Where do I start with this one? I saw review after review cross my feed on Goodreads that said the book was long, the focus on Japanese culture killed it, and a lot that should have scared me away from the book. I am stubborn and it was a book that I could read immediately, so I gave it a shot. The only issue I was really worried about was appropriation of Japanese culture, which I think the book did. The non-Japanese characters were praying to Japanese gods (Kami) and were naming themselves after them at one point. That really irked me. When the talk was about manga, art, cherry blossoms, and the history of the kami, it was ok. When the characters actually actively started claiming the culture as their own, I started to get wigged out. 

I LOVED THIS BOOK. I stayed up until four in the morning to finish it. I have not stayed up late for a book in years. I was wide awake at four, just marveling in the book. The second I turned off my kindle I was out like a light. This book was the only reason I was awake. It was that good. There was just so much that made this book perfect. It did not feel long, the ending didn't feel forced, the ending was not rushed. All of the loose ends were tied neatly up. There was some unbelievable portions, but I glossed over them while reading while I normally obsess over those sorts of details and get lost. 

The characters developed into real people. I didn't like how dramatic the shift was for Skylar. It was a bit much, but I have also seen people make that dramatic of a shift in a very short time, so I know it happens. I just got really worried about him and I was getting annoyed with him. My annoyance didn't detract from my love of him or the story, it just added another layer of emotion. 

I loved, loved, loved that there was little to no discussion of Zelda's gender. They were just them. The pronoun was they and none of the characters batted an eye and it wasn't a central focus, the gender identity just was. I am so tired of books that beat me over the head with side characters being anything that isn't cis, white, male, and straight because of the long drawn out explanations that the author/editor deems required. I didn't care how Zelda got to where they got in their identity, they just were. It was so refreshing and perfectly executed. The book didn't give me Basic Identity 101, which would have killed the book for me. I like that the book met me as an equal and left any research up to me. It allowed someone like me, obsessed with sexuality and gender, not to have to sit through pages and pages of basics when I teach the subject. Zelda became a sort of mentor character despite not being perfect, which to me was much more realistic and necessary. None of the younger characters were perfect, there was one older character that was perfect. She deserves that title and reminds me of some of my favorite professors in college.

Can I marvel at the sex scenes for a while? They were majorly intense. These are some of the best sex scenes I have ever read. They are exactly what this book called for and exactly what I needed in my life. I don't want to spoil too much, but they were not what I was expecting which made them even more intense for me. They worked so perfectly. I was just complaining to a friend on Goodreads that I needed more books like this one, but I didn't expect to find it so easily. There was the heat, but it was so enlightening. I can't say anything else without ruining what I think is the best twist in a romance novel I have ever read. (If you are sex averse, you will still be ok with them. I can almost guarantee that. Just give it a shot.) 

The writing was gorgeous. I was never lost, nothing was ambiguous, there were no issues with The Pronoun Problem (IMPRESSIVE!). Just overall, I can't rave enough about this book. I have already sent a crazy number of texts to friends telling them to buy the book and I have ranted for a good hour to my partner about the book (perks of dating me).



5 out of 5 stars. I would recommend this book.

This book is different and so amazing because of it. Xander doesn't care what anyone thinks, Skylar cares too much and they need each other to create beautiful art. This book is deliciously long and follows them all the way from their random first meeting to their HEA. I love books where you get to see the MCs form a friendship first and you get that full experience here. They don't start out wanting to be friends, and Xander wants to avoid Skylar at all costs, but they just fit so well together to be anything but.

It's ironic, because I enjoy high heat books and actively avoid fade to black type books. To me the love scenes are an important part of the book and you miss out on a large part of the relationship if you skip it. This book had no sex scenes, it had achingly beautiful love scenes though, and I think it's better because of it. Even if you're a high heat aficionado, I really think this book will be just fine for you. This book is seriously like reading a lovegasm, a 341 page lovegasm. If you're a romance fan, do yourself a favor and pick this one up.

One of the things I liked most, beyond the hilarious side characters and Japanese themes, btw if you love anime/manga this is for you, was how they were basically a power couple. They were able to stand up to anyone and anything and always had trust in each other. I'd say that there was very little angst once they actually got together. They're both willing to fight for each other and their important causes and I think the social message there was nice as well.

