Be Dazzled

**eARC received by the publisher and NetGalley**
(I was so excited when my request to read it was approved, I can't even!)

I love love loved this book! A true love letter to creativity, crafts, and self-love.

The story follows Rafael (or Crafty Raffy, as he's known online), a passionate cosplayer, as he attends Controverse and competes alongside his friend, May. Impressing at Controverse could lead Raffy to the glittery future he's always dreamed of and all seems to be going well.
Then his ex-boyfriend, Luca, shows up in a fabulous cosplay—how can he compete alongside Luca and their many memories? On top of that, Raffy's mother doesn't know about Controverse and it has to stay that way.

I absolutely loved La Sala's voice in this book. His show more way of telling the story was so fun and captivating. The story is told in dual-timelines, which worked very well, and moved the story along at a fast pace. Through the 'then' chapters we see how the boys' relationship started out and how they ended up at the complicated place they're at in the present. Also, the way the story and the competition developed...*chef's kiss*!

The characters were also great! Raffy is very focused on crafting and building cosplays, often to the point of distancing himself from the rest of the world. Then there's Luca, the kind jock who's very interested in Raffy and cosplays. His chaotic energy in Raffy's structured creative process was so stressful, but fun to read about.

It was wonderful to hear so much about crafts and building a cosplay. I love to sew and be crafty, though nowhere near Raffy's level, so every time I understood the sewing terms he used I was like, aHA. And the details! La Sala described everything so well. There are too few YA-books with crafting at the center of the plot.

Cosplay, cons, and crafts...what's not to love!

Overall, BE DAZZELED was a celebration of creativity perfect for all of us geeks and fan-people out there. Its exploration of friendship and queer relationships warmed my heart. The mix of hilarious adventures and seriousness weaved through the story was perfect. And, truly, it was a story about standing up for who you are.
5/5 stars! I highly recommend it! show less

Sometimes your girl just needs some (borderline super cheesy) teen romance with a healthy side dose of nerd culture and cosplay, and boy did Ryan La Sala deliver it with this heartfelt story! Following protagonist Rafael (aka Crafty Raffy) as he navigates the world of cosplay and creation, we see him find unexpected love, practise his chosen artform, and struggle with his family who doesn’t accept his passion. On the surface the story seems a bit over-bedazzled (sorry, I had to haha) and melodramatic, and Raffy definitely has his moments of teenage silliness, but La Sala explores some apt themes around growing up in such a realistic and truthful manner that I’ll forgive him for covering everything in a layer of glitter. Who am I show more kidding, anyways; you know I’m always down for a little extra sparkle in life and stories! show less

Be Dazzled is the sparkly gay book I hoped it would be.

Raffy is a seventeen-year-old gay cosplayer with a passion for craft and a dedicated following. His mother is a big name in the art world and looks down on his work to the extent that he has to hide it from her. Raffy's ex-boyfriend Luca is a bisexual soccer player with a homophobic father and a mother who wants Luca to be straight because it's easier. (For her.) When Be Dazzled begins, they've been broken up for a while and the narrative switches back and forth between the beginning of their relationship and the present, when they're against each other in a cosplay competition.

La Sala balances the romantic arc with Raffy and Luca's family arcs, as well as Raffy's growing into show more himself as a crafter and artist. The relationships between the teens and their parents are definitely strained and since the book is entirely from Raffy's POV we don't know the full of extent of what Luca's struggling with, which worked well as a way of keeping them apart. I was wondering how or if they'd find their way back to each other, how they could possibly work things out with their parents and, honestly, if one of them would get kicked out.

But I'm a queer romance reader and the ending of this book felt like a hug. Nothing's perfect and it's not a sitcom episode where everything's suddenly fixed and happy, but it was hopeful and joyful in a way I really needed in January 2021.
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I received a copy of this book for review. (review is at www.loveinpanels.com/prose/be-dazzled) show less

Ryan La Sala's debut fantasy REVERIE was a delight, so I was really looking forward to reading BE DAZZLED, and he did not disappoint. BE DAZZLED has the same energy as his previous novel, but moves in to contemporary YA romance, with a story about doing what you love. With glitter. And sequins.

The story flips between past and present timelines, but La Sala handles the switches well.

It's a fun look into the work and passion that goes into making cosplay costumes. Raffy loves to craft, but what he does with his cosplay costumes goes far beyond crafting - something that his artsy mother doesn't give him credit for. She doesn't see crafting as ART, so Raffy hides his creative gifts from her. Their relationship is complicated and hard to show more read.

Raffy falls for Luca, a soccer player who is bi and closeted (particularly with his family.) Their relationship is both sweet and frustrating, depending on which timeline you are reading.
The characters are well-crafted, layered people - all but perhaps Raffy's mom, who is an unlikable pill. The story is excellent, the crafting a delight.

The only part of the story that frustrated me to no end was Raffy's response to his mother at the end of the story - i really wish he had been able to give her a piece of his mind, because I definitely wanted to.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own. show less

I LOVED this book! As a 70-old-retired school library, I love books that show me different points of view. Raffy’s voice was so strong. He was so articulate in sharing his passion about designing for cosplay, and his sexuality. Not only was he a refreshing voice in sharing his emotions about his boyfriend, but I was surprised at how emotionally involved I became in the ComicCon convention competition. Sadly, the cover design showed none of this. I was expecting more of a cute gay romance, rather than the issues covered in the book. Pete Cross’s narration was a big part of my enjoyment. He got not only the emotion of Raffy but his voice changes for different characters was excellent.

I laughed out loud at least twice while reading this and, given that I'm currently descending into one of my regularly-scheduled depressive episodes, that's impressive.

This is a five star read!
Be Dazzled is about Rafael a seventeen year old artist who enters a cosplay competition and has to compete against his ex boyfriend. It’s about creativity, passion, love and friendship. The simple storyline gripped me. I fell in love with the characters. The heavier moments felt truly authentic. While the age recommendation is 14+ I would recommend it for ages 16 and older. There are no graphic scenes, but there is mentions of condoms and sex as well as a lot of swearing.
I loved this book! It’s a five star book! I would highly recommend it!