What is your opinion?
An amazing, insightful & sad story
"A touching and moving story highlighting the absolute awfulness of toxic family and uncaring, judgmental religion. A story showcasing homophobia & bigotry. No fake or Pollyanna behaviours or sugarcoating here - instead, awful people continue with their consistently appalling behaviour. A happy ending for the gay couple who persisted against all sorts of unreasonable and unacceptable behaviour - their triumph was at the expense of the toxic family "
Last Chance - MVP Awards Review
"This story will break your heart from page one and I wish I could say it will get better, but the love is there. It is real and tangible between the two men. Everything this couple goes through has you rooting for them the whole time. Their fight is such a real issue that so many couples face and I am so grateful that this story was told. Thank you for writing it. Without giving too much away, I wish things could have turned out differently, but the reality is… well, it’s real. Watch those tense changes. I’d recommend sticking to past tense so that those amazing and natural time jumps can continue to be as well done as they are. Keep up the great work, author! Well done! "
Love conquers all
"Joel and Luka loved each other. Joel’s family did everything possible to break them up. Joel has brain cancer. Joel and Luka take in Joel’s cousin Jaime who was kicked out for being gay. This isn’t the half of the misery that Joel and Luka experience yet throughout they are loving, kind and generous. They are love."
Amazing❤️
"Really love this story..❤️All the best !"
Great
"I loved the theme of the story"
Good story
"I love the story and can´t wait to read more. love the characters are you can definitly fall in love with the characters =)"
Last Chance
"This review was written in the context of the MVP Awards and refers to the first seven chapters of the story: According to literary post-structuralism, one should not be too distracted by the usual rules of writing techniques as long as the reading is engaging. I have the feeling that this is the case with "Last Chance". Although I recommend some polishing in some areas, I cannot overlook the fact that I "liked" the narrative – "liked" it in the sense that it was compelling with regard to plot, subject matter and themes. The characters are very relatable, the dialogue captivating and yes, also devastating. I read an earlier review and agree that this is a story that needs to be told and should be read by people to break the vicious cycle of homophobic and discriminatory behaviour that our society has not been able to free itself from even in the 21st century. There is a strong message in the story and I believe the impact can be enhanced by a little revision here and there. Keep up the good work, author!"
Nice plot
"This book has a lot of potential and a nice plot, blurb and cover. I was touched from the message delivery and the theme of the book. The problem is with the typing errors. Instead of saying 'I got shy and pulled my head down' , 'try the color rose to my cheek and i couldn't meet his eyes.' Try to express the feeling rather the action. This could help with strong reader interaction. Anyways it was a nice read and experience."
Last Chance
"This gripping romance book boasts excellent character dynamics and a well-developed relationship between the protagonist and his love interest. I adored the interactions between the protagonist and Luca— so wonderfully written. Their interactions are by far my favorite element of the story! Well done! However, although the secondary characters could use more depth, and the overall writing style would benefit from some linguistic embellishments, this story portrays the tragic reality of cancer with genuine precision. Notably, these one-dimensional secondary characters are ever-present in the protagonist's interactions with his so-called friends who mainly appear stereotypical (with a few exceptions). Lastly, the ending concludes the story with a satisfying yet bittersweet finale that provides a keen insight into the difficulties of having judgmental parents. Non-accepting parents with overtly traditional values is a relevant issue for youth these days, and I greatly appreciate how this tale explores these nuances. Overall, this is an emotionally riveting story narrating a couple's triumph over an illness. A fantastic LGBTQ2S+ read perfect for lovers of the drama and romance genres! Note: This is a judge's review written following the Roadmap Awards writing competition, round three."
Very good!
"I really enjoyed reading through this! A heartbreaking story that really pulled at my heart strings a number of times. I completely felt for what these characters were going through and just wanted to give them a hug! I thought the plot of this was good, it moved slow in parts, but I enjoyed the contemplative moments. It made the characters feel real, as well as their relationships to one another. I think Jamie was my favourite. And I liked that Jamie’s dad came around. I think it would have been a little cliché if no one from the family broke away and supported Joel and Jamie, so I’m glad you added that bit in. A bittersweet ending, but I’m really glad you decided to end it the way you did. Things don’t always pan out with families, and I love that your work brought that to light. And (spoiler for anyone who hasn’t read to the end) I’m so glad things worked out for Joel. He deserves the whole world. And Luca too. Love them both. Your writing style was nice and simple, and you could do a little embellishing here and there in my opinion, but the story flowed really nice. My biggest piece of advice is to watch your spelling and grammar. It’s little things, but they add up and they did pull me out of the story a few times. But with some editing you’ll be good!"
Very well done!
"I’m going to go ahead and state my ignorance of this type of book. I have never read anything like it. I usually stick to literary fiction, young adult fantasy, or even some upmarket fiction. This is the first LGBTQ+ romance I have ever read. And being that I am not necessarily in the LGBTQ+ community it is an interesting read for me. I love that this story gives me the first person perspective, which allows me to better grasp the emotions to which the narrator is going through. I also love that the relationship is so well built before the climax, allowing us to really feel for the main character because we knew how he felt when he loved him. It’s a great story that shows the difference between the love of families who are open minded and accepting and those who do not. It was well written. Great cliffhangers at the end of the chapters that made you want to read on. And very importantly, it showed but didn’t tell. Good characters, good relationships, good use of POV. Very good book."
Amazing
"I fell in love with Lucas character and ended up really rooting for him. This is was marvellously written and I can tell that you put lots of love into these characters. I cannot wait to see more of your work."
Emotionally gripping
"Yay, I think this story is just so cute! As much as I write horror and adventure and utterly grotesque things I’m still a girl and deep down we all secretly enjoy a tear jerking love story. I love how magnetizing the characters are! Like, honestly I don’t read much of this genre and I was still drawn into the story because I was interested in seeing where their relationship would go! Things to watch out for is switching between tenses. Pick one then go through and make sure it all matches up. Also, I really don’t think you should tell us in the synopsis that Joel is going to get cancer. I think you should leave it more illusive because it will hit us so much harder to fall in love with these characters and then have it dropped on us that one is dying."
