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Change of Heart
What do you do when all you wanted was to teach your parents a lesson, but you end up with a huge lie and a fake boyfriend?
Noa needs to figure it out.
***
Fed up with his conservative, narrow-minded parents, 20 year old Noa Hart decides to move out. He didn’t intend for it to happen, but between his accidental moving into The Rainbow Cooperative – an apartment where his three roommates are all gay, and assuming he’s one of them – and wanting to teach his parents a lesson or two about acceptance and humanity, a plan begins to form.
A plan which soon has him placing an ad online, leading him to Haru, his new fake boyfriend.
All he wants is to convince his parents that being gay isn’t the end of the world – but what happens when his own two worlds begin to crumble?
And what is going to happen when the game is up? Noa risks losing it all; his family, his friends and… Haru.
Coming September 1st 2021!
Noa needs to figure it out.
***
Fed up with his conservative, narrow-minded parents, 20 year old Noa Hart decides to move out. He didn’t intend for it to happen, but between his accidental moving into The Rainbow Cooperative – an apartment where his three roommates are all gay, and assuming he’s one of them – and wanting to teach his parents a lesson or two about acceptance and humanity, a plan begins to form.
A plan which soon has him placing an ad online, leading him to Haru, his new fake boyfriend.
All he wants is to convince his parents that being gay isn’t the end of the world – but what happens when his own two worlds begin to crumble?
And what is going to happen when the game is up? Noa risks losing it all; his family, his friends and… Haru.
Coming September 1st 2021!
327 pages, Paperback
First published August 31, 2021
About the author
Carola Elvira
4 books15 followersCarola Elvira is also known as Caroline Olsen.
Author dabbling mostly in the BL genre, influenced by classic and contemporary BL works, but also aiming to bring something new to the genre with a more realistic approach to social and political issues concerning LGBTQ.
Independently published. Debuted in 2010 with SNOW
Followed by Jaded in 2012.
Love Addict, a side-story to Jaded was released in 2014.
Coming September 2021: Change of Heart.
In the process of changing my pen name to Carola Elvira. Books will be updated accordingly.
Author dabbling mostly in the BL genre, influenced by classic and contemporary BL works, but also aiming to bring something new to the genre with a more realistic approach to social and political issues concerning LGBTQ.
Independently published. Debuted in 2010 with SNOW
Followed by Jaded in 2012.
Love Addict, a side-story to Jaded was released in 2014.
Coming September 2021: Change of Heart.
In the process of changing my pen name to Carola Elvira. Books will be updated accordingly.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 14, 2022
5 / 5 Stars
This book was very dear to me for a variety of reasons, but the most important one, the one why I ended up enjoying this so so much, would probably be: Mood. Relatable. Same. Yeah.
The characters are asian, and I'm not, but that's not the relatable part. The relatable part is literally everything else.
I don' think you'd be interested in my personal backstory, my "Bi Awakening" or my homophobic parents, so I'll spare you with all of that. I just found it really nice to read about a character whose mindset I could absolutly get behind. I could relate to his motives and feelings, because I've been there. I didn't go through with them, but! back in the day, when I thought I was straight, pretending to be queer and seeing what would happen HAS crossed my mind.
It's an ass move, I know, and the book makes it clear it is. It's not trying to turn our MC into a hero and it's not trying to tell you how right and good he acted. But still. I can't find the words to describe how this feels.
Now that we established, that I loved, no adored, the story, I'd like to say a few words about the cast as well. Most of them are queer, but we also have racial diversity. It's very refreshing to be honest. The characters are all very unique in their own way. The group and friendship dynamic, or - dare I say it - found family part of the book was very nice. It makes you feel safe and warm and I was smiling a lot. I also loved how important platonic love was in this one. Even though Batman is great character, his romantic relationship wasn't more important than the platonic one a certain character already shared.
The people outside of the found family didn't get as much attention, but they weren't flat characters either.
The romance was nice. I liked their connection and I enjoyed the slow burn aspect of it.
