Review
An e-copy of the book has been provided by the publisher, Penguin Random House International, in exchange for an honest review.
“I’m scared of a lot of things. The trick is to not let them see. They want your fear–starve them.”
Your Lonely Nights Are Over is a story of friendship but more than that, it is a story that shows the toxicity that is prevalent within the queer community and how being understanding and open to learning can remedy the situation in which the community currently finds itself.
Dearie and Cole are best friends and they have been framed for the murder of member from their queer club. It wasn’t just any murder, though, this was done in a way that seems to be inspired by the famous Mr Sandman murderer. Who actually did it? And, why did they decide to frame the two?
The only positive thing about the book that I can say at this point is how curious I was to find out who the real murderer is. My entire assumption for the story was that the two of them couldn’t possibly be responsible, for the idea alone that, they are the main characters of the story; however, it would be an awesome twist if one of them really was.
As for the negatives… I can only say so much before this review becomes an entire novel itself.
Characters are one of the top three reasons that make or break a reading experience for me. And the characters in this book, especially Dearie, almost made me mark it as a DNF. Dearie is a character that is self-important. He feels like he needs to do anything and everything to prove himself when, in reality, it just makes him extremely annoying and, as we Filipinos say he definitely suffers from, “kulang sa pansin.”
I cannot begin to tell how much of my notes state that I will stop the book if I ever read another part where it’s from Dearie’s perspective. I was, however, persistent. So here I am.
Reading this book felt like an exercise in pretense. It was as if the author was trying too hard with his excessively over the top, “witty” lines which impeded the already pretentious comic references. It was all too much for me and often made me cringe during these situations. Additionally, the sequencing of some of the chapters didn’t make sense to me. It made it look like some parts of the story had been forgotten, remembered all of a sudden, and then injected carelessly into certain parts of the book.
Being that this is young adult fiction, I aimed to finish it despite the obvious disappointment that I felt towards the book. It took me some time, despite the quick pacing, but I have given the story a chance, yet it still wasn’t cut out for me. It was unfortunate as I did get excited by the prospect of a queer murder mystery. The trigger warning at the beginning of the story was appreciated but the book’s contents were still mentally draining (outside of the frustrating characters). It is truly a shame that I do not like this book, however I can see how it can be something others will enjoy and value. If not for the writing perhaps for the concept.
