Hello, bookworms!
How's it going? Are you reading anything exciting? I am very tired as per usual, but I am trying to still get some reading done, because I have a lot of books I want to get to.
Today I am here with the last review I have left from the month of May, which is another belated ARC review. We are going to talk about The 99 Boyfriends of Micah Summers by Adam Sass, a contemporary romance I had requested a long time ago. Yes, it's going to be like this for the rest of the year, but I swear I am getting better at this ARC requesting thing.
So, now, without any further ado, let's get this review started!
Disclaimer
I received an e-ARC of this book (which is now available in its final and corrected form) from the publisher in exchange for an honest review via Netgalley; this does not affect my rating nor my opinions in any way. Everything you'll find in this review is what I actually think and it wasn't influenced by anyone. Thank you so much to the publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read and review this book.
About the book
Title: The 99 Boyfriends of Micah Summers
Author: Adam Sass
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Publication date: September 20, 2022
Pages: 344
Plot, as stated on Goodreads
A charming YA rom-com perfect for fans of Red, White, and Royal Blue and What If It's Us. Micah Summers runs a popular Instagram full of drawings of his numerous imaginary boyfriends (ninety-nine so far)—though he's never had a real boyfriend before. But when a meet-cute with Boy 100 goes wrong, Micah embarks on a Prince Charming-like quest throughout Chicago to find true love—for real this time. Will Boy 100 be the One? Micah is rich, dreamy, and charming. As the "Prince of Chicago,"—the son of local celebrity sports radio host known as the King of Chicago—he has everything going for him. Unfortunately, he's also the prince of imaginary meet-cutes, since he's too nervous to actually ask boys out. Instead, Micah draws each crush to share on Instagram with a post about their imaginary dates. Ninety-nine "boyfriends" later, his account is hugely popular, and everyone is eagerly awaiting Boy 100. So is Micah. He's determined that Boy 100 will be different. This time, Micah will sweep the boy off his feet, for real! So when Micah flirts with a hot boy on the L who's wearing a vegan leather jacket and lugging a ton of library books, he is sure this is Boy 100. But right before he can make his move and ask for the boy's number, the guy rushes off the train, leaving behind his pumpkin-embroidered jacket. The jacket holds clues to the boy's identity, so Micah and his friends set off on a quest to return it. Along the way, Micah will discover that the best relationships aren't fairy tales. In fact, the perfect fit—and true love—might be closer than he thinks.
My rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Review
When I first requested this book on Netgalley, I had no idea it was a contemporary retelling of Cinderella. Had I known it before, I surely would have picked this book up way sooner. The retelling aspect, in fact, was my favourite part of an otherwise pretty forgettable book.
I liked how over the top the plot was, and initially I was sucked in. The book had those perfect early 2000s romcom vibes and I was totally there for it. Sadly, from a certain point on, the plot took a turn that lead to not one but two of my least favourite tropes and Adam Sass completely lost me. I am not going to tell which tropes they are, but I was sad to find them.
I also didn't particularly like Micah as a main character, there was something off about him which made it hard for me to care about his love life. Maybe it was that I am too different from him when it comes to romantic love, but I have read other books with which this was the case and it never bothered me too much. So, I honestly don't know what it was.
The secondary characters were the most forgettable thing about this book, because Micah was so self centered. I hardly can remember a single thing about any of them, I have no idea what their personalities were and I am even starting to forget their names. Not good.
The writing style was okay. As I said, I liked how over the top this book was, and the writing did kinda reflect that, so I had fun (until that happened) while reading. It surely was a quick and easy read, and I'd be interested in reading more by this author, because I think there was a lot of unexplored potential there. I think he has a new YA horror thriller out later this year, and that one sounds like something I could really enjoy a lot more.
Overall, I would still recommend The 99 Boyfriends of Micah Summers, because it is a cute and easy queer contemporary romance and if you are not bothered by the same tropes that bother me, you might enjoy this a lot more than I personally did. Also! There are some pretty cool illustrations inside the book, since Micah's whole deal is that he posts his drawings on his Instagram profile. I always love when book have any type of media inside of them, so that is definitely a plus for this book. I am going to buy myself a physical copy just for this.
Alternative DJ design by Leah Charbonnier x Dazzling Book Shop
So, that is going to be it for today. I am sorry if this review is on the shorter side of things, but I honestly do not have anything more to add. I will talk to you very soon with a new review!
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