This book was admittedly cute, and it was a good summer read, taking us on a journey through different countries and cultures.

Tilly has ADHD, and Oliver has autism, and anyone can see that they are complete opposites. And at first, they are, constantly irritating each other. But neurodivergence is a reality, and people with neurodivergence do go through struggles that only they can understand. In that way, perhaps Oliver and Tilly aren't so different after all.

*3.3 stars

I love this book, it is absolute perfection, Tilly and Oliver are so adorable, both seeing the world in their own way, they stole my heart.

The way the author narrates the story and her relationship is so sweet, entertaining and funny, I swooned so hard! highly recommended
Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the early copy!

Thank you so much to St Martin's Press & Wednesday books for an advance copy of this book!

OH MY GOD!
This book was literal perfection. I loved every minute of it! And I think why I loved it so much is the similarities between Tilly and one of Mazey's prior characters Lizzie Blake (which was my favorite of her Brush with Love series).

"Couples that stim together stay together."

I do not think I have every highlighted so many LONG passages from a book before. There was just one thing after the next that I just adored. I just love the way that Mazey wrote both Oliver and Tilly. I felt like I knew them to my core. I thought all the relationships were so well done throughout the book. Mona & her mom were frustrating characters but as much as Tilly was growing, they were as well.

Tilly. Tilly. Tilly.
Tilly has just graduated and still has not applied for college (she does not want to go) and is going off to Europe for the summer to work as an intern for her sister. Tilly has ADHD and knows where her weaknesses are but also knows what her strengths lie - in writing. She has such a passion for writing and her blog posts were so vulnerable and honest. "But when I'm writing or reading, I never feel alone. I melt into the pages, my world morphing into the safety of a story." I was so proud that she stood up for what she wanted by the end and was able to find her voice to speak up to her sister and mother. I have never been clinically diagnosed with ADHD but there instances of Tilly's actions or thoughts that had me questioning could I have be on a spectrum? When Tilly's internal dialogue says "I've always had trouble relating to my peers, saying or doing the wrong thing no matter how hard I tried to be like them." - it hit me to the core. I just loved seeing her growth and throughout this book & her journey of finding out who she is.

Oliver. Oliver. Oliver.
The way Oliver saw the world was just so fascinating and I just adored the way that he adored Tilly. So many times I felt myself swooning over the things he would say to Till.y. "Tilly, you're the entire rainbow" :falls over: The way Eddings describes all the colors that Oliver sees was simply so beautiful. I don't think I can do justice to convey how eloquently he speaks. His relationship with his sister was interesting. She was such a loose cannon and as a reader you could tell their twin bond was special. The special gift she got him had me rolling (iykyk).

What is amazing by the two of them is that they are aware of their differences and once the wall was taken down and they were honest with one another, they really could understand each other. I love the consent between them and how they were constantly making sure the other was okay and asking permission. They were just so comfortable with each other & were learning from each other.

I wanted to be apart of their world. I wanted to escape to Europe with their small group and travel from city to city and be a hand model.

I don't think I have giggled harder at any other book Eddings before. I have no notes to provide or wishes that I thought this book could have used I love that it was in a dual POV. I love that the conflict in the 4th act was resolved quickly. I just love Tilly and Oliver so much!

Bravo!

DNF at 20% in. This book is great for autism and ADHD rep! I thought I would love this because I loved Edding's books in the best but there was something about this one that I wasn't enjoying.

I am a fan of Mazey Eddings' work and her YA novel, Tilly, was just as compelling a read as her other books. I love her inclusion of neurodiverse characters.

3.5/5

Loved the neurodiverse representation in this YA romance. It was sweet with just a little sprinkle of spice. While not my favorite YA romance, it’s definitely worth a read!

I really enjoyed Tilly's story and thought it was so well written, I loved the neurodivergent aspect and how Mazey incorporates different types of mental health representations into her books, she does them justice and really shows how people all deal with different struggles while still trying to navigate life. I think this book was great and loved that she not only represented ADHD but autism as well. Tilly and Ollie are great and their story gave me such joy. I read it in one sitting and couldn't put it down. I highly recommend reading!

[arc review]
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Wednesday Books for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Tilly in Technicolor releases August 15, 2023

1.5/5

Tilly in Technicolor is Eddings YA debut, told in dual pov, featuring two neurodiverse main characters. Tilly has ADHD, and Oliver is autistic.

