Thank you Berkley Publishing for my copy. All thoughts are my own!

The season of summer reading and romances is quickly approaching! If you’re looking for a summery read with Ace rep that leans toward the closed door side of Romance novels, I think you’ll enjoy The Romantic Agenda by Claire Kann! I had never read one of Kann’s books and the cover totally pulled me in. Plus, it takes place at a lake house! If you know me at all, that’s a major weakness of mine.

Genre:

Adult Romance

What I Liked:

The Setting—Give me a lake setting any day of the week! All of the grocery deliveries and descriptions of baking made me so jealous.

The Ace Rep—I haven’t read nearly enough books with characters who are Ace and I learned a lot. However, I think it’s always important to note that sexuality isn’t a monolith so while I learned a lot, it was from Joy’s perspective, not all Ace peoples’. Important to note!

The Characters—I really liked Joy and Fox. Malcolm wasn’t my favorite but I don’t think we were supposed to like him, However, I do think the deep friendship between Malcolm and Joy was really heartwarming to see.

What Didn’t Work For Me:

It felt more of a “coming of age” than a Romance for me. I wrestled with rooting for the Romance because it felt like our main character wanted to be with someone else for 85% of the book, but to the book’s credit, I really think that was the point!

Content Warnings:

Very minor Acephobia/Arophobia

Character Authenticity: 4/5 Steam Rating: 0/5 Overall Rating: 3.9/5

The Romantic Agenda was a fun rom-com of a book that featured a super fun asexual protagonist along with one of my favorite tropes, fake dating. We have Joy, who has been tragically in love with her best friend for years. But then we have Fox, someone entirely new to her. When the two decide to fake date during a camping trip, Joy doesn’t think it’ll go anywhere. But maybe it will, you just have to read to find out.

I really liked this one! It was a rough start for me, when the four characters first got together I was tempted to bail because there were so many awkward conversations and interactions, and while that felt totally realistic for these characters in this situation, it made me cringe. I'm socially anxious and reading about other people in difficult social situations like that is not my cup of tea. For some reason the tense the book is written in also kept tripping me up in the beginning. I'm not totally sure why.
But I stuck with it, and it ended up being much less angsty and awkward than I'd feared. I found the relationship between Joy and Malcolm extremely relatable. I appreciated how flawed all these characters are, and their good intentions despite that. I loved the chemistry and fun and building connection between Joy and Fox. I also loved Pepper the cat!
It was all a lot more honest and tender hearted than I expected from the premise. Not as much drama as I was anticipating, which I was happy about. I wanted to read the book because of the ace rep and also really appreciated the anxiety rep, and both of those things were fantastic to read about, but even apart from that, this book has so much going for it. It managed to be a mostly lighthearted, enjoyable read while delving into characters and relationships that were very complex and interesting.

This book surprised me in a really good way. I didn’t really know what to expect, reading a romance about an asexual protagonist. I don’t know a lot about asexuality, so I thought that aspect of the book was really interesting to learn about. I know asexuality is a spectrum and not everyone experiences it the same, but I liked learning about this character’s thoughts and feelings. This book hooked me in and I had a really hard time putting it down. It was funny and dramatic and didn’t follow the same rom-com plot formula so many other books do. I definitely recommend it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for this ARC!

This is the second of Claire Kann’s works that I have read, and again, I came out feeling light and refreshed. Kann has a way of writing romance that just feels makes the reader feel safe and content.

Joy was such a fun and confident protagonist; I enjoyed reading her views and thoughts, and even her corny puns. Joy’s struggles with feeling like no one would accept her the way Malcolm does were well-written and relatable, and it was lovely to see her find what she never thought she would with Fox. From dancing in kitchens to resting in a hammock under the stars, I had fun watching their relationship develop. I loved how observant and introspective Fox was as a love interest. He was such a great grump!

Joy and Malcolm’s journey through the book was frustrating, but it posed a good example of how even the oldest of friends can get bit by the miscommunication bug. Their conflict was exasperating, and I didn’t expect it to last nearly the entire book, but it was real and I appreciate that.

I don’t have much to say about Summer. Although she was there nearly the entire book, she was kind of just that. There. But she aided to push the plot along so!

All in all, I enjoyed this read. Kann manages to provide ace rep like I’ve never seen in media before, and to have two Black asexual characters with differing experiences is so cool to see. I look forward to whatever she does next!

