Kiss & Tell
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- Create Date：2022-02-21 08:53:37
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Adib Khorram
- ISBN：0593325265
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Summary
Kiss & Tell is a total rush！ Perfectly sweet and swoon worthy。 I loved every page！ - Julie Murphy， New York Times bestselling author of Dumplin'
A smart， sexy YA novel about a boy band star， his first breakup， his first rebound， and what it means to be queer in the public eye， from award-winning author Adib Khorram
Hunter never expected to be a boy band star， but， well， here he is。 He and his band Kiss & Tell are on their first major tour of North America， playing arenas all over the United States and Canada （and getting covered by the gossipy press all over North America as well）。 Hunter is the only gay member of the band， and he just had a very painful breakup with his first boyfriend--leaked sexts， public heartbreak， and all--and now everyone expects him to play the perfect queer role model for teens。
But Hunter isn't really sure what being the perfect queer kid even means。 Does it mean dressing up in whatever The Label tells him to wear for photo shoots and pretending never to have sex？ （Unfortunately， yes。） Does it mean finding community among the queer kids at the meet-and-greets after K&T's shows？ （Fortunately， yes。） Does it include a new relationship with Kaivan， the drummer for the band opening for K&T on tour？ （He hopes so。） But when The Label finds out about Hunter and Kaivan， it spells trouble--for their relationship， for the perfect gay boy Hunter plays for the cameras， and， most importantly， for Hunter himself。
A smart， sexy YA novel about a boy band star， his first breakup， his first rebound， and what it means to be queer in the public eye， from award-winning author Adib Khorram
Hunter never expected to be a boy band star， but， well， here he is。 He and his band Kiss & Tell are on their first major tour of North America， playing arenas all over the United States and Canada （and getting covered by the gossipy press all over North America as well）。 Hunter is the only gay member of the band， and he just had a very painful breakup with his first boyfriend--leaked sexts， public heartbreak， and all--and now everyone expects him to play the perfect queer role model for teens。
But Hunter isn't really sure what being the perfect queer kid even means。 Does it mean dressing up in whatever The Label tells him to wear for photo shoots and pretending never to have sex？ （Unfortunately， yes。） Does it mean finding community among the queer kids at the meet-and-greets after K&T's shows？ （Fortunately， yes。） Does it include a new relationship with Kaivan， the drummer for the band opening for K&T on tour？ （He hopes so。） But when The Label finds out about Hunter and Kaivan， it spells trouble--for their relationship， for the perfect gay boy Hunter plays for the cameras， and， most importantly， for Hunter himself。
Reviews
Artemisa Perucho-Green
，
The first 6 chapters of the book have the feel of the whirlwind life of a celebrity keeping ties with his "people"， while venturing into the world of celebrity-dom。 Hunter Drake has the appeal of （a more attractive） Ed Sheeran， and you feel for him as he navigates the attention his private life receives in the world's eyes。I appreciated the varied cast of characters with many different identities that are divulged in a natural and interesting way。 The chapters are easily-digestible and broken up The first 6 chapters of the book have the feel of the whirlwind life of a celebrity keeping ties with his "people"， while venturing into the world of celebrity-dom。 Hunter Drake has the appeal of （a more attractive） Ed Sheeran， and you feel for him as he navigates the attention his private life receives in the world's eyes。I appreciated the varied cast of characters with many different identities that are divulged in a natural and interesting way。 The chapters are easily-digestible and broken up into parts that give the narrative the feel of traveling along with the band。 There are strings of texts， concert set lists， interviews， magazine articles， emails， and more。 Adib Khorram's writing style gives the reader a clear view of the good， the bad， and the ugly of celebrity life。The relationships between the characters give some hints of what's "to come"， without hitting the reader over the head with them。 It seems appropriate for ages 14+ due to language and sexual themes that put it out of the middle grade range。 I can see young adults， particularly readers who identify as LGBTQIA+ and love boy bands， enjoying the book！ 。。。more
Leah Arocho
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I must say that this book did not disappoint at all。 The author did an excellent job and the cover OMG it is absolutely adorable， I love it。 Since the beginning I was reeled into this book。 This story in my opinion is perfect for coming of age readers。 I really love the characters and I also love the writing style。 I will admit that I hadn't read anything by Adib Khorram。 But this book really got me interested and I will be searching for other books from this author。 Honestly with the focus on t I must say that this book did not disappoint at all。 The author did an excellent job and the cover OMG it is absolutely adorable， I love it。 Since the beginning I was reeled into this book。 This story in my opinion is perfect for coming of age readers。 I really love the characters and I also love the writing style。 I will admit that I hadn't read anything by Adib Khorram。 But this book really got me interested and I will be searching for other books from this author。 Honestly with the focus on the members of the boy band and of course the incredibly diverse cast of characters it definitely made the first pages worth it。 I enjoy how the author wrote Hunter seem very relevant and relatable to anyone that's his age。 We see how he deals with the fame， his friendships and even his first love。 The setting is also amazing gives you the imagination if you were in an actual concert。 Definitely recommend。 。。。more
coffee
，
