This was a really sweet and adorable book! The synopsis drew me in but I'll be honest, I expected it to be a pretty generic ya novel. This book really surprised me!
The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost-Kiss follows Evie and Caleb, who've been best friends for a long time. Evie has a lot of social anxiety issues but she's also somewhat of a genius academically. Caleb's her safe space but he's hiding the fact that he's in love with her. This book had a lot of my favorite tropes in it. It was a friends-to-lovers but had a little bit of a secret/anonymous romance as well.
I went into this book without a lot of expectations but the first line of this book hooked me and the fact that this book had dual POV's just reeled me all the way in! The way the characters grew and figured out who they were as people was really beautiful. I appreciated the way Evie's anxiety was portrayed and the way she really found herself during this book. I enjoyed everything about this book and I would definitely recommend it!

<i><b>TW:</i>
<b>Anxiety and panic attacks.</b>

This was adorable! Please, I loved every moment of it.

<i>The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost-Kiss</i> is a young adult, contemporary romance. I'm gonna be honest with you, I have probably only ever read two good contemporary novels before reading this, but this book was something else. It really exceeded my expectations. (Also, can we take a moment to appreciate the <i>art</i> that is this cover?)

So a run down of what the book is about (spoiler free, duh). It's a dual pov between our two main characters Evie and Caleb. Evie and Caleb are childhood friends, but Caleb is madly in love with Evie (although Evie doesn't know it) and the book is him trying to get Evie to fall in love with him too. However, unlike most contemporary romance's, there is actually more to the book than just their romance. The book has insane character developments and there is also another plot line - which was really fascinating to read about.

I'm going to talk about the characters now.

<b><i><u>Characters:</b></i></u>

➵ <b>Evie Beckham:</b> Evie is the main character, and she suffers from social anxiety and panic attacks. I honestly related to her a lot. I'm also a really big introvert and reading from her point of view was extremely relaxing. She also loves maths (my favourite subject!). Her development from the beginning to the end of the book was really wonderful to read about. How she started being more comfortable in her own skin and how she started being more social (although there is nothing wrong with being introverted). She also stood up to her mom and took more control over her life, which I liked a lot.

➵ <b>Caleb Covic:</b> Caleb is our other main character. His point of view was filled with pining for Evie which I found cute and adorable. He's also such a selfless, kind, caring boy. I want to give him a hug! His relationship with Bex was also really nice to read about. They were so comfortable with one another.

➵ <b>Rebeca (Bex) da Silva:</b> I <i>loved</i> Bex! Bex is a Christian which was one thing I loved about her. Being a Christian myself, it was nice to read about another character who shares my beliefs and values. She also supports Evie and is such a great friend. I feel like everyone deserves a Bex.

➵ <b>Leo:</b> I honestly have a love-hate relationship with Leo. I suppose he didn't exactly do anything wrong, but he still annoyed me.

<b><i><u>What I didn't like:</b></i></u>

➵ Surprisingly, nothing really. You might think then why I didn't give it 5 stars. But that's just because the book didn't have enough enough angst for me. That's probably because it's a contemporary novel.

However, it was a really easy, fluffy, enjoyable read which I actually couldn't put down. I 100% recommend reading this book when it comes out.

➵ <b><i>4 stars</b>

<i>ARC kindly provided by Netgalley for an honest review</i>

I thought this book was really sweet. I really loved that the characters have struggles in their lives and that their connection as friends was so evident it was super swoon worthy!

I loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book will have you shipping Caleb and Evie from the beginning! I loved that they were intelligent, thoughtful characters compared to the usual hormone ridden teen flings. I appreciated Evie’s social challenges, it added another layer to her relationship with Caleb and other characters. Overall, an entertaining teen romance with meaningful characters.

This book is a great book about young romance, the awkward moments that never seem to go right, and the many chances that you can take to go for that love again.
Caleb and Evie seem to like each other, but they are stuck in the best friend zone. Caleb tries to break out of this a few times, but the almost kiss never happens.
This book takes you on a journey of their friendship, but do they ever get together???

I enjoyed this book because the perspective changed throughout, it was nice to see the story from Evie's perspective and from Caleb's. It makes you feel like you have insider knowledge to the story before the characters do. I would recommend this book to any young adult to adult. Enjoy!

YA readers will fall in love with this inventive and engaging story. Expertly capturing teenage friendships and relationships, Parks also does a good job showcasing a female main character who has a variety of interests outside of the opposite sex. Highly recommended.

I don't rate books I DNF (but for the sake of NetGalley, I have to rate it on there), but just know that someone may love this, it's just not me. I think I'm honestly just done reading YA rom coms because I can't take the humor, drama, and immaturity of the characters...I don't want to force myself through a book I can tell won't be any more than a 3 star read, just because I like the friends to lovers trope.

Anyway...

-Book Hugger

Such a cute YA contemporary romance! I love the friends-to-more tope so much and I think this author executed it really well. There were some aspects that reminded me of Fangirl (mainly how the main character deals with anxiety).

I will be recommending this to so many people! Just plain adorable

I was really excited to read this book because it sounded super cute and I loved that the main character loves math, but unfortunately, the execution didn't work so well for me. There are some things I really enjoyed about this book. For example, I thought the mental health rep was really good and I liked seeing Evie's journey in working through it, as well as the struggles she put up with from her mother not understanding what she needed. I also enjoyed all of the characters on their own (Bex was my fave though I think). But I really struggled with how much of the story relied on a pointless love triangle. I don't necessarily mind love triangles, especially if they are done well and if they aren't a main focus of the story. Unfortunately, I don't think this one was done particularly well and it was also the main focus, which just didn't work for me. It made me struggle through the book at times, because I knew where the story was going, and this seemed like a cheap way to make it take longer to get there. In retrospect, I should have realized it was going to be such a big part of the story based on the description, but I guess I thought it would have been done differently, and I wish it were. Overall, the story was fine, but I don't recommend it to people who dislike love triangles.

