| Title | : | Love, Comment, Subscribe (Ponto Beach Reunion, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 335 |
| Publication | : | First published October 1, 2021 |
Fellow Nerd Herd alum Tobin Bui has had a lot of success as a YouTube gamer. But the road to online stardom has been rocky. First, he disappointed his parents by dropping out of college, and now, after years of pranks, skits, and playthroughs, he’s struggling to come up with new content to satisfy his ever-growing fan base. His agents say he needs cross-audience appeal, a new twist.
When Nerd Herd frenemy Lily approaches Tobin about teaming up to do a video to bolster her brand and reinvigorate his, he agrees. But when their first collab video goes viral, their relationship heats up too. With the whole internet watching, will these two former misfits finally realize they’re perfect together?
Love, Comment, Subscribe (Ponto Beach Reunion, #1) Reviews
-
An Asian romance between YOUTUBERS!!! She’s a beauty guru, he’s a vlogger, and they were part of a nerdy group of friends back in high school. He also had a crush on her back then! They collab to try to revive their channels and end up falling for each other.
This was so fun and adorable. I really enjoyed the main characters, with their silly and sweet banter. I also appreciated the more emotional aspect the story, with both Tobin and Lily struggling in their careers, dealing with anxiety and burnout. It’s not as easy as it looks to be a youtuber. Their friend group was also great and I can’t wait to read more of them, especially the second chance romance! -
Cute book but not much excitement or twists to keep you fully entertained. Got a bit boring at points where I just wanted to start another book. Was cute and decent, but that's it. Don't expect much.
-
Maybe the frenemies to lovers trope DOES deserve rights
This was really adorable and engaging. I wanted more tbh, the social media/mental health commentary is needed.
Content warning: sexism, racism (microaggressions), explicit sexual scenes -
absolutely charming main characters. they "felt" younger than they really were bc they were dealing with high school shit, but it's still super cute.
-
Love, Comment, Subscribe was such a cute book featuring two characters who are influencers. In this case, Lily is a beauty vlogger while Tobin is a Youtube gamer! I have always had a strong love for influencers in books~ I don't know, it looks so much fun, and I love seeing them use all the social media in their daily lives. I love seeing in this book that being a youtuber (and also a blogger and other social media job) is waaaaay harder than people think because yup the planning, the imagination, the creativity, the burnout, the collabs - it's a lot of work and Cathy Yardley illustrates it perfectly.
♡ Frenemies to lovers
♡ They've known each other since kids and they never got along
♡ Now they have to collab in some videos and they get closer
♡ Snuggling!!!
♡ There are balls tightening in this book *eye emoji*
I would say this is a slow burn but it's so beautiful. I love the organic nature of how the relationship develops ~ it's so soft and adorable! And when they finally kiss it's like everything is right in the world and you, as well as the characters, have been waiting for it impatiently lmao. And then it turns hot and oh boy it's so great. ♡ This book was so much fun! -
I really enjoy this book. It has it all. The rom com, the silly yet smart banter. I like the conversation between Tobin and Lily. They are so sweet together.
Miss Yardley done a good job spotlighting issue such as social media. Being influencer is a job. It comes with stress. A real stress. The pressure to keep up with how many votes can be really frustrating.
The romance aspect is what makes Love, Comment , Subscribe so much fun to read.
4 stars -
3.75 stars
read on my blog
rep: Taiwanese-American protagonist, biracial (Vietnamese, white) protagonist with ADHD, gay side characters
**I received an ARC from the author through Netgalley (thank you, Cathy!). These are my honest opinions, and in no way was I compensated for this review.**
I was already interested in this book because of the summary, but then I read that the hero was half-Vietnamese. I’m always interested in reading about more Vietnamese characters in romance, so I was even more excited to read this book because of that. Love, Comment, Subscribe follows a sweet romance as well as examines the endless grind of being a content creator.
Once high school frenemies, Lily and Tobin are now relatively big YouTubers, Lily a beauty vlogger and Tobin a miscellaneous jokester. When an opportunity arises for them to collaborate, they reluctantly set aside their high school animosity to expand their subscriber counts. They quickly realize that the two of them have more chemistry than they previously thought, as they grow closer with every video.
