wilybooklover's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
1.5
This book started out so well and was on the way to being a four-star read, but alas, did not work for me in the end. I enjoyed the autistic representation (written by an autistic author), Michael’s family and the portrayal of Vietnamese culture, and Stella. I loved her — she’s such a complex and unique character and had a great character arc. Hated the rest, lol. The story was way too formulaic and this is coming from someone who loves the predictable nature of romance novels and finds it comforting. Stella and Michael’s attraction seemed almost purely physical; I wanted to see a stronger emotional connection, more substance. I was uncomfortable with the way that sex work and sex workers were portrayed at several points. I don’t think the topic of sexual assault was handled very well or really unpacked properly by Stella. Michael says his mother dying would ‘free’ him, framing sick/disabled people as burdens on their family (granted I have no experience with the American healthcare system but surely that’s the real issue here).
Mostly, though, it was Michael who ruined the book for me. He’s pushy, domineering, overly possessive, and can’t take no for an answer. He literally stalks Stella and follows her home, repeatedly goes after her and presses his romantic attentions on her after she turns him down and tells him to leave her alone MULTIPLE TIMES. That’s not sexy; it’s creepy and scary. Yet when another man won’t take no for an answer, he’s angry even though it’s a very similar kind of behaviour as his own. One is portrayed as wrong and the other OK purely based on who is perpetrating the behaviour. Make it make sense. Not only that but after being sexually assaulted which is obviously very upsetting for Stella, does he offer her support or comfort? No, he feels the need to ‘mark her as his’ as if she’s his property. She initially tells him no to kissing after such a traumatic event and is clearly uncomfortable with it but does he respect that? Of course not, he forces her into it anyway and then fucks her because HE needs it! Fuck Stella’s needs, I guess.
Of course, he knew she didn’t really want him to leave her alone because he knows better. Same with the sex scenes: he overrides her own wishes (that she states to him clearly) and pushes her into doing things she dislikes and feels uncomfortable with because he apparently knows better than her about her own body. He tells her to dress and do her hair how he likes it rather than how she prefers. She can’t even eat what she wants without him trying to control it. He knows she has a hard time in loud/social situations and she tells him she’d rather go home because she’s tired, but he forces her to go to his large, boisterous family’s house anyway. He’s just forever violating her boundaries even (and especially) when she says she’s uncomfortable with doing something. Yeah, he says all the right things about respecting her consent, but his actions and thoughts don’t line up so it just feels manipulative and patronising. He may be teaching her how to be in a relationship but it’s certainly not a healthy one. The controlling behaviour, questionable consent, and complete disregard for Stella’s agency really put me off and made me feel uneasy.
There were also a few things that bothered me in terms of writing. Michael is described as looking like a specific celebrity, which is not only a lazy way to describe someone but just something I despise, especially in romance. Much of Michael’s inner monologue comes off as immature with dude-bro style casual misogyny (e.g. ‘the only reason a woman should wear a pencil skirt is to show off her ass’). The book is laden with gender essentialism and bizarre lines such as ‘a natural talent for fucking’ (LMAO) and ‘she had the kind of nipples men and babies dreamed about’ (what??). The dirty talk was... not good.
I can’t believe this book got recommended to me as having a kind, gentle hero and good consent. I am genuinely baffled. If that is what you want then this book is not it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Ableism, Classism, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content
Moderate: Misogyny, Abandonment, Cancer, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Terminal illness
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Infidelity
mattiedancer's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-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
3.5
Writing: 3.5⭐️/5
The writing shined at certain moments and at others, it felt forced and trope-driven. The dialogue suffered at moments as well, reading more like strained conversations than natural communication. That being said, some moments were very well written and kept me engaged until the end.
Characters: 3.75⭐️/5
I loved the inclusion of a woman with autism as the main love interest. The slow reveal of her autism felt nice as well, as the readers become comfortable with her “quirks” rather than just as a woman with autism. I think, while the main characters were intriguing, they did lack a bit of human quality to make them fully believable.
Plot: 3.5⭐️/5
The plot was fun, as long as you don’t think too hard about certain aspects. I felt the backstory of Michael’s dad was both withheld for far too long and also less significant than all the foreshadowing seemed to imply it would be. I did, however, love the handling of the fake dating trope, even if it started from a slightly ridiculous spot.
Who Should Read This Book?
- Fans of romance novels with a bit of heat
- Those looking for a romance novel with a unique narrator
Content Warnings?
- Sexual content, ableism, sexual harassment, toxic relationship, toxic friendship,
Post-Reading Rating: 4⭐️/5
Very fun to read.
