Reader's Discretion Advised

Post-read Notes:This was a frustrating read. A quite annoying read. I really wanted to like it. I have no idea why, since the concept IS interesting, but when I think about it, it (at its most basic denominator) has been done before. I suppose its novelty wore off?*sigh///Rest of the Review, written partly as I read as I am wont to doI liked it until it started hinting at Love Dodecahedron...Actually, even before that, something about this had a really manga-y feel about it...and that's not necessarily a good thing.Might be that this thing has me speaking in tropinese.Anyways, I was annoyed because I didn't come to this realization until past half-way. After I realized this is basically an m/m manga/light-novel/clusterfuck-of-idk, I settled down and enjoyed it in all its manga-y goodness.I mean, I knew going into it there had to be a Becoming the Mask and Third Act Misunderstanding (which means Cole would have to be Jerk with a Heart of Gold).It's just...ridiculous? Yeah. Ridiculous. For whatever reason, I just couldn't really take it seriously. Or pseudo-seriously.It's a manga. That's all there is to it.And there's Flanderdization, too.Cole is kind of a study in Jerk (see The Jerk Index for more information. He fits several superficially, but that might be the Flanderdization.)Hooray for Moral Myopia.Argh. I don't know. I feel like I want to like this book, but I just can't. It's a study in tropes, for one thing, in such a way that I feel like it's been manga-fied.I think part of it may be that all of a sudden, Dale goes from the alleged pariah to the dick magnet. I mean, it was already annoying that Cole and Dale are almost impossible to keep straight (haha) in the beginning. Why did both their names have to end in "-le"? Sheesh.It could also do with a good round of editing...I mean, I've been reading so much romance lately that sometimes, I kind of expect/hope that the main couple NOT to end up together because when in doubt, go for variety.I kind of...I dunno. Usually I care enough about the characters that the above is generally only a passing fancy and more for the principle of variety than anything else.This one, though...=_=Oh, and don't let me forget.There's HEAs all around. "You get one, and you get one, and here's one for you, too."Oh, god. There's even a Defrosting Ice Queen thrown in the mix.Hmmm...-le^2's romance summarizedCole = Con Man/The Mole (let's face it; he was kind of the bad-ish guy) >> Reverse MoleDale = Geek >> Beautiful All Along/Just the Way You Are/He Cleans Up Nicely>base progression