This was a difficult read for me to get into. I did not connect with either Grant or Ben, so I didn't have a protagonist to root for. There were some great moments about family and recognizing mental health struggles and needs, but I can't say that I will recommend this to anyone.

I love a childhood friends to strangers second chance romance so it was cool to see that trope within a YA/new adult book where the characters aren't that far outside of childhood themselves. This book does a really good exploration into mental health and showing the realities of living with depression and anxiety, in a way that it reminded me of The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun.

Grant and Ben were childhood best friends spending summers at Grant's family B&B and winery known for its' magic wishing rose. Based on a wish Grant makes at 13, he believes he's cursed at love after his boyfriend and Ben , who has a crush on, betray him. Fast forward 5 years where the pair haven't spoken yet are spending the summer together remodeling and trying to save the B&B. Despite everything that has happened, Ben and Grant find themselves drawn to each other once again and have to fight against the realities of what happened in the past, their relationship histories since, as well as their futures going in opposite directions if they want to be together.

I think the ending really fit into the story we see within the book. After years of Grant giving into the false narratives his mental health challenges fed to him, it would be unrealistic if at the last 10% we see them magically go away. Sass and the characters explore acknowledging that there are still challenges to come but left me believing in their HEA/HFN and that they will work to maintain that.

I do wish I went into this knowing it was a spin off of Sass' previous book "The 99 Boyfriends of Micah Summers" since I only realized that after reading the acknowledgements. I feel like that may have helped in giving more context to the beginning of the story since I was slightly confused about Grant having an apartment in Chicago by himself despite it being 2 weeks after graduating high school with him seemingly being there for more than just 2 weeks.

I read this for pride season and had zero regrets! I thought it was so cute! I definitely will be getting more of Adam's books for the future.

Adam Sass.. you have done it again! With the swoony, heart-melting romance, that makes my older heart crumble. Can I go back to High school and feel some of these feels again?!!!

Grant Rossi is cursed in love and he blames making a wish in childhood on his families wishing stone to have an everlasting love. Grant got horribly and publicity dumped, so much so he wants to hide. But his parents have other plans for him. They want him to help his aunt and uncle to refurbish their rundown B&B. What he didn’t expect was to run into his childhood crush Ben.. and the first boy to ever break his heart. But can close encounters rekindle what once was!

Get ready to be crushed and to fall in love all over again with this one folks! I’m talking a fresh voice on what it’s like to find love again with second chances and also a bit of self discovery. Grant grows as a human and I’m here for it. I’m also here for all the interactions he has for Ben.. I’m talking gushing awwwwws.

The wit and banter are here!!!! So if you like second chance romance and childhood love bloom, then grab this and some tissues and maybe a pillow to squeeze!


P.S. Adam can I come sleepover and pick your brain?! 😅 Ugh love you!

Grant once wished on the famous Wishing Rose located on his family’s vineyard property, and since then he’s been cursed. His relationships never work out, and his actual work is suffering from lack of inspiration. So he flees Chicago and runs back to where it all began, back to his family’s now-fading vineyard and the first boy he ever loved, to try to save the vineyard and himself.

This was a good read. There was a lot of complexity to the story and the characters. The setting was beautifully described and felt like a real place I would like to visit. I was absolutely cheering for Grant and Ben’s happiness, but I also found myself caring about the other characters and their happiness. I would recommend this book.

Grant and Ben had my heart from the beginning and never let go.

I love Adam’s books and this was another gem in his catalog. It’s a deeply personally, earnest, and fun romance that I plan on reading again. The setting was also a character in this book and gave the most wonderful vibes to the book as a whole.

Adam Sass could write anything and I would read it tbh. Cursed Boys and Broken Hearts is the followup to The 99 Boyfriends of Micah Summers. It can also be read as a standalone. This is another book that you can see real pieces of Adam in. This book is full of heartache, love, family, traditions, and finding all your puzzle pieces. It makes me think of some of the big romcom movies throughout the years.

Thank you to Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | Viking Books for Young Readers for providing me with a review copy.

I absolutely loved this book!🩷
Grant Rossi is convinced he's cursed. As a kid, he spent summers at his family's vineyard, and that is where he made a wish on the iconic Wishing Rose. This is where he believes all his romantic troubles began. Ever since his last dumping, he has been in a depression, languishing and not working on his designs. So he decides to go back to the vineyard for the summer and help his aunt and uncle clean up the B&B before the local rose festival. And maybe break his curse and get back his creative spark in the process. But when he arrives, he finds the first boy who broke his heart, his childhood crush, and best friend Ben, as the gardener. As the summer wears on, the boys can't deny their chemistry or the pain they caused each other all those years ago. But can they work through this and get back to where they were? Or is Grant forever cursed in love?

