Trigger Warnings: Bullying, porn, cursing, body shaming, sex, alcohol, outing, infidelity, drugs

Representation: Gay

Take a Bow, Noah Mitchell is a young adult contemporary romance. Noah Mitchell has fallen for his online gaming friend, who he has never met in real life. When Noah realizes the mystery person is also casted in his mom’s production of Chicago, he joins so he can finally meet him irl. Is this all worth it? And what happens if everyone finds out about his lie?

This was an awesome story! The book is very easy to read and a light story perfect for this weird week between Christmas and New Year’s. The storyline is fun to follow and I love me a musical. I loved that the show was Chicago, since I am familiar with it. I thought the premise was good but probably not the book for anyone who doesn’t like a lie/deception trope. I thought Noah was fun to get to know but Eli had so much pinned against him, it was hard to rectify his character in such small bursts. I thought a lot of the characters needed to be more fleshed out as well. I loved that the story takes place in Australia and the audiobook narrator having an accent was awesome!

This book was such a delight. It's so well written and heavy with emotion that you get to feel like a teenage again, full of fear, making bad decisions and not knowing how to communicate their ~feelings~ to other people (boy am I glad this phase is over in my life).

I loved to see Noah get out of his shell after joining the theater group, especially after some nice friendships were forged - Alex, you're the best. I also loved the depth to some characters, especially Noah's mum, her growth is the one I like the most.

If you like YA, you should definitely read Take a bow, Noah Mitchell. You won't regret it.

Thanks to Netgalley and RB Media for an advanced audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 ★

I really enjoyed both the story and the narration of this audiobook!

I loved most aspects of this book. I thought the morals of the story were really important for a young adult novel and were explored in a great way through the story. I like Tobias'writing style and think it's very well-written which makes it enjoyable and easy to read/listen to. All the characters were very realistic and relatable and the narrator did a great job of bringing them to life! I found the main character, Noah, a little frustrating and self-centred at times, but I think that it is also just a very realistic portrayal of a teenager. I liked that he wasn't perfect and without flaws, and that he worked to be a better person.

The only thing I didn't like about this book is the underlying premise/trope. I really dislike books based on lies, especially where one of the main characters knows another characters online/secret identity and doesn't tell them, and unfortunately this book was no exception! This is a very personal opinion and in no way reflects how good the book was, but I found it very frustrating reading it the whole way when Noah knew from the start. I did like the way the author handled the aftermath of the lies, but unfortunately it still brought the book down for me. The ending was well-written and believable, but a little bitter-sweet.

Overall, a great YA read, and one I would recommend if the premise sounds interesting to you!

This is about what you would expect from a rom com - two geeky boys figuring things out while adding in some pithy humor Australian style. It's a bit let down by neither of the main characters being likable or even having a realistic reason why one would bother with the other. So while we have a similar premise as Simon vs Homo Sapien Agenda, what this could have used is a lot less OTT plot machinations and more heart and warmth. Note: I listened to the audio version and the narrator did an excellent job. It's great to hear it in its native Australian English.

Story: Noah has partnered up with the same person in the last year to defeat various games. Noah knows his friend is his age, gay, and lives in the same large city of Ballart. But that's all he knows, unfortunately - and he'd really like their friendship to be more. But in the age of internet weirdos, no one is too eager to give away any personal information. But one slip and Noah thinks he knows where he can find his gamer 'soulmate'; the problem is, it's at his mother's amateur musical theater group. Can Noah find his dream boy and yet still survive being cast in the glitzy Chicago musical as well?

The premise of the story is that Noah joins the cast of the local theater group and suspects fellow cast member Eli is the person he's been gaming with for the last year. So we get a large cast of characters - from Noah's family to all the members of the theater group. Noah's parents are in an unhappy marriage, his beloved sister is living in Melbourne while attending Uni, and an uncomfortable situation with his ex boyfriend is compounded when that ex's sister shows up in the musical. Not to mention a lot of bullying at school.

