Darius the Great Deserves Better by Adib Khorram -> Starting May 4th, 2022

[Aly]

In this companion to the award-winning Darius the Great Is Not Okay, Darius suddenly has it all: a boyfriend, an internship, a spot on the soccer team. It’s everything he’s ever wanted–but what if he deserves better?

Darius Kellner is having a bit of a year. Since his trip to Iran this past spring, a lot has changed. He’s getting along with his dad, and his best friend Sohrab is only a Skype call away. Between his first boyfriend, Landon, his varsity soccer practices, and his internship at his favorite tea shop, Darius is feeling pretty okay. Like he finally knows what it means to be Darius Kellner.

Then, of course, everything changes. Darius’s grandmothers are in town for a long visit while his dad is gone on business, and Darius isn’t sure whether they even like him. The internship isn’t what Darius thought it would be, and now he doesn’t know about turning tea into his career. He was sure he liked Landon, but when he starts hanging out with Chip–soccer teammate and best friend of Trent Bolger, epic bully–well, he’s just not so sure about Landon anymore, either.

Darius thought he knew exactly who he was and what he wanted, but maybe he was wrong. Maybe he deserves better.

[Ellen-Arwen]

Yay! I'm 43% through on audible but I'll do in section from now on. Here are my thoughts thus far :)

(view spoiler)[

I felt kind of cheated that we didn't get to see Darius come out tbh. I kind of felt like I'd missed a book in between actually; it felt really awkward with the gap from coming back from Iran. Feeling particularly cheated that I don't feel like I know Landon at all - and it doesn't seem like things are going well for them as a couple while we never saw them in the honeymoon type period. I would have loved to see them actually getting together - how would Darius have coped??

Also, it was a bit out of the blue that he has two grandmas - it's good that it's being treated so normally, but I don't think we had any clues in book one?

Darius's dad is great; I love seeing positive parental rep in YA (because it's so rare!). And I'm glad that after playing football (I'm British, so soccer is just confusing for me lol) after playing with Sohrab.

The amount they seem to compare penises! Do teens really do this? As a girl, we certainly never compared down there in out teens - it was far too embarrassing!

So, I get the feeling Darius is attracted to Chip (the erections are a good clue!), but I'm not sure whether it's just physical or not? Chip seems to genuinely like him, and maybe that's the way the book is going... I still don't feel too positive about Chip tbh. I hold a grudge lol.

Things I love that have continued from the first book: all the dorky, fun Star Wars and Tolkien references (yay!); Darius' love of tea; his self awareness.

Things I'm missing: learning about Iranian culture; Sohrab.

New things I like: Lalay (sp?? sorry, I'm listening so I have no idea of spellings) having more of a character (although she seems to have grown up super fast!!) and hearing her struggles (I hope this is explored more); the reality of racism in post 9/11 America; general teenage awkwardness lol.
(hide spoiler)]

I'll refrain from listening to any more today to give you a chance to catch up :)

[akacya ❦]

you don’t have to stop for my sake! i’ll catch up quickly. i’m on page 25 right now. (view spoiler)[oh my goodness, i got secondhand embarrassment during darius’s talk with his dad😂 but it’s a big change from last book and i’m glad they are able to talk about these things (hide spoiler)]

[Ellen-Arwen]

akacya ♡̷̷ˎˊ wrote: "you don’t have to stop for my sake! i’ll catch up quickly. i’m on page 25 right now. [spoilers removed]"

Yay!
(view spoiler)[ I agree it's so great to see the massive difference in their relationship between this and book one. I wanted to see him coming out though! (hide spoiler)]

[akacya ❦]

Ellen-Arwen wrote: "akacya ♡̷̷ˎˊ wrote: "you don’t have to stop for my sake! i’ll catch up quickly. i’m on page 25 right now. [spoilers removed]"

Yay!
[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[yeah that would have been nice! though maybe the author just didn’t want that part to be a big part of the story, and wanted to focus on his relationships instead (hide spoiler)]

[akacya ❦]

~37%
(view spoiler)[how old is landon? i know the employees are supposed to be 18+ but i wasn’t sure if maybe he was younger and is an employee because his dad owns the place. but he seems super experienced haha (hide spoiler)]

[akacya ❦]

40%
(view spoiler)[why would chip invite darius to hang out with trent as if he hasn’t witnessed trent bully darius many times😭 (hide spoiler)]

[akacya ❦]

Ellen-Arwen wrote: "Yay! I'm 43% through on audible but I'll do in section from now on. Here are my thoughts thus far :)
..."

