A very enjoyable listen. It was easy to wish the characters well and really care about what was in the story ahead. There is a lot of mathematics and physics that are discussed, but even if not an interest of yours ... you’ll love Evvie all the same!

I listen to the audiobook of The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost-Kiss and I thoroughly enjoyed it! This book tells the story of Caleb and Evie, childhood friends who are navigating competitive academics and changing feelings. Both of the narrators for this audio did a wonderful job. I love books with the friends to lovers trop, and I thought it was really well done in this case. My favorite parts were those from Caleb’s perspective as he expressed his true feelings for his best friend. I also really appreciated the emphasis on a female in a male-dominated STEM field and the portrayal of anxiety and mental health concerns, including the importance of therapy. Overall, this YA romance was easy and enjoyable to listen to and I would recommend it!

I received a copy of this audiobook from the publisher via NetGalley. This did not affect the content of my review and all opinions are my own.

<i>I like watching them crash and burn. Because let's face it: I am totally in love with Evie Beckham.</i>

I should start of by saying that quantum weirdness has no place in this book other than referencing that the main female character likes math. And literally <em>no one</em> is going to come away from reading Amy Noelle Parks' <em>The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost-Kiss</em> knowing anything about what quantum means. But, I digress, because that's not really the problem with this book. Honestly, Parks' novel is basically a giant pile of BIG <em>yikes</em>.

<b>Can We NOT with Male Entitlement</b>

I'm usually a <em>huge</em> fan of boys pining after a girl, loving her so much that he puts her first despite it hurting to see her happy with others. I've been obsessed with trash shows solely because of big sweetheart guys like that. You know, the sort who don't expect a thing and just want the girl they love to be happy? So, in theory, I should have <em>loved</em> Quantum Weirdness.

But honestly? Main character and best friend love interest, Caleb is a capital D douchebag. He's also kind of creepy obsessed rather than innocently in love. I'm not entirely sure what Parks thought she was portraying with him, but trust me when I say it was <em>not</em> sweetheart best friend just wanting the girl he loves to be happy even if it hurts him. It wasn't even him just <em>silently</em> wishing she'd love him in the same way but still being a great friend.

Nah, he was an entitled creep who thought if he kept track of all the times he <em>almost </em>kissed her or thought about kissing her and waited long enough she'd finally fall in love with him. Of course, this sort of creepy stalker-esque behavior often results in serious problems. See, the only reason their friendship lasted as long as it did without hiccups is because Evie never showed any sign of romantic interest in <em>anyone</em>.

But the second she does...

<b>Enter Leo</b>

Haha, okay. So, Evie is into math. And one day she meets a decently nice guy who is, coincidentally, into math as well. Caleb's response to this is...less than ideal. The amount of vitriol that he spews at Leo, thought wise, is disturbing. Frankly, the only reason he didn't turn into creeper mental breakdown stalker is because he's a fictional character. In real life this is the sort of guy who would have a full on tantrum about the uninterested girl not cowing to his entitlement.

He's a straight up <em>ass</em> to Leo from the very first second he learns Leo likes Evie. And it only gets worse once Evie expresses her interest. The nerve of this entitled child seriously pissed me off. <em>Especially</em> since instead of being somewhat sad but at least happy that his friend is happy, he decides to go out of his way to <em>prove </em>to her without her knowledge that he is the guy for her. Caleb <em>literally</em> catfishes her.

He carefully develops a profile on a website related to this contest thing they're part of with the express purpose of weaseling his way into her life as a romantic interest. Magically, she finds his curated profile and messages him. He hides his identity from her because, I shit you not, he thinks the only reason she's not realized she's in love with him is because he's been seen as her best friend for so long. And not only that, but he gets personal information from her about both of his personas <em>without her knowledge</em>.

Honestly, everything about Caleb just seriously fucking disgusted me.

<b>The Anxiety Stuff</b>

By this point I'm just...too disgusted by the romance to care about anything else going on in the book. There are a few textbook annoying things like the friend who pushes them together because somehow she can see that they've loved each other <em>forever</em> and seriously <em>dumb </em>miscommunications to set up and further the plot.

There was a lot of potential for a really great story involving the anxiety side plot. But, of course, that gets pushed aside and diminished because: <em>romance</em> and <em>the one!</em> So, that was disappointing. Honestly, I wish she'd picked Leo in the end, realized Caleb was awful, and overcome her anxiety thanks to the many years spent in therapy rather than using the stupid catfisher as a crutch.

