Lauren Ashburn took a break from her plans to take care of her dying father, but now that he’s gone, she’s having trouble getting back to normal. Georgia Solomon’s best friend just died, leaving her alone with their daughter. As a bisexual and autistic woman, it’s hard to find her place in a world that doesn’t get her. After a disastrous first work meeting, the two run into one another at a grief support meeting and tentatively build a friendship, and then perhaps more. Both have a lot of healing to do and if they can make room for love, perhaps they can do it together.

I requested this book for one reason. Okay two. Autistic. Bisexual main character. I’m always looking for more rep in my books and anytime a neurodivergent character pops up, I’m 100% there. And Georgia’s bi? Sign me the hell up. I enjoyed this one well enough. I did read it on the heels of an action-packed, INtense book, so it was a tad slow going at times, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

A slower plot leaves room for rich characterization, and I, of course, loved Georiga and her daughter, but I had a soft spot for Lauren as well. The offspring of a father with a strong personality, I could see a bit of myself in her. I was rooting for the characters all the way, and if you’re looking for a contemporary romance, give this one a shot.

I liked the book for having characters with autism and with an uncommon family structure. I enjoyed the book, especially how quickly Hannah bounded with Lauren. The conflict at the end was a bit angsty and too rueshed.

A nice good book for a weekend read.

Really good debut.

I found all three of the main characters well written. The author helps the reader understand who they are and how they behave based on their pasts and feelings.

I can’t comment on whether the author did a realistic job portraying how the autistic spectrum is and how it affects people but certainly having two main characters on the spectrum is a true eye opener for readers who might not be familiar with it.

The ending felt a bit rushed and dramatic, cutting down some of the previous chapters would have allowed for a less rushed finale.

The premise of this book looked amazing: a sweet, cute sapphic romance, with an autistic lead, set in Vermont? What more could I ask for? Well, I'm very pleased to report that it lived up to my expectations.

The book, told in alternating-POV chapters of each of the romantic leads, centers around the relationship between Lauren and Georgia, whose worlds first collide at work, and later at a grief therapy group that they both attend. It's sweet, low on angst and conflict, and full of great character development. The book's focus is, in many ways, balanced between the main characters' relationship, their individual journeys, and their relationships with other people in their lives, especially their families, which helped flesh out the characters a great deal.

The representation in this book was wonderful and quite expansive. Lauren is implied to be gay, and Georgia is explicitly bisexual; both Georgia and her daughter are autistic; Georgia's friend/partner Kyle is aromantic. It was clear that the author did her research and/or has personal experience with these, because the portrayals (especially of Georgia and Hannah's autism!) were really great.

My only complaint was that the conflict that drove the end of the book felt a little rushed and slightly out-of-character. That aside, the book was absolutely worth it for the compelling characters, sweet romance, and excellent representation. I'll definitely be looking for more from this author.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review!

Lauren is a computer programmer, dissatisfied in her job and frustrated by her boss. She meets her client Georgia in a disaster of a meeting, where their program designed for her Architecture firm fails. Although they don't get off to the best start, something about their interaction sparks a flame in both women. The two women find themselves growing closer, but both women are navigating grief and their careers, is there space in their lives for romance?

This book was very sweet and I really enjoyed this debut. The romance was sweet and the family moments were very heartwarming. I also think that the author did a fantastic job at showing the reality of family drama and the way those relationships evolved throughout the book. I also loved Lauren and Hannah's relationship. Acker is an excellent writer, the dialogue and the setting and the flow of the novel was really excellent. I look forward to future books from this author and can't wait to see where they go!

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆.

It is a coincidence for me to have read two books in a row that revolves around neurodiverse characters dealing with loss. It is a good topic to write about because bereavement affects people on the spectrum differently. I like how the writing styles between this and Dal Segno are so different that it isn’t comparable. This is far less contemplative but quite realistic (to me) in the way Georgia and her daughter, Hannah, both on the spectrum, reacted to the very recent and sudden loss of Georgia’s best friend and co-parent, Kyle. Emotions of grief are involved but unexpressed to others mostly and the way Georgia felt like she was losing control of her life seems accurate. In a good way, Lauren filled a void for Georgia and played a big part in the healing process of mother and daughter. At the same time, this book is overwhelming because Lauren had to manage her own mixed feelings about her late father and parts of the book made me feel like Lauren herself is neurodiverse but I’m not sure.

