✶ PRE-READING ✶
I’ve said before that romcoms usually need a pretty unique hook to grab me, and this one definitely had it. Fake dating is always a classic, but I was especially intrigued by the fact that the leads are both neurodivergent - and that it’s a story where asexuality is explicitly part of the conversation. That’s rare enough in YA, and even rarer in something fluffy and warm. I’m going in hoping for sweetness, awkwardness, maybe some real emotional resonance, and the kind of found-family, gently defiant vibes that stick with you.

✶ POST-READING ✶
As I thought... Effie and Aiden's story absolutely delivered on the emotional beats I wanted. There’s a gentleness to the way their relationship develops - clear boundaries, open conversation, and no pressure to conform to traditional romantic expectations. I appreciated how much space the book gave Effie to be herself in all her neurodivergent, emotionally prickly glory. The fake dating premise stayed charming and carried some deeper weight, especially once the two of them had to navigate what it meant to be believed when they started being real.

It surprised me by... ...how well it balanced light, tropey moments with sharp, poignant observations about friendship, social expectations, and being othered. The conflict with Chelsea never felt cartoonish - it reflected that painful dynamic where the person who should have your back is the one undermining you most. And Aiden! I really loved that he wasn’t just the quirky love interest; his ADHD wasn’t played for laughs, but instead added complexity and tenderness. There’s such heart in this story.

✦ RECOMMENDATIONS ✦
📚 Loveless by Alice Oseman – Both books explore asexuality in thoughtful, affirming ways, and centre characters learning how to define love and connection on their own terms. Like Real When I'm With You, Loveless also handles friendship shifts, self-discovery, and the emotional messiness of growing up with tenderness and care.

📺 Heartstopper (Netflix) – This rec fits not only for the soft, wholesome vibe and slow-building trust in the relationship, but also for its inclusive, respectful portrayal of queerness and neurodivergence. If you liked the way Heartstopper shows healthy communication and emotional safety, you’ll find similar joy here with Effie and Aiden.



✦ MUSIC PAIRING ✦
Because sometimes, the heart of a story plays out like a song.

🎵 Featured Song: "Grow As We Go" by Ben Platt - it’s soft, honest, and all about growing alongside someone without needing them to change for you.
🎶 Vibe Album: Immunity by Clairo - hazy, introspective, intimate. A great background to soft, complicated teenage feelings.
🎧 Artist Recommendation: mxmtoon - especially if you want music that feels like a diary entry in the best way.

✧ VIBE CHECK ✧
Colour Palette: lilac, latte brown, lemon yellow, and robin’s egg blue
Soundtrack: café clatter, softly played acoustic guitar, nervous laughter, and the ding of a text notification
Season: Spring
Mood: Vulnerable but hopeful
Scent: Vanilla latte with oat milk and a twist of citrus peel

FAVOURITE QUOTES

"The only time I usually feel empowered is when I’m creating art; I didn’t realize I could feel the same outside of my sketchbook. I’ve found a spark within myself that I’d like to grow into an inferno."



"Deep down , we all want to feel wanted – in a relationship, in our friendships, at home. We want to know someone cares."

★ TAROT CARD PULLED ★
The Lovers (from the Moon Dust Tarot) – This card isn't about romance in the traditional sense here. It’s about choosing to be vulnerable, to connect, to honour your truth even when it's not what others expect. Effie and Aiden's story is a quiet but powerful testament to that.

Lucy Powrie's books are always so sweet, and this was no different. Her writing has gotten better with each book, and that was especially clear with this one. I thought Effie and Aiden were adorable, and I loved their ND romance. I just thought the story could have been stronger if it had a little more subtlety. Everything was spelled out exactly, and I would have loved to see things shown more rather than told. Regardless, this is a super cute summer romance.

Sweet, relatable, and full of heart 💕🎧. Real When I’m With You is an uplifting, authentic story about self-discovery, first love, and the beauty of being unapologetically yourself. Lucy Powrie writes with warmth and compassion, crafting characters you’ll root for. I adored the coming-of-age themes and relatable romance. Perfect for fans of YA fiction with heart.

I absolutely love Lucy Powrie’s teen contemporary series so when her YA romance debut was announced I could not wait for it, especially with how much I have been wishing for another book to read from her since I finished the series the first time, and in no way was I disappointed by this book.

