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Planning Perfect
In this charming, heartfelt YA romcom about being on the asexual spectrum, a girl tries to craft the perfect wedding for her mother but discovers that sometimes the best parts of life can't be planned.
Felicity Becker loves watching an event come together. Whether it's prom, graduation, or just the annual Arbor Day school dance, there's something magical about crafting an experience that people will remember. So when her mom gets engaged, Felicity sees the wedding as the perfect opportunity to show off her skills.
After Felicity's long-distance friend Nancy offers up her family's apple orchard as a venue, wedding planning gets even better. But the more time Felicity and Nancy spend together dress shopping and hunting for just-right mismatched china, the more it starts to seem like there might be something besides friendship between them. Felicity isn't sure how she feels. As someone on the asexuality spectrum, what would dating even look like for her? And would Nancy be open to dating when Felicity doesn't even know what she wants from a relationship?
Suddenly the summer is a lot more complicated. Especially when Felicity finds out that one of the wedding guests is an event planner with a prestigious internship available. Can Felicity wrangle her irresponsible mom, juggle her judgmental grandmother, figure out her feelings for Nancy, and plan the perfect wedding? Or will all of her plans come crashing down around her?
Felicity Becker loves watching an event come together. Whether it's prom, graduation, or just the annual Arbor Day school dance, there's something magical about crafting an experience that people will remember. So when her mom gets engaged, Felicity sees the wedding as the perfect opportunity to show off her skills.
After Felicity's long-distance friend Nancy offers up her family's apple orchard as a venue, wedding planning gets even better. But the more time Felicity and Nancy spend together dress shopping and hunting for just-right mismatched china, the more it starts to seem like there might be something besides friendship between them. Felicity isn't sure how she feels. As someone on the asexuality spectrum, what would dating even look like for her? And would Nancy be open to dating when Felicity doesn't even know what she wants from a relationship?
Suddenly the summer is a lot more complicated. Especially when Felicity finds out that one of the wedding guests is an event planner with a prestigious internship available. Can Felicity wrangle her irresponsible mom, juggle her judgmental grandmother, figure out her feelings for Nancy, and plan the perfect wedding? Or will all of her plans come crashing down around her?
352 pages, Hardcover
First published February 14, 2023
28 people are currently reading
3157 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 211 reviews
October 1, 2022
This was fun and I really enjoyed Felicity's character. If you were also an overachieving anxious asexual in high school, you will relate.
December 1, 2022
This is my first book from Haley Neil and I was pleasantly surprised. It's also my first read with an asexual lead. I absolutely loved that aspect. As someone who 100% feels that sexual preference is not black and white, I really appreciated seeing that explored at length here.
Felicity Becker is definitely a Type A personality. She has to have everything in perfect order and she has to be the best at everything she does. When her mother gets engaged, Felicity takes it upon herself to plan the entire wedding by herself. As luck would have it, her long distance BFF, Nancy, has an apple orchard that's perfect for weddings.
This book gave me Gilmore Girls vibes from the beginning. From the mother daughter relationship, to the mother/ grandmother relationship - I mean there was even a scene were Felicity and her mom were standing outside of her grandmothers house before their weekly brunch discussing why they should or should not go in.
But let's talk about Felicity. She was a lot honestly. Being in her head was hard. She was going through so much internally and didn't really feel like she had anyone to talk to. Being someone who also struggles with anxiety and insecurities, I could 100% understand what she was going through but man, her anxiety was through the roof. I liked that Neil didn't shy away from this aspect of her personality and really leaned into what it's like to feel that way. Felicity also struggled with her sexuality and defining it. She worried that she wouldn't be enough for Nancy, that she wouldn't be able to give her the kind of relationship that she wanted. These fears ate away at her until she literally broke.
This book also would have been nothing without it's supporting cast. Felicity's mother, new stepfather, her friends - all added to this ambiance and created such a well rounded group who while they had their problems, ultimately loved and supported one another. It definitely felt true to the ages in the story and I enjoyed spending time with this group of people.
Thank you Bloomsbury YA for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Felicity Becker is definitely a Type A personality. She has to have everything in perfect order and she has to be the best at everything she does. When her mother gets engaged, Felicity takes it upon herself to plan the entire wedding by herself. As luck would have it, her long distance BFF, Nancy, has an apple orchard that's perfect for weddings.
