🌈BOOK REVIEW🌈

Tilly in Technicolor - Mazey Eddings
Rating: 5/5 ⭐️

“Tilly in Technicolor is the perfect coming of age story set in far off places and featuring one hell of an adorable love story. Eddings has brought a new and inspired voice to YA romance with her own (very welcome) spin, inviting neurodivergent readers to find themselves understood, accepted and fully loved within the pages.” -Erin Hahn, author of Never Saw You Coming

Mazey Eddings does it again! 🩷 I absolutely adored this book - it may be in my top spots of the year so far! We follow Tilly, recent high school graduate with ADHD, as she interns in Europe for her sister’s nail polish business, and Oliver, fellow intern who is autistic. From their very first meeting, you see how they are opposites. BUT you also feel the absolute charm and emotion - the way that Mazey is so very good at!

Oliver is super passionate about color and I got so caught up in his descriptions and excitement. The way neurodivergence was handled was so well done - and I loved seeing how each character handled and felt about that.

Recommend if you:
- eagerly await the announcement of the Pantone Color of the Year
- enjoy YA/coming of age romance
- dream of European vacations
- like seeing neurodiversity in your books

Thank you to @netgalley, @stmartinspress, @recordedbooks and the author for my copies!

Mazey Eddings writes an excellent YA novel. I've enjoyed her adult fiction, but she does something even more special with Tilly and Oliver. Tilly and Oliver are both neuro-divergent teenagers spending the summer together as part of Tilly's sister's new nail polish company. Oliver is interning and Tilly is there to work, get a taste for the world outside of high school, and to help her sister and her business partner grow the business. Tilly's ADHD means that people have not always taken her seriously or have historically told her that she's "too much." Oliver's autism has gifted him with an excellent eye for color. The way these two characters see the world is brilliant and beautiful. I learned so much about both ADHD and autism from this book without feeling like I was learning at all. It reads as honest and authentic. An important book, but also an extremely charming one!

Like every single other Mazey Eddings book I’ve read, I’ve loved this. I can confirm that her YA is as good as her adult novels. I loved Tilly (also love that name) and Oliver, apart and together. The whole Pantone part of Oliver’s personality was so lovely and executed so well. I love how Mazey writes neurodivergent characters that feel like fully developed people. This was such a lovely journey to go on with the two of them. Perfect balance of heavy/real life and funny!

Tilly in Technicolor is a sweet romance between two neurodivergent (or “neurodivine” as author Mazey Eddings writes in her dedication) young adults. A writer of three successful (and steamy) adult romance novels, this is Eddings’ first title published for YA audiences. I hope it’s not the last! In fact, I’d love a sequel, just so I can spend more time with Tilly and Oliver.

Tilly is a chaotic whirlwind with ADHD. Oliver is autistic, highly organized, and does not do small talk. Their meeting on an intercontinental flight is hysterically awkward. This starts out as a “opposites attract” or “grumpy-sunshine” trope, but Tilly and Oliver quickly realize that they are very similar in how they relate to the world and those around them.

Positive representation of neurodivergent individuals is so important. I hope young readers will be inspired by Tilly and Oliver and find the confidence to be themselves, embracing what makes their brains special and supporting each other.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for gifting me an advanced electronic copy of this lovely book.

Mazey Eddings does it again! I absolutely adored every facet of this novel. I have concluded that the world definitely needs more neurodivergent love stories!!!

Thank you so much to the author and to NetGalley for this ARC. Mazey Eddings is one of my new auto-buy authors, I’ve decided.

The representation in this book is fabulous. I love Mazey Eddings characters so much. Tilly and Oliver are some of my favorites. I loved that the characters really learned how to communicate with each other and that just because they fell in love, doesn't mean their neurodivergence went away. Overall, I think this book was really well done and was a super cute YA romance.

Thanks to St Martin's Press and Netgalley for this advanced copy!

I really loved Mazey Edding's most recently romance series and was interested to see if I would love her first New Adult/YA book as much, and while I am not sure I did, Tilly in Technicolor is a great book about two neurodivergent people finding their way as they set out in life and, though a lot of european travel, find each other.

