SooJung Lee

This book was repeatedly recommended by videos while i was looking for LGBT YA novels. To the point where i was very excited when i finally sat down with the audiobook. Theres no real nice way to say this but essentially this book is just a published ao3 fanfic. Or a 5 episode family sitcom where the two main leads are the only two who don’t realize they’re supposed to be the ham fisted love story the plot is centered around, meanwhile the rest of the cast are one dimensional supporting characters who’s job it is to sigh in a fake-exasperated manner while folding their arms and shaking their heads fondly at the clearly romantic “tension” between the two. The plot is very painfully basic and predictable and felt more like a multi-chapter ‘how many “quirky” romantic tropes can we hit on the checklist/write down in the comments which trope should I write next? Leave Kudos if you enjoyed it!’ fanfic. The only sense of danger ever in the book is the fact that one of the 2 main characters will die if he doesn’t find a spouse and then its barely used as anything but a way to speedrun the romance between him and the other main character. Even as a fun lighthearted read the book was boring to get through with no sense of character development or exploration at all, just one badly executed hijink to another with a clumsy transition. You could completely change the setting into a cheesy coffee shop AU and it wouldn’t impact any of the characters or the plot in a meaningful way. Essentially, if you’re looking for an engaging high fantasy adventure/romance with gay leads I would skip this book. But if you want to own a physical copy of a basic “insert romance scenario here” fanfic with a very pretty art cover instead of reading it on your phone in bed under the covers at 3 am I’d say this is up your alley.