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Out of the Blue
Crest is not excited to be on their Journey: the monthlong sojourn on land all teen merfolk must undergo. The rules are simple: Help a human within one moon cycle and return to Pacifica to become an Elder--or fail and remain stuck on land forever. Crest is eager to get their Journey over and done with: after all, humans are disgusting. They've pollluted the planet so much that there's a floating island of trash that's literally the size of a country.
In Los Angeles with a human body and a new name, Crest meets Sean, a human lifeguard whose boyfriend has recently dumped him. Crest agrees to help Sean make his ex jealous and win him back. But as the two spend more time together and Crest's pespective on humans begins to change, they'll soon be torn between two worlds. And fake dating just might lead to real feelings...
This instant New York Times bestselling novel from Jason June dives into the many definitions of the world home and shows how love can help us find the truest versions of ourselves.
In Los Angeles with a human body and a new name, Crest meets Sean, a human lifeguard whose boyfriend has recently dumped him. Crest agrees to help Sean make his ex jealous and win him back. But as the two spend more time together and Crest's pespective on humans begins to change, they'll soon be torn between two worlds. And fake dating just might lead to real feelings...
This instant New York Times bestselling novel from Jason June dives into the many definitions of the world home and shows how love can help us find the truest versions of ourselves.
375 pages, Hardcover
First published May 31, 2022
528 people are currently reading
22301 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,773 reviews
March 20, 2023
Um so I originally thought this was a novel adaption of this lgbt+ webcomic that I read about a mermaid and a human falling in love. Why did I think that? Because the webcomic is called Out of the Blue… hmm. Anyways, this was alright, the discussion of gender and body image was good but the characters and plot was a bit of a miss for me. It kind of reminded me of those old Disney television movies. Also, the ending decision seemed very reactionary to Disney’s Little Mermaid, which I don’t think is a huge issue, but the whole “gotcha” vibe took me out of the world that this author was trying to create. I just think there’s a lack of earnestness. For a story about merfolk, this book came up surprisingly dry haha (heads up, I’m going to say this every time I read a water-based book)
Miscellaneous Thoughts-
• If I have to read the phrase “Donkey Laugh” one more time I. Will. Scream.
• The “fake dating” aspect never ended up feeling real.
• Info-dump of merfolk lore halfway through the book? Okay, sure.
• If I have to read the phrase “Bubble Guts” one more time I. Will. Scream.
• Stop doing the “that’s what she said” joke please… PLEASE!!!
• Miguel’s a tool too, not just Dom.
• Why is this author so obsessed with cheating as a plot point.
Miscellaneous Thoughts-
• If I have to read the phrase “Donkey Laugh” one more time I. Will. Scream.
• The “fake dating” aspect never ended up feeling real.
• Info-dump of merfolk lore halfway through the book? Okay, sure.
• If I have to read the phrase “Bubble Guts” one more time I. Will. Scream.
• Stop doing the “that’s what she said” joke please… PLEASE!!!
• Miguel’s a tool too, not just Dom.
• Why is this author so obsessed with cheating as a plot point.
December 26, 2024
For a book about a merperson, this book was dehydrated and dry.
There is a chubby MC, and chat about gender fluidity which was the most enjoyable parts of this book.
BUT EVERY CHARACTER IS LITERALLY AWFUL, UNBEARABLE, WHINEY AND SELFISH.. or a combo of all 4..
I can't even be bothered to write my feelings out.
✨ The ending is so unbelievably trash that I can't believe I suffered through.
It's not even a HFN or HEA, it's just... the end of a book.
✨ There is 2 x weird teenage cheating drama.
✨ Badly done fake dating trope.
✨ The whole "must break up my ex and his new bf so he can see we are meant to be together" IS SO ICKY.
✨ Human spends 60% pining over his ex with no vibes towards the merperson.
✨ Human was barely even interested when he found out he was a merperson??? like hello? y r u not captivated by this revelation? WHY AREN'T YOU ASKING QUESTIONS??? OR FINDING OUT ABOUT HIM AND HIS LORE????
✨ Human chooses boring ass life with shitty friends and "finding himself" over the 'love of his life'
✨ Merperson chooses the ocean over the 'love of his life'
✨ If I had to listen to the term "donkey laugh" or "blowhole" one more time.........
There is a chubby MC, and chat about gender fluidity which was the most enjoyable parts of this book.
BUT EVERY CHARACTER IS LITERALLY AWFUL, UNBEARABLE, WHINEY AND SELFISH.. or a combo of all 4..
I can't even be bothered to write my feelings out.
✨ The ending is so unbelievably trash that I can't believe I suffered through.
It's not even a HFN or HEA, it's just... the end of a book.
✨ There is 2 x weird teenage cheating drama.
✨ Badly done fake dating trope.
✨ The whole "must break up my ex and his new bf so he can see we are meant to be together" IS SO ICKY.
✨ Human spends 60% pining over his ex with no vibes towards the merperson.
✨ Human was barely even interested when he found out he was a merperson??? like hello? y r u not captivated by this revelation? WHY AREN'T YOU ASKING QUESTIONS??? OR FINDING OUT ABOUT HIM AND HIS LORE????
✨ Human chooses boring ass life with shitty friends and "finding himself" over the 'love of his life'
✨ Merperson chooses the ocean over the 'love of his life'
✨ If I had to listen to the term "donkey laugh" or "blowhole" one more time.........
April 22, 2022
"Were we meant to meet? I believe so, one hundred percent. But I need to live for myself, build my life, follow my dreams, before I can be somebody's partner. I want to find the love of my life, and I think there's a world where Crest could have been that, but I need to love myself -- *live* for myself -- first."
TL;DR: Here's the breakdown of this book:
1% - 60%: Crest hating humans for being awful and whining about how he hates it; Sean moping about being dumped and scheming to get his ex back via rom-com tropes.
60%-70%: the 2 sweet scenes in the book
70%-100%: emotional whiplash from the drama crammed into the last bit.
I saw other reviewers mention the whiplash and they were 100% accurate. The characters are either horny or angry, and go between the two in the span of a few pages.
An intriguing premise -- mer must spend a month on land and perform a selfless act before returning to the ocean -- is boosted by the diversity Jason June crafts, but ultimately falls flat due to one-dimensional characters who have little outside their lust-plot to make them relatable.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Vibes: A Disney Channel Original Movie version of a queer, gender-swapped The Little Mermaid
Genre: True YA* Queer Romance
IDK what genre this actually is. It's supposed to be YA -- and the way the lust scenes fade to black confirm that.
But some of the mer aspects seem very Middle Grade and *before* the fade to black, it's like June is approaching adult content. A bit all over the place.
Romance Meter: 🍆 🍆 🍆 🍆 🖤
The ENTIRE story is "romance" -- more on this below.
Character MVP: ....I guess Sean? They were all a little flat and one-dimensional and hard to connect or invest in.
Verdict: I really, really wanted to love this. A queer mermaid romance featuring competitive swimmers? YES.
But...the execution...just wasn't for me.
A lot of the issues I had with this book, I also had with June's first book, Jay's Gay Agenda, so it might just be that Jason June is not the author for me.
The strength of this book (as it was for June's other book), for me, was the representation. There is a lot to love about the characters June creates and the diversity they portray. Out of the Blue, for instance, has:
--Sean, a thicc/curvy gay guy
--Crest/Ross, a non-binary mer-turned-human who uses they/them pronouns
--Kavya, a thicc/curvy bisexual Indian girl
--Miguel, a bisexual Latinx guy
And I genuinely do appreciate that -- as well as the celebration of queer love. There isn't any homophobia or slurs hurled at the characters. The diversity is presented as normal and accepted, and June also does really well at "modeling behavior" for readers. Like, there's a couple good conversations about consent, and Crest/Ross has this one moment where they tell Sean what they like (physically) during a makeout session.
But here's where it starts to get a bit tricky for me. I think this was the case in June's other YA novel, but there's a pervasive physicality to this story.
(There's also the *myriad* of questions I have about the mythology of this story, but I won't bring them up because it seems like the mythology wasn't the part Jason June was interested in exploring or constructing. Much like Disney Channel movies, don't think too much about it. Take it at face-value.)
Now, I don't mean that I'm finding fault with two hormone-riddled teenagers having sex as part of an overarcing storyline of romance.
I mean that every time Sean and Ross are together, it's basically entirely physical -- but equated with love. To the point where I kinda-sorta-maybe understand why Ross "loves" Sean; Sean organizes at least 2 dates that are sweet and demonstrate that he's aware of what Ross likes/needs. But I honestly have no idea why Sean "loves" Ross, except that he's attractive.
These characters are very flat:
Sean is the rom-com film director framing every life event (and most of the scenes in the book) as a framing shot.
Crest/Ross is the former mer who hates human and views them as "self-centered, narcissistic blowholes" and spends the first half of the book whining about being on land.
And the entire book is basically them falling in lust and acting on it.
