How Not to Blend: LOVESTRONG Book 1, Susan Hawke

Corbin is struggling getting his increasingly sullen teenager to open up to him.  When he has a "brilliant" idea to enlist the help of a drag queen to give him tips, it gets him an exceedingly sexy Kandi opening his eyes to all kinds of things he never knew about.  It also gets him the unapologetically fabulous Andrew who slowly opens Corbin's heart.  If they can navigate Corbin's relationship with his son, a meddling grandmother, and all the misunderstandings jumping to conclusions gets them, they might be able to turn something fake into something very real.

From the very start I was hooked.  The ridiculous banter between Andrew and his bestie, the feels from Gray's situation, the slow-moving relationship, and even Corbin's obliviousness all worked together to captivate me at the outset.  As things progressed some of those elements didn't grow or evolve and held their story back a bit.  Corbin remained oblivious way too long for my liking and his attitude during their separation didn't do much to win me over either.  Andrew's campiness was endearing for most of the story, but at times it felt affected rather than organic.  Those moments weren't often, thank goodness, but when they appeared it was quite off-putting.  The simplistic detail with which so many things were described felt contrived given the characters involved in the discussion.  And for nearly everyone to be a wiki resource on the topic while Corbin was ignorant of everything at multiple times?  Not really believable.

Grayson really stole the spotlight, though.  As a young teenager coming to terms with their identity and truth, they had a difficult situation combined with bullying and an overreacting father.  What I loved about them was their acceptance and resolve.  They also didn't come across as the token "extra" often used to garner more interest than would be warranted otherwise.  Instead, they were genuinely great.  Their role was more than just to be the non-binary bridge used to bring Andy and Corbin together, they were a fully fleshed out character that was an entity all on their own.  Couple that with a ridiculous grandmother that was full of spunk, dirty jokes, a foul mouth, and incredible wisdom and you've got a cast of supporting characters that really gives this story wings.

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