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A review by nthnrgb
Blaine for the Win by Robbie Couch
4.0
So I read this entire book in about 4~ hours at work, it's frankly such an easy and delightful read. It's PEAK romance and yes, it is every Legally-Blonde-but-make-it-gay vibe you think and hope it is.
Overall, the premise is kind of simple: Blaine gets dumped by his richer, hotter, smarter, overall "better" boyfriend because he's not serious enough for someone who is one day going to be the first gay president (these are high school students. I get being ambitious but sir you are like 18 at BEST. Calm down). Blaine decides that he's going to run for senior class president, to prove that he's serious and win Joey (his ex) back. The main problem is, he's never been involved in student government and is up against a shoe-in, Zach. So he gets together with his best friend Trish, her girlfriend Camilla, and a student council member Danny to build his campaign based on addressing the needs of students, specifically the mental health crisis that a lot of students face (and the author actually comes up with a plan that would be feasible by a student council, which I very much appreciate nothing takes me more out of a book than something that doesn't fit with the rest of the vibe of the story).
Potential cons
- If you don't like Legally Blonde, chances are you won't love this. That being said, if you like (or love) Legally Blonde, I think you'll really enjoy it.
- The characters, particularly the love interest, can read a bit flat. The book is, rightly, focused on the main character. Because it's done in first person, I found that it was a bit hard to feel how fleshed out the others were, especially for Trish and Danny as we see them most often.
- Questionable chemistry. For a split second at the end, I thought there was supposed to be a different love interest and when there was about 30~ pages left I was left wondering how the bridge was going to be closed. And the gap is closed but I personally like a little "revel in the romance" right at the end where we actually get to see the couple being a couple.
What I loved
- The easy of this book. As I originally said, I read this in one sitting, about 4~ hours while at work (whoops). It's very easy to get lost in this book and keep changing because yeah it's trope-y and cliche, but it's done well and it's like a warm, comfy blanket.
- The prompt of this book. I, like anyone with taste, LOVE Legally Blonde. I also love queer romance novels. This was my heaven.
- Representation. Trish is a black sapphic woman, and Danny is a Vietnamese bi man. They're not the main characters, and yes I've said in some ways they read a little flat, but their representation feels genuine and real, particularly when you remember we're understanding their representation from the perspective of Blaine (a white man). Danny talks a bit about how hard it was on his dad to open a Vietnamese cafe and how that's impacted his fears for the future. Trish talks about her mental health struggles. Neither of these things are the "focus" of the book, but rather help to flush out why these characters are helping Blaine with his campaign.
Overall, the premise is kind of simple: Blaine gets dumped by his richer, hotter, smarter, overall "better" boyfriend because he's not serious enough for someone who is one day going to be the first gay president (these are high school students. I get being ambitious but sir you are like 18 at BEST. Calm down). Blaine decides that he's going to run for senior class president, to prove that he's serious and win Joey (his ex) back. The main problem is, he's never been involved in student government and is up against a shoe-in, Zach. So he gets together with his best friend Trish, her girlfriend Camilla, and a student council member Danny to build his campaign based on addressing the needs of students, specifically the mental health crisis that a lot of students face (and the author actually comes up with a plan that would be feasible by a student council, which I very much appreciate nothing takes me more out of a book than something that doesn't fit with the rest of the vibe of the story).
Potential cons
- If you don't like Legally Blonde, chances are you won't love this. That being said, if you like (or love) Legally Blonde, I think you'll really enjoy it.
- The characters, particularly the love interest, can read a bit flat. The book is, rightly, focused on the main character. Because it's done in first person, I found that it was a bit hard to feel how fleshed out the others were, especially for Trish and Danny as we see them most often.
- Questionable chemistry. For a split second at the end, I thought there was supposed to be a different love interest and when there was about 30~ pages left I was left wondering how the bridge was going to be closed. And the gap is closed but I personally like a little "revel in the romance" right at the end where we actually get to see the couple being a couple.
What I loved
- The easy of this book. As I originally said, I read this in one sitting, about 4~ hours while at work (whoops). It's very easy to get lost in this book and keep changing because yeah it's trope-y and cliche, but it's done well and it's like a warm, comfy blanket.
- The prompt of this book. I, like anyone with taste, LOVE Legally Blonde. I also love queer romance novels. This was my heaven.
- Representation. Trish is a black sapphic woman, and Danny is a Vietnamese bi man. They're not the main characters, and yes I've said in some ways they read a little flat, but their representation feels genuine and real, particularly when you remember we're understanding their representation from the perspective of Blaine (a white man). Danny talks a bit about how hard it was on his dad to open a Vietnamese cafe and how that's impacted his fears for the future. Trish talks about her mental health struggles. Neither of these things are the "focus" of the book, but rather help to flush out why these characters are helping Blaine with his campaign.