This Is Kind of an Epic Love Story

By: Kacen Callender

Narrated by: Ron Butler

Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's Summary

Lambda Literary Award finalist for the best LGBT YA novel of 2018

A fresh, charming rom-com perfect for fans of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda and Boy Meets Boy about Nathan Bird, who has sworn off happy endings but is sorely tested when his former best friend, Ollie, moves back to town.

Nathan Bird doesn’t believe in happy endings. Although he’s the ultimate film buff and an aspiring screenwriter, Nate’s seen the demise of too many relationships to believe happy endings exist in real life.

Playing it safe to avoid a broken heart has been his MO ever since his father died and left his mom to unravel - but this strategy is not without fault. His best-friend-turned-girlfriend-turned-best-friend-again, Florence, is set on making sure Nate finds someone else. And in a twist that is rom-com-worthy, someone does come along: Oliver James Hernández, his childhood best friend.

After a painful mix-up when they were little, Nate finally has the chance to tell Ollie the truth about his feelings. But can Nate find the courage to pursue his own happily ever after? 

©2018 Kheryn Callender (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers

Good with some clunky parts

I enjoyed the book overall. It felt real and less formulaic relative to other books in this genre. The characters felt real. However, I got distracted by the clunky story-telling and some of the behaviors that didn't seem to ring true or consistent at times. The drama felt manufactured and the writer didn't allow the character development to unfold naturally, especially in the emotional sense, particularly in the main protagonist. I appreciate the description of the sign language, but it was a little distracting, too. In the end, it had some very strong parts and it held together well.

Good Story Slightly Irritating

The performance is great and the story is easy to follow, I didn’t like the character Nate. He grinned my gears with his indecisive and pessimistic attitude, the story was full of him apologizing for everything.

Nice, but just not quite there.

The author is trying here, but the characters just don't pop. The main character, who is first-person narrator, is actually kind do of a terrible person. Very selfish, very demanding of his friends but not terribly giving. For a teen-oriented novel, there are depictions of sex that are rather on the graphic side. But were also clearly written by someone who has no idea what possession of male organs is like.

The author is a queer person of color, and a lot of people think that that alone is reason to support a book like this; so that may make the book more appealing to some. It certainly has an ethnically diverse cat of characters, but not diverse in terms of sexual orientation.

It seems like every single character is bisexual and gender fluid to some degree. You kind of hey the impression that the setting and cast off this story are characters in the world the author wishes they lived in. If you share the author's fantasy about a society where gender and sexual orientation are as changeable as the clothes you wear, you might get some escapist enjoyment from the book.

For those interested in something more relatable to the real world, you will probably be somewhat put off by it.

Overall, it's not a bad read. It has its merits, but overall probably not one of recommend as a first choice.

Enjoyed

A great listen. I enjoyed the romance between the two characters. The friendship between all the friends.

Couldnt Finish it

I dont like giving a bad review, but I have to be honest. I simply could not get into this story. I tried several times and eventually gave up.

Beautiful Story

I adored this story. It was kind of interesting that sexuality was never a major issue, it wasn't made a big deal of. The characters didn't focus on whether they were gay, or straight, or bisexual, they just loved who they loved and it was what it was. That was great.

The characters were awesome and full of depth. Ollie was absolutely adorable and I fell in love with right along with Nate. I would happily devour a sequel to this that sees Nate and Ollie tackle their year of long distance. And hopefully, they'd make it through and then there would be a third novel for their first year at college!

Yes. I'm obsessed.