S.M. James ´ 1 DOWNLOAD
Okay, so this was adorable. Angus and Tyler were exceptionally cute, although they're both teenagers so they're not exempt from making dumb teenage decisions. But they do what they can to make up for their mistakes, and I adored their relationship.
I wasn't crazy about Angus's best friend, Anah. She went from Tyler's stringing you along to Tyler's gay and totally into you from one chapter to the next and she's very much not a good influence on Angus. Unfortunately, she was in a lot of the novel. Fortunately, she mostly disappeared in the last third.
Overall, this was a great read with both Angus and Tyler dealing with their own personal issues while trying to navigate their feelings for each other. Highly recommended! To Be Honest (#lovehim #2) This was a great story! It brought through any real an array of emotions but Angus and Tyler we're precious . To Be Honest (#lovehim #2) So now that I know who Angus' two love interests are, I want to re-read this sweet ache of a slow-burn, high school romance for the clues I missed (that must have been right in front of my face)!
If, like me, you love the intrigue of masked-identity plots, even when the secret lover is not so hard to uncover, To Be Honest is a road trip you'll want to take.
Angus' longing is made palpable in the capable hands of S.M. James. And the emotions . . . even the disguised ones . . . between four friends ring true every stop of the route.
Don't miss this one! To Be Honest (#lovehim #2) First of all thanks to the author for providing an ARC for me to read and review!
To Be Honest is the second book in the #lovehim series, but can be read as a standalone. I have to start off by saying that I love the cover of this book! It's different than most covers these days, but I love the drawing and the little details.
Angus met Scotty on a forum a few months ago and felt an instant connection. He really wants to meet Scotty, but Scotty isn't ready. This makes Angus worried, is Scotty really who he says he is? I loved that the book took time to explain what catfishing is and the warning signs. This is a real thing these days and I think teens (and even adults) should be aware of the signs.
Angus starts wondering if he really should feel the way he does for someone he met online, which is pretty understandable. He really wants to find out if he's real, so a road trip seems like the perfect way to spend the summer and make his way to Scotty. He starts this trip with his best friend Anah and his roommate Tyler (his straight roommate who he's kind of had a crush on).
I loved how real this road trip felt (yes, it's a bit unrealistic with a few of the kids being rich and having funds most teenagers won't have), but the tension and doubts all seemed real. Yes, they're friends, but things happen. During this journey, Angus starts becoming confused. Is Scotty real? What about his feelings for Tyler?
To Be Honest (yes, I know it seems like a pun), I figured out how this was going to turn out about a third into this book. I can't get too much into detail, but I was happy to see how it ended, I was disappointed I already guessed.
I loved the character development in this story. Angus is gay and proud of who he is, but realizes this isn't as easy as it seems. His best friend Anah is in a relationship that is in a vicious circle, what should she do? And then there's Tyler who has more going on than it seems!
The chat messages between Scotty and Angus were fun to read along the way, I think it would've helped maybe a bit more to have had a few chapters from Scotty's POV. I love the grand gesture at the end and the fact that the story wasn't happily ever after within a few chapters.
All in all, this was a very pleasant read. I actually finished To Be Honest in two sittings! I am definitely excited about reading more books by this author! To Be Honest (#lovehim #2) The problem with this book is that it came after some blockbuster lgbt YA books. It felt like a massive let down. It was boring, dragged on for too long in some parts and copied the electronic communication trope from every other book. Hell, even Fifty Shades used this. My favourite exhibition of it was in Simon v Homo Sapiens agenda. But here it was just- blergh. SM James is someone to watch out for though because she has material, she just needs a better tailor or sth. The ending could have been better streamlined and the cheesy drama could have been toned down. Also, the big twist should have been better handled. To Be Honest (#lovehim #2)
S.M James reminded me of my love for YA books. Put this together with MM romance and I am hooked. I loved the first book, but this was an amazing read! I loved every bit of it. There's so much energy and emotions between the characters.I could feel their connection, and that means the world to me. I love the sweet moments, love the bonding, the getting-to-know-you. It has just the right pace, the right heat level. An amazing book that I highly recommend for anyone. To Be Honest (#lovehim #2) I stumbled on to this one and though I rarely read YA anymore, it made me curious. I also read some of the reviews on Amazon and got the twist spoiled for me, so I'd say refrain from that.
It's a very sweet and at times frustrating coming of age book, with all of Angus's feelings and thoughts. We only have his perspective to go from and his perception of situations and people isn't always correct.
His friendship with Tyler is lovely and while I think Anah is a good friend, she is a bit exhausting to read about.
Through the whole book we have the lingering thought of Scotty, the elusive maybe-boyfriend, maybe-catfish and Angus's insecurities around it. Because we've all seen the Catfish show and recognise when things aren't right.