Again, it's not the sex I have a problem with; its the fact that every scene in the book is an opportunity for the characters to make it sexual/physical and then say it's love. There are inklings of other potential plots -- like Sean's interest in film, or swimming -- but they're ultimately just vehicles for physical moments. Like, everyone is *constantly* making out with each other. Which...maybe this is the equivalent of me identifying with King Triton in The Little Mermaid, but it just bothered me that those things are equated like that. Lust and Love are too very separate, albeit intertwined, things. Maybe if we had broadened out more -- spent more time with Kavya or other characters or one dates where they actually talked about things, the "romance" aspect would have come through stronger.
But case in point: at the end, when Crest is trying to decide whether to stay on land or go back to the Blue, this is literally what he's thinking:
I've been having phantom fin movement this whole time, my whole body craving the sea, and those cravings just get stronger and stronger every time I get out of the bath. They get stronger every time I look at the sky, seeing the moon fuller and fuller, knowing my Journey is going to end in just three days.
But my body, this one, the one I have on land, also craves one other thing. One other person. I need Sean. I need to kiss him again. I need to share myself with him one more time before I go.
Like, his decision is really "my authentic self" vs "sex." You'd give up your entire life just because you have good physical chemistry with someone?
I know people criticize Disney's Little Mermaid because they say that Ariel gives up everything for Eric, but at least it was more than just a physical relationship. And that's where this relationship fell apart for me -- I saw very little romance, just physicality-presented-as-love.
***
And the other thing -- I fully admit that this is going to be a deeply personal irritation, but I was a competitive swimmer for most of my childhood and I JUST CAN'T with the details. Like, I get *why* Sean has to be a swimmer - so that his "oneness" with the water can help Ross see him as more than just a "self-centered narcissistic blowhole."
And I did read an ARC so MAYBE the editor or Jason June would have, IDK, checked in with a swimmer to just fact-check stuff.
Like, I don't care if this is "just high school swimming" and not a year-round competitive club:
(1) Boys and girls would have 100% have had practice together -- Kavya *never* seems to be at practice when Sean is.
(2) Also, practices *decrease* the closer you get to a big meet -- like "states" -- not increase. Sean has practice twice a day 2 weeks before his big meet? Nope. That's a shave-and-taper event -- your practices decrease so your energy can increase and you can rest your muscles so you're not exhausted and they don't crap out on you.
(3) Sean would have also shaved. I have never, in my life, never met a swimmer who didn't. It's just part of the culture.
(4) And I honestly don't know how to respond to this last bit. Because while I appreciate what Jason June was trying to do with the body positivity aspect of the story, by having both Sean and Kavya be thicc and curvy...it was just jarring to the image Jason June was trying to present of Sean as this elite swimmer. And I KNOW that the point was that Sean (and Kavya) didn't "look" the part, and everyone underestimated them, but...I also KNOW that to train and compete at that level, you're just not going to be pudgy. And I KNOW that because I was 100% the formerly chubby child who swam their ass off and trained at that level. And even if Sean isn't training with a year-round team, unless something weird is happening with California high school swimming, he placed third in the state. You don't just luck into that; if you place third in the state, you're getting a scholarship to swim at college somewhere -- and your training would reflect that. I was a chubby kid before I started training, and I'm a curvy adult now that I've stopped, but during that time? Swimming burns so many calories, it's ridiculous. My coach would literally tell me to go eat 2 Big Mac meals to replace my burned ones. There's a whole thing about Michael Phelps' 10,000 calorie-a-day diet during the Beijing Olympics. So...it just took me out of the story every time Ross fawned over Sean's hairy bear body.
I appreciate the body positivity, I really do, but I also wish Jason June had done some more research on a swimmer's life. We also don't refer to everything as "heats" all the time -- maybe in California they do...
TL;DR: Here's the breakdown of this book:
1% - 60%: Crest hating humans for being awful and whining about how he hates it; Sean moping about being dumped and scheming to get his ex back via rom-com tropes.
60%-70%: the 2 sweet scenes in the book
70%-100%: emotional whiplash from the drama crammed into the last bit.
I saw other reviewers mention the whiplash and they were 100% accurate. The characters are either horny or angry, and go between the two in the span of a few pages.
An intriguing premise -- mer must spend a month on land and perform a selfless act before returning to the ocean -- is boosted by the diversity Jason June crafts, but ultimately falls flat due to one-dimensional characters who have little outside their lust-plot to make them relatable.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Vibes: A Disney Channel Original Movie version of a queer, gender-swapped The Little Mermaid
Genre: True YA* Queer Romance
IDK what genre this actually is. It's supposed to be YA -- and the way the lust scenes fade to black confirm that.
But some of the mer aspects seem very Middle Grade and *before* the fade to black, it's like June is approaching adult content. A bit all over the place.
Romance Meter: 🍆 🍆 🍆 🍆 🖤
The ENTIRE story is "romance" -- more on this below.
Character MVP: ....I guess Sean? They were all a little flat and one-dimensional and hard to connect or invest in.
Verdict: I really, really wanted to love this. A queer mermaid romance featuring competitive swimmers? YES.
But...the execution...just wasn't for me.
A lot of the issues I had with this book, I also had with June's first book, Jay's Gay Agenda, so it might just be that Jason June is not the author for me.
The strength of this book (as it was for June's other book), for me, was the representation. There is a lot to love about the characters June creates and the diversity they portray. Out of the Blue, for instance, has:
--Sean, a thicc/curvy gay guy
--Crest/Ross, a non-binary mer-turned-human who uses they/them pronouns
--Kavya, a thicc/curvy bisexual Indian girl
--Miguel, a bisexual Latinx guy
And I genuinely do appreciate that -- as well as the celebration of queer love. There isn't any homophobia or slurs hurled at the characters. The diversity is presented as normal and accepted, and June also does really well at "modeling behavior" for readers. Like, there's a couple good conversations about consent, and Crest/Ross has this one moment where they tell Sean what they like (physically) during a makeout session.
But here's where it starts to get a bit tricky for me. I think this was the case in June's other YA novel, but there's a pervasive physicality to this story.
(There's also the *myriad* of questions I have about the mythology of this story, but I won't bring them up because it seems like the mythology wasn't the part Jason June was interested in exploring or constructing. Much like Disney Channel movies, don't think too much about it. Take it at face-value.)
Now, I don't mean that I'm finding fault with two hormone-riddled teenagers having sex as part of an overarcing storyline of romance.
I mean that every time Sean and Ross are together, it's basically entirely physical -- but equated with love. To the point where I kinda-sorta-maybe understand why Ross "loves" Sean; Sean organizes at least 2 dates that are sweet and demonstrate that he's aware of what Ross likes/needs. But I honestly have no idea why Sean "loves" Ross, except that he's attractive.
These characters are very flat:
Sean is the rom-com film director framing every life event (and most of the scenes in the book) as a framing shot.
Crest/Ross is the former mer who hates human and views them as "self-centered, narcissistic blowholes" and spends the first half of the book whining about being on land.
And the entire book is basically them falling in lust and acting on it.
Again, it's not the sex I have a problem with; its the fact that every scene in the book is an opportunity for the characters to make it sexual/physical and then say it's love. There are inklings of other potential plots -- like Sean's interest in film, or swimming -- but they're ultimately just vehicles for physical moments. Like, everyone is *constantly* making out with each other. Which...maybe this is the equivalent of me identifying with King Triton in The Little Mermaid, but it just bothered me that those things are equated like that. Lust and Love are too very separate, albeit intertwined, things. Maybe if we had broadened out more -- spent more time with Kavya or other characters or one dates where they actually talked about things, the "romance" aspect would have come through stronger.
But case in point: at the end, when Crest is trying to decide whether to stay on land or go back to the Blue, this is literally what he's thinking:
I've been having phantom fin movement this whole time, my whole body craving the sea, and those cravings just get stronger and stronger every time I get out of the bath. They get stronger every time I look at the sky, seeing the moon fuller and fuller, knowing my Journey is going to end in just three days.
But my body, this one, the one I have on land, also craves one other thing. One other person. I need Sean. I need to kiss him again. I need to share myself with him one more time before I go.
Like, his decision is really "my authentic self" vs "sex." You'd give up your entire life just because you have good physical chemistry with someone?
I know people criticize Disney's Little Mermaid because they say that Ariel gives up everything for Eric, but at least it was more than just a physical relationship. And that's where this relationship fell apart for me -- I saw very little romance, just physicality-presented-as-love.
***
And the other thing -- I fully admit that this is going to be a deeply personal irritation, but I was a competitive swimmer for most of my childhood and I JUST CAN'T with the details. Like, I get *why* Sean has to be a swimmer - so that his "oneness" with the water can help Ross see him as more than just a "self-centered narcissistic blowhole."
And I did read an ARC so MAYBE the editor or Jason June would have, IDK, checked in with a swimmer to just fact-check stuff.
Like, I don't care if this is "just high school swimming" and not a year-round competitive club:
(1) Boys and girls would have 100% have had practice together -- Kavya *never* seems to be at practice when Sean is.
(2) Also, practices *decrease* the closer you get to a big meet -- like "states" -- not increase. Sean has practice twice a day 2 weeks before his big meet? Nope. That's a shave-and-taper event -- your practices decrease so your energy can increase and you can rest your muscles so you're not exhausted and they don't crap out on you.
