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ironskin's review against another edition
3.0
I really wanted to love this and I’m all for more diversity and own voices in romance, but I found this book had lots of yikes.
Her bestie was super harsh and not supportive, and I found everyone’s behaviour pretty juvenile. I also felt like the pacing was tough, and I didn’t believe in the insta love.
Definitely a book where if folk talked a bit more there would be no third act drama.
Also didn’t feel like there was any character development, just this happened and then this happened and then this happened and then the end.
Her bestie was super harsh and not supportive, and I found everyone’s behaviour pretty juvenile. I also felt like the pacing was tough, and I didn’t believe in the insta love.
Definitely a book where if folk talked a bit more there would be no third act drama.
Also didn’t feel like there was any character development, just this happened and then this happened and then this happened and then the end.
mfrisk's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I think this book has its audience but it just wasn’t for me. After reading Love Letters for Joy I’ve been looking for some other similar reads with ace representation but this one just didn’t feel like it had the same amount of heart or realistic relationships. It felt like we got more info dumps and telling but not showing then truly seeing our characters interact.
Even the flashbacks told me very little about Polly’s family or friend relationships.
I think this book also tried to have too many plot elements too to ramp up excitement when I don’t know that we really needed them. Many of these moments felt like distractions and not moments that told us more about the characters.
I think it often came off as a bit YA as well maybe because of the focus on flashbacks to when they were younger and while I read plenty of YA as well I wasn’t going into this book expecting that tone. Overall it was an okay read but as many others have noted there is a lot of acephobia present in this book so folks should be prepared for that going into this.
Even the flashbacks told me very little about Polly’s family or friend relationships.
I think this book also tried to have too many plot elements too to ramp up excitement when I don’t know that we really needed them. Many of these moments felt like distractions and not moments that told us more about the characters.
I think it often came off as a bit YA as well maybe because of the focus on flashbacks to when they were younger and while I read plenty of YA as well I wasn’t going into this book expecting that tone. Overall it was an okay read but as many others have noted there is a lot of acephobia present in this book so folks should be prepared for that going into this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Death
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
smalltownbookmom's review against another edition
4.0
This was a sweet friends to lovers, ace/allo, dual perspective romance between Polly who is asexual and her childhood crush Harry. When the two are reunited unexpected and forced into lockdown on the Wildlife reserve where Polly works, they are able to rekindle their friendship and explore whether a romantic relationship might be possible. I really enjoyed this one and thought the ACE representation was sooo well done. Highly recommended for fans of Claire Kann's The romantic agenda or the graphic novel, How to be ace. I love seeing more and more books with sensitive and well written ACE representation like this one!!
tasha_16's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-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
bookedwithannie's review against another edition
2.0
Oof, I wanted to like this one so much, but that was not great. I wouldn't say it was bad, but it wasn't good, and I don't know that I would recommend it to anyone.
I thought Annalise did a good job explaining asexuality, aromanticism, and everything that falls under these umbrellas in a way that if you had never really heard of these you would have a better understanding after reading. However, there is a lot of acephobia and arophobia in this book in order to get to the above. While this personally wasn't triggering, I can absolutely see it being so to some readers so please tread with care.
Overall the book had a lot going on in it which for 150 pages felt to be too much and sub-plots that were made to feel like they would be a bigger deal with explained within a sentence after building for most of the book. It's definitely not a rom-com; there wasn't anything comedic about it. Which is fine if it weren't advertised as a rom-com. The best friend is super toxic to our aspec MC and there really wasn't any character development. The ending felt super rushed and the epilogue was so unnecessary.
Ultimately, this was very amateur and wouldn't recommend. I feel horrible saying that because I want to support aspec writers, and maybe her other work gets better, but this will be a one and done for me.
I thought Annalise did a good job explaining asexuality, aromanticism, and everything that falls under these umbrellas in a way that if you had never really heard of these you would have a better understanding after reading. However, there is a lot of acephobia and arophobia in this book in order to get to the above. While this personally wasn't triggering, I can absolutely see it being so to some readers so please tread with care.
Overall the book had a lot going on in it which for 150 pages felt to be too much and sub-plots that were made to feel like they would be a bigger deal with explained within a sentence after building for most of the book. It's definitely not a rom-com; there wasn't anything comedic about it. Which is fine if it weren't advertised as a rom-com. The best friend is super toxic to our aspec MC and there really wasn't any character development. The ending felt super rushed and the epilogue was so unnecessary.
Ultimately, this was very amateur and wouldn't recommend. I feel horrible saying that because I want to support aspec writers, and maybe her other work gets better, but this will be a one and done for me.
nelsonseye's review
3.0
My rating for In My Dreams is a low three stars. It was very readable, I learned a lot, and I thought the flashback scenes were very effective, though there were some gaps. However, I was annoyed by everyone's assumptions during the final chapters and I thought the resolution was very (realistically too) quick.
Spoiler
do you honestly think Harry and Evie would break lockdown to run away together? No one questioned this?jugglingpup's review against another edition
4.0
To see more reviews check out MI Book Reviews.
Edit: spoke with the author this morning (5-13-21), turns out the wrong definition was only in the beta read copy and was fixed before the final version was released. It is still odd that an ace author had to have people point it out before it was fixed, but it was fixed.
The author hooked me up with a free copy for joining her mailing list!
