Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the early ARC of this book.
I don't read a ton of YA, but I loved this book. It gave me the same feels as 'Better than the Movies.' If you loved that book, you will love this one.
Marlowe is an autistic senior who recently got dumped abruptly by her boyfriend. His reasoning that she wasn't "romantic" enough. Marlowe has difficulty with the change and needs things to go back to normal. When she is paired with the outcast goth boy, Ash, for a school project she enlists his help in winning back her ex.
Both characters are well thought out with surprising depth. Both characters fit into the stereotypical nerd and goth categories, but they are so much more. Marlowe is sensitive, kind, and so funny with her quick witted responses.
Ash is a romantic hiding in the dark, broody corner. He is thoughtful and patient with Marlowe. He is constantly checking in with her to make sure she is comfortable.
Marlowe starts to realize her own strength, her own desires, and finds her voice. The journey to get there makes the payoff that much sweeter.

I don't know if there are enough ways to say how much I liked this book. The story line was so well developed and the characters were so real that you were pulled along in their wonderful emotional journeys.
I loved the way the author used the theme of romance in so many different ways. From the assignment, to the bookstore, to the characters relationships, this theme was so thoughtful and seamless. It really pulled the story together.
The main character's struggles with autism brought me to googling all the different aspects and behaviors of autism that I never knew or realized. And the way it was used throughout the story was just perfectly balanced and gave the story so many of the very sad and very humorous moments.
I hope to read many many more books from this author.
Enjoy!

The Calculation of You and Me

The cover is truly awful (I said it, I’m sorry 😅) but the story within is delightful.

I loved the diverse cast and how many of them weren’t very lovable but felt very accurate to high school and just trying to get through it.

The premise for the love story was fun and I enjoyed the changing dynamics. I love a good slow burn and the chemistry was there.

The Calculation of You and Me uses the basic premise of Cyrano de Bergerac to tell the tale of Marlowe Meadows, a whiz at math whose interpersonal skills are not as sharp. When popular Josh sets his eye on her, she suddenly has a golden ticket to a social life. Two years later he unexpectedly breaks up with he, because she isn't romantic enough. Despite her friends' disdain for Josh, she is determined to win him back. Enter Ashton Hayes, a goth rock god with whom she is paired for an English project. When she reads his love lyrics for his band's songs, she makes a bargain with him. If he helps her get Josh back by writing romantic love notes for her, she will revamp the band's social media to help them go viral. Although he hates Josh, Ash agrees, and he and Marlowe begin meeting at the romance bookshop/cafe where he works. He gives her an assigned reading list of romance novels, and she works on a data analytics formula for the band to follow. As she gets to know Ash better, she begins to wonder why she is chasing Josh. She is used to math problems which are easily solved, but love has a funny way of complicating everything. The story is retold for children in The Story of Cyrano de Bergerac (Save the Story) by Stefano Benni, illustrated by Miguel Tanco, which can facilitate easy access to the story for comparison purposes.

Thank you to NetGalley for this arc. I am a sucker for YA coming of age books and this one was cute and drew me in quickly. It gives to all the boys I’ve loved before vibes. 3.75 ⭐️

First and foremost, this book has some of the best autism rep I have seen in a long time. Not only does it show a female MC with autism, which is entirely too rare, it accurately portrays a fairly wide array of the autism spectrum, with the main character and her two best friends all falling somewhere entirely different on that spectrum. Furthermore, the book does an amazing job showing the consequences and healing from toxic relationships and toxic masculinity in general. I am so in love with all of the main characters of this book and their delicious diversity and, while misinformation tropes are not usually my favorite, this book really took them in hand as a tool to illustrate the very real experiences of being neurodivergent. Absolutely adored the whole thing from start to finish.

The Calculation of You and Me brings together Marlowe Thompson, math genius and most likely on the spectrum high schooler with Ashton Hayes, a bit goth and a bit rocker. This really is a young adult opposites attract romance.

I love that the characters are unique and not your stereotypical perfect iteration of high schoolers. They're not the most beautiful or the smartest or the most musically talented. They have quirks and that's ok.

What didn't work so well for me is how these two came to fall for one another. I didn't understand why Ashton was as interested in Marlowe - and Marlowe was difficult to like for about half of the book.

I so appreciate authors writing about neurodiverse characters and lending them a voice and narrative. But I still had a difficult time connecting, and would have liked to see a little more chemistry and connection a bit earlier on.

While I love most aspects of this book with a lot of diversity in the characters. I really didn't think the author did any justice on how she wrote Marlow being the spectrum, and just kind of threw it in their with little research. If it this was portrayed more accurately it would given a higher rating. 3.25 stars.

This was a cute, high school love story. The narration sounded like a teenager to me, which I always appreciate in YA.