I have seen a few good reviews on Goodreads and I agree that Acker writes well. One of the main things I look out for in a romance novel is of course, the romance. I think Acker handled that rather nicely as well. The chemistry between Georgia and Lauren was good.

But I didn’t like every part of the book. I get a bit iffy sometimes when romance novels involve children because they sometimes work, they sometimes don’t, for me. I understand completely that not everybody likes children but when one character who doesn’t, hooks up with a character who has one of their own, I always have a nagging feeling that it is a recipe for disaster. And I believe Lauren verbalised her opinion about children in general more than once. So, I’m really hesitant about that part.

Otherwise, I think it’s a good debut that is in my opinion, almost four stars.

Impressive debut delivering a slow burn romance with characters who were a refreshing change from the usual romance novels we read.

Georgia is an architect on the autism spectrum and has a daughter, Hannah, who is also autistic. Losing her best friend and Hannah’s father has left Georgia feeling lost and overwhelmed. She and Hannah have coping techniques to manage their daily routines but Kyle’s death has left Georgia feeling adrift. Lauren is a computer programmer who is also dealing with the loss of a father she has spent her life trying to please. Lauren is not identified as being on the autism spectrum but her inability to read emotions and her single minded logic reminded me of someone with Aspergers.

The first scene when Lauren meets Hannah and the two connect gave me all the feels and I knew I was going to enjoy this read. These characters felt so real, honest and sincere. I loved how Hannah was a buffer between the women during their early and often awkward moments together. Georgia and Lauren become friends first and eventually lovers. The romantic attraction is there but is often in the background as Georgia deals with her late co-parent’s family and Lauren spends a lot of time in her head, pondering the direction her life should take.

I wasn’t crazy about the ending but knew in my heart these three were meant to be together. The author made me wonder if Georgia and Lauren would ever find their HEA. As unsettling as the conflict is, the drama of it had me remembering exactly where I was when I read this portion of the novel. I so wanted Lauren to see she didn’t need to follow some misconceived dream to honour her father’s wishes but to accept that being the woman Georgia and Hannah needed in their lives was something concrete, something right for Lauren. That I remember exactly where I was (listening via TTS on a walk) speaks volumes to the emotional impact the ending of this novel had for this reader. Well done, Ms. Acker.

This is an author to watch and I look forward to reading her books in the future.

ARC received with thanks from Bella Books via NetGalley for review.

I wanted to like this book more than I actually ended up liking it. I loved the basic story: autistic woman who lost the one person who seemed to hold her together, who was also the father of her autistic child, meets woman who is being pushed into dealing with the death of her overbearing, emotionally distant father. Family issues and love follow. Great right?

There were a few things that didn't sit right with me and that's why I rated it only three stars. First, there were so many similes. Similes flowed like a raging river to the ocean. Or wherever rivers flow to. There were a lot of them. I also couldn't feel a lick of chemistry between the protagonists. I wanted to. I felt a flicker here and there but it just didn't happen for me. And the final conflict at the end came on quickly, didn't seem realistic to me, and was solved easily.

While those things bugged me, I loved the mother/daughter relationship between Georgia and Hannah. They made the book for me. There were also some good humorous exchanges and some emotional stuff that hit the mark.

This is a debut novel and I think some of the issues I had are common in first books for authors. When Ms. Acker's sophomore effort is available, I'll absolutely put it on my TBR.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

This was a sweet book. I enjoyed the main characters and felt they were well written and easily related to. After the introduction of Kyle's sister Kelly I developed a sense of foreboding that built until almost the end. I often don't find myself so invested in a storyline. Like other reviewers mentioned I would have liked another chapter or an epilogue, but all in all this is a great book. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very pleasant surprise. Ms Acker's novel is an impressive debut. Well written, engaging characters that feel real as well as a well paced build up of the romance. After the death of her father, Lauren is at an impasse both with her work and her personal life. Cue a disastrous first meeting with Georgia, also dealing with the death of her best friend/co-parent, and then a follow on meeting at a local grief support group and you've got enough baggage to go on a two week trip. Despite the rocky start, the two women form a a relationship, thanks in part to Georgia's daughter, Hannah (love that kid ) that seems to be what both of them need.