I am in an ace support group and I am a total book nerd, so when an ace author was talking about her book and was offering up a free copy I volunteered and explained I write reviews. She had run out of books, but then she was giving away free copies in her mailing list so I got really excited again. I NEEDED an ace romance novel so badly.
This was almost a five star read for me. The only issues I had were around ace rep. The definition of asexual was given incorrectly multiple times by the main character. She equated not wanting sex with being ace, which is not what being ace is about. Being ace is about sexual attraction, not desire. The author then had other characters come in and say the right definition, but then the MC hunkered down and said it wrong AGAIN later in the book. I am so annoyed. This could have been five stars, I wanted it to be five stars because ace romance matters. Ace rep matters so much. As an ace that is not sex repulsed this just made me sad. So many ace resources and rep are about being sex repulsed and putting everything down to not wanting sex when that isn’t being ace. I was hoping for rep that allowed me to exist and that an ace author would get the definition of ace correct.
That being said, I loved that the MC was sex repulsed because of how the main love interest respected her. There are never an issue there and I just adored that. It was nice that aphobia was addressed, but it was more a past trauma instead of it being excused by the MC in a current situation. It gave some depth to the characters and made the romance that much sweeter. I didn’t like how the best friend was constantly trying to force the MC into a relationship with other aces, it felt like she just really didn’t get that aces can be happy with someone even if that someone is allo. It made me annoyed at the best friend quite often.
There were some chapters that were a bit preachy, but they were not long and they were more about giving hope to the MC that relationships could work, so I just read them and moved on. They didn’t hurt the story since they were few and far between. The romance was a bit rushed, which is an almost every romance novel complaint of mine. They hadn’t seen each other and years and were magically in love and had no issues? Felt a little too perfect. I needed a bit more adjustment period. I wanted the love to feel more real. Don’t get me wrong I read this in one sitting and I ate the sweetness up. It was complete fluff and I am here for it. I think I just wanted a bit more, it felt so short. I enjoyed it so much. I am just looking for ways to make it a bit longer so I could enjoy it longer.
Overall, if the definition of ace had not focused on desire to have sex (which is 100% not part of the definition of ace) then this would have been my favorite fluffy romance I have read this year.
Edit: spoke with the author this morning (5-13-21), turns out the wrong definition was only in the beta read copy and was fixed before the final version was released. It is still odd that an ace author had to have people point it out before it was fixed, but it was fixed.
The author hooked me up with a free copy for joining her mailing list!
I am in an ace support group and I am a total book nerd, so when an ace author was talking about her book and was offering up a free copy I volunteered and explained I write reviews. She had run out of books, but then she was giving away free copies in her mailing list so I got really excited again. I NEEDED an ace romance novel so badly.
This was almost a five star read for me. The only issues I had were around ace rep. The definition of asexual was given incorrectly multiple times by the main character. She equated not wanting sex with being ace, which is not what being ace is about. Being ace is about sexual attraction, not desire. The author then had other characters come in and say the right definition, but then the MC hunkered down and said it wrong AGAIN later in the book. I am so annoyed. This could have been five stars, I wanted it to be five stars because ace romance matters. Ace rep matters so much. As an ace that is not sex repulsed this just made me sad. So many ace resources and rep are about being sex repulsed and putting everything down to not wanting sex when that isn’t being ace. I was hoping for rep that allowed me to exist and that an ace author would get the definition of ace correct.
That being said, I loved that the MC was sex repulsed because of how the main love interest respected her. There are never an issue there and I just adored that. It was nice that aphobia was addressed, but it was more a past trauma instead of it being excused by the MC in a current situation. It gave some depth to the characters and made the romance that much sweeter. I didn’t like how the best friend was constantly trying to force the MC into a relationship with other aces, it felt like she just really didn’t get that aces can be happy with someone even if that someone is allo. It made me annoyed at the best friend quite often.
There were some chapters that were a bit preachy, but they were not long and they were more about giving hope to the MC that relationships could work, so I just read them and moved on. They didn’t hurt the story since they were few and far between. The romance was a bit rushed, which is an almost every romance novel complaint of mine. They hadn’t seen each other and years and were magically in love and had no issues? Felt a little too perfect. I needed a bit more adjustment period. I wanted the love to feel more real. Don’t get me wrong I read this in one sitting and I ate the sweetness up. It was complete fluff and I am here for it. I think I just wanted a bit more, it felt so short. I enjoyed it so much. I am just looking for ways to make it a bit longer so I could enjoy it longer.
Overall, if the definition of ace had not focused on desire to have sex (which is 100% not part of the definition of ace) then this would have been my favorite fluffy romance I have read this year.
obviously_lene's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
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
4.75
girlreading's review against another edition
3.0
2.5* I was super excited to find out about this, so I’m devastated to say it just didn’t do much for me. It was sweet enough but the pacing was incredibly off, I found the way the side characters treated polly and her asexuality somewhat uncomfortable and, to be totally honest, I felt like I was reading a unpolished draft.
That being said, it was a quick read and refreshing to see a romance novel with an asexual protagonist, I just wish I’d loved it as much as I’d hoped.
TW: aphobia
That being said, it was a quick read and refreshing to see a romance novel with an asexual protagonist, I just wish I’d loved it as much as I’d hoped.
TW: aphobia