Serena Kaylor has become an auto-read author for me & The Calculation of You and Me was such a good coming of age story about finding yourself & finding love from the unexpected.

I love Marlowe’s character, especially with the growth & development, and I really loved Ash - the boy in black, who wears eyeliner, and surprisingly writes love songs. Although, I hated how much time that Marlowe spent pining over her ex.

I also loved the neurodivergent representation & I thought it was beautifully done.

Huge thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. And thank you to LibroFM for the ALC!

An absolutely fantastic teens in love story. It reminded me of how I adore stories of teens figuring out their problems and reacting to dilemmas that arise in the halls of high school. Add in an autistic girl trying to win back her ex-boyfriend and the goth boy who is helping her and the plot to a neat story begins.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Marlowe, neurodivergent and uncertain of herself in social situations, is told by her boyfriend Josh that they need a break. According to Josh the jack wagon, she doesn’t know how to love someone or even what love is.

She decides she needs a little help, and here we have an English class studying classics, plus a tall, hot musician who offers to help her write letters to get Josh back.

In the course of this letter writing, plus working on a project for English class, Marlowe begins to see that maybe she is not the one who knows nothing of love. But she's learning fast--and not with the stinker Josh.

There were so many funny moments, great characters, and terrific discussions about love. I loved the lead to the end more than I liked the denouement as I'm not really convinced that confessions of love ought to be performance art, but that might be my age. The rest of the book was a delight

4.5/5 stars

WOWEE I loved this.

Serena Kaylor managed, with this story, to tell a story that was hilarious and swoony, with the perfect amount of tension, conflict, and romance.

THE CALCULATION OF YOU AND ME is the story of math whiz Marlowe, who, after a rough (and insulting) breakup with her boyfriend Josh, enlists the help of her class partner, the school mysterious emo grump Ash, to win Josh back by increasing her romantic skills. But the more time she spends with funny, musical, kind Ash, she starts to wonder what she really wants in a relationship—and in herself. Over band practices, kissing for “research,” laser tag, stacks of romance novels, and arguments about Heathcliff, sparks fly between Marlowe and Ash, leaving her with lots of confusing feelings about Josh, love, and herself that she has to rearrange her long-held equations for.

First of all, I didn’t think I was into emo boys until this book. Serena did that. She has me drooling over a lip-ring and black-clothes clad, eyeliner-wearing rock star with a heart of gold and a mind full of romance tropes and I regret nothing! I love the “dating coach” trope and I loved these characters. I loved that it was funny and romantic, while still managing a believable emotional depth—it was smart and intentional, meaningful and touching. I was captivating by this book early on and I absolutely loved the reading experience.

The only (minor) issue I had was how quickly the book wrapped up — I wanted a little more of a developed conclusion (honestly, just wanted more of this story!), but overall, it was an incredibly readable, swoony story! Highly recommend!

Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest, unbiased review. THE CALCULATION OF YOU AND ME is out now!

This was SO FLIPPING CUTE.
We get romance tutoring for our sweet genius autistic FMC, a hot goth and IN A BAND bi/pan mmc, and analysis of the absolute chaos that is Wuthering Heights all in the same book?? MORE LIKE THIS PLEASE.

I absolutely loved it and I need to go back and read the author’s other book now.

10/10 recommend. 😍

I received an advance copy from the publisher, all opinions are my own, and a review was not required.

This is an extremely enjoyable novel. At first, the character of Marlowe is rather annoying. It is infuriating how desperate she is to get back a jerk like Josh, who is clearly unworthy of her love in the first place. He makes her think that she is not good enough.

On the other hand, it is clear from the beginning what a good guy Ashton is. He clearly cares about Marlowe much more than she even realizes at first. Their relationship grows slowly and sweetly. The more it grows, the more Marlowe's confidence grows and she comes into her own and becomes a better person and a more likable character.

Both main characters in this novel could easily be dismissed as less than worthy, unimportant, or not good enough by many people. Marlowe is neurodivergent. Her brain doesn't work like other people's She is unnaturally obsessed with math, she tends to ramble on about things like mushrooms, and more. Ashton is a gothy teen who dresses in black and wears eyeliner. However, the author fully fleshes them out in a way that takes away their otherness and makes them relatable.

The book is also full of a lot of terrific secondary characters. They include Marlowe's two best friends, her mom, her dad, her stepdad, and her younger sister. All of them are extremely supportive of Marlowe. Their presence in the story and their great relationships with her serve to make what was already a good book even better and more satisfying to read

This was such a cute book! I'm glad it exists in a world where people who need to see themselves represented can have that.