The main characters need to get her ex back dragged on too much for me, and there wasn’t enough of the new love story. I wanted to see more of them really falling for each other.

An ARC was provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted so badly to like this book as its summary immediately caught my attention! I couldn’t help but notice the similarities between The Calculation of You and Me and Nevermore by Kelly Creagh (one of my favorite books when I was a pre-teen, and one I have read many times). Although Nevermore is more of a supernatural mystery with romance sprinkled in, and this novel is a full-on romance, I could see many parallels.

Both books have a female protagonist who is all but forced to work on a semester-long project (that they at first know nothing about) with a social outcast. Both books have the protagonist go up to their love interest and (somewhat rudely, in my opinion) tell them that they won’t be working on the project alone, and expect help on the assignment. Both love interests are even writers (albeit the one in this book is a songwriter and the other a poet)!

Anyway, on to the rest of the book: I don’t agree with what her ex said about the protagonist but, honestly, her being romantically inept was true. Marlowe spent the majority of the book chasing after her ex; there were hardly any moments where she put any effort in with Ash. Hell, she didn’t even end up doing a big, romantic gesture for him in the end.

I’m autistic myself, and while I one-hundred percent agreed with her when she brought up not understanding social cues and feeling as though she needed more guidance in that aspect, the rest fell flat for me. I still don’t understand why she thought it was okay to go through his things (although, funnily enough, Isobel does the exact same thing in Nevermore).

I didn’t like her friends and I didn’t like that they kept asking her about Ash. Odette in particular felt as though she was trying to force her own opinions onto Marlowe. I get that she was probably trying to gently push her towards the right direction, but the constant pushing of Ash as an option made it feel a little inorganic (I really wanted Marlowe to realize she liked Ashton on her own terms!). And Sloane… they felt like less of an actual character and more of a bland mentor trope themselves.

Nevertheless, there were a few moments that made me genuinely smile, and I’m really grateful that I was given a chance to read this book!

This was my first Serena Kaylor book, and it took me completely by surprise and solidified that I’d keep my eye out for Kaylor’s work in the future. The book follows protagonist Marlowe Meadows after being dumped suddenly by her ex-boyfriend, Josh. In an attempt to win back his affections and improve her romantic abilities, Marlowe employs the help of her English classmate, Ashton Hayes, but things, as expected, don’t go quite according to plan.

I thought the romance between Ash and Marlowe to be incredibly convincing, practically jumping off the page with their chemistry, and the slow-burn of it all only made it extra special. Their attraction and pull towards one another felt natural, and I really appreciated how Kaylor made Ash so respectful and kind, in comparison to other potential partners in Marlowe’s life. I think it’s important to highlight that individuals deserve to be treated with love and care (and nothing less) when they’re romantically involved with someone, especially in a YA novel so many young people are going to read. So bravo to Kaylor for that!

This felt like a love letter to romance novel lovers because of all the conversations about it, so if you’re a romance novel enthusiast, this is for you! There’s some wonderful queer representation with multiple characters in here that I really cherished seeing. There is also some autistic representation, but I am not sure how accurate that is. Overall, this is a great romance novel with fantastic chemistry and a good plot to pull you through to the end.

thank you to netgalley for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review

3.75 stars - I had such a fun time reading!
spoiler free!

genre: YA romance
age rating: 13+
spice: none

tropes
good girl, bad boy
boy is actually a sweetheart once you know him
'i've secretly liked you for years'
NO THIRD ACT BREAK UP
I literally can't think of any others

girly's name is marlow meadows and her sister is bluebell 😭

let's talk about the main issue I had

marlowe has autism. that's not where the problem lies. it was displayed as a 'quirky' trait and the author never expanded on it. it had so much potential to be great because of the little bit of expansion we got, but it just wasn't. I completely forgot she even had autism until it was sprung on randomly.

"'Autism, amirite?'"
it wasn't completely awful, I think it could've been written better or not been in the story at all

what I did like
the writing was very fast-paced and fun to follow! the plot is also such a fun idea and a lot of the conflicts and flaws are well-written. it's just a cute YA novel

marlowe meadows
i'M nOt LiKe OThEr GiRlS

"I wasn't very popular. I was weird Marlowe. Marlowe who was too honest, too literal...'"
you can imagine the rest.

for the most part, she was a sweet character and I enjoyed my time with her. she is flawed, and her flaws are written well! sometimes I wish more stuff was expanded on, though. she has a lot of character development in the short amount of time we have with her :)

ashton hayes
he's in a band and reads romance novels. he's so sweet and I love him so, so much. he's also HOT as they say every 5 pages.