Tilly and Oliver met on a flight from Cleveland to Europe, where they’ll both be interning for Tilly’s older sister’s nail polish brand for three months.

This book had a <b>very</b> rocky start for me, and I spent so much time contemplating whether I even wanted to progress past the first 10% because Tilly made me want to pull out my goddamn hair.

Much like Eddings other book called “Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake” that featured a character with ADHD, this had me in a perpetual state of feeling stressed out.

Let’s break down some of what happened within the first 10% — things like when Tilly didn’t even care to check what her assigned seat was on the flight and just assumed the position of a window seat because she thought she was entitled to it? Or the way she kept asking for copious amounts of ketchup packets from the flight attendant? Truly how unaware is she? Ever think that this is a regulated piece of transportation and that you can’t just have literal handfuls of ketchup at the blink of an eye? And then the way she just took Oliver’s napkins from him without permission? I can’t handle the air of entitlement that is coming across here, where everything seems to need to be catered to her and her only. What gives her such specific privilege?
And I get that she has ADHD and to cope with the overstimulation of other sounds she might find reprieve in a conversation with another person, but to expect a complete stranger to take on that unsolicited and unexpected burden just because you came unprepared is uncalled for. I would have likely lost my shit if I was seated beside Tilly.
And if you thought all of that bothered me, don’t even get me started on how Tilly apparently barged past and sprinted out of a flight full of passengers, and proceeded to sprint through an international airport. One, how is that even possible if you’re not at the front of the plane? It’s not. Secondly, is that not suspicious behaviour to be sprinting off of a plane and through an airport (she’s going through customs, not a connecting flight) — would a TSA agent or security not pull you aside? I guarantee you if she was a person of colour, this would not happen as blasé as it was written.

Moving on to Oliver — I loved reading his passion for colour theory and the extreme detail that went into that with the hyper specific Pantone colours. It made for an effective and immersive visual experience.

The romance here to me felt forced. I think the story would have still been just as good had it been strictly platonic because both Tilly and Oliver were not well versed in having friends, so navigating this space together with their shared understandings already provided growth.

I felt like everything was crammed into the last 30%. The mother and sister just suddenly turned a new leaf towards Tilly and it wasn’t believable, at least not with how less than fleshed out it was for the reader.
I also wish that the blog posts were italicized as a way to differentiate it from the regular text since it was hard to tell most of the time where it started and ended.

While I didn’t find much enjoyment in the characters or the plot, I did think this had some good moments of neurodiversity by giving examples of how someone with ADHD or autism might stim, have interludes of passionate infodumps and tangents, or not be able to pick up on ordinary social cues.


Rep: neurodiverse main characters, sapphic side characters
Tropes: forced proximity, one bed

You know when you finish a book & just can’t stop thinking about it? This book right here. Tilly & Ollie have my heart forever. They took me on an emotional rollercoaster. I didn’t expect a YA book to cut so deep.

I’ve struggled to make sense of my thoughts because I loved it all so much. Eddings perfectly described Tilly & Ollie’s inner thoughts, fears, emotions & reactions. I felt like I was in their heads and experiencing life with them.

I think you’ll love:
•ADHD & Autism representation
•The way Tilly grows on Oliver and him trying to make sense of what is happening
•Tilly’s 1st Babble post 😭
•Oliver talking about how it’s easier to connect to people through his IG account vs in real life
•Taylor Swift-ish chapter titles
•Variety of family relationships & growth
•Real & raw emotions

Favorite part:
•When Tilly & Ollie tell each other they have ADHD & autism…this was such a great scene.

I love books that dig into brains, personalities, social norms, mental energy & internal reactions to the world. I can’t recommend this book enough. I already pre-ordered it for my daughter to read.

Thank you for a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 rating

I decided to read Tilly in Technicolor because 1. That title is great and 2. The premise sounded fascinating. I am not diagnosed as neurodivergent so I can’t address how accurate the representation is, but I appreciate the author using her story to teach other people about neurodiversity. I enjoyed reading from their point of views of someone with ADHD and someone who is autistic. I really love the focus on color throughout the story as well. That really shaped the story and Oliver’s point of view chapters in a unique and beautiful way.

