Lab Partners by M. Montogomery is a prime example of "the concept is good and the execution was alright." I read this book while it was on Wattpad and loved it so it's safe to say I was looking forward to this a TON. To be completely honest I gave it a 4/5 because while it met my expectations, it didn't exceed them. I prefer to structure my reviews in pros and cons which are as follows:

Pros:
- Great relationship between the two MCs, Jordan and Elliot
The main characters have a relationship that is interesting, meaning worthwhile. I found myself wanting to root for Jordan and Elliot during the trials and tribulations of their relationship. I also found myself angry at all the homophobes and nay-sayers who didn't think they should be together. Apart of creating compelling characters is making them relatable to your audience and I think the author succeeds at that.

- Fluid storyline
The storyline is solid and has a good foundation for most of the book. I never felt swept away in all of the details and Montogemery uses just the right amount of exposition in order to get readers interested.

Cons:
- Mediocre ending
Though the plot and characters were well constructed, the ending I felt was more rushed. There seemed to be a rush to wrap the book up and seal all of the plot holes that readers were waiting for an answer for.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Lab Partners and am looking forward to what the author has in store for us next!

The premise of this book sounded really cute, but unfortunately, the book itself just feels like a first draft. The writing style was kinda repetitive, and the characters were not very fleshed out.

A really cute romance but unfortunately the writing didn't quite do it for me despite enjoying the characters and how the story was progressing.

This was a fun read with such a cute premise! I will likely be adding this title to our library's collection.

A sweet story! Very enjoyable.

Thank you to NetGalley for my copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was such an amazing book! It made me smile, cry, and blush while I read it. Eli and Jordan were just so cute and the chemistry was just ...ugh so great! I also loved how Eli loved to cook cause yay food. This was a great book about self discovery and the struggles LGBTQ+ members face with bullying and hate crimes and coming out. What happened to Eli and Jordan was heartbreaking but I'm glad with how the book ended. I also really loved the support from Eli's family and Holiday. Overall this was an amazing book and I highly highly recommend it!

I don't enjoy much books with a lot of bullying and this one had a lot of it. The mc is targeted and it's made as if he deserves it somehow. I don't know how to explain it.
The romance could've been better told. I found myself not really cheering for them to be happy. The pace was a bit slow and the ending rushed. It had the potential but sadly it wasn't really for me.

Quick and easy read, but nothing new or really exciting in the plot or characters. The lack of resolve for serious matters by the end did not sit well with me, especially how the school "handled" the bullying and homophobia.

Not the best I've ever read.
I had a huge issue with "convincing" someone they're gay, rather than letting them discover on their own. Honestly an enormous turnoff for me. It entirely divorced me from the story emotionally.

This was such a good book! I didn't expect to love it as much as I did. Eli and Jordan are lovable characters, and I loved the plot and how it was explored in this book.

tw: homophobia, bullying, assault, alcoholism

I find myself having very mixed feelings about this novel. While the initial premise of an LGBT high school romance appealed to me, I felt let down by the writing style and the way serious topics were largely brushed over by the author.

The thing I enjoyed most about this book was the characterisation of the main ensemble. Elliot's struggle with coming to terms with his sexuality and stress over his future were very relatable to me as a teenager, and I found myself empathising with him despite having largely varied experiences with these struggles myself. For the most part, interactions between Elliot and Jordan were lighthearted and innocent, and it was enjoyable to read a work where the two main characters wholeheartedly liked one another without exhibiting any major red flags in their relationship.

However, my like of the novel ends there. The reason it fell short for me was largely because of the way serious matters were not adequately resolved. Specifically, the school's lack of support for Elliot despite being aware of the physical assault, bullying and homophobia that he was faced with everyday did not sit right with me - a brief mention of a teacher standing behind Elliot did not reassure me that the school had "handled" it. The resolution of the novel was dissatisfying and uncomfortable, seeing as one bully was outed and another's actions were entirely justified in light of family issues surrounding alcoholism. If this novel is targeting a teen demographic, seeing resolutions to these issues handled the way they were has the potential to be extremely harmful, as it almost appears to trivialise bullying, assault and homophobia.

On the whole, while this had a lot of potential, I felt as though this potential was not met due to the quality of the writing. With some minor edits to the novel's resolution, I'm sure that it could be greatly improved. My ultimate rating: 2/5 stars.

p.s. Thank you to Netgalley and MacMillan Publishing for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review :)

I'm so excited when I received this book but the hyped I get is not quite what I expect. The story flow was good but I kinda feel like it has more to blow, to see, and to touch. Characters are great but the ending was a bit odd for me to tell if this is a good gay story. Nevertheless, it's still a cute and fun story to read.

Elliot Goldman has spent his life in a small town in southwestern Michigan. He’s mostly been content with his lot. Sure, his parents are both overachievers who put in long hours at their high power jobs and his sister tested out of two years of highschool. But Elliot can cook just about anything and arguably his best feature is one most often unsung: he’ll sacrifice himself to save someone else from the pain of bullying. That last part is nothing new. When a group of boys started picking on his sister in grade school, Elliot went out of his way to draw their attention to him and away from her. Now they’re all in high school, but just like Elliot has grown, so has the intensity of the bullying. Despite sympathy from several of the staff at school, Elliot just wants to keep his head down and his nose clean and make it out of high school. He knows any intervention will only end in more severe bullying.