So come on read this book, its fun and beautiful and if you're like me, you'll have a smile on your face the entire time.

Very Good, I really enjoyed this one. I really enjoy the authors writing and her way of writing. I enjoyed the characters, they felt real and they were adorable. I like LOVE the cover(!!!) have y'all see the cover, it is Ah-Mazing(!!!) I thought she done really well with this story.

I finished Antisocial some days back. This review has taken me almost as long as it took me to read the book. The thing is that I really liked some aspects, almost loved the story, but something kept me apprehensive. I didn’t know if I was being to critical, or if the text deserved to be thought on.


The cover completely captivated me. I’m an avid manga read, a lover of anime, and the illustration was just beautiful. When I first started to read it I just felt this love for it. And the thing is that I don’t know where to go with this review, because I enjoyed it, but I can also say that there’s definitely some problems with it.

Books aren’t perfect, and I’m not saying this one should be.

I’m going to start with my apprehension firsts. The Japanese aspect to Antisocial left me going hmmm. In one hand the author calls out appropriation (I’m pretty sure I noted this), but on the other hand, there are no Japanese characters. Or at least none on page. None that are alive, and that are part of the text, that can talk for themselves. Because we have one dead character.

The other was Skylar’s gray asexuality. And that’s where the tricky parts come into, or, rather, why I’m so apprehensive. I’m Demi, and so I cannot with authority speak about the representation in this book. Something about it just left me, again, apprehensive.

Despite my grievances, I did enjoy this book. Regardless of how I feel about the rep, I think it will help those questioning. Perhaps not in the most perfect of ways, but I’m glad that rep is there.

I do like the dynamic that started Xander and Skylar. I love how they are together, and I’m just so happy for them. That Skylar got to break free, that Xander found Skylar and his art. I Just wish more had been said about the relationship between Skylar and his father(s).

In all, I did enjoy this. And this is so close to 4 stars, but for now I’ll say 3.89.

Rating: 5+ out of 5

A single stroke can change your world.

Xander Fairchild can’t stand people in general and frat boys in particular, so when he’s forced to spend his summer working on his senior project with Skylar Stone, a silver-tongued Delta Sig with a trust fund who wants to make Xander over into a shiny new image, Xander is determined to resist. He came to idyllic, Japanese culture-soaked Benten College to hide and make manga, not to be transformed into a corporate clone in the eleventh hour.

Skylar’s life has been laid out for him since before he was born, but all it takes is one look at Xander’s artwork, and the veneer around him begins to crack. Xander himself does plenty of damage too. There’s something about the antisocial artist’s refusal to yield that forces Skylar to acknowledge how much his own orchestrated future is killing him slowly…as is the truth about his gray-spectrum sexuality, which he hasn’t dared to speak aloud, even to himself.

Through a summer of art and friendship, Xander and Skylar learn more about each other, themselves, and their feelings for one another. But as their senior year begins, they must decide if they will part ways and return to the dull futures they had planned, or if they will take a risk and leap into a brightly colored future—together.

I've loved this author and her stories just forever and for so many different reasons.  And I have many several 5 stars reviews of her stories.  Cullinan always was one of my baselines in for bringing in unusual yet thoroughly realistic characters and situations and letting me connect emotionally on deep levels with each and every one.  Yet once I finished Antisocial, I was stunned by it's beauty and its depth, Cullinan's handling of asexuality and the main characters relationship.  I think it's the best story she's written.  Even now Xander and Skylar, their transformation from, well, if not frenemies, strangers on campus, to friends to lovers with their own HEA is one that continues to resonate within me.

The warmth of Cullinan's style of writing is one that pulls a reader, this reader, intimately into her stories and lives of her characters.  Whether it's the damaged, artistic Xander or stressed, high-society Skylar Stone, the Greek with the silver tongue and closet of secrets, Cullinan gently ushers you into their minds and hearts.  She reveals the detritus of Stone's upbringing that's keeping him from growing into the person he can be, the same being said for Xander too.  Then uses the Pygmalion story in a wonderful reversal that will thread elements together and bring closure in an emotionally satisfying and joyous climax.

