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cassie7e's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
3.0
Love having a black ace (and biromantic!) character! I recommend this for young aces or anyone who likes a young-adult-figuring-themselves-out story. It's useful if a lot of these concepts are new, and I seem to be the only ace reader who didn't hate this book. But it wasn't fantastic either. I think I would have loved this book if I found it while I was a teen/still in college. It works as an introduction to asexuality (and having a separate romantic orientation!) but doesn't delve into what that means for navigating relationships.
For an ace book that starts off commiserating with ace readers about how unrelatable being attracted to random people is, we still get instalove the second Alice lays eyes on Takumi. Aside from confusing Alice and making her question her identity, the book doesn't really explore how ace people can have varied experiences and still be ace. The text also doesnt seem to understand that romantic crushes aren't the same as finding someone so hot your face melts (which is what appears to happen here, and is so unrelatable to me that I wondered from the start if the author even knew what she was talking about). I wanted Alice's romantic side to be the focus but instead she is constantly questioning her sexual relationships, and jumps right into a situationship with Takumi that certainly reads as romantic to me (I mean, sharing a bed with your crush who keeps saying they like you??) but is only called a friendship by both parties for way too long. Instead of us getting to witness the development of their intimacy and actually see any chemistry, major breakthroughs in vulnerability and fun activities happen *off page*. Which is especially jarring since the narration carries on with the same tone and pace whether an hour has passed or apparently months. It made it really hard to track the progression of the story or believe in the emotional arcs.
So if Alice's romantic experiences aren't the focus, is asexuality in relationship explored? Not really. Alice is too immature and fearful to share with Margot that she's ace, which is appropriate for her age and insecurity. However the book doesn't distinguish between Margot's need for sexuality in her relationship from her judgement of Alice's lack of sexual engagement. Similarly there's not a discussion with Takumi about how he (who is not ace) will feel fulfilled in a relationship with Alice, who doesn't care about sex at all, nor want to have sex ever again even though she has at least once enjoyed herself. (Honestly I think most of Alice's hangups around sex come from sleeping with people she didn't even like, and who didn't care about her pleasure, but the book doesn't acknowledge that aspect of her past either.)
There's also a lot of friendship drama as Alice and Feeny (sp?) hurt each other without either entirely being in the wrong, and both refusing to talk about it. This is also developmentally realistic (fits my experience of teen girls in college) and maddening. But I appreciate that the book doesn't use this as an excuse to break the friendship and they do work through it. Prominent is an underlying fear of friends who are like family being fine without you, not needing you as much as you need them because they have their partner. (What if we normalized expansive relationship formats beyond the couple/nuclear family instead of putting people - especially aros and aces - in situationships with coupled friends? 👀) The book could have more intentionally explored reassurance within friendships and have the characters reckon with the priorities they put on their friendship vs romantic relationships. There's an opportunity here to show how deep and reliable friendships can be that is just missed.
As a fully fledged adult, what this book explores is not new or nuanced for me, and how people form and maintain complex relationships is far more interesting. This book is not that.
For an ace book that starts off commiserating with ace readers about how unrelatable being attracted to random people is, we still get instalove the second Alice lays eyes on Takumi. Aside from confusing Alice and making her question her identity, the book doesn't really explore how ace people can have varied experiences and still be ace. The text also doesnt seem to understand that romantic crushes aren't the same as finding someone so hot your face melts (which is what appears to happen here, and is so unrelatable to me that I wondered from the start if the author even knew what she was talking about). I wanted Alice's romantic side to be the focus but instead she is constantly questioning her sexual relationships, and jumps right into a situationship with Takumi that certainly reads as romantic to me (I mean, sharing a bed with your crush who keeps saying they like you??) but is only called a friendship by both parties for way too long. Instead of us getting to witness the development of their intimacy and actually see any chemistry, major breakthroughs in vulnerability and fun activities happen *off page*. Which is especially jarring since the narration carries on with the same tone and pace whether an hour has passed or apparently months. It made it really hard to track the progression of the story or believe in the emotional arcs.