I really liked the protagonists! Lily is organized and ambitious, while Tobin is more willing to go with the flow. They have to reconcile their different posting approaches while collaborating. This felt realistic when you think about the way Youtubers have different posting schedules and video types.
Despite their differences, their chemistry is clear; I enjoyed reading their scenes together. Lily and Tobin were in the same friend group in high school but were always bickering. Even now, they bicker but I liked how they had those same experiences and memories to build on.
What I found really interesting about this book was how it details how exhausting yet fulfilling it is to be a content creator. You have to work constantly to come up with ideas, then set up your idea, then actually carry them out. In their case, they have to edit the videos and post and promote them. It’s an endless cycle, and I liked how this book handled burnout and recovering from it.
Representation-wise, Lily is Taiwanese-American and Tobin is is half-Vietnamese and half-white. He has ADHD, which I think is well-handled in the story.
Love, Comment, Subscribe was a fun read. I think this book is the first in a series, and if the next book is about the couple I think it’s about, I’m very excited to read it. If you’re looking for a frenemies-to-lovers romance about content creators, I think you should definitely check Love, Comment, Subscribe out!
original review:
deep dive into what it takes to be a content creator and how that affects your life + romantic life! v cute too -
(2.5 stars) - A very contemporary romance novel...
... just so you have an idea of what you're going into. How well you like this will depend on what you consider romantic.
So right off the bat we meet the protagonist at a low level influencer party with her trans makeup artist sidekick. She's trying to finesse some tickets to a bigger deal party with a mega-influencer who's apparently made it so big that she uses plural pronouns. JK.
Now I know there's a vocal minority who will insist my annoyance with that is because of hate or bigotry, but no, it's because I love words & how they allow us to express ourselves. We need words to mean what they mean, so that we can communicate in a shared language - that being the whole purpose of developing language in the first place. Better to make up your own instead of confusing people by trying to force new meanings on long established words.
It's a small thing, but it's an illustration of the effort the author has put into writing a romance that's acceptable to cancel culture. There's the villain Jeffrey who's white, sexist, shallow & corporate. She even throws in a mention of some evil white youtube guys who make fun of political correctness while also being racist - because, they'd just have to be, wouldn't they? 🙄
It's sad that 10 years later, Lily is still desperately trying to join the popular kids, as the story begins with us watching Lily working hard to be part of the popular crowd. And Tobin is adrift looking for direction, struggling with the YouTuber equivalent of writer's block.
Now, I like reading books that introduce me to jobs that I don't know much about. The problem is that the story more or less confirms the stereotype that social influencers are basically just varying levels of numbers-obsessed, hold-my-beer popularity chasers. Desperate to find or be the next big thing. Which is a shallow, meaningless existence. And boring. (I know there are plenty of exceptions, but what I'm saying is that I didn't learn that here)
At 25% into the story, it's still setting things up, and I'm so not getting into the story. Finally, chapter 12 begins their collaboration & the story picks up a bit. Lily's sympathetic but not especially likeable until Tobin starts bringing out her more relaxed side. Which helps. Some.
Then we get into Lily's need to scratch her sex itch. Bleh. Yes, talking about sex as an animal urge that needs to be satisfied is as engaging as talking about being hungry and wanting to eat. Way to make sex boring, too.
They're getting together because they're both sex starved, in proximity, & their subscribers are shipping them. How sentimental.
Wait! 66% in and Lily wants more than a shallow, meaningless hookup - I'm kind of pleasantly surprised, but waiting to see what that translates to in contemporary romance terms.
Their paths converge and then they diverge. Well that's a classic romance development.
Sure, Lily is self-absorbed in not seeing Tobin's needs, but Tobin actually told his followers his news before he sprung it on her which seems pretty crappy. Surprised that wasn't an issue, but I guess that's normal for media influencers?
After devoting the entire book to being carefully PC and in touch with the zeitgeist of the age, the end turns all Hallmarky (plus another sex scene added on) which I thought was pretty unintentionally & ironically funny.
There's actually a decent traditional romance plot mixed in with all the other stuff. Whether or not you enjoy it will depend on how you feel about all the other stuff.
