“ADHD hasn’t ‘changed’ me, which is how my mom views it. It is me.”

Tilly in Technicolor by Mazey Eddings
Pub Date: August 15, 2023
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟(4/5)
Spice: 🌶(1/5)

Review:

Tilly has recently been diagnosed with ADHD. She has never felt normal and instead of her diagnosis relieving her it’s just complicated her relationship with her mother. To escape from Cleveland Ohio for the summer Tilly interns for her sisters nail polish company, Ruhe. However she’s not the only intern.

Oliver is autistic. He’s been diagnosed for a while his twin sisters and his moms have been in family therapy for years working on their communication. Ollie’s special interest is color. He runs an instagram account comparing photos to their Pantone colors. He has been hired by Ruhe to help grow their instagram following for the summer.

Mona and Amina met in business school. They now run Ruhe together. But it’s not going well. They are taking the summer as an opportunity to sell their polishes to boutiques across Europe.

During the euro trip Tilly and Ollie are roommates in many different romantic cities. They struggle to articulate their feelings for each other but once they do it’s magic.

I adored this story. It’s really important to have neurodiverse representation in stories. Tilly and Ollie both struggle with regulating emotions and Mazey does a great job at articulating how adhd and autism differ in those regards. All around great story.



If you like:
- Teen summer romance
- Pantone Colors
- Neurodivergent stories
- Queer Representation

QOTD: What is your favorite European city?

Thank you to Net Galley and Wednesday Books/St. Martins Press for proving me with an eARC of this novel.


#bookstagram #instabook #igreads #bookish #booksta #bookworm #romance #romancebooks #ireadromance #romcomreads #romcombooks #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookrecommendation #bookrec #netgalley

I have enjoyed Mazey Eddings stories with neuro-diverse characters, so this venture into YA was one I wanted to try. Tilly Twomley doesn't want to go to university or college, but her parents, especially her mother, are adamant that she needs to. They have funded an internship with her sister who is launching a nail polish company. Tilly is excited about the travel, but not the job. Tilly has a serious case of ADHD and knows that business is not the way she wants to go, she wants to be a writer/author. On the plane to meet her sister, she meets Oliver Clark, a young man with autism. Oliver loves color and design and is working a summer internship before starting the prestigious design program his best friend got him in. Tilly and Oliver connect in an odd way on the plane and when they find out that both their internships are with Mona, Tilly's sister, they know that their feelings can only be friendship.

I really enjoyed watching Tilly and Oliver fight their feelings for one another. Oliver had no idea what he was feeling and had to call his friend for answers. I felt so sad for Tilly. She was constantly made to feel inferior to her sister and bullied to do things that were not natural to her. Her relationship with her parents was so strained. I think she enjoyed being a hand model, but her true desire was to write. Her blog about living with ADHD was her outlet and allowed people to see how this affected her life. Oliver was not just a secondary character, but one with his own POV dealing with his autism. His relationships with his family were so different from Tilly's and his twin sister was a hoot. I loved how they accepted Tilly unconditionally. As the story unfolded, I saw how things are not always how they look. I enjoyed seeing Tilly come into her own and how her and Oliver were able to figure out their relationship. This book had humor, a hilarious first meeting, great characters, heartbreaking moments, personal growth, acceptance and realization of how to treat others. I definitely recommend this book, especially if you enjoy stories with neuro-diverse characters.

Mazey has a way of building these characters so that you feel for them and only want them to succeed and find love. Tilly has ADHD and is attempting to be "normal" as her mom wants her to be. To be just like her sister go to college get those degrees and open her own business. Tilly wants to write but why not go to London and help her sister on a tour for her new innovative nail polish

Oliver loves colours and is on the spectrum - he has an internship for the summer with a new up-and-coming nail polish company. He has the most bazaar interaction with the person sitting next to him on the plane

Little does Tilly or Oliver know until day one that they will be working closely together

This story is super sweet and heartwarming. I adored every minute of it and as usual, I marveled at Mazey's brilliant storytelling

I've read a few books by this author now and I've mostly enjoyed them. I like her writing style. Her books are funny, heartfelt and always have a deeper message of mental health or neurodivergent characters. The ADHD and Autism reps in this book felt very well done and detailed. However, I would love to see a book where although the character has ADHD, it’s not the main issue in the book but rather a positive aspect of them as a person. This was a solid YA read but I didn't love the ending. It was so goof and probably more of a 4 star read through about 85%.

