Only Mostly Devastated
by Sophie Gonzales
Rating: ★★★1/2
Published by Hachette Australia
Publication Date: 10th of March, 2020
Australian RRP: $17.99
“Will Tavares is the dream summer fling―he’s fun, affectionate, kind―but just when Ollie thinks he’s found his Happily Ever After, summer vacation ends and Will stops texting Ollie back. Now Ollie is one prince short of his fairy tale ending, and to complicate the fairy tale further, a family emergency sees Ollie uprooted and enrolled at a new school across the country. Which he minds a little less when he realizes it’s the same school Will goes to…except Ollie finds that the sweet, comfortably queer guy he knew from summer isn’t the same one attending Collinswood High. This Will is a class clown, closeted―and, to be honest, a bit of a jerk.”
I was in love with this book the second I saw the blurb and the tagline, “SIMON VS. THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA meets CLUELESS in this boy-meets-boy spin on Grease.” As a fan of all three, this sounded like a dream team book. Only Mostly Devastated was a super cute book and I became so invested in the love story and friendships from the get-go. Ollie was a relatable character and I could definitely feel for Will and his struggle with his peers and accepting himself.
During the book, I did find that it slowed down a little in the middle during Will and Ollie’s back and forth confusing interactions. I found that I was actually more excited about Ollie’s budding friendship with Lara but at the same time I did really want Ollie and Will to get together. As long as it was on Ollie’s terms as well and he wasn’t compromising himself for Will!
I found Lara to be a really exciting character to follow throughout the book because she’s initially very standoffish to Ollie and he’s not sure why. Then as the book progresses I felt like she was just jealous of how secure he was in openly being himself while she was denying how she felt until she accepted herself and they struck up a really good friendship too. I would love to have a spin-off story about her.
This book is definitely one to read while we’re all stuck at home. Grab your favourite drink, put on a cute soundtrack and immerse yourself in the adorable and heart-crushing antics of these confused, lovely teens. This is the ultimate romantic read that also has family relationships and some drama in there too as well as sad moments all for a rollercoaster of emotions.
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Thanks for reading!
Hachette Australia, Only Mostly Devastated
Purchase Links: Booktopia // QBD // Dymocks
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