(view spoiler)[i wish we would’ve been able to see their relationship’s origin! i’m wondering if the author did that on purpose because he wants us to root for chip x darius instead? no idea lol.

i also thought it was nice that he stuck with the sport after playing with sohrab in iran!! i bet sohrab was happy to hear that.

i was thinking the same thing, i think it’s interesting reading about a male MC by a male author because you don’t get the same experience with male MCs written by female authors💀💀

his sister’s name is spelled laleh! i’m an avid audiobook listener so no need to apologize, i 100% understand the struggle hahaha (hide spoiler)]

[akacya ❦]

57%
(view spoiler)[tbh i just assumed that “oma” was darius’s dad’s stepmom since he calls her “linda,” but it looks like that’s not the case. it makes more sense though since there was a line like “sometimes i wonder if we’re actually related” hahah (hide spoiler)]

[akacya ❦]

86%
(view spoiler)[i feel sad that darius was the one who apologized after landon saying all those mean things (hide spoiler)]

[akacya ❦]

done!
(view spoiler)[chip stood up to trent! FINALLY!

i’m not yet sure how this one compares to book one in my mind, but i gave them both five stars haha. book one explored mental illness/depression more deeply than this one. i feel like darius’s depression wasn’t talked about much in this one but his dad’s was talked about more. but i liked that darius was navigating relationships in this book. (hide spoiler)]

[Ellen-Arwen]

akacya ♡̷̷ˎˊ wrote: "40%
[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ I know! Chip just doesn't get it - or there's something odd going on... (hide spoiler)]

[Ellen-Arwen]

58% You weren't kidding when you said you'd catch up quick! I was trying to avoid this one yesterday to focus on other reads but I didn't need to!

(view spoiler)[ Oh no *cries* We always knew Baboo (sp??) would die but I kinda kidded myself it wouldn't happen...

The contrasts between the sets of grandparents are really interesting - I totally recognise the whole everyone just being on their devices and not communicating... (hide spoiler)]

[akacya ❦]

Ellen-Arwen wrote: "58% You weren't kidding when you said you'd catch up quick! I was trying to avoid this one yesterday to focus on other reads but I didn't need to!..."

lol! school’s done for the semester so i’ve had loads of reading time!

(view spoiler)[it was so sad when babou died :( and yes the difference between the grandparents is astounding!! (hide spoiler)]

[Ellen-Arwen]

78% (view spoiler)[
this dance is going to go so wrong, it feels like a trainwreck - you know it's going to happen but there's nothing you can do to stop it and you can't look away. Aaaaatgh (hide spoiler)]

80% (view spoiler)[
Bloody hell, that was loooooooooow (hide spoiler)]
End (view spoiler)[
TOTALLY agree that Darius shouldn't have been the one apologising, it was heartbreaking. I don't think Landon is a seriously nasty person, he just was NOT right for Darius and it feels sad. I hate that he gave up his job. (hide spoiler)]

[Ellen-Arwen]

akacya ♡̷̷ˎˊ wrote: "done!
chip stood up to trent! FINALLY!

i’m not yet sure how this one compares to book one in my mind, but i gave them both five stars haha. book one explored mental illness/depression more deeply ..."

my thoughts (view spoiler)[
I didn't enjoy this one at the beginning half so much but the end third was fantastic. I think the opposite maybe? - this was more an exploration of mental health, whereas the first one focused more on identity and selfhood? It's all connected.

Interesting hearing the author's thoughts about why he felt the need to come back to Darius; I really liked the explanation.

Oh, I was SUPER relieved about Sohrab. That was hard - I think I would have liked more exploration of the side characters, notably Sohrab and Darius' dad's mums.

Not as good as the first for me but still vg! (hide spoiler)]

[akacya ❦]

Ellen-Arwen wrote: "akacya ♡̷̷ˎˊ wrote: "done!..."

(view spoiler)[i liked the explanation too!! and i would love more on the side characters (hide spoiler)]