*Potential Content:
Fairly frank talk; several graphic descriptions of sex
PC gender fluid & gay stereotyped characters
Medium level use of swears, including 31 f-bombs
Some 8 dozen disrespectful & insensitive uses of God's Name, including 4 as curses -
I was impressed how well this worked out. Yardley does a great job giving details that felt authentic for both protagonists and their internet influencer, um, job? career? The focus on stats and monetization while still producing art as entertainment was interesting and provided great conflict as each character approaches their fame in ways unique to their strengths and weaknesses.
And I'll say that I attached to Tobin really early as the way he manages his ADHD is very similar to my own, at least in terms of nursing the creative spark amid the external pressure to produce. Also, I liked his creativity and generally positive outlook, even as he tries to figure out why he has been so depressed recently. Creative burnout is hard and taking the measures needed for self-care even though it will negatively impact your earnings is a fraught endeavor.
But that's a side issue, really, because my real engagement with him was his interactions with Lily. I liked that he saw her faults but still reserved final judgement. I liked that he rolled with her weird while encouraging her successes. And I liked that he embraces his inner nerd.
Lily was engaging in her own way, though her fundamental insecurity was tough at first. Her need to prove herself to people she doesn't really care about drives the plot, so it was near omnipresent, though not always forefront (if that makes sense). Yardley makes it work, which I'm sure is harder than she made it look.
Some of the side plots/characters felt a bit facile, so it isn't all win. Tobin's parents are a nightmare and I so wanted to smack them. And I particularly hated the author manipulating . Some of Lily's end-story felt the same, though to a much lesser extent.
So I'm going with a solid four stars for this story. I liked the characters and how they were working out their relationship under the extreme pressures of their work.
A note about Steamy: There are a couple of explicit sex scenes that nearly made it to the middle of my steam tolerance. I liked how well they fit the characters, actually, and illustrated their relationship status so well. -
Disappointing.
This will be long, but I have to get it out here.
The beginning of the book dragged. I would have completely cut the high school prologue. Also, there was a lot of explaining YouTube as a career path. It was just a total info dump. It took a long time to introduce the hero and then when we did there was some repeat info about YouTube. It would have benefited if it had been spread throughout the novel and had some info cut. I was willing to forgive this because I thought Yardley was a newer author but. . . She's not.
Obviously, I didn't hate the book yet because I kept reading. There have been comments about this being 'high school'. I would actually defend Yardley choosing acceptance and look at me now as part of Lily's drive. It's kind of the base of YouTube and the emotions and desires people have in high school influence everyone later in life. Those feelings aren't invalid because we're young, it's the execution and reactions that can be immature. Out of those of us that wanted to go back home, who hasn't wanted to impress the people we grew up with? On the other hand, Yardley stops there, and we miss the depth Lily could have been given. Notice I also said part of Lily's drive, there is no way being ignored in school is the sole reason she is so meticulous.
I was bothered with yet another narrative of people with ADHA being 'impulsive'.
Working 👏 better 👏 without 👏 a 👏 rigid 👏 structure 👏 does 👏 not 👏 equal 👏 impulsiveness.
I would argue the author shows Tobin does have this 'rigid structure' skill set with the organization and execution of the wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube man video which is mentioned (repeatedly) to take a lot of time, money, and cooperation. The difference is that type of work can be exhausting for someone with ADHD which Tobin is shown to experience, and he couldn't do another video requiring that back-to-back. There was only ONE thing I found Tobin did that was truly impulsive, and I will talk about that in a moment.
Even when he was coming up with ideas that were 'out of the blue' he immediately starts planning. For example, the sleep over games video is arguable the most basic video and the only video he's shown to think of and then implement right away (even though he did spend a lot of time brainstorming ideas). This still needed lighting, camera, audio, the game, change in setting which means change in lighting, audio, and camera again, and then actually playing the games, THEN there is editing which can take more time than actual filming. Tobin is also shown to manage the comments of his videos once Lily is brought in. Impulsive behavior is when you act without forethought and with no thought to the consequences. There's nothing on your mind beyond that exact moment. Everything Lily and Tobin do requires both planning and was done with the end result in mind.
