I really enjoyed the mystery and character development in this story. Roman is a great main character - fun, feisty, and someone you really want to see succeed, all while also being a really 'true' teenager/human being (self-centred, dramatic, a bit daft at times!). What I loved about them most though was the way they actually grew up and truly found themselves as the story went on. There is another character I adored, who also saw a huge amount of self-realisation and growth, and who made some big mistakes but is still a 'good person'. I won't name them though, as it might spoil the rest of the story!
'All About Romance' managed to combine being a great LGBTQ+ contemporary read, with also being a romance and a mystery - genuinely something for everyone! It tackles quite a few big issues with a deft touch, and allows all the characters space to be flawed and to redeem themselves.
Great for teen and YA readers who want a bit of romance, a bit of mystery, and a lot of sass and style!

I could definitely feel this story wanting to be the non-binary Simon Vs, but Roman is such an annoying character that it was never able to get there. Combine that with how blindingly obvious the “mysterious” artist is and overall you have a book that's pretty subpar.

Roman really let the whole story down. I was excited for the story to feature a non-binary main character instead of them being sidelined into the best friend role but they are so selfish, so over-dramatic and honestly, during the final chapters, incredibly irritating.

I really hated that Roman basically outed two people as gay through this book, with not a single person questioning that, and I didn't understand why they were so melodramatic when Big Red was revealed to be exactly who you would expect it to be, acting as if they had wronged them in some horrific way. I couldn't really buy the romance either.

💄 All About Romance 💃

"It’s like my friends are allowed to exist because they’re just the right amount of queer, but I’m too much."

If you love the musical 'Everybody's Talking About Jamie', this book has so many similar vibes and was a genuine pleasure to read!!

Before reading, I didn't realise that the book was based on some of the author's diaries as a teen!

I love how much Roman is unapologetically themself. Even through the harshness of school and bullies, they shine bright and never back down about who they are.

"All About Romance" is full of dramatics, secrets and a ton of loveable characters with the messiness that is secondary School.

After a horrible incident that happened at the end of Year 10, Roman is hoping that Year 11 will be different, and it is. Just not the way they thought.

Being the only Nonbinary kid in their school has been a tough journey. However, when anonymous postcards start appearing in Roman's locker from 'Big Red' and brilliant graffiti begins appearing around the school, they believe that maybe someone is on their side after all. But who could it be?

Could it be JJ? Their somewhat secret boyfriend/lover of last year who was the cause of Roman's end of term misery? Is this his way of apologising?

Roman needs to find out. And if JJ won't tell them, then they'll get the truth by other means.

This was such a brilliantly written book about a Nonbinary character and the messiness of secondary school. I loved Roman's friends and also the character that we and Roman are introduced to!

I absolutely adored Roman's younger brother, Mikey, who is disabled (his disability isn't specified but he is non verbal and a wheelchair user!) You can tell home much Roman loves their  brother throughout the book and it was just such a nice addition to have to take a quick break from all of the other less cheerful events.

This is the first time I'm reading a book from this author and I genuinely really enjoyed it and will definitely read more of Tawse's work!

Thank you so much to the publishers for providing me with an eArc of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Sometimes a so-called YA book is actually more of a children's book, with younger readers "reading up" about the experiences of 16 or so year olds. I'm sure I did the same. So this school story read a bit young and was ultimately, again, good for representation but thin on character and meaningful plot for older readers.

Roman is non-binary in a small Northern town in the UK - and one thing I did really appreciate was its rooting in the North-East, with mam (for mum, or mom as we say in the Midlands) and other words and sentence patterns. Last term, Roman had a disastrous romance with the football captain, who denied everything when push came to shove and made his life hell. After a breakdown in the summer, they're back, and fortunately have long-suffering Solange and Adam, the only other out and proud LGBTQ kids in their year, for support. Pining after JJ, they don't notice new boy Beau reaching out for friendship. Then weird giant pictures start appearing and of course Roman starts getting the wrong end of the stick, otherwise we wouldn't have a story.

Some important themes here and I did also like that Roman's younger brother, who lives with an (unspecified) disability and is non-verbal and uses a wheelchair, is represented reasonably realistically, and we can tell the other main characters are good people because they interact with him positively, which is, after all, something you can take into life. Roman's mum and their relationship is portrayed nicely and again, good to have that representation even if it's a bit young for me (who is not the intended audience, after all!).

I'll be reviewing this on my blog on 10 July

All About Romance is a light, fun, and quirktaclular read with loveable and fun characters and as bright as the pride flag from start to finish. We follow Roman, who is such a funny character. I loved every second spent with him in this book. Roman had a summer romance last year, which ended confusingly for him, and he suffered emotional trauma as a result at the hands of others. When Romans school gets graffitied by a mysterious person named 'Big Red', Roman can't help but feel they're trying to tell him something, but who is it and what are they trying to say? When an unlikely friendship strikes up with a boy in Roman's class, he starts to feel more at ease with this new friend and less alone. With funny scenes and emotions to boot, this is a fun and heartwarming story, and I really hope we get to visit Romans' world again one day (maybe at college!).
I read Daniels first book Fairy Boys as a debut a few years ago and I can see how far he has come as a writer and I'm sure this is just a taste of what fun will come next.

I don't have a lot to say about this one. I didn't like it all that much and it just felt a little all over the place and I couldn't bring myself to connect to Roman. That being said there is a lot of excellent representation in this and some great points. It just wasn't for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'All About Romance' by Daniel Tawse.

'All About Romance' by Daniel Tawse has such a beautiful and promising concept, I found myself in awe of the characters and how the story unfolded. The reason as to why my review is only a 3 is purely due to preference. I didn't enjoy the writing style, it wasn't for me. The story? Beautiful. The characters? Beautiful. The pacing? Beautiful. I just really didn't connect with the writing style. I still recommend that everyone give this book a go because it is a beauty.

I really enjoyed All About Romance by Daniel Tate!
It was a really cute YA Queer romance.
It reminded me a bit of Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda which I also really enjoyed.
I really recommend this book!
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

A wonderfully sweet YA romance centred around a non binary teenager that is all kinds of swoonworthy.

All About Romance is a YA novel about a non-binary teenager in the North East looking for their big romance. Roman Bright lives in Tynemouth with their mum and brother, appearing confident and uncaring at their school and around their two best friends, but still unsure after they were messed around last summer by sporty JJ. When anonymous postcards signed by 'Big Red' appear in Roman's things and then Big Red seems to be painting murals around school, maybe something exciting is happening to Roman, but will they get too caught up in the excitement, even with new boy Beau to keep them grounded?

As a queer YA book set in the north of England, All About Romance definitely stands out, showing one teenager's experiences of growing up different in a small town and trying to deal with that. Consequently, Roman is your classic flawed young adult protagonist: they frequently don't see things from other people's points of view and get caught up in their own ideas of what is happening. Supporting characters like Roman's mum and best friends are there to try and help them have a bit of perspective, and also to provide support to Roman, showing that despite difficulties at school, there's still people around them who love them for who they are. It's good to see Roman as a teenage non-binary character whose story is not about coming out, and who is allowed to be a sometimes annoying teenager who throws out too many pop culture references.

The main narrative, about the mysterious wall art and postcards, is pretty predictable (it's easy to work out almost instantly who it is) and fairly similar to Simon Vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda, so will appeal to people who like that romcom kind of plotline where you know that the protagonist is misunderstanding something, but don't yet know the full story. A few elements of the writing style didn't work for me (there were a lot of asides in brackets, possibly too many), but this book brings what people are likely looking for from the genre: a heartwarming story that still has some tough moments for characters, exploring queer characters at school and how they ultimately carve their own spaces. As an adult, it makes me hope that queer teenagers do get to have the freedom to make mistakes and be themselves and grow, even though I'm not really the age of the target audience of the book itself.

A sweet queer YA romance about Roman Bright, a non-binary 15-year old living out his Love, Simon fantasy in Tynemouth. I loved the representation!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher as usual.