Age of Protagonists / Sub-Genre
Heartstopper, Book #2
Review of Heartstopper, Book #1
Heat Factor: So much making out. (Ah, the high school nostalgia)
Character Chemistry: Sweetness overload. These boys are so kind.
Plot: Charlie kissed Nick and now he thinks their friendship is over, but Nick is realizing that those feelings he’s been having mean something, so now it’s time to navigate a secret relationship
Overall: My high school first love nostalgia trip continues but with much sweeter and more nurturing kids.
Heartstopper, Book #1
Heat Factor: First kiss
Character Chemistry: There are so many blushing faces images. It’s adorable.
Plot: Charlie, a nerd, is seated next to rugby lad Nick in class, and their unlikely friendship develops into a troublesome crush
Overall: Sweetness overload. I bought the next three books. Whoops.
Heat Factor: Very, very mild, which in this case is absolutely age appropriate.
Character Chemistry: The absolute best kind of YA—not at all angsty, sweet, surprising, and all about that plot.
Plot: Lydia goes to visit her Grandma for a week, and is immediately drawn to the forest—the very forest her mother has described as dark and scary. While exploring, she meets a beautiful and fascinating girl named Eden, who is searching for “treasure”. Soon, she discovers that her whole past and the forest are not at all what they seem…dun, dun, DUN!!
Overall: This book is like a magical snow globe of amazing. I loved it.
Heat Factor: It’s a lovely warm–first bloom of love and all that.
Character Chemistry: At first glance they’re opposites attracting but then it turns out they’re actually quite similar.
Plot: Karina (Myra) is a second generation Bangladeshi teenager dealing with a lot of pressure to succeed within a very narrow set of parameters. When she’s asked to tutor Ace, the school “bad boy”, she’s initially horrified–but she soon discovers that they have way more in common than she thinks…
Overall: This book is actually achingly sweet. It’s a Young Adult, so you’re in for some major teen angst, but in this case that angst is pretty understandable.
Heat Factor: It’s wholesomely sparky, but in a youthful way
Character Chemistry: Emma and Sophia are combative and then cuddly, and it’s extremely cute
Plot: Omg, guys, it’s Much Ado About Nothing but YA and Bi. Hearts just SHOOTING out of my eyes and also I completely forgot how ridiculous teenagers are?
Overall: This is a really sweet and surprisingly complicated book set to the tune of Much Ado About Nothing, and it was lovely.
The Smut Report 