Joy is an asexual female who has been loyal to her friend Malcom for years - and in love with him. Malcolm is unaware of Joy’s feelings and invites her on a trip with his new love interest Summer and her ex boyfriend, Fox. Most of the book follows quirky Joy, then turns to the complicated romantic entanglement.

This one was just okay for me. I just really didn’t connect to the characters or story, and I am a fan of rom coms! Bravo to the author for asexual representation in the story, I’ve not seen it before this one.

This book gets top marks for asexual representation! Although it was a romance it was also deeply a story about friendship and how new relationships can interfere with those friendships. Joy starts the book in love with Malcolm her long time best friend and boss but slowly finds herself warming to Fox and his steady companionship. I enjoyed seeing how her public persona and her private persona can differ and how that is entirely ok.

There was so much to unpack in every relationship in the book but in the end the most important thing is that I could not put the book down. I fell in love with Joy's story and wanted a bonus epilogue after it ended.

This book was a cute and refreshing summer romance! And with two black, asexual main characters it is a gem of representation. I’m excited for all of the people who will feel seen or even learn something about themself while reading it. Overall, it was a quick and easy read that made me want to find out what would happen next. It left me feeling nice and warm by the end. That being said, I did have a slight problem with the characters feeling a bit flat or unlikeable (with the exception of Fox). The pacing of the plot left something to be desired, and it can be tough to get through a story when the main source of conflict comes down to miscommunication and self-sabotage. Even so, Kann is an author that I’ll be keeping an eye out for in the future! I’m eager to see what else she may write next and how it will compare to The Romantic Agenda. Thank you to Books Forward for the opportunity to read and review this title!

I've read Kann's YA novel Let's Talk about Love for a book club, and I enjoyed her adult debut far more! The story serves to both educate and delight. Readers will learn about the distinctive experience of dating, attraction, and romance for those who are asexual, and they will be delighted by how the vibrant and, well, joyful Joy complements Fox’s grumpy stoicism. (Y'all know I love a grumpy hero who adores his partner.) I wish Kann had focused more on Fox than Malcolm, but ultimately it's necessary to demonstrate Malcolm and Joy's relationship. The ending isn't totally satisfactory, but it paves the way for better things for Joy and her chosen person.

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.

Let’s hear it for the first star review of the year!!! I honestly wasn’t expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did. The self growth in this book *chefs kiss* I loved the main character and the representation she brings to the table. I love that this book will bring more representation for the LGBTQ+ and Ace community. The romance in this book is so cute!!! I was squealing. I love how the author writes in about the inner struggles that moving on and making changes in your life bring. It’s a struggle I feel many authors seem to skip over and it’s front and center in this book and it’s kind of a nice change. All of the characters seem really mature(yes there like 30 but you know what I mean) they talk things out instead of fighting like older teenagers that we see in Contemporary Romance novels like these. The emotion in this feels real and raw. Nothing seems forced and I applaud the author for achieving that level of writing. My only critique is that I really don’t enjoy romance novels in 3rd person but that’s honestly a personal thing. Overall. The Romance Agenda is a Funny ,deep hearted, and emotional read. You will laugh, cry and cheer at the same time. I highly recommend you pick up a copy on April 12th!!

All of you know how I love rating books based on how they made me feel. Like, I don't care if there's a typo, wrong grammar (little), etc. As long as it made me feel something I'd like to feel or an unexpected positive feeling.

Feeling, feeling, feeling.

Yeah. This book made me feel feel. I wasn't liking Joy's way of thinking: copying the movie where the best friend does everything to make an engaged man fall for her. It would've been a bad turning point while reading it because I would hate that. However, the story didn't take that turn, and I loved where it was going. Joy was funny, which made me like her character. I was actually rooting for Joy and Malcolm at first because of Malcolm's actions towards Joy. Like hell, I would also fall for that.

I always had trouble explaining about me being asexual. So, when Joy explained it, it was prominent. It was what I was looking for whenever asked off guard. The precise explanation here was all I needed. Also, Joy as ace is me who wants to understand and have a hard time not because I don't accept me being ace, but deep down, I feel like no one will love and respect that part of me. I need a Fox in my life, thank you.

Moreover, what I didn't expect was that I'll fall for someone else. I turned 360 and said, 'f*ck Malcolm, I change sides.' I want to be seen the way Joy sees Fox and vice versa. Reading this made me remember why I want a romantic relationship, especially since I'm ace like Joy (Yes; The moment I heard this book has asexual characters, I instantly requested it).