Evie and Caleb have known each other pretty much forever. Where Evie goes, Caleb follows. This includes the exclusive Newton Academy, a boarding school for math and science geniuses.

Evie knows her physics inside-out and understands much of her own personal knowledge and lack, but she doesn't understand relationships yet. Even at 17, and nearing graduation, Evie has never kissed a boy and has always firmly rejected the idea.

So far, Caleb has been OK with all of that. He loves Evie and all of her quirks. He knows her better than anyone. He has always suspected that it would just take time, but that when Evie figured out how good kissing could be, it would be with him.

But things suddenly shift when Evie gets her first boyfriend, and her first kiss, and it's not Caleb.

Now Caleb must do what he can to support his best friend, but also try and shift her attention back to him without being the villain of the story.

Final thoughts: This is a modern retelling of The Shop Around the Corner (aka You've Got Mail), with teens, math, physics, and a slightly psychotic mother. Cute cotton candy fluff.

Rating: 3/5

https://librarytalker.blogspot.com/2020/08/the-quantum-weirdness-of-almost-kiss.html

ARC thanks to NetGalley

This book was so cute!!! I read it in a day because I could not put it down. If you love books that make your heart flutter and wish it was your life this book is for you! I will be purchasing this book for my library and recommending it to everyone!

Absolutely loved this YA romance! I adored Evie, I think it was great that there was a big focus on woman in STEM. I didn’t like the drama with Evie’s mom but everything else was fantastic! If you’re looking for a fun and creative YA romance then I think it’s a great pick!

This book grew on me, it took a few chapters to be fully invested but it was a really original book. I enjoyed Yola and her family, I liked that there were some political, romantic and family dynamic plots! Netflix is also pick this up! It not like most novels I’ve read and I enjoyed its uniqueness!

Thanks to #NetGalley for the advanced copy.

I probably can't state enough how much I love this book. As a math teacher and a lover of math, it's so amazing that this novel shows math as the beautiful, creative, imaginative thing that it is. As someone with anxiety, this book is so very real in its portrayal of Evie's anxiety. I love that she is this strong young woman who grows and recognizes that she isn't broken. I also appreciate how the author addresses the treatment of women in STEM fields. As a math teacher, I experience that on a lesser basis. People expect women to be teachers, but no math teachers. Overall, this book is amazing and definitely a good read, especially for young women or those who think math is pointless.

I'll make it short.
3.5 stars

Cover 5/5
Evie 2.75/5
Caleb 4.5/5
Leo -3/5
Weird Mom Drama -11/5

What I loved: Finally girls in STEM I can relate to. Loved the math, physics, and science (my favorite subjects :)). It was a short and fast paced with just enough math that it didn't feel like an AP physics prep book.

What I didn't really like: The mom drama was really weird. I know Evie's mom is supposed to be the "villain" in this story but it just left me cringing and making weird faces to ease the second hand embarrassment. Also (I think it's just me being me) when Evie says she's only applying to one college, I spit my tea out. I know you're a prodigy but I mean in this day in age applying to one college is unheard of, as a high schooler myself competitive kids usually apply 10+ schools.

Maybe because I'm a high schooler this book just feels a little too unrealistic and not it. She's not even doing college apps for goodness sake.

The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost-Kiss was the perfect YA romance. With adorable characters and a cute story, I loved every minute of this book. I can't wait to read another book by Amy.

Caleb and Evie are the cutest genuis teenagers I've ever read. Move over every TV and movie nerd and give me all the well rounded, emotionally intelligent, and incredibly smart boys like Caleb. I liked their friendship and even though I knew the main ending to the book there was no point where I was overly irritated with them or felt like they were being more insane than regular teenagers.
My one problem with the plot of this book comes towards the end and has to do with Evie's relationship to her mom. Evie talks about no matter what her mom does she's always her mom and I really am not sure I'm okay with that.

Super adorable teen romance between nerdy mathematician/computer programmer. I really enjoyed the characters and also felt like the author handled the main character's social anxiety really well.

This is an adorable and sweet YA romance!

Evie is a math genius attending an elite private school. She is very focused and with having to battle anxiety her entire life, she has not given much thought to boys or dating. That is, until a cute and smart new boy in school catches her attention. Caleb has been Evie's constant support and is always there for her when she needs him - he is her best friend and always be. But Caleb wants to be more than best friends, and now that Evie is starting to show interest in someone else, he knows he will have to do something to get her attention and have her understand just how much he really loves her.

This book is a must read! It is smart, fun, and feel-good while also touching on serious topics of anxiety and the struggle of being a smart girl in the male dominated 'math world'.

It is great to read a young adult book where the main character suffers from a mental illness like anxiety, and it is treated as something normal that doesn't dominate the plot.

Alternating first person chapters lends to the readability of this romantic comedy. It was especially enjoyable to read a story where the smart kids were viable romantic partners.

A satisfying read for a teen looking for a light hearted friends to lovers romance.

This was such a fun, cute YA contemporary. I loved the characters and found the pacing to be solid and engaging