It's a fairly long book, and perhaps the plot should have wrapped up a bit earlier, a bit less Anah and Link drama, and a bit more Angus, Scotty, Tyler.
There's a few hick-ups along the way, such as things that were said then later it came as a surprise when they should already have known.
But other than that it's a sweet book with fun moments and I'd recommend it. To Be Honest (#lovehim #2) ** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Reviewed for Divine Magazine
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To Be Honest
#lovehim, Book 2
S.M. James
★★★★★
280 Pages
POV: 1st person, present tense
Would I read it again?: Of course!
Genre: YA, LGBT, Contemporary, Romance, Humour
Pairings: MM
Warnings: catfishing, internalised homophobia, homophobia, suicide, mental health, bullying, assault
Wow! I barely know what to say.
This series is...beautiful, charming, fun, romantic, and speaks to the hopeless romantic in me. Yet, it also manages to tackle real, everyday issues for teens, in a way that isn't preachy or condescending, or lecturing. Throughout the series, issues such as race, orientation, acceptance, bullying, and even self-awareness have been tackled without once feeling out of place.
Despite the nearly 300 pages of each novel, I binge read each one in less than a day. That's how all-consuming they are, how engaging, and captivating the stories are.
If you haven't read “No Big Deal” yet, then I suggest you do so quickly. It gives a little context, a little extra something to this novel that provides a deeper connection between Tyler and Angus, introducing us to how they met and how the catfishing concept started. And then go back and read book 1 “That Feeling When” and the short “In Real Life” because, trust me, you will not be sorry. I'm happy to say that I'm a series-reader, and I can't abide to read a series out of order, even if they are classed as standalones. So I started with “That Feeling When” and binge read all four stories in less than a week. I've only fallen more and more in love with the world that was created within this series with each story, and I can't wait until December 11th, when the next short “For the Win” is released.
For me, “To Be Honest” is one of those books that you could read again and again and never not fall completely head over heels in love with each page, as you're reading. It's also one of those books that, once you know the meaning of the title, becomes all the more special for it. The fact that it added in spotlights of Archie's life, from book 1, was an added bonus. Despite having read his story first, I loved the contrast of seeing him pre- and post-Yarran, and how Angus reacted to that.
Again, the presentation was on point. From the writing style to the visuals of chapter headings, to the added sub-chapter snippets of Angus and Scotty's chat conversations.
Right from the start, I floved Tyler. He was so weird, so awkward, so nerdy, that it was just right up my alley. His weird dirt thing, the jokes, the weird places he wanted to visit – adorkable perfection, from one science geek to another! Angus, with his easy-breezy acceptance of the subtle homophobia at school, the way he opened up with Tyler, and his staunch support of Anah's inadvisable relationship with Link, just made him as loveable as Tyler. Here were two clueless guys circling each other, with no idea what was really going on. And then Scotty...God, Scotty was something else. Those long talks, the hesitations, the nerves, the fear. My heart bled for him the entire time.
And, as a mystery buff I have to admit that I had my suspicions about the Scotty situation. Whether they really were a catfisher or not. If so, who they would be. My head went in a million different directions, a million different times, while reading, because although it was obvious, it also really wasn't obvious, and I sat on tenderhooks the entire time, trying to figure it out. It's one of those moments that, when the big reveal happens, you sit and go “Oh! Sure, I knew that!” but you questioned and second-guessed yourself every step of the way.
I love the subtle way that each new character, for the next book, is introduced. I love that we always get to see even a tiny snippet of them and their personality, before we delve into their story. It makes me excited to see more of Darien, in December, now that I've had a glimpse of him in this book.
The bonus chapter in Tyler's POV was just...perfection!
I cried. It was ridiculously beautiful. I smiled nearly from start to finish, with some tears, some shocked gasps, some edge-of-the-seat tension in between. And then it ended just so...perfectly. That's the only word for it. It ended just as it was meant to.
And I would still read another novel with these two as the MC's. Just as I would still read another novel with Archie and Yarran. Or all four in one novel. Or any combination the author wants to try. Because this is one series I'll be reading until the last story. And then I'll go back and start all over again, re-reading every sweet word.
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Favourite Quotes
“Tyler is basically my straight soul mate. It's unbelievable how we just get each other.”
“So I kept my word.
To Be Honest, that was my first mistake.
Falling in love with you was my second.” To Be Honest (#lovehim #2) 4/5
TW: Homophobic slurs (not many, but there are still a few lines here and there), mentions of depression and suicide, mentions of attempted suicide and physical violence.
To be Honest.. I really enjoyed this book! It was very different from 'That Feeling When', it was darker toward the end and it touched deeper aspects of being homosexual in a heteronormative world. At the same time, though, it managed to give me the same meet-cute vibes and I basically binged it in one day AH! (Who needs sleep anyway).
Also, shout-out for diversity! Our main this time is half-Indian half-american and I think that's really cool because you don't see that often!