I love this! Five stars! I will probably reread for the purpose of a reminder why I would like a romantic relationship. Also, this book was able to explain certain things I had trouble formulating and realizing before.

I'm not sure about Joy and Malcolm's sexuality. They are asexual, but they've dated and or liked someone of the opposite sex from them, so they can also be bisexual?

TW: Anxiety and Mentions of Racism

From the first paragraph, I knew this book would be a good one. I immersed myself into the book from the first chapter and I cannot say enough good things about this book! Honestly amazing! The writing is incredible and the plot is just one to die for. I am absolutely obsessed with this book. My favorite part would have to be the character development throughout the book. Character development is something I look forward to and this book did not disappoint.

Full review posted to links after embargo.

I really, really struggled with this book. There are some things that were just not going to work for me: I think that third person present is A Choice and not the right one for this book, there are some details I’m still fuzzy on (where exactly do Joy and Malcolm work, and what kind of app is she modeling on?), and I definitely think this book would have benefitted from multiple POVs.

But it’s personal, too. I’m also on the record as finding books where characters seem determined to sabotage themselves as very tough reads for me. Maybe some of it is seeing myself in them, a lot of it is loving basically every character I read and wanting only the best and softest for them. Joy and Malcolm’s relationship has certainly drifted into toxicity, and they’re both struggling with the ramifications of that, and her desire to maybe sabotage his romance with Summer was rough for me. I think that this book came at a time for me personally, too, that made this situation really untenable for me.

A black version of My Best Friends Wedding with asexual rep is the best way to describe this book.i wasn’t familiar with Kann’S work before so this was a good entry into her writing style . The male characters could were a tad underdeveloped for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

CW: toxic friendship, ace phobia, death of a friend (past), grief, anxiety

Alexis Hall wrote an amazing review that got me even more hyped for this book and was spot on

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-m/f fake dating
-ace representation
-vacation romance
-forced proximity
-consent, consent, consent
-unrequited love

This book perfectly put into words the pining/angst of loving someone and not having those feelings returned. No one in this book was perfect. They were all a bit messy, figuring things out and I loved it. Joy's confidence in herself and her sexuality was wonderful to see, contrasting entirely with her anxiety. Her friendship with Malcolm was not healthy but as they both figured it out, coming to terms with the person they lean on for everything but learning to allow other people into the circle.

And Fox, silver haired stoic Fox. I loved how he wanted to learn more about Joy, calling her out, but wanting to figure out what felt good for her, what she was comfortable with. their stay at home date was adorable and so enjoyed both of them figuring out how to communicate and take care of the other. I loved how queer this book was, showing what a spectrum being ace is, and just a perfect example of nonheteronormative writing.

Steam: 1

Source of book: NetGalley (thank you)
Relevant disclaimers: none
Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author.
And remember: I am not here to judge your drag, I mean your book. Books are art and art is subjective. These are just my personal thoughts. They are not meant to be taken as broader commentary on the general quality of the work. Believe me, I have not enjoyed many an excellent book, and my individual lack of enjoyment has not made any of those books less excellent.

Ack this book. You need this book. Seriously, you need this book.

But let me get some stuff out of the way first:

Item 1:
When we talk about the romance genre, we pay lip service to the fact that a genre romance means a focus on a strong central relationship and an HEA/HFN ending. But the reality is we actually bring a lot of unexamined baggage to what we believe this should look like because, very often, the frameworks we’re unconsciously on HEA/HFN are profoundly normative. This becomes especially difficult for books written for or about marginalised characters, or from a marginalised perspective. Because while such stories will definitely adhere to the genre conventions as they’re *supposed* to be, in practice they’ll be heavily criticised because the relationships they explore and celebrate won’t look exactly like the sorts of relationships we are taught to believe are not only most common but are righteous and natural too.

Item 2:
One of the most complicated parts of writing about characters of marginalised identity, even if you yourself are marginalised along the same axes as the people you’re writing about, is that we have come to demand representation is homogeneous and universal, when true representation is heterogeneous and specific. Or to put it more bluntly: people of the same marginalised identity experience that marginalisation differently, m’kay? And while I’d love to blame someone else for the fact we’re bad at acknowledging this, I’m afraid this a fire that’s coming from inside the house.

