** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Copy received through Netgalley

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What It Seems, by Sydney Blackburn
★★★★☆
66 Pages
POV: 3rd person, dual POV
Content Warning: ace/demi-sexual, self-discovery, a forced kiss


This was my first book by Blackburn and I really enjoyed it.

At first, their writing style felt strangely historical in nature. The way they described events and situations sounded more like a historical book than a modern/contemporary one, and confused me. I found it hard to get into, but the more the first chapter went on the more it began to feel more natural.

A similar thing happened with the characters. At first, I wasn't sure about Michael. It felt like he was overly desperate, fantasising about Darcy without ever knowing anything about them. Then the forced-kiss happened and it was another strike of desperation that didn't help endear me to Michael. By then, we'd seen Darcy's POV and the hint had been lain out that he was ace/aro so that when Michael kissed it, it felt even more invasive than it would have on any other unsuspecting person. Because, by then, we knew Darcy had never been kissed and stealing someone's first kiss like that is brutal.

Personally, I thought it would have had much more impact if we hadn't seen Darcy's POV until *after* the kiss, when Michael realised Darcy was a man. That would have had twice the impact, especially since Michael had done such an intense job of reminding himself he was straight. I also think it would have had *more* impact if we hadn't known about Dave's insistence he was Bi, until *after* the kiss, as well.

For me, Michael over-emphasised his straight-ness all throughout the book. That “he doth protest too much” was in overdrive. Especially with things like this cropping up:
“Dave had told Michael he was bisexual. Michael didn’t feel bisexual, though—more like an open-minded straight guy. Jerking another guy to relieve some horniness wasn’t the same as thinking guys were hot or wanting to date one.”

Darcy, for me, was the shining light of the book. While I'm Ace myself and always love Ace representation in books, I completely understand the direction of the story. Because, no, not everyone discovers their true orientation at first, or early on. Sometimes, you try a label on that you believe fits, and then circumstances happen that completely shock you and rock your world. That's entirely realistic, but I also get why the publisher marked it as both ace and demi, because it really is both. The Ace representation isn't any worse-off for the fact Darcy later realises he's actually demi and not Ace, because the author did such a good job of showing both in a realistic and genuine light.

I was actually really confused by the whole “queue” hairstyle that was constantly mentioned, because there was no explanation of what it was. Once I Googled it and discovered it was a Chinese hairstyle (basically a plait) I was confused about why it had been chosen instead of a plait or ponytail. Was it somehow symbolic of the character's ethnicity? If so, that was never made clear. A little explanation would have gone a long way to helping me understand. Along with a POV change without a break, and a few instances of editing, this was another small piece of editing that could have elevated the book.

For me, the story was two halves. The first was shaky and left me not sure what to make of Michael and the situation that brought him and Darcy together. I still think the order left out major opportunities for intrigue and excitement. But, the second half of the book really helped make up for that. It took the journey of self-discovery for both MC's and really made them shine, individually and apart.

The writing was a bit literary at times, so when the swearing or sexy parts came, it felt a tad unnatural. There were some editing issues. The consent problem was nicely resolved by Darcy's reaction to it, in my opinion, and it became a real story about love, friendship, discovery and what it meant to be true to oneself.

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Favourite Quotes

“I love sex, I really do, but if I have to choose between it and you, I pick you. My life…oh god, Darcy. My life without you would be so…bleak, so empty.”

What it Seems by Sydney Blackburn is a LGBT romance, that is very much about people getting to understand themselves. Michael’s straight and infatuated with a woman he worked with one day, over a year ago. But when he finally sees her again, he’s astounded that the woman of his dreams is a man in drag. Darcy is ace and not interested in dating anyone, so he and Michael just hang out. A lot. When he needs to do an on-screen kissing scene, Michael is the best person to ask for help. Michael soon discovers he isn’t as straight as he thought he was, and Darcy likes kissing him a little too much for someone certain he never would. Those are a lot of changes to accept, but they just might be worth it.

What it Seems is a slow burn romance, that is as much about Michael and Darcy becoming friends, and getting to know their own selves better. Michael keeps proclaiming himself straight, but has shown bisexual tendencies in the past. He is a little shocked that the person he has crushed on for a year is not who he expects, but not so close minded. He wants to get to know Darcy better, and the more time they spend together the more they click, and the more he questions his own sexuality. Meanwhile Darcy is ace, and typically not physically attracted to anyone. The developing friendship leads to both Michael and Darcy to think hard about what they want, and I enjoyed their exploration. I loved the open and frank discussions, and how even the people firmly holding onto one label or another are willing to research and explore more, and willing to adjust their thinking as their world, and those around them, change. My only complaint is that I was left wanting more. I want to see where they go from here. I want to see their friends follow their paths and see what the future has in store for all of them.

