Reviews

unfortunately i was very frustrated with the main character for most of the book, despite her being interesting and well fleshed out, but otherwise i liked the route the book took at the end! it was nothing groundbreaking for me personally, but i appreciated the writing style and the ace rep :)

curhondonce's review

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emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I really enjoyed seeing Joy realize what she can have outside of her relationship with Malcolm. I soo enjoyed getting to know Fox. I just wish there was a second book so we could see relationships continue.

msrcreation's review

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5.0

This was wonderful. I love the conversations about the spectrum of asexuality. Sexuality as a whole is a spectrum and everyone even under the same label can experience that label differently. I adored the love interest. He was super sweet and really listened to Joy when it came to honestly everything. I also really loved Summer. Wasn't expecting to like her character as much as I did but she was so bright and lovely. Joy was hilarious and really understood herself which I truly loved. She was a great character to follow. Fantastic read with amazing characters. So glad I picked this up and the author will definitely stay on my radar.

cats_n_plants_n_cats_n_plants's review

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emotional funny lighthearted 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? Yes

3.25

bookph1le's review

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3.0

This one was kind of tricky for me. On the one hand, I really appreciated the ace representation in it and the subtleties explored within the ace umbrella. Romance novels in general usually don't work for me and I don't tend to read them because I'm not fond of the sexy aspects of them, so I definitely appreciate a romance novel that takes a different tack. I would love to see more books like this and fervently hope to see more and more of them on the market each year. Some minor spoilers ahead.

However, I thought this book often did a lot more telling than it did showing, and that didn't always work for me. I didn't want or need everything spelled out for me all the time and would have preferred to see character interactions do more of the heavy lifting.

I also really disliked Malcolm, which made it hard for me to see why Joy was so into him. I thought he was controlling to a really obnoxious extent, and while the book tiptoed up to this it then dismissed it. In particular, it bothered me that he bought hiking gear for Joy and that she took this as a sign of his consideration. Was it? Or was it a sign of his deciding to steamroll her into doing something she didn't really want to do? I get if you're Type A and like to stick to a schedule, but I found it really disrespectful of him to get upset with the other three when they didn't want to go along with his plans. I was glad to see him get some pushback for this, but I still feel like the book cut him a bit too much slack.

While I mostly liked Joy, she felt a little inconsistent to me at times. Still, I very much appreciated the way the book depicted her anxiety and her tendency to self-criticize. It was nice to see a book dissect this and for Joy to learn from it and begin growing.

I look forward to seeing what this author writes next.

leighr16_'s review

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I really wanted to enjoy this book, since it sheds light on Blackness, queerness, and asexuality! I sadly did not like the main character in this book, which made it hard for me to enjoy the book overall, since I was meant to be rooting for her! I do think that this book will be for some people, just not for me personally

jo_reads_'s review

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5.0

WOW.

I have only given out 9 five-star reviews in my years of reading, and Claire Kann's book The Romantic Agenda just made my 5-star list. When I tell you this book gave me everything I hoped for including the fake dating trope. I wish this book would have gone on forever. The second I finished reading I felt the sadness of letting these characters go. Each one of the characters Joy, Summer, Malcolm, and Fox were all very personable in their own way. This will 100% be one of my recommendations for my friends if they want to fall in love with reading again.

Could not recommend enough.

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