Those expecting twists, turns, reveals will instead find a very straightforward story. It stumbles a bit when Noah spends most of the book either lying when he should tell the truth or shutting up when he should be talking. What could have been a charming and quirky main character in Noah instead ended up being deceitful, whiney, self centered, and with martyr syndrome. It was hard to see why Eli would have been interested in him at all other than that he's gay. Similarly, Eli is a bit of a drama queen/overreacts and huffs and puffs a lot. I never really liked either person and the romance really dragged in places as a result.

There are a lot of side threads involving the parents and friends. Some are more interesting than others (and I imagine we will see Alex featured in the next book by the author) but at least it takes the edge off the annoyance of having to read which lie will backfire on Noah or see yet another situation where he is dealt an injustice/bullying and just gives up and takes it.

The audio version has some nice features - phone conversations are recorded differently with sound effects and text messages have the notification dings. The characters were easy to tell apart and the narrator had a good feel for the main character. I highly recommend the audio version.

In all, I did not love the book. It was enjoyable and easy to follow but I wish I could have liked the main characters better/they were less annoying. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

Thank you to NetGalley, RB Media, Recorded Books, Tobias Madden, and Matthew Backer (audio narrator) for the opportunity to read and listen to the audiobook of Take a Bow, Noah Mitchell in exchange for an honest review.

An excellent narrator with a great audiobook production. Pings are used for chat messages and phone calls are made to sound like the reader is hearing someone actually on the phone line. A really great dynamic audio production for an already amazing stand-alone novel.

Noah has had a crush on MagePants69 for over a year, and he has never even met the guy in person. They merely play an online game together, but Noah has really grown close with his online gamer buddy and will even go so far as to claim that MagePants69 is his best friend.

Noah's mom, and avid theater enthusiast, asks him if he will join her in their community production of Chicago. Theater is definitely not Noah's thing... But when he finds out that MagePants69 might just be in the same production, Noah swiftly changes his mind about being in the play. With deductive skills, he hopes to find the IRL (in real life) MagePants69.

Noah very quickly finds out who his online crush is IRL and he is happy to get things going. Though Eli, the IRL MagePants69, does not know that Noah knows of their online personas. He keeps it a dreaded secret. And while he continues to hide who he is from Eli, they continue with their online conversations without a care in the world. While MagePants69 asks Noah what to do IRL while having in-game conversations, he doesn't know he is asking directly to the very person he is interested in!

The lies will continue to spiral, and it will be up to Noah to share the truth or let the lies rip him apart.

An excellently crafted novel full of drama, flare, drive, choices, and mistakes, and finds a very real, very human feel with the narration. This novel is both fun and stressful, full of excitement and blooming romance. A great novel of which interests me in Madden's previous novel, Anything But Fine, as well as any future novels to come from this author.

This was a wonderful coming-of-age, queer, gamer, theater young adult novel. I have really enjoyed reading books that surround video games in previous years and this was a really nice take on the genre to me. It combined real-life school/bullying experiences well with themes surrounding (extracurricular) theater, catfishing, making friends, and finding oneself. I also really enjoyed the audiobook and the narration of this book, it surprised me how fast it went and I think this was a really fun way to absorb this story. I would have loved even more videogame elements but it was not necessary for this particular story, just a personal preference! Overall I had a really good experience listening to this book.

Take a Bow, Noah Mitchell is absolutely bingeworthy! I listed to the audiobook provided by NetGalley and greatly enjoyed Matthew Backer’s narration, thought I did speed the narration up to 1.25%. Noahs character development from a shy nerdy gaymer, to a confident actor that has a group of friends that accept him, gangly limbs & all. The author delicately addressed the body image Noah experiences & was well crafted that felt true to how someone not feeling comfort in their own skin are with that struggle. I felt connected with him for a number of reasons but one that greatly stuck out is our shared confusion of the musical Cats (I still don’t know what the musical is about even after seeing it multiple times).

Thank you Net Galley for an audio ARC of Take a Bow, Noah Mitchell by Tobias Madden. This is a queer novel with Noah and Eli as the stars. They are pals in the gaming world but meet in the real world.

This is one of my Australian book buddy's favorite books. So when I saw it on audio here, I had to grab it to see what they saw in it.

