What a fun, but also eye opening book! BIPOC, LGBTQ+ and Autistic representation. I loved this love story between two people with Autism. We follow them from a found friendship at 10 years old, to a coming of age romantic relationship in their teenage years. Along the way they grow together in so many ways, including realizing gender identity. Throughout time they befriend an alien and end up going into space to save the world and meet the alien race. This book was so much fun in so many ways! It was amazing watching these characters grow, and I fell in love with them! I really hope for a second book to follow these characters even more after their time in space, recounting what happened and follow them further into adulthood.
TW: Ableism

I'm loving the fact that there are so many more books out in the world with Neurospicy characters. MC Kurt is neurodiverse and tells much about what it's like to move through a world full of sensory overload. I think that the book was more of a "feel" for me than a "story"... which may not really make sense but I'm not sure how to put it into words. As someone who is neurodiverse myself, I really enjoy when I read characters in which I recognize a bit on myself.

Anyway, this story was a delight. It is very well written - a bit lyrical in some ways. Recommended!

Like a number of other Eule Grey books I’ve read (and loved), I’m not entirely sure how to talk about this. This is a first contact story involving Kurt and Beast who meet when they are ten years old, and become best friends. When they’re thirteen, they discover they can communicate with an alien named Iuvenis, but secrets don’t stay secrets for very long.

This isn’t a romance, though the romance between Kurt and Beast is central to the story. This story is more a Bildungsroman story about Kurt finding their way and place as a nonbinary, autistic kid in a world that wants them to be just like everyone else.

I really enjoyed this. It’s beautifully written, with incredibly lovely prose and so achingly tender. Kurt and Beast are fantastic characters, and I adore them together. There’s a few things in this book that just go over my head and I don’t understand. I both love and hate the ending, and how it’s told.

In short, should you read this? I have no idea. Do you love coming of age stories with great prose and beautiful characters? Then read this. Do you hate intentionally nebulous endings and being confused about things? Don’t read this. Do you want to be a little confused and maybe figure it out better than I did? Read this.

Thanks to NetGalley and NineStar Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.