Real When I’m With You follows Effie who is stuck as the third wheel to her best friend Chelsea and her boyfriend until she meets the cute barista, Aiden, who allows her to be her true self around him. But when Chelsea makes a comment about how Effie has never had a boyfriend the pair agree to fake date.

There were so many parts of this book that made it so easy to give five stars and I knew that from the first 50 pages.

The autism representation was so special to me to see and while I have read and loved quite a few books with autism rep now it is always special to me to read, when I went so long not seeing it, and I don’t know if I have ever connected this much to an autistic character. So many of the things Effie struggled with were things that I have struggled with and that was so special to read. Aiden also has ADHD and I really liked that this book has multiple different forms of representation, along with the supporting cast being a diverse group of people.

I found the romance to be so sweet and one of my favourite young adult romance couples that I have read about in a long time. Slowly over the course of the book it was special to see Effie and Aiden open up to each other and as that happened support each other in the ways that they needed, like making sure there was a safe food available. It was also really special to watch as their feelings and relationship went from fake to real and see that realisation in the characters.

One big thing that was explored in this book was friendship which just added so much to the story. Effie’s negative friendship with Chelsea was really well explored throughout the story with enough time to actually explore it and not just have it as a side part of the story and I found that the part where that friendship actually ended really painful to read but also completely real in a way that often isn’t explored in fiction, where it is believed romantic breakups are the most painful. I also found the struggles that autistic people often can face within friendships and groups of people where they feel they don’t fit really well represented.
I also loved Effie’s new friends Caro, Tess and Gigi, they had this amazing queer neurodivergent friendship group that was so fun to read about. One element that was particularly great was how Caro and Effie, as Aiden’s ex and new girlfriend, weren’t pitted against each other and instead were really supported each other.

This book really cemented Lucy Powrie as a favourite author of mine and I cannot wait to see what she comes out with in the future. I am also really looking forward to rereading this one and talking to others about it because I definitely want to get as many people as possible to read it.

Thank you Netgalley and Scholastic for a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Real When I’m With You was such a heartfelt and tender book with a strong message of learning to love yourself.

Reading this was such a comfort, like snuggling up with a hot beverage and escaping from the world for a little while. It was cosy and adorable with such a gorgeous romance. Powrie has fantastic skills in characterisation and drawing you into the bubble of the world she’s created. I instantly connected with Effie and rooted for her throughout. Aiden has such strong Golden Retriever energy and is incredibly lovable from the start too. The fake dating trope works very well for their relationship and the way it evolves and changes. It is very much in conversation with stereotypes around neurodiverse people and the way they may interact with the world, but also within romantic settings.

I also loved how Powrie explored the representation within this book. There was such neurodivergent joy and that sense of community fostered by being around people that truly understand you and want to support you. It is a love letter to genuine friendship that uplifts you and is by your side when you need it most, which is so joyous to see. I am a sucker for found family and tightknit friendship groups and this has such a beautiful example of this.

On the flipside, it is so important that Effie’s storyline is about learning to take up space and advocate for herself, particularly with toxic friendships that have been slowly wearing her down for years. There is an exploration of casual ableism and how those who want to be allies need to educate themselves in order to support those they love, rather than just dismissing concerns.

Real When I’m With You was a brilliant YA contemporary romance, achingly sweet and full of wonderful characterisation.

Having loved Lucy's The Paper & Hearts Society series, I was thrilled to get my hands on an early copy of Real When I'm With You. It was everything I wanted to be and more! Fake dating, toxic friendships & learning to be your true are just some of the things Effie has to deal with as the story unravels. Lucy has created truly authentic characters who will absolutely steal your heart and take you on an emotional rollercoaster.This is a must have purchase for the teen in your life, I will definitely be buying a copy for my school library and know exactly the pupils who will love it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Scholastic UK for an e-arc of this book. All opinions will be my own.