Personal preference: Just three strikes for a big gesture, when it's public, AND when it's the female lead. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
What really ruined this book for me was the end. To get to the one truly impulsive thing Tobin did. Asking Lily to go to Australia. WTF. Tobin taking a break was not impulsive. His internal monolog showed us his thought process. And even though we didn't see it there is no fucking way he just chose Australia randomly so I'm going to say not impulsive. Even his emotional reaction to Lily's comments made sense because of what he was experiencing from his agents and parents. But at no point in their relationship did he speak to her about taking a break OR traveling. He asks her to date him then drops those bombs on a character that is complete established as The Planner. Someone he knew was focused on her career. (BTW he turned her down when she suggested a collab and then reached back out to her after his agents said he should do it for his career so she was not using him) when she brings up very valid reasons for why that might not be a good idea, he then accuses her of not caring about him or his mental health and just walks the fuck away. Even then I was willing to keep going but he never really acknowledged his role in the "break up" much less explained to her why it was important to take a break or apologized.
This is actually red flags for gaslight and emotional abuse and would likely become a pattern for them as a couple. To break this down, if you guys are still reading, Tobin does not allow open communication with someone he just established as a partner by not explaining where he's at emotionally and then walking away when she does not immediately like his idea. He also goes to the extreme by saying she does not care about him. Multiple times Lily is shown to be in tune with his emotional state (when he shows he's upset/stressed) and then tries to make things easier for him. She also literally tells him he matters, and their relationship matters when he asks her, and he acknowledges that. I expect Tobin will continue to use his ADHD as an excuse to not explain things to Lily and then walk away or even just emotional leave until she apologizes and/or agrees. -
4.5
I loved this book so much. It's combines everything I love about adult contemporary romances and the star power of East/Southeast Asian influencers like OfflineTV and Friends and Michelle Phan. I docked points because being in Lily's head was so annoying sometimes. She was incredibly selfish, awful to her friends until the end, and most chapters from her POV were "telling and not showing." Even now, I don't know anything about Lily besides the fact that she's hardworking and she really wants to run with the "it" crowd. Well into adulthood, she spent the majority of the book trying to prove her worth to the popular kids—people who don't give a shit about her. I'm ride-or-die for my friends so I can't even imagine being that desperate for attention from a group that won't matter after high school.
However, I did love Tobin Bui. He's a sweet, mixed Vietnamese himbo and I loved how soft and loving he was to Lily, even when she didn't deserve it. The inevitable third act breakup scene made me really uncomfortable mostly because I hate the trope, but the ending and the lessons Lily learned kinda made it worth it. Love, Comment, Subscribe should be made into a movie because I'd love to see more East/Southeast Asian romcoms and give nods to the East/Southeast Asian influencers who made a name for us. I also love all of the social commentaries sprinkled throughout the book. I can't wait for more from this series. I really wanna know what's going on between Emily and Vinh and I hope it's just as juicy! -
This was wholesome and cute ❤️
-
to quote this book “i wanted to yeet him into the sun”. just replace “him” with “this book” and it sums everything up quite nicely. 2.
-
4.25 stars rounded up! I actually really loved this! I've never read Cathy Yardley's books but I'm super intrigued to pick up her previous novels after reading Love, Comment, Subscribe. I adored the Asian American rep in this--I grew up in an area made up predominantly of Asian American residents so this reminded me so much of my own high school/Asian American experience.
I think the only reason I rated this 4.25 stars instead of five was because the jump from Tobin & Lily being friends to lovers was kinda sudden (Tobin explains that he's been a little in love with Lily/definitely attracted to her at the very least since they were in school together but I feel like I didn't see that in the flashback scenes so it was hard to believe), because there were so many pop culture references (which I get because the MC's are both YouTubers), and because Lily's apology at the end of the novel happened in such a public setting that made me cringe so hard (I can't stand public apologies in romance books lol). Otherwise it was a really fun read!
Follow me on
TikTok|
Instagram|
Twitter for more book reviews & recommendations! -
I had such a fun time reading this book. I've actually never read a book about influencers before and it was a nice change. Not that I know a lot about influencing, but the issues that came up in the story seemed realistic and representative to me. I really liked the characters and the chemistry between them, and the writing style was also very nice. I flew through the story.