In between, we get an amazing exploration of what asexuality in different forms can mean to a couple, to a person or persons and to a romance/relationship. The scenes with simple touches gave me shivers of delight as her descriptions telegraphed what it meant to Xander, Skylar and both of them as couple so beautifully.  Each explore the fact that there's not just one "ace label" or two, but a spectrum of grey as it were.  Something other characters will or already understand.  Cullinan brings the element of asexuality and threads it throughout Antisocial in a number of ways, stunning, unexpected, and important ways.

A great plus?  The manga details and Japanese art history details that this story is laced with, like the woodcuts of Hokusai, seen to the right.  Finally, there is the cast of characters that surround and support Xander and Skylar, ones that I want to see so much more of.  All the tight members of the group from Lucky 7, especially Unc.  I would  plead with the author to bring them all back for more stories as I fell in love with all of them too.

But this is truly Xander and Skylar's story and it's in my top five of 2017.  The beauty of its story, its characters and relationship, the complexities of their romance, the growth and change each underwent in order for a future to be possible for them together.  Well, it still brings tears to my eyes and a glow to my heart.  I highly recommend this to you all.



Cover art by Natsukoworks, Cover design by Kanaxa Designs.  An absolutely perfect cover for an absolutely perfect story.  From the style, coloring and characters, its exquisite.

I don’t even know where to begin with this review because there are so many things I want to say, so I guess I will just jump right in and see what comes out.

This book spoke to me in a BIG way. And I am not referring to any of the art or manga or shrines that played a part in this story. I am talking about Skylar & Xander. I identified with Skylar like I have no other character, and while we are not the same (I am in no way a social person), we share enough similarities that I felt a real connection. With Xander, our only similarity is in shyness. Xander is an introvert and an antisocial person – I completely get that. I prefer my own company to that of others, mostly because I like silence and doing what I want to do.

As unlikely as it is to find your perfect partner, when you add in all the nuances that make Skylar and Xander unique – it’s even more amazing and perfectly romantic that they did indeed find each other. Out of all the billions of people there are on this planet, out of all the thousands of people who chose to attend Benten college, and out of those same thousands, for Xander’s art to be graffitied upon by members of Skylar’s fraternity – and for Skylar to be so mesmerized and enamored with said art – that these two should find each other is like Disney Fairy Tale magic.

I was just struck by how well suited these two are and as implausible as their coming together is (because real life just doesn’t always work out that way), I believed it. Author Heidi Cullinan really did an amazing job in bringing to life characters who don’t match society’s normative. I know this book will not be for everybody, but I hope people will still give it a chance. I was hesitant to read this myself because of the reviews I had read, it seemed the story was very Japanese centric and manga art (which I still don’t 100% understand). And yes, those elements are in this story. But it’s simply a means by which the characters communicate with each other. Xander’s art and Skylar’s love and appreciation of it is what brings them together.

This isn’t a light and easy read, but I never felt weighed down with it. From the moment I started this to the last word on page, I was just engrossed in these characters and the world Heidi created. This book is different from anything else I’ve ever read and that is what is so amazing! I mean, how many different ways can you write boy meets boy (or someone meets someone)? There needs to be a special hook that makes a book different, and this one had it for me.

Depending on how you define intimacy, this book has loads of intimacy. No, there is no penetrative sex, but they have something so much deeper than that (and pun totally not intended). Skylar is a mix between asexual, demi sexual and bisexual – Skylar himself has no clear definition of what he is but he doesn’t want a label beyond “Xander’s Partner” anyway. Xander is gay, however painfully shy and a virgin. Neither are completely comfortable with the idea of sex (though Xander does have some good fantasies 😉 ), and so they learn what the other is comfortable with – they talk, they set limits and they have some of the most meaningful encounters. I mean, holy cow! They made out in a car by just touching hands! That is sweet and on the surface intimate, but for these men – who’ve not been touched – it was everything.

I hope this isn’t the end for Skylar and Xander – I would love to read more about them and what the future brings them. Their friends and family, sigh. Well, the friends are deeply loyal and at times I felt their Kumbaya, sis-boom-ba, rah-rah-rah attitude was a little over the top (when Skylar goes to take his LSAT, he has a sort of panic attack and calls Xander for support/help. Skylar had to drive 3-4 hours away to take this test, and not only did Xander go, but the WHOLE gang! In two cars. They drove hours to hold Skylar’s hand and show their support. That was all just too excessive for me and I got my squinty eye out!). I liked their friends: Zelda, Sara, Unc, Pamela – the list goes on. As for their family, Skylar’s doesn’t deserve the name, and Xander’s mother is trying. I felt her to be a weak willed woman at first but she grew stronger as time went on.

