About the Book
-
Author:
- Wibke Brueggemann
- Genres:
- Contemporary
- Girl-Girl Romance
- YA Romance
Cover Story: Montell Jordan Award
BFF Charm: Big Sister
Talky Talk: Character-Driven
Bonus Factors: Community Theater, LGBTQ+ Representation
Anti-Bonus Factors: Alzheimer’s, Clueless Parents
Relationship Status: Benefactor
Content Warning: Cupid’s Revenge features a grandfather in the early stages of Alzheimer’s who goes missing at one point, discussion of the loss of a childhood friend, and absentee parents.
Cover Story: Montell Jordan
I adore this cover, from the style of the art to the unusual “tumbling” position of the people. I have no idea who’s supposed to be who, character-wise, but that doesn’t matter so much as the emotion passing between them does.
The Deal:
Matilda Taylor is the only non-creative in a household full of creative people. Her father’s an orchestra conductor, her mother a dancer, and her older sister a concert pianist. So when her best friend and neighbor Teddy asks her to tag along on an audition for a community theater production, she’s not interested. Teddy’s not a creative, either, but he’s got his eye on Katherine Cooper-Bunting, and he needs Tilly to be his wingwoman. Tilly agrees, when she gets a funny feeling after seeing Katherine at the audition, she realizes she’s going to have to put on a the performance of a lifetime if she’s going to pretend like she’s not interested in Katherine, too.
BFF Charms: Big Sister
Tilly is fun. She might not think so, but I liked her quippy sense of humor and self-deprecating nature. She’s a little too obsessed with the idea of sex, but it’s not only teenage boys who are allowed to think about that often. I appreciate her attempts to keep away from Katherine just as much as I understand her inability to do so. Her parents are terrible and haven’t been half of what she needs from them, but she’s doing surprisingly well on her own. I would love to be an older influence in her life who actually gives a damn.
Swoonworthy Scale: 7
Tilly’s attraction to Katherine is all-consuming and friendship-threatening. She can’t stop thinking about her, fantasizing about her, dreaming about her. She keeps it in her pants, so to speak, when they’re together in public, but Tilly isn’t sure that she’s going to be able to continue like that forever, even though she only met Katherine because of Teddy. Their stolen moments are filled with electricity, and even when it’s not clear what’s going to happen, you can’t help but root for them as the OTP of the novel.
Talky Talk: Character-Driven
Cupid’s Revenge is a story about disparate people and unexpected connections. Although I’ve never been an English teen, especially one who’s lived through a pandemic and come out the other side, Brueggemann’s writing made it easy to imagine. Her characters are fully realized and complex, if a little precocious, and spending time with them was fun.
I rolled my eyes. “And where did you gain this knowledge?” I asked, because he so clearly wasn’t done talking about it.
“Well, Matilda, where do you gain this knowledge when you haven’t been allowed to leave the house because a global pandemic coincided with your sexually formative years?”
I looked at him.
He looked at me.
“Fan fiction,” he said.
Ed note: I pulled this quote from an advanced review copy. The final text might be different.
Bonus Factor: Community Theater
I’m not an actor, and I’ve never wished to be, but I love the idea of theater productions that feature amateurs who do it for the love of the thing and have a wide variety and level of talents. The show in Cupid’s Revenge is a cabaret situation in which people sing, dance, and act out scenes of plays. It’s a bit messy, especially since there are only a couple of people in the group who can actually sing, dance, or act, but as a whole, it’s truly delightful. I wish I could have been in the audience to see the final show.
Bonus Factor: LGBTQ+ Representation
In addition to Tilly, who’s a lesbian, there is also a non-binary character and a few gay men in Cupid’s Revenge. The book is about the theater, yes, but Brueggemann made sure that no one in the “cast” felt like a stereotype.
Anti-Bonus Factor: Alzheimer’s
I lost my dad a few years ago after a short battle with a fast-moving form of dementia. Reading about Tilly’s grandfather, who moves in with her family at the start of the book and is dealing with the early stages of Alzheimer’s, was really hard. I had to put the book down a few times when situations felt far too familiar. Dementia is a terrible disease, and my heart goes out to anyone who has to deal with it, in any form or any way.
Anti-Bonus Factor: Clueless Parents
Tilly’s parents are two people who maybe should have never had kids. They’re not abusive or mean, but they are absent and clueless. There’s some hope for her father, who makes some improvements by the end of the book, but I’m not sure her mother will ever get better. It’s a terrible situation for Tilly, but she handles it like a champ.
Relationship Status: Benefactor
Consider me shot (with a love arrow), Book. You weren’t the easiest read, due to your difficult secondary plot line, but overall I think our time together was very well spent. I only wish I could have been in the audience to see your show, rather than just reading about it. It sounded like a hoot!
Literary Matchmaking
David Levithan’s Hold Me Closer: The Tiny Cooper Story is a queer love story that revolves around the theater.
Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka’s Always Never Yours also features theater kids and Shakespeare.
Emma Mills’s Foolish Hearts is another character-driven novel with a drama production at the heart of the plot.
FTC Full Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), but got neither a private dance party with Tom Hiddleston nor money in exchange for this review. Cupid’s Revenge is available now.