But the story as a whole fell a bit flat. For one, it takes a long time for the characters to admit their feelings for each other. I’m all for slow burn romances, but this one felt extra slow and extra long. They don’t actually admit they like each other until over 60% of the way through and before that the story is peppered with them realizing they like each other but thinking the other person doesn’t reciprocate their feelings even when it’s painfully obvious to everybody around them and even to themselves that they probably do. After a while, it became a bit too exhausting to read.

In addition, the ending felt rushed. It was as if they finally admit their feelings and then the story whirlwinds from there, making sure to wrap everything up nicely without much effort. Even a slight conflict between Tilly and Oliver near the end is presented and resolved in like a chapter a half and felt completely pointless to include.

Last, some aspects just came across so unrealistic and I don’t like that this book tries to encourage young readers with artistic aspirations in an unrealistic way. I’m all for stories that feature teen writers and teen artists to encourage teens to follow their dreams. But they also need to be realistic in how those dreams come about. I find it hard to believe that an 18 year old with zero writing experience or credit other than a personal blog a la Tumblr would land a consistent position at a high profile online magazine. That doesn’t happen. I understand the author didn’t want Tilly to give in and go to college because college isn’t for everybody, but I liked that she was able to work for her sister and get experience and maybe could have been working toward a better writing job. I also found it hard to believe that Oliver could have that many Instagram followers as well.

Overall, the pacing dragged at times and the ending felt rushed, turning the cute premise and great representation into a story that was just okay.

Tilly and Ollie's first meeting - on their flight to London- doesn't go well but these two neurodivergent teens, both interns for Tilly's sister Mona find they've got more in common than they could have imagined,. It's a delightful read, with good characters and a sly look at how society (and parents) sometimes deal with their teens. Yes it's a little privileged but there's a big heart here. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Meant for the YA crowd but a good read for older people as well.

The adhd representation is this book won me over right way. It was so accurate that sometimes I had a hard time reading. The characters were painfully relatable and well developed.

I loved the little romantic moments and Oliver not knowing why he was feeling how he was. I wanted to punch the mom so bad. She is exactly how I wish parents didn't react to an adhd diagnosis.

I can't fully speak for the autism rep as I am not autistic. However, from what I can tell it was done well. The author is audhd so I'm confident.

Tilly is ready to be her own person. After she finishes high school she’s going to spend her summer away from her (well meaning but) overbearing parents who acknowledge her ADHD but don’t understand their daughter. Tilly is going to intern for her sisters new brand as a hand model. While on her flight across the pond, she is seated next to an interesting guy and every encounter goes to hell. As she’s exiting the plane, she asks her seat mate for his number but freaks out and runs away before getting an answer. Once she’s with her sister, she meets the rest of the “team”including Oliver, the guy from the plane. Oliver is also neurodivergent, diagnosed with autism, and after a bit of time realizes Tilly might be one of the only people who understands him (and Vice versa). As the summer abroad continues, feelings grow and the thought is saying goodbye makes things harder by the day.

I wish I could have read this book as a teenager. This book really is going to set the standard for any YA that I read going forward. I felt soo much reading this, and soo many feelings from when I was 18 came rushing back. Tilly and Oliver are so perfect for each other and relatable in their own ways. This book makes you laugh while simultaneously giving the characters the biggest hugs. Mazey just wrote the book I’m sure is going to be a gamechanger for soo many young adults.

*thank you Mazey Eddings, Netgalley, and St Martins Press for the ARC. opinions are my own*

I am clearly in the vast minority here, but I did not fall in love with Tilly in Technicolor the way I had hoped to.

I loved everything about the premise of this book (I am a huge fan of neurodiverse rep) and that color is, guh, GORGEOUS. I had not read anything by this author before but I was very excited to dive in.

What I found was not necessarily a story about two neurodiverse people making a connection and falling in love so much as a story that really wanted to teach me about neurodiversity. It felt like too much and as a result I really didn't connect with the characters or the storyline.

I put the book down in an attempt to distract myself from finding it frustrating. It's now a month later and I don't have a desire to pick it back up. Thus - while I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to read and review - it's a DNF for me at 35%.