Tilly is really all over the place and I appreciated how Eddings used Tilly's chapters to convey what life is like for her with ADHD. And same for Oliver's chapters and his autism. It was easy to see how neurotypical people would see Tilly as frustrating when really is typical for people with her diagnosis. Most of all I liked how the characters weren't completely defined by their neurodivergence and were given space to operate as others do, making mistakes, falling in love, doing things most 18 year olds do.

Tilly and Oliver are fully of misunderstandings but are very sweet with each other as they work out how to move forward together. Overall, I really liked them and this book and can't wait to read Edding's next work.

🚨 New favorite Mazey Eddings book!

Tilly has officially taught me that I'm entering my soft, sweet YA romance era. With hindsight and a lot of growing pains giving me perspective - I love swoony, angsty coming of age, love stories. I want cheer for the characters because they're so relatable, and their stories heal pieces of me that I'd long-forgotten.

This story contains representation, healing, heartache, and hope. Throw in Eddings' signature charm and humor? I'm toast.

Also - where are my visual folks at?

The MMC, Oliver, has a special interest in colors. He specifically can find and name colors based on the Pantone color wheel (?). Since I chose to primarily listen to this story, hearing him describe colors and the feelings they gave him was such a treat! I was able to both visualize and get a stronger sense of emotions. It was lovely.

My neurotypical brain is also grateful this book exists for my two neurodiverse babies. I want my sweet lovies to be able to see themselves in characters with happy endings and full of love. This book is truly a gift, and it will be waiting on my shelf for when they are ready.

Thank you to Net Galley and Wednesday Books for both the eARC and ALC of this charming YA romance.

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 4.75⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: Contemporary romance 📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
Mazey Endings does it again! another great book!

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
Adorable and sweet romances
Funny yet emotional reads
European setting
Captivating storylines
Empowering coming of age books
Daul POV
Laugh out loud moments

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
All the representation (LQBTQIA+ and ADHD/ASD )
Tilly’s blog sections
Oliver’s color theory
Felt so realistic

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:

𝙵𝚊𝚟𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚀𝚞𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚜:
★ “I'd rather give it my all and come up short than not try at all.”
★ “ADHD hasn't changed me...It is me. It's an undeniable and simple fact of who I am."
★ “I love you without conditions. Without expectations.”

I’m not sure how I feel about this one. On one hand, the writing was beautiful, I loved the characters, the autism and ADHD representation was fantastic, and there were so many wonderful quotes throughout the book. The way that they described and thought about each other was so sweet and made my heart melt. I also loved how she explained the intricate and complicated parts of life that go along with being neurodiverse. On the other hand, the story just didn’t feel complete to me and I feel like something is missing. I am not sure if it’s just because of the abrupt way that it ended or if there was just something missing during the whole story. It may also be because this story is young adult and I just needed a bit more depth from the relationship. Overall, it was good and I would recommend it if you are looking for a diverse young adult book, but it is not necessarily one of those books that will stick with me forever and that I will rave about.

Reading about two neurodivergent people falling in love is such a gift and I was so charmed by Tilly and Oliver. This book is definitely a /romance/ and I really enjoyed that aspect. So much of YA romance leads up to the pairing's first kiss or becoming boyfriend/girlfriend, and I loved that this book followed a similar formula to adult romance, showing readers not just the meet cute and process, but what these characters look like in love and in a relationship. In a world that doesn't always want to give neurodivergent people happy endings or relationships, I loved that Tilly and Oliver's entire arc was included. I loved their conversations around masking and the ways in which they are both similar and different. That said, I would also consider this book to have some coming-of-age elements. Although dual POV, Tilly is clearly more of the "main character," experiencing so much growth throughout the book as she learns to accept herself and follow her ambitions. Although she already has an ADHD diagnosis, being away from her mother and around another neurodivergent person really helps Tilly to understand herself, honor her needs, and take charge of her life. Overall, such a sweet book that I really enjoyed reading!

This was one of my most anticipated releases as well as my first book by Mazey! I am happy to say that I absolutely LOVED this book!!! Tillie and Ollie made for the cutest YA summer romance.

There was SO MUCH done right in this story, the neurodivergent representation being top of the list. This book will appeal to so many who experience ADHD. The way it was written was done so authentically and beautifully. I also enjoyed Ollie's experience with Autism and color theory.

