Falling in love can be easy for some, but downright complicated for others. Emily does not know what to make of Max when she first meets him. Max is gay and while they are friends, she finds herself falling for him. What entails is years long love, heartbreak and wanting something you can never have. This is a candid memoir of a journey of loving and letting go. It is a short audiobook and one I would recommend to those looking for raw emotion in an unconventional love story.

Be Straight with Me by Emily E. Dalton is a crazy, funny, sad, and overall good time. To be honest I did not think I would like this book but the description intrigued me so I decided to give it a chance and I am so glad that I did. Dalton uses verse to tell a rollercoaster story about love, confusion, and loss. She also uses small reflections to give background on herself and why she is thinking the way she does in a given situation. I found it very interesting that Emily and Max went from frenemies to lovers in quite a short period of time and that their romance lasted on and off for over 5 years. I liked how the book was written overall and I appreciated that Dalton did not dwell on unnecessary facts. I think this memoir is perfect for anyone who is a hopeless romantic, is questioning their sexuality, or simply wants to read an amazing story about two tumultuous lovers. The only critique I would give this book is that the narrator for the audiobook was a little monotone at times and her voice changes for different characters felt a little boring and flat. Other than that minor detail I would definitely read this memoir again and recommend it 100%

*I read this book as an ARC and did so out of my own want. I was not asked or paid to promote this title*

I feel like this is something that would of happen to me, I love hard and fall even harder. I say this except for the fact that I couldn’t tell it has beautifully has the author did. I felt myself falling for him.....and and enjoying the relationship. I loved how she laid it all out in scattered beautiful words. Life isn’t always black and white is it? I loved this audiobook. The story was heartbreaking, scary, intense and REAL. This relationship was all of these things and very special, painful but special. They fell into it because at the time they totally got each other.
While I was waiting for this to end I had a knot in my chest. And to be honest I don’t know how I wanted it to end. But I couldn’t stop listening. It was very good. I highly recommend it. The narrator was awesome, clear and concise. I followed the whole thing with enjoyment.
Love and mistakes take on many forms, never forget that. And sometimes they are beautiful.

Thank you NETGALLEY and the publisher for this audiobook ARC, in exchange for my honest review. ♥️

Be Straight With Me by Emily Dalton is a memoir about love. Emily falls in love with her college best friend Max. The memoir is little notes or diary entries to Max referred to as “you.” Max usually isn’t attracted to women. Their relationship is difficult for Emily and Max. Neither knowing what their relationship means and if they can actually be attracted to each other. Emily goes through dating other boys and feeling like she didn’t fit in from childhood.

Be Straight With Me is a very interesting memoir. I really enjoyed how Emily took specific life events and told them in a way that could relate to anyone. Emily always felt like she didn’t fit in. Some of the earliest memories in this memoir are from elementary school.

I listened to the audiobook with narration by Kate Rudd and thought she did a great job.

Thank you NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Audio for Be Straight With Me.

This is such a beautiful memoir about a relationship that begins in university and spans young adulthood, spliced with fragments of previous and concurrent relationships. Presented it poetic verse it makes for a quick read. A rare portrait demonstrating how you can be in love with a person, even if on paper and in society it makes no sense.
The audio version of this book does not lose any of the magic of the layout of the verses and the cadence of the narrator emphasises the beauty of Dalton's words even more so.

"I'm having trouble determining whether
you fascinate me because I'm scared of you
or I'm scared of you because you fascinate me.

But also
I think I'm coming to realize
this is all just your way
of commanding order over the chaos,
keeping people at arm's length, and
holding your wildest cards
close to your chest.

Because how can anyone ever judge you
if they have no idea what you're saying?"

- An excerpt from a poem 'I Don't Like To Admit It, But'.

Thank you Andrews McMeel and NetGalley Audio for providing me with an audiobook in return for honest feedback.

Note: This review is only limited to the audio quality, it's experience and the Narrator. You can find the link to the review on Goodreads and Instagram.

What makes poems different from prose when you are reading it out loud? Generally, the enunciation of each word or a sentence demands an emotive tone in the context of a poem more than it does in prose. Story-telling found in the prose is not the case when it comes to poems, even when the poem/poems in the context are reminiscing and passing down one's story. The point is, reading prose and reading poetry are poles apart in so many aspects - one has to pass down the emotions of one such experience than retell the moment that has occurred. Sadly, many moments blurred the lines that separate poetry from prose, in this audio narrated by Kate Rudd.

For someone who has read the book and wrote an honest review earlier, I want to quote myself to remind why I found this audiobook unjustifiable to this poetry collection:
I said, and I quote: "It is really hard for me to connect personally with memoir poetry unless the imagery is equally focussed on the emotions and the thought processes along with the experience. Or else, it would be nothing but prose. That is not the case with Emily as she weaves her story with poetry in a hypnotising way: transporting you to her world and making you experience it vividly. The intimate look into her experience, with her poetry style, leaves an everlasting impression."
When I hit play, I expected a similar experience, but I didn't experience anywhere near to that. I cannot deny that Kate Rudd narrated it in a way in a gripping tone, but it felt amiss on the basis of earlier mentioned views.

I said, and I quote: "Even though usually poetry reads are quick and gets finished in one sitting, this one just had to be set down at some points because it became quite emotionally overwhelming for me."
I cannot stress enough on how much I was disappointed at those poems or moments that I found emotionally overwhelming and soul-stirring earlier when they came off bland narrated by the narrator. What I think of the book is restricted to my individual opinion but what the book consists emotionally is universal, in a broad sense, but universal, no matter what. That failed to reach the narrator's tone and impressions many times.

I didn't quite hate the audiobook, it was alright but it could've been better. But, that will not stop me from recommending this audiobook. Kate Rudd does help you navigate through the collection with her gripping tone and I'm sure she has nailed the narration of her previous audiobooks including John Green's works. She was quite not for this collection, though.