3.5 stars
This book was a bit of a slow grower as I struggled with the premise at first. Around the halfway point or so I realized the positive aspects of the story outweighed the negative, and I settled into a good reading groove. Surprisingly, given the title, the romance is not the strength of the story. But the main character, Sunny Dae, is someone worth getting to know, in my opinion.
Sunny Dae admits he is a nerd. Along with his two best friends, Jamal and Milo, he plays Dungeons and Dragons. They also like to post DIY videos for those diehard fans who LARP, aka live action role playing. (I'm trying my best to get the lingo down!) When Sunny meets the new girl at school, Cirrus, he doesn't think he will win any cool points with her if he mentions his hobby. So instead he just straight up lies and tells her he is in a rock band. Hmm.. lying to impress a girl, let's see how this one is going to play out.
I'm a frequent reader of romance novels, so it's not like I am unfamiliar with the whole "pretending to be something I'm not" premise. However, even I thought the rock band storyline was a stretch of the imagination and I could never fully get on board with it. At least after awhile, I was able to stop analyzing it to death and focus on the parts of the story that were more enjoyable to me.
There wasn't much character development when it came to Cirrus and that might be why the romance fell a bit short in my eyes. On a friend level, Sunny and Cirrus were a good match, but beyond that I didn't see much chemistry. Thankfully the author does bring some substance to other aspects of the story which made it a worthwhile read. Discussions of racism and how Sunny was treated in his community gave the story depth. And I loved how in the last few chapters of the book, you really got the opportunity to know the rest of the Dae family as well. That's the heart of the story.
Might not have been a perfect read, but I'm glad I read it.
This book was a bit of a slow grower as I struggled with the premise at first. Around the halfway point or so I realized the positive aspects of the story outweighed the negative, and I settled into a good reading groove. Surprisingly, given the title, the romance is not the strength of the story. But the main character, Sunny Dae, is someone worth getting to know, in my opinion.
Sunny Dae admits he is a nerd. Along with his two best friends, Jamal and Milo, he plays Dungeons and Dragons. They also like to post DIY videos for those diehard fans who LARP, aka live action role playing. (I'm trying my best to get the lingo down!) When Sunny meets the new girl at school, Cirrus, he doesn't think he will win any cool points with her if he mentions his hobby. So instead he just straight up lies and tells her he is in a rock band. Hmm.. lying to impress a girl, let's see how this one is going to play out.
I'm a frequent reader of romance novels, so it's not like I am unfamiliar with the whole "pretending to be something I'm not" premise. However, even I thought the rock band storyline was a stretch of the imagination and I could never fully get on board with it. At least after awhile, I was able to stop analyzing it to death and focus on the parts of the story that were more enjoyable to me.
There wasn't much character development when it came to Cirrus and that might be why the romance fell a bit short in my eyes. On a friend level, Sunny and Cirrus were a good match, but beyond that I didn't see much chemistry. Thankfully the author does bring some substance to other aspects of the story which made it a worthwhile read. Discussions of racism and how Sunny was treated in his community gave the story depth. And I loved how in the last few chapters of the book, you really got the opportunity to know the rest of the Dae family as well. That's the heart of the story.
Might not have been a perfect read, but I'm glad I read it.