What it Seems is a wonderful read, and I think it could be an important read for young and new adults questioning who they are attracted to (or aren't attracted to) and those wanting to better understand how other people feel. Beyond that, it was just a pleasure to read and I would love to read more about these characters in the future.

I can't believe I'm not even putting this review on my blog. But the way I'm doing my blog reviews... it's kinda a lot of work and this book does not deserve that much work.

If I remember correctly I had a screaming rant over at twitter about this book. It's been a while since this rant, but as soon as I've thought about What it Seems? The hate and disgust was back again.

I've had it up to here with asexual characters having to endure "romantic" sexual assault. I'm done.
It's not cute. It's not romantic. IT'S NOT FUCKING OKAY ALRIGHT?! (sexual assault is never okay regardless of sexual orientation; this is just a theme and about 50% of ace books have it in my experience).

Sorry for not being able to provide a thoughtful review about this book. But maybe I'm not.

Dieses Buch gibt es meines Wissens nach bislang nur auf Englisch.
Das Cover gefällt mir insofern gut dass die Person auf dem Cover von der Gesichtscorm und dem Körperbau wirklich wie eine Drag Queen wirkt. Auf den allerersten Blick fällt dies aber nicht auf und man glaubt ein ganz normales Mädchen zu sehen. Somit bekommt man einen ähnlichen ersten Eindruck vom Buch, wie Michael von Darcy. Aber auch den Bokeh Effekt finde ich total reizvoll, wenn auch leider ein kleines bisschen übertrieben.
Die Geschichte lässt sich aufgrund seiner Kürze schnell zwischendurch weglesen. Leider macht es der Schreibstil dem Leser immer wieder etwas anstrengend, konzentriert bei der Geschichte zu bleiben und weiterzuleiten.
Dennoch hat es dieses Buch definitiv geschafft, sich auf Grund seiner Story, vorallem aber auch sehr facettenreichen Charaktere, sich von der Masse abzuheben.
Besonders Darcy als demisexuellen und schwulen Transvestien fand ich ziemlich spannend.

Fazit:
What it seems ist eine spanmemde, wenn auch etwas schwerfällig lesbare Lektüre für zwischendurch. Ich gebe 4 Sterne: 🌟🌟🌟🌟☆.

Although I was not unaware of the problematic areas of this book, I did enjoy the content and the writing style.

What was frustrating to me was that the biggest problematic point of this book could have been lifted entirely from the book without changing anything else. Michael is in instalust with Darcy and kisses him without his permission. The only thing that didn't have me putting down the book at that point was how compellingly Darcy tore him down for having done so.

There were also some trans related issues as part of the show that Darcy was guest starring on, but those could be explained away as fairly standard difficulties in modern day media, and weren't condoned explicitly by either one of the main characters.

The slow burn friendship between this curious bisexual man who, until recently, thought himself straight, and this asexual, androgynous character was my favourite thing ever. Honestly, just beautiful. I liked that, although Michael had a gay friend who was willing to give him resources to read up on, he did his own research to understand both his own and Darcy's sexualities.

Neither one of these characters were perfect, and they weren't portrayed that way. That's also what made this slice of life story so enjoyable to read.

This was such a sweet story about two characters figuring out about themselves, friendship and their place in the world whilst finding love along the way. Beautifully diverse, it was a delight to read.

This is a short, sweet story about two men learning about themselves while falling in love.

Michael has spent the past year mooning over a woman who he saw on set during the filming of a music video he helped choreograph. When the group decides to make a new video using the same people, he seizes the chance to meet her—only to learn his dream woman, Darcy, is an actor who happened to be asked to perform in drag. Michael is shocked but still attracted to Darcy, which he finds odd, because he identifies himself as straight. He just wants to spend time with Darcy to figure out what he’s feeling. Darcy, who is asexual, is happy to hang out with Michael, but just as friends, even after he asks Michael to practice kissing with him for an upcoming scene on the show he’s working on. After all, Michael’s straight and he’s ace, so they can only ever be friends, right?

That’s the plot in a nutshell. It really is a rather cute story of both self-discovery and romance. Michael needs time to come to terms with the idea that he’s maybe not as straight as he thinks and to adjust to what it means to be bisexual with an ace partner. Meanwhile, Darcy is not used to feeling attraction for anyone, and it takes him a while to realize that he might see Michael as more than a friend. So, their feelings for each other slowly grow over the course of story, accompanied by quite a bit of kissing. As I said, sweet!

If you’re in the mood for a quick feel-good read, this should do the trick!