Read if you like:
-ADHD/Autism rep & own voices
-Dual POV
-A not so meet-cute!
-Sibling banter
-Coming-of-age
-Found Family

Thank you Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the arc of this book! I am now a fan of Mazey Eddings!

I’ve been a fan of Mazey’s since her debut, so I was hella excited to see that she had a YA coming out. I immediately jumped on the chance to read it. I knew I was going to love it and sure enough, I did. This book was what felt like a small look into my childhood because I also have ADHD and anxiety. I really connected to this book like I haven’t in a long time.

Tilly is ready to start fresh, but she didn’t imagine she was going to have to do so under the watchful eye of her sister for her nosey mother. It’s a lot going on, but if she endures it she gets a free trip to Europe, she just as to be her sister’s intern. On the plane she meets Olly who seems to be the complete opposite of her. Of course they end up having to work together with her sister after deciding they hate each other on the plane. As we follow them around Europe, watch as they fall for each other and realize they are actually perfect for each other.

I’m not going to lie, I spent the majority of my time reading this book relating to the main characters and wondering what color my aura was. Reason being was because I really felt like I was Tilly. In so many ways I felt her and the pain she carried. Like her ADHD embarrassing her, the rabbit holes she was always going down, and of course the anxious thoughts making her pack more underwear than she’d ever need. Yeah it sounds like a little thing, but it really made me feel seen. And that was all I needed.

Mazey definitely knows how to make sure her romances will gut you. And this one did exactly that. I was swooning from the very beginning, but then I also was scared and yelling at them for both not thinking of the other or their diagnoses when it got to the end. I remember saying “you did the very thing you didn’t want anyone else to do to you to each other!” That’s just how invested I was. I loved that they were so willing to help each other and listen to what the other needed. Adults in relationships don’t always do this, so it was nice to see the two of them in such a good relationship.

And I can’t not talk about Eddings’ writing style. I felt so much in this story. I was laughing out loud, I was sad, like I went through so many emotions. That’s how I know I like a book tho. If it makes me feel real emotions and I’m invested it’s a win for me. And this one did exactly that.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Wednesday Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Mazey Eddings (A Brush With Love, The Plus One) makes a colorful splash with her YA debut, Tilly in Technicolor, a YA romance about two neurodiverse teens finding each other and learning to navigate a world not built for their brains.
--
Tilly Twomley has just graduated high school and is off to spend the summer interning at her Ivy League sister’s new start-up. Her controlling mother hopes the trip will give Tilly some direction as to what college and career she wants. But what her mother simply can’t (or won’t) understand is that with Tilly’s ADHD, her brain works differently, and she simply wants different things than the carefully laid plan before her.

Oliver “Ollie” Clark knows exactly what he wants and he has an exact roadmap to get there. He’s starting a prestigious design program in the fall and working a summer internship in the meantime. When it comes to color, Oliver is an expert on every hue but when it comes to people, he oftentime finds himself lost. While he has close and supportive friends and family, his autism sometimes makes it difficult to form outside relationships.

So when Tilly and Ollie figuratively and literally collide on an international flight, they’ll both have to learn how to navigate the new path life has set them on.
--
For her first Young Adult novel, Mazey Eddings has an absolute gem with Tilly in Technicolor. It’s funny and sweet and has a cast of characters I want to gather up and keep in my pocket for safekeeping. It’s a love story for and about neurodivergent people that’s filled with joy, acceptance, empathy, and understanding.

From the very first page, I knew I was going to love this book. There is an ease to Eddings’s writing that makes reading her books feel like chatting with a friend. We start in Tilly’s POV, and if you’ve ever been inside a teenage girl’s head (especially one with ADHD) then that’s exactly what it feels like. Every time a chapter is in Tilly’s voice, it reads almost like a stream of consciousness or a diary entry.

Oliver’s POV, on the other hand, is more structured and straight to the point which mirrors Oliver’s autism. I appreciate how aspects of his autism are portrayed with care and authenticity. He has feelings he often can’t name, his sister teaches him social cues, and there’s even discussion of masking, stimming, and infodumping. One of my favorite things is how frequently Oliver is describing a feeling, the feeling of being in love, yet he doesn’t have the context to know that’s what he’s feeling. Seeing him grow and learn that’s what love is was so satisfying to experience with him on his journey.

