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4.24 AVERAGE
4.24 AVERAGE
Tilly In Technicolor by Mazey Eddings (coming out August 15, 2023)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
2.5/5 stars
Tilly in Technicolor is a YA romance about two neurodiverse teens- one with ADHD, and the other with autism- who spend a summer traveling Europe together and bonding over their neurodiversity.
Whatever it was about Tilly in Technicolor that captivated so many reviewers honestly didn't land for me. For one thing, Tilly and Oliver spent so much time educating the reader about ADHD and autism that it felt more like I was being educated on these conditions than that I was reading a romance novel. Don't get me wrong, that will be GREAT for plenty of readers, but for me was too much. And it's like the book focused so much on their neurodiversity (I think mainly Tilly) that I didn't get a great sense of who they were as people aside it. There also wasn't a compelling plot and I never felt totally hooked by it. Like, it was more vibes than plot (and there really weren't that many vibes, actually).
At the end of my list of gripes...for a book that takes place during a trip across Europe, I feel like the European settings should have really enhanced the plot and brought the book to life, but they did not. A romance across Europe is a premise with a ton of potential, and for me the book really didn't meet it. It did more or less sell me on the romance though and I could feel Tilly and Oliver's feelings for one another the whole time. The way their feelings for one another were depicted was very sweet and innocent and I loved their interactions.
There's no way I can review this without mentioning the things I did like, and I did enjoy certain aspects of the book. I LOVED the chapter titles and this book nailed the use of Gen Z slang. I've seen plenty of authors use young people slang in a very "how do you do, fellow kids?" kind of way, but Tilly in Technicolor integrated it seamlessly. I also have to give kudos to the author for the diversity in the book. There are its neurodiverse MCs, of course, of which the YA lit genre is sorely lacking. Tilly in Technicolor will help many young readers to better understand and accept autism and ADHD, which is wonderful. It also has various LGBTQ side characters, including Oliver's two mums and Tilly's lesbian sister. A book portraying and normalizing love and acceptance within families is always, always an excellent thing. You can never have too much of that.
Despite its mediocre reception from me, I have no doubt that this book will resonate with many neurodiverse folks and that many readers will find the romance captivating! For me it just didn't hit the mark.
Thank you to Mazey Eddings and St. Martin's Press for the eARC, which I received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Tilly in Technicolor is a YA romance about two neurodiverse teens- one with ADHD, and the other with autism- who spend a summer traveling Europe together and bonding over their neurodiversity.
Whatever it was about Tilly in Technicolor that captivated so many reviewers honestly didn't land for me. For one thing, Tilly and Oliver spent so much time educating the reader about ADHD and autism that it felt more like I was being educated on these conditions than that I was reading a romance novel. Don't get me wrong, that will be GREAT for plenty of readers, but for me was too much. And it's like the book focused so much on their neurodiversity (I think mainly Tilly) that I didn't get a great sense of who they were as people aside it. There also wasn't a compelling plot and I never felt totally hooked by it. Like, it was more vibes than plot (and there really weren't that many vibes, actually).
At the end of my list of gripes...for a book that takes place during a trip across Europe, I feel like the European settings should have really enhanced the plot and brought the book to life, but they did not. A romance across Europe is a premise with a ton of potential, and for me the book really didn't meet it. It did more or less sell me on the romance though and I could feel Tilly and Oliver's feelings for one another the whole time. The way their feelings for one another were depicted was very sweet and innocent and I loved their interactions.
There's no way I can review this without mentioning the things I did like, and I did enjoy certain aspects of the book. I LOVED the chapter titles and this book nailed the use of Gen Z slang. I've seen plenty of authors use young people slang in a very "how do you do, fellow kids?" kind of way, but Tilly in Technicolor integrated it seamlessly. I also have to give kudos to the author for the diversity in the book. There are its neurodiverse MCs, of course, of which the YA lit genre is sorely lacking. Tilly in Technicolor will help many young readers to better understand and accept autism and ADHD, which is wonderful. It also has various LGBTQ side characters, including Oliver's two mums and Tilly's lesbian sister. A book portraying and normalizing love and acceptance within families is always, always an excellent thing. You can never have too much of that.
Despite its mediocre reception from me, I have no doubt that this book will resonate with many neurodiverse folks and that many readers will find the romance captivating! For me it just didn't hit the mark.
Thank you to Mazey Eddings and St. Martin's Press for the eARC, which I received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Ok this might be a total mess of a review but please bare with me.
First I'll share what I liked...
The cover is absolutely adorable, when it comes to "don't judge a book by its cover" I will admit I do. a HUNDRED PERCENT. And the cover is the main reason i bought this book and gave it a chance (on top of the ADHD and Autistic rep which I've encountered before and I loved it every single time).
