While this book has a bit of a slow start, once the action kicked into gear, I couldn't put it down! The representation in the story with regard to Marlowe is fantastic. I think her neurodivergence is handled in a very delicate way that makes understanding her thought patterns and processes easy to understand and relate to. I also really loved that she had such great friends in her corner--female friendships that are full of love and support, especially teen ones, are so important!
When it came to the romance story, I was enthralled! Ash is such a good match for Marlowe. His patience, kindness, and understanding were all excellent traits, of course...but it was the way that he showed such respect for her and appreciated her nuances that really sealed his perfect "book boyfriend" status.
All in all, I think this is a wonderful story that is going to appeal to teens, tweens, and new adults. There is something here for everyone, with fantastic representation, females lifting each other up, and an empowering couple leading the story.
I've never read anything else by Serena Kaylor, but I can't wait to find more from her. Her style is really fun to read, and I can't recommend this one enough!
Thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday books for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I had an ARC of this book and had a difficult time putting it down. The characters and their decisions were realistic, making the story plausible and entertaining. The FMC friend group reminded me of my friends in high school. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it was one of my favorite romance books of 2024. I am looking forward to reading her first book soon!

I will read everything Serena Kaylor ever writes. Heartfelt and so swoony, The Calculation of You and Me is a dream of a book I would have adored as a teen (and adore all the same now.) If you need me, I'll be telling everyone run, don't walk, to grab this book when it releases!

This was such a cute book. Marlowe is such a sweet girl. She is autistic, but that's not who she is. She navigates through her year learning that we all love differently and there is not a thing wrong with the way she loves. I truly enjoyed reading this book.

The Calculation of You and Me" is a super cute high school love story! Follow Marlowe’s journey through her last year of high school, with the support of her family and two best friends to help realize that what she thought she wants isn’t actually what she deserves. Really love the book, so happy to had the chance to read it. First book I read by Serena kaylor and will be looking forward for more of her projects.

This book is the definition of cute. If you want a fun romance between two unlikely people, then this is the book you’ll want to pick up. If you are a fan of Serena Kaylor’s previous novel, Long Story Short, then you will absolutely wanna read this book.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc of this book. All opinions are my own.

I will give my thoughts once SMP addresses their readers with an explanation. Until then, all my reviews will be withheld.

something i always have, and always will, love about serena kaylor is her absolute commitment to making science and art kiss on the mouth.

there’s not quite as much science in this one –– i found myself missing how deeply statistics was woven into beatrice in Long Story Short, and, as one reviewer has already put it, marlowe waxes poetic about it in her narration, but there is not enough math! there’s also a touch of the impromptu hacker about her, which always grates me: the plot needs her to program bots and game the social media algorithms at some point, and the skills appear out of nowhere, as if talent in math and computer science always go hand in hand. i thought we weren’t lumping all of nerddom together anymore!

but where this book is patchy as a love letter to math, it’s rich in other places: the way kaylor writes about the pain of wanting to belong in high school in a small town is timeless but never cliché. there’s a gorgeous, quiet heartbreak in the way marlowe twists herself into something she isn’t to match with josh, the boyfriend she starts the book wanting to win back. the romance book store that features in this book is filled with lovely detail and local charm. and ash, the cyrano of the piece, is shown loving music and romance and storytelling in all these specific, emphatic ways –– kaylor is somehow able to make him marlowe’s highly charismatic guide to artistic and romantic realms she hasn’t visited before without it ever feeling heavy-handed or mansplain-y. one day, i’ll write a medium essay about romantic heroes in eyeliner, but that’s for another time.

on the whole, The Calculation of You and Me manages to pack the entire highlight reel of high school rom-com tropes into a non-stop litany of familiar delights. it doesn’t get as outrageously funny as cyrano tropes sometimes allow –– though after The Half Of It (2021) why would anyone bother swinging for the same stands? —- but it’s tender and it knows what it wants, and it’s so gratifying to see marlowe find out what she wants, too.

Marlowe Meadows has a problem. Her boyfriend of the last two years just broke up with her because he doesn't think she is romantic enough. She is assigned to work with a partner, Ashton Hayes, on a project for English class, and when she discovers, by mistake, romantic lyrics Ashton has written for his band, she makes a deal for romance lessons in exchange for helping his band go viral. What Marlowe discovers is that there isn't just one formula to be romantic and a math genius can be romantic, given the right person. A very sweet love story!

4.5/5
Such a cute and fun read. A sweet teen love story. It definitely kept me interested and had me rooting for the characters to get together.

This was such a fun, affirming, thoughtful new romcom from Kaylor. Watching the protagonist grapple with her own internalized feelings of self-worth while exploring romance on her own terms—with the most deliciously brooding but sweet love interest—was a healing, fun, empowering experience. I'll read whatever she writes!

Such a lovely read. Well developed characters and a sweet story - felt realistic and humanized a character with autism without 'othering' or playing up oddities.

When I saw Serena Kaylor had a new book coming out I was excited because I loved her debut and this did not disappoint!

Marlow was super relatable and watching her slowly learn more about herself and what she wanted was so satisfying. Ash was so sweet and the emo boy of middle school dreams! And I especially loved Marlow's friend group, Odette and Poppy.

This is a really well done YA romance book. I don't typically go for YA but decided to give this one a shot based off the synopsis and I'm glad. I also appreciated that there was neurodivergent inclusion in this book. I would definitely recommend this book to fans of Lynn Painter and I think if you are on the fence about reading YA, then give this one a shot. It is so sweet and delightful.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books and Serena Kaylor for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Oh gosh. I cannot say enough good things about this book. The premise intrigued me as I have a child on the spectrum and was so interested to see how the characters were portrayed.

