I am writing this honest review after reading a digital ARC (advanced reader copy) which I received from Netgalley.

Cuttle by Chelsea Britain is a novel about Nora Novak, a female postdoc who is wrapping up her research on cuttlefish and recently broke up with her long term boyfriend. While she is in limbo, applying for new opportunities, she meets multiple men and their dates range from disastrous to lukewarm. At least, it seems lukewarm to the reader; the reader doesn't really get a good understanding of how she feels about them. The book kind of reminded me of Lab Girl by Hope Jahren.

Throughout the book we also see Nora hangout with her friends/housemates, visit her parents, and how she interacts with her research advisor and others in her lab. The book is first person, from the view of Nora so we see everything through her eyes. All of her actions and relationships are colored by her autism. I found it really insightful to see how the main character thought, approached day to day activities, and more irregular events. Britain writes first person very well and Nora's discomfort and confusion often felt palpable. I also thought the sea creature references were very cute but sometimes they were a little confusing. Overall, it was a very enjoyable book that shows Nora's experience with dating, family, friendship, academia, and autism.

I was hoping for chick lit with a twist, but found something a bit more unpredictable. Dr. Nora Novak is finishing her post-doc in science, trying to come to terms with re-homing her subjects - cuttlefish - and figure out what to do next. Her decade long romantic relationship ended 9 months ago with her climbing out the bathroom window...Nora is atypical, on the autistic spectrum, and her life plans and romantic future are cloudy for her. Supported by fantastic friends she can count on (mostly) Nora pushes herself to break her patterns. Whilst some of the characters could have been fleshed out more, after a jumpy start the book took hold of me and I zoomed to the end.

I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The views expressed within are my own and unbiased.

This was a fun read that I couldn't put down. I finished it in a day. As a woman on the autism spectrum I was happy to find a book written from the point of view of an autistic woman. It's rare to read something from the point of view of an autistic adult who doesn't live with their parents and functions one their own in the world, albeit with occasional struggles. There are lots of autistic people who date, have jobs, advanced degrees and so on, but these are not the ones who are usually depicted in fiction or showcased by the media.

Though Nora is a research fellow with advanced degrees, she still struggles with sensory issues, hating disruptions of her routine, interpreting social cues and other issues that autistic people cope with constantly. I thought the author did a wonderful job capturing what it is like to live with sensory issues, such as how overwhelming scents and bright lights can be.

Nora sees the world through the filter of her special interest, marine biology. The author peppers the novel with images of sea life. Most of these worked for me, but a few seemed a bit strained or repetitive.

The plot itself kept me interested. I'm not usually one to go for plots that have a large focus on dating, but Nora's encounters were funny and sometimes painfully realistic. Besides handling the challenge of Dating with Autism, the novel also touched on the issues women deal with in STEM and academia. There's so much to love about this novel that its few awkward fish metaphors can be overlooked. I highly recommend it.

While I can't resist a cuttlefish (in person or on a book cover) and I love a strong female (marine) scientist, this book just didn't quite do it for me.

I appreciate that this book gave its voice to a lead character that was on the Autism spectrum (though I didn't realize it until the authors note at the end) including giving her so many potential suitors (she's quite the catch). 

I also loved the marine biology references throughout, the highlighting of academia labs (& how women are treated a little differently than the men). For a while I had high-highs loving certain points & low-low hating it.

For one - I am tired of the nerdy scientist narrative - like we can have cool, fun, unawkward scientists too. The relationships/dates were also SO UNCOMFY - I'm thinking that was the point but it was really just uncomfortable to read, I'm surprised they all kept getting dates. Also, I felt like her friends were too hands-on, if my friends interfered with my life that much I would cut them out, just a lot of weird dynamics there. 

While there was many marine animal references/facts I loved, some of them just didn't make sense.... like telling yourself to be a "sexy stingray" to attract a mate... it does NOT make any sense (& this one was repeated approximately a million times in the text) - it would've made more sense if they chose an animal that ungulates when it swims or even the star cuttlefish that can be kind of "flirty" with their tentacles but stingrays?! They're chill, they glide, you rarely see them try to mate ... they're not being sexy. 

Anyways, super cute cover. I am not going to pretend that I'm not the target audience: I am a female marine scientist who happened to date during graduate school - so I can definitely relate, however maybe someone that can relate a little less would enjoy it more. 

* I received an arc in exchange for an honest review*

What a wonderfully unusual book. Nora knows all about cuttlefish, but people? Not so much. When she finds herself in a transitional time in her life, a challenge for a creature who lives and loves routines, will she rise to the occasion?

Will her friends rise to the occasion too? Because she’s not the only one in a time of transition.

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be sensitive to sound, or what your friends or family members experience when they’re over-stimulated, please read “Cuttle.”

This debut novel is unique and compelling. The friendship dynamics were especially interesting and I loved the full-circle moment with one of Nora’s friends toward the end of the book.

These kinds of books make my soul sing. The kind of books that show how nature and people are connected, and then how people and other people are connected too. It's a brilliant novel.

I'm really enjoying this book so far... was worried that it'd be a bit nerdy after the first page, but I was sooo wrong.  Gonna keep reading with interest and hope it doesn't get nerdier, but it seems good so far!

Chapter 2 was almost entirely nerdy, so maybe I wasn't wrong after all?

Chapter 3 saved me knocking off a star... I loved reading this chapter,  but it's time for my pills and chapter 4 now - BBS.

Yep, chapter 4 guarantees the fifth star... for the moment at least!  I'm gonna read one more chapter then head to bed for the night, then re-start reading it when I come back down here at 5am while I'm waiting for the hubby to wake up lol

Had a late start this morning, but I'm back now and getting confused betweeen all of the characters... at least I know why the main character avoids fish now though!

Oooooh!  Now we're getting somewhere!  It's like the author has finally found their muse and they're enjoying writing the novel now.

I didn't see the end of chapter 16 coming at all!

So proud of you, Nora!  I'm wondering what'll happen in the last ten pages though lol

What a great way to end the book... not sure why the 'Discussion' part is there right at the end though - is it used as some kind of educational thing or something?  That would certainly explain the heavy use of fish throughout the book and especially in the early chapters!  All in all (other than that early chapter) a very very good read that richly deserves all five stars!