First, I have to say people are going to think Grant is selfish and dramatic. But have they ever been a depressed teenager? Grant has a lot on his plate, and he doesn't know how to deal. That's real. His depression is real, and I deeply empathized. I appreciated Sass talking about therapy and medication. As a medicated person, I feel seen. So I love Grant.

Ben was an interesting character who kept me guessing. I honestly wasn't sure how Ben was going to treat Grant. I was pleasantly surprised by his growth. I'm glad he was patient with Grant, but I also never felt like he did things without thinking about himself, too. Which is good because he deserves to be happy after all he has been through, too.
Together, I loved the boys' banter, their easygoing friendship, and definitely their sexual tension! It gets hot for a YA!
I also enjoyed the large Italian family dynamic. I wish I had an Aunt Ro to make me sandwiches and get in my business.
Honestly, though, I cried on and off through almost the entire book. I cried out of sadness, but there was also a lot of happy crying. So be ready for that.
So, another ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐⭐️read from Adam Sass.
Thank you to @Netgalley for this ARC.

Cursed Boys and Broken Hearts by Adam Sass is a friends to enemies to lovers tale that's also a story of redemption. Grant Rossi believes he's cursed by his family's famous Wishing Rose to never true love. Spending the summer in the presence of the rose at his family's failing B&B might prove him wrong, especially when his ex-best friend/first love shows up.

Adam Sass manages to deftly weave the heavier theme of depression into a romance. Grant has to learn to love and accept himself before he can truly love or be loved by someone else. The setting of story was like a character itself. I love that Grant uses his art to help save the family business and home.

I absolutely adored this book and I will be screaming that from the rooftops for the forseeable future

This is a book full of family, tradition, mental health, and finding yourself. I thought the setting was great and I loved Grant's aunt and how much she cared for him unconditionally.

The main character Grant struggles with self hatred and sabotages himself over and over. I found him hard to relate to and thought he came across selfish and frustrating. Ben was a good guy and I don't think he should have put up with so much crap from Grant.

The dreams were interesting and the ending was pretty cute.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to Viking Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for the copy.

Grant Rossi is supposed to be applying for design schools to attend next fall. Instead, he’s wallowing in depression following the end of his latest romance. Grant is eighteen, out, and (he believes) doomed to never have a steady boyfriend because of a wish he made as a scared 13-year old boy afraid of the deep crush he on his best friend. Ben and Grant were besties since boyhood, with Ben the steadfast companion Grant needed while spending summers at his grandparents home and vineyard, Vero Roseto. These were golden memories, especially as Grant grappled with his sexuality and family trauma as the youngest of eight kids, the one his older siblings joked was conceived to save their parents’ (doomed) marriage. Unfortunately, wishing on his family’s sacred rose resulted in the end of Grant’s friendship with Ben.

Now, Grant has just finished a big exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago, one conceived with his now-ex, Micah, and his well of creativity is bone dry. His mom is prodding him to return to Vero Roseto to help his aunt and uncle prepare for the Rose Festiva,l which will only bring more attention to the Wishing Rose, the very one that cursed Grant to a loveless fate, instead of helping him see his true mate. Grant doesn’t want to go, but he has enough self-awareness that he’s being very unhealthy in his current patterns. He shows up only to discover that Vero Roseto is in complete shambles. The vineyard is okay, his aunt and uncle are making good wine, but the grounds and estate are in great disrepair. They need guests to book rooms at the bed and breakfast in order to fund the further repairs needed to restore Vero Roseto to greatness and be prepared for the garden showcase in August. Grant is tasked with designing a knockout showcase and helping repair parts of the estate, including the gardens, which are an overgrown mess, with only the wishing rose spared. And, the gardener that has been hired to make Grant’s designs a reality? Yep, it’s Ben.

Ben who, it turns out, is gay. Ben, who broke Grant’s heart when he was thirteen. Ben, who didn’t want him, even though Ben was Grant’s secret desire.

Yeah, this is going to be a hard summer.

I really enjoyed this book. A couple of years ago, I read and reviewed The 99 Boyfriends of Micah Summers, which introduced us to Grant. It was Grant’s discussion of his VEGAN PUMPKIN JACKET that reminded me of that story and how Grant and Micah had had a brief and tumultuous relationship before Micah dumped him for another boy. Grant wasn’t shown in his best light in that story, so this book is a bit of a redemption for him. It takes him all summer to redeem himself, which made sense considering how much work he needs to do to love himself. He’s sympathetic and relatable, with deep insecurities, depression, and an absolute need to connect to people. I also felt a bit of second-hand embarrassment over his naiveté in his interpersonal interactions, yet it felt true to a teen character who’s always felt he was an afterthought and everyone’s second choice. I honestly LOVED that Ben made him do the work necessary to feel able to accept the love he wanted so badly.