The progression of Skylar from a well put together, clean cut and well groomed, calm and collected young man to a jittery, scruffy nervous young man was a surprise and I didn’t feel the transition between them was smooth. It seemed to come from nowhere yet I could see signs of it coming. It’s hard to explain. Skylar was suave and (this is going to sound dumb) Ken like. As Xander breaks down Skylar’s walls and Skylar feels more and more pressure about the LSATs, wanting his fathers approval, his sexual identity is in chaos, his love for Xander, his future is unclear – Skylar’s dependence on Xander grows and grows until Skylar can’t seem to function without him. I don’t understand how he became so…frail. I think on this and maybe come back to say more.

Xander is sort of the complete opposite. Xander, the curmudgeon, the antisocial artist. He bloomed under Skylar’s attention and friendship and then love. Xander has never really felt satisfaction or pride or the sense that he successfully created what his mind and spirit felt when it came to his art. But Skylar did and through him and his appreciation, Xander let go. He stopped thinking and just did it. The manga and the Japanese culture – all that went over my head – but I could still appreciate it in the way it made the characters shine.

I highly recommend everybody read this and really think about what this book is about. It’s not always about sex, sometimes it’s about intimacy.

Wow did I love this book. I started recommending it to people when I wasn't even a third of the way in. I doubt my review will do it justice.

One of the many things I loved was that it was so DIFFERENT. I've not read many books that feature an ace main character. A lot of romance books rely on sex to move the relationship forward. Not so when he is asexual. I really think the characters need to connect on a deeper level to acheive that chemistry. That was done so well in this book.

The portrayal of no only a main character as ace, but also a supporting character that was non-binary, was a breath of fresh air. These identities need more representation in books!

The book delved into Skylar's background and why he is so eager to please. And while there was some talk of Xander's background- there could definitely have been more. More to explain why he was antisocial. More to explain why he was angry. Just more.

There is a TON of manga and Japanese culture talk in this book. A lot. It was a bit overwhelming as I have zero knowledge of both. What I retained was interesting, but a lot of it was a bit like the adults in a Peanuts cartoon.

So even though there was quite a bit that I didn't love, some things like bugged me and a couple of continuity issues, I loved the overall story and representation of people on the gray spectrum that I have to recommend it.

I was really torn about this book. I enjoyed the first half very much but could’ve easily skipped the second half entirely. So here’s what I loved and what I didn’t.

I adored the way Xander and Skylar’s relationship took root and blossomed so beautifully after their rocky start. Their interactions were so sweet and awkward and I alternated between grinning like a fool and sighing like an even bigger one as they slowly got to know each other. Between Skylar’s deep admiration for Xander’s artistry and Xander’s hopeless crush on the confident business major, their friendship eventually led to more and they found themselves spending an idyllic summer immersed in one another.

I enjoyed the aroace and gray spectrum rep in this book and I especially loved the way the two men explored their attraction with each other. The intimacy at times took my breath away and when you factor in how sensuous a simple touch of the hand could be for our two heroes, I may or may not have died several deaths during this book especially when they were out in public. Be it tender or playful, I enjoyed the many facets of their lovemaking and I really dug that Skylar, who was still exploring his gray spectrum sexuality, often played the seducer in the relationship. And Xander, so sharp and caustic and so, so shy… I seriously just wanted to cuddle them both, they were adorable together.

But moving on to the parts I didn’t like, which simply put, were the Japanese elements that overwhelmed the story. But before I get ahead of myself, let me clarify that I did enjoy parts of it at first. And let me also preface this by saying that as someone who’s been exposed to the culture from a young age including living with Japanese families in Japan, I get the fascination with all things Japanese, both modern and ancient. I get it, I really do.