(3) Sean would have also shaved. I have never, in my life, never met a swimmer who didn't. It's just part of the culture.
(4) And I honestly don't know how to respond to this last bit. Because while I appreciate what Jason June was trying to do with the body positivity aspect of the story, by having both Sean and Kavya be thicc and curvy...it was just jarring to the image Jason June was trying to present of Sean as this elite swimmer. And I KNOW that the point was that Sean (and Kavya) didn't "look" the part, and everyone underestimated them, but...I also KNOW that to train and compete at that level, you're just not going to be pudgy. And I KNOW that because I was 100% the formerly chubby child who swam their ass off and trained at that level. And even if Sean isn't training with a year-round team, unless something weird is happening with California high school swimming, he placed third in the state. You don't just luck into that; if you place third in the state, you're getting a scholarship to swim at college somewhere -- and your training would reflect that. I was a chubby kid before I started training, and I'm a curvy adult now that I've stopped, but during that time? Swimming burns so many calories, it's ridiculous. My coach would literally tell me to go eat 2 Big Mac meals to replace my burned ones. There's a whole thing about Michael Phelps' 10,000 calorie-a-day diet during the Beijing Olympics. So...it just took me out of the story every time Ross fawned over Sean's hairy bear body.
I appreciate the body positivity, I really do, but I also wish Jason June had done some more research on a swimmer's life. We also don't refer to everything as "heats" all the time -- maybe in California they do...
June 20, 2022
This read like a teenager's second Wattpad book, not an adult's second professionally published novel.
June 27, 2023
oh nor cleor! the condensation!
Read
January 20, 2022DNF
Really was not clicking with me. Jason June I’m giving you permission to write adult romance books. It’s clear to me that you’d rather be doing that.
Really was not clicking with me. Jason June I’m giving you permission to write adult romance books. It’s clear to me that you’d rather be doing that.
June 24, 2022
2.5 Stars rounded up to 3
A cute YA LGBTQIA romance. The beginning felt a bit 'educational' and I honestly think we are a bit past that. I also kept breaking out into Disney Little Mermaid songs which made it quite a fun read. I don't think Crest was a particularly likeable character but I did like Sean. Just okay for me.
A cute YA LGBTQIA romance. The beginning felt a bit 'educational' and I honestly think we are a bit past that. I also kept breaking out into Disney Little Mermaid songs which made it quite a fun read. I don't think Crest was a particularly likeable character but I did like Sean. Just okay for me.
July 5, 2022
It's always hard to give a bad review to an author whose previous book I really like. But sadly, Out of the Blue was a massive disappointment for me, and I had to struggle to finish its last part.
Jason June tells the story of the merfolk Crest who has to spend one month on land (under the name Ross) and help a human, as part of the Journey, an ancient mer tradition. Said human happens to be Sean, the dreamy, chubby, lifeguard/school swimmer/wanna-be film director who got dumped by his boyfriend.
The evolving relationship between Sean and Ross is front and center, and while it is mostly cute and messy and sexy (Jason June once again doesn't shy away from touching more mature content than your typical YA author and I'm glad), here's where the problems start:
- The pacing is bad. The characters go from goofy/naive to serious/angry and vice versa within a page, very unsubtly and incosistently. The worldbuilding is also very strange: the mer lore feels fairytale-ish, but the messages and dialogue goes up and down from adult to upper YA to childish.
- I'm not against the fake dating trope, but I was cringing every time they were talking about Dominic, who was an obvious jerk. Devoting such a large part of a main character's mindset to "winning back" an awful person managed to annoy me a lot.
- The female best friend was once again, insufferable. This was an issue I had in Jay's Gay Agenda too, and sadly the author repeated it here.
- My biggest issue which made the last part of the book a real struggle for me: . I honestly hated it. I disagree with everything in this part and made me struggle to finish the book.
Jason June tells the story of the merfolk Crest who has to spend one month on land (under the name Ross) and help a human, as part of the Journey, an ancient mer tradition. Said human happens to be Sean, the dreamy, chubby, lifeguard/school swimmer/wanna-be film director who got dumped by his boyfriend.
The evolving relationship between Sean and Ross is front and center, and while it is mostly cute and messy and sexy (Jason June once again doesn't shy away from touching more mature content than your typical YA author and I'm glad), here's where the problems start:
- The pacing is bad. The characters go from goofy/naive to serious/angry and vice versa within a page, very unsubtly and incosistently. The worldbuilding is also very strange: the mer lore feels fairytale-ish, but the messages and dialogue goes up and down from adult to upper YA to childish.
- I'm not against the fake dating trope, but I was cringing every time they were talking about Dominic, who was an obvious jerk. Devoting such a large part of a main character's mindset to "winning back" an awful person managed to annoy me a lot.
- The female best friend was once again, insufferable. This was an issue I had in Jay's Gay Agenda too, and sadly the author repeated it here.
- My biggest issue which made the last part of the book a real struggle for me: . I honestly hated it. I disagree with everything in this part and made me struggle to finish the book.
June 16, 2022
I received an ARC from Edelweiss
TW: mentioned cheating
2.5
For Sean, getting broken up with is bad enough, but seeing his ex immediately get with someone else- his hot, popular former friend, specifically- is too much. All he wants is his boyfriend back, but obviously that's not going to happen. Until Crest appears.
Crest has no interest in going on land and getting the "human" experience, but it's not up for negotiation, so now they're stuck with a human body until they can help someone. Helping Sean win back his ex is a whole lot easier- and quicker- than finding a burning building to pull someone out of, so why not? It seems like the obvious plan, even when it means Sean has to pretend they're dating... until Crest starts getting a little too used to having Sean around.
This is a riff of the The Little Mermaid with a queer love story at its front, and if that sounds like your type of thing, then this might be the book for you.
For me, though I loved the idea of a queer mermaid, and I was excited by the rep at large, this really wasn't the book for me.
What I did like mostly does revolve around representation. It's really nice to see not only a whole society of people without a gender binary, but also a love interest happily using they/them pronouns and no one flinching. It's also nice to see a larger main character and love interest, and never have body image become a barrier.
I also thought the fake dating was solid, there was good communication, a well paced shifting from fake to real, and there was definitely chemistry between the characters.
And, again, if you're looking for queer fluff and occasional allusions to The Little Mermaid, then this is a story you could have fun with.
I, however, didn't like either of the characters. They're both so stylized it's impossible to see them as people or get a solid handle on them. Sean is in a director headspace for most of it, and talks about scenes like they're in a movie, throws in random charts of shots- it's all very pretentious and feels like the majority of his personality. And Crest uses mer-based language constantly, to the point of it feeling kind of like a Disney Channel original.
Crest is also certain humans are awful, is really rude about people existing, and weirdly is super offended by people eating fish.... as if other sea creatures don't eat sea creatures. They're offended and looking for a fight for so much of this book.
Which leads me to- the whiplash. The constant anger and drama coming out of left field was exhausting and usually pretty ridiculous. I couldn't take any of it seriously and it just made me feel like the characters were even less mature and fleshed out.
I also didn't like the ending, or how long it took Sean to grow any kind of a conscience, but instead of spoiling anything, I'll skip to the biggest thing that simply did not allow me to vibe with this book:
So much of this book hinges on physical affection. Now, I don't mean this is a super sex positive book, or these characters care about physical affection. That's all fine. What I mean is, not only does sex as a topic come up at times where it feels really strange, and not only do we get random "as a top" moments where a character is bringing up his sexual role as a personality trait (weird but okay, man), but the thing that Crest thinks about the most when it comes to the biggest decision of their entire life is all about sex. The second Crest starts considering staying on land, it's about whether or not they want to give up human physical affection, if sex is better than the mer version, etc. They even try to reconnect to their old life by jumping into the mer version of sex with someone. Like, maybe it's me and my asexuality not at all understanding why you would base literally your entire future off of sex, but it sure did feel weird and surface level. Especially because Crest does such a 180 to get there, and yet they don't have an actual character arc to mirror it.
As a fluff story of queer love and diverse lives, I can see this book being something people really enjoy. It just wasn't one that I could connect to or get invested in, and the intense focus on sex was alienating and off putting.
TW: mentioned cheating
2.5
For Sean, getting broken up with is bad enough, but seeing his ex immediately get with someone else- his hot, popular former friend, specifically- is too much. All he wants is his boyfriend back, but obviously that's not going to happen. Until Crest appears.
Crest has no interest in going on land and getting the "human" experience, but it's not up for negotiation, so now they're stuck with a human body until they can help someone. Helping Sean win back his ex is a whole lot easier- and quicker- than finding a burning building to pull someone out of, so why not? It seems like the obvious plan, even when it means Sean has to pretend they're dating... until Crest starts getting a little too used to having Sean around.
This is a riff of the The Little Mermaid with a queer love story at its front, and if that sounds like your type of thing, then this might be the book for you.
For me, though I loved the idea of a queer mermaid, and I was excited by the rep at large, this really wasn't the book for me.
What I did like mostly does revolve around representation. It's really nice to see not only a whole society of people without a gender binary, but also a love interest happily using they/them pronouns and no one flinching. It's also nice to see a larger main character and love interest, and never have body image become a barrier.