I read an excerpt via BookishFirst so this is more of a first impression。 I really like the format of the book and while I'm not usually into celebrity-type stories， I just couldn't say no to a cover this CUTE。 I'm hoping to pick up the full story eventually。 It's got a bit of a slow start and feels a bit cold and to the point， but who knows， the character is in a bad place as well so I think that's an interesting way to reflect his mental state。 I read an excerpt via BookishFirst so this is more of a first impression。 I really like the format of the book and while I'm not usually into celebrity-type stories， I just couldn't say no to a cover this CUTE。 I'm hoping to pick up the full story eventually。 It's got a bit of a slow start and feels a bit cold and to the point， but who knows， the character is in a bad place as well so I think that's an interesting way to reflect his mental state。 。。。more
Colleen S。
，
Based on a First Look from NetGalley:Hunter Drake is a 17 year old boy band member feeling the consequences of being “out” as his band， Kiss & Tell， begins a second tour and finds itself in the early stages of big fame。 On the wings of band work and school is a budding potential live affair with a member of the opening band。Hunter’s character is doing an amazing job of depicting the struggles of being the “token” anything in a group。 So many LGBTQ books focus on why a character doesn’t want to b Based on a First Look from NetGalley:Hunter Drake is a 17 year old boy band member feeling the consequences of being “out” as his band， Kiss & Tell， begins a second tour and finds itself in the early stages of big fame。 On the wings of band work and school is a budding potential live affair with a member of the opening band。Hunter’s character is doing an amazing job of depicting the struggles of being the “token” anything in a group。 So many LGBTQ books focus on why a character doesn’t want to be THE gay hockey player， or rock star or *insert profession here。*Kiss & Tell portrays why there’s often been that aversion。 The pressure Hunter feels to represent his demographic and single-handedly bring equality to all gay teens subtly portrays why people are reticent to take on the responsibility of being famous and out。 A morning show segment using a 17 year-old boy to help plan a brunch is such a smart way to exemplify this。 Hunter is impressive in his acknowledgment of his privilege， but it will be interesting to see how this plays out with a band full of diverse minorities。 If you liked Eden Finley’s Famous series， this will serve as a bit of a prequel: what would the fallout have been if those band members had been able to live their truths？ The clickbait headlines are hilariously clever， and the use of media articles is reminiscent of Daisy Jones and the Six。 I can’t wait to read the book in full！ 。。。more
Alissa Anderson
，
I loved "Darius the Great" and "Darius the Great Deserves Better" and Khorram delivers again with "Kiss & Tell" The narrative style of the book is fun and insightful （and reminded me a little bit of "Daisy Jones and the Six）。 Khorram does an expert job of bringing to life 2022 teens， even though the lens he chooses his famous ones。 Hunter and his bandmates are going through it all， with the added pressure of the spotlight。 I don't recall books like this one being widely available when I reading I loved "Darius the Great" and "Darius the Great Deserves Better" and Khorram delivers again with "Kiss & Tell" The narrative style of the book is fun and insightful （and reminded me a little bit of "Daisy Jones and the Six）。 Khorram does an expert job of bringing to life 2022 teens， even though the lens he chooses his famous ones。 Hunter and his bandmates are going through it all， with the added pressure of the spotlight。 I don't recall books like this one being widely available when I reading YA as a teen in 2005-2009。 This book is incredibly sex positive and broaches on topics I haven't encountered so completely， openly， and factually in YA before。 Given this， I would likely recommend this book for older teens and could see it facilitating some great discussions。 I received my ARC via NetGalley。 。。。more
Lily Rooke
，
From the sample of the first few chapters from NetGalley， I get the sense this is going to be something like If This Gets Out but tackling more serious issues and themes。 It's piqued my interest and I'm excited to read it in full once it's released next month。 From the sample of the first few chapters from NetGalley， I get the sense this is going to be something like If This Gets Out but tackling more serious issues and themes。 It's piqued my interest and I'm excited to read it in full once it's released next month。 。。。more
Mariam
，
I requested Kiss & Tell because I hadn’t sampled Adib Khorram’s writing before and I was intrigued。 Besides， the cover looks really pretty and I definitely wanted to read a book about a queer boyband member。 Kiss & Tell is a young adult contemporary book about Hunter Drake， the afore mentioned queer （gay specifically） boyband member， and spans the duration of…a couple of weeks of the tour upon which his group goes。 What I liked a lot in the book is the multimedia resources available， from tweets I requested Kiss & Tell because I hadn’t sampled Adib Khorram’s writing before and I was intrigued。 Besides， the cover looks really pretty and I definitely wanted to read a book about a queer boyband member。 Kiss & Tell is a young adult contemporary book about Hunter Drake， the afore mentioned queer （gay specifically） boyband member， and spans the duration of…a couple of weeks of the tour upon which his group goes。 What I liked a lot in the book is the multimedia resources available， from tweets from fans and messy exes and text messages between the band members to even news article and documentary （which the band was filming of their tour） transcription。 The book revolves around Hunter mainly and I say this with some disappointment because I really hadn’t expected it to be so…focused。 I don’t hate that， but I grew more and more concerned about how the plot revolved around Hunter in a troubling way。 Let me give you an example: Hunter is white and gay， and due to his sexuality， the label he’s under puts him in one box: the gay one。 But Hunter isn’t the only marginalized character in the book。 Three out of four of his group members are people of color。 And yet， the book mentions them very little。 It’s not like they’re nonexistent。 They’re in the background。 Hunter has more interactions with his best friend （the only other white guy Ashton） and his ex-boyfriend （Aidan， also white and Ashton’s twin brother） besides the love interest （Iranian-American Kaivan）。 This might have been done deliberately to mirror Hunter’s own self-focused thinking， but I thought the book lost me on it because there wasn’t any progress。 