"'There's nothing broken about you."

marlowe's grandmother
if the author wasn't high while writing marlowe's grandmother's ghost, I'm very concerned. I'm pretty sure this was just supposed to be a fun quirk about the story but in reality, I'm terrified. it lasted like one chapter and was never brought up again.

"the door flings open and crashes into the wall. my framed national honor society certificate flies off and into my dirty laundry basket. I sigh. 'thanks meemaw.'"

overall
this was a cute book and I had a good time. if you're looking for a fun book to read, this is the one for you! don't read the synopsis, it's much more fun to go in relatively blind!

quotes (there's a lot so buckle up!)

"Chocolate wants us to be happy. How can we not adore a food that cares so much about our well-being?"

"I want every scrap he's willing to share until I have enough clues to piece together the entirety of him."

"'That's okay," he says and the lack of judgment feels like a hand in the dark."

"'But I see him now. I know him. I want him, and I want there to be no doubt in his mind or anybody else's.'"

I don't want to lose the books or teasing or weird adventures. I can't lose him."

"I want him to know me, and I want the people I love to know him."

"'And I know that every moment with you feels more important than the one before. I want them all. Every laugh, every chaotic thought that runs through your brain, and every facial expression you have-even the one you make where you try to pretend I'm not hilarious. They all just make me want you more.'"


pre-read:
got approved for the arc! I’m so excited to read this!

I really enjoyed this! I read it more or less in one sitting, so I can confirm that it's engaging. The characters are well developed and multidimensional, and the autism rep is done really well. And Ash is BABY. A broody, mysterious bad boy who wears all black, plays in a band, and loves romance novels? Just. Wow. The way he cares about Marlowe (and pines for her) is truly precious. The relationship development was well paced and included just the right amount of drama and conflict for a truly satisfying payoff in the end. I love when a slow burn is done well (i.e. not frustrating, things are actually burning (slowly) from relatively early on). I actually tend to avoid slow burns because they're so often paced in a way that makes me want to tear out my hair, but this one is great!!

Thank you to Net Galley and Wednesday Books for the opportunity to read this early in exchange for my honest review.

This book was ok. I felt like there was a lot of potential for a super cute YA Romance between two misfits, but ultimately it did not live up to my expectations.

What I liked about the book:
1. I loved that the FMC was autistic and she totally owned it. Here is one of my favorite excerpts:

"There it is again, rearing up like a scarlet A that brands me as different. I appreciate him trying to be thoughtful, but I would also like everyone to mind their own business and just let me navigate things myself. Unless it’s something surprising or overwhelming, in which case I would like a heads-up.

But also not, if that makes sense?

I want it both ways, and for them to read my mind so we can avoid these conversations. Or maybe a different brain. Or maybe for everyone else to have a brain like mine."

- Love it. Totally makes sense.

2. I loved how much Marlowe loved math! As a fellow woman in STEM, I love seeing other women who have genuine love for these fields. My little nerd heart flutters!

"Math is elegant, beautiful in its complexity, and it doesn’t matter if you take a million different approaches, there’s a finite answer. No gray zone or wiggle room."

-YES! Oh, the beauty of math 😊

3. I enjoyed how Marlowe found herself and her need to make herself happy instead of trying to live to make someone else happy through the use of romance novels. Frequently, romance novels are written off as either silly little stories at their most innocent or porn at their most crude, however, there are many romance novels and ideas within novels that highlight the independence of women and finding your own worth. Throughout this book, we saw Marlowe go from being a side character to the main character in her own life as she read more and more of these romance books. I was happy to see this represented as a key point to the story.

4. I loved the support from Marlowe’s mother and Sloane when she realized that her ex wasn’t really great.

From Sloane, we got this gem:

"Nobody is inherently bad at love. Sure, people have different communication styles and love languages, and we might not all be on the same page at all times. Those challenges can require work, sometimes professional work, but your instincts aren’t wrong just because they’re not his instincts. And anybody who would make you think or feel that way is not someone worth fighting for."

- PREACH!!!

What I wasn’t a fan of:
1. Overall, something was missing. I didn’t feel any chemistry between the MCs, and everyone was a real surface level character, besides maybe her friend Odette. The main point of a YA romance should be the chemistry between the MCs and a stellar group of side characters, but we didn’t get that in this one. They were all fine, but nothing spectacular.

2. While Ash wasn’t super convincing as having pined for Marlowe, he did deserve a lot better than a wrap up in the last five minutes of the book. I felt the ending was rushed and thus not super satisfactory. Yes, we got our HEA, but I felt he deserved more, especially given the fact that he was never chosen first by anyone in his life. It should have been her big gesture (like she wanted), instead of him (yet again) trying to earn someone’s affection.

3. I'm kind of over the whole contract thing in YA romances. I understand it creates a give-and-take relationship and a business-like formality to the interactions between the characters (so the *gasp* LOVE, comes out of nowhere) but is a contract necessary?

