Perfectly Adequate

I know I'm swimming against the tide with my opinion of this book, but there are things about it that leave me uneasy and not satisfied with it as a romance. I have nothing against the author and her writing abilities. As a matter of fact, her novel LOOK THE PART was very good, IMO, and since reading it I've read others by her, trying to find one just as good or better than that one. Unfortunately, this is not the one.It has what seems to be a requirement lately, that is, a main character with a "disability" or "otherness", for want of a better term. It's admirable to give star billing to a heroine with ASD. Heroine Dorothy is very high functioning autistic, what used to be called Asperger Syndrome. Unfortunately, I've read so many of these now that it's starting to become same old, same old, and, frankly, nothing I've read with a main character with ASD surpasses Graeme Simsion's Rosie trilogy.Lest you think I'm an unfeeling person, I did enjoy the Dorothy character. She's great. Although she struggles, perhaps less now than when growing up, with social cues and unfamiliar situations and trying to appear "neurotypical", she's doing very well in her life.No, I have nothing against Dorothy. It's the neurotypicals here that bother me, and the romance between Dorothy and divorced Dr. Elijah Hawkins feels squicky to me and made me feel uncomfortable about it.The rest of this review has SPOILERS, so you are warned. Anyway, here's what I didn't like:(1) Although the hero is only 8 years older than the heroine, it felt like a much greater age difference, perhaps because Dorothy's maturity level, (due to ASD?), seemed much less than her actual age of 30. As such, the two didn't gel for me as a couple.(2) The hero had been with his ex-wife (counting before and during their marriage) for more than 15 years and he was still in love with her at the beginning of the story. Resenting her and hating her for wanting out of the relationship, nonetheless, he admittedly still loved her and wanted his family (adorable 3-year-old son and wife) back together. That's why the very sudden insta-lust/love for Dorothy that he claimed to feel didn't sit right with me.(3) The ex-wife admits to depression being the big driver in her dissatisfaction with their marriage and she is, it seems, bipolar. Well, for pity's sake. They were both medical doctors. Why couldn't the husband, our "hero", not see her struggles and try to help her?(4) Hero Elijah and Dorothy end up together just because. Just because Dorothy ends up getting pregnant. Otherwise, Elijah would have drifted back into remarriage with the ex. And that's another "for pity's sake". He's a dang doctor. Doesn't he know how babies are made and also how to prevent their being made? In addition, that "oops, I'm pregnant" device for getting two people together is lame, lame, lame. Elijah should have had enough initiative and decisiveness to choose Dorothy without that.(5) Oh, what an icky ending. The ex-wife moves next door to Dorothy and Elijah. Now, I'm all for friendly exes but that's creepy. Especially since the ex-wife had recently expressed her love for the H and her wish to reconnect as a couple.There's probably more I didn't like, but I've forgotten by now. This didn't work for me. I'm not against ASD characters. I'm against lame, annoyingly indecisive, blow-in-the-wind neurotypicals like our hero here. However, the hero's young son and his relationship with Dorothy made for a lovely part of the book. Too bad Dorothy had to end up with the father to have a relationship with the son.

As a fan of JEA, I was not a fan of this book at all. First, it never captured my attention like all her other books where I can’t put it down. In fact, I kept putting it down because it was bad. The only reason why I read it all, was that I paid for it and felt I should get my money’s worth. The lovers never had any chemistry felt from the book. It just seemed so forced. And the fact that the doctor found Dorothy sexy, was odd considering all her mannerism due to her ASPIE were very childlike. It felt like he was taking advantage of a child. I couldn’t get that thought out of my head and therefore was grossed out every time they had sex. Which for Dorothy was very clinical. I wanted to like this book, but just couldn’t.

I don't care what anyone says. This book was such a fun book. It was exactly what I needed at the exact right time.I couldn't get enough of these characters. The author did such a great job with pairing an "ordinary" person with a person with Asperger. She hit the nail on the head with both of them, then the combining of them. It was so fun and torturous to go on their journey of falling in love and sacrifice.This book isn't listed as a romcom, and I don't know that I would classify it as a romcom. However, I found myself chuckling out loud so many times. Between the heroine's quirks and the hero's reactions to them, I was in my happy place.If you're looking for a quirky, fun, unique read, this one is for you. I enjoyed this one from start to finish.