The representation
LOVED IT. I don't know what to say other than that! If you're looking for a book with a good ADHD & Autistic rep this might be the one for you.
Oliver
My sweet angel, I loved him. He was sweet and the way he described colors made it real, like we were there with him (I liked the occasional google search I had to do to understand which color he was describing). Little bonus for the way he was OBSESSED with Tilly' birthmark. (ADORABLE)
Here comes the problems.
I expected that to be an important part of the story, I don't know why, but I was waiting for the reveal of what color was her birthmarks.
Furthermore, the beginning of this book, the setup of the plot if you will, was interesting to say the least. The scene in the plane was as long for me as it was for both Tilly and Oliver (example: the ketchup incident, the seat incident, THE RUNNING AWAY FROM A PLANE AND THROUGH AN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT W/ ANYONE ATTEMPTING TO STOP HER?! I mean if this happened in real life she would surely be stopped / questioned by airport security.
Tilly
I get that she has ADHD but I do not think that allows her to be so entitled (maybe I'm wrong don't come at me this is my personal opinion) Example A: THE KETCHUP SCENE, if you love ketchup that much than just BRING SOME WITH YOU FOR GOD' SAKE.
The other characters:
I thought her sister was rude, therefore I didn't not care for her or her love story with Amina (loved Amina by the way, she deserves better tbh)
Her mother was just horrible.
And in the last few chapters they just do a full on 180° and tell Tilly how sorry they are and bla bla bla. (I mean we barely saw Mona' character development but we didn't see ANY from her mom)
The one bed trope
The only situation in which the one bed trope feels natural enough to be realistic (in my personal opinion) is when it comes with the fake dating trope/ Marriage of convenience: (example: The spanish love deception; they shared a bed because the family believed they were dating. Makes sense right?)
I almost dnf'ed 70% in but persevered because I paid for the book. And needed to see it through.
I felt like the ending was rushed, the third-act breakup simply useless, lasted ONE CHAPTER. If you want to put in a third act break up (I find them useless but whatever) then you need 1) A GOOD REASON FOR IT. 2) FOR IT TO LAST LONGER THAN TWO BLOODY CHAPTERS. SHOW US HOW THEY ARE ON THEIR OWN SO THAT WE UNDERSTAND WHY THEY ARE MEANT TO BE TOGETHER. SHOW THEM TRYING TO MOVE ON BUT FAILING AND THEN THE GROVELING SHOULD COME INTO PLAY.
The settings
Last but not least, the uselessness of the whole Europe trip. If the whole book took place in different cities in the same country it would’ve been better (even if I know they did it to try and find buyers or whatever) because they barely talked about the cities they visited, they even visited cities « off camera » and we learnt about it in one paragraph of Tilly or Oliver’ narration.
In conclusion, this book wasn't terrible but it could've been a lot better.
First I'll share what I liked...
The cover is absolutely adorable, when it comes to "don't judge a book by its cover" I will admit I do. a HUNDRED PERCENT. And the cover is the main reason i bought this book and gave it a chance (on top of the ADHD and Autistic rep which I've encountered before and I loved it every single time).
The representation
LOVED IT. I don't know what to say other than that! If you're looking for a book with a good ADHD & Autistic rep this might be the one for you.
Oliver
My sweet angel, I loved him. He was sweet and the way he described colors made it real, like we were there with him (I liked the occasional google search I had to do to understand which color he was describing). Little bonus for the way he was OBSESSED with Tilly' birthmark. (ADORABLE)
Here comes the problems.
I expected that to be an important part of the story, I don't know why, but I was waiting for the reveal of what color was her birthmarks.
Furthermore, the beginning of this book, the setup of the plot if you will, was interesting to say the least. The scene in the plane was as long for me as it was for both Tilly and Oliver (example: the ketchup incident, the seat incident, THE RUNNING AWAY FROM A PLANE AND THROUGH AN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT W/ ANYONE ATTEMPTING TO STOP HER?! I mean if this happened in real life she would surely be stopped / questioned by airport security.
Tilly
I get that she has ADHD but I do not think that allows her to be so entitled (maybe I'm wrong don't come at me this is my personal opinion) Example A: THE KETCHUP SCENE, if you love ketchup that much than just BRING SOME WITH YOU FOR GOD' SAKE.
The other characters:
I thought her sister was rude, therefore I didn't not care for her or her love story with Amina (loved Amina by the way, she deserves better tbh)
Her mother was just horrible.
And in the last few chapters they just do a full on 180° and tell Tilly how sorry they are and bla bla bla. (I mean we barely saw Mona' character development but we didn't see ANY from her mom)
The one bed trope
The only situation in which the one bed trope feels natural enough to be realistic (in my personal opinion) is when it comes with the fake dating trope/ Marriage of convenience: (example: The spanish love deception; they shared a bed because the family believed they were dating. Makes sense right?)
