BREAKUP, MAKEUP

Old flames meet at a cosplay contest.

Eli, a nonbinary makeup artist and cosplay influencer taking a gap year before college, dreams of working behind the scenes on films, bringing fantastical beings to life. Between shifts at Denny’s, Eli attends FaeCon in one of their ambitious cosplays. There, they learn that their hero, Theresa Jenkins, a makeup artist and co-creator of the tabletop role-playing game podcast Chaos Reign, is offering a scholarship to Beyond, Eli’s dream special-effects makeup school in Hollywood, as first prize in the Makeup Wars contest. Eli enters—only to find out Zach, their ex, is also competing. Lingering bitterness and jealous romantic tension make it difficult for Eli to focus on their craft, but after Zach saves Eli from a makeup prosthesis mishap, the pair broach a tentative friendship. Supported by best friend Bodhi, Eli struggles over their feelings for Zach while fighting to win. The writing grips from the start and shines most when Eli is performing the more technical aspects of their cosplays. Unfortunately, though Eli is a huge nerd and adores the Chaos Reign podcast, readers are given scant details about the game’s lore or what draws Eli to its characters, leaving odd gaps given that the bulk of the plot is about cosplaying. Fun spot art opens each chapter. Eli and Zach seem to default to White; Bodhi is implied Indian and White.

Only held back from greatness by limited worldbuilding.