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books, and Serena Kaylor for the opportunity to read this book. The thoughts and opinions expressed above are honest and my own.

This book was amazing !! I absolutely loved this authors style of writing and also really enjoyed the Autism representation. I did not want this story to end and I found myself really sucked Marlowe’s character and she really felt like a friend while I was reading this. Will definitely be keeping an eye out for any other new releases from this author and I’ll definitely be recommending this as well.

Oh my goodness, this was a wonderful book! I adored all of the characters and the interactions between them - the true friendship, the growth of the romantic relationship... Without a doubt, I will be reading this story again because it was just that good! I will immediately be picking up Serena Kaylor's other books because of this one.

“I am an entire galaxy and I need nothing or nobody to orbit”

Marlowe is just a normal high school student. Her recent breakup with her popular football-playing sweetheart, Josh, has left her feeling out of control. She is trying to figure out how it all went so wrong. It’s at this time that she assigned a partner, Ash, in English who is moody and always wears black. They strike up an unusual deal to benefit each other.
This story made my heart happy. The way that they portrayed Marlowe as autistic, but that in no way defines her. I love that. I love that Ash is this gothic rock kid who works at a romance bookstore. It was just all around adorable. Fake dating is one of my favourite tropes and it’s done very well in this book. I normally prefer smut, dark romance, and horror. This was way out of my wheelhouse. However, I was so pleasantly surprised by how much I loved it. I got thoroughly attached the characters. This is one I might actually read again (which is rare for me). It just made me smile.

Thank you netgalley and Wednesday Books for the e-ARC!

I devoured this. I love Serena’s stories so much. Good characters that you see develop throughout the story. This is a YA book but it didn’t feel immature. I found Marlowe very relatable. This was just a good time but also deep and heartfelt at the same time. Ash got to share his love of romance/local bookstore with Marlowe. They were so adorable. This isn’t even out yet and I CANNOT wait until Serena’s next masterpiece.

Special thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s press for this digital ARC.

1 Sentence Summary: When Marlowe’s boyfriend dumps her because she isn’t romantic enough, she’s determined to prove that she can be good at love, that she’s more than the weird math-obsessed girl everyone sees her as; so when she’s paired up for a school project with Ashton, who dresses in all black, wears eyeliner, and writes love songs, Marlowe proposes a deal: Ash will help her write some love letters and in return she will help with his band’s marketing.

My Thoughts: THIS BOOK MADE ME BELIEVE IN LOVE AGAIN!!! It was seriously so freaking cute I was dying, and made me wish I had my own romantic relationship.

The characters and relationships were phenomenal. I love Marlowe! And I love Ash! And I love them together! And I love all of their friends, too! And Marlowe’s family, especially her relationship with her younger sister! Okay, that was way too many exclamation marks, but there was so much great character development in this.

Also, Marlowe has autism and the representation of it was so well done. It was an important part of her identity and was talked about throughout the book, but it wasn’t the whole point of the book, which is what I feel like sometimes happens in books with neurodivergent characters; like, the authors forget that their character is a <I>person</I>, not just Character With Autism. People with autism deserve to have fun & cute romcoms written about them without their autism being the whole focus of the story! Anyway, suffice it to say I loved Marlowe’s character, and Serena Kaylor is autistic herself and wrote Marlowe so well.

Another thing: I’m obsessed with Ash!!! He’s like my emo, eyeliner-wearing, nails-painted, singing-in-a-band child and I want to protect him from the world. Also, despite all the traits I just listed seeming very stereotypical, Ash’s character did not feel stereotypical at all. And I loved so much how Ash was bisexual (or at least had dated both girls and boys) and it wasn’t a <I>thing</I>. He never had to say anything, no one else ever said anything, it was just him, and accepted. :’)

Anyway, I do wish we had gotten some more interactions with the other band members, but I loved Marlowe’s friends, Poppy and Odette, and I loved how everyone was bonding over romance novels haha.

Highly recommend reading this! It was so sweet with such lovable characters who make you want to keep reading. (And I mean that literally: last night I got in bed and was like, I’m just gonna read a few chapters before I go to sleep. But then I couldn’t stop reading and stayed up way too late and ended up finishing the entire book because it was too good LOL.)

Recommend to: People who enjoy super cute YA romances with neurodivergent representation.

(Warnings: swearing; underage drinking; divorce)

This was such a fun read. While I did not enjoy the high school angst of not fitting in and standing out, it did bring back so many memories of those crushes and first loves you thought you couldn’t ever survive without. The characters are sweet, and relatable. While I loved them all, I didn’t always love their choices and behaviors. Definitely hit home, highly recommend