Tilly in Technicolor is a really sweet coming of age story. The inner dialogue of both Tilly and Ollie remind me of great conversations I’ve had with friends with neurodivergent brains.

I really appreciate the empathetic approach to all the characters and how the plotline with Tilly's family was resolved.

I loved the setting but wish we could’ve seen more of each city they visited. I was exhausted on their behalf with the way they jumped from place to place.

I did find the resolution to be a bit unbelievable, but overall I would recommend this sweet story to teens or YA loving adults.

Thank you to @wednesdaybooks for the #gifted copy. All thoughts are our own.

This is such a gem of a book, my favorite from Eddings yet!

After struggling throughout high school because of her ADHD, Tilly Twomley is ready for a fresh start. She’s not sure exactly what she wants to do, so in the meantime, her parents are paying to send her to Europe to work as a summer intern for her sister.

Unlike Tilly, Oliver Clark knows exactly what he wants. His autism has kept his world small, but he’s okay with that because of his passion for color theory and design. He is looking to build up his resume and lands a summer internship, which he is excited about, until he experiences the most horrendous international flight ever, courtesy of his cute but chaotic seat mate.

He can’t wait to get away from her, but to his dismay, she is also an intern at the same company and he’s stuck spending the summer with her. That seatmate/intern is of course, Tilly, and she’s equally mortified after having embarrassed herself repeatedly in front of Oliver on the plane.

I can’t express how much I enjoyed watching the relationship between Oliver and Tilly! They’re both just adorable together and their banter is top notch, but what I especially loved was how they “saw” each other. As they get to know each other, they recognize each other’s neurodiversity and really make an effort to be supportive of each other. I loved that connection between them!

Eddings also does a wonderful job of exploring how being neurdiverse can impact family relationships as well. Tilly’s mom is overprotective to the point of being hurtful, and it has strained their relationship. I thought Tilly’s journey of self-discovery was beautiful, not just because of what she learns about herself, but also because of how she proves herself both to her mom and sister.

With Tilly in Technicolor, Eddings does an incredible job of making neurodiverse individuals feel seen and understood.

This book was fun and cute, though very superficial. I think I just wanted it to dive a bit deeper, but I did enjoy it

📸 Tilly in Technicolor📸

“Your brain is beautiful and I’m so glad you’re here.”

Mazey Eddings had me from the dedication. Her way with words will never cease go amaze me. She strings sentences together with descriptions that truly pull your heart into the page. Tilly was yet another phenomenal example of that.

Tilly in Technicolor follows Tilly, a neurodiverse teen from Ohio who sets off an an adventure across the pond, spending her summer after high school working for her sister’s start up. Oliver, a neurodiverse teen from London, is also working for Tilly’s sister for the summer before he starts college in the fall. As they spend time together and realize their similarities in how they see the world, a beautiful relationship of understanding how to show up for their partner grows. When Oliver said, “Would you be willing to try and find words for it? So I can learn?” I absolutely melted. This one is a beautiful study of how people see the world, communicate, and are understood.

I highly, highly recommend!
Especially if you are looking for:
📸 Neurodiverse rep (FMC with ADHD, MMC on the autism spectrum)
📸 YA, but reads like New Adult
📸 Hilarious banter and mishaps
📸 Heartfelt communication of what it’s like being seen

Thank you to Mazey Eddings for writing this beautiful book and letting us get to know Tilly and Oliver.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for this ARC. My opinions are my own.