I particularly liked the choices Ms Acker made with the portrayal of Lauren and Georgia. Lauren's seeming lack of ambition is a direct result of her unresolved feelings around the rather ambivalent relationship with her father and you can sympathize with her seeming paralysis to make changes and the frustration of when she does begin to focus more on her career it is completely ignored by her boss. Georgia's autism was deftly portrayed - she is so self-aware of the triggers and reactions but at times is unable to stop them. The struggle she had with managing both her and her daughter's autism with seemingly well intentioned friends or family not quite understanding the impact of their actions and words was a bit of an eye opener. Both women are portrayed with a wonderful realism that makes you connect with them and root for relationship.

From a romance perspective, this is a slow burn and the time Ms Acker takes building the friendship helps build the reader's engagement with the characters so that when the relationship turns to more than friends, its a natural and believable progression and just feels right.

This is a refreshingly romance that hits all the right buttons with engaging characters who are original and well developed and a nice build up of the romance.

Recommended.

This was an interesting read because the main characters were atypical. Lauren Ashburn, computer programmer with a receptive heart and a loving family. Georgia Solomon, architect, with a daughter, an open heart yet feels uncomfortable with her self. Georgia's daughter Hannah is an important person in the story because she wants people in her life but is not always sure how to make that happen. The ending was a little disjointed in how it unfolded. An epilogue would have been good.

Autism is at the heart of this story. I have a nephew who is autistic. As I read, I found similarities between the characters and the life my brother and his family experience. I enjoy spending time my nephew. When I am with him, patience and love is the key.

So Sweet!
Lauren works for a software company that is woefully inadequate and ineffective. It’s poorly run and makes promise it can’t live up to, leaving Lauren to look the fool even though SHE knows what’s what. It’s a harsh reality for her as she left a good career to take care of her dying father. Now she feels stuck and has no energy to change things. Georgia designs homes, she’s a single mom to an austic daughter and she’s austic herself. Her daughter’s father has recently died leaving a hole in their lives. Georgia and Lauren meet at a disaster of a work meeting then later at a grief group. Lauren is taken with Georgia’s daughter and really by the woman herself. After Lauren goes over and above to make things right with her, Georgia finds herself equally intrigued.

This is a wonderful book filled with all sorts of emotions. I adored Hannah, Georgia’s daughter. She is adorable and lovable. Watching Georgia and Lauren’s growing attraction is a joy and delight. I liked watching them overcome their struggles and work together to make their dreams and hopes come true. This really well written story kept my attention throughout and left me feeling happy and contented at the end. I highly recommend this delightful story!

I was touched by this book and I really liked seeing autistics characters brought to light.
Lauren, Georgia and Hannah, Georgia's daughter, develop a very sweet bond in the book.
Undoubtedly the characters are the high point of this narrative and I hope Acker keeps on with her writings.

This is an impressive debut for Acker.

Lauren came home to her small town when her Dad’s health took a turn for the worse. Now he’s gone she’s looking at what her next steps should be, including deciding if she wants to stay in her demanding yet unsatisfying job. When demonstrating her company’s latest piece of discouraging software to an architectural firm, she meets Georgia.

Georgia works at the architecture firm designing homes. She has a lot to think about herself. She’s reeling from the unexpected death of her daughter’s father, Georgia’s best friend and work colleague, trying to navigate life as a bisexual autistic woman without his help and the last thing she needs is Lauren and her dreadful software in her life.

I found all three of the main characters (I’m counting Georgia’s daughter Hannah in this because her part in the book is so important) are written really well. You get to know who they are and why they are the way they are, and I thought Acker did a great job of portraying how their pasts impact their decision making and feelings about themselves. I don’t have much experience with autism, but from my limited knowledge I felt the portrayal of Georgia and Hannah was done well and I’m happy to see other reviewers with more experience feel this way. I also found most of the secondary characters to be interesting and well thought out too.

A book full of communication almost feels like a rarity nowadays, but this one has it, until it doesn’t. The gaps in communication do however fit with what we know about the characters, and I felt that this played really well. So whilst I was disappointed to find the 90% angst blow-up, it did at least make sense within the narrative.

As I often say when that 90% blow-up happens - I wanted more of them together. I wanted to see how they all worked together as a family, how Lauren integrated further into Georgia and Hannah’s lives and how Lauren began to feel about herself when she realised she could do anything she wanted with her life.

I’m definitely hoping the success of this one means that another book will be forthcoming for Acker and I’ll be looking out for it.

