Books I've Read: The Feeling of Falling in Love

 

I read Mason Deaver's first book and quite enjoyed it, so when I saw this at the library (and the cover attracted my attention before anything else - kind of love the image of the dumpster fire) I grabbed it.

The book follows trans-kid Neil as he sets up an elaborate fake-dating scheme after his best friend and fuck-buddy freaks him out by declaring he's in love with him.  As you will probably guess, the fake-dating turns into real feelings and the path of true romance does not run smoothly.

Neil is the wealthy son of a hotelier in Los Angeles and has never had to worry about money.  Wyatt, his boarding school roommate and fake-date for his brother's wedding, comes from a less privileged background and is somewhat uncomfortable with the ostentatious display of wealth he sees when dealing with Neil's family.

I don't know if it's just me, but once again, I found the main character in this book really annoying and did not like him at all.  He takes his privilege so much for granted and treats his family with such disrespect and disdain, I found him very difficult to relate to.  His family are not the greatest, but they aren't the worst either.  His grandparents are still struggling to understand and accept his transition which must be hard for him, but the way he speaks about and to them shows that he's not at all willing to be flexible or understanding about their struggle.  Which he probably shouldn't have to, but we're all human and make mistakes.

He also treats both Josh - the boy who professes to love him at the beginning of the book - and Wyatt really badly.  He's incredibly self-centered and doesn't take responsibility or even acknowledge that his actions might hurt people around him.  Ostensibly he does this to keep himself from getting hurt, but I don't believe that someone who has been wounded as badly as he seems to think he has been would treat others so callously.  But maybe that's just me...

Overall, this wasn't a terrible book, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped to.

But don't just listen to me.  Here's the blurb:

From the bestselling author of I Wish You All the Best, comes a new kind of love story, about the bad decisions we sometimes make... and the people who help get us back on the right path.

Perfect for fans of Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston and What If It's Us by Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli.

Just days before spring break, Neil Kearney is set to fly across the country with his childhood friend (and current friend-with-benefits) Josh, to attend his brother's wedding—until Josh tells Neil that he's in love with him and Neil doesn't return the sentiment.

With Josh still attending the wedding, Neil needs to find a new date to bring along. And, almost against his will, roommate Wyatt is drafted.

At first, Wyatt (correctly) thinks Neil is acting like a jerk. But when they get to LA, Wyatt sees a little more of where it's coming from. Slowly, Neil and Wyatt begin to understand one another… and maybe, just maybe, fall in love for the first time