Tilly’s journey was equally satisfying. She goes from extreme loneliness from not feeling seen and always having to dim her shine to fit in, to finding a chosen family who sees and accepts her for who she is. They not only appreciate her radiance, but they encourage it. I mean, Oliver describes being around her “like discovering a new color of the rainbow every single day.” How nauseously cute is that?

I also gotta give Eddings props for taking one of my least favorite tropes (miscommunication) and really making it work. A lot of times the miscommunication trope drives me up the wall because it’s entirely avoidable in many of the adult novels I read. Adults should know better. Adults should know how to communicate which makes most romance novel conflicts completely avoidable. But with a young adult novel–especially a young adult novel about two neurodiverse teens–it works. Tilly and Oliver have every reason to miscommunicate. Their brains work differently and they’re still learning how to communicate with each other.

****SPOILER ALERT****

When Oliver returns to Tilly, he acknowledges he should have reacted differently or said anything at all when she first tells him about her job in Paris. She breaks up with him because she didn’t give him time to react which she admits she should have known better. They’re both incredibly forgiving because they know despite their differences, they have a lot in common, and they belong together.

While Tilly and Oliver’s relationship has a satisfying end to their arc, the ending in general felt a little rushed. The reconciliation between Tilly and her mother didn’t feel like her mother earned Tilly’s forgiveness. They have one conversation and years of being treated poorly is supposedly all is well. There’s no action, no showing that her mother is actually deserving of this forgiveness. It’s a little off-putting, especially when compared to how well done the reconciliation between Tilly and her sister which was much more thorough and had more give and take between the sisters.

****END SPOILER****

Overall, Tilly in Technicolor delivers a colorful, charming coming of age romance that centers and celebrates neurodiversity. It’s been a great year for Young Adult novels, and Mazey Edding’s YA debut easily takes its place among the best.

The love I have for Tilly and Ollie honestly knows no bounds. YA is a tricky genre for me, but this read so well that I think anyone of any age would enjoy it.

This follows two neurodivergent teens, Tilly with ADHD and Ollie being on the Autism Spectrum, as they navigate a summer internship together. This is told in dual POV, which I think does a lot for the narrative, as you get a thorough explanation for how they react in the different situations they found themselves in. The mental health aspect of this feels incredibly authentic, and I think that's what made the story for me.

Watching Tilly and Ollie grow in confidence in their surroundings and their relationship was a joy to read. The family dynamics in this is also incredibly well done - the pressures from parents, perfect sisters, and friends who are just incredibly understanding. Even the miscommunication that occurs is handled so well that it doesn't detract from the story or the relationship between these two teens. Honestly, their communication skills (and lack there of) were way too relatable, haha.

Thank you so much to St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books, and Mazey Eddings for an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In the acknowledgments, the author calls this book a love letter to neurodivergent brains and that's exactly what it is. You could see the love that was poured into these characters. I absolutely adored this book and I think it's eye-opening for those of us that are neurotypical to better understand all the many ways in which the world can be seen, felt, and experienced and I hope that it makes the neurodivergent world feel seen and loved!

Contemporary Fiction - 3.5*

This book fits in the genre between YA and adult contemporary that is being called NA (new adult) fiction. Tilly has ADHD and has just graduated high school. Her family doesn't understand her diversity and her mother keeps pushing her to choose a career path. Tilly's older sister is an uber motivated driven career woman and her family wants her to be as successful as her sister. Tilly really just wants to write, but her family sees no positive outcome in creative endeavors. She agrees to spend the summer helping her older sister launch a nail color product line. It involves traveling around Europe and Tilly can imagine all the wonderful things that will happen to her in such romantic cities.

The book is also told from the POV of Oliver. He is autistic and obsessed with Pantone colors. He has taken a summer job working with colors and marketing before he goes to university in the fall.

The first meeting between Oliver and Tilly does not go well, nor do many of their future encounters. Tilly's relationship with her sister is strained and her summer job isn't the dream she thought it would be.

As Tilly works through her own wants and needs in opposition to her family, she comes to realize that she and Oliver aren't so different and can maybe help each other. There might even be some sparks between them worth exploring.