Final Rating: 3.5⭐️/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Abandonment, Chronic illness, Addiction, Classism, Cancer, and Violence
serendipity421's review
emotional
lighthearted
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Medical content, Ableism, Abandonment, Cancer, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Drug use, Rape, and Misogyny
Minor: Pedophilia
jazzseeks's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
4.75
I am not a fan of contemporary romance usually but this is certainly the best one I've ever read. What I really loved was how relatable the Main Character was as a woman with Autism and how much <Michael loved her for the ways she was unique and not inspite of who she is>. I found the romance believable, funny, and deeply enjoyable. <Michaels family is lovely.> The only things I didn't like were how horrible a lot of the tertiary characters were such as the parents, the coworkers, the ex clients. Those parts were painful to get through and didn't always feel vital to the story or characters development. Also Helen Hoang is really pro-capitalist and I'm never into that though I enjoyed flipping the trope so that the Woman had the money.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Ableism, and Sexism
Moderate: Sexual assault, Classism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Abandonment, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Cancer, Violence, Vomit, Infidelity, Chronic illness, and Stalking
Pressure to have children, pressure to marry, comment about character looking "barely legal" , comment about "having nipples men and babies dream of"kmrose's review against another edition
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? It's complicated
3.0
I’m not sure this was worth the hype in my opinion, but it was a fun read. Very interesting to be inside the mindset of someone on the spectrum. I enjoyed learning how she approached her interactions with everyone around her.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Classism and Misogyny
library_of_al's review against another edition
The way the author forced the MC to do things she was uncomfortable with was not ok. This book was absolutely awful. I did skip ahead to the romance scene and it made me extremely uncomfortable. I wouldn’t recommend this book to my worst enemy.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gaslighting, Sexual content, Misogyny, and Ableism
lauraeerika's review
i just didn’t really like how michael talked about stella, like the way he was constantly sexualizing stella was honestly a bothersome to me i understand that this could change and this is the first 30% but at the moment im done
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Misogyny
marianneiriss's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Ableism, Cancer, Abandonment, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Stalking, Vomit, Classism, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, and Terminal illness
quietmarki's review
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Misogyny, Cancer, Classism, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
bunnymoon's review
DNF at 73%
This book starts on a VERY serious note talking about sexual assault. Actually, the way that SA is described here is shocking, I really didn't see any warning whatsoever and how it happened is written in a more explicit way.
There are major themes such as consent, life as an autistic person, and sex work. HOWEVER, the way that such serious themes were sometimes poorly exploited made me give up on this story.
The story was cute at first, and I was really cheering for the main couple. But as the story progresses, you start wondering if Michael is really as great as Stella makes him seem to be.
The most basic thing you need to have in a sexual relationship is the safe, sane and consensual rule. The main couple had some issues with some of these aspects, in my opinion. There's no shame in exploring intimacy as a couple, but that has to be made in a safe space, with all people involved being sane and actually consenting. There's no such a thing as "I'm gonna try something even though you said you didn't feel comfortable because I think you're going to like it". Assuming that someone will be ok with something sexual is really dangerous.
There's also that trope of the love interest - that is described as nearly perfect in every single thing - and the main antagonist who wants to have a romantic relationship with the main character - who is described as perverted and basically an asshole, to be honest. Not a super fan of this trope, but that was more of a personal preference.
I think that the main couple should have had more conversations about what they wanted to try, what they didn't want to try at all and establish more communication between them.
Overall I enjoyed the autistic rep and seeing a male sex worker being honest about how his job makes people dehumanize him to the point where he's seen more as an object than a person. Besides that, the story became repetitive and some major themes didn't get as much attention as I think that they should have.
This book starts on a VERY serious note talking about sexual assault. Actually, the way that SA is described here is shocking, I really didn't see any warning whatsoever and how it happened is written in a more explicit way.
There are major themes such as consent, life as an autistic person, and sex work. HOWEVER, the way that such serious themes were sometimes poorly exploited made me give up on this story.
The story was cute at first, and I was really cheering for the main couple. But as the story progresses, you start wondering if Michael is really as great as Stella makes him seem to be.
The most basic thing you need to have in a sexual relationship is the safe, sane and consensual rule. The main couple had some issues with some of these aspects, in my opinion. There's no shame in exploring intimacy as a couple, but that has to be made in a safe space, with all people involved being sane and actually consenting. There's no such a thing as "I'm gonna try something even though you said you didn't feel comfortable because I think you're going to like it". Assuming that someone will be ok with something sexual is really dangerous.
There's also that trope of the love interest - that is described as nearly perfect in every single thing - and the main antagonist who wants to have a romantic relationship with the main character - who is described as perverted and basically an asshole, to be honest. Not a super fan of this trope, but that was more of a personal preference.
I think that the main couple should have had more conversations about what they wanted to try, what they didn't want to try at all and establish more communication between them.
Overall I enjoyed the autistic rep and seeing a male sex worker being honest about how his job makes people dehumanize him to the point where he's seen more as an object than a person. Besides that, the story became repetitive and some major themes didn't get as much attention as I think that they should have.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Ableism, Rape, Cancer, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Abandonment and Stalking