This was a very sweet and lighthearted YA magical romance. The romance was definitely central, you only got a very light idea of the magic and any events prior to the start of the novel. It had a kind of fanfiction vibe, with slightly familiar characters and dynamics in a magic school, but the characters were individuated and interesting, the New Zealand location and cultures added a fresh spin, and most of all the actual—possibly completely unprecedented?!—presence of real parents and family relationship dynamics in a story about a magic boarding school was really unique. ( )

Time Te Maro and the Subterranean Heartsick Blues is a queer YA fantasy romance novel focusing on Tim and Elliott, two teenagers at a boarding school for kids with magical abilities. After both boys have been effectively dumped, they team up together on a school project - taking care of a giant egg - in order to get revenge on their exes, but both get a little more than they signed up for.

For fans of YA romance, this has all one could ask for - solid characters, a well-placed plot, and a good handful of favorite tropes. I also enjoyed reading a fantasy somewhat based on a culture not often seen in literature, especially YA, and it's done really nicely here. The book definitely feels like a product of fandom, so your feelings on fanfiction may be a good indication of your interest.

The only thing I really wanted more from this book was a little more depth. Granted, it's a romance novel, so there's not a ton of that in the genre in general, but I still wanted to feel like Tim and Elliott would still be lingering in my brain after reading, and I didn't really get that feeling.

Overall, though, it's a fun read for the banter between characters alone. I'd say it's a must for queer YA romance fans, even if fantasy isn't one of your favorite genres.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hardie Grant Children's Publishing for providing a copy for review. ( )

I wish I read this earlier, it's absolutely awesome! The epilogue was kind of meh but everything else was so cute and fun to read that I'm giving it 5 stars because now it's a favorite and I will recommend it to everyone. ( )

3.5 stars rounded up to 4 for a very cute and sweet debut effort. I'm on a mission to read all wizard boys in love novel to chase the high from the Simon Snow trilogy. This one is a total dedication to Harry Potter slash fic fans. It had all our favourite tropes - enemies to lovers, idiots in love, egg baby project, accidental magic bond, bed sharing, and surly bad ass best friend. It's also set in New Zealand so reading it in Kiwi accent sparked extra joy. ( )

Fantastic. I enjoyed myself immensely and nursed aching cheeks for the whole day that it took me to inhale this book. What's the correlation? Well, I just couldn't stop grinning. Honestly, I tried. ( )