Oh my word! This book was amazing!
This is the story of Andy, who is on the autism spectrum and trying to break free of her helicopter parents. She has a secret spot where she watches a Henry Cavill look-a-like surf. She admires him from afar with her binoculars and fantasizes about them being a perfect match.
Then, one of his friends enters the picture. She doesn't like him at all, but is comfortable around him, where she doesn't mask and is just her true self.
Then he agrees to teach her how to get Dylan's (the Henry Cavill doppelganger) attention. This is where things get interesting.
This book hooked me from the beginning. I absolutely adored these two and their story. I truly appreciated that there were no games, no obvious miscommunication causing an issue where there wasn't one. I also appreciated the portrayal of ASD. I cannot recommend this one enough. Get it now!

This is was not a book that started strong for me and I was thinking I was going to struggle to finish….but at about 20% that changed and the characters settled into their roles and the development of the relationship for Andy and Luke started to form. Ladies man and surfer dude turned out to be protective and considerate. The ASD aspect was not rammed down my throat but tastefully interwoven with the storyline and not just for the sake of the love story but in Andy’s everyday life. I really enjoyed the surfing lessons of it.
Considering how tight Luke is with his “brothers” Kyle and Dylan do not feature much once Andy and Luke have their friendship which is probably what helped the book be less eugh and cringey from when I first started reading.

I received this book for free as an ARC from NetGalley. Exchange for an honest review

“Well, I can’t decide if that makes this Luke guy sound super sweet or super horny.”
“Oh, he’s both.”


And that's what basically could be said about this book - super sweet and super horny. Andy and Luke are so cute together: she is a girl with ASD (autism spectrum disorder) who hates sand, and he is a hot tatooed surfer, who is also respectful and considerate, and teaches Andy to love the ocean and surfing. Eventually their lessons divert to something more spicier. Therefore, if you have aversion to such vocabulary as "his length", "her little pearl", "a bundle of nerves", "folds", "milking" and so on, don't go there.

Nevertheless, I liked the representation of people with ASD. I won't pretend that I know much about it, therefore, I don't really know how accurately depicted it is. Yet here it seemed convincing: Andy's communication, sensory struggles, daily routines and anxiety. I loved how supportive were her parents, and the relationship between Luke and his sister.

And finally, I LOVED the setting of the story - San Diego, the ocean, summertime, the beach, three best friend surfers, who work together in the same business - such a nice, relaxed atmosphere (with some exceptions) and vacation vibes. I'm definitely looking forward to the second book of this series since I have a good idea what it will be about and I'm very intrigued!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.

I'm a bit torn on how to rate this. Overall I liked the storyline and I think Andy and Luke really worked together and communicated their wants and needs super well. But - and this is where the rating drops for me - there were parts of the books and conversations that were just painfully cringey. The way the guys communicated with each other in a sort of forced surfer bro way truly made me consider putting the book down in the first few chapters. It does get better, but mainly because we don't see Luke interacting with his friends as much. Unfortunately after a really good chunk of well written storyline we get to the sex scenes. The first one is great, the second one made me want to cry (as did the following). While I can appreciate Andy's need for very technical and clear communication, there really is no way to make the literal term "penis in vagina" sound sexy. Especially when you're trying to use it as dirty talk. It also didn't really vibe with Andy as a character, because in no other situations is she averse to using slang. And if that wasn't enough, her vagina is referred to in second person. Why?
On a more serious note, I don't know how I feel about the autistic representation here. Generally I am all for it, which is a big reason I picked this book up. But there are several instances where Andy being autistic is used as a "not like other girls" trope, which I truly do not appreciate.
Lastly, the book kind of falls apart at the end. There is a very sudden suspense aspect that felt unnecessary and forced to add drama and conflict to an otherwise well thought out storyline. The whole plot point could have been dropped and I think the story would have benefited from it.
On a more general note, beyond the neurotypical representation there is no diversity. We don't have a single person of color or queer character, which unfortunately kind of makes me feel worse about Andy being autistic. It ultimately felt like a plot device to have her be "not like the other girls" and have a somewhat performative representation. As I'm not autistic I don't really feel able to comment on how accurate the representation itself is, but I do think there have been better as well as worse examples.

I received a free copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.

I wasn't sure about this book before I started, in fact, even the first chapter made me wonder if it wasn't going to be for me. But I'm glad I didn't let my fears put me off because this was a great book. Our heroine, Andy, has autism. I was concerned about how it would be handled and how the romance would work. There was no reason for my worries, Andy was a brilliant character and her autism was handled really well. I would put a small caveat on that, I don't have a lot of experience with autism, but it certainly seemed to have been handled well.
Luke was a lovely character, he was so sweet with Andy and they made a lovely couple. The only slight issue I had was the way that the problem was dealt with and the way that Luke reacted. It all seemed a little over the top and I didn't completely buy it. That was a small issue though and didn't detract from the story overall. (Actually, I'm lying my other small gripe was Andy's mum's name; Davis. Who in their right mind would call anyone that, let alone a woman?!)
This was a fun read and one that I really enjoyed. It wasn't too heavy going but still dealt sensitively with some meaty issues.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and given voluntarily.

This book started off strong for me. I love reading about the neurodiverse Andy and how she softened the heart of tough guy Lucas. There was A LOT of drama in this story from drugs to harassment to family issues - but for the most part it seems to flow nicely. Andy was portrayed realistically and I could feel the care the author took with her personality and quirks. The problem that stopped me LOVING this book was actually the ending. aarrIt all felt very probable and realistic...until the scene with Andy's former co-worker. The bird, the confrontation, the "resolution" just all felt a little too rushed and didn't flow with the rest of the story. It felt very fictionalized and exaggerated. D. Barrett could have wrapped things up earlier and with a more believable arc. Regardless, this is a book that is worth reading! Thank you NetGalley and D. Barrett books for the AR of this book in exchange for my honest review.