So if Alice's romantic experiences aren't the focus, is asexuality in relationship explored? Not really. Alice is too immature and fearful to share with Margot that she's ace, which is appropriate for her age and insecurity. However the book doesn't distinguish between Margot's need for sexuality in her relationship from her judgement of Alice's lack of sexual engagement. Similarly there's not a discussion with Takumi about how he (who is not ace) will feel fulfilled in a relationship with Alice, who doesn't care about sex at all, nor want to have sex ever again even though she has at least once enjoyed herself. (Honestly I think most of Alice's hangups around sex come from sleeping with people she didn't even like, and who didn't care about her pleasure, but the book doesn't acknowledge that aspect of her past either.)
There's also a lot of friendship drama as Alice and Feeny (sp?) hurt each other without either entirely being in the wrong, and both refusing to talk about it. This is also developmentally realistic (fits my experience of teen girls in college) and maddening. But I appreciate that the book doesn't use this as an excuse to break the friendship and they do work through it. Prominent is an underlying fear of friends who are like family being fine without you, not needing you as much as you need them because they have their partner. (What if we normalized expansive relationship formats beyond the couple/nuclear family instead of putting people - especially aros and aces - in situationships with coupled friends? 👀) The book could have more intentionally explored reassurance within friendships and have the characters reckon with the priorities they put on their friendship vs romantic relationships. There's an opportunity here to show how deep and reliable friendships can be that is just missed.
As a fully fledged adult, what this book explores is not new or nuanced for me, and how people form and maintain complex relationships is far more interesting. This book is not that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Acephobia/Arophobia
Moderate: Sexual harassment
Minor: Racism, Vomit, and Alcohol
pointeshoebookworm's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
There are parts of this that I really liked, but overall it just fell ... flat.
Content Warnings
Minor: Racism, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Alcohol
daryn's review against another edition
emotional
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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Acephobia/Arophobia
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Infidelity and Alcohol
jess_always_reading's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
I tried so hard to like this one. The story was interesting, some cool characters, but overall I'm just not a fan. I think the writing style just isn't for me, it comes across as very juvenile (it's giving first fanfiction) and Alice's character was frustratingly childish and self-centred. There was so much that could have been explored better but was sailed through with no mention or only a brief one.
One thing I was happy to see was the depiction of therapy and a therapeutic relationship was actually very realistic (I'm a social worker) kudos for that, it's rare!
One thing I was happy to see was the depiction of therapy and a therapeutic relationship was actually very realistic (I'm a social worker) kudos for that, it's rare!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Sexual harassment
reading_rebellion's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Super cute and wholesome slow burn romance based emotional intimacy and connection instead of just sex which I personally really love. I loved awkwardness, the banter and love between Alice and Takumi.
Likes
I liked the writing style and the story. It really is a coming of age story with some romance mixed in. This is definitely a book for the nerds.
Ace rep! Black Ace rep!!
Multicultural characters with the FMC being Black and the MMC being Asian
I appreciate the author including social and cultural dialogue that didn't become the whole story. I appreciated the author representing a version of a Black woman that is middle class and that grew suburban areas and all that comes with. Black middle class and suburban families isn't talked about or seen enough in books even though it's very common occurrence.
No Black trauma and struggle porn!
Dislikes
Alice's voice as a character did read somewhat kiddie, but it is a YA novel and she is also not far out of high school at 20 so that makes since.
Alice parents especially her narcassistic, overbearing mom and pushy sister.
I listened to this as an audiobook and the narrator was a little inconsistent with the male characters, but being picky.
Overall good Ace rep! Perfect for high school, college aged and early 20s or anyone who wants to understand Asexuality and a part of the Ace spectrum better.
