Thank you to the publisher for my eARC copy of this book. Unfortunately I didn’t love this book and therefore didn’t finish, I just didn’t connect with this one. Not for me, sorry.

Unfortunately I was unable to get in to this story and had to put it down, however, I'm sure it is a highly loved book and appreciated by the right readers.

This was a quick read with the focus mostly on getting the reader fully immersed in the mindset of the MC with Asperger's, and it was very effective in that goal. Herve is independent and has a high-functioning job, but he's had to work hard to get there and to maintain the routines that allow him to succeed there.

The romance was nice, but I wish we'd gotten more from it. It was really just something else that was happening in Herve's life, and I desperately wanted more development there. Especially since it made such a nice, sweet counterbalance to the harshness both of these men face in the outside world.

Some of the scenes from Herve's childhood were absolutely heartbreaking, and the reactions Luc had to deal with were shocking to me, to the point that I'd really prefer to imagine them as unrealistic -- though I'm sure they're not. This was driven home by the differences he experienced in the end when he himself became more confident in his appearance and stopped projecting shame. That rang very true, but it's still hard to accept that people would behave like this.

The book is set in France, written by a French author whose first language is not English, and that was pretty obvious at times. Some of the awkward phrasing just helped remind me of the setting, since other than that and the names there really wasn't anything else to distinguish it, but there were several instances it went beyond awkward into inaccurate and/or confusing. I wish that had been smoothed out a little more, but it didn't affect my rating.

Written with compassion and understanding and a deep respect of the subject matter I really enjoyed reading this. The story of two men who are unique and different, both struggling throughout their daily lives finding love in the hardest of times. I'd have loved for it to have been longer but what we got was beautiful and intense.

This book is lovely and moving! So much love for the characters. It tells us not just a story but a story full of lessons. I also feel the classical vibe in this one. This is a must read for everyone!

A very in depth outlook on a 30s something man with autism, navigating life and love. I felt that the book spent an unnecessary amount of time outlining the details of being on the spectrum and many of the nuances that come along with having autism. It was much more educational than I expected.

There wasn’t nearly enough romance in this book! I thought it was a romance read but it was more fiction than romance. I loved the interactions between Hervé and Luc. I wanted so much more! Their relationship and chemistry was addicting.

I rated this 3/5 stars because while I really liked the relationships both professionally and personally in the book, a lot of the book was spent on reflection and internal struggles which made it drag on.

I enjoyed this book - as someone who works often with those who have autism, there were a lot of feelings and actions I could relate to or that seemed familiar to me. Herve and Luc are sweet together, and watching them work through their individual challenges and develop a bond was rewarding. I wish we could have seen more of their relationship - it felt like we only saw the struggle and not their success much at the end. Aside from that, my only other criticism is that the plot was a bit slow moving - which was fine, but could have picked up a bit. I thought the book was good and would recommend it.

This story was an interesting representation of one individual's experience of the world through their diagnosis of Autism. The narrator Herve self identifies as having Aspberger's Syndrome, which was previously a diagnosis in the DSM-IV. The DSM-V removed Asperger's and incorporated the symptoms under the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder. There are still many people who claim Asperger's as more of a social classification, and as someone who works in the field but is not diagnosed, my hangups with these differences come from more of a professional academic realm and this was not part of the narrative.

I found the writing style a little difficult to follow since there were multiple perspectives on alternating chapters, but no distinction at the beginning of the chapter. Additionally it took me a little while to realize that the story took place in France, so that also contributed to it taking a little longer for me to get into the story.

I felt the author very clearly described how certain senses can become overwhelmed and how Herve navigated his own emotions and experiences even when knowing what he should do according to society and what he must do because of his internal struggle. The friendship that develops between him and Luc was very sweet. I enjoyed how Herve was able to help Luc through his own struggles, and would have loved a couple chapters from Luc's point of view.

Overall this novel felt more like fiction with a touch of romance than a romance novel to me, but I deeply enjoyed reading a story with a neurodiverse character and one in which the struggles of a diagnosis of Autism are presented in a real way.

I received a galley of this book from NetGalley and voluntarily give my review.

Love on the Spectrum by Alec Morgan

4/5 Stars

Fantastic read. Dramatic and full of some very intense moments. Be warned this book deals with dark subjects.

I was so happy to be able to read this book. Although some parts were hard to read you really get a sense of where the two main characters are coming from and what they have to overcome to fall truly in love.

Thank you #Netgally and publisher for this book I'm exchange for my honest review.

