This was a really great book. I knew it was a coming out narrative, so the whole time I was a little on edge. It's hard to read about people getting outed, and I think having. a trigger warning for that would be good. I expected it, but it was still hard to read. But over all this was great. I loved Bryson and Kai. I thought they were very cute together. And I love that they both had really great supportive sisters.

This was cute! I don't want to be too critical here because I am definitely much older than the target demographic but I do feel like this could use another round of revision before the final publication. There were times when I felt the story was a bit rushed. But overall it was a cute story with an interesting premise that I think teens looking for lgbt and #ownvoices stories will enjoy.

The cover and the title caught my attention for this book, and I thought it sounded like it would be cute. But I didn’t feel like the characters really had any chemistry, and I personally found myself unable to connect with the characters.

Thank you netgalley for my copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Completely adorable! Cute as heck romance with dynamic characters who face realistic conflict with a happy ending. There's nothing more that I want from LGBT YA!

I went into this book blind and I think the premise was interesting but I think the execution unfortunately fell flat for me. I didn't really feel the connection or chemistry between the main characters and some parts of the book seemed to drag on, while others seemed too rushed. I did think Kai had a great relationship with his friends Donny and Priya and I enjoyed their banter back and forth and liked how they supported Kai 100% like true friends should.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange of an honest review. I thank Netgalley and the publisher for the chance of reading it.

Date me, Bryson Keller is a cute love story and a coming out narrative. The main character is Kai, he's mixed race and he's a closeted gay. Living in a religious family and going to a private school when the only out teenager is labelled as "the gay one", Kai is afraid to come out, he is not ready, although he's sure of his sexuality, since he has a crush on a soccer player, Isaac.
One Monday everything changes. After a soda incident, he found himself late at the obligatory assembly, late at his drama class and in detention with the "it" boy of the school, Bryson Keller. Everything starts with a dare, involving Bryson. Months ago his friends dare him to date, for one school week, the first person he asks him out on a Monday. In the spur of the moment, Kai asks him out and finds himself coming out to him, deciding to trust him. Bryson is not the usual jock of the school. He's cute, smart, with a difficult situation at home and in a few days he and Kai start to see each other first as a friend and then like more than friends, pushing both of them to question each other about who they are and who is the person they really like. Of course, it's not easy being a gay teenager at school and at home and Kai's life is turn upside down and he has to deal with coming out (willingly and not willingly), school scandal and difficult times.

I loved reading this book and I liked, a lot, the characters. Kai, the main one, is shy, tends to blush a lot, he's smart, he loves reading, writing and he has a deep understanding how what it means to be a gay teenager, thinking about the danger of being out, the society that doesn't help with its stigma and prejudice, the whole religion and sin thing. I love Reading about an anxious character! I relate so much!
I felt his rage and frustration, his need to take his own time to be ready to be out and comfortable. I liked reading about how he feels about him being mixed race, the pressure of doing or acting in a certain way and the difficulty of not being considered Black enough or White enough. His thoughts about racism and sexism are really important and the author conveyed his feelings, his complexity as character.
Bryson is a cute characters, sweet and, if I'm to be honest, maybe too perfect, but I like him anyway. He's nice and complex, dealing with family problems, his sexual identity and with this dare, involving Kai. I like reading their love story, their friendship,even if it seemed a bit too rushed, just a bit. I liked a lot Crystal, Bryson's sister and Hannah, their mother, so supportive and understanding. And, even though it hurt, I expected Kai's parents' reaction and Dustin's and Shannon's move. I found totally amazing Yazz, Kai's sister, so smart, so supportive and funny. A real gem.
But, above all, I liked Priya and Donny, their relationship and their friendship with Kai, so genuine and funny, full of jokes and understanding; they were amazing, always there for him, always supporting him, waiting for Kai to be ready to tell them the truth. Awesome friends. I hate reading about the bullying and about the prejudice and the odious jokes, but those made the book, unfortunately, more real, even if they left me with a bitter taste in my mouth.

I definetely loved the message of the book. It's a love and coming out story and it shows that, even after bad moments, cruel jokes and stupid comments and even more stupid people, there is hope, there is the need and right to fight to be oneself and be happy.
It's a book of love and hope and I really appreciated the message of the author, because there is the need to have more story like this one, with a mixed race gay main character. We need more diversity in books and books like this one, that tackles issues like homofobia, religion, and fear to live in a world where there is too much prejudice, are needed.
I found this book encouraging, hopeful. Kai's and Bryson's love story is sweet, absolutely cute and I loved reading it.

Date Me, Bryson Keller has absolutely one of the wildest premises I've ever read in a teen rom-com. The titular Bryson Keller is dared to date whoever asks him out first every Monday for the rest of the week to prove that he could get a date, even though he was against dating in high school. After several months of girl after girl, our main character, Kai Sheridan (who is a boy! gasp!), asks Bryson Keller out on a whim one Monday.

Even overlooking how insane this dare is, Kai isn't actually out as gay, so he and Bryson embark on a relationship that is both fake and secret. I have never, ever, read a book about a secret fake relationship, and honestly, for good reason. It honestly didn't work particularly well, because I was entirely too preoccupied with the ridiculousness of the situation.

Bryson and Kai were interesting characters, although I will say that after reading a couple of interviews with the author, I know enough about him to say that Kai is 100% a self-insert character, which was simultaneously a little weird and made his story more believable (the author and the character have the same hobbies, interests, mannerisms...).

I will say this though: there are two main reasons why I didn't like this book as much as I honestly expected to. Firstly, the writing itself was in need of another round of revisions. I don't love to point this out given that I read an ARC and not the final product, but it did affect my enjoyment. I encourage you to take it with a grain of salt, though, since this book will obviously be getting those revisions before it's published. Secondly, this is a coming-out story. I want to be very clear that this is just my personal opinion and why I didn't enjoy the book, not a criticism of the author or even the story. I, though, am frustrated with books like this, in which characters are forced out of the closet and then treated with homophobia from family and schoolmates. It's not necessarily a bad thing, and I know these types of stories are important for some people. It just hits too close to home for me to enjoy it fully.

All in all, though, this was a super cute book with a wild premise, lovable characters, and an adorable romance. Rom-com lovers will likely devour this book with glee. I think it just wasn't the book for me right now.

Color me happy when Netgalley & Random House approved me! I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD GET THIS BOOK!!!!!

3.5 stars.

There were part of this book I adored and parts that I didn't.
The one big thing for me is connection and I just......didn't feel it.

I dont want to give to much away but the end of the book made me equal parts mad and sad.

I felt it may have been really rushed but It could also be my angstful heart wanting to drag it on.....

Thank you for a copy of this ARC!

Mare~Slitsread