In All the Right Notes, we meet Quito, a struggling pianist living in New York with a fabulous drag queen roommate and biglaw lawyer boyfriend. But when his father, the choice director at his old middle school, asks for his help planning a retirement concert, he can't help but say yes. But things get trickier when his father talks him into inviting Quinto old friend, former crush, and now-celebrity, Emmett, to help with the concert.

Told in alternating flashbacks between middle school and present day, we see how Quito and Emmett first became friends and how they ended up estranged for years. This is a very emotional book, and was much sadder and more serious than I was expecting. I recommend checking the author's website/note for content warnings. It's also not really a "celebrity romance" in the way the trop is typically understood, despite Emmett being a celebrity. It's definitely more of a second chance romance, and going in with that expectation should help with enjoyment. Because I did really enjoy the book for what it was, but it took me a bit to wrap my head around the style of book it was. But this read is definitely perfect for music lovers of all kinds, those who like dual timelines, those looking for AAPI leads and authors, and those interested in the NYC LGBTQ community. Quito's roommate and the off-Broadway show she starred in ended up being some of my favorite parts, and I'd love read a book about her...

Thanks to Forever for my eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

5 stars - 8/10

Unfortunately this didn’t work for me. The time jumps were jarring at times. I love the second chance trope when done well but it wasn’t here. It was built on too many miscommunications. If they simply had talked it would’ve been fine. I never liked either MC, I found them both insufferable. Also at times I struggled to follow along with scenes (example: clothes changing mid scene or the color of something changing). So really this wasn’t a romance novel for me. I cared more about the found family elements then the romance.

Listen, when someone says a book gives off queer Asian Glee vibes, I need to be there. Immediately. Every part of that description is a part of my core. So it should be a surprise to absolutely no one that I forced my way into an ARC of All the Right Notes by Dominic Lim (for legal purposes, there was no actual force 😂)

Quito Cruz is a music prodigy, but he’s not really been able to put that talent to use as much as he’d like. When Quito’s choir director father announces that he is planning on retiring, Quito is surprised - the thought of his dad not teaching anymore never even crossed his mind. He’s even more surprised when his dad says they are going to put on a charity performance and that Quito needs to convince his old friend Emmett Aoki to come back and perform as well. The only problem is Emmett is now one of Hollywood’s biggest celebrities…and they haven’t talked since that one night in college…

From the opening note…er, chapter…this book had me in a chokehold. The story is told in dual timelines from Quito’s POV and opens in the past at what could be defined as the opening scene of Quito and Emmett’s relationship. The depiction of a high school choir room flung me back in time to my own memories of high school choir and felt like a warm hug (even if high school wasn’t my favorite time, choir was).

On the heels of that nostalgia, I then get to feel personally attacked by Quito’s perfect description of going through the motions. The audience is able to understand that, though he has some good things going on, he is just not where he wants to be in his life. He’s stuck.

The transitioning between past and present was so smooth, as if the story was completely linear. The exposition from the past informs the actions of the present and it’s clear that Quito, though twenty years removed, is still feeling everything from back then and has a lot to work through. I felt like I just needed to give him a hug and tell him that everything was going to be okay.

I couldn’t do that, but the supporting characters sure did! Though the story spent most of its time with Quito and Emmett, there was plenty of character development for the side characters as well. I don’t know about you, but when I spend time thinking that a side character needs their own book, that’s a sign of a great story, great characters, and great writing.

This story is very clearly written by someone who has a deep love and appreciation for music. It is infused in every part of the story and it made me want to pull out my old sheet music and hop back into piano. Anyone who doesn’t walk away from this without a deeper appreciation of music and everything that goes into it…well, I don’t even know what to say to you. 

One of the best parts of this story was the LGBTQIA+ representation, especially the BIPOC LGBTQIA+ representation. It always makes me happy to see queer joy on the page and it’s even better when they don’t have to go through a horrible coming out (or similar) to get to that happiness. Don't get me wrong, this book isn't all rainbows and unicorns - there are some moments that will make you cry and want to hold close the ones you love. But you will also be reminded that the ones you love are always with you and that how you react to things will tell you how you truly feel about something (or someone).

