I think this was a good rom-com, but I will say that I'm a little disappointed with the ending. I get why it ended that way, but it's not what I'm looking for in a rom-com.

I just knew I'm going to love this! Tobias really made me fall in love with Anything But Fine, so it's very easy to fall in love with this book too. Please find a spot in your 2024 TBR for this gem if you haven't read it yet!

I was super into the setup of this one, but the execution fell flat for me. The lying really bothered me, and I just did not see why it was kept up for so long.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book, as this book has already been published, I will not share my review on Netgalley at this time.

Such an easy YA read, I laughed, and really enjoyed some moments with the divided family and support. The ending, I cried.... such a great read!

This is my best read this year!
A great teen, YA, superhero adventure that I could not put down once I started reading it.
I enjoyed all the drama and adventure in Achewon Egalitarian school for the gifted and the few deficient(s).

There is a lot I liked about this book. I loved the secondary characters. I think the whole premise of signing up for a play to meet the boy he has a crush on online is a great premise. And Madden does a great job capturing the way online connections can make someone feel and teenage angst. I really enjoyed seeking back stage at the community theater in general.

But the web of lies that spirals out as the book goes on took away from it for me. I just wanted to shake Noah and tell him to have an honest conversation. I was also really waiting for there to be a twist that challenged my expectations, and it just didn't happen.

So, if you enjoy online roleplaying games and musical theater, and don't mind a relationship built on lies, I think this is a fun read.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher.

Unfortunately Take a Bow, Noah Mitchell wasn’t for me. While the premise was promising, it fell a little short. I DNF’d it around 50% of the way through. The writing style was great, but the characters felt very flat and one-dimensional. I really wanted to like this one. I’ll probably pick it up again to fully finish it since I dislike to DNF.

3.5 stars

As you might be able to tell from the blurb provided above, Take a Bow, Noah Mitchell has similar vibes to Simon vs. the Homosapiens Agenda. They both are about two gay boys who are online friends and live in the same town. They both have themes around learning who you are and what it means to be honest and open when it comes to communicating with your loved ones.

My feelings about this book are a bit complicated, much like many of the characters. There were times where I felt like it was incredibly cute and times where I found myself extremely annoyed. The main character of this book, Noah Mitchell, is a hot freaking mess almost the entire time. This means that readers will experience both laugh out loud moments and periods of extreme secondhand embarrassment. In fact the main events of this book often occur simply because Noah spends the whole time lying to everyone around him for flimsy reasons. Watching him continuously dig himself into deeper and deeper holes was like watching a train wreck; it was weirdly painful but also extremely enticing.

This novel is chock full of tropes, including anonymous online messaging, secrets/miscommunications, neglectful parents, and mysterious backstories. While I sometimes felt overwhelmed with how much drama was injected into this single story, you can’t deny the fact that teenage years are literally extremely dramatic. Most of this book is pretty lighthearted, there are a few darker themes explored that readers might want to be aware of. Noah’s parents spend most of the book being self-centered and emotionally unavailable, Noah is consistently bullied at a school where he has no friends, and Noah experiences body dysmorphia about how skinny he is. There is definitely no shortage of conflicts when it comes to this book, but I was pretty happy with how most of them were resolved in the end.

All in all, Take a Bow, Noah Mitchell is a solid coming of age story that has a lot of important lessons about standing up for yourself while remaining honest.

This book had some cute moments. I enjoyed the musical aspect. I just couldn't get behind a story where I'm supposed to be rooting for the kid who is lying to his love interest while scamming him as his bff. It was just icky how Noah would be putting a good word in for himself while Eli had no clue who he was really talking to.

Audiobook Review:
Overall – 5
Performance – 5
Story – 4

Great audio performance and a good story.

This is my second audiobook by this author and narrator combination and I liked it a lot. I have to admit that I liked the author’s debut novel, Anything But Fine a bit better but Take a Bow was still very good.

I haven’t been in high school for over 50 years but I can still remember things that weren’t so great. I really felt for Noah because he felt like he had no friends (doesn’t everyone feel that way at some point?). he things that were done to him at school were very mean and reminiscent of things that happened during my high school years. What he did to get with MagePants69 was a bit extreme but I’m sure that kind of thing has happened in real life. His relationship with his mother and father wasn’t hard to understand and I found it very believable.

I enjoyed Matthew Backer’s audio performance. The voices he did for each character were easy to distinguish and I really loved the ones he did for the characters in the online game that Noah and Eli play together.

<spoiler>Don’t look for an HEA or even and HFN. The reader is left to come to their own conclusion about Noah and Eli’s relationship. That would usually bother me but I think it worked well in this case. </spoiler>

A review copy of the ebook and audiobook was provided by the publisher via NetGalley but this did not influence my opinion or rating of the book.

This story was really sweet and exciting. The storyline flowed perfectly, the author portrayed awkward teenage experiences so well. I really liked the dynamic between the two boys and both characters were really loved and well-rounded. With the musical and gaming interest, It was such a unique plot, refreshing after a lot of retells and similar themes. They explored the evolution of Noah's mom's character and her freedom in the end. A feel-good read, I couldn't put it down and read it in two days.

This book was quite an easy read. I really enjoyed how fast paced it was, The main character was likable and I enjoyed his development between the main character and love interest. The book also deals with family troubles, honesty, and doesn't have a perfect happily ever after ending. But I think it was still worth the read.

This book tapped into a couple things I like--musical theater and gaming--and honestly, if it weren't for that, I would've DNFed this story.

The writing was not very strong; there was a lot of telling instead of showing, unrealistic dialogue, and the main character, Noah, was constantly talking directly to the reader, which is a huge pet peeve of mine.

Noah was an underdog character, and I rooted for him for a while, but while I thought the premise of this story would revolve around Noah trying to (harmlessly) learn of his online crush's identity, the actual plot was more vicious than that.

Noah quickly learns the identity of the person he's been gaming with for years, someone he has a crush on, but instead of revealing his own identity, he buries himself in a web of lies. Even when Eli, the partner, starts confiding in Noah (who he thinks is just his pen pal) about his new romance, Noah keeps his mouth shut. I couldn't root for Noah after that; I felt too bad for how he was treating Eli.

There are a lot of unlikable characters in this story, and I do like my share of unlikable characters, but this was a bit much. There was almost no one to actually root for except for Eli. And Noah spends the entire book lamenting about a dramatic event that happened that caused him to lose all his friends and make the whole school hate him, but when it's revealed what happened, it's pretty obvious that it wasn't his fault at all, so the drama felt pretty unfounded.

I also didn't appreciate the body shaming in this book; that was hard to digest.

All in all, this book is not for me, and I wouldn't recommend it, either.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was sweet if slightly problematic. I don't love when romances are mostly or entirely based on a lie so that was a ding against it. But we need more boy/boy relationships in YA romance, and this is one I could hand to both my theater kids and my gamers. Will likely purchase for my library.

I'm a sucker for a cute story to break up some heavy reads. I really felt like this one just hit right. I really love the whole online friendship aspect. It is definitely NOT because my only friends are online! There was a little bit of bullying that meh, but I mean it doesn't detract from the story. It made me giggle, and it made my heart happy which to me is all that matters.

I think my biggest qualm is that I loved the videogame aspects. I would love to have had more of that. but what are you gonna do? If you want something light, and fun, and optimistic, this might be one you want to read. I thought it was cute. so....

Top 5 Reasons to Read Take a Bow, Noah Mitchell by Tobias Madden

1. Everyone Has a Side Quest!
The supporting cast of this book has a lot going in, and it is fun to watch them live their lives in the background of each scene.

2. Theatre References
This was obviously going to be bug for me, since I grew up as a theatre kid, but seeing a production through the eyes of someone who was roped into it? Priceless.

3. What Happened With His Friends?
There is an ever present mystery as to why Noah's friends turned on him, and it keeps you guessing until the reveal.

4. Wrong Thing/Right Thing
This book shows the importance of learning to do the right thing and be proud of it instead of doing the wrong thing and excusing it.

5. You Don't Have to Be Alone
The real joy is the friends you make along the way.

If you have a hard time with romance novels and coming of age books where a little communication could really change everything, this is NOT the book for you. I don't even mind those much, and found myself yelling at the MC to just maybe STOP LYING AND HIDING THINGS FOR LIKE FIVE MINUTES.

But! I yell because i care! I really wanted good things for both the MC and the LI in this book, and really did want their relationship to work out. There was a lot of work put in to make everyone lovable and worth caring for and i mostly really enjoyed this book. I love the abundance of queer coming of age books we have today, and this wasn't my favorite, but it's the kind that when i hear about someone reading it i am going to say, "Oh, i liked that one! If you could start your first queer relationship on the set of a musical, which one would you want it to be???"

I feel confident saying that "Take a Bow, Noah Mitchell" is one of my favourite reads of 2023, and it's only January.

Sydney-based author Tobias Madden is a talent to watch, and his sophomore publication is equally hilarious and full of heart. And it's entirely relatable.

Especially the parts about hating the musical Cats. I also hate Cats. With a fiery passion.

I think musical-lovers and gaymers alike will find common ground in this quirky romantic comedy.

And with an uncommonly realistic ending and underlying message of self-love, this is a title I would be happy to recommend to my students.

I enjoyed this book so much! It had so many aspects that kept me on the edge of my seat. I kept wanting to read more because I wanted to see more of the romance, I needed to know what happened with Noah's ex-friends, and I was constantly on edge about when Eli would find out about Noah's big secret. This book had so many reasons for me to keep coming back for more.
I loved Noah and Eli's relationship online and IRL, even though my heart hurt every time Noah lied to Eli, especially online. Even though Noah made a lot of poor decisions, I still couldn't help but love his character. I loved Eli too. There were so many great characters and then there were some that I just wanted to strangle! When you read the book I'm sure you'll know who I'm talking about.
Something I really appreciated and enjoyed was the fact that the author went into detail about the behind-the-scenes aspects of the musical so I felt like I was part of the show. I also liked the gaming aspect. Pretty much I enjoyed the whole story, including the ending! The ending was a mix of emotions but I thought it was perfect!
I can't wait to see what Tobias Madden comes up with next!

content warning: bullying, body shaming/body image, infidelity