I mean let’s face it, I pretty much pounced on this ARC just based on that gorgeous manga-like cover (I did read the blurb, I swear). And I loved the moments, especially when Xander and Skylar first started spending time together, that reminded me very much of scenes from anime (and not just because the subject kept popping up in their conversations). Perhaps it wouldn’t have bothered me as much if it was simply a matter of two young men bonding over Japanese manga and anime and falling in love. It made sense for Xander as a fine arts student and manga artist to know Japanese art history and to have even taken some language courses. And I loved that the serious, studious Skylar binged on anime as stress relief. I was even able to shrug off the “Japanese” history of the college and pass it off as quirky.

But as the story went on and more and more elements of Japanese culture were introduced, it definitely got weird for me, to the point where it felt forced and culturally appropriative. Alongside our two heroes, there was a whole group of side characters who were all obsessed with Japanese culture (barring perhaps Zelda, a kickass nonbinary aroace character). However not a single person was of actual Japanese descent. And no, the deceased husband of Xander’s landlady Pamela doesn’t count, even though she’d probably argue differently.

Around the halfway point, the story took an unexpected turn and by two-thirds of the way in, I felt that their romance had taken a backseat to everything else that was going on. I thought the sideplot with Skylar’s dad was crucial to his character development but Xander’s family woes felt unnecessary to the narrative. There were other things happening, both between the MCs and with the entire group, that I won’t go into here. But if the first half of the book focused on Skylar and Xander’s journey of self-discovery and sexual exploration, the second half was pretty much everyone’s journey to… well, you get three guesses. The story very much idealized (idolized?) Japanese culture, and Japan was presented as a wondrous land where all your problems were solved. So Japan was pretty much the equivalent of “magic dick.”

Antisocial was very obviously a labor of love by the author, and while I share some of this love, in the end the book was not for me. However, I would still recommend it based on the first half alone, which was easily 4.5 stars. But as a whole, it averages out to a 2-star read for me.

I'm gonna be odd man out on this. I had some major issues. This started off really strong and I was enjoying cranky Xander and very serious Skylar getting to know each other. They were entertaining to watch as they bumbled around and became friends and then finally admitted they liked each other.

As it went on though I started feeling like I was reading a YA book and I deliberately don't read those for a reason. While these two were in their early twenties (21 & 23) they had zero relationship experience. This was very much a first love story. They were very shy and very sweet and very reserved and I felt like I was reading about teens. Since I'm a *bit* older than that and have tweens of my own & it kind of squicks me out. I know a lot of adults read YA w/no issues but it just is a no go for me. So, while it wasn't technically YA, it really, really felt that way.

On a positive note on how the relationship was done, I felt like the author did a great job on the asexual representation of one of the MC's and it done in a way I haven't read before so that was interesting to me.

I also felt like this was too long. I found myself losing interest by 60% and I felt like things could have been wrapped up quicker. It was hard to push myself through the last 20%. I barely finished this.

Both of the above mentioned things though could have been overlooked but this last one was really a big issue for me. I hate writing reviews and pointing out things that I find offensive or inappropriate. I'm not a big fan of the morality police when it comes to books and I know I've personally rolled my eyes a few times at other people's reviews in the past when they bring up things I don't agree with. That being said, I just can't bypass how icky the Japanese obsession by these characters made me feel. I don't read magna or anime but I get how people love it. I liked how the students worked on a magna magazine and talked about series and artists they loved. That I understood. But the whole school being based on the love of Japanese culture, the nonstop talk about it, life goals being to move to Japan, having lunches made into Bento boxes and most disturbingly, getting turned on in sexual situations because one's partner speaks Japanese, just skirted too closely to cultural appropriation for me. (And maybe it didn't just skirt it. Maybe it jumped right over that line.)

So......this was really well written and I think my complaints might be things that are just an issue for me. Most of the other reviews are really good so I might just not be the right audience.

**ARC provided through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

I loved this book so much. It resonated so deeply with me.
It's a beautiful coming of age romance and I almost didn't want it to end.
I highly recommend this lovely story for those who love Manga and Japanese culture.

I have always been a fan of everything this author writes. I am interested to see her social justice agenda shining through many of her latest NA (New Adult) novels. I like the way she talks about the ways society have let down groups of marginalised people, and then goes on to show these same people fight back. It's empowering and uplifting.

The focus in this book is more an exploration of the asexual spectrum. I especially liked how the roles of Xander and Skylar reversed throughout the development of their relationship. Initially Skylar plays the protector, the safety net for grumpy, socially anxious Xander, but gradually Xander finds his strength and becomes what Skylar needs so that he can confront his own fears. It's a true depiction of a loving, committed relationship.

