Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.12 AVERAGE
3.12 AVERAGE
reflective
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Trigger warnings: aphobia, bullying, stalking, outing, mentions of eating disorder, death of a parent (in the past)
Sigh. I had high hopes for this after really enjoying the first book in the series. But this one, for some reason, just didn't hit the same way. I think it's partly because it's about two women who were at high school together and one bullied the other. Now, years later, the bullied is working at a helpline for asexual people and their loved ones when her bully calls in asking for help. She knows who it is. She doesn't say anything. And, like, I didn't love that from an ethical perspective.
I also struggled at times because this felt like it was less about the relationship between Courtney and Sophie and more about being a series of public service announcements about asexuality. And, like, don't get me wrong. I know the majority of the public knows sweet fuck all about asexuality and is therefore in dire need of said public service announcements. But every time Courtney took a phone call, it pulled me out of the story and I found myself skim reading.
So ultimately? Not for me, and I wished the romance side of things had been far more at the centre of the story than it was, given the premise.
Sigh. I had high hopes for this after really enjoying the first book in the series. But this one, for some reason, just didn't hit the same way. I think it's partly because it's about two women who were at high school together and one bullied the other. Now, years later, the bullied is working at a helpline for asexual people and their loved ones when her bully calls in asking for help. She knows who it is. She doesn't say anything. And, like, I didn't love that from an ethical perspective.
I also struggled at times because this felt like it was less about the relationship between Courtney and Sophie and more about being a series of public service announcements about asexuality. And, like, don't get me wrong. I know the majority of the public knows sweet fuck all about asexuality and is therefore in dire need of said public service announcements. But every time Courtney took a phone call, it pulled me out of the story and I found myself skim reading.
So ultimately? Not for me, and I wished the romance side of things had been far more at the centre of the story than it was, given the premise.
emotional
Loveable characters:
Yes
I love all the info and details that are taught through this book though it does seem like that was the main goal. I think this would be a great book to introduce acespec to allo folks. This could have felt like a skit written by a school counselor but it didn’t. There were so many things covered and I loved how well they were handled. And on top of that there’s a cute romantic story.
I do wish there had been better distinguishing between flashbacks and current time. Flashbacks in all italics was a bit rough to read and not obvious at first thag it meant something.
I do wish there had been better distinguishing between flashbacks and current time. Flashbacks in all italics was a bit rough to read and not obvious at first thag it meant something.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Acephobia/Arophobia
Moderate: Bullying, Eating disorder, Violence
Minor: Chronic illness, Grief, Death of parent, Outing, Toxic friendship
CW: bullying, acephobia, eating disorder, abusive ex boyfriend, stalking
3.5 / 5 Stars
I kinda forgot to write the review for this book - upsi - so I'm here to undo that mistake.
I would have written one directly after finishing it, but, I was having conflicted feelings about this book and couldn't decide wheather I wanted to give it 3 or 4 goodreads stars. I'm still not sure if I'm actually happy with my final star choice, but well.
You know me by now. My reviews are a mess, so I won't bother with any kind of order now. Especilly after it's been a while. But, if you were to ask me as to why I struggled with this one, well:
It's kinda ... a lot? I mean, yeah, you get exactly what you were promised in the blurb, but the way we get there still feels a little... sudden.
Like: "Yeah, we're doing this now. Deal with it." And then the characters are like "Guess I will, lol"
A lot of what happens in the book is really nice and cool on it's own, but you see, it's not really ... doing that much for the bigger picture? Like, one of the character's in here has had anorexia and is still in her recovery process and it's there, absolutly but it's also.... not exactly what I had hoped it would be.
And then there's the whole bullying flashback, which got me very tense for a while, because the book WANTED me to think that our main couple had a bully & bully victim kind of relationship, which is kinda a big, fat red-flag and no no for me. But then it's revealed that no, that's not what was actually going on so it's not really a bully romance. But then I'm like "OK, cool, but could you maybe not write it like one then??"
There's also the whole ace thing which I found cool on the one hand but also 'meh' on the other one. Because all the stuff that gets brought up is important and cool, but it also feels like it could have been handled better. ESPECIALLY at the end of the book.
It's almost as if all the puzzle pieces were fighting for attention, resulting in the book feeling a little wild at times.
I tend to say "If only the book had more pages, this problem could have been solved on its own" a lot. But in this case, I don't think that would have helped. Less would have been more.
Which is kinda a shame because I DID enjoy a lot of the book.
Everything about the ace-arc, the characters, the ship, the pranks.
And yet, I can't help but feel like this book could have been even more, even better, if it had been structured a tiny bit different.
3.5 / 5 Stars
I kinda forgot to write the review for this book - upsi - so I'm here to undo that mistake.
I would have written one directly after finishing it, but, I was having conflicted feelings about this book and couldn't decide wheather I wanted to give it 3 or 4 goodreads stars. I'm still not sure if I'm actually happy with my final star choice, but well.
You know me by now. My reviews are a mess, so I won't bother with any kind of order now. Especilly after it's been a while. But, if you were to ask me as to why I struggled with this one, well:
It's kinda ... a lot? I mean, yeah, you get exactly what you were promised in the blurb, but the way we get there still feels a little... sudden.
Like: "Yeah, we're doing this now. Deal with it." And then the characters are like "Guess I will, lol"
A lot of what happens in the book is really nice and cool on it's own, but you see, it's not really ... doing that much for the bigger picture? Like, one of the character's in here has had anorexia and is still in her recovery process and it's there, absolutly but it's also.... not exactly what I had hoped it would be.
And then there's the whole bullying flashback, which got me very tense for a while, because the book WANTED me to think that our main couple had a bully & bully victim kind of relationship, which is kinda a big, fat red-flag and no no for me. But then it's revealed that no, that's not what was actually going on so it's not really a bully romance. But then I'm like "OK, cool, but could you maybe not write it like one then??"
There's also the whole ace thing which I found cool on the one hand but also 'meh' on the other one. Because all the stuff that gets brought up is important and cool, but it also feels like it could have been handled better. ESPECIALLY at the end of the book.
It's almost as if all the puzzle pieces were fighting for attention, resulting in the book feeling a little wild at times.
I tend to say "If only the book had more pages, this problem could have been solved on its own" a lot. But in this case, I don't think that would have helped. Less would have been more.
Which is kinda a shame because I DID enjoy a lot of the book.
Everything about the ace-arc, the characters, the ship, the pranks.
And yet, I can't help but feel like this book could have been even more, even better, if it had been structured a tiny bit different.
emotional
funny
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
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
emotional
funny
informative
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
hopeful
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes