characters be perfect angels to be lovable? I think not! You’ve heard of the black cat x golden retriever romance trope but this was more like black cat x black cat. Both Teddy and Alex are so prickly and tactile. Just as willing to attack each other as they are to cuddle up. Witty. Smart. Brash. Spoiled. Competitive. Loyal. Protective. Fearless. Well. I think really their only actual fear is losing each other. I think if the entire human race was wiped out but they had each other, they’d think that was a pretty good deal in the end.
Alex leans forward to whisper, “Until the stars die.” “And forever after,” Teddy says.
October 9, 2024
I’m honestly embarrassed by how much I like this book🙈 it was absolutely cringey especially some of the character dialogues but overall ? This is how I would describe my perfect guilty pleasure choice book. the dark academia theme, the monarchy kings ruling school vibe, the childhood best friends to lovers, the friend group and supportive family. everything element that I love all incorporated into one. solid 💗
January 24, 2024
alexteddy #real soulmates twin flames best friends rivals lovers partners in crime tethered for life meant to be each other’s person written in the stars drawn together by an invisible thread from the moment they were born connected by the red thread of fate loves of each others lives two sides of the same coin two halves of the same soul etc etc🔐
October 16, 2023
Gosh!! I devoured this!! I love Alex and Teddy and I love their besties!!
But sadly there’s no sex scenes. I’ve read several books with no sex scenes and it was fine. But in this case, I want it 😅
I would even be okay with one or two because normally It wouldn’t have bothered me if they weren’t teasing me about it. For example, they finally going to do the deed and then FTB 😩.
And I was like, okay sometimes the author would give us the gold the next time, but there’s no next time 😩😂.
And the morning after the FTB, … this is why I felt deprived of the sex scenes because “Not to mention, my ass isn’t the only sore part of me. I can’t take another round so soon. I’ll be lucky if I can walk without limping.” Alex sighs dramatically. “And here I thought we could have shower sex.” Teddy’s lips press into a thin line, but Alex knows he has him. “I’ll blow you. I didn’t get to do that last night, but under no circumstances are you fucking me. Clear?” “Crystal.”
See?? I wanna be there too and they did have shower sex but I was only told about it 😩😅.
Anyways, I still recommend this because it was very intriguing, witty, sexy, romantic, thrilling and it made me not want to do any adulting because I wanted to keep reading it!!
I’ll definitely read the next book this author writes!!
But sadly there’s no sex scenes. I’ve read several books with no sex scenes and it was fine. But in this case, I want it 😅
I would even be okay with one or two because normally It wouldn’t have bothered me if they weren’t teasing me about it. For example, they finally going to do the deed and then FTB 😩.
And I was like, okay sometimes the author would give us the gold the next time, but there’s no next time 😩😂.
And the morning after the FTB, … this is why I felt deprived of the sex scenes because “Not to mention, my ass isn’t the only sore part of me. I can’t take another round so soon. I’ll be lucky if I can walk without limping.” Alex sighs dramatically. “And here I thought we could have shower sex.” Teddy’s lips press into a thin line, but Alex knows he has him. “I’ll blow you. I didn’t get to do that last night, but under no circumstances are you fucking me. Clear?” “Crystal.”
See?? I wanna be there too and they did have shower sex but I was only told about it 😩😅.
Anyways, I still recommend this because it was very intriguing, witty, sexy, romantic, thrilling and it made me not want to do any adulting because I wanted to keep reading it!!
I’ll definitely read the next book this author writes!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 5, 2023
If there is one thing I love (if you know anything about me) it is friends to lovers. Particularly childhood friends to lovers. And these two?! 👌
"I'll love you until the stars die."
"And I'll love you forever after."
This book was so fun (a bit ridiculous but in an amazing way). We have major dark academia vibes here. Set in this cult-like university, where super privileged, rich kids reign supreme. Most of these characters are morally grey and they live to play mind games with each other.
