Welcome Back, Booklovers! The Romantic Agenda is a romance I received awhile back from Berkley. It's an romance with an ace main character which itself is pretty rare for traditional publishing and it got a lot of attention when it first released.
Joy is in love with her best friend Malcolm. They've been friends for ten years and work together. She's been there by his side through every heartbreak and is waiting for the day Malcolm declares his love for her. When he invites her on a vacation she thinks he will finally do that until he introduces her to his latest girlfriend, Summer. Joy has a history of getting between him and his girlfriends who feel like she undermines their relationships. Summer in turn has invited her friend and former boyfriend Fox. During the weekend getaway Summer and Fox learn more about asexuality and observe the relationship between Joy and Malcolm. While Joy and Malcolm finally have the hard conversations they've been avoiding about their feelings for each other.
The Romantic Agenda tries to craft a triangle or more a quad of sorts. While Claire Kann does a great job explaining the nuance and misconceptions surrounding asexuality the romance here falls short. So much of the book is dedicated to Joy and Malcolm communicating their feelings towards each other. That relationship juxtaposed against her new forming one with Fox just made the romance fall flat. It's hard to believe she's built a connection with someone new over the course of a few days. Especially since she keeps mentioning it takes her a long time to build up trust. Summer is a very bubbly almost childlike woman who really feels like the third wheel in a relationship between two people with communication issues and a codependent relationship. One of their favorite things to do is retell the story of how they met which gets repetitive. The book tries to tell two different stories and there's only room for one to thrive. She tried to do something different here while incorporating beloved tropes and though messy and entertaining at points when it comes to the romance it didn't quite hit the mark.
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