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halthemonarch's review against another edition
3.0
It’s gunna be a 3.5 for me, chief!
Let me start off by saying Michael is lowkey a possessive creep, and the sex scenes only felt steamy when I read them while high and about to go to bed. In the light of day, a lot of them made me cringe.
The whole book was cringe! I’ve before that the romance genre has never been my cup of tea. I went into it knowing that I wasn’t exactly the target audience in some ways (as a romance unenthusiast), but the bullseye in other ways (as a non neurotypical woman dating in the modern world). BUT a lot of the conflict between our heroine Stella and love interest Michael could have been solved with one conversation between the both of them.
Honestly sometimes it felt like they weren’t even listening to each other! Stella would literally say “I’m obsessed with you” and Michael would hear: I’m human garbage that’s why she’s using me as a practice dummy. He would say “Come meet my (ailing) mother, please be good to her” and she would hear: I’m a pity fuck and no one will ever love me. The sad thing about that is I’m only exaggerating a little.
I for one know that sometimes it really do be like that when your mental health and your self esteem takes a hit, when your family life is fucked up, or when you’re unhappy in general, but Michael and Stella really do border on stupidity. I can’t say how many times, out loud I would say something like “Jesus Christ, really?” while reading this book.
All that being said, I can’t say I didn’t enjoy it. It read like a slow burn fanfiction for me, which isn’t a bad thing! It’s fantastic to me that things that used to be relegated to the world of fanfiction (protagonists with disabilities, diversity, inclusion etc) is now so often in the spotlight. I’m glad I picked this book up because it made me feel so nostalgic for the time in college my friends and I would write novels about our atypical characters. A lot of those old plot lines could be tied up with one succinct conversation and a thimble’s worth of self-esteem at the get go, but hey how long would *that* book be.
I’m still going back and forth on my rating. I did enjoy the book but it was frustrating to read lmao. The part where Michael follows Stella home or him punching Phillip, or Eliza’s whole thing, or any of the various other “oof” moments weren’t enough to make me hate the book. It had so much good in there! The descriptions were always to the point, the characterization was all planned out and sound, and the representation of Autism and Michael being Vietnamese American (not just a throw away line, but showing his culture as part of his character) were both so important.
Let me start off by saying Michael is lowkey a possessive creep, and the sex scenes only felt steamy when I read them while high and about to go to bed. In the light of day, a lot of them made me cringe.
The whole book was cringe! I’ve before that the romance genre has never been my cup of tea. I went into it knowing that I wasn’t exactly the target audience in some ways (as a romance unenthusiast), but the bullseye in other ways (as a non neurotypical woman dating in the modern world). BUT a lot of the conflict between our heroine Stella and love interest Michael could have been solved with one conversation between the both of them.
Honestly sometimes it felt like they weren’t even listening to each other! Stella would literally say “I’m obsessed with you” and Michael would hear: I’m human garbage that’s why she’s using me as a practice dummy. He would say “Come meet my (ailing) mother, please be good to her” and she would hear: I’m a pity fuck and no one will ever love me. The sad thing about that is I’m only exaggerating a little.
I for one know that sometimes it really do be like that when your mental health and your self esteem takes a hit, when your family life is fucked up, or when you’re unhappy in general, but Michael and Stella really do border on stupidity. I can’t say how many times, out loud I would say something like “Jesus Christ, really?” while reading this book.
All that being said, I can’t say I didn’t enjoy it. It read like a slow burn fanfiction for me, which isn’t a bad thing! It’s fantastic to me that things that used to be relegated to the world of fanfiction (protagonists with disabilities, diversity, inclusion etc) is now so often in the spotlight. I’m glad I picked this book up because it made me feel so nostalgic for the time in college my friends and I would write novels about our atypical characters. A lot of those old plot lines could be tied up with one succinct conversation and a thimble’s worth of self-esteem at the get go, but hey how long would *that* book be.
I’m still going back and forth on my rating. I did enjoy the book but it was frustrating to read lmao. The part where Michael follows Stella home or him punching Phillip, or Eliza’s whole thing, or any of the various other “oof” moments weren’t enough to make me hate the book. It had so much good in there! The descriptions were always to the point, the characterization was all planned out and sound, and the representation of Autism and Michael being Vietnamese American (not just a throw away line, but showing his culture as part of his character) were both so important.
hekiv's review against another edition
emotional
tense
slow-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
5.0
jule_ftr's review against another edition
5.0
god it was just amazing. How should i get over this book???
sxphielxu's review against another edition
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? Yes
4.0
enchantedly_booked's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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? Yes
4.75
The FMC is autistic and Hoang did such an amazing job with representing the autistic community. The characters were so lovable. The spice was good! The story was a breeze. It was such an enjoyable read & finished it in a day.
spacey_ghost's review against another edition
I just do not have the patience to read a straight romance right now
jairereads's review against another edition
4.0
Felt iffy about some word choice and themes veering on inspiration porn (as well as the rushed/sloppy plot lines in the ending), but the heartfelt author’s note and thoughtful discussion questions in the afterword tied it all together for me. Ended up being my favorite romance novel I’ve read to date.