I also thought the fake dating was solid, there was good communication, a well paced shifting from fake to real, and there was definitely chemistry between the characters.
And, again, if you're looking for queer fluff and occasional allusions to The Little Mermaid, then this is a story you could have fun with.
I, however, didn't like either of the characters. They're both so stylized it's impossible to see them as people or get a solid handle on them. Sean is in a director headspace for most of it, and talks about scenes like they're in a movie, throws in random charts of shots- it's all very pretentious and feels like the majority of his personality. And Crest uses mer-based language constantly, to the point of it feeling kind of like a Disney Channel original.
Crest is also certain humans are awful, is really rude about people existing, and weirdly is super offended by people eating fish.... as if other sea creatures don't eat sea creatures. They're offended and looking for a fight for so much of this book.
Which leads me to- the whiplash. The constant anger and drama coming out of left field was exhausting and usually pretty ridiculous. I couldn't take any of it seriously and it just made me feel like the characters were even less mature and fleshed out.
I also didn't like the ending, or how long it took Sean to grow any kind of a conscience, but instead of spoiling anything, I'll skip to the biggest thing that simply did not allow me to vibe with this book:
So much of this book hinges on physical affection. Now, I don't mean this is a super sex positive book, or these characters care about physical affection. That's all fine. What I mean is, not only does sex as a topic come up at times where it feels really strange, and not only do we get random "as a top" moments where a character is bringing up his sexual role as a personality trait (weird but okay, man), but the thing that Crest thinks about the most when it comes to the biggest decision of their entire life is all about sex. The second Crest starts considering staying on land, it's about whether or not they want to give up human physical affection, if sex is better than the mer version, etc. They even try to reconnect to their old life by jumping into the mer version of sex with someone. Like, maybe it's me and my asexuality not at all understanding why you would base literally your entire future off of sex, but it sure did feel weird and surface level. Especially because Crest does such a 180 to get there, and yet they don't have an actual character arc to mirror it.
As a fluff story of queer love and diverse lives, I can see this book being something people really enjoy. It just wasn't one that I could connect to or get invested in, and the intense focus on sex was alienating and off putting.
July 20, 2022
i really loved this
review + vlog to come!
review + vlog to come!
July 12, 2022
LMAOOO this book is a whole crime. There are some extremely tone deaf and hilarious quotes that I’m sad to know NO ONE will ever recognize. For example: “top’s have feelings too”, “I killed Shaun”, “grey whales should not be gendered”. This novel is so bad it’s pretty entertaining. If by some chance you decide to partake in the train wreck which is “Out of The Blue” be prepared to kiss your sanity goodbye.
July 2, 2022
why do "sex positive" books always say the cringiest, most unreal things? and they're never really sex positive, they just diminish relationships to sex
June 4, 2022
ARC copy provided in exchange for an honest review. This in no way changes my rating or review.
3.5 HEARTWARMING STARS (rounded up because GR hates half stars)
Three Minute Thoughts:
Out of the Blue was an adorable coming-of-age story involving teenage love and struggling to find where you fit in the world. Combined with humourous characters, brilliant lgbtq+ rep and merfolk (!!), this turned into the perfect little comfort read for me. While there were certain scenes that were a littleee over the top, it is a romcom involving 16 year olds, so what else can be expected? Super cute.
The Extended, Long and Very-Possibly-Messy Review:
This was such a sweet story!! I loved the combination of fantasy and realism, and while certain sections of this book were absolutely ridiculous, it is just fiction, and fiction involving teenagers and merfolk at that.
I thought the characters were all so well-written! I loved how Sean’s body type may not have been the typical slim swimming body, and I loved his confidence in himself. Sean was realistic in his over-dramatic inner monologue and propensity to declare the end of the world as soon as one thing didn’t go his way, because honestly, what is more teenager-y than that? He read like a 16yo boy, and I really liked that.
Crest was also such a wonderful character! They may have been initially shallow-minded towards humans, but honestly who can blame them – humans suck. However, Crest’s character development was absolutely golden, and I loved watching them grow and learn more about themself, while also learning about others. They had difficult choices to make throughout the novel, but watching them work themself out was so realistic while also being fun to read – I loved it. I also loved the pointed criticisms of society that were rife throughout their chapters!
“Elder Crab warned us about this, about humans’ obsession with gender and how labels and rules mean so much to them when it comes to the body.”
(This quote may not be in the published version of this novel, it was copied from the advanced reader’s copy.)
The romance was also so sweet. It gave me What If It’s Us vibes (which isn’t usually a compliment because I kinda disliked What If It’s Us, but in this case it’s not so bad) but Out of the Blue was better (IMHO). I don’t really want to spoil, but basically I highly recommend this to people who enjoyed What If It’s Us.
I also really liked a couple of the side characters! They were funny and had their own personalities and storylines, which I really appreciated (plus clinical depression rep – woo!), and I did enjoy the little glimpses into their lives. Also the amount of swimming in this book made me really happy! I have a big soft spot for swimming (I always wanted to be a mermaid as a child), and this book definitely brought back those childhood dreams.
Do know that you have to prepare for cheating if you decide to read this book. I am a strong advocate against the cheating trope, and while this book definitely didn’t contain that, it did have some cheating sections that frustrated and irritated me. However, I felt the author wrote this into the book quite well, so while I disliked it, I didn’t hate it.
“I watched them walk away, and with each step they took it was solidified in my heart that all this is real. That magic is real. You just have to know where to look for it.”
(This quote may not be in the published version of this novel, it was copied from the advanced reader’s copy.)
All in all, this was good fun, and really cute! I’m glad I read it. Thank you so much to the author, publisher and TBR & Beyond Tours for the ARC copy :).
3.5 HEARTWARMING STARS (rounded up because GR hates half stars)
Three Minute Thoughts:
Out of the Blue was an adorable coming-of-age story involving teenage love and struggling to find where you fit in the world. Combined with humourous characters, brilliant lgbtq+ rep and merfolk (!!), this turned into the perfect little comfort read for me. While there were certain scenes that were a littleee over the top, it is a romcom involving 16 year olds, so what else can be expected? Super cute.
The Extended, Long and Very-Possibly-Messy Review:
This was such a sweet story!! I loved the combination of fantasy and realism, and while certain sections of this book were absolutely ridiculous, it is just fiction, and fiction involving teenagers and merfolk at that.
I thought the characters were all so well-written! I loved how Sean’s body type may not have been the typical slim swimming body, and I loved his confidence in himself. Sean was realistic in his over-dramatic inner monologue and propensity to declare the end of the world as soon as one thing didn’t go his way, because honestly, what is more teenager-y than that? He read like a 16yo boy, and I really liked that.
Crest was also such a wonderful character! They may have been initially shallow-minded towards humans, but honestly who can blame them – humans suck. However, Crest’s character development was absolutely golden, and I loved watching them grow and learn more about themself, while also learning about others. They had difficult choices to make throughout the novel, but watching them work themself out was so realistic while also being fun to read – I loved it. I also loved the pointed criticisms of society that were rife throughout their chapters!
“Elder Crab warned us about this, about humans’ obsession with gender and how labels and rules mean so much to them when it comes to the body.”
(This quote may not be in the published version of this novel, it was copied from the advanced reader’s copy.)
The romance was also so sweet. It gave me What If It’s Us vibes (which isn’t usually a compliment because I kinda disliked What If It’s Us, but in this case it’s not so bad) but Out of the Blue was better (IMHO). I don’t really want to spoil, but basically I highly recommend this to people who enjoyed What If It’s Us.
I also really liked a couple of the side characters! They were funny and had their own personalities and storylines, which I really appreciated (plus clinical depression rep – woo!), and I did enjoy the little glimpses into their lives. Also the amount of swimming in this book made me really happy! I have a big soft spot for swimming (I always wanted to be a mermaid as a child), and this book definitely brought back those childhood dreams.
Do know that you have to prepare for cheating if you decide to read this book. I am a strong advocate against the cheating trope, and while this book definitely didn’t contain that, it did have some cheating sections that frustrated and irritated me. However, I felt the author wrote this into the book quite well, so while I disliked it, I didn’t hate it.
“I watched them walk away, and with each step they took it was solidified in my heart that all this is real. That magic is real. You just have to know where to look for it.”
(This quote may not be in the published version of this novel, it was copied from the advanced reader’s copy.)
All in all, this was good fun, and really cute! I’m glad I read it. Thank you so much to the author, publisher and TBR & Beyond Tours for the ARC copy :).
November 12, 2023
1.25 stars
Reading this left me with a lot of questions, mostly, "was this edited?", "how was this published?", and of course, "why am I being made to imagine 16-year-old boy penis?"
I keep trying to write a short review but I have so so so much to say, so here is my attempt to be concise about this with examples (because I feel like its so unbelievable without them).
* All of my references are based off the first publication of the book. Page numbers may differ and I understand that some errors I mentioned have been fixed in later publications but that doesn't change that this still hit the shelves as it is.
** Please note the merfolk character uses the name "Crest" in water and "Ross" on land to other people. I'm going to be using just "Crest" for the review.