Overall this was pretty cute, and I loved the Will they/won’t they aspect of Emmett and Quito’s relationship and ALL THE PINING. The story generally was a little clunky and seemed to lose track a few times, but as a theatre kid I loved all the showtime references, and I ALWAYS appreciate a sweet queer love story. Even though I wasn’t fully captured by this story, I was BAWLING be the end and could definitely appreciate it for what it was.

I was given an ARC by Forever and NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Warnings for parental death and the mortifying ordeal of being a poorly written teenager.

This is the first time I have ever given a book I actually bothered to finish one star. Why? Because I was going to dnf and one star pages in but kept going "for the sake of the review". Note to future self: if I can tell that a book will be bad immediately, I am correct. The book will, in fact, be bad.

Let's start with that I possibly liked about this book, so that I can say I was fair to it:
- Emmett was fine
- Mr. Cruz was cool
- <spoiler>I was glad that Quito finally broke up with Mark or whatever his name was </spoiler>
- When Quito is hiding in a closet for (reasons I forget) and Emmett shows up and is like "why are you in the closet" and Quito says "I'm not in the closet. You're in the closet." That part was funny.

Alright. That's it for things I enjoyed. Now let's move onto all the shit I didn't like (how to we know I hated this book? It took me over a month to read. Most books I read in 2-4 days so you know that means something). I'm going to sort this into sections so it becomes at least kind of orderly.

The Plot/ Random Shit
- Tries way too hard. Overly poetic prose. It was annoying and unnecessary and pulled me out of the book to imagine characters actually thinking like that. Absolutely stupid writing choice.
- The time jumps. So this book alternates from high school/ current day (switching every chapter). But it's like a twenty year (?? not actually sure) time jump. So this book was trying to be both YA and adult, and failed at both. Quito wasn't convincing as a high schooler or as a thirty-some year old man.
- I honestly just don't get the plot choices in this book.
- The whole popular boy walks into the nerd class and everyone is stunned/ drawn to him/ basically dies on the spot is quite possibly one of the most ridiculous things I have ever read. Hate to say it but no teenage boy is a "god". And this was just the first scene. My my did we start off weak.
- This random person whose name I can't remember saying the words "over my dead, lesbian body". Who the fuck talks like that. Honestly. Absurd. Kill me please.
- Overwhelmingly stereotyped
- All the women are horribly written and/or dead.
- When Mark sends Quito a personal message in the form of an actual formatted email. Sorry if my significant other communicated with me like that they would no longer be my significant other. Oops.
- Typing out "hahahahahahahahahaha" to indicate laughter.
- Not knowing how instagram works. Photos do not trend on instagram and you don't look up a "user" (source: I am 22 and grew up on instagram)
- In a single scene Mr. Cruz is wearing both jeans and sweatpants without ever getting changed. Good for him I guess?
- The phrase "walking off calories". Go die in a hole.
- When Mr. Cruz tells the story of Quito coming out like it's something funny. I mean the whole story around that was stupid as fuck but I think that coming out and stories around that are for the queer person to choose to tell.
- When <spoiler> Mr. Cruz dies at like 81%. Horrible plot device. Accomplishes nothing other than brushing over grief and is used to push Emmett and Quito together. Absolutely disgusting choice by the author. </spoiler>