And there is also a murder mystery. Some students from the school are found dead and we are taken along for the ride. I will say trying to piece it together throughout the story was fun and the revelations at the end definitely surprised me.
But my absolute favorite part of this book was the complete and utter co-dependency of Teddy and Alex. These two have been childhood friends since birth and have known basically their whole lives that they are end game. But when we start the book they aren’t together; but like also … sleep in the same bed, can’t go without seeing each other without losing it, have literal touch-him-and-die vibes…. You know. All the regular friends stuff 🤣 They are the most possessive, borderline toxic boys.
“They’ve always known they love each other and have been saying it for so long that it is just a fact. The sky is blue. The grass is green. Alex and Teddy love each other.”
I could’ve used a little more spice - I wanted to see the culmination of years of pining and the absolute desperation these two must’ve had when finally making their relationship physical. But overall I adored this and would love to see more in this world with these characters.
"I'll love you until the stars die."
"And I'll love you forever after."
This book was so fun (a bit ridiculous but in an amazing way). We have major dark academia vibes here. Set in this cult-like university, where super privileged, rich kids reign supreme. Most of these characters are morally grey and they live to play mind games with each other.
And there is also a murder mystery. Some students from the school are found dead and we are taken along for the ride. I will say trying to piece it together throughout the story was fun and the revelations at the end definitely surprised me.
But my absolute favorite part of this book was the complete and utter co-dependency of Teddy and Alex. These two have been childhood friends since birth and have known basically their whole lives that they are end game. But when we start the book they aren’t together; but like also … sleep in the same bed, can’t go without seeing each other without losing it, have literal touch-him-and-die vibes…. You know. All the regular friends stuff 🤣 They are the most possessive, borderline toxic boys.
“They’ve always known they love each other and have been saying it for so long that it is just a fact. The sky is blue. The grass is green. Alex and Teddy love each other.”
I could’ve used a little more spice - I wanted to see the culmination of years of pining and the absolute desperation these two must’ve had when finally making their relationship physical. But overall I adored this and would love to see more in this world with these characters.
November 25, 2023
objectively THE worst book i’ve read but it was funny as hell and it was codependent childhood best friends to lovers on crack
ok i was gonna leave this at a one line review but i genuinely feel so disappointed 😭 the premise was so good but the writing was so repetitive, boring, and pretentious. the characters were one dimensional like yes spoiled rich kids getting away with everything with no personality except the fact they’re obsessed with one another.
actually i take that back maybe teddy had a point, at least he got numerous yachts and a fucking amusement park. where’s MY alex….
the plot was so dull. the only thing that kept me going was the unserious, hilarious dialogue like no one talks like this but … it was so entertaining i couldn’t put the book down?? book had crack in it but the temu version of it.
teddy and alex had such good potential and some LINES were so beautiful but they were repeated so much it felt overused.
genre should’ve been called a wattpad yaoi comedy.
plot twist was kinda … idk mixed feelings like did i know it was a game? yeah. did i think all of them were in on it ? nope
ok i was gonna leave this at a one line review but i genuinely feel so disappointed 😭 the premise was so good but the writing was so repetitive, boring, and pretentious. the characters were one dimensional like yes spoiled rich kids getting away with everything with no personality except the fact they’re obsessed with one another.
actually i take that back maybe teddy had a point, at least he got numerous yachts and a fucking amusement park. where’s MY alex….
the plot was so dull. the only thing that kept me going was the unserious, hilarious dialogue like no one talks like this but … it was so entertaining i couldn’t put the book down?? book had crack in it but the temu version of it.
teddy and alex had such good potential and some LINES were so beautiful but they were repeated so much it felt overused.
genre should’ve been called a wattpad yaoi comedy.
plot twist was kinda … idk mixed feelings like did i know it was a game? yeah. did i think all of them were in on it ? nope
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 27, 2025
that took me on a riiiiiddee!! especially that ending, i love it when we get a full explanation 👀
i loooove teddy & alex together so so much. the possessiveness + codependency together was just ✨amazing✨
this whole story sucked me in from the first chapter, when i say i couldn’t put it down i mean it!! too freaking good.
i loooove teddy & alex together so so much. the possessiveness + codependency together was just ✨amazing✨
this whole story sucked me in from the first chapter, when i say i couldn’t put it down i mean it!! too freaking good.
