i’m truly 100% in awe of this book. i’m a huge fan of Adam’s and think everything he touches is perfection, but this one is really just above and beyond all his previous works.

following Grant after the Micah-events was a BRILLIANT choice. while reading Micah’s book, i felt this connection to Grant and what he was going through. i really wanted to know more about him, so this book is a wish come true.

there’s an friends-to-enemies-to-lovers dynamic going on here, and Adam balances the banter, wit, and angst with all the tension and romance really well. the moments with Grant and Ben going back and forth were some of the best parts.

there’s this beautiful shared history between these boys that goes deeper than friendship and romance. their bond is something that’s forged out of a sacred safe space that comes from building a sense of queer solidarity at a young age.

and this book is GAY. yeah, it’s a queer romance book, but it’s just so gay in it’s DNA. it’s in the way the queer boys act, think, and interact with each other. it’s the way they interact with the WORLD and the language they use. it’s the kind of authenticity that i think more queer books need.

and i think that authenticity and the way these characters exist is so important. all of Adam’s books like that. they are so genuinely, unapologetically queer and they are SO important. every story he tells is important.

oh, and then my sweet bby Grant. he's such a sensitive boy (i think something a lot of queer boys can relate to). what an emotional journey he goes on. there’s so much healing happening here. so much forgiveness for those who’ve wronged you, who you think have wronged you, and for yourself. it’s understanding you might not get better right away, but knowing there is that path to healing.

truly a career best for Adam. i’m going to need you to preorder this, request it for your library, and reccomend every bookstore that will listen to stock it.

available july 16 :)

I won’t lie, this took me a minute to get into, but when I did I enjoyed it. I liked the fact that Grant and Bens relationship wasn’t your typical story and the banter was great. I also loved the family aspect of it. I definitely will be reading more Adam Sass in the future!

(4.25 rounded up)

I'm not sure I needed Grant's story, spinning out of Sass's 99 Boyfriends, but it was certainly a welcome tale. Grant's self-obsessed narration means that we don't get most of the family/supporting as fully developed characters, but it mostly works since, as we said, Grant really is neck-deep in processing his own trauma and figuring out if saving a vineyard can help him save himself. The sexiness of Ben also figures into all this, naturally.

So here's the thing - it's a great YA sorta-rom-com (broad strokes, people!), with a pair of gay boys taking center stage in this Hallmarkesque tale and definitely good for youths figuring out that balance of post-high-school making decisions for themselves or for love or for family. Lots of honest explorations there.

Adam Sass produces a beautiful love story in his most intimate and personal work yet. It's a testament to his writing skill that he can write thrillers, rom-coms, and slashers, then stick the landing on such a touching love story. It's about forgiveness, second chances, mental health, and learning to love yourself and those around you, but still written in the sassy, funny style we've all come to expect from Adam Sass.

For those of you familiar with The 99 Boyfriends of Micah Summers, this book is a spin-off exploring the life of Grant, the spurned lover in the first book. I didn't know this going into reading it, but I figured it out quickly in the first chapter (pumpkin jacket). I was pleasantly surprised because, while Grant was clearly not meant for Micah, I felt sorry for what a wreck his life was and was glad he got his own story. While this is a standalone book, and reading 99 Boyfriends is not required, it certainly adds context, and I would recommend it.

I got this ARC but had to read 99 boyfriends first. Since my hold came in and I finished it earlier today… well … you can guess what happened next.

Cursed Boys is Grant’s story, the artist from 99 boyfriends. He goes to his childhood summer home - a vineyard owned by his Aunt Ro, to help fix it up. He sees a hot gardener and lo and behold, it’s his childhood best friend and crush who broke his heart 5 years ago Ben!

Things I loved about this book:
First of all - do NOT skip the author’s note. Adam Sass lets you in his world immediately and gives a great intro to the book and characters.
Grant. My sweet angel. He just wanted to be loved but was also broken and scared. As he realized his true feelings and he worried about his past and future, my heart ached for him. His depression was so real and when he was down, I felt it in my core.
Ben. My Scottish boy. The best boy. Sexy and fun. Sweet and protective. Scared and fearless at the same time. I loved how he didn’t let Grant hide. He brought out the fire in Grant - the passion to live life. I could go on and on about these two but I won’t.
Aunt Ro and Uncle Paul!! What good people. Loved them loved them.
Innuendo. The jokes were so silly. The banter was great in this book. So much fun and I laughed a lot.
The curse actually felt so damn relatable. Sometimes I feel Iike that too. That I’ll be alone forever. That no one will love all of the messy parts of me.
The mud fight was so fun and cute.
Loved seeing the house and vineyard come together!
Only one bed!!!
The honest conversations and casual intimacy.
Oh man that ending. Adam had me for a minute with one of the chapter titles but we persevered!!
I highlighted so so many passages. Loved this.
That ending!!! The rose festival and beyond!!