*** No major spoilers, but some minor references. I do not recommend reading this book spoiler free or at all. Unless you're really down to just turn your brain off and consume something or you really really want a mermaid romance.
Pros:
- Amazing cover art.
- Love the descriptions of Sean's chubbiness (pg. 57).
- I like the whole absence of homophobia. Nice escapist thing.
- Some scenes with Crest and Sean were actually kind of cute, especially when Sean is guiding Crest through new experiences for the first time (pg. 71).
- The messages the book is trying to actually send are great. I especially really liked the whole self love route it ended up taking.
Cons:
- What.
- The most gratuitous violation of "show don't tell" I have ever seen in a published novel. This book takes place over the course of the month that the mer character (Crest) has on land before they go back to sea or choose to stay, and I shit you not, OVER TWO WEEKS of the characters bonding occurs off screen (“the week goes by in a blur” (pg. 148) and “a whole week wasted in the bungalow watching more and more movies” (pg. 197) SHOW ME. THIS IS A ROMANCE?????? The mer lore is explained in a horrific infodump not once but SEVERAL TIMES, the same information repeated in very clear fashion.
- MULTIPLE occasions of nonbinary characters being misgendered by the text itself, as if it was the author's mistake. "Kavya hooks an elbow around Ross's neck and gives him a noogie" (pg. 194), as well as in the literal second chapter, "I curl up my fin to stop him" (pg. 12) (in reference to Elder Kelp who, aside from this, is referred to using only they/them pronouns).
- Possibly my biggest complaint is the carelessness and inconsistency of the mer lore. I don't need a Brandon-Sanderson-level, epic-fantasy magic system, but it at the very least needs to have some thought put into it. Apparently, all mer have "knowledge and clarity magic" which allows them to understand all human sayings and norms, but this is only relevant when the author decides it's relevant apparently because oh my god it is SO FUCKING INCONSISTENT. On page 26, this magic let's Crest understand what "time-out" means but on pages 39-40 they don't understand what "dumped" or "broken-up-with" means. Also, they know how to use a phone and how to write by hand but don't know what crosswalks are or what CPR is? There is a magic house where the merpeople who come here stay which brings up an insane amount of questions on it's own but inside the house is a "human customs document". Why do they even need a human customs document if they have the Clarity magic? Theres also just some merfolk mechanics that get added for no reason (for example the whole “mer don’t make facial expressions like humans” was added randomly and is never relevant again. It just brings up more and more questions and inconsistencies. There’s nothing wrong with stupid books. Especially fun stupid wish-fulfillment books for queer people. Out of the Blue just reeks with carelessness to me. It doesn’t feel earnest or well thought out and that makes me upset.
- First few chapters have some of the most insane run-on sentences I have ever read. Several of which are genuinely grammatically incorrect and generally just difficult to read.
- Nothing happens for the first like 100 pages and when stuff happens after that it is by random chance or very poorly thought out reasons. For example, a truck happens to crash into a fire hydrant (pgs. 165-174), Crest happens to spill their drink (pg. 290) and a kid happens to push Sean (pg. 356).
- So incredibly immature. Several scenes literally read as fake tumblr stories. The first scene being an incredibly gratuitous example but there’s also the Alex/Omar promposal scene (two characters we never see before or after), and many of the later scenes.
- Incredibly sexualized. Too much. Not inherently bad, but this is YA and these characters are 16. It's so bad, more than just mentioning sex like it's so bad I don't want to think about it. I know teenagers have sex. Mention it, sure. I do not, however, want to read a 30+ year old grown adult write about 16-year-old boy penis. Please don't make me imagine 16-year-old boy penis. The amount of sex talk is insane. I genuinely don't think there is a span of more than two chapters where there is no mention of sex—which is okay on a surface level I suppose (especially if directed to an older audience or written about older characters). But not for me.
I did not like reading in detail how one character felt another character hard under their thighs and other wonderful (sarcastic) descriptions of high school students.
- Sean. Sean is a creep. Sean is genuinely so fucking weird and annoying I hated him violently until the last 25% of the book. He makes these insane director shot lists of when he is going to kiss Crest in front of Dominic without ever asking Crest first and telling everyone they're fucking??? Can you imagine if someone did this in real life? He is so whiny and self centered and infuriating.
- Sean and Crest are the same character, one uses fish references, the other uses film references. That is legitimately it. They feel like cardboard. Some of the most frustrating characters i’ve ever read.
- No chemistry. They're just horny. Also an insane power dynamic. Crest agrees to help Sean both in exchange for him not revealing their secret and for their journey. Except this "help" is like... dating him? And kissing him? Crest’s life as they know it is dependent on this and Sean kind of takes advantage of that and I don’t like it. I didn't put that much thought into it when I read it but now looking back it's very uncomfortable.
- Small complaint but people fall, and get pushed, and impulsively jump into pools on multiple occasions. But also everyone has their phone on them all the time? It's just not an issue?
- No homophobia in this world but there's transphobia? (Crest getting misgendered and judged/stared at for being gender noncomforming) Why is this a safe, happy, escapist LGB positive world that simultaneously has prejudice towards trans people, just upsetting.
- Crest's gender. They're a genderless merfolk that has to now exist within a male body on land. This would be an interesting way to explore gender dysphoria, gender identity, and the trans experience but this is not delved into AT ALL. Which brings me to my next point, why does Crest have to have male anatomy? It's presented that they have this body because they're human and obviously all humans have to be either have male or female anatomy... but that's not true, intersex people exist and are actually a significant part of the population? I know not every intersex person has visible genital differences yes, but my point still stands. The idea that they can't be physically genderless because they have to "be human" is kind of insulting? But maybe this is a bit of a reach.
- I get the feeling that June only has a vague idea of what the terms "masculine-presenting" and "feminine-presenting" mean. There is a segment where Crest is literally looking for a "masculine-presenting" person to be Sean's BOYfriend. They are not looking for a masculine-presenting person, they're looking for a boy, women can be masculine-presenting and they would not be your BOYfriend? Also 90% of the time that a character is described as "masculine/feminine presenting" it's just not relevant at all, wouldn't they just refer to people as "that person in red" if their gender isn't important, instead of "that feminine-presenting person in red"? This is also inconsistent though, Crest only uses "masculine/feminine presenting person" to refer to people they don't know, but at one point refers to a stranger as a "woman"???? (pg. 274). Also the whole thing about making a big deal out of referring to animals by they/them is kind of insane. I cannot comprehend this actually happening in real life.
- Kavya's portrayal. It is definitely careless that the first dark-skinned character we meet is immediately aggressive and physically violent. I know this is almost certainly just June’s attempt to have a diverse cast, which is great, but there are literally people whose job it is to catch things like this, sensitivity readers. When you’re including marginalized characters—especially if their identity is different from your own—you have to do more than just pick an identity and slap it on. You also have to consider how the stereotypes affecting that group unconsciously affect your portrayal of them, and how your character won’t perpetuate anything harmful. I don’t think that all of your characters have to defy stereotypes, but having your only major dark-skinned woman be masculine AND vulgar AND rowdy AND very sexual AND aggressive AND insensitive AND vilified by the story towards the end (for an incredibly stupid reason) all at the same time is definitely not great. That is not something that you want to perpetuate unconsciously (which I assume that this is.) Apparently, June's newest book has a stronger focus on racial diversity which makes me incredibly nervous, but I'm not subjecting myself to another one of these books. Maybe it's good. I don't know.
This book genuinely drained my sanity, thanks for reading if you got this far. I actually had to leave out a lot (cheating... how insanely preachy it is in every aspect, more nonsensical mer lore, more questionable depictions of people of colour) but I hope you feel... informed anyways I guess.
Reading this left me with a lot of questions, mostly, "was this edited?", "how was this published?", and of course, "why am I being made to imagine 16-year-old boy penis?"
I keep trying to write a short review but I have so so so much to say, so here is my attempt to be concise about this with examples (because I feel like its so unbelievable without them).
* All of my references are based off the first publication of the book. Page numbers may differ and I understand that some errors I mentioned have been fixed in later publications but that doesn't change that this still hit the shelves as it is.
** Please note the merfolk character uses the name "Crest" in water and "Ross" on land to other people. I'm going to be using just "Crest" for the review.
*** No major spoilers, but some minor references. I do not recommend reading this book spoiler free or at all. Unless you're really down to just turn your brain off and consume something or you really really want a mermaid romance.
Pros:
- Amazing cover art.
- Love the descriptions of Sean's chubbiness (pg. 57).
- I like the whole absence of homophobia. Nice escapist thing.
- Some scenes with Crest and Sean were actually kind of cute, especially when Sean is guiding Crest through new experiences for the first time (pg. 71).
- The messages the book is trying to actually send are great. I especially really liked the whole self love route it ended up taking.
Cons:
- What.
- The most gratuitous violation of "show don't tell" I have ever seen in a published novel. This book takes place over the course of the month that the mer character (Crest) has on land before they go back to sea or choose to stay, and I shit you not, OVER TWO WEEKS of the characters bonding occurs off screen (“the week goes by in a blur” (pg. 148) and “a whole week wasted in the bungalow watching more and more movies” (pg. 197) SHOW ME. THIS IS A ROMANCE?????? The mer lore is explained in a horrific infodump not once but SEVERAL TIMES, the same information repeated in very clear fashion.
