The Bone Chamber

Going in, I knew I was either going to really enjoy this book or really dislike it. While it did get a three-star rating, it was on the higher end. The author did a great job of conveying the best sides of fandom and the worse sides of what fandom can bring out in people. Being in several fandoms myself, I could relate to several instances throughout the book. Such as seeing a lack of representation within series; that just merely hint or outright queerbait. Because it's something that continues to happen, and that is highly problematic. I could appreciate the author touching on this issue.
On the other hand, while likely intentional Claire, one of the main protagonists in the story took things way too far. Especially when it came to making sure her ship happened no matter what. It was seen as an overall duty to the fandom, so much so that she pushes her to be love interest out of the picture. Seeing her as a distraction. Which was very off-putting and made it hard to root for Claire when she became obsessed with her goal. She even goes so far at some point to write a fanfiction that involves the actor and his costar as themselves.

That in itself is a massive violation, in my opinion, and a breach of trust. Which all the issues that happened do get wrapped up and dealt with. From memory, I don't think there was anything that was left unresolved. There weren't any holes for the most part, which I was very impressed with the writer for drawing things to a close. As for Forest, the other main protagonist, he's an excellent example of someone who's clearly ignorant but doesn't choose to stay ignorant throughout the entire book. To be honest, I think watching him grow was my favorite part about the entire book. It was very satisfying to watch as someone whose closeminded to the situation around them slowly begins to get it. As for the romance in this book, it was cute, albeit, but there were times where I could have taken it or left it. Mainly because most of the book it's Claire is obsessed with making her ship canon. While equally trying to push her feelings for Tess away. I'm definitely not trying to invalidate how anyone feels about coming out.

I guess I just didn't understand why Claire was so freaked out about coming out. Considering her parents were very liberal and stated numerous times that they were okay with it. Plus it didn't seem like she was worried about the backlash from her peers. So I am honestly stumped by that one. Like I get not wanting to be loud and proud. But the fact that she was uneasy about even telling her parents; I guess I don't get it. My main issue was when Tess to get back at Claire for telling her friends that she liked fandom things was to take it upon herself to out Claire to her mother. Yes, she later apologizes for it, but that is not something you do at all. That is highly unsafe and frankly shitty whether the situation is dangerous or not. It's not a person's place to say anything, regardless of who they are and certainly not over something so petty as anger. That for the most had me feeling just meh at the relationship, despite the fact that Tess apologizes.

All that aside, I did enjoy this read even if I had issues with several points of the book. The fact that the matters were resolved and done so in a strong way made me enjoy this story. You could also see growth in Claire's character, and that was equally enjoyable to experience. I think many people can relate if they are in fandom, especially a fandom that may be guilty of queerbaiting on the regular. I would recommend this book for the sheer fact that it's a short, fun read, and the author clearly gets both sides of the fandom.