Van Whye, Kevin. Nate Plus One. New York; Random House Books For Young Readers, 2022.
ISBN-13: 978-0593376423 | $17.99 USD | 256 pages | YA Contemporary Romance
Blurb
Boy plus boy. Two weeks in Johannesburg. A summer of music, adventure, self-discovery . . . and definitely not love. What could go wrong?
Nate needs a date to his cousin’s wedding. Jai is Nate’s best friend and secret crush. Could Jai be Nate’s plus-one—and only?
Nate Hargraves is a behind-the-scenes kind of guy. That’s why he dreams of being a songwriter instead of a singer. But things change the summer after junior year as Nate gets ready to fly to South Africa for his cousin’s lavish destination wedding. The trip is bound to be epic. Except—Nate just found out that his ex-boyfriend will be at the reception. Ugh. He does not want to face this one solo.
Jai Patel, Nate’s best friend (and secret crush), has his own problems. The lead singer of Jai’s band, Infinite Sorrow, quit weeks before a contest that promised to be their big break. But Nate rocks Jai’s world when he agrees to sing with the band. Even though Nate’s not one for the spotlight, he knows this is the kind of stuff you do for . . . friends. In return, Jai volunteers to be Nate’s travel buddy around South Africa, a buffer against his ex, and his plus-one at the wedding.
Maybe this summer will be epic after all. Now that Nate’s crush is on board, will love crash the party? Fall in love with this joyful, swoon-worthy rom-com by the author of Date Me, Bryson Keller.
Review
4 stars
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
Nate Plus One is a charming sophomore novel, and I continue to enjoy how Kevin Van Whye’s love for romcom tropes shines through in his writing. I’m a sucker for friends to lovers, and he delivers all the feels of that here.
Nate and Jai have such a lovely dynamic, which translates well as they take their friendship to the next level. I very much resonate with Nate’s more reserved nature, while also admiring how he’s willing to step out of his comfort zone for his best friend. And Jai is also a really solid guy who is supportive of Nate in the potentially awkward situations he is prepared to run into.
I loved the infusion of South African culture that comes into the story, especially the way it highlights how recent, relatively, apartheid occurred, and highlighting the changes that have happened since that ended. And the family dynamics are brilliant. Nate worries that they won’t accept he’s gay, as they haven’t seen him since before he came out, but they do. And there’s some touching moments that highlight his lingering connection to his late father that I really liked.
I did kind of wish a few elements had been developed more. The ex seemed like a convenient plot device to motivate Nate to bring Jai along to South Africa, but nothing really came into play with him until it came time to force a third act breakup. And given that music is a big part of Jai’s life, and forms a big part of the agreement between the two, I’d have liked to see more of it sprinkled throughout. We get some scenes, especially at the end, but I’d have liked to see more.
However, I still mostly enjoyed this and would recommend it to anyone looking for a multicultural queer romcom.
Author Bio
Kevin van Whye was born and raised in South Africa, where his love for storytelling started at a young age. Kevin is the author of Date Me, Bryson Keller. He lives in Johannesburg, and when he’s not reading, he’s writing stories that give his characters the happy rom-com endings they deserve.
Buy links
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