May the Best Man Win tackles important themes like identity, relationships, and personal growth, and the premise of two exes competing for prom king offers plenty of emotional tension. The audiobook narration is solid, with the narrators bringing a lot of personality to the characters and making the story engaging to listen to.

However, while the story has great potential, some parts felt underdeveloped, and the pacing could be uneven at times. The characters’ motivations were occasionally unclear, and certain plot points seemed rushed or unresolved. While the audiobook is a decent listen and handles transgender representation thoughtfully, it falls short of being a standout due to these pacing issues. It’s still worth checking out if you’re looking for a YA romance with heart and complexity, but it didn’t quite hit all the emotional marks for me.

I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

This story is told in two perspectives, that of Lucas, the closet autistic, popular boy, and Jeremy, the first year in transition at high school where he once was the most popular cheerleader. The story isn’t just about Jeremy‘s transition. This story would be a lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers trope. And it’s OK. There are times where it’s really hard to like Jeremy. Jeremy is angry all the time. They constantly want to seek out revenge and do psychological harm to Lucas for an offense Lucas didn’t know took place. Lucas was in his own world. Dealing with the death of his older, considered perfect brother. This book is the competition between the two to become homecoming king. They go to an elite school for people with money. Besides Jeremy not being the most likable character, I find this book is way too long. Over 9 1/2 hours. The audiobook has points where it just drags and one wonders “is this over yet”. Lucas isn’t a bad character. He’s confident on the outside, but not on the inside. Both of them make stupid decisions throughout the book which could be very typical of high school, and this is a YA novel. However, all of that together makes this a messy book that while one does enjoy it they were also ready for it to end.

Where do I even begin with how unlikable this novel was? Spoilers ahead.

Jeremy was the most annoying character of all time and I never found myself rooting for him. I get the idea that this was written with the intention to show that "gay/trans characters don't need to be perfect and wonderful all the time" and I understand that... but you didn't need to make him one of the most unlikable characters of all time. I'm honestly not sure how Lukas still wanted to be with him by the end of the novel when all they did was be assholes to each other for the entirety of the book. I also can sympathize with Jeremy being upset with Lukas for calling him "my girl" but to throw a milkshake on him and break up with him ON THE DAY OF HIS BROTHER'S FUNERAL even though Lukas had no clue Jeremy was trans at that point.... bffr. AT LEAST EXPLAIN TO HIM AT SOME POINT?!?! Also... what was the fixation with the knife about?

Meanwhile... I had such high hopes for Lukas in the first few chapters, but he turned out to be almost as bad as Jeremy with how bad of a "character arc" he had (aka... just becoming a worse human being). None of our characters had enough redeeming qualities to make me like any of them, including the side characters. Sol would have been great, except the author made them out to be a geeky hacker who only talks about computers and gay rights (do they have any other hobbies besides those two things? We'll never know).

The plot was also just... so incredibly cringey. And there was never really a resolution for Lukas in his family/college life?

Skip this one; there are much better novels to read if you're looking for trans/queer rep that doesn't make you scream in frustration every 2 seconds.

