This book was cute. It was a fun read. I loved Blaine’s energy and internal monologue. I think it was a great inclusive and diverse read!

This review was also posted on goodreads at the following link: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4509935752

Thank you to NetGalley & The publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Legally blonde but LGBT? instantly grabbed my attention. i LOVED how this book had used the "what like it's hard?" line to bring in the story! As much as this story plot hurts to see people be treated like they need more than what their partners were giving, this book was super well done to have that plot play out to the extreme pressures shown to make that plot happen.

I loved the twist where it was a school election instead of a law school situation as it gave the chance for the book to bring attention to a lot of current struggles such as mental health and even has a reference about LGBT+ needing some more resources to be improved on to create a safer environment for students.

SPOILER PART OF THE REVIEW BELOW:


As much as I loved this i did wish we had seen a little more growth to Blaine and Danny because there only one almost moment then their ending where they have the reveal of emotions which is ADORABLE as Danny finally got that aloe plant that was damaged in the first scene of the book.

I definitely need to stop requesting YA books on NG, I’ve become too jaded and cynical in my old age to really enjoy them! Obviously, there will be exceptions, but on the whole I think I’m over YA.

This book is about Blaine who gets dumped by his rich, upper class boyfriend on their anniversary and then decides to run for class president to win him back. Sorry, but why would you like want that asshat back??? Anyway, the rest of the book is seeing how the campaign and election go, as well as Blaine questioning his own values and interests (after his ex said incredibly mean things to him). This is why I’m feeling like I’m over YA. I just can’t take these plots seriously.
Overall, the book was fine, it was a super light, low drama read, which was nice. I think the characters could have benefited from a bit more physical description, as I had a really difficult time envisioning them while reading. I was mostly going by the cover illustration, rather than actual descriptions in the book. Maybe this is a me thing, but I really need those descriptions and to not have them takes away from my reading experience.
I think that folks in the target demographic will probably enjoy this book, but it’s just not quite the book for me.

i was given this arc in exchange for an honest review. so i AM going to be honest. after the first 2 chapters, i honestly thought i was going to dnf this book, which was disappointing because i was super excited when i got given the arc and when i was finally able to get around to starting it. my reasoning was because the writing style in the beginning was WAY too hard for me to follow, it felt like every sentence had 5 adjectives and by the time i had finished reading a sentence or paragraph, i had already forgotten what was being described. maybe the fault in this writing style is due to the fact that i have aphantasia, (which is a fancy way of saying i can't "see pictures" in my mind) so therefore all this detail trying to describe the scene was lost in translation because i am not actively PICTURING the scene.

that being said, i decided i wanted to give the book a fair chance as again, i was excited about it and have no problems with it besides a personal issue. so my goal was to at least finish 5 chapters and then see how i felt. and needless to say, that night of "attempting" to read from chapter 3-5 ended in me reading over 100 pages, and 9 chapters in one day! i was hooked! either the writing style changed over (maybe all the heavily detailed descriptions were just to "establish" the book?) or maybe i got used to it and stopped noticing. point was i started to really enjoy it and kept ready with no issues anymore, which i was grateful for!

i am also aware this is a legally blonde retelling (or it has references or something?) which i can't exactly comment on how close it is to that as i've never seen legally blonde but maybe after this i will watch it to see the comparison ahaha

overall, i started this book off thinking it was gonna be a dnf and ended it rating it 5 stars and having a new book on my "favs" list! i would for sure recommended this to anyone who is looking for a book that will take you on a rollercoaster of emotions, it made me feel happy, upset, hopeful, had moments where i wanted to throw my kindle out the window, it also made me laugh out loud and it melted my heart. if you pick up this book and struggle with the beginning like i did, i promise after the first few chapters it is very worth it!

ps. the fact that the only non-queer main characters in this book, are the adults?? mwah chefs kiss.

When Blaine's boyfriend breaks up with him because he is "not serious enough", Blaine decides to prove that he is serious by running for senior student council president.

When I first started this novel, I found it to be a bit disorienting. It took me some time before I was able to fully appreciate the context, the characters and the pop culture references. It took me even longer to realize that the story was inspired by Legally Blonde! However, despite this, I still found myself engrossed. I wanted to see Blaine receive the recognition and love that he deserved and I was rooting for him and his friends to succeed (and I really enjoyed the "aha moment" when I finally did realize that it was inspired by Legally Blonde).

What I loved about this book was the fact that it questions what it really means to be "serious". Does one have to pursue a career in politics to be "serious"? As a teacher, I have seen this concern raised by my students. In my experience, students interested in pursuing interests such as the arts are at times considered to be pursuing something less worthy than their peers who are pursuing more "serious" endeavours, such as business. and I appreciate how the novel makes one question this belief.

I also loved how this book deals with saying no and turning down "good opportunities". In my experience, saying no is a skill that is hard to develop and I think it is wonderful that this skill was modelled in this story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for the ARC of this book.