I can see other people struggled with the Manga-inspired elements, but for me they provided a rich diverse layer. Secondary characters are always crucial in a Cullinan book and this is no different. The people who surround Sky and Xander are fully developed and bring support and respect to the story.

I imagined quite a different resolution, but it's impossible to be disappointed with such a satisfying epilogue. Thanks to Netgalley for advanced copy. Released August 8.

After about 20% into reading this title, I began to wonder if I was reading a fan fiction or a book that had not gone through professional editing. The language and technique are fine but this greatly suffers from a lot of excesses as well as very indulgent writing. The characters are so overidealized and yet so underwritten as to be cardboard caricatures. The worldbuilding is risible in its unlikeliness, and the story is bog standard romance. There is definitely potential here but it feels like I am reading something by an author that is loved but coddled - that no one has really taken the time to give some hard critiques in order to push her writing skills.

Story: Xander is a closeted and asocial - an artiste more than an artist. Skyler is an all American frat boy - a nice guy from a good family who is universally liked but who is defined by others more than himself. When Skyler comes to help Xander with promoting his art projects, the two will come to know each other better and help both overcome their shortcomings.

As soon as I read the names, Xander Fairchild and Skyler Stone, I had concerns this title would be overidealized (no John Manciewicz or Berto Rodriguez, ha). Yet again in a romance, we have good looking boys, one of whom is super nice and the other is touchy and always nasty/unpleasant. The nice guy doesn't ever seem to mind, though, when in reality he'd probably just tell the other guy to go to hell. But of course, we as readers will like the jerk because we see his inner monologue and know that he's just a nice guy at heart. Blech - I want nuances in my characters and I'm so tired of the 'spitfire' trope. Being rude and overreating to every single little situation does not show 'spirit' - it just makes someone a selfish obsessed. Skyler isn't really a person if he just walks around being a sponge for Xander's emo antics. Unfortunately, what these characters boil down to is Xander is a jerk and Skyler is fake. Having Skyler fall madly in love with Xander's abstract art at first sight (and even correctly interpreting it, natch), made me rolls my eyes in disgust.

The world building is just silly. I love manga and anime culture as much as the author, but I don't feel it needs to work its way into every aspect of this very American story. Some silly backstory of founders traveling to Japan and bringing the culture back, starting a college in the US, and that history somehow translates into secret Shinto shrines on school that our characters pray to as well as a long running college manga in this present day. Really? Just having Xander love manga would have been more than enough.

The dialogue is awkward and doesn't sound realistic at all. I admit I was cringing through most of those scenes; I wish the author had given either character more personality traits (other than emo and sunny) so they were operating on more than the simplest of levels. At the point when we have Pollyana and Cinderella as archetypes, it's not going to be a good read. A better way to approach the writing is to go beyond what the author wants the characters to say and instead think about how a person would react to either a fake person or a jerk (even if on shallow levels - because these characters just met).

Honestly, I think the author has potential but she needs some harsh critiquing as well as someone to go through and massively cut/edit. I enjoy a happy ever after story but I also expect discipline in the writing and someone to curb excesses and flights of fancy. Otherwise the focus of the story becomes too narrow and too personal. I want grounded characters with good and bad traits, as well as more show than tell. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

Goodness, this woman can write romance! Did I fall in love with Xander and Skylar! They were seriously magical.

My favorite aspect of the story was how we go in thinking we knew which character would go on an emotional journey, because it’s the character-type that’s always expected to change. Except, Heidi chose not to go down that path in Antisocial. Even better, in the first couple chapters I felt sure I knew what the final conflict was going to be, because it’s another avenue most romance authors have taken a million times, but Heidi Cullinan just didn’t do it. She gave me what I always ask for in my reviews, a healthy, loving, understanding relationship. One built from acceptance and patience. All the side characters were pretty great too, but there’s a special spot in my heart for Unc. There’s just something about that loud, silly, giant-hearted best friend that gets me every time.

It sounds like I should be giving Antisocial 5 giant glorious stars, right? Unfortunately there was one thing that did drag down the book for me. I was raised by my step-father, and my little sister was adopted into our family. I have a positive healthy relationship with my step-father, and my parents love my sister completely. It would have been awesome if the author also decided to turn the evil step-parent trope on its head, eliminating potential trigger phrases.