4.5 ⭐️

This book was so precious! Mazey Eddings writes with so much heart and I loved the characters immensely. The story was so full of tender young love with excellent neurodiverse representation. Tilly and Oliver were both such dynamic characters with similar struggles but unique personalities. As with all of her previous books, I had a hard time putting this one down!

The only thing I wished we had more of was the resolution (and maybe an epilogue??) - I wanted to see more of Tilly working out her future and Oliver pursuing his passions! However, this didn’t stop me from crying my eyes out (in a good way) at the ending!

I definitely tend to prefer adult romance over YA, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I loved this one! I highly recommend checking it out!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Tilly in Technicolor is a brilliantly beautiful YA romance about two fantastic neurodivergent teens navigating life and love together at their own pace. As someone who has struggled with the seemingly invisible to others barriers that ADHD brings, Tilly's journey of finding herself on her whirlwind Europe trip was poetically beautiful to me. I could not get enough, and just felt so seen in her depictions of her struggles with ADHD and how it makes her feel. Another absolute gem of a book written by Mazey Eddings that I have now given top tier status. Thank you for showing others how we experience the world and what it can feel like to be neuro-spicy.

Thank you Netgalley & St. Martin's Press for this advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

I don’t normally gravitate towards YA romance (I’m almost 30 and at this point u did a lot of them over the top/not she appropriate, or too juvenile) and this goes the line so well. Mazey is a romance mastermind and this is no exception. I will simply read (and adore) anything she puts out

Tilly in Technicolor was an absolutely delightful read! I was pretty sure that I was going to enjoy this novel, but my goodness, I was completely enamored with these characters. Mazey Eddings has written a wonderful novel with neurodiverse characters. It was impossible not to love Tilly and Oliver.

Right from their first interaction on their flight from Cleveland to London, I was hooked on this duo. We all know that flying the friendly (or rather unfriendly) skies can be challenging for most of us, and sitting crammed in a plane, hearing all of the different noises, and having to put up with your fellow passengers is not the best start to any vacation, but for Tilly and Oliver, it was definitely a challenge. Their flight was filled with mishaps and issues, and they might not have started off on the best foot, but as luck would have it, they would have the whole summer to get to know one another. It was definitely lucky for the readers because this pair was golden!

Tilly needs a change and a break from her domineering mother. She is finally getting out from under her mother’s watchful eye and heading to London, but it’s not supposed to be all fun and games. She is supposed to be working as an intern for her uber-successful sister’s new company. She is also supposed to be planning for her future. For Tilly, she’s just excited to be in Europe: exploring, writing, soaking up the sights, eating the food, and reconnecting with her sister.

Oliver has a solid plan for his life. He knows what he loves, wants, and is going to be heading to university in the fall to make it all happen. Working for Tilly’s sister’s company has given him some good experience, and his knowledge has definitely been a positive for the company, too.

While Tilly and Oliver were opposites, they did understand what the other had to go through in daily life. I enjoyed seeing their relationship develop and grow. They wanted to just be themselves and be accepted as they are, and I wanted that for them, too.

Tilly in Technicolor was a wonderful read. I felt a whole array of emotions. This was a novel that made me laugh, cry, and just made me feel so much.

*5 Stars

I heard a lot of buzz around this ya novel featuring neurodivergent characters and I was excited when I received the e-arc.

Tilly in Technicolor is a heart-warming, introspective, light yet deals with heavy themes, hysterical romp that chronicles the adventures of two teenagers thrown together for a summer internship around Europe.

It gave me Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins vibes and I was all for that!

This is a slow burn romance, which is incredibly sweet and complex.

There are a lot of different themes here family relationships, bullying, toxic relationships. The one that is the most important is finding your own voice (neurodivergent or not).

