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felishacb's review against another edition
3.0
Minor: Sexual assault
sometimes_ready's review
4.0
The script on this candy coated rom com is good. Not sure what the author's connection to ASD is- at times it felt like more acceptable autistic quirks got turned into an "innocent" kink. Don't get me wrong- I was here for it. One hundo the type of connection I, as a sensory seeking autist, am here for.
But. Some key parts of the plot relying on exceptionalism where the autistic character has hard and fast rules related to sensory issues that are dropped for that one patient allistic hero. I'm being too technical about this, but it also blurs the line of fantasy and personal experience that makes me feel the need to forewarn readers. I am my persons' person. No amount of patient, loving coaxing is going to make him thrilled to be touched in highly sensitive places... he's not a sensory seeker and doesn't crave touch- even just from me. I sensory seek and didn't need to learn that from one special person. The plot relies on an autistic character that discovers one single person whose touch is not only tolerable but desired. It's a disbelief I struggle to suspend.
FWIW the library system had this book recommended for autism awareness month, so my expectations were skewed.
Moderate: Sexual assault, Ableism, and Sexual harassment
baileycheshire's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Minor: Sexual assault, Misogyny, Cancer, and Infidelity
teaxmillions's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Sexual assault
nutmegandselkie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Abandonment and Ableism
Moderate: Sexual assault and Cancer
Minor: Emotional abuse
cassie7e's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Probably realistic but drives me nuts when two people assume the worst of each other because of how past people made them feel, especially when everything seems to be going well otherwise! I also could do without the aggressive protective jealous instincts.
As lower-rated reviews have suggested, a few things feel shallowly explored or ignored: the weight of blame for Stella's experiences and anxiety being placed on autism instead of people treating her terribly; the belief that she's bad at sex rather than taken advantage of and/or assaulted by prior men; Philip's words and behaviors amounting to workplace sexual harrassment at the very least; and the idea that autism is hereditary and may extend beyond Stella and the singular other character defined to be autistic.
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual harassment and Sexual assault
skbat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cancer, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Stalking
heather667's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Violence
Moderate: Abandonment, Ableism, and Infidelity
Minor: Stalking and Vomit
rencollins's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It is a super adorable love story and the dirty bits feel the perfect amount of salacious. There were moments where the pace of the book felt a little fast in that it skipped weeks of time in a page, but this is necessary and adds to the realism of the story.
Moderate: Sexual content and Abandonment
Minor: Sexual assault
skupdawg426's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
The gender-swapped "Pretty Woman" plot was totally lost here, because the book didn't focus enough on him, and crucially, he didn't need to go through any social refinement to "fit in" to upperclass society. While you claim that's the punchline, he spends a lot of the book feeling sorry for himself and doesn't really have the necessary character arc of personal betterment to achieve the plot (even if he doesn't have to change, Stella should be showing him how he's good enough...this does not happen to a significant enough degree).
I am all for representation and own-voice stories, but the author seemed to use Stella's autism as a plot device - not a genuine dimension of her character. There was also a heavy does of "tell" instead of "show".
I really liked how Michael insisted on consent...until he didn't (most upsettingly, the bathroom scene after the incident with Philip).
The dirty talk also was weird to me and the writing of the sex scenes was not particularly good or satisfying, though that's more a matter of personal taste than literary criticism.
In all, I don't feel like we earned our HEA. It was just handed to us because that's the romance novel formula. There wasn't enough conflict (especially external conflict) to keep it interesting or make you root for them.
P.S. I hope Michael gets some therapy.
Moderate: Sexual assault