ark99's review against another edition
5.0
This was suuuper cute!! I actually read the first version of this back in 2016 and I'm kinda glad they changed it! It's def more of a young adult than a new adult novel now although since it is about a college student I'd say this could still be a new adult it just doesnt have more mature stuff in it(which I like) the first version did have a mature (aka sex) scene I remember and I also don't remember that they worked at a library?? I could've just not remembered it right but idk.. I like that she works in a library now lol
I really liked the way her ace-ness is throughout the book!! I liked her humor and the way it was written with the excited talking in parenthesis some people may say it was immature but I think it's just apart of her personality as a character!
I really liked the way her ace-ness is throughout the book!! I liked her humor and the way it was written with the excited talking in parenthesis some people may say it was immature but I think it's just apart of her personality as a character!
oatsandtotes's review against another edition
2.0
2.5* I really wanted to loveee this book, as someone who is very similar to the main character with regards to sexual/romantic identity. I was really excited! But it just kinda... fell flat for me. I never really got why Takumi liked her when she appeared so standoff-ish. Idk, I just never really bought the relationship. Other than that, I can't really pin point what is was about this book.
lupabianca's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
i wish i'd loved it more, i think the only problem is that alice is too different from me
starwitness's review against another edition
I am not the target audience for this book. I really enjoyed the ‘Romantic Agenda’ by the same author but this was marketed as YA and felt very much that. Was excited to read another book with an Ace protagonist but Alice is not a character I could connect with. Hopefully I can try again but my tbr list is so long, it’s going to be a minute.
chandraleereads's review against another edition
5.0
All the stars! I just love Alice and Takumi and I wish there were more books with asexual representation.
fransjevo's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
sophiesometimesreads's review against another edition
funny
inspiring
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? Yes
4.25
This book was an emotional rollercoaster got me and I related to Alice in a lot of deep and personal ways. Some may say this is poor ace representation as it doesn't reflect their experience, and not relating to Alice's experience is valid, but this book felt like Kann took my experiences and put them down on the page, so I thought it was good. Though I do believe that, even if representation is scarce, one character of a given identity doesn't need to reflect every single individual experience with said identity, and this book reflected one of the many.
Alice was quirky, funny but imperfect, as most 19 year olds are. I feel a lot of people who said she was immature for 19 probably forgot what being 19 is like, because it's actually still quite young. She's still figuring out herself and her life, and taking comfort in the things she likes whilst doing so.
This book portrayed therapy in a positive way, which was good, and I also liked how Takumi took some time to really understand what Alice meant when she said she was asexual. He was also imperfect and I think that's realistic, as a lot of people haven't heard of asexuality before and need to take some time to understand experiences outside their own and might say the wrong thing in good faith whilst doing so.
I thought Feenie and Ryan were a bit harsh on her, though I could see their POV as I've been in a similar situation before. This could have been resolved a bit better though, without Alice taking all the blame for it, because I think her feelings and experience was also valid (they did ditch her first!).
Though I did enjoy this book overall, there were a few little things that I didn't like as much. I don't know why Takumi had to be so much older than her, it seemed irrelevant to the plot and I always find teen/mid-20s pairings a bit iffy given the mentality differences generally present between these ages and stages of life. It didn't ruin the book, but it was something I noticed. I also would've liked to see how their relationship developed a bit more after the getting together stage, and see Alice explore what that meant for her identity. The side characters could've been developed a little more, too.
In saying this, I did enjoy the book overall and thought there were a lot of good things about it. I thought the ace rep was good, the writing was engaging and easy to read, and the characters were fun. It was also able to address fairly heavy topics whilst also managing to be overall a lighthearted and fluffy read.
Alice was quirky, funny but imperfect, as most 19 year olds are. I feel a lot of people who said she was immature for 19 probably forgot what being 19 is like, because it's actually still quite young. She's still figuring out herself and her life, and taking comfort in the things she likes whilst doing so.
This book portrayed therapy in a positive way, which was good, and I also liked how Takumi took some time to really understand what Alice meant when she said she was asexual. He was also imperfect and I think that's realistic, as a lot of people haven't heard of asexuality before and need to take some time to understand experiences outside their own and might say the wrong thing in good faith whilst doing so.
I thought Feenie and Ryan were a bit harsh on her, though I could see their POV as I've been in a similar situation before. This could have been resolved a bit better though, without Alice taking all the blame for it, because I think her feelings and experience was also valid (they did ditch her first!).