Quito as a Person
- The most annoying, hateful person I have ever met. He is constantly judging literally everything and everyone, including the clothes worn by teenagers (let's not say that a high school girl's dress is hiding her figure please. I don't care if you're gay it's fucking creepy). In the first couple of chapters, Quito judges a girl's makeup, and he keeps doing that throughout the book
- So fucking dramatic and into long-winded unnecessary music metaphors. Jesus Christ get over yourself.
- Basically he is super judgemental and way too into himself in a plagued with self-doubt sort of way and it all combines to make him the most unlikeable character you can imagine. What Emmett sees in him I cannot even begin to figure out.
- Not sure if this is Quito the character or the book I'm mad at. But why does he identify groups of people as things like "a trio of gays"? Or when he describes Ujima's hair as a "giant gay mop"? (I am a gay person. I hate this.)
- His whole piano prodigy deal is exhausting. I get it you're special now shut up.
- When Quito knew the name of Emmett's cologne in high school and could recognise it and name it by smell. That's now how high school works and also not how people work.
- That time Quito is like "I don't want to show Emmett my room so instead we will look at photo albums of my dead mom" excuse me? (paraphrasing here) and then Quito is weird about Emmett asking about her my dude you showed him the photos of her! What did you expect!
- Normally we talk about "not like other girls" as an issue but Quito has a crippling case of "not like other boys"

How Ujima was Treated
- Nonbinary/ gender queer characters exist for more than comic relief and educational purposes!
- Actually most of my stuff here is more Quito hate because of how Quito is towards his supposedly best friend. The rest of it is how this character is written.
- When Quito is like "it took me a while to get used to Ujima's preferred pronouns of they and them" (I am paraphrasing). 1. they are not preferred pronouns they are pronouns. 2. I don't care that you think you got over your transphobia because quite clearly you did not. This is your best friend and roommate and you don't even really respect their identity
- I hated it when Ujima was like "that man is too pretty to be straight". What the fuck???
- Quito loves to point of how Weird and Nonbinary Ujima is and it made me feel extremely icky.
- Ujima saying "my flawless black ass" in response to I don't remember what. Does a person talk like that? (I am not Black so this isn't like the "over my dead, lesbian body thing" because of how I am in fact a lesbian. Still seemed weird? But I am ready to be wrong here)
- Ujima flirts with literally everyone but in a creepy way. Did not love it.
- Quito misgenders Ujima twice when thinking about them (185, 220 in my copy). Then, Quito is quite literally unable to properly introduce his BEST FRIEND because he doesn't know how to introduce someone whose pronouns are they/them. Atrocious.
- <spoiler> Ujima even phrases their decision to go on hormones at the end of the book like a teachable moment. An extremely poorly written one, too.</spoiler>

Anyways. I hated this book. Which makes me sad, but what's a girl to do when there is so much here to hate and nothing to love. My apologies to anyone who reads this book.

This book is a love letter to music.

Here we follow Quito, a first gen Filipino American musical prodigy, and Emmett, popular highschool jock turned Hollywood actor, and their second chance romance.

What I loved:
• The Then/Now timeline - I really liked how we alternated from highschool to present day. It's always interesting, to me, to read second chance romances this way. I especially loved the Then parts because it was so heartwarming to see how Quito and Emmett's friendship was formed, and strengthened by music. Throw in all the confusing teenage feelings on top of that? So good!
• Mr. Cruz - I absolutely adored Mr. Cruz, Quito's dad, and beloved choir teacher to many. He's such a great character, and really demonstrates how important it is to have teachers who really *see* you. More importantly, though, I loved his relationship with his son 🧡
• All the Filipino food/culture - This book is infused with both, and I can't emphasize how much I loved it. 🇵🇭 pride!
• The music - Highschool choir, Broadway musicals, Off Broadway shows, and everything in between. The power of music is strong, and we see that so clearly here. You can tell how deeply meaningful music is to Lim by the way he writes about it. So much heart. 🎹🎶
• The diverse cast of characters ‐ Asian American MCs, and multiple queer reps. I would be remiss of me not to mention Ujima, drag queen extraordinaire, specifically. Absolutely adored them and was rooting for their journey all the way 🧡
• The setting - San Francisco Bay Area love!
• The overall theme about self love and acceptance, and finding and being your authentic self.

Overall, an incredible debut! I'm so excited for what Lim has next for us. Thank you, Forever, for the ARC!

I enjoyed this debut novel from Dominic Lim! I was in show choir in high school and I loved the little peeks into that world - it made me nostalgic for my high school days.