I really enjoyed this fun & sweet YA! Marlowe wants to learn how to be romantic to win back her ex-boyfriend so Ash agrees to help her learn all about romance. I absolutely love that Ash used romance books to help her learn the difference between romance and toxic love.

*2.5 stars
I didn’t dislike this book heavily or anything, but I did just feel disappointed reading it most of the time. The characters were mostly fine, but they annoyed me sometimes. I also wished we focused more on Marlowe’s love of math considering it was mentioned in the summary as much as the romance novel reading aspect, but we didn’t get a lot.

Nerdy math-centric Marlowe is on a break with her boyfriend but their future is all but written. Only he wants a permanent split because she's not romantic enough. Her unexpected love coach is none other than Ash, the boy in black with a rock band and a secret stash of love songs.
Marlowe is pretty lovable and I very much enjoyed how Serena wrote her character. I thought it was very clever to use Wuthering Heights to help Marlowe dig into emotions and see Ash as more than his façade.
I had the opportunity to meet Serena a few months ago and won a copy and cute swag from a giveaway. I was able to tandem read with the audiobook (only the best way to read 😉). The narrators did a great job exploring young love in this coming of age story.
Loved the nerdy girl and the misunderstood boy coming together and how Serena took care with her autism. Didn’t love how long it took for Marlowe to get her head out of her bum with how terrible her ex is and I wanted just a tad more from the supporting cast, particularly her family.
Thank you to @wednesdaybooks, the author, and @librofm for the advanced copies and audiobook. All thoughts are my own.

The Calculation of You and Me by Serena Kaylor is a charming exploration of love, logic, and unexpected connections. The main character, Marlowe Meadows, is a math whiz navigating the start of a new school year after her breakup with high school golden boy Josh. Determined not to fail at romance, Marlowe strikes a deal with Ashton Hayes, a moody and enigmatic classmate, to help her win Josh back with love letters in exchange for making Ashton's band a viral sensation.

As Marlowe and Ashton spend more time together, their relationship takes an unexpected turn, challenging Marlowe's preconceived notions about love and its equations. The book beautifully captures the twists and turns of their relationship and proves that love is often found in surprising places.

Kaylor's writing is humorous and engaging. It captures the highs and lows of teenage emotions—especially in a world that can be difficult to manage. This heartfelt and memorable story leaves a lasting impression and the desire to read more.

Cute teen romance. Heterosexual but include lgb characters. The basic premise is that this girl gets dumped for being “bad at love” and she wants desperately to get the guy back. But the guy she enlists to teach her about romance ends up being the right guy for her. Who is shocked? Absolutely nobody. But it’s still a fun read. G-rated. I will likely recommend this to my 12 year old daughter.
Thematic inclusions: autism, high school.

I received an eARC of this book free from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

This book was so cute and impossibly sweet- I loved the autism rep with our main character Marlowe and the way she interacted with her people and her world. So empathetic and such an excellent story to have in the world to connect to! And Ash- wow- I found my inner child swooning over how sweet his little romance loving, edgy goth heart was. I loved the journey the story took us on and the way Marlowe was so supported by her friends and family and how they never shamed her for what it took for her to figure out how things had been with Josh. There was just the right amount of pining and angst and I was rooting so hard for this happy ending!

This book was ADORABLE! If you're in the mood for a sweet YA romance then definitely give this one a read! The main character, Marlowe, is dumped by her first long-term boyfriend over the summer and she is determined to get him back. She makes an agreement with a newer classmate, Ashton, for him to help her win her ex back while she revamps his band's social media pages. Cue everything cute and adorable and swoon worthy! Ashton was the type of boy I WISHED would have been interested in me in high school so I ate every bit of this story up! Marlowe's friend group was also so fun and appropriately challenged Marlowe and her thinking. This was a very well-rounded book in terms of characters and story. I would definitely read something from this author again!