-
One thing I love about being a prime member is that I get Amazon First Reads, which is a book that you receive a month before it's available to others which is how I grabbed my first ever Cathy Yardley book. I had received an ARC of this book the week before, funny how things work out it was like the universe was telling me I had to read this book and soon. I didn't have a chance to read it before the release but once I was able to sit and enjoy it I downloaded the audio version so I would be submerged into the world of Love, Comment, Subscribe and I'm so glad I did because Jenapher Zheng and David Lee Huynh did a wonderful job of bringing Lily and Tobin to life.
This book is such a reflection of the times we are living in. You have bloggers and vloggers all trying their hardest to get noticed and believe me when I tell you it isn't easy. Lily and Tobin will show you just how hard it can be in this sweet and sexy read.
Lily Wang wanted to be popular in high school but she wasn't one of the cool kids, she was part of the Nerd Herd along with Tobin Bui. They each have their own vlogging channels on YouTube and are always looking for something new to do to entice new viewers to Love, Comment, and Subscribe to their channels. We are taken on the journey to not only find new followers but so much more.
I not only loved Lily and Tobin but all of their friends from their High School days that we have met and I am really looking forward to continuing this series.
If you enjoy New Adult Romances, Contemporary Romances, RomComs or Friends-to-Lovers Romances I would recommend this book to you.
Happy Reading!!! -
It was just so cute. I could see myself watching their YouTube videos and falling in love with them as a couple. Adorable. And I'm out.
-
Tobin and Lily were unexpected and super adorable!
I will not lie I did have some reservations about Lily! She was so rigid and by the book but I think that’s what the author was going for! Lily really had a lot to figure out and learn. I liked being a part of that journey and seeing her grow into a very confident woman!
It’s amazing how much we got to know about both Tobin and Lily in their few weeks together! The author did an amazing job at character building! I feel and hope there are more Nerd Herd books in the future because I need to know some more about these amazing characters.
I love that one of the themes we see in the book is to not give up on yourself! Both characters had many doubts about themselves and in the end they just needed to have faith and believe in their vision! I think this book is a great read and was very enjoyable! -
All the stars. Every single one of them. I adored this book. If I could hug it, I would. I am not a YouTuber but I could completely relate to Lily and Tobin just with a bookstagram account. I can’t even imagine making content like this. So taxing. These two were just fire. Enemies to lovers with an under current of tension, sign me UP. The banter, the feelings, perfection.
-
3 stars - this was sweet and fun, but I’ve overheard my kids watch too many annoying video game YouTubers and found it hard to root for one as the hero of a romance. Totally a problem with me, not the book
-
I was approved for an arc of Ex Appeal and did not realise it was the third book in a series, so I downloaded the first two on my kindle. I’m so glad I did because this was amazing! Can’t wait to read the next two.
-
I went into this book almost completely blind. I had read one book of Cathy Yardley’s previously, and loved it. I knew I was going to get a well written story, with characters that I would love.
As a book reviewer and blogger, I found so many parallels about how utterly hard it can be on social media sites, to constantly be original and try and increase numbers. This author did an excellent job of portraying that.
I am so glad that the author included mental health as part of this book, and the need to take a break.
Lily and Tobin definitely have the enemies to lovers trope going for them, but that underlying attraction peeked out right from the start, and it hooked me right away. I was able to relate to both characters, each in their own way.
Since this one book already has a series title, I’m beyond excited to see where the next book will take us, and which side characters (which were amazing), will be featured! -
I didn’t know how much I needed this book until I opened it and couldn’t put it down until it was done or at least until one of my kids needed something from me.
The chemistry between Lily and Tobin is off the charts. The way they are friends but not really and definitely not enemies but just the spark that grows between these two is outstanding. I just adore Cathy Yardley and her writing and I just am so glad I got to read this and cannot wait to read more. -
Love, Comment, Subscribe
By Cathy Yardley
How could I have not read a Cathy Yardley book before. This book is my first and definitely would not be my last.
I happen to be an #ownvoice reviewer for this book and love the representation of a Taiwanese American protagonist.
The story is about Lily and Tobin who knew each other in high school but not really fond of each other. Many years later, both are rising social media stars and could really help each other gain the following, hence the collaboration. Their chemistry together heats up as their videos become viral.