Likes
I liked the writing style and the story. It really is a coming of age story with some romance mixed in. This is definitely a book for the nerds.
Ace rep! Black Ace rep!!
Multicultural characters with the FMC being Black and the MMC being Asian
I appreciate the author including social and cultural dialogue that didn't become the whole story. I appreciated the author representing a version of a Black woman that is middle class and that grew suburban areas and all that comes with. Black middle class and suburban families isn't talked about or seen enough in books even though it's very common occurrence.
No Black trauma and struggle porn!
Dislikes
Alice's voice as a character did read somewhat kiddie, but it is a YA novel and she is also not far out of high school at 20 so that makes since.
Alice parents especially her narcassistic, overbearing mom and pushy sister.
I listened to this as an audiobook and the narrator was a little inconsistent with the male characters, but being picky.
Overall good Ace rep! Perfect for high school, college aged and early 20s or anyone who wants to understand Asexuality and a part of the Ace spectrum better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Acephobia/Arophobia
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting
Minor: Cursing, Drug use, and Alcohol
badbadwolf's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Racism, Toxic relationship, Grief, Acephobia/Arophobia, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
ratnix's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
2.0
I will start by saying that I disagree with most of the below 3 stars reviews and the reasons they didn't enjoy this book.
• I did not find Alice a childish or immature MC: If I remember correctly she's around 20ish? Her frontal lobe is still developing let her be and let her have cute meters to describe how cute someone is💀 I think Alice was a great ace rep
• I did not think the book villainized Margot. I think Alice's reaction to being broken up because she didn't want to have sex makes sense. Totally fair if sex is a very important part of your relationship but in this case we see Alice's perspective and Alice is someone who doesn't care about sex so it only makes sense that she'd have this reaction. There are many ace people out there whose partners broke up with them because they had different needs so it makes sense that she'd feel resentful and bitter
Some things that I do agree with:
• While a love interest and either mentioned or appearing in every single chapter, Takumi was just there 😠I guess he was a cute LI but that's just it
• The exaggerated use of parentheses made me want to bawl my eyes out. 9 times out of 10, the things said could have been written without the use of the parenthesis
Now, my biggest problem with this book is how Alice and Feenie's friendship was handled and Feenie's character in general
From the very beginning we get the image that miss Feenie needs to see a therapist for her anger issues. She's been in fights for Alice's sake (and generally) and it would have been a great way to explore Feenie's interest in professional fighting but no, it's just a way to show Feenie as the "angry" best friend who gets into fights all the time. Mind you, they have been best friends since they were kids
Her whole character is her wanting to get married and have kids with her boyfriend (who's also one of Alice's best friends) to give her kids the "childhood she didn't have", which, fine, I disagree with the entire reasoning behind her motives but whatever I won't promote my anti natalism beliefs here. But, miss, if you want to have kids and become a better mother to them than your mother was to you then maybe you should start by visiting a therapist?? Communicating and controlling your emotions??
That aside, Feenie is the worst possible friend to have.She ditches Alice in a party to go make out with her boyfriend, Alice is assaulted and is rightfully angry and stressed and leaves the party, Feenie proceeds to get mad and blames Alice AND THEN manages to convince Alice that it was both hers and Alice's fault that they fell apart. Not to mention she tries to live through Alice, tries to convince her to have sex with Takumi because "you never know"
I was expecting to use Feenie as a way for Alice to stand up for herself, making her realize what a terrible friend she is but no - all's well at the end!
And we never hear about it again.
