An odd one, this. The concept works and I like that Mathias is on the autism spectrum. Owen's lovable. There's a diverse set of side characters. But I wasn't drawn in: there's a spark missing, for me.

2/2

Extending a bit more, I turned on the TV last week and saw the end of an episode of EastEnders where two young men kissed.

Here’s Piers Morgan in 1989:

I enjoyed the characters of Floris and Orson, and Orson's background adds some tension, but it needed more. It's all a little easy. I thought I saw a few seeds of later conflict, but they didn't germinate.

2/2

Yeah. I understand why studios are reluctant to drop $$$ on anything but known strong IP but this has got so much going for it.

Given this year’s breakout success of a queer romance adaptation, here’s a few more I’d like to see in 2026:

- Check, Please
- Unstable Orbits
- Voyage of the Damned
- The Darkness Outside Us
- Gideon the Ninth

Sure.

It's likely to be 80-90k.

Thanks. I'll be looking for plot and character inconsistencies and problems, and also if any of the dialect is confusing. My rough ETA is end of January for the beta; unlikely to be earlier, might be later.

Yes, I read it now because of the TV show. Plenty of spice, and great lead characters who grow and change, and struggle to understand their feelings. Ilya's dialogue sparkles. I felt it needed a stronger ending.

2/2

A quiet, thoughtful, hopeful book about grief and love in their many forms. Cat Sebastian's so good at historical romances like this, and 1968 is a perfect setting: a world on the cusp, but of what?

2/2

Not Tal Bauer's best, I think, but that doesn't mean it's bad. Wes's paranoia and other plot aspects feel almost of another time. The Wes/Justin relationship is great, though.

2/2