I thought the writing was engaging and I enjoyed the characters and their never give up attitude and to believe in themselves. The character building was amazing to read and see their arc throughout the story. I really enjoyed this one a lot. -
dead dove do not eat
-
An actual DELIGHT! -
Seguimos la historia de Lily Wang, que después de ser ignorada por los “populares” de su escuela está aún más decidida a volverse popular y liberarse de su antiguo grupo de amigos, la "manada de nerds", entre ellos el bromista Tobin.
Diez años más tarde, Lily es una influencer de belleza que hará cualquier cosa para mantener su éxito y llegar a la fama, incluso unir fuerzas con el tonto Tobin, que ha triunfado como streamer.
Trabajar juntos podría expandir tanto su público como su número de suscriptores, pero Tobin es espontáneo y Lily híper organizada. A pesar de las disputas que generan estas diferencias, su primer video se vuelve viral, y los espectadores pronto están animando a la combativa pareja.
Esta es una reseña rápida porque cuando terminé el libro a las dos de la mañana y tenia sueño así que a mi cerebro no le daba para escribir y analizar el libro muy profundamente.
🥳Lo que me gustó:
✅Los dos protagonistas se sintieron muy reales. Lily, cuenta con un par de defectos que de verdad influyen en el desarrollo de la historia mientras que él tiene sus propios problemas. En este aspecto ambos tienen un buen desarrollo.
✅Amé a Tobin, es uno de esos personajes totalmente alegres y divertidos que constantemente saca risas.
✅La importancia que se le dio a la salud mental. (Fue breve pero fuerte).
✅ Los personajes ya son adultos (entre 25 y 30 años, mas o menos), tienen problemas bastante juveniles como la popularidad o sentirse parte de un grupo, y aunque esto puede sonar inmaduro creo que fue realista y que la autora lo desarrolló super bien🤍
🤧Lo que no me gustó:
No hay nada en especifico que me haya molestado! Es un buen libro! Es entretenido y se lee rápido pero siento que se me va a olvidar en un par de dias😅 -
I connected to this book on a lot of levels. I loved both characters and empathized with them, but more than anything I loved how they brought their unique brands together to collaborate and create something that both of their audiences could enjoy. Uniquely brilliant!
Lily and Tobin are both influencers on YouTube. While what they vlog about are completely different things, Tobin is more of a gamer and unique commentator on random events and Lily is into beauty and fashion, how in the world could these two worlds ever combine to form a partnership in a collaboration? Especially when they can hardly stand to be in the same room together for a few minutes. It's actually that premise that pulls their viewers in and makes the clicks and comments roll out. Fiery chemistry that began long ago when they used to banter back in high school. Would they kill each other or make out like mad?
The entire concept pulled me because honestly, I had to know that answer just like their viewers. I seriously wanted to know what these two were going to do to entertain two entirely different vlogging audiences and also if Lily and Tobin were going to take things further. There was no creativity left behind because what these two came up with was pure brilliance!! Every moment between Lily and Tobin was fantastic.
Not only were these two vloggers a unique collaboration, but it also ended up changing the trajectory of both of their lives. Is there love involved...it wouldn't be a romance if somebody didn't fall, right? But, more than that, these two completed the other more than they ever thought possible.
When they should have ended up killing each other, they end up...well not. It's sweet and funny and all things fun that I love in a great book. I'll definitely be picking up another Cathy Yardley book again. -
ma gawd. i’m burning up. this book has the best slow burn ever. and tobin - god that man can do anything he wants to me. on another note the representation of asians is amazing and i love that. also adhd in books is so underrecognized and i’m so glad that this book does such a well of describing adhd and i related so much to it. as a person with adhd it was so validating to realize that everything i feel is right and it isn’t just me so this book means the world to me
-
внезапно оказалось очень сложно воспринимать деятельность ютуб-блогеров серьезно. при том, что это очевидно тяжелая и очень нервная работа (которую лично я бы ни себе, ни кому из друзей не пожелала бы), проникнуться тем, что герои сняли видео "мы смоnрим ужастик и орем", и оно набрало сто тыщ просмотров - huh?
также я узнала, что public display of affection для меня дискомфортно не только IRL, но и в книжках!