I LOVED this book. I've already recommended it to friends and told them they must get it as soon as it hits the shelves in June. It's so great. Marlowe is such a well developed character; you really feel her deep down. Ash is another awesome character. A young man who purposely and intentionally reads romance? *swoon* The fact that he's so "different" just adds to his appeal. Marlowe doesn't see what everyone else sees at first and her awakening is just brilliantly done.

Pick this book up immediately. It's worth it!

THIS WAS SO CUTE!! Late teens/early twenties is such a difficult age for anyone, let alone anyone who is part of the neurodivergent community. I adored Marlowe and found myself chuckling at some of her thoughts and quips. With all of the representation, I would have really appreciated this when I was younger to not feel so alone. It did take me a few chapters to truly get into it, but from then on I was hooked. This was such a great combo of a coming-of-age, diverse romance that readers of any age can connect with. Thank you for the ARC!

**Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC**

What a cute lil gem of a book, honestly. The book stars Marlowe, a neurodivergent (specifically, autistic) redheaded nerd, who enlists the help of Ash, a classmate who is also coincidentally emo/the lead singer of his band/a romantic at heart, to win back her ex-boyfriend who quite literally tells Marlowe that she's bad at love. While Ash tries to "teach" Marlowe romance through giving her fieldwork (read: they fake date) and giving her homework (read: she reads a lot of romance books), they end up having an absolutely adorable romantic journey of their own.

The entire cast of characters is loveable (except, you know, the ex) and I absolutely love the representation in this book with the neurodivergent and LGBTQ characters. While LGBTQ characters have begun to make more and more appearances in books in recent years, I haven't really been exposed to many books with neurodivergence, so I'm really glad that more books are including these diverse characters.

The only reason this is a 4 star book is because it took me a little bit to get into the book, but that could also definitely be a me problem lol. I'm definitely interested in checking out Serena's debut novel, and anything she releases in the future!

This is the book I needed as a teenager. This sweet YA romance was such a sweet, fun read. I flew through it. The characters felt so visceral to me and each one of them gave me something different. The dialogue had me giggling throughout. Serena Kaylor is an autobuy author for me from here on out.

I would recommend this one to anyone who enjoyed "I Kissed Shara Wheeler."

Thanks to NetGalley, Wednesday Books, and Serena Kaylor for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review. It was a pleasure!

⋆ ˚｡⋆3.5 stars 🍄୨୧˚
⤿ I desperately miss Liz and Wes ‹𝟹

This book reminded me of Better Than Movies in the best way possible ෆ

okay yall i am giving the recipe of this book.
Take "Better Than Movies" switch the rom-com with romance books and add a hyper fixation for mushrooms and change the guy with a hot goth metal head.

Debating if I should give it 4 stars or 3!
To be honest.. I wanted to give a 4. But some but the story was evolving a little too slowly for my liking but they were so cute not to have my heart melted.

♍️ "I think it's hard for everyone, darlin'" "You know what I mean. For us" "Virgos?" "Dad."♍️

okay my guilt is that i never noticed she was autistic until someone yelled it but i have to admit the humor in this book is unmatched

🍄 This is gross. Are we cute yet. 🍄

Ashton Hayes. You are one damn of a man. The way he didn't treat her differently because of her condition and saw her as a normal person has my heart. And I love myself a tall goth hot boy🤭


🧮 "Okay what is the least romantic school subject?" "Math." "Ash Augustus Hayes! How dare you say that to my face." 🧮

I had my favorite parts about the book all through out the story but if I had to pick a fave's I would say everything contains Odette and her humor so I give you a compilation of

✨My Favorite Odette Quotes✨

⤿ "People were dicks in the 1800s."

⤿ "Exhibit B, he can be scary. Apparently, Devon Black asked him to borrow a pen once, Mary Beth swears he growled at him."

⤿ "Were there spicy parts?"


˚⊹ the romance 𓍢ִ🍄
I love my romance books and my romance-coms and I definitely love a girl who loves them. And we also love a thoughtful boy. People, he watched a mushroom documentary and listened to her talk about mushrooms on the phone. The bar is so high. The first message he sent her when he got her number was a mushroom emoji🍄 Do I have to explain more?

₊˚⊹ to conclude 𓍢ִ໋🍄
It was a cute cozy quick romance read. I have to admit there was times I was giggling, all red, swinging my feet stupidly while reading so the romance was just🤌🏻🤌🏻 The only flaw (a personal flaw) was that the events happening too slowly and yet it didn't stop me from enjoying this book.

happy reading lovelies 🎀

Serena Kaylor writes a swoony, tender and joyful journey about a neurodivergent teen understanding she's perfect as she is and that love is unconditional.

Marlowe, an autistic teenager who convinces her broody goth classmate Ash to help her win back her popular ex-boyfriend Josh who dumped her for not being romantic enough. Marlowe has always felt out of step with the world, apart from with her best friends Poppy and Odette, so she really tries to push herself out of her comfort zone.

Marlowe loves numbers, order and people to mean what they say. The neurotypical world is alienating for her with everyone frustrated by and unwilling to understand her. Ash gets her from the start. He might be broody and taciturn but he's supportive, patient, artistic and encourages her find out things herself. He even plays in a band and works in a romance book store! What more could you love from a hero? I loved the funny banter between the two.

I cannot gush enough about how delightful, heartwarming and gorgeous this book was. It was so well written, plotted with well-rounded characters (including minor characters) that felt real. I had a major book hangover after I finished. I will be re-reading this again many time over in the years to come. It's THAT good!

Thanks to St Martin's Press/Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the ARC.