This was an adorable YA Contemporary. I enjoyed the relationship between Noah and his sister. This incorporated family dynamics, friendships, and self-discovery. I am glad I got the opportunity to read it and would recommend it. I know I need to look into more theater productions after reading this one!

I enjoyed the audiobook and felt the narration was well produced. The narrator's felt authentic and genuine.

There’s so much going on in this book and all of it encompasses what it’s like to be a teenager trying to battle the world and floundering like crazy. Who hasn’t been there?! Noah Mitchell is going through a lot. He’s being bullied at school, he’s isolated, he’s struggling with body image issues, his sister moved away and his parents are (sorry, not sorry) terrible. All of that is woven into a whirlwind sweet romance between Noah and Eli, though Noah gets frustratingly tangled up in his own secrets.

What’s really interesting about this book is that all of the characters are real in the sense that they make bad decisions, they struggle with their anxieties and mental health, and their emotions. These are characters people need to be reading about. It’s such a refreshing and reassuring approach, which had me full of empathy for a lot of the characters and really brought into the spotlight the message that everyone’s going through their own things and we should all be more understanding and listen. What a beautiful book this was!

Disclaimer: I received an e-ARC of this book. I chose to review it and this in no way impacts my opinion of it.

When I was approved for the audiobook ARC of this novel, I really had no idea how thankful for it I would become. When I decided to start listening to it, I was just about to lie down on my tattoo artists table and spend the next 5.5 hours being stabbed repeatedly. This tattoo was a lot more painful than all my others and the only thing that was helping me get through it was this novel.

This was such a fun, cute read that even if I wasn't stuck in one position with nothing to do but listen to music or audiobooks, I would still want to spend hours listening. In fact, even after my appointment was over I spent the next 2 hours driving home while still listening. I came home and walked my dog with headphones in so I could keep going. I was becoming so invested in Noah and Eli's story that I HAD TO KNOW how it was going to end.

While I found Noah's mother and his inability to stand up for himself infuriating, I wasn't bothered to the point where I had to stop listening. The storyline is cute and I loved the gamer aspect to it. As someone who has made some amazing friends online, it is so awesome to see that translated into a book.

If you enjoy video games and love, you'll love this cute, quick read.

This book was a wonderful read. I love the fact that it appeals to both gamers and musical theater geeks (I'm a big fan of Chicago, myself). I love that there are main characters AND supporting characters who are a part of the LGBTQIA+ community. I love that it's a YA Romance, but also sort of not a YA romance at the same time.It was a great first read for the year.

A very cutesy, gamer romance that will be sure to top charts soon. I will say that if you do not like the lying trope, it may be best to skip this book. I love that this book didn’t leave anything out, it felt like such a realistic YA romance book.

I loved this it felt so authentic in its exploration of LGBT relationships and Family dynamics. I was rooting for Noah to feel loved and cared for the way he deserved. I don't want to say to too much as it may spoil the content of this wonderful book. I will say we need more books like this to spread the message LOVE IS LOVE. It is a cute story, but the storyine portrays a serious important message too.
#TakeabowNoahMitchell

Take a Bow, Noah Mitchell is a YA queer romance that combines theatre and gaming. It's so fun and, at times, incredibly frustrating in the best ways. The characters are still loveable even when you want to shake them and tell them to make better choices. I loved it!

I read 'Anything But Fine' a few months ago and loved it. I very much identified with the main character and just found it a delight. This book has the same, excellent, relatable writing and it's set in the same world. There are gaming and community theatre elements, and while there are a lot of the beats of a romance novel, I don't suppose it quite fulfils all of the requirements to be classified as a pure romance. There are lots of fun turns in the story, some excellent characters and the tone is light hearted.

While I did find it extremely enjoyable, I did have some issues with the plot that meant it isn't a new top tier favourite. For me, it was all too easy and predictable. For the first section of the book I was praying that the assumption that the main character made regarding who the love interest was, was wrong because it would have been much more interesting. It was just so straightforward and you instantly knew what the third act conflict would be. And what was the point in Alex? Don't get me wrong, I loved him and wanted him to be the love interest, but he didn't really have any impact on the plot as it stands.