<b>Narration</b>

Even the amazing voices of Nick Mondelli and Elizabeth Cottle couldn't save this ship from drowning. I do have to admit that I did enjoy the audiobook narration. I've always been a huge fan of audibooks with multiple narrators. It makes the story feel more real, in a way, when you can connect with multiple voices. Of course, that kind of hurt this book a little bit because it made <em>Caleb</em> seem more real...which just infuriated me more.

But, I'll at least say that Nick has a good voice and I won't hold Caleb against him.

<em>I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</em>

Thank you to NetGalley, Amy Noelle Parks, Nick Mondelli, Elizabeth Cottle, Dreamscape Media, and Amulet Books for the opportunity to listen to The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost-Kiss via the NetGalley Shelf app.

I listened to the audiobook version of this book on the NetGalley Shelf app and it was amazing and engaging! Nick Mondelli reads the part of Caleb while Elizabeth Cottle voices the part of Evie. Their voice acting is well-done, animated, and an absolute joy to listen to!

This is a super cute romantic comedy about Evie, an absolute math wiz, and Caleb, her best friend and likewise intellectual enthusiast. Caleb reminisces about the many times he had an almost-kiss with Evie, and when he is finally ready to share his more romantic feelings for her, she is disinterested. Not wanting to ruin their friendship, Caleb backs off before things can go too far. When he steps back, he is now on the sidelines when it comes to watching Evie date a different classmate, Leo.

As Evie is dating Leo, Caleb comes up with a pretty crafty plan. He joins the Frontier message board, (Frontier is a school) using a fake name that might just pique Evie's interest. He happens to know her user name as well, and she has no clue it's him. Between the two of them, an online romance begins to develop.

With the romantic shenanigans with the looming shadow of a mathematics contest, not to mention her dealings with severe anxiety attacks, will Evie ever figure out her romantic situation on top of everything else?

I thought this was a well-written and rather cute novel, especially for a teenage girl reader. Since there is also a male perspective, it has a nice view for the male reader as well. The situations are quirky and the characters are typical high school kids just trying to figure out who they are and what they want from life. A fun listen that I will certainly recommend.

Natgalley gave me an Audio arc in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to netgalley and the author for the opportunity.
4.5⭐
TQWotAK was such a delightful read. I adored the main characters who loved science and math. The author portrayed the theories and formulas of math and science seamlessly with the life of a teenager. Some parts made me tear up and other's made me laugh out loud. Having female characters who were still brave and intelligent was very poignant with some of the themes woven in this story. The resistance met by women in the math and science industry is really frustrating and I'm glad that a book geared toward a younger audience challenges those concepts.

Having the audio come from two different voice actors was fabulous. The narration was excellent. Not hurried but still exciting. Excellent cadence. I prefer to listen to audio books so I can pronounce words correctly when conversing about books and that was helpful for this read. When referring to some interesting theories, I found having heard it made it easier for me to explain.

The subtle theme between religion and science was incredibly well done too. I commend the author highly on her work and can say I thoroughly enjoyed this sweet best friend to lovers trope. It was so much more than that. I felt you challenged a lot of societal norms in a matter of fact way. It was refreshing!

Audiobook provided by Netgalley and the publisher for my honest review. Thank you!

This was an interesting high school story. It is chock full of math and physics, Phantom Tollbooth references and lovely carrying friends that stick with you through the thin and thick.

Though it is told from both Evie and Caleb's points of view, the emotional turmoil layers heavily in his camp. I really liked his maturity level, that he is open and carrying and relinquishes Evie of feeling like she is a burden for him to carry. His torch for her can be a bit hard to swallow at times, but the way he always puts her needs first is endearing and lovely. We all need people like Caleb in our lives.

Evie is a great role model for the unsure, bullied, unseen women in STEM. Steps out of the shadow of her doubts and takes control of her life, her emotional needs, and her amazing discoveries in a rational, controlled, and wonderfully healthy way.

This book would make for an excellent movie. Netflix where are you on this?

The audiobook is narrated in two voices, making it very easy to fall into the life of these teenagers on the verge of adulthood.

I would recommend this book to any high schooler who needs to know that women in STEM are amazing, men in coding can be emotionally available and everyone needs awesome friends like these.

Caleb is in love with his best friend Evie. But between working through her anxiety and studying math at an elite high school, Evie has never seen the point in dating...until a new guy at her school makes her think she might be ready to start navigating the world of boys. Thinking Evie will never see him as more than a friend, Caleb creates an alternate online persona to capture her heart, which actually goes better than expected. Now Evie is torn between two different guys, or so she thinks.