4/5⭐ to May the Best Man Win by Z.R. Ellor. Thank you to Roaring Book Press, NetGalley, and MacMillan Audio for an audio egalley to review! I did quite like this book initially when I first listened to it, and after a recent re-read it definitely holds up to my initial thoughts and feelings. This is a rivals to 2nd chance lovers story following Jeremy and Lukas in dual POV (my fave!). Jeremy has just come out as a trans guy right before senior year and after a harsh breakup with Lukas. Lukas is dealing with holding his family together after the loss of his brother and his parents' near-constant fighting. He stars on the football team and aims for top marks in AP classes while also hiding his autism, and is still hurt and confused from when who he thought was his girlfriend broke up with him only then to come out publically as trans without a word personally. These feelings snowball when at the beginning of their senior year, Jeremy announces his rival campaign against Lukas for Prom King. The battle for the crown is bitter -- fought ruthlessly on both sides with anger, sabotage, and collateral damage. Jeremy is fueled by this need to prove his masculinity to the world apart from his transness, which provides some important commentary on what masculinity actually is and how so often it can become toxic. His actions are also a reminder of what can happen to the people around you, even and especially people who you love and care for, can be hurt by your actions when you become consumed with anger and vengeance. As far as unlikable characters go, I didn't mind Jeremy and I appreciated how the author didn't hold back and it was quite effective for the book as a whole. Is it super realistic? No. But are there elements that readers may relate to? Absolutely. With Lukas, I liked how his perfectionism was addressed, as well as the ableism that is too prevalent in school systems and with some teachers. Also, the mental toll it can take when you try and do something alone and don't bring people in your circle to support you. Now, I just want to bring up a couple of elements brought to my attention from others that I agree are problematic. Firstly, an antagonist in the story is referred to as a "N---i" for his actions which was quite unnecessary given the situation and the real-life atrocities committed by that group of people. Secondly, there is a conversation where it is agreed that the majority of TERFs happen to be lesbians which again was definitely not needed. Overall, I'd definitely check out this book if you love a good high school rivals story with trans rep that gets messy but also has heart. Again, this isn't support to be a fluffy, feel-good romance so just a heads up but it is an awesome story nonetheless.

I loved the elements of gender that were explored in this novel. It was extremely enjoyable to read because the characters were so three dimensional and I loved how casual the queer rep was. I can't wait to see what ZR Ellor puts out in the future.

Two stars to the Jeremy chapters.

Four stars to the Lukas chapters.

Unfortunately, the Jeremy chapters left such a bad taste in my mouth that I cannot average it to a three-star rating. Jeremy's self-centeredness and hardheadedness reminded me of Felix (Felix Ever After), but Ellor is no Kacen Callender and there is nothing to redeem Jeremy in this book.

On the other hand, you have Lukas who is dealing with many demons of his own, including the fact that he is not over Jeremy. Whereas Jeremy is almost flat as a character, there are layers and complexities to Lukas that are very engaging. Don't get me wrong, Lukas is not perfect and he can be as vindictive as Jeremy, but never as malicious.

This book was absolutely amazing!! I loved these characters and their romance. It was absolutely adorable and something so unique and great. Such a fun romance and I loved it!

I feel really bad because this was one of the year's reads that I was really looking forward to, and there were times when I just considered putting it down and abandoning it completely.

The problem was that, much like with We Are Totally Normal, I didn't like the main characters. I felt like I spent the first half of the novel disliking Jeremy and the poor decisions he was making and then, just as Jeremy grew up a little and found some self awareness, it was suddenly Lukas that I was facepalming for.

I want to say explicitly that I didn't dislike the rep that was given for either Jeremy's being trans or Lukas being autistic. Both were well represented with respect to the fact that there are as many expressions of both of these things are there are individuals. I particularly liked how Jeremy's dead name is never given in the text.

And it was a coming of age story set in high school. Jeremy and Lukas used to be boyfriend and girlfriend before Jeremy came out as being trans. At that time, he made the decision to break up with Lukas because he couldn't manage the idea of Lukas breaking up with him because he was a guy. Thing he, he was just self absorbed enough to do this immediately after the funeral of Lukas' older brother, without giving any explanation as to why.

Lukas has always felt as though he's been compared and come up short against his neurotypical brother. Now he's also got the issue of feeling like he did something wrong that he doesn't understand with the ending of his relationship with Jeremy. The main thing that he's got left is that he's trying to make his parents proud by becoming the homecoming king in his brother's place.

The only trouble is that Jeremy also wants this crown because he feels as though it will help him to assert and validate his male-ness to those around him.

This is basically a novel where both characters try to beat each other to the bottom with horrible tricks and outright lies as they each try to win out over the other.

Exes compete for the title of Homecoming King in this adorable YA novel. These messy, messy selfish boys almost let the competition ruin their friendships, their lives, and even their growing feelings for each other after Jeremy broke up with Lucas on the day of his brother's funeral and announced his transition via email. Lucas still doesn't understand why Jeremy broke up with him, and Jeremy is determined not to let Lucas break his heart again. Talking would help, but where's the fun in that? These two are frustratingly selfish at times, but they won me over by the end. And despite the frustrations, this was just a really fun, adorable read.

