Absolute delight read. I have been anticipating this for a long while and I can’t believe I had the privilege to receive and read this book after being sent to me.

I think this is a no-brainer for contemporary romance lovers. *Chef’s Kiss*

The ace representation in this book is phenomenal. This was such an angsty romance!!! I loved Joy so much! her complicated (is that the right word?) relationship with Malcolm had so many layers and I’m really glad they were able to figure it out because I was so afraid summer and fox would get hurt. FOX!! Ugh my heart. I loved the way he fell for Joy. Their banter and jokes were sensational! This was a truly great romance and a book with representation that’s much needed!!

im usually not one for love triangles, but this was done so well! and i love the ace rep in this book! The Romantic Agenda was such an engaging read that I think toes the line between romance and womens fiction. The writing is witty and engaging, and romantic aspects were enthralling, and I couldn't put it down.

Joy has been in love with her best friend Malcolm for years and years. She has never told him, of course. She’s hoping he’ll feel the same way one day. Malcolm has all of a sudden met the love of his life, Summer, and invites Joy to a weekend away with them so she can help it all go perfectly. Joy agrees to go in hopes of showing Malcolm what he’s missing out on.

This was a cute book! I enjoyed reading about Joy and being ace and learning about her and relationships. I didn’t care for the fake dating at first but as it kept going I really enjoyed it and think Joy and Fox are great together! I don’t think Joy and Malcolm would make a good couple, maybe it’s just me but I didn’t really like the way he treated her. For being best friends I feel like they weren’t that great together. It’s hard to say why exactly, so I’m glad she decided to fake date someone else to make him jealous!

Thank you to BooksForwardFriends and Berkley for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I knew I needed to get my hands on this one, one because of the Black woman on the cover. (Y’all know how I am lol) And two because of the asexual representation I knew to be in it. I read Kann’s debut from back in the day where I learned that she was asexual. I knew the rep would be done right and it was going to be so, so good. And I was right. At least on those two things.

The first thing I wanted to talk about was the miscommunication tho. IT WAS SO LOUDDDDDD. Y’all also know how I am about this. I found myself to be so annoyed throughout the entire thing because I kept yelling at her to “just tell him.” It was so weird. She was so big and bad for everything, but not that? And like y’all were so close, you couldn’t explain to him not to get weirded out but hey this is what it is? Especially how deep she felt for him. I just thought it was weird and it got annoying sometimes.

Other than that, I liked it. ESPECIALLY the relationship with Joy and Fox and Joy and Malcolm. It was messy as hell. Yes it was messy, but that was what I liked about it. I loved the way she got to know Fox and how she never even saw him coming. They crashed right into each other and didn’t even know it. As for Malcolm and Joy, I was not a fan of them, but it was really like a train wreck. I hate this analogy, but iy really was. And I couldn’t look away. They were both so strong willed but also scared, but they couldn’t be real together.

This brings me to the rep in this book. Seeing the anxiety rep in this was almost painful. I mean the spiraling and the way she did so many impulsive things? It was so so real. I think that was part of the reason I didn’t like the stuff between her and Malcolm… It also stressed me out and made my shoulders go up to my ears. I didn’t want to see her hurt and I could tell she just wasn’t trying to put two and two together. I felt more like her sister than Joy. The asexual rep was also done really well, as it was an ownvoices book. I loved the way she included explanations to those that didn’t understand in the book. I think I’ll be recommending this just because of the rep.

This book was so good in so many ways, but the one glaring thing was the miscommunication. I think if it wasn’t such a big part of the plot I would have enjoyed it even more. Yes I know it’s a real thing, but I don’t care for it in real life either. I’m just not that into it. Maybe y’all might be. Read it and let me know how you feel about it.

3/5 Stars

** I received this as an E-ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review, Thank you!**

I'll start by saying that I enjoyed the representation in this book, yes to all the representation. However, I think that this was just an okay read for me. I believe personally the author's writing doesn't draw me in. While I enjoyed the story, I found that things fell just a little flat for me and the resolutions just wasn't that satisfying. Overall I do believe that this would be a great book for readers. I can totally see why people would really enjoy it and would still recommend giving it a read if you're interested.

Kann's books always show a wonderful look at how great asexuality can be in the romance genre. A fantastic read with a swoon-worthy romance and the message that being someone's first choice is really worth it.

There's a lot to love in this book `-- ace representation, outdoorsy setting, lovable protagonist -- but the actual relationship for the HEA didn't really work for me. It felt a little uneven in pacing and I kind of feel like Joy ended up with the wrong guy.

I have never read a romance with an asexual MC and this teaches you so much about how they interpret “love” and “sex”. So this isn’t your typical romance story - it’s one that you have to go in with an open mind especially if you’re not familiar with asexuality. One thing I really loved about this was how strong and confident Joy is in her sexuality and especially with her body. Being a POC, she doesn’t let the judgement from others define who she is and what she does and I really admire that of her.

i was really looking forward to this book because the main character had the same name as me and that is very unusual for an adult fiction book to have a Black character named joy (especially the main character). However, despite my excitement i was unable to finish this book. maybe I will have to circle back but I just was not into it.

This was a very quick and cute romance from a new author! I thought Claire Kann did a good job of developing a story and characters I quickly cared about.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review!

