BLOG TOUR: Nate Plus by Kevin van Whye (BOOK REVIEW) || Lekker, my bru!

I thought about which South African slang to use in the title 😄 Lekker, my bru means ‘cool, my dude’. Plus I couldn’t think of something else 😄

Thank you so much TBR Beyond and Tours and Beyond Tours for having me on the Blog Tour! 

Disclaimer: I received this book from the blog tour company (TBR and Beyond Tours) and the publisher in return for a free and honest review. The tour banner and other book tour blog information (purchase links, author information etc) are provided by TBR and Beyond Tours. The book’s synopsis is taken from Goodreads. Any opinions expressed are my own.

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Title: Nate Plus One
Author: Kevin van Whye
Year Published: 2022
Number of Pages: 256 pages
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Cover Art/Designer: Kingsley Nebechi
Genre: Young Adult ~ Contemporary ~ Romance ~ LGBTQ+ 

Stars:
Links: Goodreads|| The Storygraph
Format read in: E-Arc (Netgalley through a blog tour company)
CW/TW: Homophobia, suspected cheating (kiss)

The gorgeous new feelgood LGBTQ+ romantic comedy from the author of Date Me, Bryson Keller!

Two boys. Two bands. Two worlds colliding.

Nate Hargraves – stage-shy singer-songwriter – is totally stoked for his cousin’s wedding in South Africa, an all-expenses-paid trip of a lifetime. Until he finds out his sleazeball ex-boyfriend is also on the guest list.

Jai Patel – hot-as-hell high school rock-god – has troubles too. His band’s lead singer has quit, just weeks before the gig that was meant to be their big break.

When Nate saves the day by agreeing to sing with Jai’s band, Jai volunteers to be Nate’s plus-one to the wedding, and the stage is set for a summer of music, self-discovery, and simmering romantic tension. What could possibly go wrong . . . ?

‘One of the most adorable, big-hearted, charming books in existence’ – Becky Albertalli, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda, on Date Me, Bryson Keller! 

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Another really quick read and another one that I really loved! I hope I can carry on with these quick reads that I really love. This one was a heartfelt, sweet read about two friends falling in love.

As I’ve said before, I’m just not really a fan of the friends-to-lovers but I think it’s due to how it’s normally written. Luckily it wasn’t the case in Nate Plus One. I very much enjoyed the trope and definitely would’ve liked the book to have been longer. Even if it would just have been more South African things to fill the pages.

Speaking of South African things, I loved seeing all the nods and little things – even if they didn’t come down to Cape Town (I live near Cape Town and I don’t remember Durban very well).

I laughed when they heard ‘robots’ and were very confused because, yes, we do call traffic lights robots. (don’t ask why, I don’t know why). I loved they included a braai (like a barbeque, but just better) but I would have loved the braai to be longer – both as in more written and chronologically longer. It’s a running joke that braais take forever. You could go to a friend’s house at 2pm and only eat the cookd food around 11pm. I’m quite serious 😂.

There was a point where the aunt explained a Hadeda to the boys and I laughed because they’re absolutely awful and I hate them. On another ‘South African note’ the book mentioned Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu can be seen walking around with his wife. Tutu passed away last year, and so did Leah (his wife)… But also we don’t know which year the book is set in so they might still be alive?

The plot was unfortunately a bit over the place and confusing. The synopsis made it seem like there would be fake dating? And even as I read, I kept waiting for them to start up their fake dating agreement, but it never happened?

And when they got to South Africa the plot also fell apart a bit? It’s like it didn’t know what part of the plot to work on. That didn’t deter me from loving the book, so I’m glad about that!

While I loved what we were given, I do think the book would be better if it were longer. Even 50 pages would’ve been very helpful. Either more adventures in South Africa – them eating rusks, them eating biltong. Or even more bonding with Nate’s family (except for the homophobic uncle. YOU, I hope loadshedding hits you at every turn).

I loved the close friendship of Nate and Jai and the way it quickly turned into a sweet relationship! It felt natural, super sweet, like they’ll have cute moments with each other in the future! They also treat each other like equals and that’s a favourite thing of mine to see in relationships.

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Just as a side note, Nate called The Devil Wears Prada old and I’m just done with the youth 😭. On another side note, I would’ve laughed my head off at seeing them try to get their heads around loadshedding. Have you heard of this book? It looks really cute, right?

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indigo | IndieBound

About the Author: Kevin van Whye was born and raised in South Africa, where his love for storytelling started at a young age. Kevin is the author of Date Me, Bryson Keller. He lives in Johannesburg, and when he’s not reading, he’s writing stories that give his characters the happy rom-com endings they deserve. Goodreads