- MULTIPLE occasions of nonbinary characters being misgendered by the text itself, as if it was the author's mistake. "Kavya hooks an elbow around Ross's neck and gives him a noogie" (pg. 194), as well as in the literal second chapter, "I curl up my fin to stop him" (pg. 12) (in reference to Elder Kelp who, aside from this, is referred to using only they/them pronouns).
- Possibly my biggest complaint is the carelessness and inconsistency of the mer lore. I don't need a Brandon-Sanderson-level, epic-fantasy magic system, but it at the very least needs to have some thought put into it. Apparently, all mer have "knowledge and clarity magic" which allows them to understand all human sayings and norms, but this is only relevant when the author decides it's relevant apparently because oh my god it is SO FUCKING INCONSISTENT. On page 26, this magic let's Crest understand what "time-out" means but on pages 39-40 they don't understand what "dumped" or "broken-up-with" means. Also, they know how to use a phone and how to write by hand but don't know what crosswalks are or what CPR is? There is a magic house where the merpeople who come here stay which brings up an insane amount of questions on it's own but inside the house is a "human customs document". Why do they even need a human customs document if they have the Clarity magic? Theres also just some merfolk mechanics that get added for no reason (for example the whole “mer don’t make facial expressions like humans” was added randomly and is never relevant again. It just brings up more and more questions and inconsistencies. There’s nothing wrong with stupid books. Especially fun stupid wish-fulfillment books for queer people. Out of the Blue just reeks with carelessness to me. It doesn’t feel earnest or well thought out and that makes me upset.
- First few chapters have some of the most insane run-on sentences I have ever read. Several of which are genuinely grammatically incorrect and generally just difficult to read.
- Nothing happens for the first like 100 pages and when stuff happens after that it is by random chance or very poorly thought out reasons. For example, a truck happens to crash into a fire hydrant (pgs. 165-174), Crest happens to spill their drink (pg. 290) and a kid happens to push Sean (pg. 356).
- So incredibly immature. Several scenes literally read as fake tumblr stories. The first scene being an incredibly gratuitous example but there’s also the Alex/Omar promposal scene (two characters we never see before or after), and many of the later scenes.
- Incredibly sexualized. Too much. Not inherently bad, but this is YA and these characters are 16. It's so bad, more than just mentioning sex like it's so bad I don't want to think about it. I know teenagers have sex. Mention it, sure. I do not, however, want to read a 30+ year old grown adult write about 16-year-old boy penis. Please don't make me imagine 16-year-old boy penis. The amount of sex talk is insane. I genuinely don't think there is a span of more than two chapters where there is no mention of sex—which is okay on a surface level I suppose (especially if directed to an older audience or written about older characters). But not for me.
I did not like reading in detail how one character felt another character hard under their thighs and other wonderful (sarcastic) descriptions of high school students.
- Sean. Sean is a creep. Sean is genuinely so fucking weird and annoying I hated him violently until the last 25% of the book. He makes these insane director shot lists of when he is going to kiss Crest in front of Dominic without ever asking Crest first and telling everyone they're fucking??? Can you imagine if someone did this in real life? He is so whiny and self centered and infuriating.
- Sean and Crest are the same character, one uses fish references, the other uses film references. That is legitimately it. They feel like cardboard. Some of the most frustrating characters i’ve ever read.
- No chemistry. They're just horny. Also an insane power dynamic. Crest agrees to help Sean both in exchange for him not revealing their secret and for their journey. Except this "help" is like... dating him? And kissing him? Crest’s life as they know it is dependent on this and Sean kind of takes advantage of that and I don’t like it. I didn't put that much thought into it when I read it but now looking back it's very uncomfortable.
- Small complaint but people fall, and get pushed, and impulsively jump into pools on multiple occasions. But also everyone has their phone on them all the time? It's just not an issue?
- No homophobia in this world but there's transphobia? (Crest getting misgendered and judged/stared at for being gender noncomforming) Why is this a safe, happy, escapist LGB positive world that simultaneously has prejudice towards trans people, just upsetting.
- Crest's gender. They're a genderless merfolk that has to now exist within a male body on land. This would be an interesting way to explore gender dysphoria, gender identity, and the trans experience but this is not delved into AT ALL. Which brings me to my next point, why does Crest have to have male anatomy? It's presented that they have this body because they're human and obviously all humans have to be either have male or female anatomy... but that's not true, intersex people exist and are actually a significant part of the population? I know not every intersex person has visible genital differences yes, but my point still stands. The idea that they can't be physically genderless because they have to "be human" is kind of insulting? But maybe this is a bit of a reach.
- I get the feeling that June only has a vague idea of what the terms "masculine-presenting" and "feminine-presenting" mean. There is a segment where Crest is literally looking for a "masculine-presenting" person to be Sean's BOYfriend. They are not looking for a masculine-presenting person, they're looking for a boy, women can be masculine-presenting and they would not be your BOYfriend? Also 90% of the time that a character is described as "masculine/feminine presenting" it's just not relevant at all, wouldn't they just refer to people as "that person in red" if their gender isn't important, instead of "that feminine-presenting person in red"? This is also inconsistent though, Crest only uses "masculine/feminine presenting person" to refer to people they don't know, but at one point refers to a stranger as a "woman"???? (pg. 274). Also the whole thing about making a big deal out of referring to animals by they/them is kind of insane. I cannot comprehend this actually happening in real life.
- Kavya's portrayal. It is definitely careless that the first dark-skinned character we meet is immediately aggressive and physically violent. I know this is almost certainly just June’s attempt to have a diverse cast, which is great, but there are literally people whose job it is to catch things like this, sensitivity readers. When you’re including marginalized characters—especially if their identity is different from your own—you have to do more than just pick an identity and slap it on. You also have to consider how the stereotypes affecting that group unconsciously affect your portrayal of them, and how your character won’t perpetuate anything harmful. I don’t think that all of your characters have to defy stereotypes, but having your only major dark-skinned woman be masculine AND vulgar AND rowdy AND very sexual AND aggressive AND insensitive AND vilified by the story towards the end (for an incredibly stupid reason) all at the same time is definitely not great. That is not something that you want to perpetuate unconsciously (which I assume that this is.) Apparently, June's newest book has a stronger focus on racial diversity which makes me incredibly nervous, but I'm not subjecting myself to another one of these books. Maybe it's good. I don't know.
This book genuinely drained my sanity, thanks for reading if you got this far. I actually had to leave out a lot (cheating... how insanely preachy it is in every aspect, more nonsensical mer lore, more questionable depictions of people of colour) but I hope you feel... informed anyways I guess.
May 31, 2022
3.75
Humans are the worst… right?
Crest is not excited to be on their Journey: the month-long sojourn on land all teen merfolk must undergo. The rules are simple: Help a human within one moon cycle and return to Pacifica to become an Elder—or fail and remain stuck on land forever. Crest is eager to get their Journey over and done with. Humans are disgusting. They’ve polluted the planet so much that there’s a floating island of trash that’s literally the size of a country. In Los Angeles with a human body and a new name, Crest meets Sean, a human lifeguard whose boyfriend has recently dumped him. Crest agrees to help Sean make his ex jealous and win him back. But as the two spend more time together, and Crest’s perspective on humans begins to change, they’ll soon be torn between two worlds. And fake dating just might lead to real feelings . . .
Thank you so much to the publisher for giving me an ARC. This does not affect my review.
This was a super cute read perfect for summer!!
The whole mermaid thing was really cool. I liked how the author created this whole background on them, changed from the way many view mermaids. I also like that they have a chance to stay on land if they choose to.
Crest was pretty cool mermaid. I liked how he ended up having an open mind. He was a perfect balance to Sean. I think they worked really well together.
Sean, my romcom loving bestie. We will definitely be watching romcoms together. I liked how he realized that he needed to focus on himself more and also on now instead of the future. Also I feel like he deserves an amazing partner in the future.
The fake dating was on peak. I liked how at first it was just in front of Sean’s ex, but then slowly at other places too hehe.
I like how Crest and Sean kept each other in check when the other did something they shouldn’t have… I think it was one of my favourite things!
Honestly I have no complaints (that I can remember!)
Please go read this book!!!
Edit: I’m sorry if this is on the shorter side, I’ve been at school all day + doing homework + this is my third review of the night
Humans are the worst… right?
Crest is not excited to be on their Journey: the month-long sojourn on land all teen merfolk must undergo. The rules are simple: Help a human within one moon cycle and return to Pacifica to become an Elder—or fail and remain stuck on land forever. Crest is eager to get their Journey over and done with. Humans are disgusting. They’ve polluted the planet so much that there’s a floating island of trash that’s literally the size of a country. In Los Angeles with a human body and a new name, Crest meets Sean, a human lifeguard whose boyfriend has recently dumped him. Crest agrees to help Sean make his ex jealous and win him back. But as the two spend more time together, and Crest’s perspective on humans begins to change, they’ll soon be torn between two worlds. And fake dating just might lead to real feelings . . .