I loved everything about this book. This was a highly anticipated read for me as I have been waiting for this since the author’s last release; it did not disappoint, From the moment Ashton steps up to partner with Marlowe for the term English project, he had my heart. How can anyone resist the boy that saves the girl from having to partner up with the boy that broke her heart?
Ashton is patient and kind. He proves to be a very good friend to Marlowe as she tries to win her ex boyfriend back. They make a deal wth one another that forces them to work closely with one another on their separate goals - Ash educating Marlowe in the ways of love and helping her to realize that she may not be as broken as her ex made her out to be, and Marlowe helping Ash and his band gain in popularity.
I loved that our dear grumpy goth was a huge fan of romance novels - his preferred reading material, in fact. While I enjoy a good romance, I never really thought about its impact on my life. This book actually helped bring those feelings to the forefront, while it answered some of my own questions on why I enjoy reading these types of books.
I loved Marlowe’s loud, too much at times, personality. I did not think she was too much. I found her so very much relatable. You know you’ve read a good book when you can feel its impact the way I felt this. Marlowe’s close friends were instrumental members of the cast, as were her sister and mother.
I cannot recommend this book enough if you’ve ever felt like too much and not enough all at the same time. This should be an addition to your summer reading list. I will be running out to pick up a physical copy as soon as I can. I need this book on my shelves.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an e-arc of the book. The opinions expressed are honest and my own.

I adored Serena's debut and this felt like an elevated version of everything I loved. The characters were fully realized and the autism rep felt so real. I love this sweet, rivals to lovers romcom!

I wanted to pick this one up since I liked the author’s first book!

The book is told from one-point-of-view and it comes from Marlowe. She wants to get back with her ex who dumped her stating that she wasn’t romantic enough. Through romance books and another classmates help, Ash, she sets out on a journey to win him back.

Marlowe has autism and I thought it was well done, but I do not have autism so I can’t really comment on it beyond that. She is a decent character, but I didn’t understand her fascination with Josh. The reader never really gets much from him besides what she felt with him previously and sometimes what he is up to now. He is definitely unlikable and continues to be that way throughout the book. Marlowe doesn’t realize this until the last 90% of the book and it really solidifies her last choice.

The one I was rooting for was Ash. He reminded me of myself in some way when it came to high school, especially his style. I wish that there had been more between them because it was slower than a slowburn and so the payoff didn’t feel that great.

I liked much of the side characters and enjoyed seeing Marlowe’s friends trying to steer her in the right direction.

Overall, this was a decent book and I can see teens really enjoying and relating to it.

This book made me sooo happy!!! I absolutely adored Marlowe Amelia Meadows and Ashton Hayes!!!

After spending the Summer on a break from her boyfriend Josh, Marlowe decides she wants him back and she’s willing to put in the work to be “more romantic” to be with him…only he’s not interested in getting back together. Following an embarrassing moment in English class, Marlowe is teamed up with her broody classmate Ash for their semester project. Marlowe then charmingly convinces Ash to help her get Josh back, and Ash follows through in a series of the utterly delightful lessons.

This was so warm, and a fantastic representation of finding oneself and loving oneself during those challenging teen years!! I requested this ARC for the neurodivergent representation and I stayed for the character development, the friendship and the mushroom facts.

5 stars, 5 well -deserved, I wish I could give it more, stars...Thank you Serena Kaylor for bringing my teenage dreams to life with The Calculation of You and Me!!!!!!!!!

Thank you also to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the eARC!!

Yes to neurodiverse authors writing about neurodiverse characters! MORE please.
When Marlowe’s boyfriend formalizes their break up on the first day of senior year, she is determined to approach this like any other problem: figure out where things went wrong, fix it, and win Josh back. Since Josh says that Marlowe may be deficient when it comes to romance, Marlowe blames her autism and sets out to master love. Marlowe’s new AP Lit partner just so happens to work in a romance book store and need help with his band so they work out a deal. As Marlowe develops a plan to win back Josh, things get complicated with Ashton, of course. I liked so many things about this book. Marlowe’s growth is so relatable as she learns to trust herself and be her own advocate. Great character development includes not only our main characters, but also minor characters like the bookstore owner of my dreams, Marlowe’s Mom and 2 besties. Kaylor’s writing is strong, with a few quotable passages and a pace that keeps the pages turning. This book was such a sweet surprise and I cannot wait to talk about it with other readers.

I loved every second of this book and devoured it in a day.

Thank you so much Wednesday books for the free digital ARC for an honest review.

I love Marlowe; her mind, her passion for mushrooms, her friends, her honesty. She's amazing and I wish I could have had a friend like her when I was younger.

Ash was amazing. I love how authentic he is and how much he cares for Marlowe. Even if we don't get his POV, we can feel it through Marlowe and it was really well-done.


Read this book if you love :

✨ Neurodivergent characters;
✨ YA Romances;
✨ Opposites Attract;
✨ Grumpy MMC;
✨ LGBTQ Characters;
✨ Small Town.