To be fair, I’m not sure this review does this book justice, but I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for an unusual romance with interesting characters.

I received an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Georgia Solomon has dealt with autisticism all her life. Not only her own but her daughter Hannah’s as well. She was all right as long as her schedule didn’t get out of whack. That is what happened when her best friend Kyle passed away unexpectedly. Kyle was also Hannah’s dad but they’d never married. Instead they worked together and lived next door to each other. Over the years it’s been Kyle who helped Georgia deal with being a mother. Now she felt she was on her own.
Lauren Ashburn was dealing with the death of her father. They never really got along with her father, unable to give either her or her sister a small bit of praise, no matter how hard they tried. Now she was working for a company who had a contract building a program for the very company Georgia worked for.
Now after meeting each other through their jobs, they meet again. This time at Healing House, a group that helped their clients with the loss of a loved one.
This is one of the most compelling stories I’ve read when it comes to characters dealing with autism. Wonderful story.
ARC via NetGalley/ Bella Books

This book is an ode to all the outsiders: those of us who aren’t social, or don’t react the way society deems appropriate. Lauren is a loner who just wants to to be happy. Georgia is an autistic woman with an autistic child trying to finder her place in society and her footing as a single mother. They become acquainted through a grief therapy group. Lauren has lost her father, and Georgia has lost her best friend/father of her daughter.

I think the high point for me was the characters and how, despite their awkwardness, they clicked and developed a connection. The story line was just okay, but honestly I wasn’t paying much mind, as I was too wrapped up in the characters and their interactions. I am not a touchy feely person, and this book celebrates those of us who never quite understand the best way to express emotion.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Leaving’s Not the Only Way to Go by Kay Acker. This is Acker’s debut novel, but you would never know it by how well the book is written.

This is the story of Georgia, Lauren, and Georgia’s daughter Hannah. Both Lauren and Georgia are in the midst of the grieving process when they first meet through their work. Lauren has recently lost her father. Georgia is trying to recover from the loss of Hannah’s father, who also happened to be her best friend. Their workplace meeting doesn’t go very well, but the two keep bumping into each other and Hannah helps to draw the two women together.

This is my favorite kind of tale…a character driven story. The author did an excellent job creating and developing these people, especially Georgia and Hannah. Both have high functioning autism, and the author wrote their characters perfectly. My wife and I have raised an autistic child (He is actually a fine young man now, but he will always be our baby.) so I’m aware of some of the challenges people on the spectrum can face, such as heightened sound sensitivity, texture problems with food and clothing, and problems being around crowds. I actually stopped reading once to show my wife a passage where Hannah had to put ear plugs in her ears because her extended family insisted on singing “Happy Birthday” to her. Our son has hated that since he was a toddler, but our family insists on singing the song too. This realism made it easy for me to connect with these characters.

The premise of the novel is great, the romance is beautiful, the small town setting is perfect for the story, and the realistic characters made this book a joy to read. I only have one criticism with this book. The ending is a bit rushed and leaves some things unfinished. I really wish there was an epilogue to this story. Considering how much I love the rest of the book, though, this is a minor irritant. Overall, I’m very impressed with this author’s writing, and I definitely will be looking for more of her work.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bella Books for an honest review.

I am in love with this book - it just has so many incredible aspects! For starters, the adorable axolotl on the cover; how could you refuse that smiling little face? On a slightly more serious note, the pages inside the cover are pretty fantastic too. Lauren is a slightly odd character who I can relate to in many ways, (other people are difficult, please just let me get on with my stuff, why are you always hassling me to be sociable, why can't things be nicely organised the way I like things, stop touching my precious things etc) and she is very well crafted with real depth. She is struggling after the death of her father, who she had a complicated relationship with and is feeling lost back in her home town. Georgia meets Lauren at a disastrous business meeting, and then again at a bereavement group - neither meeting goes particularly well but through the inadvertent intervention of Hannah, Georgia's daughter and Lauren's cat Turing, a careful friendship begins.

Both Georgia and Hannah have autism and Kay Acker writes about this very well, showing how both characters get to know people and navigate the world around them without some of the social signposts that other people take for granted. Hannah is an excellent character who won me over straight away, and not just with her love for and fascination with axolotls. Her relationship with Georgia and how they deal with their grief over the loss of Georgia's best friend and Hannah's father Kyle, is beautiful and heart-breaking to read. There were quite a few times when this book had me in tears but one section sticks out: "If she kept holding on to her grief, she’d have no hands free for Hannah to hold and none to reach out with.".