I was kindly given access to the audiobook in exchange for an honest review - so thanks to the publisher and Netgalley. The audiobook was an excellent quality production and I especially loved the changing of the voices when they were on the phone. The narrator felt young and fun and really matched the tone of the book.

All in all I had a really good time with this book and felt compelled to continue to read to find out how it all resolved. I will certainly be interested to read anything else that this author writes.

3.5 stars rounded up.. Narrator did an amazing job!

This story was a cute YA Romance with a pretty realistic bittersweet, but hopeful ending. It's funny, sweet, a little sad, and frustrating. I liked the book overall and had a good time reading it, but I did roll my eyes a bit (but that may be more that I'm older than the intended audience). Tho in the later half of the book the dramatics were bumped up to an 11. Teen angst really blows situations out of proportion. But like... fair enough.

I do like when books have characters face real consequences for the hurt they cause other characters, rather than just trying to wrap everything up with one conversation and now everything is fixed and their love is stronger than all the hurt blah, blah, blah. Dont get me wrong, I love happy endings and sappy romance, but realistically some hurt takes time to heal if it can be overcome at all.

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As for the eye rolling parts, it was mostly to do with how Noah handled his mother's affair. Over half the relationships in the Mitchell family were strained at best so his huge reaction kind of threw me. As a 20 something myself. I was more on par with his 20 something older sister's reaction, which is why I won't fault the book.

Gamer nerd Noah Mitchell participates in a local musical, working off his hunch to meet his online gaming partner on whom he has a massive crush. But since they aren’t supposed to meet in person, Noah doesn’t tell his crush that they game together, thinking he can wait until they have strong enough feelings that it won’t matter. Guess what - Noah is wrong! Adding in some teenage drama, including some intense bullying, with more than your typical family turbulence, and this coming-of-age story is more weighty than I originally expected. As a former high school theater nerd, I loved the details and nuance given to the Chicago rehearsals and tech experiences, and I felt the book accurately expressed the bonding that can occur through rehearsing and performing a show. Narrated with the swoonworthy Australian accent of Matthew Backer, the audiobook was extremely enjoyable. Thanks to Recorded Books and Netgalley for the ALC in exchange for my honest opinion. I also recommend Madden’s previous book Anything But Fine, also narrated by Backer, as another refreshing queer YA read - there is a brief appearance of those characters, but you do not need to have read Anything But Fine prior to reading Take a Bow, Noah Mitchell.

As a gaymer myself, I enjoyed this book very much and even found myself relating to the MC from when I was that age and wish that I had this book back then. One thing that I found annoying though as I listened to the audio version was each time the narrator had to read the @email each and every time that it popped up and as that was one of the main ways they communicated, it happed very often. It was also predictable and you could tell what was going to happen very early on. But other than that, it was a good read.

After hearing that this wasn't a genre romance, as there's no HEA/HFN, I lost interest in wanting to finish it. The narrator does a great job, i'm happy to see a MM gamer based romance, but slightly disappointed that this is being marketed as a romcom/genre romance without a HEA or HFN. Not for me.

I was fortunate to get to listen to this audio book ARC for ‘Take A Bow Noah Mitchell’ by Tobias Madden. Thank you NetGalley!

This was an adorable YA Queer romance!
Matthew Backer did a great job narrating and I really enjoyed this audio.

Noah Mitchell is a nerdy gamer who falls in love with his online best mate. When his mom asks him to be in the production for the play Chicago, Noah realizes his online love interest is another teen, Eli, also in the production.

Noah schemes a plan to join the production and make Eli fall madly in love with him, and eventually he’ll tell Eli who he is.

This was such a cute engaging story, solid 5 stars for me! I really enjoyed the narration and the writing was great!

