Book Details
Title: I Love You Just the Way You Are
Author: Riley Rian
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: June 20, 2022
Genre(s): Young Adult, LGBT, Romance
Pages: 487
Title: I Love You Just the Way You Are
Author: Riley Rian
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: June 20, 2022
Genre(s): Young Adult, LGBT, Romance
Pages: 487
⚜
⚜
⚜
⚜
⚜
⚜
Reading Details
Finish Date: September 11, 2022
Format: Physical
Representation: Transgender, Pansexual, Lesbian
Trigger/Content Warnings: Transphobia, homophobia, violence, mention of self-harm
Finish Date: September 11, 2022
Format: Physical
Representation: Transgender, Pansexual, Lesbian
Trigger/Content Warnings: Transphobia, homophobia, violence, mention of self-harm
⚜
⚜
⚜
⚜
⚜
⚜
Rating: 4.5/5
Favorite Quote/Scene:
Kellan watching Maddie's stream
Review:
I want to read books about transgender characters written by transgender writers. I was thrilled to be included on Kate Rock's book tour for this book, especially since I had almost missed it. I knew that I wanted to read this book and I'm very thankful that I was able to.
Please check the content warnings for this book before reading. Protect yourself.
Have you ever read something and struggled to figure out exactly what your feelings about the book are? That's where I currently am about this book. I finished it two days ago but I still find myself thinking about this book and trying to center my thoughts.
I really enjoyed these characters. Maddie's chapters were sometimes tough to read. I didn't come out until I was in late college, so reading about the struggles that Maddie went through in high school was painful. I don't think I could have done what Maddie did. Kellan was an interesting character. He's got a good heart even if it takes him a bit to find it. I didn't always love him as a character, but once he found his heart he was very easy to like. I did wish there had been more between him and Ty before the ending of the book, but altogether I felt his story was built up quite well especially with his family. Maybe a bit rushed at times, but it worked for me.
I thought the pacing of this book was pretty good. Kellan was almost immediately drawn to Maddie but it wasn't insta-love and it did involve soul-searching on the part of the jock. There was build-up to fights and arguments and dates, nothing felt like it just came out of nowhere. I do wish we had been able to see some of the six weeks of them dating that was skipped over, but the book did work without it. There was one scene in particular that I wish had been in the book (Maddie streaming on Kellan's lap), but that's just because I thought it would be cute.
I enjoyed 90-95% of this book. There was only one part that I didn't really enjoy and that was just because I thought it was slightly overdone. I understand the anger in the moment, but it did feel a bit too much. Thankfully it was also called out by other people and it didn't go on for too long, but it was the one time that I didn't like Maddie.
I'll admit that at times this book reads like a self-published/fanfiction type of story. It's not perfectly written and there are improvements that could be made. That's part of why I struggled to come up with a rating for this book. My mind thinks that it should be lower but my heart thinks it's fine. Even when I thought the insta-love was too much or the author slipped into `show don't tell', I still really enjoyed the book. I guess that's the fun part of writing my own reviews. No one else needs to approve. I enjoyed this book, so it gets a 4.5 out of 5 stars.
I enjoyed this book more than I had originally expected to. I found myself drawn into the story and the lives of Maddie and Kellan. I found myself wanting to know more about the side characters like Ty or Destiny or Charlotte. I like them, I'm invested!
Favorite Quote/Scene:
Kellan watching Maddie's stream
Review:
I want to read books about transgender characters written by transgender writers. I was thrilled to be included on Kate Rock's book tour for this book, especially since I had almost missed it. I knew that I wanted to read this book and I'm very thankful that I was able to.
Please check the content warnings for this book before reading. Protect yourself.
Have you ever read something and struggled to figure out exactly what your feelings about the book are? That's where I currently am about this book. I finished it two days ago but I still find myself thinking about this book and trying to center my thoughts.
I really enjoyed these characters. Maddie's chapters were sometimes tough to read. I didn't come out until I was in late college, so reading about the struggles that Maddie went through in high school was painful. I don't think I could have done what Maddie did. Kellan was an interesting character. He's got a good heart even if it takes him a bit to find it. I didn't always love him as a character, but once he found his heart he was very easy to like. I did wish there had been more between him and Ty before the ending of the book, but altogether I felt his story was built up quite well especially with his family. Maybe a bit rushed at times, but it worked for me.
I thought the pacing of this book was pretty good. Kellan was almost immediately drawn to Maddie but it wasn't insta-love and it did involve soul-searching on the part of the jock. There was build-up to fights and arguments and dates, nothing felt like it just came out of nowhere. I do wish we had been able to see some of the six weeks of them dating that was skipped over, but the book did work without it. There was one scene in particular that I wish had been in the book (Maddie streaming on Kellan's lap), but that's just because I thought it would be cute.
I enjoyed 90-95% of this book. There was only one part that I didn't really enjoy and that was just because I thought it was slightly overdone. I understand the anger in the moment, but it did feel a bit too much. Thankfully it was also called out by other people and it didn't go on for too long, but it was the one time that I didn't like Maddie.
I'll admit that at times this book reads like a self-published/fanfiction type of story. It's not perfectly written and there are improvements that could be made. That's part of why I struggled to come up with a rating for this book. My mind thinks that it should be lower but my heart thinks it's fine. Even when I thought the insta-love was too much or the author slipped into `show don't tell', I still really enjoyed the book. I guess that's the fun part of writing my own reviews. No one else needs to approve. I enjoyed this book, so it gets a 4.5 out of 5 stars.
I enjoyed this book more than I had originally expected to. I found myself drawn into the story and the lives of Maddie and Kellan. I found myself wanting to know more about the side characters like Ty or Destiny or Charlotte. I like them, I'm invested!
No comments:
Post a Comment