A review by monstroustea
How Not to Summon Your True Love by Sasha L. Miller

4.0

I've been excited for this book since Sasha L. Miller started talking about it in bits on twitter. I'm a big fan of her work and I love stories of people summoning their love interest whether on purpose or otherwise, so the title and asexual hero had my attention straight away. Overall, it was a very enjoyable read, although I feel the relationship between the two characters could have been developed a little more.

I really liked Cy, Dig, and Cynthia. I could really relate to Cy's insecurity that no one would ever want to be with him because of his asexuality and the hopelessness after finding out his ex hadn't been interested in him to begin with even. He's so negative and insecure throughout the story, which really feels realistic for his situation–his whole life has been uprooted and flipped upside down. Dig made a good complement to him, being generally more composed and upbeat.

I enjoyed the road-trip element of the story and the world-building. It sounds like an interesting setting and I'd love to see more from this universe... maybe some more Dig and Cy? My biggest complaint is just not seeing up build-up of their feelings, not enough flirting or just little moments to show Dig's interest or Cy developing feelings despite how hopeless he feels about his romantic life. Although the moments with Dig dropping Cynthia's mugs were absolutely precious, as well as the little detail of Cy preparing Dig's coffee for him because they've gotten to know each other well enough that he knows how he likes his coffee... a minor thing but it shows a sort of closeness that struck a chord with me. The last scene was so sweet, too! But it just made me wish there were a little more to the book to offer a little fluff with them. (Maybe some ficbits in the future? ;D)