Hunter is consistently self-focused （dare I even say self-absorbed） to the end。 Even when he tries to put his other band members into consideration （which kind of ticked me off because how can you be friends with these boys， who are clearly not white， and not know they’re bombarded with racism all around？） Another point that I thought was a miss in this was the message of “you don’t have to be a digestible queer boy” which started off great with Hunter freaking out over his ex-boyfriend exposing his sexual texts to twitter and how the Label handles this by dressing him in feminine-coded attire to suit his “bottom” status。 I wanted more of this plot-line。 I wanted Hunter to proudly claim his identity as a queer boy who isn’t simply wholesome as all teenagers are put in this box of being pure and virginal when they’re just trying to figure out their lives never mind their sexual preferences。 I also thought the whole romantic subplot to be absolutely unnecessary。 I like Kaivan and Hunter as friends so much。 Two queer boys in the music industry， touring together， being close friends and breaking down barriers of what is considered appropriate or not sounded a lot more appealing than the…mess that happened between them。 They went on dates where Kaivan seemed more interested in the PDA and the fans’ reactions than with Hunter’s comfort。 It was so disturbing to read the description of all those fans grabbing and pawing at him like he was a piece of meat。 I thought there’d been a scene to address that。 Like maybe the boygroup would have a “talk” with their fans about respecting them and keeping their distance unless asked。 I think Kiss & Tell could have addressed much more than it attempted。 I liked Hunter， I really did， but the way I hoped this book would pan out didn’t happen and I was disappointed in the end。 Also I’m a queer Iranian-Arab reader and thought Kaivan would have made for a more compelling lead with his own exploration of being a musician and gay and Iranian-American。 Maybe we’ll get a sequel about one of his brothers？The writing is easy-to-read。 Otherwise， I can’t really comment on it since it was really simple and straightforward。 It was a quick read。 I was engaged by the first 30% then when all that mess happened， I lost more and more of my enjoyment。 I would recommend Kiss & Tell to people who like…One Direction and BTS and fanfiction。 。。。more
wieya
，
thank you Edelweiss for the arc！ 3。5 stars first and foremost， if you're expecting this to be like darius the great。 don't。 i liked the new and refreshing theme of this book。 darius the great was amazing but this book was something else。 it was quite fast paced and to me the characters weren't written for you to get attached to them， there were also some part that i found kind of fanfic-ish （not that i disliked it or anything）。 there was this fake dating trope that almost happened but quickly di thank you Edelweiss for the arc！ 3。5 stars first and foremost， if you're expecting this to be like darius the great。 don't。 i liked the new and refreshing theme of this book。 darius the great was amazing but this book was something else。 it was quite fast paced and to me the characters weren't written for you to get attached to them， there were also some part that i found kind of fanfic-ish （not that i disliked it or anything）。 there was this fake dating trope that almost happened but quickly discarded and i liked that part， don't get me wrong i also like fake dating trope but kiss & tell was fine even without such trope。 i expected the book to explore the other members of the band， but that didn't happen so that was kinda disappointing。 。。。more
Reading_ Tamishly
，
I want。 Need。 This book
Celia McMahon
，
This book was fantastic and my review for it is going to be a mess， but I will try and be as eloquent as humanly possible for the sake of this book's future readers。 Here we goooo！Netgalley and Dial Books blessed me with an arc！Reasons to read: such diversity！ Queer cinnamon rolls。 Heavy-hitting themes are done with respect。Kiss & Tell is one of the biggest boy bands in the world， but out and proud Hunter's very public break-up with his bandmate's brother seems to dominate the headline more than This book was fantastic and my review for it is going to be a mess， but I will try and be as eloquent as humanly possible for the sake of this book's future readers。 Here we goooo！Netgalley and Dial Books blessed me with an arc！Reasons to read: such diversity！ Queer cinnamon rolls。 Heavy-hitting themes are done with respect。Kiss & Tell is one of the biggest boy bands in the world， but out and proud Hunter's very public break-up with his bandmate's brother seems to dominate the headline more than their North American tour。 The Label takes a chance on Hunter and Kaivan's （a member of Kiss & Tell's opening band） blooming relationship to distract the public from the leaked secrets of Hunter's sex life。 But the more Hunter falls for Kaiven， the more he begins to feel like he's a fake， and the horror of the public knowing intimate details of his sex life begins to creep into his everyday life， threatening to upheaval in not only his relationships but with the band itself。 There's a ton to unpack in this book。 Brought to the forefront are homophobia and racism， but there are sprinkles of bullying and how the media and the public treat queer celebrities and the roles they assign them。 I loved all the reps and the discussions about racial profiling。 Hunter and Kaiven's relationship starts out slow as they're trying to navigate their celerity status as well as their own anxieties。 But their dates are made to attract the media and they aren't too many quiet moments here to see these two grow。 I loved these two even without those moments and I would ship them any day of the week。What I didn't like: What I would have loved to see more were Hunter's bandmates。 I forgot their names often and they almost felt faceless to me。 I was hoping to see both bands come together either in a casual setting or behind the stage， but we don't really see that camaraderie。 The story is very laser-focused on Hunter and Kaiven and everyone else kind of fades into the background。 I was also hoping the topic of sexual harassment and slut-shaming would have been addressed with the proper parties punished。 BUT overall， I enjoyed this book SO MUCH and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a great LGBTQ book。 。。。more
Morey Reinblatt
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Can’t wait to read！
April （bookedtillmidnight）
，
something about music-centric books just hits different， yknow？ *thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an eARC to read and review honestly*This one was not what I was expecting… like， at all。 That is not a bad thing， but I would recommend not letting the synopsis set your expectations for this， because it will lead you astray。 This book really isn’t centered around romance （more on that in a minute）， but rather focused on what it means to be queer in the public eye and h something about music-centric books just hits different， yknow？ *thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an eARC to read and review honestly*This one was not what I was expecting… like， at all。 That is not a bad thing， but I would recommend not letting the synopsis set your expectations for this， because it will lead you astray。 This book really isn’t centered around romance （more on that in a minute）， but rather focused on what it means to be queer in the public eye and how Hunter is managing being shoved into a box of what he “should” be。 Ok。 It’s been a minute。 The romance， for me， was not the vibe。 At first it felt really insta-lovey and then by the end it seemed like the characters lacked a bit of a genuine connection？？ Were there cute moments？ Oh， absolutely。 But then there were other moments where it seemed like the characters just weren’t super compatible。 Since it was more of a subplot， it wasn’t a huge deal， but it is still something worth noting。 This is Hunter’s story。 He was definitely center stage through it all and I enjoyed getting to know him and watching him interact with the other characters （who probs could have used a bit more development tbh）。 At times though， I felt like things became a little bit too Hunter-centric。 There were so many issues that could have been resolved with communication （and many that were bigger than that）， but instead Hunter made it mostly about himself。 Like， dude， you are in a band， literally talk to the other bandmates about some of these things。 Kiss & Tell harnesses a shorter and punchier style with bold humor， short sentences， and lots of emails， news clips and other assorted mixed media sprinkled about。 Many of the clips and such did help the story unfold， but a lot of them felt unnecessary and even a bit confusing at times。 They most certainly aided the storytelling at certain points， but I would have liked to see it used a bit more sparingly to keep the story going and less chunk-ified。 At the end of the day， even though I have quite a few qualms with the book， I am glad I read it。 If you are interested in more character driven stories， a plot that is guaranteed to spark a lot of important conversations， or books related to the music industry （think: It Goes Like This or If This Gets Out）， then this one might be worth checking out。 CW: Homophobia， homophobic slur used， racism， slut-shaming， physical and verbal assault， gender-related microaggression， gaslighting 。。。more
Melanie
，
4。5 StarsThank you to Netgalley and Penguin Teen for an arc of this one。 Hunter is the only queer person in his boyband， and he is feeling the effects。 After a messy breakup with his ex of 2 years--also a bandmate's twin brother--Hunter's sexts get leaked and his public persona is entirely changed。 Hunter has to change everything about who he is for the public to keep the label and the fans happy， but he has had enough。This book had my entire heart for。。。。almost all of it。 I was so immersed and 4。5 StarsThank you to Netgalley and Penguin Teen for an arc of this one。 Hunter is the only queer person in his boyband， and he is feeling the effects。 After a messy breakup with his ex of 2 years--also a bandmate's twin brother--Hunter's sexts get leaked and his public persona is entirely changed。 Hunter has to change everything about who he is for the public to keep the label and the fans happy， but he has had enough。This book had my entire heart for。。。。almost all of it。 I was so immersed and reading this so fast because I loved it so much。 Hunter is a great character and I loved watching him grow。 A lot of his struggles made me so frustrated because of the way queer people are always treated。 But it was all really important stuff。I also really enjoyed the focus on having queer friends and how different it is when you are with cishet people all the time。 I felt that！ The only thing that really frustrated me with this book is that I felt like nothing was resolve regarding the slut-shaming that Hunter went through。 There was a little about it but。。。apologies needed to be made， and they weren't， and I felt like frustrations were redirected and then it was just swept under the rug instead of really been taken account for。 So that sucked。But I loved the rest of it。Pub Date: March 22， 2022Content WarningsGraphic: Sexual harassment， Racism， Body shaming， and HomophobiaModerate: Sexual content and Sexual assault 。。。more
Colby
，
Thank you to Penguin Teen for an eARC in exchange for an honest review！ I'm not much into boy bands， but I've been strangely enjoying the YA boy band book trend as of late！ Maybe becuase it's surrounding the problems in the music industry， especially surrounding racism and LGBTQIA+ rights within boy bands。 This one， while I really enjoyed， could be a bit over-sexualized considering how young the characters were （felt a bit strange to read about a 17 yo in that way） If NA were a real， I'd definit Thank you to Penguin Teen for an eARC in exchange for an honest review！ I'm not much into boy bands， but I've been strangely enjoying the YA boy band book trend as of late！ Maybe becuase it's surrounding the problems in the music industry， especially surrounding racism and LGBTQIA+ rights within boy bands。 This one， while I really enjoyed， could be a bit over-sexualized considering how young the characters were （felt a bit strange to read about a 17 yo in that way） If NA were a real， I'd definitely want to see this one there。 So， if you're younger or a parent interested in this one for your kid， it is a bit spicy for a YA contemporary， in my opinion。 While I think it's important to include sex in YA books， this felt like it was really toeing that NA line。 Overall， though， still enjoyed it！ Really important queer rep as well as discussions around privacy， media， and racism in the music industry。 。。。more
Jazmin
，
I was given a copy of Kiss & Tell in exchange for a review on behalf of The Honey POP。 I thoroughly enjoyed Kiss & Tell！ As someone who has been part of fandoms and fan culture for over half my life， I found it really interesting to experience the fan-artist relationship from a different POV。 While over time I found out that the people we are fans of have media training and are acting to an extent， many others don't really realise this， so I think that's a really great aspect that was included a I was given a copy of Kiss & Tell in exchange for a review on behalf of The Honey POP。 I thoroughly enjoyed Kiss & Tell！ As someone who has been part of fandoms and fan culture for over half my life， I found it really interesting to experience the fan-artist relationship from a different POV。 While over time I found out that the people we are fans of have media training and are acting to an extent， many others don't really realise this， so I think that's a really great aspect that was included and will have a lot of people thinking and also reminded that the artists really do see more than we think。 I really loved the queer and POC representation throughout the book， and with these communities both taking up a large percentage of fandoms， it's another thing that makes it more relatable。 I really love the characters in the book and definitely became attached。 The relationship between Kiss & Tell， in particular， felt so familiar from the bands I'm a fan of and there were some friendship dynamics that reminded me of specific band members， too。 One thing I really enjoyed was how cinematic it felt when reading。 I envisioned content in between chapters like filler scenes in a movie or transitional scenes in a rockumentary and it gave another great POV for what life was like outside of the band's bubble and how we would typically be experiencing the situations that unfold throughout the book。 Given how well I could envision that from the book alone， I'd be really intrigued to see them incorporated in a movie adaptation if one ever came about。 I have a much more in-depth review over at The Honey POP which you can read here。Really loved the book and if a sequel is to follow， it's going high up on my TBR！ 。。。more
Julia
，
I was so excited to receive a copy for review of Adib Khorram's latest book， Kiss & Tell。 Like everyone with a soul， I am a huge fan of Darius the Great is Not Ok， and its sequel， and I was really excited to see what Khorram would deliver next。As other reviews have noted， this book is very different from Khorram's others。 While Darius is like a slowly simmering cup of tea， Hunter is like a monster energy drink and his energy had me buzzing from page one。 But though his character was completely u I was so excited to receive a copy for review of Adib Khorram's latest book， Kiss & Tell。 Like everyone with a soul， I am a huge fan of Darius the Great is Not Ok， and its sequel， and I was really excited to see what Khorram would deliver next。As other reviews have noted， this book is very different from Khorram's others。 While Darius is like a slowly simmering cup of tea， Hunter is like a monster energy drink and his energy had me buzzing from page one。 But though his character was completely unique from Darius， I still felt as protective of him as I did of Darius。 Khorram really has such a deft way of writing characters who are vulnerable， lovable， and flawed in ways that will make you want to hug and protect them。 Some of the writing is in choppy texts and emails which was a little hard to get used to， but it really added to the authenticity of what Khorram is writing。 I really appreciated the frank way Khorram writes about sexuality in this book。 So often society wants to put LGBTQ people in a box and if they don't perform the way straight， cis people expect， they are seen as deviant and even further marginalized。 This book really made me question and examine my own prejudices and privilege。 My only wish is that we got more from the other members of the band--perhaps we'll get their stories in a companion novel？ （Please？） 。。。more
Rachael Hall
，
Thank you so much for allowing me to review this book！ I am a huge fan of Adib Khorram and his Darius the Great books， so naturally I was excited to read this new book， Kiss & Tell。 K&T is about Hunter， who is in a boy band that gained fame after his song about Poutine went viral （I love Poutine， like any good Franco-American， so obviously I loved that part）。 What made this book really special is that its characters are full of personality and complicated feelings。 Hunter， the main character， is Thank you so much for allowing me to review this book！ I am a huge fan of Adib Khorram and his Darius the Great books， so naturally I was excited to read this new book， Kiss & Tell。 K&T is about Hunter， who is in a boy band that gained fame after his song about Poutine went viral （I love Poutine， like any good Franco-American， so obviously I loved that part）。 What made this book really special is that its characters are full of personality and complicated feelings。 Hunter， the main character， is gay and out， and his sexuality and relationships are closely scrutinized by the media and all of his fans。 He feels immense pressure to perform even when not on stage。 You will feel love and empathy for Hunter， as well as desperation for all of the mounting pressure put upon him！ You'll fall in love with his friends in the band， and feel frustration at all of the adults in his life who are taking advantage of him and his fame。 Hunter just wants to be himself， but doesn't feel like he can， and in the process of finding out how， he will make mistakes and learn some lessons， as well as find out if the new guy in his life is someone he can trust。 Please， please， go out and get this book once it is published， or pre-order it so you can have it right away！ You won't regret it！！！ 。。。more
Emma
，
An ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review。 2。75/5 StarsThis book definitely offers an interesting insight into what could be the lives of the members of a boyband， especially in regard to the tour aspect。 I really appreciated how the story tried to debunk some of the most common stereotypes when talking about pop boybands and just pop music in general。 I'm sorry to say I wasn't Hunter's biggest fan。 I obviously felt for him in some moments， An ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review。 2。75/5 StarsThis book definitely offers an interesting insight into what could be the lives of the members of a boyband， especially in regard to the tour aspect。 I really appreciated how the story tried to debunk some of the most common stereotypes when talking about pop boybands and just pop music in general。 I'm sorry to say I wasn't Hunter's biggest fan。 I obviously felt for him in some moments， but I thought he was very self-centered， to the point that it was quite unrealistic， especially in a group of friends like their band is。 There really was no communication among the band members and this felt a bit off in my opinion。The romance is definitely not the main focus of the novel， just so you know。 The whole book's more about Hunter's journey of affirmation and realization。 Overall， I was expecting more from this novel and I was a bit let down。 。。。more
Ellen | reading_theend
，
Adib Khorram’s previous books live on my all-time favorites shelf， and though this is a lot different from those， it still hits similar emotional notes and carries the same smart writing。 It feels a little fluffier， which feels crazy to say about a book about a gay boy band star dealing with fame and trying to date in the spotlight。 It is interspersed with headlines， texts， etc。 that feel incredibly true to life as Hunter navigates fallout from an ex leaking their texts and figure out how to be Adib Khorram’s previous books live on my all-time favorites shelf， and though this is a lot different from those， it still hits similar emotional notes and carries the same smart writing。 It feels a little fluffier， which feels crazy to say about a book about a gay boy band star dealing with fame and trying to date in the spotlight。 It is interspersed with headlines， texts， etc。 that feel incredibly true to life as Hunter navigates fallout from an ex leaking their texts and figure out how to be who he is and still be what his label thinks he should be。 The message is wonderful， and though I think we could have gotten a little bit more detail on certain characters and the pacing needed some adjustment， I really enjoyed it。 。。。more
Meghan Lew
，
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Teen for providing an arc copy of this book。I don’t even know where to start with this book because I loved it so much。 Everything about it pulled me in from the first page， and by the end， I was full-on sobbing。 I devoured this book within a few hours， and I never wanted it to end。 The characters were diverse， and even the side characters added different perspectives to the story。 This helped connect me to the main character more and understand where he is com Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Teen for providing an arc copy of this book。I don’t even know where to start with this book because I loved it so much。 Everything about it pulled me in from the first page， and by the end， I was full-on sobbing。 I devoured this book within a few hours， and I never wanted it to end。 The characters were diverse， and even the side characters added different perspectives to the story。 This helped connect me to the main character more and understand where he is coming from。 I will say I would have loved even more from the side characters， but that’s just because I could read multiple books about all these characters。 The main character Hunter was incredibly complex， making his story interesting and captivating。 The plot was not the book's main focus， which is okay。 The characters and romance are what this book is all about。 The author does a great job of highlighting those。 Despite that， the way being famous and in a boyband played a role in the story was really well done。 As someone who grew up hiding many of my interests， I related to these parts of the story。This book pulled all of my heart strings and I just never wanted it to end。 。。。more
Divya
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Spoiler free！！ Thank you PenguinTeen for sending me an e-ARC of this book as well as giving me the amazing opportunity to meet Adib Khorram！Guys， as soon as I saw “Adib Khorram” on this book， I knew I was going to love it。 Darius The Great is one of my favorite series/duologies of all time， so I was so excited to see what Adib was going to do with this book。 Kiss & Tell has a much more modern， contemporary romance feel than Darius， but that didn’t make it any less amazing。 I couldn’t put this bo Spoiler free！！ Thank you PenguinTeen for sending me an e-ARC of this book as well as giving me the amazing opportunity to meet Adib Khorram！Guys， as soon as I saw “Adib Khorram” on this book， I knew I was going to love it。 Darius The Great is one of my favorite series/duologies of all time， so I was so excited to see what Adib was going to do with this book。 Kiss & Tell has a much more modern， contemporary romance feel than Darius， but that didn’t make it any less amazing。 I couldn’t put this book down。 I loved how it managed to be funny and light while still tackling very sensitive topics such as racism and homophobia。 Adib has absolutely hit it out of the park with this one， as he has done before。 Can’t wait for you all to fall in love with this book :） 。。。more
Rachel Sammons
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Satirical， endearing， and fast-paced—Kiss & Tell tackles homophobia， slut-shaming， and privilege in a cleverly subtle， seemingly light-hearted story about Canada’s favorite boy band。Hunter Drake， Kiss & Tell’s only openly gay member， navigates his celebrity status as his fans and critics yank him in many different directions。 They tell him to model chaste dating but to also promote sex positivity， to embrace a more feminine style but to also challenge stereotypes， and to be an icon for the LGBTQ Satirical， endearing， and fast-paced—Kiss & Tell tackles homophobia， slut-shaming， and privilege in a cleverly subtle， seemingly light-hearted story about Canada’s favorite boy band。Hunter Drake， Kiss & Tell’s only openly gay member， navigates his celebrity status as his fans and critics yank him in many different directions。 They tell him to model chaste dating but to also promote sex positivity， to embrace a more feminine style but to also challenge stereotypes， and to be an icon for the LGBTQ+ community but to also think twice about dating Kaivan Parvani， their opener’s drummer。 As Hunter struggles with these expectations， he starts to wonder who he really is and what he actually owes people—if anything。 Khorram provides both close-ups of Hunter’s experience as well as less personal glances at how society is responding to him。 At times， the story takes the form of emails between agents， Twitter threads by both fans and haters， think-pieces by pop culture critics， interview transcripts， and more。 There’s even an advice column in which a parent expresses concern over their kids looking up to Hunter once it’s been revealed he’s sexually active。 In the end， Hunter cracks under pressure and learns the hard way how to draw boundaries and accept himself for who he is。 Khorram addresses how queer people are treated in the public eye while also showing how friendship， love， and true confidence in oneself are worth more than releasing a hit song。Kiss & Tell is also delightfully Canadian with regular mentions of tuques， Canucks， poutines， and even Mounties。I received an advanced copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Dilly
，
I really wanted to like this one， I truly did。 But， unfortunately， I didn’t。 I think the biggest reason why was because I just couldn’t get into Hunter。 The fact that after every single chapter there was an article really messed up the reading flow for me。 I despised the main love interest， whom I shall not name for the sake of spoilers。 I truly feel like Hunter was victimized for everything。 And for a few things， rightfully so。 He refused to recognize that his fellow bandmates were struggling w I really wanted to like this one， I truly did。 But， unfortunately， I didn’t。 I think the biggest reason why was because I just couldn’t get into Hunter。 The fact that after every single chapter there was an article really messed up the reading flow for me。 I despised the main love interest， whom I shall not name for the sake of spoilers。 I truly feel like Hunter was victimized for everything。 And for a few things， rightfully so。 He refused to recognize that his fellow bandmates were struggling with their own things and instead of talking things through， he kept bottling his emotions up。 That I can relate to， that’s fine。 But when the main love interest was getting to know him， it just happened too fast？ It was basically a case of insta-love， which I am not at all a fan of。 And while they were together， the main love interest didn’t really seem to care about Hunter？ He cared more about signing autographs on their dates than anything else。 （*SPOILERS START*） Another thing that really frustrated me was how the entire situation with Hunter’s ex was handled。 Hunter was very publicly slut shamed and instead of him getting to sit down and talk things out， they basically just let it go。 I also wasn’t at all comfortable with Camryn， the other male queer artist。 It felt like he was just thrown into the book for no reason， which was pointless， imo。 （*SPOILERS END*） What I did appreciate was the way it was so diverse。 We had non-binary drag queens， neopronouns， non-binary make-up artists/stylists， so many different ethnicities， a casual lesbian proposal…and so much more。 We also had the truth about labels which was presented through emails: people’s lives are treated like events that just exist for PR and that’s the truth of it all。 All in all， this book is very straightforward and shows straight up how many artists are treated， but it just wasn’t for me。 。。。more
Insert Name Here
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Between this and another novel set in this world I read recently， I don't know why anyone chooses to be in the public eye。 Hunter is literally mauled in public and no one seems bothered by it！ 'Oh it's just part of the whole thing' no it's not！ Or at least it shouldn't be。Brrr。 Right， calming down。。。it's always a good sign when a book gets me this worked up！This is a quick， fun read。 I loved the inclusion of interviews， transcripts and social media posts in between chapters - this is the world t Between this and another novel set in this world I read recently， I don't know why anyone chooses to be in the public eye。 Hunter is literally mauled in public and no one seems bothered by it！ 'Oh it's just part of the whole thing' no it's not！ Or at least it shouldn't be。Brrr。 Right， calming down。。。it's always a good sign when a book gets me this worked up！This is a quick， fun read。 I loved the inclusion of interviews， transcripts and social media posts in between chapters - this is the world the boys are living in， so it makes sense to include them， and it gives us another view of what's going on。 I also loved， and it's a shame this is so rare， that Kaivan and Hunter talked out things that were bothering them！ They were honest and straightforward！ It's crazy that this affected me so strongly。 I'm spoiled for all future books now。I did not like the final treatment of another character that I won't name for spoiler reasons; I thought they absolutely did not deserve what they got and it really left a bad taste in my mouth。Overall， though， I loved this; it was funny （the music label is just called The Label！） it was interesting and I enjoyed reading it。 I hope Adib writes more; I'll be looking forward to reading them。 。。。more
Alec Ashlark
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Kiss & Tell talks about a lot of relevant issues， from white supremacy to sex positivity and many others in between。 But basically it’s a story about a gay musician who’s suffocating inside this hetero-respectable box that his label has shoved him in， while also grappling with the pitfalls of fame， the downsides of young love， and his desire to make a positive difference。 Recommended for anyone looking for a meaningful， thought-provoking read。The writing has an authenticity to it， in the finer d Kiss & Tell talks about a lot of relevant issues， from white supremacy to sex positivity and many others in between。 But basically it’s a story about a gay musician who’s suffocating inside this hetero-respectable box that his label has shoved him in， while also grappling with the pitfalls of fame， the downsides of young love， and his desire to make a positive difference。 Recommended for anyone looking for a meaningful， thought-provoking read。The writing has an authenticity to it， in the finer details like typos in text messages， misspelled names in articles， and the main character’s over-repetitive word choice。 It was refreshing。 Another thing that the writing has is a subtle， effortless humor。 I believe there aren’t any real jokes in the book。 There is simply a lot of factual information that just happens to be funny。 I find this kind of humor the best brand of comedy。Hunter， the main character， is thoughtful， considerate， and sensitive。 He’s an easily likable character and also relatable once I got to see his less admirable traits。 But he didn’t really undergo much of a development。 He was struggling for most of the book， but at the end he just no longer was。 He got what he wanted， but it wasn’t hard-earned because he didn’t really fight for it。 He didn’t triumph; he just survived。As with Kaivan， the love interest: I believe he has a lot of depths， with him being a gay American musician of Iranian heritage who’s trying to establish an independent artistic identity。 But sadly， those depths weren’t really explored。The minor characters are culturally diverse but they weren’t fleshed-out on the page。 The other band members were interchangeable in my head， as well as their manager with their tutor and other crew of the tour。 They have different identities， of course， but they practically had the same mental register to me， not physically but characteristically。 I liked them; I'm just not sure whether individually or collectively。I was never really sold on the romance， but I did enjoy the many romantic scenes。 They were sometimes awkward but also sweet， funny， and intimate。 The reason why I wasn’t fully on board with the Hunter-Kaivan ship was because there were a lot of red flags popping up every now and again against Kaivan’s sincerity and intention。 I was suspicious and， in consequence， simply never fully warmed up to him。The plot is the weakest point of the book。 The conflict didn’t start right away; it was nicely eased into the story。 But the higher the plot rose toward the climax， the more the conflict was weakened， made less significant， by the Hunter’s inaction。 And then the plot peaked， and suddenly there was a lot of action。 It was basically an explosion of bottled-up emotions。 But what’s most disappointing is that the mess made by said explosion was casually and briefly resolved— the end， happily ever after。Although the theme didn’t completely succeed in what the author obviously wanted to accomplish with it， the theme is still the book’s strongest suit， and one that resonated most with me， a young gay man of color。Everything was tied to the theme and the issues it tackled， like hetero-patriarchy and respectability， sex positivity， homophobia and racism， and gender conformity。 There is a lot of extra content in the book separate from the narrative， like interviews and news articles， and many of them got away from the story。 But on the upside， they brought the theme more into focus， which made them just as important， if not more， to the book as a whole。 In fact， it’s the theme that gives this book worth。Given the number of less impressive parts of Kiss & Tell， I’m surprised that I enjoyed reading it as much as I did。 I smiled and laughed; I swooned and got excited; and I rooted for the main character。 And not the least， I made personal reflections regarding the relevant issues presented。 So yes， I do recommend this book。The ARC was provided by Dial Books via Edelweiss+ in exchange for an honest and critical review。 Expected publication date: 22 March 2022。Follow me: Twitter | StoryGraph | Wordpress 。。。more
Katie
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Review to come
Grayson
，
I AM IN LOVE WITH THIS BOOK。 This book had so many great conversations and left me yearning for more of these characters。 I loved how this book was written， we got chapters that are normal genre writing， but we also got the story through articles， interviews， and social posts。 I loved seeing these outside perspectives and it helped the pacing alot。 It also got me so invested， after each article chapter I wanted to scream at the fictional journalist behind it。 I am so attached to the MC， Hunter， I AM IN LOVE WITH THIS BOOK。 This book had so many great conversations and left me yearning for more of these characters。 I loved how this book was written， we got chapters that are normal genre writing， but we also got the story through articles， interviews， and social posts。 I loved seeing these outside perspectives and it helped the pacing alot。 It also got me so invested， after each article chapter I wanted to scream at the fictional journalist behind it。 I am so attached to the MC， Hunter， and was ready to throw hands for him at anyone who was mean to him。 My only complaint is that I wanted more at the end， the conclusion felt rushed and I wish it was just a bit longer and more fleshed out。Representation: Iranian-American rep， Gay rep， Asian rep （Indian， Vietnamese） TW: Homophobia， racism， physical and verbal assault， sexual harrasssment， toxic masculinity， gaslighting 。。。more
Monte Price
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I reserve the right to come back after release and change this。。。 I think that there were a lot of interesting conversations that can be had from the content in this book。。。 As for the plot？ I'm gonna think on that until I need to get a full review up in March。 I reserve the right to come back after release and change this。。。 I think that there were a lot of interesting conversations that can be had from the content in this book。。。 As for the plot？ I'm gonna think on that until I need to get a full review up in March。 。。。more
Jenni
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 A story that follows boy band Kiss & Tell ans focuses on the love life of group member，， Hunter， who happens to be the only gay member in the band。Told through emails， news stories， and also regular narration， we find Hunter's love life on public display and how the record label handles this， ultimately asking him to fake date the opening band's drummer while the bands are on tour together。 Not my favorite read。 I didn't like Hunter much and I despised Kaivan， the drummer in the other band。 Also A story that follows boy band Kiss & Tell ans focuses on the love life of group member，， Hunter， who happens to be the only gay member in the band。Told through emails， news stories， and also regular narration， we find Hunter's love life on public display and how the record label handles this， ultimately asking him to fake date the opening band's drummer while the bands are on tour together。 Not my favorite read。 I didn't like Hunter much and I despised Kaivan， the drummer in the other band。 Also the multiple ways the story was put together （emails， news stories， etc） was confusing after a while。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Kiss & Tell
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Kiss & Tell&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Kiss & Tell&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0