And there is a bright spot. A transfer student named Jordan Hughes gets assigned as Elliot’s lab partner in AP Chemistry. Not only is Jordan a whiz at their assignments, but he’s actually…nice. He’s actually interested in being Elliot’s friend and not even the bullies will deter him. It takes a while for Elliot to believe anyone wants to be his friend, but Jordan persists. And soon, they’re hanging out on the regular. Suddenly, Elliot finds himself enjoying his senior year of high school far more than he thought possible. Until Jordan kisses him. Elliot never thought about dating a boy—he never thought about dating anyone. As much as he likes Jordan, Elliot is confused about the boundaries between friends and boyfriends. Just when he’s overthinking things and prepared to lose the only friend he’s ever really had, Jordan manages to be exactly as patient as Elliot needs. But having a secret boyfriend won’t stay secret for long. When the bullies suspect, and later confirm, that Elliot and Jordan are indeed an item, the bullying escalates into outright assault. Hopefully Elliot and Jordan can find a way to put an end to it once and for all without involving the police.

I rather enjoyed Lab Partners. Personally, the setting reminded me of my own high school years in a tiny town in neighboring Wisconsin and I could really identify with the culture and the idea of a school being too small for actual cliques. I thought Montgomery did a great job describing the setting and the events of high school students. Because this is told in first-person, we get the clearest picture of Elliot. He strikes me as someone who is alone and maybe a little bit lonely, but doesn’t fully understand what he’s missing until Jordan comes into his life. His routine highlights how he’s often home alone and making dinner for his family by himself most week nights. I thought it was interesting how clearly in absentia his parents/sister were, yet that doesn’t cause strife in the family (and we actually do see all these people on page, so he’s not cast as a complete de facto orphan).

When it comes to character building, I thought Montgomery really took the time to massage Elliot into a multi-dimensional person. For me, I found his self-discovery and acceptance of being attracted to boy to be well thought out and explored on page. His reactions go through what I imagine are not unusual ones for people just discovering their identities: Elliot is in denial he could be outside the heteronormative default, then gets curious about how he could be gay, then embraces his new identity. However, the sweetness was a bit marred for me by none other than Jordan. In general, he’s a very likeable character. He honestly seems interested in Elliot as a person first. But as soon as Jordan makes is clear to Elliot that Jordan is interested in Elliot romantically, I thought Jordan as a character shifted. Maybe I read too much into it, but it felt like a lot of Jordan’s behavior shifted from “I am your friend” to “I am your friend and I will convince you we should be boyfriends.” It came across as a bit unrelenting, like when decides he’s going to help “convince” Elliot he’s gay, or he tells Elliot he’s “in denial […] and I’m going to help fix that.” Maybe it’s supposed to balance out when Elliot later asks Jordan to “convince” him, but I found this part of Jordan’s character somewhat distasteful.

In addition to the self-discovery/coming out themes in the book, there is a strong thread that covers high school bullying. Personally, I found it rather marked that Elliot often mentions he intentionally makes himself the target of bullies so that others won’t draw the bullies’ attention…yet no one else seems to see, understand, and/or care that Elliot does this. It is incredibly in light of the fact that Elliot has done this for literally years. Equally incredible is how, even when Elliot suffers a very intense beating that left him with a broken nose and several bruised ribs (which occurred on school property, no less), no one seems to raise an eyebrow. Montgomery gives Elliot an intense desire to keep the bullying under wraps—like he’s performing a public service (which, sure). But when the taunting and name calling escalates into physical encounters that leave Elliot bloodied and bruised, I found it hard to believe all the adults concerned (parents and school personnel) would continue to turn a blind eye. For anyone who is sensitive to graphic depictions of physical abuse/bullying, this may not be a great selection for you.

Overall, I thought the themes of coming out as gay and high school bullying were very topical. The high school setting was relatable and the characters were interesting; I liked the suggestion of opposites attract between smart Jordan and Elliot, who is a self-imposed loner. The ending neatly wraps up the bullying thread and leaves our MCs in a positive place. All in all, I’d say this is a good read for anyone who likes reading stories about high schoolers or the themes mentioned above (again, noting that there is pretty graphic on-page description of physical bullying).

This book was enjoyable but hard to read at times because of the bullying that happens.Lab Partners follows two high school boys, Elliot and Jordan, who were partnered in Chemistry class by their teacher. They become friends and slowly fall in love. Overall it was enjoyable and kept my attention but as I said previously the bullying in the book made it hard to read as someone I am someone was bullied heavily in their past.

How much I enjoyed Lab Partners took me by surprise.

Lab Partners was such an easy book to get into and fall in love with. From page 1, I fell in love with Eliot. As evidence of Montgomery’s merit, I relished all the clichés and the high school tropes, as Montgomery still made them feel fresh and exciting.