Angus frequents Penbrook boarding school, he's part of the football team, and he's out and proud. Or at least, he thinks so. Even though he's out and his friends and teammates are okay with it, he's still unable to be himself 100% of the time, always feeling everyone's judging eyes in himself and unable to shake that feeling off. He also has a slight (huge) crush on his straight roommate Tyler.
Tyler is what everyone would describe as a geek, he's into science, wears glasses and doesn't have a sporty bone in himself. And he's also very self-conscious about all of the above. The only one he is comfortable to be around and see his true self, is Angus, his best friend.
And then there's Scotty, someone who Angus may very well be in love with, if it weren't for the fact that they've never met, and that Angus is starting to believe he's being catfished. To get to the point of this, Angus decides to embark on a log road trip, along with Tyler and his other r eat friend Anah, with San Francisco as his final destination, where he hopes to finally meet Scotty in person.
During this roadtrip, Angus is faced with his feelings for Tyler and the always present feelings for Scotty, but he understand that he needs to take a decision on who is worth to keep in his life.
I felt like the roadtrip part was dragged along for a bit too long, but I overall enjoyed it! (Even though I don't really like Anah, and I kind of loathed every time she opened her mouth)
I also liked Angus' talk with Archie! I think it was very well fused together with this story, and I liked that Archie could explain to Angus what it feels like to be scared of your own feelings and of yourself, because it gave him a different point of view of his story.
I very much recommend this to everyone who is looking for a cute boy-meets-boy story with some angst thrown in the midst! To Be Honest (#lovehim #2) 3.5*
This was adorkable smh
I found and picked this book up on a total whim because, not gonna lie, the synopsis made it sound a bit Simon vs. the homo sapiens agenda -ish, aka like something I would absolutely love. And you know what? I did.
In the beginning, it does give off strong svtha vibes with the online messages and the pining over someone you have never actually met and them not being ready to reveal their identity. Reading on, though, this became its own story, which I loved.
This story is about Angus, who decides to go on a road trip with his roommate, Tyler (who he secretly has a crush on), his best friend, Anah, and her boyfriend, Link, to San Francisco to meet the guy he has been chatting to online for the last half of junior year.
I must admit, I predicted the end about twenty percent into the book. But that doesn't matter, I still devoured it. The predictability didn't take from the story at all.
I liked that, upon Anah suggesting Angus should just go to San Francisco to find and confront Scotty Angus wasn't straight up on board with it and started questioning whether something like that was okay. In my opinion, it was great that the road trip wasn't just them going straight to California but taking detours and making memories at all the different places.
As far as characters go, I loved Angus. I totally got his motives and understood his feelings perfectly — which might have been because of the writing, too, because that was also great.
It was great to see his character develop on all these subtle ways. He's already out at the beginning of the book, but moving along, he learns and realizes what it means to be proud of who you are.
Tyler is the most precious cinnamon roll and needs to be protected at all costs, that's all I'm going to say about him. 10/10
For Anah and her — how do I say this? Ah, yes *clears throat* — douchebag of a boyfriend? I didn't like either of them. Anah had her moments of being a good best friend, but most times I got the impression she was first and foremost concerned with her own self. Buying Angus a two hundred dollar bracelet doesn't really turn the tables, sorry. Link was awful, he can say (or not say) sorry all he wants, I don't buy it.
The discussion about internalized homophobia is something I loved, although I wish it was talked about more than just once in the middle of the book and once towards the end.
Speaking of the end, oh boy was that a mess. Like I said, I guessed the twist pretty much from the get go, so when it was finally revealed, I wasn't shocked. But that's not it. The things is… how it was handled. The communication, or more so, the lack of it.
The end end I actually loved, I thought the story wrapped up neatly and exactly how I wanted it to, just the, like, thirty pages before were a jumbled mess. I'm not saying everything should have been wrapped up within a couple of pages, but it just felt like a bucket of unnecessary angst was dumped onto me. I don't really think it makes sense that so much times passes until Angus gets the lengthy explanation he deserves.
However, this book was great and I'm glad I picked it up. I met new characters who I now love dearly. I will definitely check out more books in this series! To Be Honest (#lovehim #2)
Angus Reid is pretty sure he's being catfished.
After spending the last half of junior year talking online to the guy of his dreams, Angus wants to meet. In person. So when Scotty brushes it off with excuses of not being ready, red flags go up.
Determined to either catch Scotty out, or take a shot at real love, Angus embarks on a summer road trip with his adorkable roommate, Tyler. But as summer stretches on, and mixed messages fly between them, Angus finds his heart torn.
His potential catfisher?
Or his straight best friend?
And while their road trip takes them across the country, Angus is headed for one destination.
Either a happily ever after ... or a broken heart. To Be Honest (#lovehim #2)