Claire Kann my hat's off to you. The Romantic Agenda was a genuine surprise between the pages. I loved the MC Joy from start to finish. For me, this book marked a big change in major publishing companies that's been long overdue. Kann developed a beautiful story for Joy, a black asexual woman. The complexity of relationships is explored so deeply in this book. Platonic relationships and what they can look like/ be like is questioned in a way that I appreciate to my core. Some books just also broaden your perspective while having the chance to delve into the comfort of your favorite genre. I love mind-bending, perspective shifting reads that leave me wanting to read more and learn more. Claire Kann you've got a new fan! Auto-buy author for me!

DNF at 50%. This pains me because I absolutely love Kann's books! I think this will end up being more of a temporary DNF that I will eventually revisit. My biggest issue with this book is the pacing, which I think could be solved by switching to the audiobook. I think Joy is a fantastic MC, and I am definitely invested in her and her story, so I don't want to completely write this one off.

This is a book that surprised me at every turn. It was a good surprise in the sense that I learned about something that I was not as familiar with and it was done in a way that the story was still very entertaining. In the book the heroine Joy is asexual. This is also a diver story in that the characters are black.

I was really interested in how a sexuality was represented in the book and it did not take away from the romantic elements of the book at all. In some sentences this book reminded me of the movie my best friends wedding with Julia Roberts. Joy and Malcolm were both asexual have been friends since college. There is always been an undertone of more than friends between them. Most of Malcolm‘s girlfriends have not understood Joy’s relationship with Malcolm and it often becomes an issue.

Malcolm has now met summer and invites joy to go away with them on vacation. Joy was ready to inform Malcolm of her feelings so she is hesitant about going on vacation but when she gets there she meets fox who is Sommer’s ex.

What’s really nice about the book is that all of the characters are sympathetic there is nobody that you dislike. Summer really wants to become friends with joy and they also begin to find that they relate to one another fairly well. The eventual romance that develops between fox and joy is really fun to watch and does not shy away from Joy’s feelings of asexuality as well as her feelings for Malcolm.

All in all I really enjoyed this book immensely. I have not read a book like it before and the characters of joy Malcolm summer and Fox were all so well written and three dimensional. If you were looking for a romantic comedy type book but when they’re also covers issues that you may not be as aware of such as asexuality this is a great book to read.

Ugh, I so wanted to love this book. Starting with the pros, I loved the ace rep in this book - it did such a good job at showing that asexuality is a spectrum, is different for different people, and showed an intimate scene with boundaries and respect.

However, other than that, I truly disliked all the characters in this book. They were immature, annoying and...can we talk about a 10 year miscommunication?! I think miscommunication is the most disliked romance trope...and yet one of the most used and I could not with these people.

Ultimately, I did enjoy the main romance, the ending, and, again, the diverse rep.

Joy is in love with her best friend Malcolm, but he doesn’t know it. Both of them are Ace and both are figuring out how this fits into romantic relationships. Malcolm invites Joy to a weekend at the lake, but quickly informs her that his potential new girlfriend Summer will also be joining them as well as a male friend of hers, Fox.

Joy realizes pretty quickly that Fox was asked to be a date for her as Malcolm and Summer get to know each other and their friends better. Joy and Fox decide to flirt together to make their friends jealous but

I admittedly have never read about Ace characters before and I enjoyed this novel for that reason. Joy is trying to figure out what life is like if you don’t want to be married and have kids. What’s the next chapter of life look like? I also love that Joy was a fashion queen and loved pretty clothes and makeup. I also thought it was cute that Summer had been engaged so many times and met Malcolm at an event for people who were jilted by love.

Thank you so much to @berkleypub and @kannclaire for the gifted ebook. The Romantic Agenda is on sale now!

The Romantic Agenda was the June Pride pic for #anovelbunchbookstaclub

Thirty, flirty and asexual Joy is in love with her best friend Malcolm. Only problem is Malcolm loves Summer. When Malcolm and Summer invite her on a getaway she agrees only to find that they are trying to set her up with Summer’s ex Fox. Joy and Fox decide to strike up a fake relationship to show Malcolm what he’s missing. Well you know what happens next.

This is a fun grumpy sunshine, fake dating, friends to lovers summer read. I enjoyed Joy’s confident and fun personality. Heads up there is a ton of build up but very little spice. My only criticism is that the characters are constantly thinking and picking apart every single thing. 🤔

If you are looking for a fun summer read you should check this one out!

This book was absolutely hilarious. I loved Joy’s journey of wading through her emotions for her best friend while also finding a way to love herself in the process. This book was messy, funny, and just what I needed. If you like single-perspective romcoms that feature vacations, have low spice levels, and have a bit of a love square situation going on, I’d recommend this book for you! THE ROMANTIC AGENDA also has asexual representation.

Ahhhh! Ace rep!!! I was so excited to receive and read this book because I always think more asexual representation is needed. A book like this is so important! I loved how it showed the different places one can exist on the spectrum of asexuality. It’s really awesome that this book shows that you CAN have romance novels with ace MCs!

I think this book has a lot of really good representation and I also think it is a really good pride month read. Romance is the central line of this plot however, this novel also focuses the identity as an asexual character. Which I really enjoyed because I have never read a book asexual character before. I would like to read more books like this and I think that everyone should read a book like this.