Quito's dad was one of my favorite characters. No wonder his students were so inspired by him. He was encouraging, supportive, but he pushed Quito and his students to work harder and to do their best.

Quito and Emmett's relationship was sweet. I wish the reveal of why they stopped talking happened earlier so they could process that together as adults. I would have liked to spend more time exploring their adult relationship.

Overall an enjoyable read!

Steam level: 🔥🔥¼
⚠️: homophobia, infidelity (not between the main characters), heart attack, death of a parent, mention of: fatal car accident, alcoholism, spousal verbal abuse

Amongst the plethora of lgbtq poc rom coms being published this one stands out on a good note. The story reads much more realistically and captures the true angst of figuring out one’s identity. It captures all the growing pains. It is also an ode to the importance of good teachers. The family aspect of the book is beautifully wrought. I love the infusion of Filipino culture.

All the Right Notes by Dominic Lim was a wonderful debut.

This was a beautiful and well written story.
Quito and Emmett were truly amazing.
I LOVED the banter and snark between the two main characters.
Their relationship is honest, genuine, and so, so lovely.
Dominic Lim writes excellent characters, full of emotion, and who are so very wonderful. This book has all the feels.
This was a fun, enjoyable read and I cannot wait to see more from this amazing author.
Overall, this book was an incredible read.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Forever for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

An adorable story! It will bring you lots of joy with the romance, the music and the food! I loved all the main characters! So great to see more queer romances popping up!

I absolutely adored this book!

Things I Loved:
-the setting of the San Francisco Bay Area (Quito’s hometown). I recognize I have bias because I grew up here too haha
-high school choir/Glee vibes of Mr. Cruz’s (Quito’s dad) classroom!
-father/son dynamics between Quito & his dad
-second-chance romance/high school friends-to-lovers
-peasant/celebrity dynamic (HAHA jk, Quito is not a peasant but I don’t know what to call “ordinary citizens” who are not famous hahaha)
-Filipino American representation
-first-generation representation
-the power of community/music :)
-fun, lovable side characters like Ujima & Mr. Cruz’s students

I had a blast reading this and yet, it also destroyed me haha. I was not expecting the ending but I thought Dominic wrote such a beautiful and moving story full of hope, regardless of the sadness/heartbreak. I will continue to read anything he writes!

I would love to see this adapted as a musical like Dominic noted in the Q&A with him at the very end of the book. It was so neat to hear more from him.

Super cute novel about self-acceptance and first love. I love the diversity of characters and how the story goes in between high school and present day. All of the characters go thru their own journey of self-love and made the book rewarding to read. I also loved how the mc father was accepting of the different friends and knew from many years ago to create a chosen family--sometimes the homophobic parents can be a tired trope. I'm not a huge music person, so those who really are into music may be able to relate moreso to the power of music in drawing people together in the book.

While a little far-fetched (not the premise but the reality of the characters’ experiences) and not fully built out, but a charmingly gentle romance overall.

This was such a beautiful story, definitely one of those books that will stay with me for a long time. In this story we meet Quito, a brilliant pianist and composer, a choir directors son, living in NYC making music, but not living his dream. The story keeps going back and forth between Quito’s high school years and his life now in NYC. Back in high school Quito fell in love with the most popular jock in high school Emmett, always wondering when they spent time together making music, if it meant as much to Emmett as it did to him. Fast forward to now and Emmett the movie star and Quito are no longer speaking due to some unknown event in the past, when his father begs Quito to come home to play for his farewell concert and could he get his old buddy Emmett to come too. The main characters were so well developed, and I was so invested in their hopes and dreams for their lives. The side characters were amazing too, I loved Mr. Cruz and Quito’s best friend Ujima (can we get a book starring Ujima please!!!). This book was a love letter to music, food, Filipino Americans, and the LGBTQ+ community. I loved everything about this story and cannot wait to see what else Dominic Lim writes. I received an ARC and this is my honest review.