This book gave me Gilmore Girls vibes from the beginning. From the mother daughter relationship, to the mother/ grandmother relationship - I mean there was even a scene were Felicity and her mom were standing outside of her grandmothers house before their weekly brunch discussing why they should or should not go in.
But let's talk about Felicity. She was a lot honestly. Being in her head was hard. She was going through so much internally and didn't really feel like she had anyone to talk to. Being someone who also struggles with anxiety and insecurities, I could 100% understand what she was going through but man, her anxiety was through the roof. I liked that Neil didn't shy away from this aspect of her personality and really leaned into what it's like to feel that way. Felicity also struggled with her sexuality and defining it. She worried that she wouldn't be enough for Nancy, that she wouldn't be able to give her the kind of relationship that she wanted. These fears ate away at her until she literally broke.
This book also would have been nothing without it's supporting cast. Felicity's mother, new stepfather, her friends - all added to this ambiance and created such a well rounded group who while they had their problems, ultimately loved and supported one another. It definitely felt true to the ages in the story and I enjoyed spending time with this group of people.
Thank you Bloomsbury YA for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
June 23, 2023
2.5 stars. In theory, an asexual and anxious protagonist is right up my alley. But this did not transcend the YA genre for me. I was so annoyed with Felicity, the main character, the longer the book went on. This is a shame, because there were elements that were fresh (being ace, the way she knew her love interest), but... maybe I am too old. I suppose it was realistic to have Felicity incapable of listening or communicating properly, but I didn't feel sympathetic to her plight at all. I don't think this is a bad book. I am overly picky. And old.
September 30, 2023
girl, what did tattoos ever do to make you hate them so much. damn.
August 18, 2024
I was interested in this because of the asexual representation and because it promised a cute [sapphic] romance. And it delivered on both, so yay?
What didn’t work for me is basically everything else. I really can’t handle when the basic premise of a book is too outlandish to be believable, and Planning Perfect suffered from this.
In this case, Felicity, our still-in-high-school teenager narrator, somehow convinces her mother and mom’s boyfriend to spend the summer on Felicity’s friend’s great aunt’s orchard in another state so that Felicity can plan her mom’s wedding. Strike one for ridiculous implausibility.
Felicity is hoping her wedding planning will impress her grandmother’s friend, who works for a major event planning company, so that she can get an impressive internship. Strike two because internships like that don’t go to high school kids.
Felicity spends a lot of this book making assumptions and then doing everything to avoid actually finding answers/communicating. Strike three for using a tired cliche to create drama for the sake of creating drama.
Basically, I was quickly bored and simply didn’t care. Nancy was adorable though. And Felicity’s mom and soon-to-be stepdad are really great.
What didn’t work for me is basically everything else. I really can’t handle when the basic premise of a book is too outlandish to be believable, and Planning Perfect suffered from this.
In this case, Felicity, our still-in-high-school teenager narrator, somehow convinces her mother and mom’s boyfriend to spend the summer on Felicity’s friend’s great aunt’s orchard in another state so that Felicity can plan her mom’s wedding. Strike one for ridiculous implausibility.
Felicity is hoping her wedding planning will impress her grandmother’s friend, who works for a major event planning company, so that she can get an impressive internship. Strike two because internships like that don’t go to high school kids.
Felicity spends a lot of this book making assumptions and then doing everything to avoid actually finding answers/communicating. Strike three for using a tired cliche to create drama for the sake of creating drama.
Basically, I was quickly bored and simply didn’t care. Nancy was adorable though. And Felicity’s mom and soon-to-be stepdad are really great.
January 4, 2023
I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ARC provided by Raincoast Books and Bloomsbury USA Children's Books.
Planning Perfect follows Felicity Becker, a perfectionist who plans everything to the last detail. So when her mom becomes engaged over the summer, it provides the unexpected but wonderful opportunity to show off her skills. After a disappointment at school, things may just be turning around, especially when her long-distance friend Nancy is able to provide her family's apple orchard in Vermont as a venue for the event.