Wholesome, simultaneously heartwarming and wrenching. I loved this story. I particularly enjoyed the subtle references to nerd culture and musical theatre l. However, I did find myself preferring the other characters to the MC - the way he treated his mum was awful! Love this book - will definitely be purchasing.

A fun, heartfelt coming of age queer YA romance between a reluctant theatre actor and the online gaming friend he falls for IRL without the other realizing their double connection. Perfect for fans of Becky Albertelli and Timothy Janovski, this was full of all the ups and downs of first love, the anxieties of self-love, the realities of becoming physical for the first time with a new partner plus a healthy dose of miscommunication. I enjoyed the narration by Matthew Backer too. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review.

I'm kind of on the fence about this one. I liked that Noah had this online best friend who was there for him and that he joined a musical production, even though it was out of his comfort zone, to meet the mysterious guy. It was pretty cute and Noah ended up learning a lot and bettering himself by the end.

What I struggled with was the lying. Noah kept justifying it to himself and then was hurt when everything came tumbling down. Welcome to the consequences of your actions kid. I also didn't think the main love interest was the right guy for Noah. It almost seemed set up to go another direction and I was disappointed when it didn't.

There are plenty of cute scenes and this is a decent coming-of-age story. The audiobook has a fun narrator and some sound effects that I enjoyed.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to Recorded Books and NetGalley for the copy

TW: bullying, cheating (another character), divorce, body shaming (and yes, skinny shaming is also body shaming!!!), talk about child pornography (news), sexual content (no details and fade to black)

Rep: gay MC, queer SCs, set in Australia


If you don’t like the hiding the truth/lying trope, then this book isn’t for you.
But this was one of the most true to real life YA book I’ve ever read and I really loved that!
The teenagers are moody, mean, fight with their parents, are a litttleee bit overdramatic and they keep everything to themselves, creating a huge mess of everything. I mean why would you talk to adults?!
But Noah’s thoughts were hilarious! The narrator did an amazing job!
None of the characters in this book were perfect, especially not the adults and I think that was so refreshing to read.
Not that I’m excusing Noah’s parents behaviour, especially towards him, but life is messy and humans are messy. Nothing is one sided and nothing is easy.
First love includes a lot of big feelings, passion and…drama.

It might sound weird, but I also loved the “first time” sex scene. Nothing worked as planned, it wasn’t movie perfect, but in the end they were simply acting respectful and nice and asked for consent for everything. I loved reading auch a realistic scene in a YA book!

I was hoping that in the end Noah’s situation at school would be a little more resolved. He didn’t deserve what he got and how people treated him.
I was also hoping for an open talk with his mother, her gaslighting was not okay and I would have loved to see it spelled out on page.

I think this is great for fans of Simon James Greens books!

📚 NetGalley Early Access Review: Take a Bow, Noah Mitchell by Tobias Madden
(🎧 Audiobook version)

🎉RELEASE DATE: Jan. 3rd 2023

Yay! My first NetGalley review! I was approved for the audiobook of this last week and had to make time to start it during the holidays because it releases next week!

Okay, as someone that is not a *huge* fan of the lying trope in books, this was still so cute. Think Hilary Duff's Cinderella Story, but make it ✨nerdy and gay✨. It's got all of the sweet young love/pining, teen angst, and drama you could want in a gay YA romance but also deals with heavier topics like bullying, family issues, and male body image issues. It's so important to see these things brought up in not only a YA book, but a queer one. The book also addresses internet safety & dangers, which any young gamer has likely been educated on or had experiences with. This book made me reminisce on my Runescape days in my early teens and I loved it.

I also appreciated that as someone that is not really a theater queer, I was still able to get into that side of the book as well (it helps that one of the only musicals I know and enjoy is Chicago!).

Another side note: I'm hopelessly obsessed with Heartstopper and I totally pictured Noah as Charlie and Eli as Nick the whole time, despite Noah being blonde. I couldn't help it. 😂

Anyway, this book is so cute and fun. I enjoyed it immensely and the audiobook was great. It makes my heart happy seeing new queer releases like this coming out for young adults. ❤️

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

This book really grabbed me in the beginning - I loved the humor and laughed out loud at some of the jokes and references. It set up a cute premise, with the obvious complication, and then let things play out. Once things really got rolling, I had a hard time liking Noah. I do think that Noah's character is designed to be a bit unlikeable, since he has some growing to do, but I found him to be almost an insufferable brat sometimes. The story lags a bit in the middle, so I think that I had more time than I probably should have to let my dislike for Noah grow. But also, he's 17 and the book is YA, so I'm not really the target audience. However, the book ends exactly as I would have wanted it to - I think it is the best possible outcome for what the story presented. The book is overall fun and nerdy (there are a few tough topics but I does not dwell heavily on them) and encompasses musical theatre and video games. I really enjoyed the narrator, Matthew Backer, and I thought that some of the sound effects in the audiobook were a nice touch. Thank you NetGalley and RB Media for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I requested this audiobook on a whim while perusing NetGalley. I thought the cover was cute, and I'm a sucker for gay YA romcoms. So, it seemed like fate that I'd stumbled upon it. I'm so glad I made the choice to give it a chance because I loved this book so much. It was a story full of heart with dramatic (and maybe a little bit toxic) characters and a great blend of gaymer and theater vibes.

The plot itself was pretty straightforward. An isolated teen who spends all of his time playing video games decides to join a theater production to win over the love of his life, his online gaming friend. The catch? His friend doesn't know they've already met online. Everything from there plays out much the way you would expect. Adorable dates? Check. Awkward first times? Yep. A web of lies that constantly threatens to come crashing down and ruin everything? Oh yeah. From the start, I was screaming at Noah to just tell his friend the truth. He could easily have played it off as an adorable meet cute if he told the truth in the beginning, but he just kept digging himself deeper and deeper into a hole that was impossible to climb out of without it being a massive betrayal of trust and/or him looking like a creepy stalker. I liked the way it worked out in the end, but I'm sure not everyone will love the semi-ambiguous ending.

I enjoyed the perspective of Noah so much because he reminded me a lot of myself at his age. He was awkward, mostly friendless, and spent almost all of his time alone. He was also a bit selfish, overly dramatic, and constantly in his head. He experienced a lot of growth in this story and overcame some past traumas that had been holding him back from getting close to others. The power of friendship and connection was on full display here, and it was heartwarming to see the effect it had on Noah as he learned his own self-worth and how to trust others. His gaming friend, Eli, was an absolute doll, and I don't see how anyone could not love him. I actually wouldn't have minded if this would have been a dual POV story because getting more of his perspective would have been enjoyable. He was a sweetheart, and I found myself wanting to protect him from Noah's web of lies while at the same time hoping they would end up together. lol. The other characters were probably this book's biggest weakness because they mostly seemed like props to add teen drama or move the story along. Noah's mom was fairly well-rounded, but she was toxic as hell for most of the story. The good characterization of the main characters made up for the cardboard nature of some of the supporting cast, in my opinion.

The book tackled a lot of themes that I liked. It explored the fuzzy line between when telling white lies is helpful or harmful. The topic of truth was explored throughout the story, and the impact of lies on trust-building had a major role in the story. I also really loved how Noah's story approached male body image issues. As someone who grew up gangly, awkward, and super skinny, I appreciated seeing that representation here. The psychological impact on teens of societal ideals for the male body are not explored often enough, and this book did a wonderful job of showcasing how those ideals can impact self-worth, friendships, and intimacy.

Overall, this was a really great story. The narrator brought all of the characters to life and did a fantastic job of infusing their different personalities into the voices. Each voice was distinctive and made the characters feel like real people. If you are looking for a good YA gay romcom with gaymer and theater vibes and a good story, then look no further. I enjoyed this book and devoured it in less than 24 hours. Therefore, I rate it 5 out of 5 stars.