Such a sweet, sweet story. Both Hervé and Luc have the cards stacked against them. Luc is broken and Hervé is resigned. Neither one of them is looking for love, they're basically trying to live as normal a life as they can by simply trying to fit in as best they can.

I fell in love with both of these characters immediately. They were just trying so hard to be "normal" - whatever that is. Both of them spent their lives on the outside, looking in. On a chance meeting their lives and their outlooks changed. It wasn't easy and they had to really work at it, but they saw in each other what no one else really did.

This is my first read by Alec Nortan, but I will definitely be checking out more of his work.

A sweet, slow-paced romance. I liked how Luc and Hervé got to know each other little by little, how their story was short yet emotive. Alec has a great style I enjoyed reading. I planned just to give it a try and read a couple of chapters, but I was trapped and couldn't put the book down until I was done with it. Having a protagonist with Asperger made it all the more entertaining because I am an Aspie and could see myself in almost all of the situations, ticks and thoughts of Hervé; however, although I know there may several differences in how each Aspie develops and grows-up, I found some of the scenes a bit exaggerated. (less)

I was hooked on this book from the first page and then when I got to the flashbacks, I thought for sure, I wouldn't like it anymore because I've never been a fan of them but they worked. Because they were only snippets of his past, it really worked for me.

I don't know if I missed it, but did we find out why he had his scars and what his accident was?

Overall a good read, it was all tied up in a neat little bow and honestly, I liked that about it.

A cute story about finding someone who loves you for who you are. The story is a bit rushed, but that's to be expected with the length. The insights into Herve's brain were interesting and educational. The little jumps to past events were a little weird but I can see why they were there.

This was a sweet book that guided us on a journey through Hervè's life. And an interesting one at that. Having Asperger's, we see how he functions through work, with a supportive boss and some not so understanding coworkers. We also see his chance meeting with Luc, a recently healed/healing burn victim who still carries a lot of emotional scarring and insecurities on top of the physical scars.

Somehow Hervè and Luc form this bond, while slow it is and for Hervè to grow use to this person in his life, his bubble, we see him struggle with mundane things that most of us NT's (neurotypicals) take for granted. But reading as Hervè navigates his way through these new challenges and watching him grow closer to Luc, who is understanding and supportive in whatever Hervè needs, is really what I loved about this story. Luc helps Hervè as much as Hervè helps Luc into slowly reemerging back into society without any shame about his appearance.

Reading the author notes and finding that the author has also recently been diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome, makes this book even more interesting and insightful into the minds of those who aren't different, but solve problems differently, take different paths than others to get to the same destination or resolution.

My only complaint is that I wish this had been longer and focused a little more on Hervè and Luc's budding friendship/romance. And I'd have loved to see more of their established relationship as well.

All in all, definitely a sweet read with some learning the reader could take from it as well.

I struggled a bit with this book. I went into it thinking it would be more about the developing romance between two characters and while that was a part of it, it wasn't necessarily the main focus. The main focus was Hérve and his Asperger's Syndrome and how that affected his everyday life. Not necessarily a bad thing, as it was well written, but not necessarily what I wanted from the story. I did also find bits a bit unbelievable and things seemed to happen for the effect of added drama (and in that, were resolved quite quickly). I think this story could have done with a bit more plot, rather than explaining what life is like with Asperger's Syndrome. I can't fault the story and author if that was what he was going for, but it wasn't what I was in the mood for reading.

Thank you to NetGalley who sent me this to read and review. I loved this book and the only negative thing for me is that I wanted it to be longer.

This is the story of a man called Herve who is in his early thirties, we quickly learn that Herve is a gay man with Asperger’s syndrome. This is a part of who he is and the writer really describes well the challenges that come with having this condition, challenges which Herve faces every day. I learnt at the end that the writer himself has Asperger’s, this made it all the more interesting for me.

Herve is anxious, struggles socially, finds it difficult to understand body language and has his own quirky way of doing things. He regularly sees a therapist who sets him challenges, one day when facing one of them fate works its magic and Herve meets Luc who is an NT (Neurotypical) man who has his own story to tell.

The story of Herve and Luc develops and they save each other, a true romantic story. I really felt for Herve and I think there needs to be more awareness of conditions such as Asperger’s and Autism, they do not define a person and people need to see past that.

I really enjoyed reading this and I would say it’s quite an easy and fairly short book to read if your not someone who reads a lot. I would highly recommend it and I would love to know what happens next!

I really enjoyed this book! As a parent having a daughter on the Spectrum, I seen a lot of my daughter in the character. And I also got some insight into someone's life on the Spectrum.
Easy to read, great storyline.

Love on the Spectrum was absolutely adorable. Hervé's character was beautifully written and relatable to me in a lot of ways.