I have loved every book Mazey Eddings has put out and I was so excited to see she was doing a YA neurodivergent love story. I didn't love this one as much as I love her adult romance books. While I haven't be diagnosed with either of these issues, I have a lot of neuro-spicy tendencies but I just didn't click with it. To be fair, I don't think I am the target demographic for this book. This is a book I needed as a teen growing up. I needed to see a character like me and realize that these idiosyncrasies I had were normal. But as a 30. year old woman, I just found this book needing more depth. This is definitely a slow burn, and slightly enemies to lovers. Tilly and Oliver didn't even realize they liked each other until 65% of the way into the book then all of a sudden they were in love and were endgame. It just felt so rushed past that 65% marker. I enjoyed that this was a dual perspective between the two of them and we got different view points of people with each disorder. This author definitely knew the ins and outs of the quirks that come with these differences.

My favorite part of the book was Tilly's family dynamic. Her relationship with her mom and how they were at odds so much. I feel like a lot of families of people with ADHD think it's fixable and are constantly trying to fit a round peg into a square hole and Tilly's mom is a great example of that. In reality we just need to accept our differences and adjust. I loved how at the end of this book TIlly and her mom found a way to do that. Also the dynamic with her sister was so spot on. Her sister was the "perfect" one while Tilly was the one who always made mistakes and was living in her shadow. Dang did I see that in real life. But I loved that they were able to get past it and have a genuine relationship.

Overall I'd give this 3.5 stars. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review. This book releases 8/15

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Wednesday Books/St. Martins Publishing for the ARC of "Tilly In Technicolor".
Technicolor may serve as an apt description for this mega-sweet romance between two neurodiverse teens who fall head over heels for each other. It's such an unabashed feel-good experience to read, I felt like I'd found my way into a good old-fashioned, classic Hollywood love story, filmed in gorgeous color across every spectacular scenic city in Europe.
And from the first chapter on, I found myself surrendering to the practically fairy-tale nature of what unfolds. You just can't help falling for (and rooting for) this adorable pair. How could you not?They've endured a lifetime of living with and coping with the fact that their brains are wired differently from those around them, leading to no end of misunderstandings and hurtful experiences.
Tilly Twomley's ADHD keeps her mind racing at maximum speed in multiple directions while Oliver's Clark's autism makes human interaction a daunting challenge for him. So naturally their 'meet cute' as fellow passengers on a flight to London goes comically awry. And to their further displeasure, they discover they'll spend the summer together as interns for the fledgling nail polish line started by Tilly's older sister Mona and her partner Amina.....with Tilly serving as a hand model for photos by Oliver, who's a gifted student of colors and designs.
When these four make their way across Europe to generate more business for the start-up, those inevitable romantic sparks start to crackle for Tilly and Oliver. As they begin to discover their similarities and anxieties in the way they see the world (and deal with it) a tentative connection between them slowly blossoms And I can tell you as a reader, prepare to find your heart happily aching for them while you cheer them on every step of the way.
Okay, maybe it rarely happens this way in real life, but it's so nice, at least while you're reading this, to believe it could - and 'Tilly In Technicolor' spins a enough enough of first love glow around you to make you believe. A quick read, but precision designed to make a reader sigh and smile all the way through it.

I love the way that Mazey Eddings writes neurodiverse characters and also makes them unapologetically themselves. I love how Tilly knew who she wanted to be and despite being treated like she was the problem. I also love how they portrayed and discussed her and Mona’s relationship and that dynamic, but also gave them space to get to really know each other despite the gap. I loved Oliver’s perspective throughout the story. I love how his brain worked and how he was using color theory to relate to the world and try to understand it. I also love how his family supported him and learned ways for them to work as a family with not only him but as a whole. I think this story covered so many important topics when it comes to growing up, especially growing up with a brain that works different than what is expected.

Mazey has quickly become a favorite author of mine, so I had high expectations for this book!
Let me tell you, it did not disappoint! My heart, this was such a sweet, messy, real, and honest story. Tilly and Oliver are my favorite pairings. I cannot wait to buy this book!

Mazey Eddings is such a phenomenal writer, the way she is able to represent every one of her characters accurately and with intention and heart is so inspiring. Tilly is such a triumph and will be so comforting to fellow neurodivine youths across the world. I’m so happy it exists!

perfect YA summer romcom read. if i was 10-15 years younger i would be so feral for this book. another hit from mazey eddings - can't wait for cubby's book!