I’m such a sucker for a friends-to-lovers plot, and this one did not disappoint. As someone who never really connected with math, I appreciated how much the author’s love for this subjects showed through the story and I found myself really interested in the topics the characters discussed around math, physics, and coding, and also the conversations about anxiety. Plus Caleb and Evie are SO CUTE.

If you love a good romance like I do, I recommend checking this one out!

Thanks to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the audiobook in exchange for a free review!

I have to admit, both the cover and the title of this book attracted me and made me want to read it. This book was soooo cute!!!! The childhood friends to lovers is so adorable and I’m so glad this book had some very smart, intelligent characters. I loved that they had such a strong friendship and it blossomed into love so naturally and beautifully. I just think that Leo and Evie were in a relationship for more of the story than I would have liked. I would have loved to see more of Evie and Caleb dating. Another issue I had was that Caleb kind of cat fishing Evie? I think it could have been done better if Caleb didn’t know who Evie was and figured it out later.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This book/audiobook was adorable and cute. My favorite trope is friends to lovers and this one marked all the boxes. I would recommend this to my friends and teens. Once my daughter is a little older, I think she'd enjoy it too

Evie and Caleb have been friends for most of their lives. They are in their final year of high school at Newton Academy. Evie has never dated. Ever. Her love is for math. She's a pretty bright student with her little quirks. She doesn't have the best relationship with her mom and has some anxiety issues. In fact, anxiety even managed to ruin her opportunity to attend frontier last year, which is a national math and physics competition. Caleb has always only wanted what is best for Evie and is always there for her no matter what. He convinces her to try and land a spot again in frontier, this year, with the comfort of him by her side. To much avail, she decides to go for it. Enter Leo. He is one of Caleb's friends and seems to be interested in Evie. Caleb doesn't believe Evie will give him the time of day. She doesn't think of boys like that. Or does she? Suddenly, she is starting a relationship with Leo and with the help of Leo as well as all the therapy she's been in, she suddenly starts acting and feeling in ways she never has before. Caleb is suddenly driven with jealousy. Why Leo? There's only one thing to do. Caleb masks himself as someone Evie doesn't know and starts to talk to her over the anonymous frontier communication page. Well that just complicated things. Now Evie is realizing her feelings for not just 2 guys, but now 3. How will Evie choose which one is the right one for her? Will she be able to get through frontier this year and come out on top?
This book was a pretty cute book ! I read this one via audio book. I enjoyed reading it. It was a pretty quick and easy read. The storyline was pretty cute! Thank you to Netgalley, Dreamscape Media, and Amy Noelle Parks for the opportunity to read this book. I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for my honest opinion. I rate this book ⭐⭐⭐⭐.

This was just what I needed! This first love and friends-to-more story was super adorable! It's told from both Evie's perspective and Calab's, which elevated the story. It's always fun hearing both sides and knowing the thoughts behind the actions. Yes, it was a bit predictable, but aren't most romance books? I'm not putting the plot in my review, you can see that up there ^

There's a lot of things I loved about this story:
Evie's anxiety and panic attacks and how open she was about it, and the therapy she receives for it. Let's break that stigma! She's also clearly the brightest student at her advanced tech high school and excels and mathematics (I get lost at fractions). She talked about wanting to try and appear as a boy at one point due to the fact that women in STEM are still overlooked, and I love how quickly she was talked out of that and uplifted and supported. I loved the strong female friendships, the strong females in general, the feminist boys who appreciate the strong girls. One of Evie's best friends is a vegetarian because of the amount of green house gasses livestock create. As a vegetarian myself, I was applauding this being put out there.

As I mentioned, I'm not good at math...at all. I thought I'd get lost and not like this book due to all the numbers. Instead, Parks showed how numbers can be FUN. It made me understand WHY some people really like math and numbers. There were a few times I wish I understood what they were talking about, but not so much that I felt it detracted from the story. Her writing was beautiful. I also appreciate her author's note and feel it's worth reading/listening to.

I listened to the audiobook for this and I felt the narrators did a fantastic job of portraying their characters feelings and thoughts. I think this might even be one where I feel the audio is better?

Overall, a cute, witty, intelligent YA with well rounded characters..

Thank you Dreamscape Audio, Abrams Books, and NetGalley for the ALC and the opportunity to express my honest thoughts.