Hervé and Luc's relationship was sweet, endearing and so good. I loved reading their interactions, right from their first meet.


The narration was well-paced and engaging, both in the first person and the third person parts. Though I didn't think the scenes from Hervé's past were really necessary, I guess it gave me a deeper understanding of his character.


The only thing that kinda annoyed me is that we never find out what exactly happened to Luc. It's not a big detail in the scheme of things, but I like stories better when there are no loose strings left by the end of it.

Oh, what a sweet and beautiful story! Hervé has Asperger’s and had been dumped by his last boyfriend due to his differences. He struggles with eye contact and the sounds and chaos of everyday life. Personally, I’d also say Herve has a serious anxiety disorder as well, something that often goes hand in hand with autism but in Hervé’s case seems particularly challenging because he stresses so much over his interactions with others and if he’s made a social faux pas or misunderstood someone. Both of these things have left him rather isolated. One day while working on an exercise from his therapist, he meets Luc. Luc was in an accident that left him with serious facial burns that cause people to stare and make him self conscious. Pre-accident Luc was almost the opposite of Hervé- very extroverted with many friends he traveled and partied with but now he rarely leaves his home either and has shunned his friends. It’s just beautiful seeing these two meet and break out of their shells and kind of heal each other.

As a physically disabled aspie lesbian, this is the kind of book I dreamed about. And I share this about myself to say I was in a sense biased in favor of this book from the get-go but also read it and the details much more closely than someone without a disability background would (and I’ve panned books where I thought the representation was off!). It felt so good to read about characters I could relate to and see myself in. And I loved how while asperger’s is unabashedly a major part of who Hervé is, and the burns and trauma a part of Luc, the disabilities remain just that- a part of our characters and not a plot device. It’s striking how very much this kind of real life, disability as a part of life, stories are missing in the literary world. Disabilities usually pop up in a side character or as a cheap device to add drama or worse yet, in some overly popular romance stories I won’t mention by name- as the “I’m such a burden and love isn’t enough so I’d rather be dead” trope which is demeaning and ableist. Love on the Spectrum is so refreshing and so, so important just for being what it is, a true to life and so relatable story of characters who are disabled and neurodivergent.

This was so deeply meaningful to me and it’s perhaps the most relatable romance I’ve ever read. The ending just worked for me in such a special and beautiful way and was everything I want from a relationship. Being different in so many ways, I don’t often finish a romance with that starry-eyed swoony “YES!” feeling that draws so many to the genre. So that is the ultimate compliment for this book. And the thing is, precisely because this is a love story and disability is part of who our characters are but not the story itself, I think absolutely anyone could relate in some way and enjoy this.

I’ve rounded up for the above reasons to what I’d probably call a more solidly 4 star read. It’s a sweet story but it’s short and a very quick read. I would’ve loved it to have been longer and the pacing might have been better if Hervé and Luc got together as boyfriends a bit sooner or if there was more of that relationship written. The author, who’s bio notes was recently diagnosed with asperger’s himself, is French and wrote this story in English and to me, that kind of showed. There’s something about the writing that while very readable is maybe a bit simple. I don’t mean this as necessarily a negative and think this would be a great book for someone who doesn’t like to read a lot and in some ways the style was fitting with the character. But I was very aware this was not a book in translation or written in the author’s native language. There’s a depth and maybe wider variety of vocabulary and word choice that rather understandably isn’t here. Like I already said, this could even be a plus for some readers but I enjoyed this one so much I wanted more!

I loved this one. I wish books with characters like me weren’t so hard to find. But finding them is a very special thing. And while I can find other aspects of myself in the books I read, getting to see autism and disability as a part of life and as part of a queer romance was just amazing! I hope more publishing houses will take a chance on and build up and promote disabled authors. Because when we tell our own stories, we write disability in a very human light that while important for the disabled and neurodivergent (and disabled and neurodivergent queer readers especially!) is something that everyone can relate to. And it humanizes is and maybe helps the rest of the world understand. Not through preachy plot points but through just telling a ranged good story. And that’s what this is and it’s fantastic!

I always look to Ninestar Press when I'm interested in a romance with positive queer rep–this book was no exception as far as that goes. It was such a sweet and realistic love story. As someone without autism, I can't really comment on the rep but it felt very respectful/authentic (which made me wonder if this was #OwnVoices but could not confirm). I also felt like this helps non-autistic readers understand more about Aspergers, particularly what it's like to fall in love with a neurotypical person as an autistic person. Overall, I greatly enjoyed this book–it was a very lovely book with an ending that really pays off.