TW: transphobia, bullying, homophobia, and sibling death

Aww man, this book was so much heavier than I was expecting. The cover made this look so fun, but it really isn't. I'm totally fine with heavy books, but this was just not marketed well IMO. I also had issues with the writing. mainly because I felt the author was doing a lot of telling instead of showing.

I didn't love Jeremy, the main character. I found it hard to understand him I guess? I don't know, something was off. A lot of the characters were kind of terrible to each other the entire book, and while I could see what the author was trying to go for, it just made me not really like anyone in this. And there was very little character development too.

The autism rep also felt very odd and after reading own voices reviews about it, it seems like I'm not the only one who thinks so.

**thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review**

4/5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishing team for providing this audiobook-arc!

It was a fun audiobook that wasn't boring to me. It kept me hooked actually! I just love some goon ftm rep!!

Fairly predictable with plot elements that go pretty far over the top. Even so, the frank discussion of identity and forms of privilege makes this worth a read. And I like that it doesn't try too hard to make everything end perfectly.

May the Best Man Win by ZR Ellor was a great read for Pride Month, but it would be a great read any month of the year. It's a story of breaking up and making up and finding one's way.

When Jeremy Harkiss comes out as a trans guy, his goal is to be homecoming king. The only thing standing in his way is his ex-boyfriend Lukas Rivers. The tension between these characters is great and is one of the highlights of this book.

This book isn't a fluffy YA book, however. It's got a deep emotional core and tackles transphobia, ableism, racism, bullying, and grief. It's a lot TBH. It goes close to the edge without going over.

I enjoyed the audiobook except for the fact that the one character with a discernable Southern accent in the book was the most bigoted character. Can we stop falling back on that trope?

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

This is a really hard book for me to review. I read this over a month ago and it has taken me this long to even scratch the surface of what I want to say. I'll start by saying that while I did enjoy this book, I definitely didn't like it quite as much as I expected to and I think that falls on the way this book was marketed. It was marketed as a queer, fun, second-chance, enemies-to-lovers romance, and while it does have some of those elements, it is MUCH heavier of a story than I went in expecting. This book deals very, very heavily with transphobia and the way our main character Jeremy responds to the transphobia he faces. I think that if I had gone into this knowing that it had a heavier tone than the synopsis and cover would suggest, I wouldn't have been quite as thrown off by the way everything went down. With all that being said, I think if you adjust your expectations, this could be a book that you will really love. I personally listened to it on audio and thought the narration was fantastic, so if you are interested in this one, I recommend heeding the list of content warnings and going the audio route.

CW: transphobia (including misgendering + deadnaming), homophobia, death of a loved one, bullying, ableism, use of r-slur, sexual and physical assault

Thank you to @macmillan.audio and @netgalley for the ALC of May The Best Man Win by ZR Ellor, Narrated by Avi Roque. This is a great YA book with amazing Queer representation, and a perfect read for Pride month🏳️‍🌈
This second chance romance/enemies to lovers story comes with a whole host of CW/TW that include sexual harassment, death of a family member, deadnaming, misgendering, homophobia, racisim, bullying, and divorce. There are probably others, so I recommend researching before reading. The narration of this one was amazing, and I loved the supporting characters as much as the main ones (if not more)🙂 If you enjoy quick witted, fast paced, conflict riddled queer romance then definitely check this one out.

Guys, I WANTED to love this one so so much but it was just sort of a hodge podge mess with way too much going on at the detriment of the main story and character development. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my ALC review copy. I had this on my list to read for Pride month since Jeremy, one of the two main characters is a trans boy. I loved that this story was about two exes competing against each other for Prom king and one of them was transgender. I also REALLY loved that the other main character is explicitly (if secretly) autistic. Other positives included the way Jeremy's pain at not being accepted as a gay boy by his mother is expressed - I completely empathized with Jeremy and my heart broke for him.