Thank you so much to the publisher for giving me an ARC. This does not affect my review.
This was a super cute read perfect for summer!!
The whole mermaid thing was really cool. I liked how the author created this whole background on them, changed from the way many view mermaids. I also like that they have a chance to stay on land if they choose to.
Crest was pretty cool mermaid. I liked how he ended up having an open mind. He was a perfect balance to Sean. I think they worked really well together.
Sean, my romcom loving bestie. We will definitely be watching romcoms together. I liked how he realized that he needed to focus on himself more and also on now instead of the future. Also I feel like he deserves an amazing partner in the future.
The fake dating was on peak. I liked how at first it was just in front of Sean’s ex, but then slowly at other places too hehe.
I like how Crest and Sean kept each other in check when the other did something they shouldn’t have… I think it was one of my favourite things!
Honestly I have no complaints (that I can remember!)
Please go read this book!!!
Edit: I’m sorry if this is on the shorter side, I’ve been at school all day + doing homework + this is my third review of the night
July 11, 2023
respectfully this book is awful lmao
July 16, 2022
I really wanted to like this book. The concept was just so fun. However, I really struggled to understand the demographic that this book is for. The ages of the characters (16) and the references they make are very young, (the kind of thing my middle school students would love to read) but the sheer amount of sex jokes and boners in this book makes me incredibly uncomfortable. Like literally every single page is making a sex joke.
Everything is still very fade-to-black and innuendo, but I can’t help but feel like it IS NOT appropriate for the age group it’s marketed to. I’m all for sex positivity, but this is just over the top. At some point I felt like I was only reading it because it was like a car crash I couldn’t look away from.
Everything is still very fade-to-black and innuendo, but I can’t help but feel like it IS NOT appropriate for the age group it’s marketed to. I’m all for sex positivity, but this is just over the top. At some point I felt like I was only reading it because it was like a car crash I couldn’t look away from.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 7, 2023
Okay so this was adorable but there’s no HEA for the couple so ????? gutted
So while it’s romantic, it’s not a romance. I’d say coming of age with a love story but it’s NOT A ROMCOM.
I really enjoyed the story but I need an HEA. The ending felt right for the characters but it also felt like a cop out. Find a way!!!
The characters also felt a bit older than 16 and they did have vague but on the page sex. As a teen I enjoyed when my YA books had sex because it was like wow enlightening, so I can’t really comment on if it’s good or bad (I know there’s been debate). I’m an adult reading YA ya know? It’s hard to be like “it makes me feel weird and uncomfortable so it’s bad” because this is geared for young adults and I’m not the target audience.
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5
So while it’s romantic, it’s not a romance. I’d say coming of age with a love story but it’s NOT A ROMCOM.
I really enjoyed the story but I need an HEA. The ending felt right for the characters but it also felt like a cop out. Find a way!!!
The characters also felt a bit older than 16 and they did have vague but on the page sex. As a teen I enjoyed when my YA books had sex because it was like wow enlightening, so I can’t really comment on if it’s good or bad (I know there’s been debate). I’m an adult reading YA ya know? It’s hard to be like “it makes me feel weird and uncomfortable so it’s bad” because this is geared for young adults and I’m not the target audience.
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 28, 2021
**Thank you to NetGalley and HarperTeen for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!**
This one is tough to review, largely because I'm so torn between the things I loved about it and the stuff that just really didn't land.
Like, I adored both Crest/Ross and Sean as characters, but their motivations and understanding around their relationship were very hard to follow in moments. One moment they were friends with benefits, the next they were fully in love, then very torn up over whether or not they were manipulating each other, then broken up, then in love, then maybe broken up again? Phew. But nonetheless, I was really invested the entire book in their relationship, and I really enjoyed all the classic fake dating notes. There were also a lot of elements about it that read true to teen relationships and how wildly messy they can be. It was also super sex-positive and there seemed to be roughly zero straight characters, which was great.
That said, the biggest issue for me was that the narrative seemed to be having somewhat of an identity crisis with who the audience was supposed to be. For example, the romance read to me as being upper YA with how much sexual content there was, whereas a lot of the mythology and characteristics of the merpeople seemed very middle grade. Like, it's jarring to go from Ross shouting "What the flick" and referring to their friends with names like Drop and Wave on one page and then hitting yet another description of a raging stiffy the next.
It also felt like some plot points, pardon the pun, were super out of the blue. In general, the pacing and structure of the back half were a bit messy, which was a bummer after such a strong first half, and the ending also felt a little rushed. It would have been nice to get a little clearer resolution with that.
Overall, I did have a lot of fun with this one, but I wish the back half had been just a little more polished.
This one is tough to review, largely because I'm so torn between the things I loved about it and the stuff that just really didn't land.
Like, I adored both Crest/Ross and Sean as characters, but their motivations and understanding around their relationship were very hard to follow in moments. One moment they were friends with benefits, the next they were fully in love, then very torn up over whether or not they were manipulating each other, then broken up, then in love, then maybe broken up again? Phew. But nonetheless, I was really invested the entire book in their relationship, and I really enjoyed all the classic fake dating notes. There were also a lot of elements about it that read true to teen relationships and how wildly messy they can be. It was also super sex-positive and there seemed to be roughly zero straight characters, which was great.
That said, the biggest issue for me was that the narrative seemed to be having somewhat of an identity crisis with who the audience was supposed to be. For example, the romance read to me as being upper YA with how much sexual content there was, whereas a lot of the mythology and characteristics of the merpeople seemed very middle grade. Like, it's jarring to go from Ross shouting "What the flick" and referring to their friends with names like Drop and Wave on one page and then hitting yet another description of a raging stiffy the next.
It also felt like some plot points, pardon the pun, were super out of the blue. In general, the pacing and structure of the back half were a bit messy, which was a bummer after such a strong first half, and the ending also felt a little rushed. It would have been nice to get a little clearer resolution with that.
Overall, I did have a lot of fun with this one, but I wish the back half had been just a little more polished.
August 28, 2025
Reading this book was an emotional rollercoaster.
I had high expectations because Jason june wrote Jay's gay agenda, a book I really love, but you have to consider that these two books are very different.
Out of the blue is a book I was going to give five stars to, until the last 75 pages. I thought the first few chapters were really funny, and the beginning of Sean and Crest's relationship was cute. But the ending was a mess. There was way too much action all at once, and the way the characters acted was not in line with their behavior in the rest of the story. Despite that I still had a great time with this book, and the story reminded me of when I used to watch "H2O: Just Add Water" on repeat, which definitely made me happy.
I had high expectations because Jason june wrote Jay's gay agenda, a book I really love, but you have to consider that these two books are very different.
Out of the blue is a book I was going to give five stars to, until the last 75 pages. I thought the first few chapters were really funny, and the beginning of Sean and Crest's relationship was cute. But the ending was a mess. There was way too much action all at once, and the way the characters acted was not in line with their behavior in the rest of the story. Despite that I still had a great time with this book, and the story reminded me of when I used to watch "H2O: Just Add Water" on repeat, which definitely made me happy.
January 11, 2023
This really hit the spot for me! I loved the fantastical elements mixed into the real world, while delivering amazing character development for all of the main characters. I loved the ending....I was concerned at several points that it was going to go one way or the other, which I wouldn't have been happy about, but it ended up being perfect!
I was a bit dubious about reading this at all because of the lowish ratings, but I so glad that I decided to 'dive' in anyway!
I was a bit dubious about reading this at all because of the lowish ratings, but I so glad that I decided to 'dive' in anyway!
October 2, 2022
Une jolie lecture ! Une romance à base de magie et sirène très cute, un chouïa long peut être mais très vraiment sympa et original. J’aurais aimé que la fin nous en dise plus sur le destin de nos héros, mais en même temps, je crois que j’aurais pas aimé en savoir trop non plus (LA RELOUUUE). Bref, une chouette découverte !
August 10, 2022
4.25 rounded up because this book’s rating is way too low. It was extremely. I’m kinda obsessed. The chubby main character was 100% a plus and the author describing attractiveness to him was spot on, which doesn’t happen enough in popular fiction. A non-binary character was another plus! Anyway. Very cute, very fun, and I recommend it.
June 12, 2022
This book was so heart-warming, something I needed very much right about now.
The characters are brilliant, so many funny scenes and the ending was *chef's kiss*
The characters are brilliant, so many funny scenes and the ending was *chef's kiss*
March 25, 2025
A cute YA gay romcom with more blandness than either romance or comedy. This was a cute premise, but lacked extremely in execution. It became incredibly boring, predictable and often times it felt as if the drama or problem were amplified to distract from the simplicity of the story. There wasn’t a natural build up of any emotion or issue in this book and it think it really suffered from that.
I hate to be rude but it really felt like a first debut. It has great representation of different kinds of love, gender, and bodies, but it lacked in every other way.
I hate to be rude but it really felt like a first debut. It has great representation of different kinds of love, gender, and bodies, but it lacked in every other way.
March 29, 2022
This was a solid 3.5 stars for me!
So many fun tropes are in this book: the fake dating, opposites attract, the film-student obsessed with movies and wanting their own "movie moment" in real life, and the rushing against time to fulfil a goal trope. I love them all in it's cheesiness that they truly are!
