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The Twelve Points Of Caleb Canto
Caleb Canto moved to Askazer-Shivadlakia to live a quiet life, teaching music at a local school and writing pop songs on the side. The Shivadh are friendly to trans people, and the school is understanding of his desire to be kinder to the “different” kids than his own teachers were to him.
What Caleb did not expect was that a song he sold to a prospective pop star would be entered into the Shivadh National Final for Eurovision, or that he'd be tapped to replace the original singer on short notice during the competition. When Caleb wins the National Final, he's put on a new and perhaps overly-exciting path to fame, and drawn into the orbit of the Shivadh royal family -- a collection of earnest politicians, oddballs, and charming rogues.
Caleb would like to walk away from Eurovision, but he never seems to manage it. Part of the draw might be the UK’s Eurovision representative, Buck Haverd, a teal-haired rocker who makes questionable life choices. When Buck arrives in Askazer-Shivadlakia, planning to hide out and work on his latest album, he and Caleb form a friendship based equally on a love of music and on trolling each other ruthlessly. Caleb wouldn’t mind more than friendship with Buck, but he isn’t interested in something casual, and Buck specializes in flings.
Soon both are headed to Turin, immersing themselves in the glamor of Eurovision. With a lot at stake for Buck’s career, they’re going to have to decide what they want, and face what might happen if either one of them Caleb, the accidental cool kid from the small country with the funny name, or Buck, the insecure bad-boy who could beat the long odds.
What Caleb did not expect was that a song he sold to a prospective pop star would be entered into the Shivadh National Final for Eurovision, or that he'd be tapped to replace the original singer on short notice during the competition. When Caleb wins the National Final, he's put on a new and perhaps overly-exciting path to fame, and drawn into the orbit of the Shivadh royal family -- a collection of earnest politicians, oddballs, and charming rogues.
Caleb would like to walk away from Eurovision, but he never seems to manage it. Part of the draw might be the UK’s Eurovision representative, Buck Haverd, a teal-haired rocker who makes questionable life choices. When Buck arrives in Askazer-Shivadlakia, planning to hide out and work on his latest album, he and Caleb form a friendship based equally on a love of music and on trolling each other ruthlessly. Caleb wouldn’t mind more than friendship with Buck, but he isn’t interested in something casual, and Buck specializes in flings.
Soon both are headed to Turin, immersing themselves in the glamor of Eurovision. With a lot at stake for Buck’s career, they’re going to have to decide what they want, and face what might happen if either one of them Caleb, the accidental cool kid from the small country with the funny name, or Buck, the insecure bad-boy who could beat the long odds.
308 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 14, 2023
1 person is currently reading
7 people want to read
About the author
Sam Starbuck
26 books117 followersSam is a nonprofit researcher, blogger, and former theatre punk who lives and works in Chicago, Illinois.
Secretly, he is a Time Lord.
He writes romance and light SFF, literary fiction, and sometimes even fanfic.
Secretly, he is a Time Lord.
He writes romance and light SFF, literary fiction, and sometimes even fanfic.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
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October 20, 2023DNF for the excessively abrasive bad boy archetype. As T'Challa would say, "we don't do that here."
July 18, 2025
I was pleasantly surprised by this. This is a reread, and in my memory the romance was not as compelling. But Buck and Caleb are both compelling characters who feel like people, not stereotypes. Neither one is exactly who you think they'll be at first introduction.
In particular, Buck is introduced as kind of a jerk but it rapidly becomes clear that he was having a really bad day and thought Caleb was making fun of him and lashed out. But that's really the only jerk behavior we see from him (although it's perfectly consistent with his character as further revealed).
The romance developed in a way that was very satisfying and there was a great balance between the romance, the plot, and spending time with our favorites from earlier books.
In particular, Buck is introduced as kind of a jerk but it rapidly becomes clear that he was having a really bad day and thought Caleb was making fun of him and lashed out. But that's really the only jerk behavior we see from him (although it's perfectly consistent with his character as further revealed).
The romance developed in a way that was very satisfying and there was a great balance between the romance, the plot, and spending time with our favorites from earlier books.
December 11, 2023
For whatever reason, I kept putting reading this book off. I've enjoyed the prior entries in the series immensely, as well as many of the author's other works, both original and transformative, but I had such high hopes for this one that they circled back around into being a niggling worry that because I was expecting such good things from it, it couldn't possibly live up to my expectations. Well: I needn't have worried. Sam weaves a compelling narrative, as always, and both Caleb and Buck were extremely charming protagonists. There are a few scenes that might not have made it to final cut if this weren't an indy production, driving forward outside plotlines rather than holding quite as much relevancy to this specific plot, but that's the joy of self-publishing. You get to do whatever the hell you want, and we all get to enjoy it. 5 out of 5 stars, gave me exactly the lightbhearted romance that I wanted from it.
December 21, 2023
I really enjoyed this one. I got so caught up in it, I decided to pay more attention to Eurovision. lol. Definitely a fun romance.
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December 22, 2023favourite one so far! which is saying a lot as a eurovision hater
July 1, 2025
I have never watched Eurovision in my life but this made me want to. I love the world and characters that Author Starbuck creates and this book has all the heart and humor of his previous works in a way that makes it an automatic comfort read for me.
August 3, 2023
Fun! If you like queer romance and Eurovision shenanigans, I predict you’ll enjoy this one
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews