Despite its enjoyable characters and palpable passion, sloppy execution and overall predictability make this one to skip....
Peppered with dirty jokes and sentimental moments, this risqué debut follows a quixotic quarterback and a self-possessed cheerleader through their torrid romance.
Headstrong and vaguely anti-social, high school senior Dallas Bryan knows who she is and what she wants: She’s a dancer masquerading as a cheerleader who wants out of Castle Rock, Colorado, by way of CalArts. Uninterested in dating, she nevertheless finds herself embroiled with Drayton Lahey, Archwood High’s superhot, superrich star quarterback. Can their tenuous pairing survive past high school? The book is driven by two major commitment-related conflicts: Drayton battles with his parents over pressure to continue a family legacy of playing for Baylor University while Dallas must come to terms with her aversion to serious relationships. A forthright narrator, Dallas shares the always horny, often boozy highlights of the adventures enabled by Drayton’s bottomless wallet and selectively permissive parents. In one episode, an away-game liaison leads to a jaunt in California; in another, a CalArts campus tour guide shows up in Colorado and forces the not-quite-couple to acknowledge their bond—which, as an outcome of their ongoing romantic tension, will not come as a surprise to readers. Occasional narrative omissions prove disappointing, and linguistic slips by the New Zealand author are distracting. Most characters are assumed white; Dallas’ best friend is cued as black.
Despite its enjoyable characters and palpable passion, sloppy execution and overall predictability make this one to skip. (Romance. 15-adult)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-9936899-4-9
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Wattpad Books
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
BOOK TO SCREEN
A soapy ending that will satisfy returning fans.
A young woman faces difficult decisions in the final volume of Argentinian author Ron’s trilogy.
This uncredited translation of a text originally published in 2021 opens a week after the events of Tell Me in Secret (2026). Julian, who deceived, stalked, and sexually assaulted Kami, has disappeared and is yet to be held accountable for his actions. Kami’s lust for Thiago has intensified even though she’s still dating his brother, Taylor, deepening her feelings of guilt and shame. The brothers, who are hardly speaking to each other, are so focused on keeping Kami safe from Julian that they cross the line from protective to overbearing and controlling. Taylor, already jealous of the closeness between Kami and Thiago, has his suspicions confirmed when one of Kami’s friends waspishly reveals her conflicted feelings. Raging and upset, Taylor lashes out physically at Thiago and breaks up with Kami. Thiago and Kami naturally grow closer; he reassures her that “there’s nothing wrong with loving” and that she wouldn’t be in this predicament if she “didn’t have so much love to give.” Then, devastating events change the trio’s lives forever. Although this entry features some improvements in character development (when it comes to Thiago, in particular) the one-note antagonists with their uninteresting melodramatics come across as absurd, undermining the impact of darker plot twists. Still, the resolution effectively wraps up this mediocre series. Central characters read white.
A soapy ending that will satisfy returning fans. (publisher’s note, content warning) (Romance. 16-18)Pub Date: May 5, 2026
ISBN: 9781464234330
Page Count: 350
Publisher: Bloom Books
Review Posted Online: April 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
Green seamlessly bridges the gap between the present and the existential, and readers will need more than one box of tissues...
He’s in remission from the osteosarcoma that took one of his legs. She’s fighting the brown fluid in her lungs caused by tumors. Both know that their time is limited.
Sparks fly when Hazel Grace Lancaster spies Augustus “Gus” Waters checking her out across the room in a group-therapy session for teens living with cancer. He’s a gorgeous, confident, intelligent amputee who always loses video games because he tries to save everyone. She’s smart, snarky and 16; she goes to community college and jokingly calls Peter Van Houten, the author of her favorite book, An Imperial Affliction, her only friend besides her parents. He asks her over, and they swap novels. He agrees to read the Van Houten and she agrees to read his—based on his favorite bloodbath-filled video game. The two become connected at the hip, and what follows is a smartly crafted intellectual explosion of a romance. From their trip to Amsterdam to meet the reclusive Van Houten to their hilariously flirty repartee, readers will swoon on nearly every page. Green’s signature style shines: His carefully structured dialogue and razor-sharp characters brim with genuine intellect, humor and desire. He takes on Big Questions that might feel heavy-handed in the words of any other author: What do oblivion and living mean? Then he deftly parries them with humor: “My nostalgia is so extreme that I am capable of missing a swing my butt never actually touched.” Dog-earing of pages will no doubt ensue.
Green seamlessly bridges the gap between the present and the existential, and readers will need more than one box of tissues to make it through Hazel and Gus’ poignant journey. (Fiction. 15 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-525-47881-2
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: Jan. 9, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2012
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