The rep is fantastic too: bi, non-binary (throughout all), gay, a sapphic relationship, big person, and more that I'm sure I'm missing mentioning right here.
I did find some of the character's thoughts and actions a little frustrating at times. There are times when they are oblivious to themselves, which is hard to believe with how much self-awareness they also possess. But I did have to remind myself that these are teens. I was dramatic as heck in my teen years, so I get it.
And I think perhaps it's just me as an adult consuming this young-adult book and it wasn't really written for someone like me (which I'm aware of!). If you can accept it for what it is: a silly, fun, teen rom-com with a bit of magic included, you'll love this book! I enjoyed it, despite a few cringey moments.
The one thing I cannot fault with Jason June's books is that I can read them fairly fast. I read Jay's Gay Agenda in 1.5 days -- this one also took only just a few days as well (though I started it on March 2, I got distracted with manga and didn't get back to this until a few days ago!). I think this is a testament to how it's just such a fun, light read, which makes it quite difficult to want to put down and pause.
So many fun tropes are in this book: the fake dating, opposites attract, the film-student obsessed with movies and wanting their own "movie moment" in real life, and the rushing against time to fulfil a goal trope. I love them all in it's cheesiness that they truly are!
The rep is fantastic too: bi, non-binary (throughout all), gay, a sapphic relationship, big person, and more that I'm sure I'm missing mentioning right here.
I did find some of the character's thoughts and actions a little frustrating at times. There are times when they are oblivious to themselves, which is hard to believe with how much self-awareness they also possess. But I did have to remind myself that these are teens. I was dramatic as heck in my teen years, so I get it.
And I think perhaps it's just me as an adult consuming this young-adult book and it wasn't really written for someone like me (which I'm aware of!). If you can accept it for what it is: a silly, fun, teen rom-com with a bit of magic included, you'll love this book! I enjoyed it, despite a few cringey moments.
The one thing I cannot fault with Jason June's books is that I can read them fairly fast. I read Jay's Gay Agenda in 1.5 days -- this one also took only just a few days as well (though I started it on March 2, I got distracted with manga and didn't get back to this until a few days ago!). I think this is a testament to how it's just such a fun, light read, which makes it quite difficult to want to put down and pause.
June 29, 2022
3.5 stars
August 19, 2022
Reading this book was such an absolute delight! This little mermaid inspired tale with a non-binary merperson put the biggest smile on my face!
June 12, 2022
SO. MUCH. FUN.
This was an absolute joy. It was funny, warm hearted, angsty, magical and messy. The references to The Little Mermaid made my heart sing. Sean specifically was such a wonderful character to follow and I grew to love the messy and petty but lovable Crest. This was such a fun twist on a rom-com and seeing such casual non-binary and plus sized rep was a joy.
Overall, this was a thoroughly enjoyable and utterly adorable coming-of-age queer rom-com a touch of mermaid magic and great discussions surrounding gender, sexuality, mental health and forging your own path.
This was an absolute joy. It was funny, warm hearted, angsty, magical and messy. The references to The Little Mermaid made my heart sing. Sean specifically was such a wonderful character to follow and I grew to love the messy and petty but lovable Crest. This was such a fun twist on a rom-com and seeing such casual non-binary and plus sized rep was a joy.
Overall, this was a thoroughly enjoyable and utterly adorable coming-of-age queer rom-com a touch of mermaid magic and great discussions surrounding gender, sexuality, mental health and forging your own path.
July 19, 2022
3.75
Do you like rom-coms? Is The Little Mermaid one of your favourite movies? Do you just need a quick and fun book to read at the beach? If the answer to any of these is yes, then you need to read Out of the Blue.
The story follows Sean, a human who just got his heart broken by his boyfriend, and Ross, a merperson who hates humans and is sent to land with the mission of helping someone. When their paths cross, Ross realises it's the perfect opportunity for them to get their task done and go back to the sea — they will help Sean get his boyfriend back by following the steps of the carefully planned rom-com script Sean has prepared. But, as one may imagine, not everything will go according to plan and Ross will discover that maybe humans aren't that bad after all.
I had so, so much fun reading this. Seeing Ross try to pass as a human and interact with them without having a clue of what they were doing was hilarious and definitely one of my favourite aspects of the novel. I also found the merworld the author created very interesting — their culture doesn't have a binary concept of gender, they focus on society instead of individuals, and they worry and take care of nature and marine life. Still, their world isn't perfect and I found it very refreshing to see how both Ross and Sean questioned their beliefs and learnt from each other's cultures.
Along these lines, something else that I appreciated was the diversity. As I said, merpeople are all non-binary, so when Ross goes to land, they decide to maintain the pronouns they used under the sea instead of 'choosing a binary gender to blend in better with the humans', like their elders told them. Aside from a mention of some people glaring at them for their androgynous outfit, all the characters accepted it and at no point was there drama because of it. Same goes for Sean's identity — he's a gay kid in the swimming team, but he's not the only one. In fact, there's plenty of other queer swimmers in the team! It's always nice to have books with queer main characters where being queer isn't part of the conflict at all. Moreover, Sean is fat, but he's described by many characters as attractive and desirable and not in spite of being fat. And he's also one of the best swimmers on the team!
Now, I don't want to spoil anything, but I'll just say that while it may seem like a very clichéd story (and I don't mean this in a negative way at all), it actually... isn't? Yes, it's a rom-com and so it revolves around romantic love. But, at the end of the day, the message of this story is all about self-love, and about all the different things in your life that can make you happy besides romance. It's something that I always wish more stories did and this one nailed it perfectly.
However, as much as I enjoyed the book, there were a couple things that I didn't like as much and that's the only reason I'm not giving it a higher rating. The first thing is that these people (and merpeople) were very horny. Obviously, there's nothing wrong about that, but I personally prefer it when romances don't focus as much on the sexual aspect, that's it. The other thing, and this is the one that bothered me a bit more, was the drama towards the end. I understand that there needs to be some conflict, sure, but it was all due to lack of communication between the main characters and something that could've easily been solved if they'd talked and stopped assuming what the other was thinking, feeling and doing. It got a little annoying for me, to be honest, but I still really loved the resolution.
All in all, I'd recommend this novel to anyone who wants a cute romance with some touches of fantasy and guaranteed laughs!
Do you like rom-coms? Is The Little Mermaid one of your favourite movies? Do you just need a quick and fun book to read at the beach? If the answer to any of these is yes, then you need to read Out of the Blue.
The story follows Sean, a human who just got his heart broken by his boyfriend, and Ross, a merperson who hates humans and is sent to land with the mission of helping someone. When their paths cross, Ross realises it's the perfect opportunity for them to get their task done and go back to the sea — they will help Sean get his boyfriend back by following the steps of the carefully planned rom-com script Sean has prepared. But, as one may imagine, not everything will go according to plan and Ross will discover that maybe humans aren't that bad after all.
I had so, so much fun reading this. Seeing Ross try to pass as a human and interact with them without having a clue of what they were doing was hilarious and definitely one of my favourite aspects of the novel. I also found the merworld the author created very interesting — their culture doesn't have a binary concept of gender, they focus on society instead of individuals, and they worry and take care of nature and marine life. Still, their world isn't perfect and I found it very refreshing to see how both Ross and Sean questioned their beliefs and learnt from each other's cultures.
Along these lines, something else that I appreciated was the diversity. As I said, merpeople are all non-binary, so when Ross goes to land, they decide to maintain the pronouns they used under the sea instead of 'choosing a binary gender to blend in better with the humans', like their elders told them. Aside from a mention of some people glaring at them for their androgynous outfit, all the characters accepted it and at no point was there drama because of it. Same goes for Sean's identity — he's a gay kid in the swimming team, but he's not the only one. In fact, there's plenty of other queer swimmers in the team! It's always nice to have books with queer main characters where being queer isn't part of the conflict at all. Moreover, Sean is fat, but he's described by many characters as attractive and desirable and not in spite of being fat. And he's also one of the best swimmers on the team!
Now, I don't want to spoil anything, but I'll just say that while it may seem like a very clichéd story (and I don't mean this in a negative way at all), it actually... isn't? Yes, it's a rom-com and so it revolves around romantic love. But, at the end of the day, the message of this story is all about self-love, and about all the different things in your life that can make you happy besides romance. It's something that I always wish more stories did and this one nailed it perfectly.
However, as much as I enjoyed the book, there were a couple things that I didn't like as much and that's the only reason I'm not giving it a higher rating. The first thing is that these people (and merpeople) were very horny. Obviously, there's nothing wrong about that, but I personally prefer it when romances don't focus as much on the sexual aspect, that's it. The other thing, and this is the one that bothered me a bit more, was the drama towards the end. I understand that there needs to be some conflict, sure, but it was all due to lack of communication between the main characters and something that could've easily been solved if they'd talked and stopped assuming what the other was thinking, feeling and doing. It got a little annoying for me, to be honest, but I still really loved the resolution.
All in all, I'd recommend this novel to anyone who wants a cute romance with some touches of fantasy and guaranteed laughs!
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