Montgomery’s style is one I absolutely adored in this novel. Eliot and his life feel so very real; Eliot’s fear and resistance to discussing his future feels so familiar and honest. The book is a quiet one, allowing the reader to bask in the mundane details of behaviour and the objects around him, feeling like we truly share his life and be with him for few hours reading time of the book, but as the reader, we also get to experience the thrills of exploring one’s sexuality and of first love.

The novel does not shy away from just how severely Eliot is being bullied, and as I reader, so much of the time I wanted to reassure Eliot that he does not deserve it and it is not okay. I appreciated that the novel took the stance that bullying is something one should never have to endure.

Something that hit me during the novel is the challenge of breaking out of the roles we always play. Eliot initially thinks of himself as an island, making dinner, watching TV on his own and going to and from school, and it is a hard habit of thinking he needs to break. He is caught in a stasis, and it is the introduction of Jordan which helps him find the strength to stop believing that about himself.

Overall, this quiet romance and character exploration is something I highly recommend. I already cannot wait to reread the book and get to experience the connection Eliot has with Jordan and his sister again.

This book could have been so much more then it was. The premise was super cute but the execution was not the best in a couple of ways.

Lab Partners follows two high school boys, Elliot and Jordan, who were partnered in Chemistry class by their teacher. They become friends and slowly fall in love.

One was that it was just overly detailed which made it a slog to get through. For example, there were a few pages that were just dedicated to boiling spaghetti. Another was the bullying. Elliot is an outcast at his school and he got bullied by three stereotypical jocks. I really don't understand why almost every single LGBTQ+ character I've read has been bullied... And no one did anything to stop the bullies, not even his own parents. There was also the part with Jordan and him basically saying that he'll convince Elliot he's gay which rubbed me the wrong way.

Overall, this book definitely needed to go through another round of editing and revisions. There were a few plot/character inconsistencies as well.

I loved the idea of this book, the cover, an LGBTQ+ read with a great storyline... but the book just seemed rushed to me in parts. I liked Lab Partners, but I didn't love it.

The story centres around the main character Elliot Goldman who is at high school, and when he gets a new Lab Partner whose name is Jordan. Sparks fly, friendships are made, and chemistry.

The book has a lot of bullying and homophobia from three characters who constantly target Elliot. The school seems to fail Eli constantly and never question his constant injuries.

The character of Holiday was my favourite. I wish we would of seen more of the main character Elliots twin, Ellie.

I also enjoyed the cooking aspects of the book. I'm just not sure yet what I thought about how the book wrapped up.

Full review to come.


Thank you to Netgalley, Wattpad books and Mora for the ECopy in exchange for an honest review. *

I was provided a free copy via NetGalley for an honest review.

"Lab Partners" is a book that I remember well despite having put off writing the review because I got lazy (ha). The book centers around Elliot, who is a super smart, nice kid who is good at baking and science. When a new kid at his school, Jordan, shows up . . . it's a case of "insta-love" folks.

I don't think this book is bad, in fact, I found it to be enjoyable at places and times, but overall I felt that the premise was better than the execution. For instance, I think Jordan is your typical "good guy" who really loves Elliot . . . but there was no chemistry (get it) between them. Jordan's character centers around him being the popular kid who falls in love with the "loser" and that's it. There was very little to this relationship I found worthwhile. Elliot, in the meantime - well, he's our main character. While the book does delve into schools and their handling of bullying (and their lack of) I felt that we went from "school handling on bullying is bad" to "ok they handled it" pretty quickly.

The relationship with Jordan wasn't the only one that felt underwhelming. Elliot has a twin sister, and while I did enjoy some of their relationship, this just needed more development. In fact, we are told time and time again how Elliot loves to cook and is the only one in his home to be able to cook good. This is nice and all, but much of his cooking was just the author trying to relay she indeed remembered that the book was science "centered" (Elliot cooking = us getting his inner monologue of what he was doing, regarding ingredients, temp, etc). And while we are on the subject of cooking, one of the inner conflicts stems from the fact that Elliot doesn't know how to break it to his family how he wants to go to school for culinary arts rather than . . . whatever he was told to go for ( I forgot). And we never received this scene. Never. The book ends with the bullying situation taken care of (surprise surprise one of the bullies is a "redeemable" character who is gay etc) but Elliot just never confronts his parents about this, as if the author forgot she set this plot up at the beginning.

Oh, also, Jordan has a younger brother Elliot has never met before even though the brother is a few years younger and would technically go to school with him and Jordan . . . yet he never is mentioned, or appears, with Jordan on Jordan's drive home. Idk, it feels that the author wanted to give Jordan a brother to make his family the cool and accepting family, but forgot to bring him up at the school scenes. It just all feels like the author forgot that this character was even a thing.

Overall . . . eh. Nothing special. it needed more development and another round of edits and revision.

I wanted so badly to enjoy Lab Partners, by Mora Montgomery. But I just couldn't get invested in the characters.

Unfortunately I couldn’t get into this one. Very basic plot, but not enough of a unique storyline to keep me interested. DNF.