Either way, Heidi Cullinan is still one my favorite romance writers and I will still auto-buy absolutely everything she writes.

This was truly a beautiful story. I'm between 4 and 5 stars, but it was very enjoyable with some breathtaking imagery and unique characters that were so, so easy to love. And that's saying something, because in general, books featuring characters in college are a pass for me.

It's a long story, but Heidi Cullinan fills it with rich culture, wonderful character development, and sexual exploration that is intimate and sensual. If I have any complaints, it's that the ending felt rushed and at times the characters' language felt a bit out of place to me, maybe too mature for their age (college, though they're nearly finished). Don't get me wrong, what they say is very insightful and poetic, but occasionally it felt a bit unrealistic and unnatural to me.

I can absolutely see that this story is a labor of love for the author, and it shines through in her writing.

Sweet New Adult m/m romance that starts out as a standard opposites attract story - outgoing frat guy meets grouchy loner artist - and then morphs into something more interesting. As usual with this author, there's a little too much preaching and some over the top gestures, but the story did help me understand various points along the sexuality spectrum and made me think twice about how we define intimacy. All that plus a crash course in anime, manga and Japanese culture. Good job.

ARC provided by Net Galley in exchange for honest (squee-free zone) review.

When I heard Heidi Cullinan was publishing a story with a focus on asexual/grey-sexuality I was immediately more than just intrigued – I was desperate to get my hands on Antisocial.

Xander Fairchild is an artist who is, in a word, antisocial. He eschews social settings (with reasons) and is determined to spend his last year at Japanese culture-soaked Benten college working on his BFA project and creating manga art.

Skylar Stone has his own senior project to complete and when circumstances bring him in contact with Xander he cannot help but be intrigued by both his art and the man himself. Skylar manipulates some other circumstances as a way to help Xander and himself, but doesn’t count on the feelings Xander opens up in him.

The story is beautiful. Told from both Xander and Skylar’s points of view the reader is given good insight into both character’s motives and thoughts. Saturated in references to Manga and Japanese culture, and threaded with a coming of age of the characters the story flows well, the characters show real growth, and there is obvious love woven through the story by the author.

While I enjoyed the story on the whole, I do not have any great experience with Yaoi, Manga, or Japanese culture and though I learned a lot reading this I think if I was a fan of any of those elements I might have enjoyed this a whole lot more.

A lovely, sweet, coming of age romance with low angst and a great HEA. Recommended especially for those who love Manga or Japanese culture.

This was such a lovely story about two boys trying to figure out what it means to be their true selves. From the outside, Skylar and Xander have nothing in common. But as they learn more about each other, they fit in all the ways that are most important. And as the reader, I found so many reasons to love them both as individuals and as a couple.

The workings of human sexuality and figuring out what it all means plays a central role in this story with Skylar falling on the grey ace area of the spectrum. It was wonderful to not only see this representation, but to have it directly addressed by the main characters as they negotiate their relationship. The results are sweetly and desperately sensual.

A potentially polarizing aspect of this story is the focus on Japanese culture and media. As someone who has always taken an interest, this added another layer of fascination for me. If you don't already love these things, it might feel a bit info-dumpy and extraneous.

In conclusion, I adored this book for its themes, characters, and the building relationship.

[I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review]

This was such a lovely book! And unlike anything I've ever read before. Antisocial is a really interesting portrayal of a 'greysexual' relationship. I loved the characters-- the tenderness between the main couple, and the friendship group that forms around them, and the way Japanese anime and gods were mixed into the storyline. It was such a unique story, and one I will be recommending for a long time.

Super sweet, layered college romance. The manga gives a nice vibe but it's not overdone.

Enjoyed this immensely. I loved getting to read a romance that was thoughtful about how its characters engaged in intimacy and was never willing to just default to standard cultural scripts about sex and romance. Also as someone on the ace spectrum myself Skylar's exploration of his sexuality rang very true (though uhh a lot more angsty and fraught then anything I had to experience. But hey, it's a romance novel). Some issues surrounding the setting and plot choices prevent me from giving this 4 stars but consider this a very high 3 star rating. See my Goodreads review for more details.