February 18, 2023
Am I still sobbing my eyes out thinking about these two?? Yes, yes I am 😭 and I can't stop, won't stop
Let's not address the elephant (aka the fact that I practically disappeared 💀) in the room just yet. Let's just bask, BASK in the perfection that is Alexander Mitchell and Theodore Parker's relationship 🤌🏾🤌🏾
"I'll love you until the stars die" ... "And forever after"
Ughhh I love a hidden gem as much as the next person, and I especially love when said hidden gem blows me tf away. So much so, I'm actually no longer on this planet. Yes, as we speak, I am on the moon 🥲
This was everything my weak heart needed. We've got:
🖤Dark academia vibes
🖤Morally grey bordering on completely immoral protagonists (you may seriously question rooting for them)
🖤Old boarding school aesthetic except it's university
🖤A murder mystery that gets spicier by the chapter
🖤Super rich and influential families
🖤SOULMATE ENERGY. BRUH. The soulmate-est energy that ever did spark. Trust me 👌🏾
This book was everything I love in my romances. Definitely OTT but as I say, go big or go home ✌🏾. It had that unresolved sexual tension between two characters who know they're meant to be, who know they're endgame, but have been waiting for the perfect moment (which we get to witness ahhhh). Two characters fiercely protective of each other (like 'touch him and die' vibes 🤤). All while working to solve a murder mystery!! It also features a plot twist that threatens to have you seeking professional help to recover from the whiplash. What else could we ask for?? This book was so fantastic, it resurrected me from my hiatus 😂 I honestly felt it was my civic duty to tell you all that it exists (you're welcome) and... why are you still reading this? Go pick it up and see for yourself 😌
HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLYYYY RECOMMEND!
TWs: multiple mentions of death, SA, rape (feel free to message me if you need any clarification - take care of yourself 🖤)
Let's not address the elephant (aka the fact that I practically disappeared 💀) in the room just yet. Let's just bask, BASK in the perfection that is Alexander Mitchell and Theodore Parker's relationship 🤌🏾🤌🏾
"I'll love you until the stars die" ... "And forever after"
Ughhh I love a hidden gem as much as the next person, and I especially love when said hidden gem blows me tf away. So much so, I'm actually no longer on this planet. Yes, as we speak, I am on the moon 🥲
This was everything my weak heart needed. We've got:
🖤Dark academia vibes
🖤Morally grey bordering on completely immoral protagonists (you may seriously question rooting for them)
🖤Old boarding school aesthetic except it's university
🖤A murder mystery that gets spicier by the chapter
🖤Super rich and influential families
🖤SOULMATE ENERGY. BRUH. The soulmate-est energy that ever did spark. Trust me 👌🏾
This book was everything I love in my romances. Definitely OTT but as I say, go big or go home ✌🏾. It had that unresolved sexual tension between two characters who know they're meant to be, who know they're endgame, but have been waiting for the perfect moment (which we get to witness ahhhh). Two characters fiercely protective of each other (like 'touch him and die' vibes 🤤). All while working to solve a murder mystery!! It also features a plot twist that threatens to have you seeking professional help to recover from the whiplash. What else could we ask for?? This book was so fantastic, it resurrected me from my hiatus 😂 I honestly felt it was my civic duty to tell you all that it exists (you're welcome) and... why are you still reading this? Go pick it up and see for yourself 😌
HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLYYYY RECOMMEND!
TWs: multiple mentions of death, SA, rape (feel free to message me if you need any clarification - take care of yourself 🖤)
February 22, 2023
“𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘦.”
“𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳"
Alex and Teddy are the main characters of the book, they are the Kings of Veritas. Veritas is this super-inclusive school for rich powerful people. It is known for its prestige and seclusion. Alex and Teddy both come from wealthy families and their parents are alumni of Veritas University, getting into Veritas was a tradition.
