Series: #lovehim
Volume: 3.5/?Publisher: May Books
Genre/s: Contemporary M/M Romance
Length: -
Read in: English
Review copy format: epub
Rate:✮✮✮✮✮✮
Since he was born, Digi Lynch hasn't really had a private life, as his mother's shared every little thing concerning their everyday life on her blog. Having no other choice, Digi has followed in her footsteps and has been a popular vlogger for years. The problem is that vlogging doesn't make him happy and requires him to constantly fight his shyness, introversion, reluctance to share information about every aspect of his life with strangers. He is the exact opposite of his old friend and now also his rival, Gram Saito, who lives for his fans and loves what he does. And although Digi would happily hide in his room and never go out, unfortunately, for the next few days he is going to be forced to bite the bullet, clench his fists and survive a long, intense convention during which meetings with Gram and fans are inevitable.
For a long time, bloggers and vloggers have been a kind of group of minor celebrities and I'm sure that it won't change, as long as the world is crazy about media and virtual world. Therefore, I consider it very important that "To Be Continued", a novella which begins our new adventure with "#lovehim" series, refers to this aspect of our contemporary culture. In this context, the greatest advantage of this story is the subject of pressure, which the life of an Internet star may put on some individuals, because as any lifestyle also this one isn't free from flaws and mental strain. Even more so when the fun turns into a business, and so you have to deal with competition, fans' opinion, need to acquire new audience, nervous routine, and sometimes also almost non-existent private life. Life deprived of secrets, which is a constant struggle for popularity isn't for everyone and that is exactly what we see in this story.
To a great extent, "To Be Continued" also raises the subject of wasted opportunity for friendship and, consequently, for something more. It shows how important it is to trust someone and feel physical and mental comfort in their company. And although in this case S.M. James refers mostly to a "business" relationship, which means cooperation and coexistence of bloggers/vloggers, the reader can successfully find here many universal principles which may apply to our boring, everyday life. It doesn't matter who we are, the rules of friendship are the same, just like in the case of those on which love is built. Well, if we can't feel safe in one's company and we have to watch our back all the time, is there a chance to create a strong, friendly relationship?
However, this is not all that this truly wonderful, although short, novella has to offer, because "To Be Continued" also raises many other, serious and relevant topics that closely relate to our everyday life. As examples we can list the problem of bulimia, low self-esteem, inability to meet parents' expectations, attempt to find oneself and discover one's sexuality. Believe me, this little story has more content than many thick books. And although not every topic mentioned here has been elaborated, the fact that Digi and Gram's story continues in "Not Gonna Lie" is like a promise that all these subjects will come back.
To sum up, "To Be Continued" is a wonderful, valuable novel you can't simply ignore. It's not only a well-written and extremely interesting story about finding one's path in life, it's also a small repository of life wisdom that moves us and teaches us many important things. In short, I recommend you "To Be Continued" with all my heart.
Headcanon: After Digi quit vlogging, his mother keeps bothering him, so the boy gives her an ultimatum - if she won't stop bother him he will move out to live with his friend for a while.
Fanfiction idea: Digi finally has a chance to enjoy his life without vlogging and does everything he hadn't had time to do before. At the same time, Gram behaves like a wounded tiger and he is restless.
AU idea: Digi who suffers from depression and Gram who struggles with outbursts of anger meet in the mental health clinic. While waiting for their appointment, they start talking. The situation repeats itself several times, and at some point they start to have feelings for each other.
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