The thing is, I get it. I do. Being marginalised is lonely as fuck. Most of us grew up thinking we were peculiar aliens who were broken, abnormal and would probably die alone, unloved and miserable. So the idea of stories about us—stories where we get to be happy and loved, or fight aliens, or marry a duke or whatever—is the most beautiful, powerful and hope-inspiring thing we can possibly imagine. And sometimes it is. Sometimes someone else’s story is the hand we needed to reach out to ours and bluebirds burst into song.

Except sometimes … sometimes someone has chosen to write about someone who shares a marginalisation with us in way that doesn’t personally speak to us. That feels alienating in its own way. Hurtful. Even, perhaps, like a betrayal. Because this was meant to be for you and about you and … and … it wasn’t. I’m not disputing for a moment that this is a shite experience. But here’s the thing, without wanting to diminish the reality of feeling disconnected from something that you were expecting to feel connected to, when we create expectations of homogeneity—of a single correct way to manifest or depict a particular marginalisation—we are damaging ourselves and we are creating tools for non-marginalised people to damage us too. Marginalised people, queer people especially, disrupt normative modes of being. Our stories do, can and should take different shapes. This can naturally feel threatening to people for whom the norm is … well … the norm, especially because the world teaches us that is what is normal is not something we are taught, or something that is imposed upon us, but something that is fundamental and immutable. When we tell ourselves—and allow others to tell us—that our stories cannot encompass a spectrum of selves and modes of being, that they must always be one thing (a single counter-norm to sit neatly opposed to the irrefutable norm) that is simply another form of submission to normative expectations.

To bring this back to The Romantic Agenda: this is a romance with a Black asexual heroine. Joy’s journey encompasses what we might recognise as a “conventional” romance arc (person meets person, they experience feelings, they commit to trying something together) but that romance arc takes place in the context of a long-term queer platonic relationship that has drifted into a difficult and borderline toxic place. Both relationships are, and remain, significant throughout the book. And, while the genre has made some steps towards recognising polyam is a thing, I think this is literally the first time I’ve seen a queer platonic relationship (and an imperfect one at that) explored in a romance novel, or at least a romance novel put out by a major publishing house. While it is nobody’s place—and absolutely not mine—to try to tell anyone how to read a book, I do believe it’s important (in terms of managing your expectations and being fair to what the book is doing) to come to The Romantic Agenda with the understanding that the queer platonic relationship it centralises is *part* of its romance arc, not oppositional or disruptive to it.

Similarly, I think there will be readers for whom Joy’s asexuality may well not speak (although I sincerely hope and believe there will be others to whom it does). It’s not my place (or I would argue really anyone’s place) to decide whether it’s a “good” or “bad”, “right” or “wrong” portrayal of asexuality. What it is, though, is uncontrovertibly a portrayal of Joy’s asexuality. By which I mean it is specific to her as a character. It has shaped her and is part of her, and it influences how she reacts to the world, and how the world reacts to her. In fact, there’s a swathe of her experiences that are directly linked to the lose/lose of being visible as an ace person: the expectation that you have to be some kind of crowd-sourced paragon of homogenous ace-ness in order to represent everybody, when ultimately Joy (like the rest of us) can only really represent herself. To me, for what little my take is worth, Joy is a nuanced and deliberate portrait of someone navigating the intricacies of the asexuality spectrum.
I think there are elements to her character that may not tick “expected” boxes of asexual behaviour—that may indeed seem contradictory to some people—but I never personally found them contradictory. Or, rather, I don’t believe sexuality (allosexuality or asexuality) is rational or rule-governed. It’s just part of who we are.

Where I’m going with this is simply here: if you let The Romantic Agenda be the book it is, instead of the book you think it should be, if you’re willing to follow it where it wants to lead, to be open to the ideas it wants to talk about, I think you’ll find it genuinely remarkable. A romance that is as brave, funny, complicated, and vulnerable as its heroine. Unapologetically queer and deeply romantic, fully conversant with genre codes, while also its own unique and brilliant thing, this book deserves an opportunity to show you who it is.

The basic set up—which is a loose and queerer riff on My Best Friend’s Wedding, a movie the book directly references—is this: Joy is in love with Malcom, who she met originally at university when he was running the ace-booth for the LGBT society (and how much do I love the little detail that Malcom was running an information stand for a university club which couldn’t even acknowledge the existence of people like him its name). This was the first time Joy realised there was a name for how she felt and the first time she realised she wasn’t alone in feeling that way—so she and Malcom have been inseparable ever since. Business partners, emotional support network, friends who are closer than friends to the extent that it has damaged every romantic relationship Malcom has ever entered. And his last relationship, in particular, ended extra painfully, with his ex-partner writing an email to them both about how manipulative and damaging Joy was to Malcom, and how she couldn’t be with him while he continued to be close to Joy.