I adored this book so much. It’s out this summer and you better believe I’m recommending it! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

One of the easiest 5-star ratings I’ve given in ages.

Adam Sass is a brilliant and versatile author. He can do suspense, he can do slasher horror, he can do charming rom-coms. With Cursed Boys and Broken Hearts, he has now shown that he can also do romance with a speculative aspect to it … and in doing so, explores trauma, depression, and self-loathing in a love story that digs deep into the power of emotions, memories, and forgiveness.

In every single Adam Sass book, it’s so easy to love the narrators. Never has that been truer than with Cursed Boys and Broken Hearts. Grant Rossi is Adam’s most compelling, well-developed, and emotionally complex character to date. Will he frustrate you? Yes. Will you question his decisions? Yes. Will you love him, give him a chance, and truly SEE him by the end of the novel? Yes. And it is glorious.

From start to finish, the book is about anger and the many ways it can manifest — in how we view the world, how we treat others, and how we see ourselves. I loved the way that mental health was approached, and the way it normalized both SSRI’s / medication and therapy. Watching Grant grow as a human being was one of the most rewarding journeys I’ve watched a protagonist go on in quite some time.

The one liners, the wit, the humor — immaculate. The tender, soft, emotional moments — absolutely touching. I laughed, I cried, and I had so much fun spending time with Grant and Ben. I’ll be thinking about them for a while.

An absolute home-run of a book and Adam Sass at the top of his game. This is, undoubtedly, his best work to date.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC of this book in exchange for a review!

It's been a long time since a book has personally touched my heart. I adored The 99 Boyfriends of Michah Summers and so desperately hoped for a Grant story. When I saw this book announced on Sass's Instagram I went INSANE. I was so happy to see a sequel of sorts and even happier to read Grant's story. Grant's battle with depression was what really pulled me in, and Ben and his cute little Scottish self just sealed the deal. I was so happy and so thankful to receive an ARC of this, and I can't wait for it to hit stores so I can nab a copy and read it and annotate it to my heart's content.

So, if you have followed any of my reviews for any amount of time, you know that Adam Sass is one of those authors who hits me right in my too-soft, too-big heart. And Grant's story? Ouch.

Like Micah Summers, this story takes a classic fairy tale and gives it a queer twist. I was obsessed with the idea of following someone who was collateral damage in someone else's happily ever after, and oh boy, was Grant damaged. Sweet, sweet Grant.

I loved the way Grant's depression was written because it is just so incredibly relatable. There's nothing like being heartbroken and depressed and away from family and friends, and Grant reacts the same way I think I would- spiraling and hiding in my room while avoiding everyone about it. His family dynamics were also everything to me- family is often a queer kid's first bully and seeing Grant realize that and stand up to them both for himself (and for any smaller family members that may have needed to see it) really choked me up. Also, a big, loud-ass, Italian family is so fun to read. The. relationships between Grant and his siblings were some of my favorites and just really healed my heart.

Vero Roseto is a character of its own and I adored her makeover montage. Grant and Ben working together and through their own hang-ups (despite Grant doing everything he could to KEEP himself hung up) to help save such a special place for their families was a love story within a love story for me.

Also, Ben? An angel. A doll. Never done one single thing wrong in his whole cute little Scottish life. Adored him and how he pushed and prodded and was just mean enough to get Grant out of his own head and stop trying to sabotage himself. He was so loyal to the Rossi family and watching Grant really realize just how loyal was soothing and irritating because OPEN YOUR EYES, KID. Perfection.

I spent probably the last twenty or so minutes of the book silently crying and reading because Grant finally stopped standing in his own way and let himself be happy and it was everything I wanted it to be.

Cursed Boys and Broken Hearts is heartfelt, healing, and full of a messy, real-life queer fairy tale. Another Adam Sass story I will be peddling on everyone I meet.

This was a quick and entertaining read. I thought the writing style and sentence structure worked well and the narrative was good.

This book was beautifully written. I wish I could experience vero roseto's and try the food. I loved that you see the main character growth from healing old wounds from his past and blossoming into his true authentic self.

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.