A copy of this book was provided through NetGalley for review; all opinions expressed are my own.

This was short and sweet, without any real smut to speak of. I really enjoyed the portrayal of the complexity of the sexual identities, and the acknowledgement that it really is a spectrum that people land different places on. The usual "gay for you only" and "missed connection lives two blocks away" tropes are present, but I didn't really mind them. The attraction Michael feels for Darcy, and then to other guys of his build is slowly earned, and the book and character are not afraid to consider the possibility that he is not straight, but something closer to bi. I love that Michael doesn't freak out when Darcy turns out to be a man, or throw a bunch of hate on bisexuals as other books have done. Both characters intelligently assess their desires, and come to informed decisions on what they both like and whether they are compatible.
The plot is decent, and it feels like the show Supernatural is following me around as an influence in books I read. Maybe it's been on so long that it's the new default for soapy, trashy shows to be parodied? This book could easily be continued as a series, but is satisfying enough to stand on its own. It was really well thought out and touching.

I adore this story with every fiber of my being. Darcy is asexual and Michael is straight; at least, he claims to be. Michael becomes infatuated with Darcy and can't get Darcy out of his head. The kicker is, Darcy is a guy but Michael thinks he's a girl. Fate intervenes and they run into each other a year after Michael's first spotting of Darcy. Michael makes his moves and discovers Darcy isn't the woman Michael thought Darcy was. Throughout most of the story, Michael maintains his "straightness" even while he is drawn to Darcy. Darcy, meanwhile, has never been interested in anyone, male or female or in between.

They continue hanging out (dating, really, but neither is aware of it) and feelings develop on both ends. The author handles Darcy's confusion and development of feelings for Michael in such a relatable way as a fellow ace.

I love how Michael, even when he staunchly maintains that he's straight, just kinda accepts that he has romantic and sexual feelings for Darcy. And he never pressures Darcy, letting Darcy set the limits and boundaries.

"I love sex, I really do, but if I have to choose between it and you, I pick you."

The characters' internal discussions and conversations together are informative to readers who may not know or understand asexuality. Asexuality is a spectrum, and people who identify as ace have different experiences and may not completely relate to this author's storytelling via Darcy. I, however, think the author did a bang up job creating an ace character and a non-ace love interest.

One of my favorite passages from the book that accurately describes sexual versus love/affection:

"'Isn't kissing sexual, though?'

'Is it?'

Michael had always thought that love and sex were intertwined, in spite of the fact that he'd had many sexual relationships but very few girlfriends. Sex without love was one thing, but love without sex? If one was possible, the other had to be too."

*****

Oh my, what a lovely story this was - a beautifully diverse tale of friendship and discovery, starring two delightful boys, neither of whom know what (or who) they want.

What it Seems is the perfect title for Sydney Blackburn's quirky romance, since it is all about seeming on a physical and emotional level. Michael falls in love with Darcy at first sight, and then spends the next year looking for her, only to find out 'she' is actually a 'he'. Adorably androgynous, Darcy is neither transgender nor a drag queen, but an actor who just happened to cross-dress for a pair of roles.

One of the boys thinks he is straight and the other asexual, but things are not what they seem. What begins as an adorably awkward friendship quickly gets complicated, especially once they begin practicing kissing for Darcy's big role. It is a sweet, funny story, and one that explores questions of sexual orientation and identity.

I really enjoyed the idea of this book. There are no boxes and norms and it shows that there's a lot of space on the spectrum for all sorts of orientations. 
And while I also liked the MCs the story always stays very superficial and doesn't dig very deep. It all happens very fast and while the MCs did struggle with their feelings it never went very deep. 

Still an interesting story but it could have been so much more. As it is it's a light fluffy romantic read.

Darcy and Michael
Awesome story with wonderful main 'actors'.
Michael can't seem to erase a picture from his retina. A beautiful lady with the name Darcy
In his head this is THE perfect partner.. but he never saw her again. It's been a year now.

Darcy is an actor and more than once he has to play a drag role. Darcy isn't interested in dating and is happy to be in a quiet place, he is ace and never felt any kind of physical attraction to anyone.

Michael is so happy to find his Darcy again and isn't even upset Darcy is a man, his attraction isn't lesser.
They become friends and when Darcy needs to practice kissing he asks Michael to volunteer...
Darcy likes to kiss Michael and is kind of surprised by it.

A good written story with a sensitive and sincere friendship, the discovery of attraction, love and friendship ... the freedom and the space they gave each other to express themselves was wonderful. Their connection is warm and new and in a way pure... they did find their own way in it and in this world.

Kindly received an arc from the publisher