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ashylibrarian's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Mental illness, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Sexual content and Racism
bookishmillennial's review
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
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? No
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
Fake dating was my favorite trope for a while & I hadn’t read any books with it in so long until this one! This also really felt reminiscent of a 90s romcom with the messiness and goofiness of that era, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Joy has loved her best friend Malcolm forever, but when he divulges that he’s found “the one” in Summer, she is understandably heartbroken. Joy and Malcolm met at the lgbtia+ club at school, with him teaching her what asexual meant & her realizing that it described her feelings about sex! Joy always found comfort in the fact that they shared this experience, and sort of closed herself off to the possibility of finding companionship or romance with anyone else. She had become comfortable with her and Malcolm’s dynamic and never questioned it or pondered if she could pursue romance.
Fox (Summer’s bestie) was a lovely love interest for her, and after they pretend to fall for each other during a weekend away, Joy begins to ruminate on new, surprising possibilities! I loved the build up to their romance and how Fox not only called Joy in (when it came to the unspoken issues she had with her friendship with Malcolm), but he also invited her to consider a life beyond Malcolm. It wasn’t about “oh you just haven’t found the right person,” which is an aro/acephobic thing to assume; it was moreso, “You’re too close to see that he doesn’t feel the way you do, and that’s not okay for him to use you for constant emotional labor.” I am sure there’s a more eloquent way to frame this, but I really admired that Fox was brave and compassionate in presenting this information to Joy.
This was such a lovely story to read, and I will absolutely be checking out more of Claire Kann’s work!
Fake dating was my favorite trope for a while & I hadn’t read any books with it in so long until this one! This also really felt reminiscent of a 90s romcom with the messiness and goofiness of that era, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Joy has loved her best friend Malcolm forever, but when he divulges that he’s found “the one” in Summer, she is understandably heartbroken. Joy and Malcolm met at the lgbtia+ club at school, with him teaching her what asexual meant & her realizing that it described her feelings about sex! Joy always found comfort in the fact that they shared this experience, and sort of closed herself off to the possibility of finding companionship or romance with anyone else. She had become comfortable with her and Malcolm’s dynamic and never questioned it or pondered if she could pursue romance.
Fox (Summer’s bestie) was a lovely love interest for her, and after they pretend to fall for each other during a weekend away, Joy begins to ruminate on new, surprising possibilities! I loved the build up to their romance and how Fox not only called Joy in (when it came to the unspoken issues she had with her friendship with Malcolm), but he also invited her to consider a life beyond Malcolm. It wasn’t about “oh you just haven’t found the right person,” which is an aro/acephobic thing to assume; it was moreso, “You’re too close to see that he doesn’t feel the way you do, and that’s not okay for him to use you for constant emotional labor.” I am sure there’s a more eloquent way to frame this, but I really admired that Fox was brave and compassionate in presenting this information to Joy.
This was such a lovely story to read, and I will absolutely be checking out more of Claire Kann’s work!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, and Acephobia/Arophobia
Moderate: Sexual content, Racism, Death, Car accident, and Mental illness
psistillreadyou's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Acephobia/Arophobia
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Racism and Homophobia
aus10england's review
emotional
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
3.75
Very lighthearted and great representation. I kinda spaced out a bit towards the end, but the humor and characters kept me going.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Acephobia/Arophobia
Moderate: Sexual content
takarakei's review
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
3.5
- ACE main character(s)
- MC is in love with her bff
- kind of a blind date set up (sort of)
It was actually interesting to read a nonfiction book about ACE representation (by Angela Chen) at the same time of reading this. I think that really informed my own ability to understand Joy as a main character. This book reminded me of that movie 27 dresses (only in the like pining after someone kind of off limits and then falling for someone unexpected). The pining over Joy's bff was a bit much at times, and while I did really like the eventual ending it felt a bit convoluted. I cannot speak to the ACE representation myself and if it was done well (and every ACE person's experience is unique), but there were many things echoed from the nonfiction read in this book, so it seemed well done to me...
3/5🌶️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, and Acephobia/Arophobia
Moderate: Sexual content, Racism, and Mental illness
Minor: Car accident and Death
alisonfaith426's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
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? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content and Alcohol
Minor: Cursing
machetemilk's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual content
chaoticnostalgia's review against another edition
lighthearted
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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Sexual content, Grief, Acephobia/Arophobia, Death, and Alcohol
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
cozyscones's review
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Acephobia/Arophobia
Moderate: Sexual content and Racism
mmefish's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I needed something to get me out of reading slump and this one did the trick.
The romance was cute (?) I'm not a big contemporary romance person. I also don't like reading paragraphs describing outfits the MC picked up, or how many followers she has on Instagram, or how beautiful she thought she was. Honestly, I'd say this particular book fits into Chick lit category.
The characters were fine but — being 30 years old — they couldn't communicate for shit.
I appreciated the Ace representation.
P.S. what's up with these names?! Joy, Summer, Fox... and Malcolm.
The romance was cute (?) I'm not a big contemporary romance person. I also don't like reading paragraphs describing outfits the MC picked up, or how many followers she has on Instagram, or how beautiful she thought she was. Honestly, I'd say this particular book fits into Chick lit category.
The characters were fine but — being 30 years old — they couldn't communicate for shit.
I appreciated the Ace representation.
P.S. what's up with these names?! Joy, Summer, Fox... and Malcolm.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Car accident and Sexual content