This is a murder mystery with lots of suspense and intriguing plots.
The story starts with a student who is missing and later found dead in the woods on the school premises. The body is none other than Teddy's twin brother Tommy.
The storyline is very extraordinary and interesting. What keeps you gripping is the secrets that everyone has. We get three different POVs, we have Jessica's POV who is our local police officer, and then Alex and Teddy's POV. Jessica's POV is highly important because her POV shows us the investigation part.
Alex and Teddy's relationship is quite unusual for me. I have never read something like this. Everything thing is a game for them. Everything is a competition for them, from getting the highest score to saying I love you first. Their relationship was indeed the highlight of the book. The second highlight will be the school setup. The rules and regulations, the principles of the school. It gives a whole cult vibe. The third highlight will be the twist at the end. A very unexpected twist. Not only I couldn't predict the murderer I also didn't see the twist coming at the end.
This was a masterpiece, for all those who have a knack for solving murder mysteries and appreciate suspense and thriller must give it a try.
“𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳"
Alex and Teddy are the main characters of the book, they are the Kings of Veritas. Veritas is this super-inclusive school for rich powerful people. It is known for its prestige and seclusion. Alex and Teddy both come from wealthy families and their parents are alumni of Veritas University, getting into Veritas was a tradition.
This is a murder mystery with lots of suspense and intriguing plots.
The story starts with a student who is missing and later found dead in the woods on the school premises. The body is none other than Teddy's twin brother Tommy.
The storyline is very extraordinary and interesting. What keeps you gripping is the secrets that everyone has. We get three different POVs, we have Jessica's POV who is our local police officer, and then Alex and Teddy's POV. Jessica's POV is highly important because her POV shows us the investigation part.
Alex and Teddy's relationship is quite unusual for me. I have never read something like this. Everything thing is a game for them. Everything is a competition for them, from getting the highest score to saying I love you first. Their relationship was indeed the highlight of the book. The second highlight will be the school setup. The rules and regulations, the principles of the school. It gives a whole cult vibe. The third highlight will be the twist at the end. A very unexpected twist. Not only I couldn't predict the murderer I also didn't see the twist coming at the end.
This was a masterpiece, for all those who have a knack for solving murder mysteries and appreciate suspense and thriller must give it a try.
January 28, 2023
This book is awesome! A murder mystery with queer romance, morally gray characters, and enough twists to keep you on your toes. The book takes place in a competitive academic setting (Veritas) that breeds intellectual hierarchies and (un)friendly rivalries. After the murder of an unlikable classmate we follow students and law-enforcement as they try to figure out Whodonnit.
I suggest this to anyone who enjoys Dark Academia, Enemies to Lovers, and books that will leave you open mouthed, reeling at the end.
I suggest this to anyone who enjoys Dark Academia, Enemies to Lovers, and books that will leave you open mouthed, reeling at the end.
January 25, 2023
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️I was so grateful to receive an ARC from the author. This five-star romance/mystery has you second guessing your predictions every chapter and still shocks you with its ending! Teddy and Alex are lovable characters who are easy to become attached to, and their powerful attraction to one another had me dying to read about how their relationship unfolds. Kalyn sucks you into Teddy and Alex’s world and makes it so hard to leave.
This is one that will have you laughing, hold you at the edge of your seat, and make you want to reread over and over! I can’t wait to read more from this author! This debut (🤯👏👏) novel is one to add to your TBR immediately, but put it right at the top! Perfect for book clubs, fans of dark academia, romance lovers, and anyone who loves a good murder mystery! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is one that will have you laughing, hold you at the edge of your seat, and make you want to reread over and over! I can’t wait to read more from this author! This debut (🤯👏👏) novel is one to add to your TBR immediately, but put it right at the top! Perfect for book clubs, fans of dark academia, romance lovers, and anyone who loves a good murder mystery! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
June 26, 2024
"Because even when they were six, Teddy was Alex's entire universe."
