At eighteen Maeve has a lot going for her. She's smart, talented, ambitious, and she has an amazing group of friends. What she doesn't have is The Boy. And she firmly believes that it's her muscular dystrophy and confinement to a wheelchair that is keeping him from falling head over heels for her. Still, it can't hurt to flirt a little, right?

There aren't a lot of books available where you can see a character like Maeve who, yes, is dealing with some physical limitations, but is still allowed to be a normal teenage girl. A lot of books would make Maeve a trope- someone to feel sorry for or perhaps to be inspired by, not someone to relate to in a million different ways.

I think the only bit I wasn't crazy about was the end. It felt a bit like it cut off in the middle of a scene and that was unsettling because I would have liked to know at least a little about what followed.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press. for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

Ok honestly, I have a ton of opinions going from one extreme to the other .

Lets talk about the heartbreak in this story - SPOT ON. Seriously DEAD SPOT ON!

The rest of it, fell flat to me.

Because the protagonist has Muscular Dystrophy, I wanted to read this story. But what I also want are plausible connections, a focus, and a woman who knows her worth even if she relies on a wheelchair for mobility. Was the point of this story that people with disabilities need love too? That's a good point - maybe a different outcome, then? There is no differentiation between a good relationship and one that is just about a kid wanting to get some action. People who take advantage of those who have disabilities, whether it is due to health or age or circumstances outside of their control each deserve their own lesson. This story needs further development.

I'm only realizing now how apt the title is. Our heroine, Maeve, is looking to get laid, not fall in love. She's a high school senior and film director who falls for her hottie actor, with the fuckable name Cole Stone. He doesn't seem to be all that into her at first, but Maeve likes that Cole doesn't seem to give a shit about Maeve's disability, so she persists. I wasn't sure if I should mention Maeve's disability in this review, and I appreciate that there's no wheelchair on the cover. I am referencing the disease because I think it should be an appeal to readers who, like me, are interested in #ownvoices stories of living with illness.

It's not the page-turniest novel I've ever read, but Maeve is a believable character and unpredictable. Her friends are cool, but imperfect, even/especially her best friend's boyfriend who is kind of a dick to Maeve, who sort of shrugs it off, sort of.

This book had some positive aspects to it, particularly that people in wheelchairs are just people with the same wants and needs of non-wheelchair bound people, but the main character seemed to be underdeveloped and overly focused on sex. I wasn't able to develop empathy or even much sympathy for her, unfortunately,

Maeve just wants a regular life but her disability makes it anything but regular. When she meets Cole Stone, she is determined to get what she wants and convince him that she wants the same things regular teenagers want, and she wants it with him.

This book was disappointing to me, I was expecting a bit more from the storyline. It was well written and flowed well, just not for me.

This was a DNF for me. Sadly I tried really hard to press on but I could not connect at all to the Main Character in this story, I applaud the author for giving this character a voice but I personally just could not get into it. I may try again at a later date.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing this digital copy for preview in return for an honest review.

I received a copy of THIS IS NOT A LOVE SCENE from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much!

FOUR stars and here’s why:

S. C. Megale nailed the gut-wrenching experience of a first love’s heartache. The title says it all: this book is not a love scene. It's an honest, realistic, and quite refreshing story about teens navigating school, friendships, and the dating trenches.

Life is not a bunch of roses. It’s filled with friends, ups and downs, and challenges that can either make you or break you. Friends keep teens sane. Parents drive teen nuts. Sometimes it's the reverse. But at the end of the day, they’ve got their backs. Well, most of them do. This book has it all and then some . . . in spades.

I laughed. I cried. I wanted to jump up and down and scream at times. Mostly, I want to say thank you to the publisher and author for writing a book that I believe accurately reflects what a YA book should represent nowadays.

If you like YA stories that will make you laugh and ugly cry too, then this book is for you. Highly recommend.

This book had an interesting premise but I could not connect to the main character, Maeve and couldn’t understand what she saw in Cole. Others will enjoy but this one wasn’t for me.

This was really good and I'm always excited for a diverse read. I liked it. The characters were refreshing in their authenticity. The romance was realistic and doesn't sugar coat.