Joy has essentially spent the last decade waiting for Malcom to recognise they belong together romantically and, once he’s over this break-up, seems like a natural opportunity for him to do so. This is further confirmed when he invites her to come away with him for a long weekend. Except … it turns out he’s already met someone else, a woman called Summer, who he wants to propose to and Joy is only getting an invite to the weekend so she can occupy Summer’s friend, Fox, who apparently doesn’t like Malcom. Having recently watched My Best Friend’s Wedding, Joy agrees: while she doesn’t want to sabotage Malcom and Summer exactly, this may be the last opportunity she has to declare her own feelings. Except Summer—for all she’s annoying in exactly the way that Cameron Diaz in My Best Friend’s Wedding is annoying—genuinely seems to want to be friends with Joy (something that Malcom’s other partners have only claimed to want in order to prove themselves to Malcom). And Fox, who Joy is irritated to have been pushed onto, is actually quite intriguing.

As you can probably tell, this is already an emotionally complicated set-up, and you have a heroine voluntarily casting herself in a role she already knows makes her kind of the villain of the piece, but it’s so, so well done. I am here, incredibly here, for complicated, relationship dynamics and the book doesn’t flinch from them: it allows its characters to be messy, to be vulnerable, to be better than they believed they were capable of being.

Joy is … well … she’s a Joy. She’s confident in herself, she’s a bad cook but a decent baker, she loves terrible puns and dad jokes, her cat and fashion: she just shines off the page, so relatable, admirable and three-dimensional that I genuinely think I’d recognise her if she walked past me in the street. I was actually sad for real when I finished the book because I couldn’t spend time with her anymore. And I still can’t quite tell if she felt like my friend or someone I had a crush on, but I miss her. The other interesting thing about Joy as a character is that she’s thirty (oh god, that seems a long way behind me now) which means she’s experienced in navigating her own life, both as an asexual person and a Black woman. I think as I get older myself, I increasingly welcome meeting characters whose relationship with their identities feels closer to the one I’ve developed with my own, probably best summarised as “comfortable with it, weary of explaining it”. It just feels like there’s a lot of books already out there about people beginning their journeys to selfhood, while I’m in a place where I’m getting more out of explorations of the unglamorous work-in-progress bit of being alive.

This very much Joy’s book, but I found the other characters deftly drawn regardless. Summer initially comes across as a slightly cringe-inducing white woman, but—much like Cameron Diaz in My Best Friend’s Wedding—she’s also a basically good person, clear-eyed and well-meaning, and a good potential partner for Malcom with similar values and life-goals (they both, for example, want to settle down and raise a family, which Joy very much does not). I also appreciated the way the book allowed her to be a bit naïve and make mistakes. For example, there’s very striking conversation that Joy has with Summer about her asexuality. Summer knows Joy (and, indeed, Malcom) are both asexual but it quickly becomes clear she understands the concept of asexuality, as most people do, but not really what it means in terms of being a “real” part of someone’s life. Summer isn’t being malicious, but she doesn’t handle the conversation well, which quickly becomes apparent to the reader when we’re allowed to see the careful performance behind Joy’s handling of the situation:

“Joy’s seen that lightbulb moment so many times she’s lost count. She became a pro at explaining by accident. If she treated everyone else like the special unicorn, if she pretended to be fascinated and baffled, if she stopped pleading and begging for them to understand, it stopped the questions. It makes them think. It’s simply less emotionally exhausting to center their experiences.”

The thing is, something like that could easily have sunk Summer as a character. Of course I don’t believe that marginalised people have to always be generous when someone is crass, intrusive or inadvertently cruel to them. But, at the same time, it’s a different sort of problem when not being sufficiently au fait with the latest social justice discourse is a sin from which there can be no redemption. The book didn’t have to be kind to Summer, but I liked that it was: that she was allowed to mess up, and still be—at the end of the day—a good person.

