Paul Rudnick

The humour is clever but a little forced. I didn't find myself laughing, more like mildly appreciating. But I also became tired of it. And often I wanted the author to get on with plot - the scenes around the trifle and the Baking Jubilee, for example, were amusing but weighed down the forward momentum.

It seemed like a long book even though it was 7.5 hours. Narrator Michael Urie did a mighty job of all the voices but I agree with commentators below that many of the minor character were cartoonish.

"That guy from New York", Carter, was the most interesting thing about Playing the Palace. Prince Edgar, underwhelming.

The cover blurb says: One of Buzzfeed's 39 Excellent LGBTQ books to read this month and always. It's true the writing is excellent, and it's definitely LGBTQ, but it didn't gel for me. The romance was mild. It loses half a mark for disappointment.

I'm turning it off at 75% of the way through...… (meer)

I bought this book in an airport because of a flight delay and because it was the only queer book in the store other than Casey McQuiston's "One Last Stop" (which I own and have read). Long story short, this book is fun. It's not my favorite version of the "American falls in love with foreign royalty" plot, but its fun. The characters are unique and ridiculous, and I laughed quite a bit at their antics. Sometimes the characters, especially the secondary ones, felt a bit caricature like, but it was fine. I do wish that Cullum had been punished for wrecking Carter and Edgar's relationship. I also wish that we had been shown at least 1 example of Carter doing well in the public eye, instead of being only told about them and shown all of the mess ups. All in all, if you're looking for a fun, ridiculous, easy, gay book, Playing the Palace might just be what you're looking for.… (meer)

Yay libraries!

This novel is a fairy tale. Some low-star reviewers didn't understand that. Fairy tale: no real-world accuracy, impossible plot, wild antics. Accuracy would've made it both unlikely AND boring. Who needs that?

Fairy tale. Okay? Okay.

What it does deliver exceptionally well is compelling emotional character arcs, which is the kind of reality I think most people want whether they realize it or not. If the MC's inventive descriptions and humor grab you in the first page, you'll probably enjoy this as I did. I enjoyed most of the humor (unusual), despite some of the 'teasing' insults. I let the other character's reactions inform my own, as one does. Tone is hard to convey in words, after all. The families and friends are great, as is the awkward romance progression. The setbacks upset me, and the mistakes made me cringe. It made me FEEL, which is an author's entire job. I am really glad I gave this one a chance, and will read more by this author.… (meer)