Though I did enjoy this book overall, there were a few little things that I didn't like as much. I don't know why Takumi had to be so much older than her, it seemed irrelevant to the plot and I always find teen/mid-20s pairings a bit iffy given the mentality differences generally present between these ages and stages of life. It didn't ruin the book, but it was something I noticed. I also would've liked to see how their relationship developed a bit more after the getting together stage, and see Alice explore what that meant for her identity. The side characters could've been developed a little more, too.
In saying this, I did enjoy the book overall and thought there were a lot of good things about it. I thought the ace rep was good, the writing was engaging and easy to read, and the characters were fun. It was also able to address fairly heavy topics whilst also managing to be overall a lighthearted and fluffy read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Acephobia/Arophobia
Moderate: Racism
hstapp's review
5.0
This book is really really good. The beginning of it starts out a little rough, like emotionally rough and heavy, and there are a few moments like that throughout the book. Alice is a black asexual biromantic woman. She's going to deal with some rough things in her life, and we get to see some of them.
Alice is also super cute! So So Cute! She's definitely a Red on the Cutie Code. I don't know how Claire wrote such a cute character, but I'd like to learn! Alice is so wonderful, and the romance aspects are delightful. I couldn't put this book down and stayed up far too late in order to finish it.
Alice is also super cute! So So Cute! She's definitely a Red on the Cutie Code. I don't know how Claire wrote such a cute character, but I'd like to learn! Alice is so wonderful, and the romance aspects are delightful. I couldn't put this book down and stayed up far too late in order to finish it.
kyanitecourage's review against another edition
2.0
Two and a half stars.
While it was nice to get some ace representation, much of this book felt very juvenile. It is YA, even merging into new adult, but the character who is a college student reminds me more of a middle school kid.
However, the words are on the page! Biromantic asexual!! Hallelujah for words that directly talk about it. I do think this as a book for some young romantic aces to read.
And in more praise, some of these events are relatable. I do wish the author would have delved deeper with the conflict and resolution of the best friends as well as the romantic interest. I kinda feel like she sorta hand-waves the answers and makes everything resolved without actually getting into it.
Personal side note: Around that age in my own life, I really struggled with trying to wrap my mind around my friends getting older and together and moving on where being tied up in my each other’s friendships wasn’t as urgent as it was when we were younger. It was something I didn’t understand, like Alice, and had to work through. Plus we each had personal issues to work through. The result was many serious conversations that took months to work out. This year will be my twentieth year of friendship with her. So that I appreciated that struggle in this book about aces, as it seems so deeply to be an ace or aro issue.
But in the book, the best friend Feenie is just weird, kinda mean and then displays love randomly. Like I can’t figure out why they’re friends. And the main character Alice treats people oddly, kinda uses them as she pleases. Including the love interest. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Furthermore, the ace rep in this book kinda instigates the stereotype that aces are childish or immature. This book is definitely a chick lit YA book, more girly and romantic than I usually read while simultaneously not being something to take too seriously. It definitely had me cringing at times, especially the beginning of the book when she first meets Takumi.
This book on its own it fine, but not the ace rep that I wanted. Which is fair, not all have the same experience. We simply needs more ace (and aro) books out there.
While it was nice to get some ace representation, much of this book felt very juvenile. It is YA, even merging into new adult, but the character who is a college student reminds me more of a middle school kid.
However, the words are on the page! Biromantic asexual!! Hallelujah for words that directly talk about it. I do think this as a book for some young romantic aces to read.
And in more praise, some of these events are relatable. I do wish the author would have delved deeper with the conflict and resolution of the best friends as well as the romantic interest. I kinda feel like she sorta hand-waves the answers and makes everything resolved without actually getting into it.
Personal side note: Around that age in my own life, I really struggled with trying to wrap my mind around my friends getting older and together and moving on where being tied up in my each other’s friendships wasn’t as urgent as it was when we were younger. It was something I didn’t understand, like Alice, and had to work through. Plus we each had personal issues to work through. The result was many serious conversations that took months to work out. This year will be my twentieth year of friendship with her. So that I appreciated that struggle in this book about aces, as it seems so deeply to be an ace or aro issue.
But in the book, the best friend Feenie is just weird, kinda mean and then displays love randomly. Like I can’t figure out why they’re friends. And the main character Alice treats people oddly, kinda uses them as she pleases. Including the love interest. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Furthermore, the ace rep in this book kinda instigates the stereotype that aces are childish or immature. This book is definitely a chick lit YA book, more girly and romantic than I usually read while simultaneously not being something to take too seriously. It definitely had me cringing at times, especially the beginning of the book when she first meets Takumi.
This book on its own it fine, but not the ace rep that I wanted. Which is fair, not all have the same experience. We simply needs more ace (and aro) books out there.