This is probably the part of the review where I mention some of the tropes I loved:
+ Fake/Pretend Relationship
+ Slow Burn
+ Found Family
+ Bi Awakening
This is also the very first time, that I've seen a book include a Pride Parade. I've never been, so honestly, I can't say if it was missing any important parts. I was just smiling & enjoying the experience, and really, isn't that the important part? :P
This was a very sweet, comfort read. If you want to read something cute, 0% smut & with low levels of hurt, this is the book for you. Read it, it's good.
This book was very dear to me for a variety of reasons, but the most important one, the one why I ended up enjoying this so so much, would probably be: Mood. Relatable. Same. Yeah.
The characters are asian, and I'm not, but that's not the relatable part. The relatable part is literally everything else.
I don' think you'd be interested in my personal backstory, my "Bi Awakening" or my homophobic parents, so I'll spare you with all of that. I just found it really nice to read about a character whose mindset I could absolutly get behind. I could relate to his motives and feelings, because I've been there. I didn't go through with them, but! back in the day, when I thought I was straight, pretending to be queer and seeing what would happen HAS crossed my mind.
It's an ass move, I know, and the book makes it clear it is. It's not trying to turn our MC into a hero and it's not trying to tell you how right and good he acted. But still. I can't find the words to describe how this feels.
Now that we established, that I loved, no adored, the story, I'd like to say a few words about the cast as well. Most of them are queer, but we also have racial diversity. It's very refreshing to be honest. The characters are all very unique in their own way. The group and friendship dynamic, or - dare I say it - found family part of the book was very nice. It makes you feel safe and warm and I was smiling a lot. I also loved how important platonic love was in this one. Even though Batman is great character, his romantic relationship wasn't more important than the platonic one a certain character already shared.
The people outside of the found family didn't get as much attention, but they weren't flat characters either.
The romance was nice. I liked their connection and I enjoyed the slow burn aspect of it.
This is probably the part of the review where I mention some of the tropes I loved:
+ Fake/Pretend Relationship
+ Slow Burn
+ Found Family
+ Bi Awakening
This is also the very first time, that I've seen a book include a Pride Parade. I've never been, so honestly, I can't say if it was missing any important parts. I was just smiling & enjoying the experience, and really, isn't that the important part? :P
This was a very sweet, comfort read. If you want to read something cute, 0% smut & with low levels of hurt, this is the book for you. Read it, it's good.
July 25, 2023
I got this book for two reasons, one Amazon recommended it and two the cover was super cute. And boy do I feel bad saying this but this story was so cringy! This read like a fanfic and as someone who loves fanfics, I don't mean the ones you fall into, no I mean the ones you are constantly saying to yourself "What am I reading?"
August 27, 2022
This was a fun, fast, breezy read and I enjoyed it a lot.
I loved all aspects of the book though I wish there was more of romance in it. I would have loved to have more moments & scenes with Haru and Noa.
Nonetheless, I loved how author have included many active topics to help spread awareness. The friendship part was my fav ( ˘ ³˘)♥
I loved all aspects of the book though I wish there was more of romance in it. I would have loved to have more moments & scenes with Haru and Noa.
Nonetheless, I loved how author have included many active topics to help spread awareness. The friendship part was my fav ( ˘ ³˘)♥
October 8, 2022
Meet the tolerance crusading, fake dating, bisexual awakening catastrophe, Noa Hart (N❤)
I loved this heartfelt romance where the fake dating central characters end up catching all the feels in this messy but realistic story.
Haru was aware but repressing his feelings (not very successfully) from the clueless "straight" Noa... who really did remain oblivious until the very end when realisation became inevitability. Duh, you dumb idiot.
There are some bruised relationships along the way and also the entire situation with Noa's family never had any conclusion or even check in before the story's end but I guess that's probably true for a lot of people.
I loved this heartfelt romance where the fake dating central characters end up catching all the feels in this messy but realistic story.
Haru was aware but repressing his feelings (not very successfully) from the clueless "straight" Noa... who really did remain oblivious until the very end when realisation became inevitability. Duh, you dumb idiot.
There are some bruised relationships along the way and also the entire situation with Noa's family never had any conclusion or even check in before the story's end but I guess that's probably true for a lot of people.
February 16, 2022
Despite the small reading slump that I fell into while reading this, I still found myself really enjoying this and wanting to hug every single character within this book. The cover art is cute and so colorful.
The characters are fun, a joy to read (minus Noah's parents), I especially liked Haru and Michio, even Ren, Insung and Batman. I didn't really like Mari that much.
The inclusion of the Pride parade was great, though if I was in that position, I'd be probably having a massive panic/anxiety attack along with a sensory overload. Again.
I don't what else to say, so I'll leave it there.
The characters are fun, a joy to read (minus Noah's parents), I especially liked Haru and Michio, even Ren, Insung and Batman. I didn't really like Mari that much.
The inclusion of the Pride parade was great, though if I was in that position, I'd be probably having a massive panic/anxiety attack along with a sensory overload. Again.
I don't what else to say, so I'll leave it there.
February 22, 2022
This book was so cute! I loved the development of all the characters, it was hard not to fall in love with any of them. I would love to see a spin-off for Michi or any of the other roommates just because I'm sure it would be so much fun. I really enjoyed the development of the plot and while I do think some scenes or incidents could be fleshed out, it was a super cute read overall. Very glad I was able to read it!!
June 11, 2022
🌈 Read for the 2022 Reading The Rainbow Bingo (#ReadTheRainbow22) by
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Bingo Images:
•• 25. Reading Rainbow (Rainbow On The Cover) ••
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November 22, 2021
This story sucked me in immediately and I got so emotionally invested. I fell in love with the characters and felt their highs and lows in my chest. The story is less dark than Carolas other works and is much more cute and happy. I loved it and will probably reread it because I already miss the characters!
April 1, 2022
This was an adorable read. And boyslove! Loved it from first page to last!
July 13, 2022
Awesome
Ok so this hit on so much that still Happening and I love how the author got all the stuff out and the story line it was so good and funny and cute I loved it so much
Ok so this hit on so much that still Happening and I love how the author got all the stuff out and the story line it was so good and funny and cute I loved it so much
November 17, 2021
Sweet, cute, YA, no steam, slow burn read. Maybe if I read this in middle school would have liked it a lot more. It was cute, love the fake boyfriend trope.
December 6, 2021
[Disclaimer: I received a copy from Carola in exchange for a honest review]
This is a book I wished existed in my early teens. It’s a great book for introducing someone to the LGBTQ-community, and I know it would have helped me a lot. Following Noa as he tries to navigate and learn about the community is such an important story that I hope finds its way to the younger audience as well <3
Change of Heart was a light and cozy read. I had a great time reading it simply because I loved hanging out with the characters. They felt like old friends even though I just met them.
I would have liked to see more of Noa and Haru as their relationship developed, and spend more time with just the two of them. On the other hand, i’m happy Carola took her time with the supporting cast and portraying healthy male friendships ✨talking about their feelings, respecting and, helping each other heck ye✨
Carola has broken my heart more than once since her debut in 2010, but finally I got a book that made me laugh instead of suffer.
I really liked getting to know these characters and hope we get a revisit from them later!
This is a book I wished existed in my early teens. It’s a great book for introducing someone to the LGBTQ-community, and I know it would have helped me a lot. Following Noa as he tries to navigate and learn about the community is such an important story that I hope finds its way to the younger audience as well <3
Change of Heart was a light and cozy read. I had a great time reading it simply because I loved hanging out with the characters. They felt like old friends even though I just met them.
I would have liked to see more of Noa and Haru as their relationship developed, and spend more time with just the two of them. On the other hand, i’m happy Carola took her time with the supporting cast and portraying healthy male friendships ✨talking about their feelings, respecting and, helping each other heck ye✨
Carola has broken my heart more than once since her debut in 2010, but finally I got a book that made me laugh instead of suffer.
I really liked getting to know these characters and hope we get a revisit from them later!
September 2, 2022
A light and easy read, kind of predictable, but very cute, with lots of gay characters. Loved it!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews