With thanks to Netgalley and the author Racquel Marie

Sadly Ophelia After All was a DFN book for me, I made it to about 50 pages into it before I had to give up as I didn't enjoy the writing style.

This is beautifully written. It is about love and friendship. The main character is a delight and is so well developed. The dynamics between characters was perfect.

I wasn't totally won over by this book sadly. The dialogue simply didn't work for me, and I found Ophelia difficult to read as a whole.

I can't speak to the Cuban representation but it was interesting to see Ophelia also had an Irish parent. Her exploring her Irish heritage would have been lovely to see.

I also feel the theme of prom is one that has been almost exhausted in YA novels, and it didn't bring anything new to the issue for me.

Ophelia Rojas is officially an icon. Her development was beautiful to see, the interactions between her friends and the blossoming love story. She was brought to life and I felt so proud to see her progress! Talk about getting attached to fictional characters....

I wasn't sure about this in the first few chapters but it definitely grew on me.

I loved the friendships in this and how they changed and developed through the story.

I really enjoyed seeing how Ophelia worked through her feelings and changes in the relationship with her parents.

I've really been fluctuating with contemporary lately, more interested in adult than YA, but this book reminded me of why I loved YA contemporary when I was younger. I know this would've been a 5 star had I read it in 2016, and if I'm honest, it was close now - probably a 4.5/4.75. (I'm very picky with what gets my 5 stars now!)

Ophelia felt REAL. Usually "boy crazy" characters don't resonate with me, as someone who is likely somewhere under the ace umbrella. Maybe I've done more growth and just understand it better now, that it is a true experience people have and just because I've never really felt a crush the way book characters do it doesn't make it unrealistic. Regardless, I really enjoyed this and the writing style.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

As the daughter of a professor of Shakespearean literature, Ophelia Rojas was always bound to be named after one of the Bard's heroines, and Ophelia suits her quite well. Boy crazy, and with a green thumb, Ophelia loves spending time with her friends or in her rose garden. So when she starts developing feelings for the cute and quiet Talia Sanchez, all her plans for prom and the future go out the window. And as her friendship group starts to implode and unravel, Ophelia will discover that the path to true love never did run smooth, and her last few months at high school will be a ride.

As soon as I heard about this book, I knew I needed to read it. And from the very first page, I was hooked. Ophelia was one of the most relatable characters I've ever read. She's not perfect, and life got messy at times for her, but she was just right for this book, and the plot. She discovers that being a teenager isn't easy, especially when big decisions are on the horizon, and that sexuality is not something that is black and white. Her heritage, and her goals were sometimes in conflict with each other, and her history as 'boy crazy' is a hard one to shake off. I loved the dynamics in the friendship group, as it was clear that Ophelia had different relationships with the different people, and they weren't always the 'best' of friends. Being a teenager is hard, and the author showed that so perfectly in this book. I'm going to recommend that my students read this book, because honestly, I wish I'd had it when I was a teen. A truly great debut!

I found this book slow to start but I really liked it. The characters are relatable and well written. A wonderful YA book that I would recommended to all readers.

Ophelia is a girl living her high-schooler life as best as possible--at first. She's known as the flower girl, always wears clothes that have flowers in them, and is dedicated to tend to her own garden filled with roses. She's also known as someone who ALWAYS has a crush, so when she doesn't have it for quite some time, everyone around her becomes suspicious.

This book was starting 3 weeks before prom. Ophelia and her gang helped Lindsay run a campaign as prom queen candidate. But then she met a girl named Talia, and everything started to get messy. The thing is, Talia makes her question herself, her sexuality, and it affects her life. She started to take homophobic comment personally, she closed herself off from her parents and friends because they already had certain images of her (boy-crazy and lover of flower). She was afraid that they wouldn’t get it.

The story delved deep into queerness interwoven with high-school drama. High-school drama ITSELF was messy but combined with queerness? Just read this book to find out. But more than that, we got to see self awareness, lovely family, and heartwarming friendship.

The only thing that bugged me was the occasional Spanish dialogue. Yes I could translate it but it still disturbed my reading, nonetheless.

Overall this was a good book, amazing debut, and recommended for those who struggled to acknowledge their identity.

Ophelia After All is a gorgeous LGBTQ novel, bursting with beautiful language and original characters. (And look at that cover!! How incredible is that? It's so pretty I knew I had to read the book as soon as I saw it.)

As our main character, Ophelia is likeable and lovely to read about; she has great relationships with other characters, particularly her dad, and her optimism and status as a hopeless romantic makes her very endearing. I believe anyone who has suffered the emotional rollercoasters that come alongside teenage crushes will find a way to relate to her, even if somewhat painfully. They might also appreciate her self-deprecation that's paired with quick humour!

Her process of discovering her sexuality is beautifully written, intertwined with complicated friendships and parental drama as well as flower motifs and Shakespearean references, and I found myself noting down some particularly gorgeous quotations throughout the arc that I knew I'd want to reread over and over. She isn't the only engaging character though; her, Agatha and Lindsay show three very different sides of femininity and what it means to be a 21st century teenager, and Wesley is the most adorable, charming male character I've read about in a long time. That's not to mention Talia, who I can see being my fiancé's favourite character when they get around to reading it!

My favourite thing about the novel, however, is the ending. I'm aware that that sounds very much like a cop-out but I'll leave spoilers* further down to justify my reasoning. Racquel Marie did a brilliant job of providing each storyline with a satisfying ending, and I'm truly thrilled to have read this book. I recommend it to anyone looking for an easy to read, enjoyable, queer-friendly novel that has as many highlighter-worthy lines as a John Green story. Please support Ophelia and her talented author!




*The main reason I like the ending so much is because we learn that Ophelia and Talia aren't the only LGBTQ main characters. Instead, throughout the final chapters, a character comes out as asexual, another bi, another aromantic and there might well have been other sexualities represented that I've forgotten. The portrayal of so many identities, particularly in characters who hadn't previously been defined by their sexualities even if they'd been hinted at, made me honestly feel emotional. I hope one day it's the norm to have so many queer characters in a single story, and in the meantime thank you Racquel Marie for making it happen in this one,

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'Ophelia After All' by Racquel Marie.

I had this book in my sights before it got published in the US so when it finally got published here in the UK, I was giddy with anticipation. And let me tell you, Racquel Marie did not disappoint. 'Ophelia After All' is jam-packed with beautiful characters who I adored - One in specific who I felt was a sign from the book gods for me and it was a bit teary.

I loved this book and I would definitely read it again and again until I wear the spine out.

Huge thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan for this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. Hands down the best book I've read this year! I really related to Ophelia and her struggle to figure out who she is. This book follows our main character Ophelia through her final year of high school. We watch her try to find herself, and keep her friends at the same time - it's harder than it sounds! I think YA contemporary is now my favourite genre. Wish I could give it more than 5 stars. I'll definitely be purchasing Ophelia after all as soon as possible and would recommend that you do the same!!

I really liked this book. It isn’t quite what it seems when you start it (which is a good thing) and I enjoyed what it had to say about discovering yourself and friendships.

I have been waiting to tread this book for so long and it didn't disappoint. We all remember what a hard time high school is evenif you fit in and this book showed that perfectly in my opinion, it was brutal, gritty, raw and messy and I believed every word that was written. The story compelled me all the way through and the characters are well developed and wonderfully flawed and brimming with agnst and uncertainty just like all teenagers are. I loved it and can't wait to read more by this author

This was a messy, heartfelt young-adult novel of queer discovery and the tumultuous way friendships grow and change just before the end of high school.

The characters were complicated and all over the place and sometimes incredibly dense- just like teenagers are. At the heart of it though they're all trying their best and it's a lovely story. I really liked this one.

This book is so messy and full of teen angst and I loved it. It's not for the children in my school due to their age range but I definitely feel that young adults would embrace and relate to it. It's full of the fear of change, of letting people down by not living up to their expectations and trying to figure out who you actually are compared to who people think you are. I love how Ophelia's friends and family embrace her despite all of the messiness. There is so much representation in this book too. With the world going the way it seems to be, this book gives me hope.

I didn't finish this book as I didn't get on with the writing style. It was very info dumpy and overly informative during dialogue which I hate.