The Romantic Agenda by Claire Kann Pages: 336
Published by Berkley on April 12, 2022
Joy is in love with Malcolm.But Malcolm really likes Summer.Summer is in love with love.And Fox is Summer’s ex-boyfriend.
Thirty, flirty, and asexual Joy is secretly in love with her best friend Malcolm, but she’s never been brave enough to say so. When he unexpectedly announces that he's met the love of his life—and no, it's not Joy—she's heartbroken. Malcolm invites her on a weekend getaway, and Joy decides it’s her last chance to show him exactly what he’s overlooking. But maybe Joy is the one missing something…or someone…and his name is Fox.
Fox sees a kindred spirit in Joy—and decides to help her. He proposes they pretend to fall for each other on the weekend trip to make Malcolm jealous. But spending time with Fox shows Joy what it’s like to not be the third wheel, and there’s no mistaking the way he makes her feel. Could Fox be the romantic partner she’s always deserved?
The Romantic Agenda is an adult contemporary romance by author Claire Kann. This book is a bit of self discovery and a bit of a comedy of errors with everything thinking they like one person in this small interwoven group of friends, when maybe you are actually meant for someone else. There is also great diversity rep in this novel, which one rep that I don’t see too often and I loved reading about-two of the characters are asexual, which is fantastic. Even better is the fact that we get to see how two different people approach asexuality very differently, which I really appreciated because everyone is different.
Here is what you need to know about the story to set the stage: Joy is in love with Malcolm.
But Malcolm really likes Summer. Summer is in love with love. And Fox is Summer’s ex-boyfriend. If that sounds fun, then you will really enjoy this lighthearted read. I really enjoyed getting to know all of the different characters, and I was there for all the pining. But when I realized that maybe some of these crushes were going to change and transfer to other characters (at the end) I was left hoping that some of that happened a little earlier in the book. It was still a really enjoyable read, and I loved Joy.
My favorite character in the book is Fox. I love his grumpiness and his sense of humor. He stole the book in my opinion and I wanted him to get his happy ending most of them all. Bottom line: if you are looking for a contemporary romance that features asexual rep, then The Romantic Agenda might be a fantastic book for you to check out. I enjoyed this one a lot.
Lisa Mandina (Lisa Loves Literature)
I’m intrigued to read something from asexual point of view. And I loved this author’s YA books, so will have to give this one a try. Great review!
https://lisalovesliterature.bookblog.io/2022/04/27/blog-tour-review-not-fooling-anyone-lessons-learned-2-by-allie-winters/