... save a life. She is my breath of life.”Dorthy: “I smile, my go-to when things get really awkward— which happens way too often.”Oh my heart! It’s completely and forever head over heels in love with this heroine! She owns me heart and soul. The adorably precious, one-of-a-kind Dorothy had me laughing like a loon throughout, with a big, goofy grin on my face and unicorn sparkles filling my heart. She's delightfully unexpected and everlastingly enchanting. Dorthy will keep you off kilter, because no one's brain works like hers, so expect the unexpected – a bit of mental whiplash with a deadpan delivery.In addition to my undying adoration of Dorothy, I have a new girl crush on an author who earns herself a spot at the top of my Must Read list (and this book may have just captured the spot for my number one read of 2019). I can’t even begin to imagine the kind of mind that can create these amazingly unique characters and fill the pages with so much laughter, love and heart, but it’s brilliant! Pure genius with a side of dazzling wit! Brava, Jewel. Brava.Dorothy Mayhem is a nursing student and works the weekends as a patient transporter at the same hospital where the gorgeous pediatric oncologist, Dr. Eli Hawkins, works. Dorthy is on the spectrum (the human spectrum, she likes to say) but as I see her, she's highly focused, blatantly honest, and lacks even a hint of a verbal filter. See? Completely charming and endearing, and more than a little entertaining.As for Eli, I really liked him, having a ton of sympathy for his past hurts and baggage, until he turned into a fickle, lily-livered coward. Apparently he needed to learn that doing the right thing for the wrong reasons isn’t the right thing to do. And when he finally sorted himself, Dorthy, being Dorthy, didn’t make it easy on him. (That’s my girl!)Do yourself a favor and read this one ASAP. You'll laugh till it hurts, fall irrevocably, head over heels in love, and come away with a new appreciation for a very special segment of humans who fill the world with a million unexpected blessings every day. Those who are a light in the darkness, a breath of fresh air, and if you’re very lucky, your life might be touched by the perfectly unique and priceless love they have to give.

Jewel E Ann is one of my go to authors, I have loved every book I have read by her. Her writing is always unconventional, never straight forward and takes me on endless journeys of great discoveries.So Dorothy Mayhem, wow what a lady. I did enjoy this character and her unfiltered way of looking at life. Ms Ann has written a humorous story between Dorothy who is on the autism spectrum and Elijah who she knows of from working at the hospital. Dorothy doesn't see or interpret things quite the same way as most other people, she sees the world in a different light and I loved her unfiltered honesty, her zest for life was wonderful to read.Elijah is a lovely man who's wife has left him, he's heartbroken and struggling to figure out why she left, they have a son; Roman who is adorable, his wife Julie is the love of his life and he is lost in a way, trying to rebuild a life without her; until he bumps into Dorothy Mayhem.I liked this book a lot, I thought this author handled the autism aspect really well; I just didn't love it. For me at least the relationship between Dorothy and Elijah just didn't work and it had nothing to do with the autism aspect, they just didn't gel as a couple, not for me anyway, I think Dorothy comes across so innocent, carefree and childlike at times, whereas Elijah is so grown up and responsible, I just couldn't visualise them together, BUT I'm glad that Jewel E Ann could because this book is so worth picking up to read.Great secondary characters and a really cute kid adds to the enjoyment, but for me it was Dorothy who stole the limelight in the whole book, a remarkable character I won't forget easily !!

Ok, so if you know me or my reviews you know that there are just somethings that I do not like as a reader and one of those things is a floppy hero who is unsure. Majority of this book is beyond works epic but there is a part that happens that makes me question my decision here and then I remember that life is not black and white and the reason i read books is to feel good and experience different things and this experience just proved to me that I can't just live in a black and white world. While I would not have been happy with Eli's blip of a bad vision it means that he got to realise that actually he knew what he wanted he just had to work to fight for it.Having said all that...I don't think I have read a better book in a very long time. Dorothy is a truly unique woman who had so many insightful words that I feel like she has opened my heart and allowed to me to see the world through her eyes in the most beautiful way. I genuinely laughed so hard at a lot of this book that at one point I laughed until I cried and then could barely breath. I also cried buckets of tears because of the selfless acts of a beautiful woman who sees the world differently than we do.Jewel in knew to have controversial stuff inter books. There is always something that won't sit right with how you feel but her writing is raw and gritty and so emotional that you can look past that and see the beauty for what it is. And yes, while I have said in the past that I read to escape reality, there is always an exception to the rule. I've always said that if my husband needed to be with someone that I would love him enough to let him go and I feel like that is what Dorothy was doing, even if she was wrong.

This is a very entertaining read and shines a light on how some of us are more unique than others. Dorothy has found various strategies to cope with her quirky character and issues that she faces - in fact I may start using some myself, especially the coloured journals!Eli is an all round good guy and had been dealt a rubbish hand from his ex wife - the only character I have to say I found it difficult to warm to and still disliked even at the end of the book. She really did do some atrocious things and I was surprised how quickly she seemed to be forgiven for some of them but I won't spoil the book by listing them.

I loved the portrayal of how different a brain processes information when on the spectrum. Dorothy is an incredible character, not the best at social cues but with the biggest heart and brain like a computer. Eli and young Roman had no choice to do anything but fall in love with her.The story is a lovely journey filled with the ups and downs of life. Be prepared to laugh and cry.

This book gave an insight to the world of an lady who has Aspergers. I’ve had this book awhile trying to think of a review worthy of this book but all I can say is that I thought it was one of the best books I’ve ever read, I read it 3 times on the trot and cried each time I loved it