Blaine for the Win is a cute, lighthearted read that I'm sure many fans of YA will enjoy, but as I grow further and further away from the target demographic for YA, I find myself only really loving specific titles within the genre. I think a lot of YA books do great things in terms of conversations around diversity, sexuality, and mental health. Blaine for the Win fell short for me even though it's trying to engage in those same conversations. I know teenagers don't always make the best decisions, but Blaine's main motivator throughout the book is essentially just selfishness. His friends were constantly going out of their way to help him, and all he did was be really shitty to them for no reason? Which would be fine if the book didn't want you to root for him, even though his friends (who are not white) do all of the work for his campaign as he fails upward, in true white guy fashion. I think it would've been way more interesting to explore that dynamic in more depth at the end of the book, and have Blaine actually realize why his behaviour sucked, and how it would make his friends feel to negate all of the work they put in his campaign. Fleshing out his relationships with other characters, especially Trish and Danny, would have helped the book feel less like a two-dimensional Legally Blonde. All that said, the writing is solid and there are some fun moments throughout the book — I just wish Blaine for the Win gave me more than it did.

*This ARC was provided to me via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion*

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of Blaine for the Win in exchange for an honest review.

This book is gay AND European (I think. I don't know exactly what Robbie's background is but I'm hoping at least some of their ancestors are from europe so that opening works?). I got about a chapter in before realizing "wait, is this gay Legally Blonde?" and the book only leans into that from here. Like its source material, this dances the line between heavier subject matter and rom-com perfectly, providing both a realistically complicated yet enjoyable to read queer coming of age story. It's very very Legally Blonde and I know a few reviews so far have been upset about that but honestly, it's a rom-com. It reading like a rom-com comes with the territory.

A queer retelling of Legally Blond - yes, yes and yes! I enjoyed this read so much. It was the perfect queer feel-good contemporary ya. After getting dumped by his boyfriend, Blaine decides to run for Senior student council president, maybe not for all the right reasons at first but that does change. The hardest part about running is that this is an area where Blaine has no knowledge or experience in and it seems like he's going to have to become a bit of someone he's not to get what he wants. But Blaine and his friends team up to make sure he doesn't loose himself while doing something that's completely out of his element. That's what I really loved was that Blaine and his friends though outside the box for the campaign I think in the end Blaine became an even more authentic version of himself. Not to mention the slow-burn classmates to friends to potentially something more between Blaine and Danny was wonderful. I found myself loving all of the supporting characters just as much as Blaine. Aunt star was a personal favourite, but all of Blaine's friends were such great characters as well. All of the elements of the story had made for such a wonderful read.
Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the arc!

I enjoyed this book! I liked the Legally Blonde references, and the book was easy to read (also the cover!! I love it so much). This was a relatively quick read, and it was very light-hearted. The drama in it is nicely resolved, and the book just has good vibes.

“Blaine For the Win” follows the main character, Blaine Bowers, and his friends through their senior class president election. It’s pretty much “Legally Blonde” adapted for high school students, and I was living for it. There’s a diverse set of characters, and the author has also focused on mental health issues in schools as one of the issues the characters want to confront throughout their election campaign.

This book was well-written, but the second half of the book felt better to me than the first half. It felt like more of the story happened in the latter half, so the beginning fell kind of flat for me. I found the ending to be a very satisfying conclusion, but there’s not a lot of chemistry in the characters’ romantic relationships, which was a bit of a letdown. The friendships made up for it, though (Trish was definitely my favourite character).

Over all, this book is worth a read! :)

Ohmygod ohmygod you guys, I was finally able to score a copy of Robbie Couch’s new book (what? Like it’s hard?). Blaine for the Win (releasing April 2022) is the Legally Blonde inspired queer YA you didn’t know you needed but actually legitimately and desperately do need.

When Blaine is dumped by his boyfriend (on THEIR anniversary at a FANCY restaurant), he is left with no choice but to do what it takes to get him back. This means Blaine need ls to leave behind the things that bring him joy, like painting awesomely wonderful murals, and become SERIOUS. In this case, serious = running for class president.

It’s a charming story of found family, and finding yourself. Exactly the kind of charm one expects from a Robbie Couch book.

Robbie Couch is the king of feel-good queer YA! This relatable, funny, and sweet story feels like a safety blanket, wrapping heavier stuff like mental health.

Whereas The Sky Blues was an insta love—I fell head over heels, Blaine for the Win was a slow burn. Chapter by chapter Robbie pulled me further into the story until I couldn’t do anything but surrender. And surrender I did! To his captivating writing. To Blaine’s journey to get Joey back by entering the senior class president election. To the wonderfully diverse cast of supporting characters. To aloha or aloe vera plants. To Aunt Star, everyone’s number one cheerleader. And let’s not forget sweet Danny. I fell in love with him, time and again.

’Let’s talk’? It’s a brilliant way to start a campaign to become senior class president. I loved how Robbie showed us that Blaine, his friends, and his family all were anxious about something. I treasured those beautiful and vulnerable conversations about fears. Life isn’t always beautiful, and it’s so important to share our mental state with others. And although mental health is such a heavy topic, this book was happy and funny and fluffy at the same time.

Robbie, you’ve done it again! I can’t wait to read your next novel! Like I said: you really are the king of feel-good queer YA.

I actually cant deal with how cute this was!!!!! I needed a feel-good kind of book right now and this was absolutely perfect!!!!