from the moment i first begun to read this it was the most romantic thing i'd ever read. before even the insinuated love within the 'until the stars die' and 'forever after,' teddy and alex were MY entire universe. to know they were meant for one another all along (and to then have it be so entirely clear, to have this idea of 'rightness' between the two be evident beyond a mere statement of it?) before even harry had called them soulmates, they just were.
from the moment i first begun to read this it was the most romantic thing i'd ever read. before even the insinuated love within the 'until the stars die' and 'forever after,' teddy and alex were MY entire universe. to know they were meant for one another all along (and to then have it be so entirely clear, to have this idea of 'rightness' between the two be evident beyond a mere statement of it?) before even harry had called them soulmates, they just were.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 15, 2023
And so the string of bad lucky continues.
I don’t know how to rate this book - I was intrigued enough to finish the book, if only to discover the twist at the end, but I hated every other second of the entitlement that oozed off the main characters. The story also requires you to suspend disbelief at basically all times which I just can’t jive with anymore - I need some realism, like people don’t act this way!
I don’t know how to rate this book - I was intrigued enough to finish the book, if only to discover the twist at the end, but I hated every other second of the entitlement that oozed off the main characters. The story also requires you to suspend disbelief at basically all times which I just can’t jive with anymore - I need some realism, like people don’t act this way!
November 21, 2023
Guess I've read a lot of Agatha Christie to know how to use my little grey cells and solve the mysteries at the 50% mark. But i had so much fun reading this. It was fast paced. Alex and Teddy were very fun to read with their whole childhood soulmates forever vibe and their moments were extremely sweet.
Alex leans forward to whisper, "Until the stars die."
"And forever after," Teddy says.
Alex leans forward to whisper, "Until the stars die."
"And forever after," Teddy says.
April 12, 2023
4.5 stars. Great set of pretty unbelievable but very amusing characters. My ideas about who was responsible for the murders was accurate, but the exact details were still a good plot twist. I loved the dedication by the author. I look forward to more books with Teddy and Alex.
November 18, 2023
Wow. This book was better than I expected when I first started reading it. I’m glad I stuck it out. The romance between the two MMC is really cute, in a weirdo way, and the plot twist wasn’t one I was expecting at all! Glad I took the chance here.
November 21, 2023
Dnfed. The Mc's were too much over the top for my liking.
July 27, 2024
to YOU this is words on paper. to ME it is the path to ascension amen! 🙏
March 2, 2023
Murder mysteries aren’t normally my go to but damn was I happy I picked this one up! This book is a good old fashioned,queer murder mystery with terrifying events and even more terrifying student personalities. Definitely worth the read!
I don’t know how to write without spoilers (I will start gushing like a groupie if I start trying to describe the plot) but I will say I loved the story and although some of the twists were expected I was fully on board for the ride. This book certainly kept me on my toes and is definitely one for fans of dark academia, enemies to lovers and perfect endingS that make you want to start the book all over again.
I do think that some people might not like how the romance features such a main part in the story, putting the investigation/murders etc. on a bit of a back burner at times, and there were a fair few cliches dotted about. I personally found these aspects to be charming and don’t think this took away my enjoyment one bit.
I will mention that the plot would not have been the same without a great cast of characters (and cat) and I think this is one area our author really excels at. I loved the relationship between Alex and Teddy and I hope we see more of them in the future whether in more books or short stories.
This is definitely an author I will be keeping my eye on! I cannot wait to see what they do next.
I received an ARC copy for free and am leaving this review voluntarily.
I don’t know how to write without spoilers (I will start gushing like a groupie if I start trying to describe the plot) but I will say I loved the story and although some of the twists were expected I was fully on board for the ride. This book certainly kept me on my toes and is definitely one for fans of dark academia, enemies to lovers and perfect endingS that make you want to start the book all over again.
I do think that some people might not like how the romance features such a main part in the story, putting the investigation/murders etc. on a bit of a back burner at times, and there were a fair few cliches dotted about. I personally found these aspects to be charming and don’t think this took away my enjoyment one bit.
