Score: 3/5 Bookmarks

Steam Level: 🍆🍆🍆 /5

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca and Dreamscape Media for gifting me review copies of Out of Character by Annabeth Albert. This is the second in the True Colors series, and while I haven’t read the first I thought this worked pretty well as a stand-alone.

Jasper Quigley and Milo Lionetti used to be best friends when they were young…until Milo started hanging with the soccer jocks and didn’t want to be seen hanging around with a nerd like Jasper anymore. Years later when Milo needs Jasper’s help he is reluctant to provide it. Eventually, Milo wears him down, after agreeing to do several favors in return, and the two are much thrown together in their quest. One thing leads to another and Milo comes out, and the two end up in a relationship. It’s not all smooth sailing though. There are internal struggles, self-esteem issues, family drama, and bullies to get past if these two stand a chance at their happy ever after.

While I did enjoy the premise of this book, and I liked the characters well enough, I felt like they were very immature for men in their twenties. In my mind they seemed more like they were 17 and I kept getting shocked all over again when one of them would mention their age. Plus the two characters, while having different interests and family situations had almost indistinguishable personalities so I often got a bit lost with whose point of view I was actually reading. I wanted more from both of them, to really hear their distinct voices, and feel like I really knew them. Overall, an enjoyable read, it just didn’t wow me, unfortunately.

I switched between reading and listening to this one. The audiobook is narrated by Kirt Graves and Joel Froomkin and comes in at just under 10 hours. To be honest, I had a bit of an issue with Milo’s accent. It sounded terribly ‘put on’ and was just difficult to listen to. I’ve listened to other audiobooks by this narrator that were great—this particular performance just really irritated me for some reason. Having said that, you can grab the audiobook via the button below, or get a physical copy here.

Synopsis:

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...