So, yes, everytime Feenie was on the page, my mouth foamed. It was such a missed opportunity
• I did not find Alice a childish or immature MC: If I remember correctly she's around 20ish? Her frontal lobe is still developing let her be and let her have cute meters to describe how cute someone is💀 I think Alice was a great ace rep
• I did not think the book villainized Margot. I think Alice's reaction to being broken up because she didn't want to have sex makes sense. Totally fair if sex is a very important part of your relationship but in this case we see Alice's perspective and Alice is someone who doesn't care about sex so it only makes sense that she'd have this reaction. There are many ace people out there whose partners broke up with them because they had different needs so it makes sense that she'd feel resentful and bitter
Some things that I do agree with:
• While a love interest and either mentioned or appearing in every single chapter, Takumi was just there 😠I guess he was a cute LI but that's just it
• The exaggerated use of parentheses made me want to bawl my eyes out. 9 times out of 10, the things said could have been written without the use of the parenthesis
Now, my biggest problem with this book is how Alice and Feenie's friendship was handled and Feenie's character in general
From the very beginning we get the image that miss Feenie needs to see a therapist for her anger issues. She's been in fights for Alice's sake (and generally) and it would have been a great way to explore Feenie's interest in professional fighting but no, it's just a way to show Feenie as the "angry" best friend who gets into fights all the time. Mind you, they have been best friends since they were kids
Her whole character is her wanting to get married and have kids with her boyfriend (who's also one of Alice's best friends) to give her kids the "childhood she didn't have", which, fine, I disagree with the entire reasoning behind her motives but whatever I won't promote my anti natalism beliefs here. But, miss, if you want to have kids and become a better mother to them than your mother was to you then maybe you should start by visiting a therapist?? Communicating and controlling your emotions??
That aside, Feenie is the worst possible friend to have.
I was expecting to use Feenie as a way for Alice to stand up for herself, making her realize what a terrible friend she is but no - all's well at the end!
And we never hear about it again.
So, yes, everytime Feenie was on the page, my mouth foamed. It was such a missed opportunity
Content Warnings
Graphic: Acephobia/Arophobia
crusoe's review against another edition
hopeful
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
2.5
Positives. This book was such a cheesy, by-the-book romcom but I'm glad it exists anyway. Because ace people deserve to see themselves in shitty romcoms too! The story itself had very little substance but it provides a nuanced view of what it is like to date while asexual. I think it may be relatable to a lot of people (even if I -an aro/ace person- do not see much overlap with my situation) and it does not gloss over the difficulties that come with dating as an ace person. It's nice to see a fictional character navigate their aceness in relation to partners and other loved ones.
Negatives. Something that irks me is that Feenie's anger was shown to be just as justified as Alice's anger and I do not agree with that. As an aro/ace person, the fact that relationships with partners will always be portrayed as something inherently more valuable than friendships has me fuming. Even Feenie's promise that she will always stay in contact with Alice when Ryan and she get married does not negate that. Alice naturally feels left out by Rayn and Feenie, and while she is in the wrong for not addressing the situation, I don't think she should have been the one to apologize.
Negatives. Something that irks me is that Feenie's anger was shown to be just as justified as Alice's anger and I do not agree with that. As an aro/ace person, the fact that relationships with partners will always be portrayed as something inherently more valuable than friendships has me fuming. Even Feenie's promise that she will always stay in contact with Alice when Ryan and she get married does not negate that. Alice naturally feels left out by Rayn and Feenie, and while she is in the wrong for not addressing the situation, I don't think she should have been the one to apologize.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Acephobia/Arophobia
Moderate: Biphobia
Minor: Racism
specklecommittee's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-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? It's complicated
3.75
Although the story is written with all the cringe and yearning of a YA novel, its message felt nuanced and refreshing. The asexual representation was written with a lot of care. The main character's conflict stemmed from not being seen or accepted by others. And the development of the love interest felt healthy, endearing, and pretty radical.
At the same time, the story felt written for younger audiences, but had adult themes that people under at least 17 wouldn’t connect with/be appropriate for.
At the same time, the story felt written for younger audiences, but had adult themes that people under at least 17 wouldn’t connect with/be appropriate for.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Acephobia/Arophobia, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
vvayl's review against another edition
The way it's written triggers me so much so I'm going to DNF this one, maybe another time
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Acephobia/Arophobia