The relationship between Lauren and Georgia develops at a very natural pace and is a delight to watch unfold. There are sex scenes on the page and again, they are so well written; both hot and sweet. Even before they get to that stage there is one incredible scene when Georgia returns home after a fancy work function, Lauren had stepped in as an emergency babysitter and Georgia takes off her shoes and socks in front of her. "The nylons were rolled gently down Georgia’s thighs, over her knees, down her calves, and abandoned on the floor. She started taking off her jewelry, her hands running over her fingers, her wrists, the back of her neck. Lauren wanted her own hands on that skin, gently baring the woman before her piece by piece." Nothing more happens in this scene but the tension in it is incredible makes the eventual release for Lauren, Georgia and the reader so much better.

This is Kay Acker's first book and I can't wait for her next novel (plus her short story in the Bella collection that is coming out sometime soon.) I'd highly recommend this book.

I am in love with this book - it just has so many incredible aspects! For starters, the adorable axolotl on the cover; how could you refuse that smiling little face? On a slightly more serious note, the pages inside the cover are pretty fantastic too. Lauren is a slightly odd character who I can relate to in many ways, (other people are difficult, please just let me get on with my stuff, why are you always hassling me to be sociable, why can't things be nicely organised the way I like things, stop touching my precious things etc) and she is very well crafted with real depth. She is struggling after the death of her father, who she had a complicated relationship with and is feeling lost back in her home town. Georgia meets Lauren at a disastrous business meeting, and then again at a bereavement group - neither meeting goes particularly well but through the inadvertent intervention of Hannah, Georgia's daughter and Lauren's cat Turing, a careful friendship begins.

Both Georgia and Hannah have autism and Kay Acker writes about this very well, showing how both characters get to know people and navigate the world around them without some of the social signposts that other people take for granted. Hannah is an excellent character who won me over straight away, and not just with her love for and fascination with axolotls. Her relationship with Georgia and how they deal with their grief over the loss of Georgia's best friend and Hannah's father Kyle, is beautiful and heart-breaking to read. There were quite a few times when this book had me in tears but one section sticks out: "If she kept holding on to her grief, she’d have no hands free for Hannah to hold and none to reach out with.".

The relationship between Lauren and Georgia develops at a very natural pace and is a delight to watch unfold. There are sex scenes on the page and again, they are so well written; both hot and sweet. Even before they get to that stage there is one incredible scene when Georgia returns home after a fancy work function, Lauren had stepped in as an emergency babysitter and Georgia takes off her shoes and socks in front of her. "The nylons were rolled gently down Georgia’s thighs, over her knees, down her calves, and abandoned on the floor. She started taking off her jewelry, her hands running over her fingers, her wrists, the back of her neck. Lauren wanted her own hands on that skin, gently baring the woman before her piece by piece." Nothing more happens in this scene but the tension in it is incredible makes the eventual release for Lauren, Georgia and the reader so much better.

This is Kay Acker's first book and I can't wait for her next novel (plus her short story in the Bella collection that is coming out sometime soon.) I'd highly recommend this book.

No matter who, how or what you are, somewhere, somehow in this universe, there is that someone meant to be just for you.

Georgia Solomon is autistic. When her pillar of support died, she is left to learn to navigate life without his guidance and be a nurturing parent to her daughter, Hannah. While she grieves and wrestles with a world that does not understand her, Lauren Ashburn stumbles into her life and forms an affinity with her daughter.

Lauren Ashburn is struggling to live and keep up with the shadows and expectations of her dead father. While back in her hometown, she is forced to attend a grief support group and found Georgia Solomon; whom she made a poor first impression with as one of its attendees. While she does not fancy children, she took a liking to Georgia’s kid, Hannah.

4.5 stars. The author has done well with her delivery of the interactions between Lauren, Georgia and Hannah. She provided a researched insight of the expressions, behaviours and reactions between the trio as they learn and become a part of each others’ lives. The trio fit, and for what Georgia lost, it’s exceptionally pleasing to see her find support, love and acceptance again.

I just reviewed Leaving’s Not The Only Way To Go by Kay Acker. Thank you NetGalley and Bella Books for the ARC.