Can't Escape Love

I’ve started a couple of Cole’s novels and they did not appeal to me, so I wouldn’t have considered this novella if I hadn't seen a positive review. It’s fun and fandom-y and diverse. Reggie tries to contact an old internet acquaintance after she discovers his puzzle livestreams are no longer online; listening to them again helps whenever she’s struggling with insomnia. It turns out that Gus could use Reggie’s help, as his current project requires him to understand Reggie’s favourite anime.

“Wait. You’re going to give me what I originally asked you for, for free, in return for me shouting my joy at you about my favourite show in the world?”
“I could do without the shouting, but yes?”

I liked how this story makes show more it very clear that Reggie’s disability has a significant impact on her daily life, but her mobility issues have nothing to do with her current problems -- not her insomnia, nor her complicated relationship with her parents and sister -- and haven’t stopped her from pursuing her dreams of running a successful fandom site. And I like how, for Gus, being autistic isn’t ever an obstacle to a relationship with Reggie and means he has qualities she appreciates.

I would have liked more -- more about watching anime together, more of Gus’s voice lulling Reggie to sleep and especially more about the escape room Gus is designing -- but this still a satisfying novella as it is.

(The only thing I thought wasn’t satisfying was that an important conversation between Reggie and her sister occurs off-screen, but the author presumably expects that readers either have, or will, read the novel about Portia. My curiosity is not strong enough to outweigh my sense that the Reluctant Royal novels are Not For Me.) show less

Holy cuteness, I loved the set-up for this one (sexy phone voice rawr). Also our h/h are lovely together (read: totally freakin' hawt together) and easy to root for. I found the writing a bit bogged down with pop culture references which didn't always flow well within a scene, esp scenes lacking dialogue. It hit some of my annoyances with contemporary romance (sorry, y'all, I really deal more in historicals) but not most so I found it enjoyable despite my usual tastes. This is the second time I've said this recently, and it's very unlike me, but I think it could have been longer. So much was being crammed into the novella length that I would have liked to have seen parsed out over novel-length. For example, I think there was so much show more territory to mine via the phone relationship bit but that part felt like the blink of an eye. Recommended. show less

CAN'T ESCAPE LOVE by @alyssacolelit is another genius addition to the reluctant royals series. Reggie is especially close to my heart because I think we would be great friends and giggle about all things nerdy until the wee hours. This novella was delightful on audio. And don't be fooled by the brevity of this story: it is just as deep, emotional, and sexy as the full length novels in the series.

Okay, so, I read this for the autistic rep (I'm autistic) and I have some mixed feelings.
I enjoyed both characters, though the story in general felt a bit boring. I also liked the fandom representation although the references often were clunky and forced (and the audiobook narrator pronounced some of them wrong!). In terms of autism though, whilst Gus was somewhat of a variation on the classic autistic dude laundry list, I kept feeling like the author (who I assume is NT) was treating autism like a dirty word! Gus never says he's autistic, instead choosing to make veiled references to 'his brain' and 'what's wrong with him'. It... didn't feel great, to be honest.

This was a quick, super cute read which I finished in a couple of hours. Whilst unashamedly romantic, I did like the two protagonists and appreciated their uniqueness. Reggie is restricted to a wheelchair, is black, wears glasses, is totally geekly, adores Anime and runs a website called GirlsWithGlasses. She is also fiercely independent, motivated and hardworking. Guy, on the other hand, is Vietnamese, has an analytical mind is obsessed with puzzles, especially Rubric's cube.

Although nothing much really happens in "Can't Escape Love", except the blossoming romance between Guy and Reggie, this book did leave me with a smile on my face.

I grabbed this for Novella November because I really enjoyed Once Ghosted, Twice Shy, also by Alyssa Cole, and in the same series. I was charmed by the premise, and there were some moment sprinkled throughout that I really adored, but overall this book left me a little cold. Gus seemed a little too perfect, the way they met a little too unlikely, and the ending felt a lot rushed. I was intrigued by the disability rep, but the neurodiversity elements of both characters felt underdeveloped on the page. I get that the story is about their romance and not a thorough discussion of both characters' various physical and mental conditions, it just felt like there was no there there. I did root for them, I guess in the ends I felt like there show more were too many elements to fully resolve in a satisfying novella. Of course, this is a part of a series, and I have heard that Reggie appears in other book(s?) so maybe I would feel like she was properly fleshed out if I read the rest of them, but at this point I am unlikely to do so.

Most people seemed to have liked this book pretty well, for some reason it just didn't click right for me. show less

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

She's a nerd. With glasses. In a wheelchair. He is an escape room creator, among other things, including having a live stream where she was his only follower. Who are they? Regina Hobbs and Gustave Nguyen. They met online years ago, and will soon meet in person.

Reggie is a successful businesswoman and she runs Girls with Glasses. Currently she is over-stressed and is coping with insomnia. Reggie has been attending Gus's live streams and realizes that only his voice can relax her enough into sleep.

Gus has a challenge. His job in creating an escape room is supposed to center around a romance anime. The fact that Reggie is an anime expert is valuable to him. When she makes an unusual request, he realizes they can make a show more very nice trade and this just might allow him to be successful in his endeavor.

What a cute little story. Can't Escape Love is a great addition to the Reluctant Royals series. We even see snippets of Reggie's conversations with her twin Portia, from Book 2 in the series, A Duke by Default. This is a sweet story that includes the fun of game play and puzzles and a sizzling romance. Delightfully, as the cover shows, it is another interracial romance. Although it could do well as a standalone, why not gobble up the entire series?

Many thanks to Avon Impulse and Edelweiss for this ARC to review in exchange for my honest opinion. show less