[Lisa’s Review]: Out of Character (True Colors #2) by Annabeth Albert

Jasper Quigley is tired of being everyone's favorite sidekick. He wants to become the hero of his own life, but that's not going to happen if he agrees to help out his former best friend turned king of the jocks, Milo Lionetti. High school was miserable enough, thanks, and Jasper has no interest in dredging up painful memories of his old secret crush.

But Milo's got nowhere else to go. His life is spiraling out of control and he's looking to turn things back around. Step one? Replace the rare Odyssey cards he lost in an idiotic bet. Step two? Tell his ex-best-friend exactly how he feels—how he's always felt.

Jasper may be reluctant to reopen old wounds, but he never could resist Milo. There's a catch, though: if Milo wants his help, he's going to have to pitch in to make the upcoming children's hospital charity ball the best ever. But as the two don cosplay for the kids and hunt for rare cards, nostalgia for their lost friendship may turn into something even more lasting...

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I read the first book in this series and loved it; naturally, this one automatically made this year’s anticipated-reads-list. And I was not disappointed. It’s a super cute, surprisingly sexy, heartfelt enemies-to-lovers romance that ticked quite a few of my ‘swoon’ boxes.

Milo and Jasper actually were best friends when they were younger, so it’s technically a friends-to-enemies-to-friends-to-lovers romance. And while that’s quite a mouthful and seems complicated, that’s what made the entire thing so real to me. Life is messy sometimes. Love isn’t always straightforward. And we all have done stuff in our teens we’ve come to regret. Also, I’m a sucker for a good redemption arc.

While Jasper has had time to come to terms with his sexuality and has already found big parts of himself and has a more positive outlook on life, Milo is still struggling on that front. However, as the story progresses, he becomes more self-aware and mature and sort of grows into these values that he knows he should have had all along – major character development here. Watching him trying and succeeding to become the man he thinks Jasper deserves had me swooning throughout the entire thing. Their relationship, being old and new at the same time, grows slowly and perfectly balances the playful banter, which the quest to acquire rare gaming cards for Milo’s brother and various cosplay adventures bring to the table, with the more serious, heavy, and significant moments.

Ultimately, this is a heartfelt, funny, and beautifully nerdy story that will leave you wanting more. Happily Ever Afer guaranteed.

Lisa

Hi! I’m Lisa. I’m twenty-three, a college student and a book lover. I spend every free minute, and most of my lectures, reading all kinds of books, which is how I ended up here. While I particularly enjoy books of the young and new adult variety, I also love historical fiction, sci-fi, fantasy, paranormal, all things romance, and one or the other classic as well. If I’m not reading, I’m either working, sleeping, binge-watching my newest obsession on Netflix, or on my way to Starbucks, to satisfy my slight caffeine addiction.