How do I put into words just how perfect this book is? I'm not sure, but I will certainly try.
Following autistic 17 year old, Effie, Real When I'm With You is a story of first love, freeing yourself from toxic friendships, fake dating and learning to love who you are.
The representation in this book was fantastic, with Effie being autistic and Aiden, the love interest and overall amazing guy, being ADHD. The descriptions of neurodiversity were so wonderfully done and I adore the amount of rep there is. I loved seeing autistic joy and special interests, as they are so important to neurodivergent people.
Not only is there romantic love, but also platonic love, with a neurodivergent friendship group that are understanding of each others needs and so accepting, it made me want to cry with happiness.
Another thing that was great was the exploration of toxic friendships and how heartbreaking it can be to leave them, but also so needed.
Real When I'm With You had me laughing, crying and all the emotions in-between. The self acceptance in this book was beautiful and Effie was sheer brilliance.

5 ⭐

Real When I'm With You is one of my favourite books of the year so far! As an Autistic and ADHD person I love finding books with good autistic and ADHD representation and this had amazing representation. I loved how Effie describes masking, shutdowns and the autistic joy of your special interests as well as Aiden being comfortable to be his ADHD self around Effie and his friendship group, who were all neurodivergent. Effie also becomes more confident in herself throughout the book being around supportive people and away from a toxic friendship. If you're looking for a cute and quick read with amazing neurodivergent representation I can't recommend Real When I'm With You enough and I can't wait to read the authors next book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to the publisher and thank you to NetGalley for the chance to review this e-ARC. Full review will be available soon

This was a bit too cheesy and sincere for me – but I'm not a regular YA reader so that's not exactly a surprise! Overall I enjoyed this sweet romance between two neurodivergent teenagers in an English seaside town, and got so outraged about the behaviour of the protagonist's best friend.

This book was everything I could have wanted and more! I have never felt so seen. Effie is so relatable, especially her friendship with Chelsea. Effie and Aiden had me squealing and kicking my feet, especially when he called her sunshine. Fake dating is also my favourite romance trope so it had everything I could have hoped for. There are honestly not enough words to describe how much I loved this book!

This book, for me, is the true definition of what it means to feel seen in a book. A funny, heartfelt plot with real depth and well developed individual characters. This story is so well rounded and such a good representation of neurodivergence and what it means to struggle in a world that isn’t designed for you but also what it means to find kindred spirits. One of my favourite books of the year without a doubt!

I ADORED this story. I've read all of Lucy's other work, but this is by far my favourite (so far).

Everyone deserves a happy ever after, and no one more than Effie and Aiden, our main characters. The autism/ADHD representation was so beautifully done and I hope this book does as well as it deserves to so that publishers sit up and listen and realise that people deserve to have more stories about neurodivergent people finding the love that they deserve.

As well as the representation, the story also tackled the very tricky issue of toxic friendships, and I can see this book becoming an invaluable resource in my school's library. We need more books that talk about how friendships can become damaging to our mental health and how it's important to have boundaries with people who don't make us feel good. I loved (spoilers) that the characters don't kiss and make up at the end and instead we got to see Effie stand her ground and recognise that while Chelsea isn't evil, she's just a flawed person who has made some bad decisions and chosen to spend time with some people who are making even worse ones, she still doesn't have to let her back in her life if she doesn't want to.

I honestly couldn't recommend this book more, and I can't wait to share it with my students.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for granting me an early access to Real When I’m With You!

I quite enjoyed the different relationships in the novel as they all brought something to the story. It was great to meet the new characters that would become Effie’s friends and would show her what friendship is truly like compared to what she’s experienced.

I always love a fake-dating trope and here it was quite obvious from the start and they both liked each other but were scared to ask each other out.

The author also did a great job with the autistic and neurodivergent representation in the novel. It was nice to read about how Effie and her friends experienced it.

The writing was good. I just wished that the novel was shorter. It didn’t need to be that long.

