mazey eddings – GoodeyReads

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: YA Contemporary Romance
Length: 320 pages
Author: Mazey Eddings
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Release Date: August 15th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Tilly in Technicolor is Mazey Eddings’s sparkling YA debut about two neurodivergent teens who form a connection over the course of a summer.

Tilly Twomley is desperate for change. White-knuckling her way through high school with flawed executive functioning has left her burnt out and ready to start fresh. Working as an intern for her perfect older sister’s start up isn’t exactly how Tilly wants to spend her summer, but the required travel around Europe promises a much-needed change of scenery as she plans for her future. The problem is, Tilly has no idea what she wants.

Oliver Clark knows exactly what he wants. His autism has often made it hard for him to form relationships with others, but his love of color theory and design allows him to feel deeply connected to the world around him. Plus, he has everything he needs: a best friend that gets him, placement into a prestigious design program, and a summer internship to build his resume. Everything is going as planned. That is, of course, until he suffers through the most disastrous international flight of his life, all turmoil stemming from lively and exasperating Tilly. Oliver is forced to spend the summer with a girl that couldn’t be more his opposite—feeling things for her he can’t quite name—and starts to wonder if maybe he doesn’t have everything figured out after all.

As the duo’s neurodiverse connection grows, they learn that some of the best parts of life can’t be planned, and are forced to figure out what that means as their disastrously wonderful summer comes to an end.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for an eARC.

SUNSHINE.

Oh my gosh, I LOVED THIS BOOK. It is everything I love about reading upper YA and I am a puddle of goo over Tilly and Oliver. THEY ARE PRECIOUS. The whole book is swoony and absolutely one of the sweetest books ever. I loved the descriptions of how Tilly and Oliver were both feeling towards each other. That burst of first love that overtakes your soul is next level and it was brought to life by Eddings.

I loved both of the main characters separate and together. I loved Tilly for her continual resilience and perseverance while maintaining this breath of optimism. She’s been put under so much pressure to succeed a “certain” way that watching that unravel broke my heart. Those conversations with her Mom and sister, Mona, in the second half of the book pulled at all of my heartstrings. And Oliver?? The cutest grumpy boy EVER. I loved his journey too and learning about how he saw the world as well. The undeniable chemistry between Tilly and Oliver will make you giddy.

The setting and general plot was fantastic. I loved all of the color aspects, the nail polish business, traveling around Europe, sight seeing and all of the falling in love scenes. It’s a perfect balance of the romance with the sub-plots that brought this whole book together. I had a hard time putting this down because it brought a smile to my face every time I picked it up. It’s full of meaning and impact and gosh dang everyone should pick this one up.

I LOVED IT SO MUCH PLEASE READ IT.

Overall audience notes:

YA Contemporary Romance
Language: a little strong
Romance: one very brief & super vague scene
Trigger/Content Warnings: ableism towards ADHD and autism, alcohol consumption

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 336 pages
Author: Mazey Eddings
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Release Date: March 1st, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Harper is anxiously awaiting placement into a top oral surgery residency program when she crashes (literally) into Dan. Harper would rather endure a Novocaine-free root canal than face any distractions, even one this adorable.

A first-year dental student with a family legacy to contend with, Dan doesn’t have the same passion for pulling teeth that Harper does. Though he finds himself falling for her, he is willing to play by Harper’s rules.

So with the greatest of intentions and the poorest of follow-throughs, the two set out to be “just friends.” But as they get to know each other better, Harper fears that trading fillings for feelings may make her lose control and can’t risk her carefully ordered life coming undone, no matter how drool-worthy Dan is.

Blood, gore, and extra-long roots? No problem. The idea of falling in love? Torture.

LOOOOOOVED.

I honestly didn’t know what to expect when I picked this up. I had friends give it five stars, I had friends give it one star. And here I am shouting, YOU SHOULD READ THIS BECAUSE I LOVED IT.

The way I burst out laughing at the meet-cute between Harper and Dan gave me all the good vibes for a great read. I adored these two. Even better there’s dual POV meaning we get allllll the action from both sides. I love that both struggled with different pieces of their lives and the overcoming brought fantastic resolution.

I felt incredibly seen by Harper’s anxiety. I’ve been in many of those same positions and unfortunately have responded the same too. I appreciate the representation and how it was handled. I loved that her friends were a safe place to be and that therapy and other help were also available.

The romance was just so dang SWOONY. I was in a puddle every time one of them started confessing real feelings towards each other. It was incredibly tender and sweet. The passion fueled arguments that I can’t get enough of were here too and I LOVE IT ALL. And a grand gesture to end it?! YUP. All amazing. This romance will wrap you up and make you feel whole.

Loved everything about this. Felt all the feelings from tearing up, to laughing, and feeling my heart beat out of my chest. It was a great audiobook too and highly recommend you get your hands on this one!

Overall audience notes: