Out of Character (True Colors, #2)
Annabeth Albert
It's friends-to-enemies-to-friends-to-lovers in this LGBTQIA+ Romance for fans of Red, White & Royal Blue and The Pros of Cons who enjoy: • Ex-best-friends falling in love • Gaming, conventions, fandom & cosplay • Nerd culture at its finest • Learning how to be true to yourself Jasper Quigley is tired of being everyone's favorite sidekick. He wants to become the hero of his own life, but that's not going to happen if he agrees to help out his former best friend turned king of the jocks, Milo Lionetti. High school was miserable enough, thanks, and Jasper has no interest in dredging up painful memories of his old secret crush. But Milo's got nowhere else to go. His life is spiraling out of control and he's looking to turn things back around. Step one? Replace the rare Odyssey cards he lost in an idiotic bet. Step two? Tell his ex-best-friend exactly how he feels—how he's always felt. Jasper may be reluctant to reopen old wounds, but he never could resist Milo. There's a catch, though: if Milo wants his help, he's going to have to pitch in to make the upcoming children's hospital charity ball the best ever. But as the two don cosplay for the kids and hunt for rare cards, nostalgia for their lost friendship may turn into something even more lasting...
Publication Year: 2021
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0 0This is a friends to enemies to allies/friends? to lovers. Milo and Jasper were best friends growing up, until Milo started hanging out with the soccer team and Jasper came out. Now, at the end of college, Milo comes to Jasper, asking for help seeking out rare cards to a game called Odyssey. Jasper needs someone who looks like Milo for a cosplay thing, so an uneasy alliance is formed, and a quest undertaken.
I found this book to be so sweet. Jasper is deeply hurt by Milo's abandonment and failure to stop bullying in HS. Milo is deeply regretful of those days, and trying to figure out how to become the man he wants to be and not the screw-up he's been of late. By working together, they reconnect. Milo has known he's gay for a while, but hasn't come out, in part because his dad was deeply homophobic and he fears his mother and brother may be as well.
Milo is a character who has trouble articulating his feelings and will shut down rather than communicate. This resonated strongly with me. Jasper helps draw him out and say the important things.
And it's all against a background of cosplay nerdery which is really lovely.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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