This is the story of Jeremy, a recently-out trans guy, and his ex-boyfriend, Lukas, as they compete for Homecoming King. I really liked the plot concept of the novel and thought that it hit on some really important themes around transgender identity, sexuality, achievement, and being gentle with yourself. Although Jeremy is, as he admits, a bit of an ass, I think the reasons why are carefully laid out so it feels less annoying than it could. I thought the confused feelings around romance and how feelings manifest are spot-on for a teen romance.

My main gripe with this book is overwriting. There were points where it was overly saccharine or melodramatic, which took me out of the story. It doesn't feel realistic (like a lot of YA, IMO- not messy enough), but that is okay I think, as long as it doesn't dig too deeply in those over-the-top emotional elements. It was also too long. I think 25% needs to be cut to make it more impactful. I am also not particularly a fan of the dueling first-person narration. I think it takes a lot of work to keep the voices distinct and I think this book fails in that regard. Beyond the plot points, I couldn't see much difference between the two narrators. Sometimes, I forgot who was speaking, especially when they were both in a scene.

Overall, this was an enjoyable book that gets points for the inventive plot and important themes, but I think could deal with some tough edits to make it leaner and more impactful.

Oh, the DRAMA!

After coming out, Jeremy Harkiss is convinced that the way to prove, once and for all, that he is a man is to win Homecoming King. But his ex, Lukas Rivers, has the same goal in a last bid to make his family happy after the death of his perfect (but a jerk) older brother. A battle between the cheer captain/student body president and the football star/head of the Homecoming Committee, is going to get messy… and boy does it.

I wanted to enjoy this novel way more than I did, but I found it so stressful! It has so many things that I am interested in (transmasc protag, tiny sharp one and large soft one, TRAUMA, sorta enemies to lovers, arguably “unlikeable” character), but I found myself the entire time I was reading just begging the characters to make any choice OTHER than the ones they were making. Perhaps if I wasn’t going into this expecting a light romcom I would have felt differently, but it is definitely not light. May the Best Man Win is heavy, constantly dealing with bullying, transphobia, homophobia, ableism, toxic masculinity, and so many betrayals.

Although, I can’t say that I had a good time reading it because of the aforementioned stress, there were a lot of really great parts of the story that I liked and that will stick with me. (I'm always down for meditations on presenting when trans and what to do with anger and disappointment surrounding coming out. When Jeremy says he wants to wear Lukas like a skinsuit? Yes. I hear that. And I absolutely adored Sol, the only nonbinary character in the book... only partially because I am nonbinary, but mostly because they're great!)

This might be the perfect book for someone looking for a high drama storyline and I do hope to get the chance to read whatever ZR Ellor writes next, even if this particular one was not the perfect fit for me.

First of all, I just wanna say that this is NOT a romcom, despite what the cover and description may suggest. I'm not sure why it's marketed that way, and it definitely startled me once I got into the beginnings of the book. Trigger warnings for the book include: transphobia, homophobia, ableism, death of a family member.

This book is a split POV between Jeremy, a newly-out trans cheerleader going into his senior year determined to be crowned Homecoming King so he can prove to everyone at his traditional private school that he's a real guy, and Lukas, his football player ex-boyfriend who is struggling with his family life in the wake of his kinda crappy older brother's death and the ableism he faces at school for his autism. Lukas also wants to be Homecoming King, so he can list it on his college applications and maybe get the attention of his absent and grieving parents, who have always regarded him as lesser than his deceased "perfect" older brother.

In theory this is the main conflict of the story, and it is the vessel for so much of what happens in the book, but the real problem came from how Lukas and Jeremy interacted with their friends in their quest to become King. This is a book full of messy, realistic, unhappy feelings, and people actively treating each other like garbage and falling out of friendships. This isn't a bad thing at all but again, definitely not light and fluffy, and did make the eventual reconciliations feel more authentic.

One aspect of the book I could see as being perceived as over-the-top but that I found to be accurate, especially as a trans person myself, was Jeremy's intense anger throughout the whole book. Ellor did an excellent job writing how the built up frustration, especially at the beginning of transition when you are extremely raw and vulnerable and having the justify your existence to your loved ones and strangers and loved ones who treat you like a stranger, can spark and make it easy to lash out in what other people see as an overreaction. Which most of the time, it is, and you can even acknowledge it when you're in it, but for Jeremy especially as a teenager, doesn't make it any easier to cope with.

I also appreciated how Jeremy was allowed to be, I don't want to say an "unlikable" character because he is a teenager going through a difficult time in his life and transition, but a character allowed to make stupid mistakes and be a jerk and selfish, at times. He wasn't made to be a super sweet character with his being trans the only "personality conflict" he exhibits. He is accused of being selfish many times throughout the book in regards to his friendships,which is valid, but early transition should be a time for joyful selfishness after so long trying to please everyone else. No one should treat your friends how Jeremy did for parts of the book, but I was still glad to see some selfishness.

The reason why this is four star and not five is despite how I fond the book valuable and engaging is I don't know if I....enjoyed it? I also found the last few chapters very rushed and the way some plot points were tied up, or not, confusing and not at all in the same tone as the rest of the book, despite Ellor's excellent writing style. The book is on the longer side for a contemporary but if you're going to go for it, might as well write the ending all the way. I also wasn't a fan of how Ben and Naomi, the Asian best friends of the two main characters, were treated. It's clear in the book that the way they are being treated is terrible and Ben and Naomi aren't pushovers, but I still felt strange about how those relationships were handled.

One last thing: there's a lot of mentions, especially at the beginning of the book, of how much pain Jeremy's binder is causing him (so many I began highlighting them in my copy). To anyone reading this who is new to binding and/or considering binding: binding may be uncomfortable, but it SHOULD NOT hurt you. Listen to an old trans who's been binding daily for years, and consult one of the many fit guides from our brothers and siblings, or to the customer service at the company you are buying a binder from. Binding is an affirming way to help gender dysphoria and yes, it can make you sore and achy, but please don't let an incorrectly sized binder hurt you.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free eARC in exchange for my honest review.

While the plot feels messy and the characters' ambivalence is entirely frustrating, I still mostly enjoyed reading this one. Jeremy and Lukas have chemistry, and I really enjoyed Lukas's journey especially. Something I haven't seen mentioned anywhere is that Lukas is autistic, and it was so nice to see autistic rep! 3.5, but I'm rounding to 4.

Exes Jeremy, a trans boy, and Lukas, the cis male quarterback of the football team, duke it out in a battle for homecoming king--and figure out their lingering feelings for each other in the process.

I was SO excited about the premise of this one, but I didn't love it. I love the idea of second chance romance, and there can never be enough books about gay trans boys, but I think that this particular book ended up just being too long with too much filler (maybe it needed a heavier hand in editing?). I'll still purchase and recommend it because we NEED more books like this one, but it just wasn't for me.