I adored Tilly in Technicolor and recommend it to anyone who wants a quick read.
Thank you to Net Galley & Wednesday Books for the e-galley of Tilly in Technicolor.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this YA coming of age story about a girl with ADHD navigating her post-high school life. Tilly joins her older sister in Europe as an intern for her sister's start-up company. On the way to London, Tilly experiences a meet-cute with an aloof boy her age, Oliver, who, of course, ends up being her fellow intern and is misunderstood due to his own neurodiversity.

I liked the first person narration from the POVs of Tilly and of Oliver. It was interesting and illuminating to hear how their brains work and how they experience the world around them.

This is such a sweet read! It's fairly obvious that we need more representation of disability, and especially invisible disabilities in books, and this covered several. I thought Oliver's mannerisms and social challenges were very well written, and while Tilly's ADHD felt over the top to me at some points, I know the condition does not present the same way for everyone, and this was just a different perspective.

This is an adorable, awkward, coming-of-age/love story. It's YA, and it comes across that way, so go in with that in mind and enjoy!

*4.5⭐️
I related so much to this book. No one writes neurodivergence like Mazey Eddings! This entire book felt like she peered inside my head or looked into my soul or something. Tilly is straight up me when I was 18 and since my older sister is incredibly similar to Mona, I found myself spending most of the book thinking about when Maddy in Euphoria says “is this play about us?” The way Mazey Eddings wrote about Tilly navigating through a world where no one really understands her ADHD, especially her family, was something that could have helped 18 year old me feel more understood and less alone, despite my ADHD manifesting differently than Tilly’s. I think Tilly’s journey in finding her own identity was something that anybody in a transitional part of their life can really relate to. I also appreciated the highlighting of Tilly’s attributes that many would deem flaws, like her memory issues and time management, as moments where she just needs more support does a great job at proving that no brain is inherently wrong, just that all brains work differently.

I also loved Oliver so much. He was so funny and adorable! I mean, anyone as obsessed with colors as he is can’t be anything but adorable! I loved watching Tilly and Oliver gallivant through Europe, taking pictures. This book seriously has the best aesthetic imaginable.

My only complaints are about the ending. I loved Tilly and Oliver’s relationship as it built up, but once they got together, something felt missing. And that last conflict…was really unnecessary and made the last 15% of the book feel choppy.

Overall, I’ll love anything that Mazey Eddings writes!

Mazey Eddings has solidified herself as one of my favorite authors, yet again!

Tilly is jet setting off to Europe to hang with her sister, Mona, and her business partner, Amina, as they promote their nail polish product. What everyone in Tilly’s family wants is for Tilly to see that she needs to grow up and take her life seriously (including college plans). Oliver Clark, Tilly’s seat mate on the flight to Europe, happens to be hopping on the media side for Tilly’s sister’s business. Oliver sees the world in colors and knows EXACTLY what he wants in life. When both start becoming friends through neurodivergent talks, they realize that the best people in life are free of society’s demands. But will that be enough for each other when the trip comes to an end?

As a neurodivergent reader, I ADORED Tilly in Technicolor and found the reading experience to be one that I plan to relive multiple times, next time with my physical copy and tabs in hand. Mazey’s writing spoke to me and I couldn’t stop from bookmarking multiple quote lines as I listened to her young adult ‘debut.” I loved the message that Tilly’s brain is beautiful, no matter her ADHD diagnosis; along with Oliver’s openness about his autism. As a thirty year old reader who’s had high functioning ADHD for years now, FINALLY finding books that have characters with beautiful brains like mine make me thrilled to be a reader in this day and age.

Do you ever procrastinate on writing a review because you feel like you can’t put into words how amazing it is…? Yea, that’s this one for me.

This is one of the most touching stories I’ve ever read… “Neuro-divine” is how Mazey Eddings describes those of us whose brains work a little differently than what is “typical.” And this story dives into the minds of two extremely neuro-divine characters. Tilly has ADHD and Oliver has Autism and traveling through their adventures, through their eyes, in their minds is something everyone should experience. The words… gawwwd, they’re so beautiful.

