What it Seems

** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE ** Copy received through Netgalley~What It Seems, by Sydney Blackburn ★★★★☆ 66 Pages POV: 3rd person, dual POV Content Warning: ace/demi-sexual, self-discovery, a forced kissThis was my first book by Blackburn and I really enjoyed it.At first, their writing style felt strangely historical in nature. The way they described events and situations sounded more like a historical book than a modern/contemporary one, and confused me. I found it hard to get into, but the more the first chapter went on the more it began to feel more natural.A similar thing happened with the characters. At first, I wasn’t sure about Michael. It felt like he was overly desperate, fantasising about Darcy without ever knowing anything about them. Then the forced-kiss happened and it was another strike of desperation that didn’t help endear me to Michael. By then, we’d seen Darcy’s POV and the hint had been lain out that he was ace/aro so that when Michael kissed it, it felt even more invasive than it would have on any other unsuspecting person. Because, by then, we knew Darcy had never been kissed and stealing someone’s first kiss like that is brutal.Personally, I thought it would have had much more impact if we hadn’t seen Darcy’s POV until *after* the kiss, when Michael realised Darcy was a man. That would have had twice the impact, especially since Michael had done such an intense job of reminding himself he was straight. I also think it would have had *more* impact if we hadn’t known about Dave’s insistence he was Bi, until *after* the kiss, as well.For me, Michael over-emphasised his straight-ness all throughout the book. That “he doth protest too much” was in overdrive. Especially with things like this cropping up: “Dave had told Michael he was bisexual. Michael didn’t feel bisexual, though—more like an open-minded straight guy. Jerking another guy to relieve some horniness wasn’t the same as thinking guys were hot or wanting to date one.”Darcy, for me, was the shining light of the book. While I’m Ace myself and always love Ace representation in books, I completely understand the direction of the story. Because, no, not everyone discovers their true orientation at first, or early on. Sometimes, you try a label on that you believe fits, and then circumstances happen that completely shock you and rock your world. That’s entirely realistic, but I also get why the publisher marked it as both ace and demi, because it really is both. The Ace representation isn’t any worse-off for the fact Darcy later realises he’s actually demi and not Ace, because the author did such a good job of showing both in a realistic and genuine light.I was actually really confused by the whole “queue” hairstyle that was constantly mentioned, because there was no explanation of what it was. Once I Googled it and discovered it was a Chinese hairstyle (basically a plait) I was confused about why it had been chosen instead of a plait or ponytail. Was it somehow symbolic of the character’s ethnicity? If so, that was never made clear. A little explanation would have gone a long way to helping me understand. Along with a POV change without a break, and a few instances of editing, this was another small piece of editing that could have elevated the book.For me, the story was two halves. The first was shaky and left me not sure what to make of Michael and the situation that brought him and Darcy together. I still think the order left out major opportunities for intrigue and excitement. But, the second half of the book really helped make up for that. It took the journey of self-discovery for both MC’s and really made them shine, individually and apart.The writing was a bit literary at times, so when the swearing or sexy parts came, it felt a tad unnatural. There were some editing issues. The consent problem was nicely resolved by Darcy’s reaction to it, in my opinion, and it became a real story about love, friendship, discovery and what it meant to be true to oneself.~Favourite Quotes“I love sex, I really do, but if I have to choose between it and you, I pick you. My life…oh god, Darcy. My life without you would be so…bleak, so empty.”