Mini Reviews: Unnecessary Drama, Tilly in Technicolor

Hi friends! ☀️ I’m back after a short break – if you noticed at all! and I have about a gazillion books to review. Today, I wanted to highlight two books I recently read and absolutely LOVED. They’re both YA books, they both have characters dealing with their own mental health and they were both EXCELLENT. One of them absolutely turned my life upside down, really.

As always, I love chatting with you all, so feel free to let me know in comments your thoughts on these books!

There are no spoilers in these reviews.

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Review: Unnecessary Drama, Nina Kenwood

Unnecessary Drama by Nina Kenwood
Published by Flatiron Books on August 8, 2023
Genres: contemporary, romance, young adult
Format: ARC
Source: Edelweiss, Flatiron Books
Buy on Amazon, Bookshop, Blackwell's
Goodreads

From the award-winning author of It Sounded Better in My Head comes a deliciously entertaining enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy about two high school nemeses who end up sharing a house together their first year of college
Eighteen-year-old Brooke is the kind of friend who not only remembers everyone’s birthdays, but also organizes the group present, pays for it, and politely chases others for their share. She’s the helper, the doer, the maker-of spreadsheets. She’s the responsible one who always follows the rules―and she plans to keep it that way during her first year of college.
Her student housing only has one "no unnecessary drama." Which means no fights, tension, or romance between roommates. When one of them turns out to be Jesse, her high-school nemesis, Brooke is determined she can handle it. They’ll simply silently endure living together and stay out of each other’s way. But it turns out Jesse isn’t so easy to ignore.
With Unnecessary Drama , Nina Kenwood perfectly captures the experience of leaving home for the first time, dealing with the unexpected complications of life, and somehow finding exactly what you need.

I received this book for free from Edelweiss, Flatiron Books in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

☂️ TRIGGER WARNINGS:

anxiety, panic attacks, alcohol consumption & abuse, blood.

I honestly don’t know how to describe Unnecessary Drama, this book honestly ruined me, in the best of ways. If you’re a reader of the blog, you might remember that I fell for Nina Kenwood’s debut, It Sounded Better in My Head. Well, I’m an even bigger fan of this novel.

I think I could rant for hours about why you should read it and why this book so deeply resonated with me, but instead I’m just going to bullet-point my way out of this. If you want a story:

• About the first year of college (with themes like, leaving home for the first time, so relatable)
• With a main character dealing with anxiety (WAY too relatable)
• An enemies-to-lovers adorable, once again deeply real, romance
• Fun friendships!
• Just adorable, relatable, ruined me.

Obviously, I urge you to make your own opinion on this book and just read it immediately. It’s a new favorite for me, deeply relatable and I can’t wait to read it again. I loved it. If you love contemporary reads, are looking for a great read with an anxiety-ridden MC, you will LOVE this.

FINAL RATING : 5 stars!

Buy this book:

Review: Tilly in Technicolor, Mazey Eddings

Tilly in Technicolor by Mazey Eddings
Published by Wednesday Books on August 15, 2023
Genres: contemporary, romance, young adult
Format: ARC
Source: Edelweiss, Wednesday Books
Buy on Amazon, Bookshop, Blackwell's
Goodreads

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

I received this book for free from Edelweiss, Wednesday Books in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

☂️ TRIGGER WARNINGS:

ableism, toxic relationship, mentions of bullying, vomit, alcohol consumption.

Oh Tilly in Technicolor was such an adorable book. It’s not often that you read a YA contemporary romance with two neurodivergent main characters (ADHD & autism rep). Give me MORE please, because we need these stories and I’m giving my heart to these characters.

I loved the dual POV in this story, allowing us to get to know both Tilly and Oliver, the way they see the world and react to it. I rooted for them right from the very start, loved Tilly’s communicative joy and Oliver’s passion for colors shining through the story, really. Their blooming romance was SO lovely to follow. I also loved loved loved the inclusion of family here, especially Tilly’s relationship with her sister.

My only criticism here would be that this book takes us on a whirlwind trip to Europe… but I didn’t feel Europe as much as I would have liked to. From Amsterdam to Copenhagen and Stockholm, we travel quite a bit in this story, but I didn’t feel the places as much as I would have liked.

Still, I had so much fun reading this adorable YA romcom and it warmed my heart SO much. 200% recommending it to any fan of YA contemporary romance and anyone looking for more books with neurodivergent MCs.

FINAL RATING : 4 stars!

Buy this book:

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Did you read Unnecessary Drama and/or Tilly in Technicolor? Do you want to?

Do you have any similar recommendations for me? I always love a great YA book with mental health rep! Let me know in comments!

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