this says it is for YA but i so love one of these genre of books that can touch us at any age, even us oldies. and this one does just that. its completely gorgeous and totally hits the hearts of any of us. the feelings the characters have especially to do with toxic relationships can be found in any of us. the need to fit in or be something else for someone else never ends well. and if someone makes you do that to be around them then drop them, drop them real quick. i remember this seeming so much harsher when i was young. but actually thinking even to now we all can be victims to this too.
and this is where we meet Effie. and her friendship is just sooooo toxic. and i was wishing for her to red flag and run all the way through. but also completely understanding why she didn't, or how she felt she couldn't.
but all hope is not lost. does she find her tribe? well my smiles might just signify the answer to that question.
oh and did we forget the fake date to love part of the plot. no of course we didn't. because we couldn't leave Aiden behind. and oh dear lovely Aiden. the Nd representation he brings was perfection. and i looooove how it never felt like a tick box exercise. but its not shying away from the realitys. it doesn't make it a superpower but nor does it stop you KNOWING it can and should be understood and then these people in our loves on the spectrum or just needing understanding, not othering. and its on us to do that. the balance of dealing with that i think has to tip over to one side for a while until we can truly manage to "get it". that doesn't mean preaching or pushing it down throats. but it does mean there sadly being a real need to understand. just understand. but this book took the balance and did it really well. because besides all that this was a book about romance. and humans. and friendships both good and bad. and its about our girl finding her place in the world which is all she deserves.

SO. CUTE. I had to stop every five pages and highlight something with a little "so cute" note in my kindle. That’s the kind of book this is 🥹💕

The premise is simple: Phoebe's "best friend" (Chelsea 🙄) tells her she could never get a "real" boyfriend, so she fake-asks Aiden, the barista, to a date, and it spirals from there. Fake dating turns to real dating, and they slowly and beautifully open up and fall in love. and more importantly, Phoebe finally finds people she doesn’t have to hide from.

This is something the book nails so well: if you have to shrink yourself to be someone's friend, they're not your friend. Watching Phoebe realise that, cut off Chelsea, and find joy in being herself around Aiden, Tess, and Gigi (aka the #neurodivergent squad) was so satisfying. I cheered.

Aiden's overthinking spirals, the constant apologising, and his energy? I felt seen. (slight adhd over here 👋) And Phoebe's internal monologue about pretending things are fine because making new friends is hard? I've been there.

I’m super picky with romance books because so many of them go full cringetown, but this one? hit all the right notes. No unnecessary drama, no "that would never happen" moments. Even the third-act conflict wasn't a breakup between the couple—it was a friendship breakup. The ending where Phoebe and Chelsea acknowledge they’ll probably never be friends again unless real change happens? good. I was so satisfied.

This book is an absolute gem, deserving of all the stars it can get. It resonated deeply with me, particularly how Effie navigates a challenging friendship dynamic. Lucy Powrie's storytelling captured the struggle of breaking away from toxic relationships, which many young people face. Effie's journey to find her own tribe was both enlightening and inspiring. Powrie's talent for crafting authentic characters shines through once again, creating a friendship circle that feels incredibly real and desirable. I found myself yearning to be a part of this beautifully written world of friendships.

2.5⭐️ rounded up despite DNF

This was my second Lucy Powrie book and it made me realize I just don’t enjoy her writing style. I love YA novels, they’re probably 80% of the books I read, but there’s a particular style of over-explaining/focus on internal monologue that isn’t my cup of tea. Including this one.
I had such high hopes because it’s a romance with an autistic protagonist!!! I want them all! But despite the lack of representation in mainstream publishing—and I can’t believe I’m saying this—this felt trite. The characters felt uninspired ans superficial: the boy-obsessed mean girls, the funny ADHD boy, the “I’m destined to be alone” MC. I totally get the latter. It can feel like that. It *does* feel like that. But the narration, the way it’s conveyed on the page, it didn’t feel fresh and negatively impacted the pacing. The whole first quarter of the book reiterates the same issues in the same two settings (Phoebe’s home where she talks to her cat and the coffee shop/pier/beach where she endured Chelsea + Paul), which was boring, bordering on annoying. It’s truly devastating because I wanted to love this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Scholastic UK for the ebook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book so much! It was so refreshing to see a YA romance that featured two relatable teens who are each dealing with their own issues come together to find love. It showcases relatability, acceptance for all, and one heck of great romance! Readers of all ages will be swooning

Sweet as mocha, Real When I'm With You follows Effie, an autistic artist, and Aidan, a barista with ADHD, on their fake dating endeavours. The pair connect over being their true selves in each other's company and not having to compromise on their boundaries. It was adorable to watch their relationship develop as they cheered each other on, and I'm sure many readers will feel seen in the wonderful representation of neurodiversity.

Cosy and cute, this is perfect for fans of Heartstopper and To All The Boys I've Loved Before.