Oh, I totally get it now. So sweet, completely captures what teenage love feels like. I kept getting so frustrated at the stupid choices that everyone was making. But then I had to remind myself that these are teenagers. Not bitter 36 year olds. Hahaha!! And it made me love it even more.

Excellent read! I did feel like it was a *little* too long. But I loved everything else, especially the end.

This a a solid book.

I loved Anything But Fine by Tobias Madden so I knew I needed to listen to this book too.

So many things were so well done. I wish we had gotten to know some of the side characters more. It would have made certain things more impactful, but overall another great book by Tobias Madden.

5 stars

Oh, WOW, I loved Madden's first novel, so I could not wait to devour this sophomore effort, and I am not disappointed! I did have a slight hesitation because I would not consider gaming particularly high on my list of interests, but that did not deter me at any point!

Noah, the m.c., is a complicated kid in a complicated situation. He's not a particularly social or popular individual, but he finds community in gaming, and he also finds a budding relationship there. This relationship turns a bit sketchy when he realizes he can also connect with this person - without them being aware of the online link - IRL. Anyone outside of Noah can spot the troubles he'll likely have from miles away, but, well, Noah is going to have to make his own mistakes.

An added complication - and one I found even more intriguing - is Noah's relationship to his family. His sister, who is off in Sydney for the most part, is a great character, and I hope I get to read a novel featuring her at some point. She's funny, a great sounding board, and an important reality check for Noah. Noah's mom is doing the most and trying to reinvent herself in ways that can only embarrass her teenage son. It's not all lighthearted, but it is all extremely enjoyable to read.

The *relationship* aspects here are another highlight. Madden writes sex scenes that are realistic, humorous, and specific without being ridiculous, and I think this is exactly the right balance for the audience. Noah also has to grapple with the many versions of himself and what that means in the context of a potential romantic relationship. There are also communication struggles, family relationships, and all kinds of other baggage that play into the romantic aspects, and I love that there's a round version - vs. just the hormone surge that readers of YA often get - all throughout this book.

I continue to really enjoy Madden's YA novels, and I strongly recommend the audio version of this one. The experience added a lot to my enjoyment and understanding. I look forward to enthusiastically recommending this one to my students!

Audiobook Review

I saw this audio on Netgalley and it sounded great, I am a gamer and I love romance so I thought I would take a chance on a new to me narrator.

First of all, this is not a genre romance book. There is no HEA/HFN at the end of it. Is there hope for one? Yep, but that does not make it a romance.

Second of all, man this would have been so much better with dual POV as I did not like the main mc that much for most of the book. To be honest, it was not til the end that he became likable.

So in here we have Noah, a friendless teen who plays a videogame constantly so he can talk to the guy he has a major crush on. He has never met this guy in real life but has spent hours and hours with him in the game.

Side note, the game parts were awesome. I would have loved more of that. Also the emotions that was able to be felt and shown, such as crying, is a great thing to have in here.

Anyways, he decides to try to find this guy in real life and starts this long caper that ends up being him lying repeatedly to the one he supposedly loves. Eventually the charade falls apart and Eli? (I am not sure how to spell the name as I read this in audio) basically kicks him to the curb even after the heartfelt 90% apology/list of reasons why he did it.

Noah then decides to go confront/talk to one of the guys who was supposedly his friends but really, these guys were bullies, and takes control of his life. He gets at least spoken to in school now.

At the end, he is still playing his game and going on with life, hoping that the mage will talk to him again. Which he does, but not the "we are going to be together way", more like "I am willing to talk to you while playing this game". Which to be honest, was a good way to go about this and was a good ending.

Which brings me to this, don't say it is a romance if they are not both happy at the end. Whatever happens during the book, the ending should be a HFN/HEA.

The narration was awesome and it was done flawlessly. Will be reading with them again.

My only other niggle was that the last bit of the book were about the writer. While I can understand the thanking everybody part, I did not understand the interview parts and skipped all that.

Having read a physical copy of this book, I wanted to take a listen to the audio to gauge the narration and holy lord i think this was even better than reading it physically! The narrator has the perfect way of getting the story across and giving life to the characters.