Grant felt real, in that he’s an impetuous, anxiety-riddled, teen boy who’s not sure that he’s ever been really loved, or wanted, in his entire life. As such, he is always looking for the angle that people are trying to use against him, to keep him isolated, and also angry. And, he’s pretty angry–when he isn’t depressed. His internal monologue is bitter, manipulative, and very relatable. He has flashes of brilliance that he immediately squelches with insecurity. He refuses to accept that Ben is also flawed, and that his history is not “their” history because Grant hurt Ben so much, in ways he’s only seeing now, five years later.

This is a YA romance, so expect ups and downs, and a little bit of reconnection, followed by bad feelings, followed by eventual redemption. Grant has to come to terms with his past to be ready for his future to open up. He has to purge his resentments, atone for his own mistakes, and help his family reclaim a bit of the glory they had way back when, in order to find his own happy ending–and his destined mate. I really loved how Grant sought mental wellness in this journey. I also appreciated the steadfastness of Ben, keeping Grant both honest and contrite, while building him back up. There are a lot of family dynamics issues in the book, which seemed to be handled with compassion and honesty, as well. Grant believes himself a Beast, cursed by a rose, and he eventually redeems himself with love–for himself, for Ben, and for his family.

If you like contemporary LGBTQ YA romance, this story is a sweet read with a super happy ending.

A book about depression and self hatred is realistic but a happily ever after is unrealistic. This Beauty and the Beast retelling falls short in being an uplifting tale but shines as a sad gay teen reality. ARC was provided by Viking Books for Young Readers via NetGalley. I read an advance review copy and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

My favorite Adam Sass book since Surrender Your Sons, I loved Grant's story so much!

Cursed Boys and Broken Hearts is a messy, complicated, endearing, big-hearted, coming of age tale and it had me feeling all the emotions. I loved everything about this story, from Grant and Ben, to the Wishing Rose and the "curse", to Aunt Ro and Uncle Paul, to Vero Roseto and Grant's family, and even Hutch.
I loved seeing Grant's growth over the course of the summer. There was a lot he had to work through, and while saving Vero Roseto he also "saved" himself in a way.

This book really did make me feel all kinds of things. Even before I read the acknowledgements, to me it felt like this was Adam's most personal book. While I really only know him through social media, (although I did finally get to meet him in person!), it wasn't hard to "see" him in this story.

I loved this angry boy book, and there’s so much cute moments between them! I really loved the banter!!

I enjoyed the beginning, but I felt it was extremely boring throughout the middle. I ended up DNFing about 35% through.

Thank you for the arc.

I thought this one was really good. It took me almost the entire book for me to realize that Grant is from one of adam's previous books and his ex boyfriend, micah is literally the title character of that book. 99 boyfriends of micah summers. How it took me 99% of the book to realize that I don't know haha. This is what happens when you forget almost everything about a book after you read it. I'm tempted to go back and reread 99 boyfriends now though haha.
Anyways this book was good. I enjoyed the characters, Ben is great. I also loved this one side character that for the life of me I cannot remember the name of. But he was one of the guests and I would love a short story or two about him and his fiance. They were cute.
I want to say that bits and pieces of the story gave off minor beauty and the beast vibes to me. Grant is always referring to himself as a beast, there is a "curse" and a lot of rose mentions.
Overall an enjoyable story that I think many will enjoy, especially if you enjoyed 99 boyfriends and thought that Grant deserved better.

Content warning: homophobia, depression, panic/anxiety attack, death, grief, cancer

“Don’t ever wish straightness on yourself.”

What a beautiful story about finding yourself and learning to love those around you. This book is unapologetically queer and I absolutely love that. This book just cured my cursed, broken heart. The characters were people I feel like I know in my personal life and I relate to the anxieties that Grant goes through! Adam Sass made my queer heart happy!

I’ve read all of the Adam’s books (and this is me saying I will read whatever he writes next) and though I could go on about them, this deserves its own spotlight. From Surrender Your Sons to Cursed Boys, my heart can’t deny how much the ensemble of his characters mean to me.

Adam crafts his characters in a way that they echo the people in your own life. Honestly, I could see myself as both Grant and Ben. He also shapes them into individuals I wish existed. I’d stand by Grant and share my own doubts with him. I’d confide in Aunt Ro about my fear of losing everything because I’ve been there too. Adam infuses his characters with such deep emotions that mine overflowed onto the pages, making me feel truly understood.

I just checked the other comments on this book and I seem to be in the minority here. I liked this book, but I can't honestly say I loved it.

The romance was sweet and I liked the characters and setting and all around family feels. There are a lot of emotions in this book, both good and bad. I guess I just didn't really feel them the way other people did.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.