This novel was lovely. I think I'm a little older than the target audience, so I probably didn't love it quite as much as others might. This is the second book of Eddings' that I've read, and she will continue to be someone I will look for.ward to reading more from.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC of this book.

Wow! This book was so freaking cute! This book handled representation of ADHD and Autism delicately and beautifully. As a woman with ADHD, I felt represented in Tilly’s mannerisms, thought process, and quite honestly her awkward moments. Like Tilly, I too have been made to feel like I needed to mask my stims to appear “normal” and this book is a wonderful display of being who you are!

This book follows Tilly as she joins her sister in Europe for work experience, helping be a hand model for her sister’s nail polish company. It is on the airplane to meet her sister that she has an awkward encounter with Oliver who she soon learns is like her, an intern for her sister. They must share a room at each stop (talk about forced proximity) on their journey and they grow closer and closer as the summer goes on.

Watching these young adults fall for one another made me swoon, they are so cute together! I ate this book up, just like everything else from this author!

Thank you to Netgalley, Mazey Eddings, St. Martin’s Press, and Wednesday Books for the digital ARC!

As a 40+ year old adult (I say "adult" reluctantly... still not quite sure when that status feels real), it is a great pleasure to slip back in time via the pages of a good book. Reminiscing about life as an 18 year old with the next phases of life ahead, making big life choices. Tilly in Technicolor was such a pleasure to escape into. Tilly faces a myriad of choices about what direction her life will take, learning about herself along the way and I was fully invested in her story. Tilly leaves home for the first time to follow her big sister around Europe as a summer intern. She hasn't decided what she'll do now that high school is over, but this trip might just help her figure it all out... and who knows, maybe she'll fall in love along the way?! It was great to see neurodiversity and LGBTIA+ representation. Really fun read and I think this is a great YA for the older teens and up.

4.5 stars — My regret? That I didn’t read this earlier and faster so that I could have met Ms. Eddings in person this past weekend. Ah well.

Why is it that sometimes the hardest reviews to write are the really good ones?

The biggest thing I can say about this book is that I feel seen. While I don’t have an official ADHD/ADD diagnosis, I can categorically say that I have some kind of executive dysfunction up in this brain of mine…and I only even remotely saw it as a possibility in the last few years because of the awareness being spread on the internet. So seeing Tilly working through what it means for her, reading her wonderful thoughts on how her brain is different, and how she wishes the world would catch up and accept that different doesn’t mean bad? Oh yeah, that got me all in the feels (and had my highlighting finger a buzzin). And it wasn’t just Tilly’s neurodivergency, but reading from Oliver’s perspective as well. The thing that is so fascinating about NDs is that it varies so widely. So there were elements that I totally understood from a personal perspective, and there were elements that I was able to understand for the first time (and maybe see in people I know). It was an extremely strong part of the story, even while it wasn’t really the whole story…it was just an element of who they both were. It really was just like any YA — a story of characters growing and changing and learning to deal with all of that. And connecting along the way.

I absolutely adored Tilly. She may have been SO MUCH, but she was delightfully perfect just as she was. I loved her exuberance, her loudness, her obsessions, her hopefulness. I vibed with her need to be herself, even if that sometimes meant she was lonely. I totally understood her awkwardness and her quickness to assume rejection and bug out of those situations (even as I cringed from an outsider perspective). She was just sunshine and rainbows and aching heart and sensitive soul, and I loved her.

And Ollie was absolutely delightful as well. He was so much the opposite of Tilly in so many ways, but I absolutely adored his fascination with colours and seeing the world’s beauty in colours. I loved his perspectives on the world. I loved that he was already on the path and doing okay at navigating the world from his perspective and trying not to mask who he was. I LOVED that he had such supportive friends and family in his life, so that when he got stuck, they could give him some outside perspective.

And OMG, they were so delightfully cute together. Like, frustration and butterflies and happiness and giddiness.

It was interesting to have different family situations from both of them. It was like we got to see them sort of at different stages along the path of figuring out how to navigate the world as themselves. I ached for Tilly, but there were also some fantastic moments along the way for her, especially near the end.

All in all, this was just what I needed. And I sincerely hope it helps some kids who feel different feel seen as well.