Fox, the man with whom Joy begins a tentative romantic relationship, was super charming to me. He’s a classic grump, who never loses that edge of grump, protective of others, bad at caring for himself, with prematurely hair, fascinatingly bushy eyes and … a dimple. Like I’m not sure there could have been a romance hero more drawn to, err, check my boxes. He and Joy start off a fake-dating racket, to fuck with Malcom and Summer (since both Fox and Joy are annoyed to have been dragged along) but, soon enough, the connection is real. For people who need a romance arc to go from “hello” to “I love you, let’s get married” this might feel underbaked. For me, it perfectly caught the slow, tentative, yet exhilarating steps towards togetherness of two slightly damaged people deciding to trust each other and trust in what they have. My heart did some honest-to-God fluttering for them, and they have some gorgeous communication-and-consent driven scenes that are an absolute masterclass in conveying physical and romantic intimacy between characters:

“It’s not only his careful, delicate kisses, soft, perfectly sized lips, and scratchy stubble scraping against her smooth skin. It’s thinking about all of him, all at once, holding him in her mind and in her arms.”

Malcom, possibly, was for me the weakest aspect of the four. He’s clearly attractive and charismatic (and his need to be in control of every situation hit far too close to home) but the problem is that his and Joy’s relationship is in a really messed up place for most of the book. We get plenty of good memories about him from Joy and it’s easy to believe that these two care for each other in deep non-romantic life partner kind of way, but on page … it’s a mess. And, don’t get me wrong, the whole point is that it’s a mess (I think it’s Fox who suggests, in a non-sarcastic way, that they need couples therapy—which I appreciated because they do, and not all couples are romantic) but it’s hard to watch them independently realising that they’ve created something toxic and claustrophobic around each other that they need to fix. Much like with Joy and Fox, we leave Malcom and Joy committed to moving forward, and I did genuinely have hope for them figuring it out, but I wish Malcom had hurt Joy less on page. Especially towards the end, when it becomes clear she’s romantically interested in Fox, he kind of shuts down on her. And, I’m sorry, I know he probably has cause, and his behaviour is understandable so I’m kind of being unfair to him, but you do not fuck with Joy around me and that’s that.

Stepping back from my own Joy-protective feelings, though, I think what does work about the Malcom and Joy relationship is that—even if it’s not completely accessible to us—it remains very much theirs. And perhaps that’s the way it should be: the whole message of the text is that being with Joy or Malcom involves accepting their relationship with each other, and I guess that goes for the reader too.

And I’m assuming it goes without saying but I’ll say it anyway: how much do I love this as a happy ending for the book? Its two central asexual characters established in successful romantic relationships that are fully accepting of and enhanced by their queer platonic relationship with each other.

Oh my queer little heart. Please read this book.

I almost DNF’ed this book for one reason and one reason only: distant third narration.

I CAN. NOT. STAND. third person present narration. I just can’t. I have to spend SO MUCH TIME mentally fixing the narration that I can’t get into the story. It just sounds like a small child narrating themselves playing with toys: “and then Barbie kisses Ken. Ken likes kisses. Ken is in love. Barbie marries Ken.”

HARD PASS.

BUT!!! The actual story is good! I would have given a solid 4.5 stars if the narration didn’t make me feel like I was having an aneurysm.

Claire Kann knows how to tell a story, because if they can get me to move past my undying hatred of distant third narration to finish a book? That story is dang good.

Joy is in love with Malcolm. This fact and others have led to each struggling in this relationship and others. Spending a weekend with Summer and her best friend/ex-boyfriend, Fox, brings all their messes to a head. Yet, with each character caring so deeply for each other, the trip brings healing and happiness among its chaos.

I love this character quartet (okay I think Malcolm is just fine). Joy’s confidence about her body and sexuality is amazing. Her sunshine energy plays perfectly with Fox being grumpy/stoic. Summer could’ve been written as a flat character, pretty and blonde and in love with love, but her emotional intelligence is astounding. Due to the situation, Joy is hesitant to like or trust her, (and since the book is in Joy’s POV, so was I) but Summer is so earnest about herself and her desire to make her relationship with Malcolm work along with gaining Joy’s friendship that she is truly a delight. Malcolm is Malcolm. I appreciated the book centering two asexual characters and being able to contrast their experiences, so there’s a plus for Malcolm. Overall, it was a delight to read a book with love, humor, and everybody actively choosing healthy relationships.

This was an easy, breezy, middle-of-the-road quality read. I liked the diversity of ace representation with Joy and Malcolm's differing experiences and I thought the twist on the My Best Friend's Wedding-esque premise was a good concept, but I didn't think any of the characters aside from Joy herself were very fleshed out and the plot tended to go along in abrupt fits and starts.