Where things went off the rails for me was how often bad behavior got excused by the character's sexual identities or conditions rather than having them own their own actions like responsible people. Often, Lukas would claim ignorance for his actions because of his autism and I felt like that was a bit of a cop out. While Jeremey was a really terrible friend often and very selfish and this seemed to get excused because he was transitioning. There were also some really cool secondary characters I wish had more of a starring role in the story, including one who was gender nonbinary and ended up sort of stealing the show at the end but didn't get much of a voice in the book. The other thing I found extremely annoying was how there was only one narrator to voice both Jeremy AND Lukas and it got really confusing at points trying to figure out which boy's perspective I was listening to. I did appreciate having both Jeremy and Lukas's first perspectives in the story though - that was a strong point and maybe would have worked better in print format. One final criticism I had was in regards to the treatment of Lukas's sexuality - I felt like it was used way too conveniently to create a happily ever after without addressing it at much at all before the end of the story. In all, I think this is a book that could help a lot of trans teens feel seen but there are definitely some problematic aspects. I just felt like the author or publishers were pushing for as many diversity boxes to get ticked without exploring them with due diligence they all deserve.

CW: this book contains instances of transphobia and homophobia.

I received an advanced listening copy of May the Best Man Win through NetGalley so I could share my review with you!

Content Warning: May the Best Man Win contains scenes of transphobia, homophobia, ableism (specifically against a character with autism, including the r-slur), sexual and physical assault, bullying, and the death of a loved one.

Jeremy Harkiss is through with other people telling him who he can and can’t be. After coming out as a trans guy over the summer, he is ready to make his senior year one to remember. He’s already the student body president and the head cheerleader, so the only thing he needs to complete his list is to be elected Homecoming King. But, if he wants the crown, he will have to go head-to-head with his football star ex-boyfriend, Lukas Rivers. Lukas has his own reasons for needing to win Homecoming King, though. He has been fighting for a sense of normalcy after losing his brother and his relationship in the same terrible week. Everything will be better if he can just prove to everyone that he is good enough to wear the Homecoming crown. When Lukas and Jeremy go head-to-head, there’s no telling who (if anyone) will come out on top!

You can get your copy of May the Best Man Win now!

I thought that some of the plot and dialogue were a bit over-dramatic, but this only added to the stakes of their rivalry. In spite of this slight realism issue, I still quite enjoyed this audiobook. I had a lot of fun listening to their hijinx, and watching the ways characters came into their own. Though both Jeremy and Lukas started out as semi-unlikable at the beginning of the book, I was really rooting for them both by the end. I think this was a smart move on the part of the author, as it allowed readers to watch the characters grow into better people.

The narration of this book, by Avi Roque, was absolutely excellent! I loved the way that they changed voices between Lukas and Jeremy, allowing each perspective to stand on its own. At times, it almost felt like the book had multiple audio narrators, given how well they defined each voice.

My Recommendation-
If you enjoy stories with plenty of high school drama, you should pick up a copy of May the Best Man Win! I would especially recommend this book to fans of You Should See Me in a Crown and Deacon Locke Went to Prom!

I absolutely adored this audiobook! I usually don't like audio books with duel narrators that feature one audio narrator, but Avi Roque really brought different voices to both Jeremy and Lucas. I loved the uncertainty of the characters in the novel in who they were and what they wanted most. It really reflected the experience of teens today. At times the characters made mistakes and I really enjoyed that they were allowed to make and grow from their choices.

Let me start out by saying that I really wanted to love this book but it just didn't do it for me. This YA novel stars Lukas and Jeremy who were former boyfriend/girlfriend until Jeremy transitioned to male. So, we have a story told partly by Jeremy and partly by Lukas sometime after their split. They are both semi-rabid about becoming homecoming king at their high school. Lukas seems nice enough. He is autistic and dealing with recent traumatic events in his family. Jeremy on the other hand, well.... he was just annoying and vapid in my opinion. He wasn't nice to anyone, including his own friends.

I had so much hope for this #ownvoices LGBTQ+ novel but it left me feeling irked and disappointed. I listened to the audio and in my opinion they should have done it with two different narrators, one for Lukas' part and one for Jeremy's. I rate it somewhere between 2 and 3 stars.

What to listen to while reading...
You Can't Tell Me by Jake Edwards
I Bet on Losing Dogs by Mitski
Stolen Dance by Milky Chance
Transgender by Crystal Castles
Can I Call you Tonight? by Dayglow