I loved Mazey Eddings’ work prior to this read, and I don’t normally read YA… but she could write ANYTHING, and I’d read it. So… while below is a very brief list of my favorite parts, please know there is not enough space for me to gush enough.

WHAT I LOVED:
Tilly’s vulnerability. She knows she cries a lot, and you see through her eyes where it comes from and it’s heart wrenching but relatable at the same time
Oliver’s way of understanding emotion. My brother has Autism, and we are very close. We have had deep discussions about his viewpoint of emotions and social interactions. Seeing how Oliver has taken something he fixates on, and has organically made it a connection to emotions is freaking brilliant.
The relationships with side characters; family, friends, acquaintances. The way in which Tilly views how her parents “see” her tugged at my heart so much. Being someone who has felt that ‘cringey, I can’t do anything right, how am I always getting it wrong feeling’ I felt this deeply. Oliver’s experience was much different and to see the differences was a great nuance.
Cubby and the condoms!!!
Tilly bear crawls all over the place and that is such a “me thing.”

FAVORITE QUOTES:
“I get worked up and the emotions pour out of me with the force of a waterfall but none of the beauty.”
“It’s exhausting trying to make friends while pretending to be someone you’re not.”
“I always feel this separation from the world. Like I’m an extra piece to a jigsaw puzzle, discarded and forgotten under the couch, while everyone else clicks with their matching corners.”
“Well, as neutral as Tilly can be. Even her calmest moments seem to shoot off sparks.”
“Shrinking my world down to a screen the size of my palm while I deep dive about color and the way it moves the world-allows me to feel closer to people than actually being in their presence.”
“Writing my feelings doesn’t take them away, but it gives them another space to be held.”
“I am, quite simply, the most esoteric bitch in Stockholm right now and I couldn’t be more pleased. These shoes are now officially my entire personality.”

There is so much more to include, but quoting the entire book might be a bad idea… *shrugs*
Thank you to Netgalley and Mazey Eddings for the advanced reader's copy in exchange for my review. I also had the privilege of reading this book via Fable, and highly recommend this app. It is in beta right now, but was an awesome way to experience the book with others. This is my honest review.

🩷 𝘚𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘴 🩷

This is Mazey's YA debut and at this point I'll even read a 150 page essay about the importance of flossing if it means Mazey is writing it...she'll just have to sprinkle some sort of romance into it🤣

No, but in all seriousness, I think what really makes me enjoy the author's work is how flawlessly she writes and articulates the mental health rep.
It also comes as no surprise that you can easily get sucked into the storytelling. I personally found the premise very interesting and unique, and I adored the play on words and colors.

The story had a bit of everything: the neurodivergent rep, young love, sisterly relationships, self-discovery, a bit of family pain, and the most interesting...the world of technicolor.

Tilly definitely gave me a younger Lizzie Blake vibe. She's such a hoot, but there are moments where your heart cracks just a little bit because of how misunderstood she is. Oliver is simply adorable! His autism made him even more sweet because of his bluntness but also because you know there are no lies behind his words/actions.

🩵 𝘚𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘺–𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘳. 𝘚𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘤.
“𝘛𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘣𝘰𝘸.” 🩵

Together, they are complete opposites, but I just couldn't get enough of them! They had a moment where they shared their "neurodivergent feelings," and I think that scene will forever be imprinted on my brain. They're both very special characters, and I wouldn't mind a second book about how their future turned out because the ending did leave me wanting more🥲

𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘚𝘵. 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯'𝘴 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 - 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯 :)

More Like 3 and ½ Stars ✨

A huge thank you to St Martins Press and RB Media for my advanced copies of Tilly in Technicolor by Mazey Eddings.

I enjoyed this one.
It took a while for the characters to grow on me.
I found it to be very easy to listen to while multitasking.
I appreciated that there were dual POV's and a male and female narrator for this book.
I enjoyed the female narrator more than the male one.

Overall- Recommend. I prefer this authors adult novels and I may just stick with reading those in the future.