This book was, in a lot of ways, darker than the previous books, both in regards to the events that occurred and in relation to character traits that This book was, in a lot of ways, darker than the previous books, both in regards to the events that occurred and in relation to character traits that were revealed during the course of the book, leaving this book with a very different feel than the previous books.
Also, for some reason, this book felt incredibly long. I've actually read books that Goodreads says are longer, but this book really felt it. I'm not sure if Goodreads is messing up the page count (possible) or if the content made it feel that way (also possible), but I really felt this book. It felt weighty in some ways. If I wasn't pushing to get done with it because of my limited KU access, I might have given it more time. I still think I would have finished it, but I might have worked my way through it at a slower pace.
I really wish that there were more books by asexual people, though. I want this book to be one of many, rather than probably the only one I've ever read. I want to compare it to see the various experiences, not just say, "This is the only experience other than my own that I've seen in real depth." Because honestly, I like reading about Chris and Mark, but it's also very obvious that any relationship that I have wouldn't be even close to the relationship that Chris and Mark have. Which is absolutely fine, but the lack of representation for asexual people by asexual people makes that kind of rough. Ugh....more
I'm not really sure how to describe my relationship with this book.
A big part of it is that I'm somewhere on the asexual spectrum and basically all ofI'm not really sure how to describe my relationship with this book.
A big part of it is that I'm somewhere on the asexual spectrum and basically all of my interaction with asexuality has been via either 1) My own experiences 2) Online written information about asexuality. So it really was an incredible experience to read something in the voice of an asexual person written by an asexual person.
Sometimes I really resonated with what Chris was talking about. There was at least one instance where Chris was talking about his experience, and I was sitting there thinking, "Wait, someone else does that too?! I thought that was something weird I did!" On one level, I knew that I was unlikely to be the only person on the planet doing it, but I hadn't connected it to being on the asexual spectrum.
Other times Chris confused the everloving heck out of me. "Why is he doing that?" I sat there and thought. This isn't really unexpected, as asexuals certainly aren't a monolith and people are different.
It's also a fairly vulnerable read for me because part of what I'm wondering about right now in my own life is the ability to find someone who can accept where I am as someone on the asexual spectrum. Such much of society tells me that this Isn't Possible for people with even low libidos, to say nothing of being somewhere on the asexual spectrum.
I'm not really sure how to categorize this book in regards to genre or tags, though, as this whole series feels very different than what I usually read. Maybe it's a memoir? I don't read those often.
I think this book fell between the first book and the second book in regards to how well I enjoyed reading it. I'm definitely going to read the next book.
Copy provided by the author because he's super awesome...more
This was a pretty reasonable book. I didn't like it as much as the previous book, but it was still fine. I guess, for me, a lot of it was that I wanteThis was a pretty reasonable book. I didn't like it as much as the previous book, but it was still fine. I guess, for me, a lot of it was that I wanted Chris to actually talk to Mark about what was going on honestly and let Mark both talk back and make his own decisions. Chris trying to make decisions for Mark just went on and on and on, and I don't like it when people do that.
I did, however, continue to enjoy seeing the work that went into their relationship with each other than their relationships with others. That gets glossed over a lot in books, if for no other reason than space. This book spent a chunk of time on that, and I appreciated it.
I'd like to continue the series to see if my enjoyment goes back up, but the next book isn't KU and this series doesn't seem to be available for purchase for libraries. If I can get it via lending, I'll do that, but if not, this is probably going to go on hold....more
I don't actually want to write this review right now because I'm away from my main computer (not at my home right now) but if I start the next book inI don't actually want to write this review right now because I'm away from my main computer (not at my home right now) but if I start the next book in this series before I review this one, I just know the two are going to fuse in my mind and I won't be able to review them individually. Ugh. So, the review comes now! Sorry for any mistakes in the writing of the review, I'll try to remember to review and correct them when I'm at my main computer.
Anyway, this was a pretty neat book. The representation (asexual, autism spectrum, dietary restrictions) felt a lot more realistic to me than a lot of the representation that I see in a lot of books, which was ridiculously nice. Sometimes I side-eyed both of the main characters for things they did and other times I felt uncomfortable, but I think that's true to life; humans fall flat. We do things we shouldn't, and we don't meet standards. If we expect people to not do this, we're going to have trouble.
I really enjoyed watching Chris and Mark develop both personally and in their relationship. I liked the flow of the story, and the way that future events and states were acknowledged while discussing the past.
This series is clearly going to be pretty long, but I'm feeling hopeful about it and look forward to seeing how it goes....more
This book is so incredibly good! My favorite part was when he went as a DJ to the (Jewish) school with some dancers as part of a cultural festival. OhThis book is so incredibly good! My favorite part was when he went as a DJ to the (Jewish) school with some dancers as part of a cultural festival. Oh dear heavens the miscommunication that went on there! I feel like there is so much important material in this book. I massively recommend....more
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