A really sweet, heartwarming second-chance romance with a cast of characters I fell so hard for (Jee I'm looking at you, and Quito's dad should be everyone's dad because he's the best). I also loved the snarky asides about Broadway generally, as well as how the Filipino culture was just there but not a Thing. The romance slowly rekindling between Quito and Emmett made my heart squeeze more than once, especially with the dual timeline at the start showing their history in high school/college and how it all ended. There was also one moment near the end that WRECKED me and left me absolutely teary, and what followed was really beautifully written. I loved this book and can't wait to read more from Dominic (or, just more snippets from Quito and Emmett post-book please!)

Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

I’m a simple soul & when I saw some positive buzz for Dominic Lim’s All the Right Notes I decided to check it out—despite the fact that there’s a second chance romance & in my mind that is just inviting pain into your life ;).

This contemporary brings back together Emmett Aoki—now a famous movie star—with Quito Cruz, a pianist who’s returned home to take care of his ailing father.

Emmett & Quito were once best friends & for one night, went tiptoeing into something more before their relationship imploded.

All the Right Notes is a rich story with so many heartwarming themes & tropes woven into the past & present storylines. Quito & his father offered Emmett a loving home when he didn’t have one, & the Filipino food the family cooks cements their bond & the feeling of home in a concrete way.

But let’s talk the second chance arc, shall we? Unfortunately, it just doesn’t work for me. The miscommunication trope is big in this one, people, & the pacing of some things didn’t satisfy.

With that being said, I did like a lot about this book, including that one of the leads isn’t movie star perfect when it comes to appearance, that music is something that unites people, & that the leads make support more than a word during their respective performances.

In the end, though, the found family & friendship elements are stronger for me than the romance.

3⭐️. Out 06/06.

CWs: previous loss of mother. Publicly called a homophobic slur after a musical performance. Fatphobic language. “Spaz” reference. Quito’s dad is sick & then dies during the book. Reference to drug use. Quito is cheated on. Emmett is outed.

[ID: Jess, a white woman with a white tote bag that says “my weekend is all booked,” holds the ebook in front of a brown roll top desk. A yellow wall is in the background.]

Beautiful story about queer love, music, family, and second chances. Quito is is a first-gen Filipino-American, and grew up accompanying the high school choir his father taught where they live in the SF Bay Area. That's where he first got to know Emmett, cool guy who had to join choir. I enjoyed the back and forth between then and now (they reconnect as adults). I also loved Quito's relationships with his dad, as well as his roommate Ujima, drag queen extraordinaire. I shed a couple of years with this one but overall it was a beautiful second chance queer love story.

Thank you to Forever Pub and NetGalley for the ARC! 4.5 star rating

My review will be saved on my IG account at @chronically_KD in the ARCReviews story highlight

This one brought me such joy, what a lovely romance. A first round purchase for most libraries, especially those looking to add into a queer collection.

This is a charming story about the chance to revisit one of your most important relationships. Quito lives in New York, pursuing his dream of writing music for Broadway shows but finding he mostly lacks inspiration. When his dad, the choir director at Quito’s high school, calls to say he wants to put on a charity concert and that he wants Quito to convince his former best friend, Emmett, to participate, Quito’s not sure what to do — he hasn’t spoken to Emmett in years and Emmett is now a movie star. Somehow he is able to reach Emmett, who agrees to do the concert — forcing Quito to spend time with the individual who used to be his favorite person … and grapple with what happened to them all those years ago.

This is a heartwarming and thoughtful story, full of compelling and multi-dimensional characters exploring interesting themes around first love, family, and pursuing creative careers.

Highly recommended!

I overall enjoyed the writers writing style. There were fun, witty comments. I thought there were important conversations about identity and pronouns. I have three stars because I felt by the end, the story was dragging on. I enjoyed the book but I think some of the story was too detailed and I could see most of the story coming. I’m also not a big fan of storylines that involve miscommunication. However, it was really enjoyable overall.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.