Written by contributor Amy Jane Lehan
Son of a millionaire artist turned gallery owner, Raphael ‘Raffy’ Odom doesn’t quite live up to the expectations his mother has. Preferring the feel of a hot glue gun and foam to anything else, Raffy is determined that this year, he will blow minds at the most important convention in the cosplay world, Controverse, even if he has to compete against his ex-boyfriend and former duo partner to do so.
Raffy is a seventeen-year-old stress ball, stuffed with a good dose determination and pure talent. Cosplay is his passion, his mind a magic laden nest where small ideas grow into wonderful actualities. He is painfully aware that if he wants to follow his dreams with a formal art education, he will need to fund it himself, ideally through scoring sponsorship when he wins the top prize at Controverse. Winning at ‘Trip-C’, as it is called by the cool kids, would solve his future financial problems as well as proving to his mother that his creations are more than a hobbyist phase. His costumes are works of literal art built with his own hands and passion. Raffy is single minded in his pursuit of his goal, self-deprecating at times, he is mostly secure with who he is and is unequivocally himself. The one person who seems to truly put dents in his confidence is his mother Evie. She frequently demeans him, has nothing but animosity for the store Craft Club, and would sooner die than have a child that does cosplay seriously. Forced to lie about his passions, Raffy is often on the back foot in their interactions, with Evie’s cutting remarks coupled with her apparent lack of caring about him in general. A few times a week, hidden away from his mother in their mostly unused backyard studio, Raffy streams himself creating his works of art out of any material imaginable. His online following validates him in way Evie doesn’t and provides an outlet to gush about his passion.
Luca Vitale is a bit of a jock, has a touch of dudebro going on at times and is really very lovely to look at, which he knows. He plays soccer and hangs out with ‘the boys’ and generally stays within that social lane or that is how it would seem to most. Luca is bisexual, but does not have the easiest time at home because of this. His mother is determined that he follow a more ‘straight’ path to appease his father, believing that outside things influence someone’s sexuality. She dictates what he reads and watches, insists he keeps playing soccer and encouraging female relationships. Luca knows he is absolutely not allowed to be watching anime, browsing Craft Club for Sea Foam Dream #6 rhinestones and most definitely not watching the soft gay boy from school be dazzling artificial fins on a live stream. Luca spends more and more time with Raffy, trying to learn the ins and outs of cosplay and burning his ass in the process, literally. He is a sweetheart at his core, seeking acceptance for who he is entirely and unsure of how he can make all the pieces of his life work together but wants Raffy firmly in it. He is warm and genuine, supportive of Raffy and in awe of his ability to be entirely himself. The moments that show his judgemental side and insecurities make him real, even when the narrative has you thinking you should dislike, it’s hard to do so.
Told with a dual timeline, the past picks up just over a year prior working steadily towards present day. Starting with surprise rhinestones and pulling the reader through a growing relationship woven with the secrets they’re keeping from their own parents. Raffy opens up Luca’s world, letting him lean into who he is and who he wants to be without expectation or judgement. He indulges his ideas and is happy to be distracted by Luca, craft no longer his sole focus 24/7. Luca has some preconceived ideas about conventions and the people that attend but through Raffy he opens up to it all, eventually being as sucked in as everyone else. Their love story was sweet, organic but not without flaws, and it wasn’t rushed or lofty, just people falling in love. The present narrative is spread over three days, Raffy barely able to contain his emotions when he spots Luca in his beautiful craft world. Trip-C is his dream and his future, he won’t let one ex-boyfriend derail that, no matter how much he hurts. When twists and roadblocks are thrown in the way, it ultimately forges their paths back towards each other, though Raffy isn’t sure he wants to be near Luca at all, let alone lose himself in that relationship again, even if it means losing out at Controverse.
Be Dazzled is adorable, soul warming and plain old fun, each page sucking you in more until you’re at the end and don’t quite know why or how there isn’t any more brilliance left to read. Raffy and Luca are wonderfully individual, neither of them having any sort of wild cliché extremes that would take away from their realism. Ryan La Sala stitches the then and now timelines together effortlessly, the dialogue and interactions read like teenagers and everything perfectly unfolds thanks to the authors natural talent for storytelling. Be Dazzled should find a place on every bookshelf to be read time and again, particularly when you need a book hug from what I have no doubt will become a favourite.
Be Dazzled is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of January 5th 2021.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
Who’s ready to sparkle??
Project Runway goes to Comic Con in an epic queer love story about creativity, passion, and finding the courage to be your most authentic self.
Raffy has a passion for bedazzling. Not just bedazzling, but sewing, stitching, draping, pattern making–for creation. He’s always chosen his art over everything–and everyone–else and is determined to make his mark at this year’s biggest cosplay competition. If he can wow there, it could lead to sponsorship, then art school, and finally earning real respect for his work. There’s only one small problem… Raffy’s ex-boyfriend, Luca, is his main competition.
Raffy tried to make it work with Luca. They almost made the perfect team last year after serendipitously meeting in the rhinestone aisle at the local craft store–or at least Raffy thought they did. But Luca’s insecurities and Raffy’s insistence on crafting perfection caused their relationship to crash and burn. Now, Raffy is after the perfect comeback, one that Luca can’t ruin.
But when Raffy is forced to partner with Luca on his most ambitious build yet, he’ll have to juggle unresolved feelings for the boy who broke his heart, and his own intense self-doubt, to get everything he’s ever wanted: choosing his art, his way.
