Whenever people ask what kind of genres I like to read, I always forget to list romance. I think partially because it’s a newer interest for me, and I don’t tend to read in it as heavily as others I like. But give me a sweet romance with adorably awkward people falling in love, and I’ll devour it.Lab Partners by Mora Montgomery ticked all my boxes, and I read it in one day. I loved so many things about this story: how kind and awkward Elliot was, how Jordan helped his self-esteem, the relationship between Elliot and his sister. But, there were a couple things that I took serious issue with and I think are deeply problematic.
What I liked
Elliot and his sister Ellie’s relationship
Okay, let’s get one thing out of the way: Elliot and Ellie are way too similar for character names, and it feels obnoxious to make them brother and sister. But since the book is written in first person so we don’t actually see the name “Elliot” on the page that much, it’s not too distracting once you get used to it.
Alright, that aside, I loved their relationship. It totally made sense how intimidated Elliot was by his sister since she seemed to have everything figured out and he has no clue what he wants to do after college. But then you get to see their relationship grow throughout the book as she is the only person in his family who knows about his feelings for Jordan and they become closer. I also absolutely loved the scene when Elliot has started to think he might be gay, and Ellie is super encouraging and accepting. She has some great lines of dialogue that felt like they really addressed the nuance and importance of the situation without being melodramatic.
The authenticity of the plot
I don’t quite know how to summarize this in one line, but basically I really appreciated how it captures how confusing high school can be, especially as you approach graduation, regardless of who you are. The plot focuses on Elliot figuring out he’s gay and if he likes Jordan as more than a friend, which is obviously already completely confusing and a lot to deal with. But in the backdrop, Elliot is a junior trying to decide where to apply for college and what he even wants to study. He loves cooking, but everyone else in his family is very STEM-focused (although that cooking plot line never really goes anywhere, which is disappointing). Additionally, Elliot’s family is supportive and loving, but extremely busy, and almost every time Elliot is at home, he’s by himself, so he’s wrestling with his family relationships and how they’ve changed. It seemed like a very realistic portrayal of how everything is heightened in high school, and how there’s never just one thing to figure out; you’re figuring out your whole life
What I didn’t like
Elliot and Jordan’s relationship
This isn’t completely fair. I did like their friendship together, how they supported and backed each other up, especially against the boys who kept bullying Elliot. And when they decided to date, their relationship was also super sweet. I loved seeing Elliot get all flustered, but also sometimes it was Jordan who would trip over himself, and it was all kinds of cuteness. But the transition from friends to dating…It felt off. Jordan kisses Elliot, which causes him to start questioning his sexuality. But instead of giving him space to figure it out on his own, Jordan comes uncomfortably close to pressuring Elliot into deciding within a week or so of their kiss. I get that maybe the author needed the plot to move faster or whatever other reasons there might be, but it felt really problematic to have a character pressure another character into dating them. Even if it was a heterosexual relationship, I would have had some issues, but especially with this being such a huge thing for Elliot to grapple with, I wanted to shout at Jordan, “Will you give him some time?!”
The revenge on the bullies
This is technically a spoiler, but it was a big issue I had with the book so I want to talk about it:
Throughout the book, three boys have been tormenting Elliot and eventually Jordan. It started out for various reasons, but quickly turned to homophobia once Elliot and Jordan started spending more time together. At the end of the book, one of Elliot’s friends does some hacking/social media digging on the bullies and then has a grand reveal when she shames them in front of the entire school. Some of the secrets were good to come out, like how one boy was cheating on his girlfriend. But then she outed one boy, revealing that he had a boyfriend at a different school. The other students began to mock him, and he was ashamed. The whole thing was super problematic. Even if he is the bad guy, outing someone publicly against their will is Not Okay. There were other more personal secrets like that too, such as one boy’s dad being abusive, that were presented as something they should be embarrassed about. I’m fine if the author wants to somehow reveal these backstories to the reader to show that the bullies were more than one-dimensional characters, but having it be a part of the revenge felt cruel and intrusive, especially since there was never any discussion of if a line had been crossed.
Overall, Lab Partners was a fun read and captured some elements of high school life well, but stumbled at the end with some problematic ways of resolving things.
Thank you to NetGallery for the ARC!
Lab Partners by Mora Montgomery comes out on March 10. Pre-order the book here!
Do you want to read Lab Partners? What are your favorite romance books? Let me know in the comments!
Cover and summary from GoodReads
Sometimes you don’t know who you love, until they love you
When Jordan Hughes arrives at Pinecrest High School, Elliot Goldman’s graduating year suddenly gets a lot more interesting. Smart, good looking and charming, Jordan isn’t 
As they start spending more time together outside of school, Elliot realizes he’s never met anyone quite like Jordan. And then everything changes one night when Jordan kisses him, making Elliot question everything about their relationship and about himself. The butterflies start to make sense—the trouble is, right now, nothing else does.
Love was the last thing on Elliot’s mind. But as he begins to figure out how he really feels about Jordan, he realizes that sometimes the last thing you are looking for is the one thing you need the most.