Be Dazzled by Ryan La Sala

I listened to an advanced listening copy given to me by the publisher.
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This was a fun, cute read with a really nice, heartfelt message. The convention setting of this novel was an interesting departure from the usual YA contemporary setting. I have read YA romance contemporary stories with a similar setting, but I really enjoy the detail this novel went into with this. Writing the whole preperation aspect of cosplay is such a huge part of the craft, and I loved seeing it in novel format. The switch from past and present flowed nicely. I never once felt confused about which timeline I was listening to. The representation of anxiety was also well done, in my opinion. It is the depection of caual anxiety that so many go through that is not a part of the diagnosed disorder that was well written. I loved the show of men crying. This story really tries and get rid of toxic masculity, and it was a joy to read. The main couple gave me David and Patrick vibes (from Schitt's Creek) and I thought it was very cute and well done. My biggest gripe with the story is that with the message and theming, it was a bit heavy handed. There were a lot of moments that told me the point instead of showing me. It was almost distracting how often I was being shown the point of the story or the sad moments or the relationship. Besides the "telling" aspect of the story, I had a great time with it. The narrator of the audio version did a good job of portraying the main characters emotions. It made it a very good listening experience. If you are looking for a cute, male-male romance with cosplay, this may just be the book for you.