I almost dnf'ed 70% in but persevered because I paid for the book. And needed to see it through.
I felt like the ending was rushed, the third-act breakup simply useless, lasted ONE CHAPTER. If you want to put in a third act break up (I find them useless but whatever) then you need 1) A GOOD REASON FOR IT. 2) FOR IT TO LAST LONGER THAN TWO BLOODY CHAPTERS. SHOW US HOW THEY ARE ON THEIR OWN SO THAT WE UNDERSTAND WHY THEY ARE MEANT TO BE TOGETHER. SHOW THEM TRYING TO MOVE ON BUT FAILING AND THEN THE GROVELING SHOULD COME INTO PLAY.
The settings
Last but not least, the uselessness of the whole Europe trip. If the whole book took place in different cities in the same country it would’ve been better (even if I know they did it to try and find buyers or whatever) because they barely talked about the cities they visited, they even visited cities « off camera » and we learnt about it in one paragraph of Tilly or Oliver’ narration.
In conclusion, this book wasn't terrible but it could've been a lot better.
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
✨ Review ✨
📖 Tilly in Technicolor
✍🏻 Mazey Eddings
☑️ Young Adult Romance
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ | 4.25
“𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙙𝙤 𝙬𝙚 𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙠 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙪𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙟𝙤𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙? 𝙈𝙮 𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙞𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙣. 𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙖 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙚. 𝙄 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣.”
A sweet love letter to neurodiverse brains!
Overview:
•Workplace Romance
•FMC with ADHD x MMC with Autism
•Forced Proximity
•Coming of Age
•European Travels
•Dual POV
𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆, 𝗢𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀.
This was genuinely delightful and insightful! Between the exploration into how different brains function and the adorable relationship, I loved watching these characters grow.
Tilly’s chaotic energy brought so much vibrant life to every page. She feels everything on full throttle, and Eddings did a wonderful job showcasing what it’s like to live with ADHD.
I fully loved reading Tilly’s writing as she explored the uncomfortable and difficult aspects of growing up and existing in our neurotypical-favoring world. Plus, the relationship between her and her mother felt realistically hard and hopeful.
“𝙒𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙤𝙭. 𝙄 𝙨𝙞𝙢𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙚𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙡𝙮 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙗𝙨𝙤𝙧𝙗 𝙢𝙮 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙢 𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙖 𝙤𝙛 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢. 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙟𝙪𝙙𝙜𝙚𝙙.”
And Oliver’s passionate love of colors?! I never would’ve guessed how much I would love his unique gift of connecting to others through the chromatic sphere.
Watching him deal with his surprising feelings for Tilly was hilarious and wholesome. While I’m not sure their relationship would stand the test of time, their connection was absolutely adorable.
“𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙣,” 𝙊𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙚𝙨. “𝙔𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖 … 𝙖 … 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙢.”
“𝙀𝙭𝙘𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙢𝙚?”
“𝙇𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙘𝙧𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙢. 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙗𝙨𝙤𝙧𝙗 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙢 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣. 𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙖 𝙜𝙞𝙛𝙩.”
This was my first Eddings book, and I look forward to reading her backlist!
Overall, I recommend this book to all romance lovers!
✨ Read via Libby ✨
Truly one of my favorite YA romances ever! It’s part fun European travel romp, part thoughtful representation of the ~neurodivine~ life, and allll dreamy love story. I identified so much with Tilly’s ADHD experiences and constantly wanted to give her and Ollie a hug. Highly recommend this for all romance and YA readers’ shelves! (also thought I reviewed this one already but it seems to have disappeared oops
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The audiobook was so wonderfully done. I love this book so much. The description with colors & the characters are so funny! Marvelous!
I’ve read Tilly in Technicolor two times now, and both times I’ve found that it’s an easy but emotional read. I can sit down and read all 306 pages in five hours, and it’s a comforting story to pick up when I’m in a reading rut, not feeling well, or just want a fun, little romance. While reading, I laugh, cry, and feel embarrassed, angry–because the miscommunication trope is present–and comforted. Eddings takes you on a smooth rollercoaster that randomly spikes and scares you out of your wits, only to calm down, offering you a hug and a cup of water.
Well, this book was a DELIGHT! I thought I would read it as a palette cleanser between more serious books and it did do that well. However, the discussions of neurodiverse individuals and their struggles and the silent judgment of low expectations, if you will, just broke my heart and also made me learn things I probably should already have known as an old broad who has spent the last 20+ years in education! I love Tilly. I love love love Oliver. The settings were so joyous and the cast of characters that populate this story are just funny and quirky and sweet and LOVE!!!! ♥♥