I will mention that the plot would not have been the same without a great cast of characters (and cat) and I think this is one area our author really excels at. I loved the relationship between Alex and Teddy and I hope we see more of them in the future whether in more books or short stories.
This is definitely an author I will be keeping my eye on! I cannot wait to see what they do next.
I received an ARC copy for free and am leaving this review voluntarily.
February 25, 2023
“Alex isn’t the only one who knows they are endgame. Everyone does. Except for Teddy, who knows it but just isn’t ready to admit it yet.”
Holy smokes, what a plot twist!! This book reminds me of Gossip Girl and Riverdale, but make it college-aged. So many twists and turns in this book, and I loved every second of it.
Highlights:
🖤college MM romance
🖤soulmates
🖤friends to lovers
🖤multiple POVs
🖤murder mystery
🖤privileged, cult-like university setting
🖤plot twist!!
🖤slow burn, but fades to black (my biggest complaint)
Overall, I recommend this book if you love a good mystery. Teddy and Alex’s relationship was codependent AF, but I was here for their toxicity, haha.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Heat: 🔥
Holy smokes, what a plot twist!! This book reminds me of Gossip Girl and Riverdale, but make it college-aged. So many twists and turns in this book, and I loved every second of it.
Highlights:
🖤college MM romance
🖤soulmates
🖤friends to lovers
🖤multiple POVs
🖤murder mystery
🖤privileged, cult-like university setting
🖤plot twist!!
🖤slow burn, but fades to black (my biggest complaint)
Overall, I recommend this book if you love a good mystery. Teddy and Alex’s relationship was codependent AF, but I was here for their toxicity, haha.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Heat: 🔥
March 1, 2023
I thought this was a fun story because the characters are very OTP and each scene is filled with humor. At the same time, you might not know who to root for because everyone is keeping secrets and you won't know who to believe. There are 3 alternative POVs, Teddy, Alex and the police officer's Jessica.
Romance wise, they considered eachother souls so that kinda angst is low but it does take some time before they're officially together. The steam is fade to black although it is frequently mentioned.
This was an interesting debut with lots if twists so I would interested to see where the author goes from here.
Romance wise, they considered eachother souls so that kinda angst is low but it does take some time before they're officially together. The steam is fade to black although it is frequently mentioned.
This was an interesting debut with lots if twists so I would interested to see where the author goes from here.
April 11, 2024
Mystery/thriller meets high school drama.
This book was very good. It has a lot of twists and turns. Alex and Teddy like to play games and out smart one another which makes it interesting throughout.
Main characters go to school at a small university which is high class and elitist. Everyone is ranked and in constant competition. When Tommy (teddy's twin brother) is murdered, the whole campus is thrown upside down and in disarray while trying to figure out who did it.
You will think you have it figured out but you don't!
This book was very good. It has a lot of twists and turns. Alex and Teddy like to play games and out smart one another which makes it interesting throughout.
Main characters go to school at a small university which is high class and elitist. Everyone is ranked and in constant competition. When Tommy (teddy's twin brother) is murdered, the whole campus is thrown upside down and in disarray while trying to figure out who did it.
You will think you have it figured out but you don't!
March 4, 2023
I knew there was gonna be a twist at the end but I didn’t see that coming. This was a fun book to read. And I’m glad there will be more from Teddy and Alex in the future because this book was a treat. Their inevitable love story mixed into a pretty crazy murder mystery. I found myself laughing out loud on several occasions. The love Teddy and Alex have for each other is heartwarming even though they are clearly both a bit crazy.
This is definitely a must read and I highly recommend this book!
This is definitely a must read and I highly recommend this book!
February 27, 2023
They all have secrets at the university and when his twin is murdered he intends to find out who killed them. Someone will do anything to stop him finding the truth out. More and more pupils are being killed. Can he find the killer? Who is the killer? Can they be stopped? See just how it will all end
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