First, I want to thank NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC in return for an honest review.

I love the idea of this book. When I first read the blurb, I was instantly interested and couldn't stop thinking about this concept. The title had me intrigued as well. Therefore, my expectations for this were high from the beginning. Sadly, I ended up struggling with the execution of this.

The story kept jumping around, and I didn't get the connections. Not only did I not really find a connection to the characters and found them unbearably unlikeable, but I also could not really understand what their reasoning behind their actions were. The lack of connection might be because Mario Luxxor did not really give the reader a chance to get to know them - they weren't really introduced and the reader was just left to try and figure out the story and the things that were happening after being thrown into the story without being given context.
The story itself was honestly just confusing to me. Events were simply strung together, and I could not really get behind why or what purpose some of the scenes were supposed to serve some of the time. And as I already said, it was definitely missing a red string the reader could follow.

I have to admit that I did not really like the writing either. While the poetry the character wrote definitely did fit the story, I doubt that the poems would have been as deep and meaningful if you had taken them out of this book. After a second look, they seemed much more shallow than they were intended to be.
The descriptions of some scenes and especially some people did not work for me at all. In some moments, the way Luxxor talked about characters felt simply unsensitive and kinda put me off. Everyone got attacked and not in like verbal fights but little side notes and ways the auhtor chose to describe someone. It felt unnecessary harmful to me.

In the end, I sadly have to admit that this story did not end up being what it wanted it to be. This wasn't an emotional, deep story. It didn't make me sad or even thoughtful. Instead, i was quite frustrated. Oftentimes, it felt rather like repetitive conversations about drug use and sex but not in a reflective way I wanted it to be.

The book is really fast and easy to read. I enjoy lgbt stories that have a more realistic approach to life which this book did. I adore the cover and I think it will appeal to a lot of different types of readers.

time of dæth: page 86 (31%)

for the first time in my reading journey, i've finally experienced to dnf-ing a book...

to be honest, this book has a lot of potential based on the cover and the description alone. but what could i get? one, everyone treated lincoln, one of the main characters, badly. as in EVERYONE in this book, including derrick, also one of the mc's. like how is he he love interest for lincoln? and two, i'm disappointed at derrick after what he did to lincoln. also, i skimmed every page up until the end just to know that one of the characters is dæd.

not only that, some of the contents of the book has edited by ai. liek, are you kidding me? you're an debut author, and you're writing a book by the help of ai??? bruh, that's insane (and the fact that there's a movie poster at the end page, and it looks like the picture is made by ai too).

so yep, i'm done 🤚🏻😐🤚🏻

All Nights Die Young touches on incredibly important and valid topics: trauma, addiction, abuse, and the search for love and belonging. The novel doesn't shy away from difficult realities, and I appreciate the author's willingness to dive deep into the darker corners of human experience. These are themes that matter and deserve to be explored.

That said, I struggled with the execution. The narrative felt disjointed to me — scenes often felt loosely connected, making it difficult to fully immerse myself in Lincoln's journey. I never quite "bought" into the characters, especially the central relationship between Lincoln and Derrick. While I understand that addiction often defies logic and creates unhealthy bonds, I personally found the emotional connection between them too flimsy to sustain the weight of the story. As a result, I had a hard time fully investing in Lincoln’s fate, despite wanting to.

Overall, while the book addresses significant and sensitive topics with bravery, I found the storytelling lacked the cohesion and character depth needed to fully resonate with me.

Mario Luxxor is a very emotional storyteller which was one of the things I liked most about the book, but the pacing was so slow and dragged out that there were parts of the book where I wasn't as interested in the characters. I thought that Lincoln and Derrick's relationship was so heartbreaking and I enjoyed the vulnerability of the characters with the themes discussed in this book.

Raw and desperately feeling. It's not at all what I was expecting and all for the better. It's definitely a unique style of personally pulling that painful and realistic agony and endless decisions out of you. How you read and wish Lincoln just chose another option, didn't meet that person ect. All Nights Die Young is an apt description by itself. And Kenny, Kenny is a character haunting the narrative as much as it haunts Derrick.
I'm glad for the ending I got to read, it's true, honest and gut wretching. It's what I hoped for

I could not put this down... All Nights Die Young follows two main characters: Lincoln and Derrick. A queer tragic "love story" that will leave you broken longing for a true happy ending. We follow Lincoln an aspiring writer from Mexico who works during the day as Spiderman at Times Square and at night a busboy at a club in Hell's Kitchen where he meets Derrick and from that night hell breaks loose.

Topics of constant substance abuse, the queer night life, sexual assault and emotional abuse, we are thrown into a tale of queer life trying to root for Lincoln. Please go read this emotional heavy and let me know what you think!