I love audiobooks with different narrators, especially a romance with chapters from the POV of the two love interests, and I really enjoyed this one narrated by Nick Mondelli and Elizabeth Cottle. They had a good grip on their characters, though Mondelli's voice for the female characters lacked definition, for me.

For the story, it was a cute but predictable YA romance. I did really love the focus on females in STEM majors, and Evie's love of math was really interesting to learn about. I liked that this book goes into the struggles that women have to deal with to be accepted in such academic fields, and it made me admire Evie even more.

As for Caleb, I struggled to like him, mostly because he's LYING to Evie about still liking her romantically. This really annoys me. But I liked how he always supported Evie and stood by her, even when she was seeing other people. It was also refreshing to read a male YA lead fall first and obsess about a girl.

Overall, this was a fun, quick YA romance with likable characters.

3.5/5

Thank you Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost Kiss
4.5/5 ⭐️ to The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost Kiss by Amy Noelle Parks

Thank you so much to Dreamscape Media, Amulet Books, & NetGalley for access to the audio egalley to review!

This was another absolutely adorable YA Contemporary romance with a dual narrative perspective (my fave) which I highly recommend! I connected so well to Evie & Caleb, and quickly became invested in their relationship. They both attend a very prestigious academic school, and as best friends they end up working together on a research project submission which could set them up very well academically. But Caleb has loved Evie for a long time, and is super nervous to let her know how he actually feels, and Evie doesn’t want to lose the only person who really understands her & her anxiety if they mess up their relationship. I thought the development & backstory of their relationship was so well done! There was some pining, miscommunication, and it was just so good! Also of note was I thought that their growth as individuals throughout the story was great and worked for the plot, just was not super complex or groundbreaking. There is rep for anxiety, as Evie is learning to adapt her anxiety as she transitions closer to adulthood. I thought it was portrayed with care and respect, but please read own voices reviews for this representation. Finally I wanted to say that I loved this school setting with its cast of students! We meet friends & classmates of Evie and Caleb, which I so enjoyed, and the friends in particular provide great commentary & advice for our MCs and added so well to the overall story! Also loved how it celebrated women in STEM fields of study, and provided a critique that these fields have been dominated by white men.

Check this out! I really enjoyed it, the main relationship, the celebration of STEM fields, and the representation of anxiety. Will definitely keep my eye out for future books from this author!

This book almost feels like what Pretty In Pink may have been if Andie would've wound up with Ducky. It's cute and predictable in all the best ways, and while it has a few plot flaws to its detriment (catfishing), it's an overall easy and lighthearted read/listen.

I had high hopes for this book but ended up not finishing it because I couldn't stand the characters. Evie was a judgmental and unrelatable and Caleb was just creepy in his quest to win over Evie.

The Quantum Weirdness of The Almost Kiss by Amy Noelle Parks is a sweet YA romantic comedy full of longing, math, science, and friendship, and a heartfelt exploration of the push and pull between a life-long platonic friendship and a romantic relationship and being caught in that confusing, deep space in between. Told in dual POV, the audiobook is wonderfully narrated by Nick Mondell as Caleb and Elizabeth Cottle as Evie.

Evie is a mathematical genius who struggles with anxiety and might also be a bit on the autism spectrum. She and Caleb are next-door neighbors who have been close friends since they were small. They are students at a math and science academy. While Caleb languishes in unrequited love for his life-long best friend Evie, she somehow remains oblivious to his feelings and possibly her own desperate to preserve their friendship at all costs as he is her rock. Caleb has been fine with this believing that when Evie comes around to being interested in dating, she will choose him. However, when Evie suddenly becomes interested in a transfer student who shares her mathematical gifts, he feels his hope that Evie will someday choose him slipping away. In desperation, Caleb tries to get Evie’s attention by connecting with her on an online forum. Evie’s simple life of focusing solely on math becomes even more complicated when she finds herself torn between three boys.

With lovely, visceral description, well-developed characters, and a charming story the novel captures the emotions, butterflies, ups, and downs of first loves and crushes. The narrators do an awesome job of vividly bringing the characters and story to life and portraying with genuine emotion those moments of realization and feelings of attraction to your best friend catching you by surprise or how overwhelming it can be to keep those intense feelings under wraps. Having the narration in dual POV with both Caleb’s and Evie’s POVs elevates your emotional investment in the story. Both narrator’s voices were good matches for the characters and made me care about the characters. Your heart hurts for Caleb, knowing that he just might be the right person for Evie if she ever lets go of the limited idea of what she believes their relationship needs to be. At the same time, you accept that exploring her feelings for Leo is something that she needs to explore right now.

