Out of the Blue was an adorable coming-of-age story involving teenage love and struggling to find where you fit in the world. Combined with humourous characters, brilliant lgbtq+ rep and merfolk (!!), this turned into the perfect little comfort read for me. While there were certain scenes that were a littleee over the top, it is a romcom involving 16 year olds, so what else can be expected? Super cute. So much of this book hinges on physical affection. Now, I don't mean this is a super sex positive book, or these characters care about physical affection. That's all fine. What I mean is, not only does sex as a topic come up at times where it feels really strange, and not only do we get random "as a top" moments where a character is bringing up his sexual role as a personality trait (weird but okay, man), but the thing that Crest thinks about the most when it comes to the biggest decision of their entire life is all about sex. The second Crest starts considering staying on land, it's about whether or not they want to give up human physical affection, if sex is better than the mer version, etc. They even try to reconnect to their old life by jumping into the mer version of sex with someone. Like, maybe it's me and my asexuality not at all understanding why you would base literally your entire future off of sex, but it sure did feel weird and surface level. Especially because Crest does such a 180 to get there, and yet they don't have an actual character arc to mirror it. This quote may not be in the published version of this novel, it was copied from the advanced reader’s copy.) Shaffi, Sarah (8 September 2022). "Lord Ashcroft and Sun political editor to publish Liz Truss biographies". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 20 October 2022 . Retrieved 20 October 2022.

It was poorly executed, rushed and felt unrealistic. I wish the author would've taken more time and added some details. It felt particularly short compared to the long and slow middle part of the book. This review sounds harsh and more like a 2 star rating than 3 stars, but I want to point out that it isn't a bad book, especially for a debut novel. I just think my expectations were too high and that I'm not the right target audience. a b c d e f g Hinsliff, Gaby (23 November 2022). " Out of the Blue review – the rise and fall of Liz Truss". The Guardian . Retrieved 16 December 2022. Like, his decision is really "my authentic self" vs "sex." You'd give up your entire life just because you have good physical chemistry with someone?The rep is fantastic too: bi, non-binary (throughout all), gay, a sapphic relationship, big person, and more that I'm sure I'm missing mentioning right here. It's always hard to give a bad review to an author whose previous book I really like. But sadly, Out of the Blue was a massive disappointment for me, and I had to struggle to finish its last part. Thompson, Sophie (19 October 2022). " 'Out by Christmas': Keir Starmer makes hilarious swipe at Liz Truss' new 'book title' ". Indy100. The Independent . Retrieved 20 October 2022.

Baio, Ariana (19 October 2022). "Upcoming Liz Truss biography has already had its title changed". Indy100. The Independent. Archived from the original on 20 October 2022 . Retrieved 20 October 2022– via MSN.I did want a little more between Sophie and her family, especially her sister, as that seems a little forced. Having said that, it’s a relatively wide age gap, so I do sort of get it. But I think that there was room to expand a little there. And I want to know what happens next!! Not in a sequel way, but just in terms of everything in their lives 😂😂😂 I also thought the fake dating was solid, there was good communication, a well paced shifting from fake to real, and there was definitely chemistry between the characters. The strength of this book (as it was for June's other book), for me, was the representation. There is a lot to love about the characters June creates and the diversity they portray. Out of the Blue, for instance, has: Also the cult aspect of the story was just as creepy as one would expect. Though I wish it had gone more in depth, and I felt like the whole climax involving the cult was kind of laughably unbelievable (I mean,,, like,, Leah really knew the entire floor plan off the top of her head?? seems a little fake but ok), it was satisfying, and that’s all that really matters.