The Quantum Weirdness of The Almost Kiss is an entertaining, humorous, angsty, and refreshingly emotional and honest exploration of the transition from best friends to boyfriend/girlfriend, that also deals with issues of anxiety, social awkwardness, self-esteem, mental illness, and Christianity, all within the setting of a science and math academy/boarding school.

First of all, thank you so much to netgalley for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was very excited to read this book as it was one of my most anticipated releases of this year probably due to the fact that I'm such a sucker for the friends to lovers trope. I will basically read anything that has it. There is just something so special about watching best friends fall in love with one another.

This story follows a girl named Evie who is attending this mathematics boarding school with her best friend Caleb. She has never had a boyfriend and has always thought the idea of kissing to be weird, until a new boy shows up to school which makes her question these things. Then there is Caleb, who after witnessing Evie's meet cute with this new boy, gets extremely jealous because he's secretly been in love with Evie and has almost kissed her fifteen times!

I really enjoyed this story. It was so cute and fluffy. The relationship was super adorable. Caleb was just really sweet on Evie and seeing how in love he was with her was just really cute. I loved seeing their platonic relationship and watching Evie's feelings shift into something more.

I really loved Becks character as I find the two of us were very similar. I've never read about a character who wasn't allowed to date until they were eighteen as I grew up the exact same way. I also found her relatable in the sense that we grew up very similarly. I really loved the friendship Becks had with Caleb but I didn't like it as much with Evie as I just found Evie could be a little disrespectful to Becks beliefs at times.

Evie has anxiety and as someone who also experiences anxiety, I liked that we got to see Evie at a point in her life where it wasn't completely overtaking her life. I liked the more positive look of seeing her having learned how to cope with her anxiety and her being happy.

I know it is in the plot but I think I would've liked this book more if Leo wasn't in it. I generally just didn't enjoy him as a character or his relationship with Evie. I was just kind of waiting for them to break up. It felt like the only reason he was there was so Evie and Caleb couldn't get together that quickly.

Overall, if you're looking for a fun friends to lovers contemporary story, I'd recommend it. I had such a fun time with this book!

Thanks NetGalley for the preview!

This book was cute, sweet, funny and more! I found myself not being able to turn the audio off! I loved Evie and her quirks as well as her amazing intellect. Caleb was a wonderful friend and I really enjoyed the friends to lovers plot. Yes I had an issue with the catfishing aspect and believe Evie let him off easy with that one. I liked how much detail was added to the story and the 2 narrators gave great points of view. I loved the richness of all of the characters and would read a follow-up on Becks! I absolutely swooned when Caleb and Evie finally kissed and was very happy they got their happy ending!

I hate leaving reviews like this. This book just was not for me. It wasn't bad it just was to slow for me. The big sub plot with the online romance was not flushed at all. The conversations the two people had were not enough for our heroine to have feelings. Thank you to netgalley.

The audio was good. The duel narratives helped me get through the story. The voices matched everyone very well.

This book could have been okay heck it could have even been cute but I found a lot of things that really bothered me. Not only did they bother me but they are dangerous ideas to set and honestly quite creepy.
Overall this was obviously meant to be a by the numbers cute romance. I definitely saw what parks was going for. This book really could have worked if her main characters weren't so unlikable and creepy!
Evie felt like a total snob to me. She was very controlling towards her female friends. She treated the guy she supposedly liked as a chore and she honestly just wasn't very good to him all. She also felt very much like a know it all. I understand she was meant to be a genius but that doesn't excuse her behavior and neither does her anxiety which is obviously what Parks was trying to now. Now that being said I could handle Evie if she was the only probably but no we also got Caleb
Caleb was my major problem with this book. I am not sure if Park really realized how creepy Caleb was with his obsession with Evie. He repeatedly talks about the times he tried and failed to kiss her even though she was very clear she didn't like them. Then he dates and treats other girls poorly just because they have the audacity to not be Evie. Then as if all that isn't bad enough he decides to make this poor girl fall for him under false pretension. Nothing about him or what he did is romantic. He is creepy and predatory and teaching girls otherwise is harmful!
Overall I get what Park was trying for but in the end she did not make a cute friends to lovers story. She created a story that just furthers the idea that if you keep pushing and pursuing and lying the girl will eventually see your a "good guy" and go out with you. This is not a book I would recommend to anyone but especially not to its target demographic.