Felicity is a really hard person to connect with–she had so much going on internally that it affected the speed of the story, making it move at a slower pace than I expected. As someone who has anxiety, it really raised mine at times. The main character identifies as being ace-spectrum and biromantic, which was really wonderful to see in a book. Haley Neil makes sure to define these terms for the reader, who may be unfamiliar with their meanings. A main theme was exploring how Felicity's asexuality would affect any potential relationship–this representation is beautiful. I think this story has a lot of opportunity to help people feel seen.
I had a huge problem Felicity's mom. Because despite knowing the issues her daughter deals with, Hannah exacerbated everything, making situations so much worse than they needed to be. If she could only answer a question seriously–her character was very reminiscent of Lorelai Gilmore. But I didn't find the quirkiness cute like I normally would, I found it frustrating. On the topic of Gilmore Girls the relationships in Planning Perfect between mother/daughter, mother/grandmother and daughter/grandmother were eerily similar, even some of the scenes. Here, they do weekly brunch every Sunday instead of Friday night dinners, but potato, patato.
Moving on to additional side characters, Roo, was not my favourite. And while Felicity can come across as self-involved a lot of the time, needing someone to speak with when she's spiralling, he does not seem very open with her for a best friend. This created easily avoidable drama. Nancy on the other hand, our love interest, was perfect–she's communicative, sweet, patient, caring and non-judgmental. I really do wish we got to see more of their relationship bloom over the wedding planning. Those were the best parts of Planning Perfect.
I can't forget to mention the Jewish representation which I love to see. The way Eric would merge his culture with Judaism when cooking Shabbat dinner is the best kind of embracive. It preserves tradition while innovating, passing on new customs to be shared.
Overall, the story is a fun read, despite being a little heavy at times. Especially if you're looking for a sapphic read with a plus-size mc who embraces their body and style, this is for you.
Planning Perfect follows Felicity Becker, a perfectionist who plans everything to the last detail. So when her mom becomes engaged over the summer, it provides the unexpected but wonderful opportunity to show off her skills. After a disappointment at school, things may just be turning around, especially when her long-distance friend Nancy is able to provide her family's apple orchard in Vermont as a venue for the event.
Felicity is a really hard person to connect with–she had so much going on internally that it affected the speed of the story, making it move at a slower pace than I expected. As someone who has anxiety, it really raised mine at times. The main character identifies as being ace-spectrum and biromantic, which was really wonderful to see in a book. Haley Neil makes sure to define these terms for the reader, who may be unfamiliar with their meanings. A main theme was exploring how Felicity's asexuality would affect any potential relationship–this representation is beautiful. I think this story has a lot of opportunity to help people feel seen.
I had a huge problem Felicity's mom. Because despite knowing the issues her daughter deals with, Hannah exacerbated everything, making situations so much worse than they needed to be. If she could only answer a question seriously–her character was very reminiscent of Lorelai Gilmore. But I didn't find the quirkiness cute like I normally would, I found it frustrating. On the topic of Gilmore Girls the relationships in Planning Perfect between mother/daughter, mother/grandmother and daughter/grandmother were eerily similar, even some of the scenes. Here, they do weekly brunch every Sunday instead of Friday night dinners, but potato, patato.
Moving on to additional side characters, Roo, was not my favourite. And while Felicity can come across as self-involved a lot of the time, needing someone to speak with when she's spiralling, he does not seem very open with her for a best friend. This created easily avoidable drama. Nancy on the other hand, our love interest, was perfect–she's communicative, sweet, patient, caring and non-judgmental. I really do wish we got to see more of their relationship bloom over the wedding planning. Those were the best parts of Planning Perfect.
I can't forget to mention the Jewish representation which I love to see. The way Eric would merge his culture with Judaism when cooking Shabbat dinner is the best kind of embracive. It preserves tradition while innovating, passing on new customs to be shared.
Overall, the story is a fun read, despite being a little heavy at times. Especially if you're looking for a sapphic read with a plus-size mc who embraces their body and style, this is for you.
June 18, 2023
This was a great diverse YA romance with excellent Jewish, ace and bi-romantic rep! Felicity is an aspiring event planner and type A individual who takes on the job of planning her mom's wedding even though its causing her a lot of stress.
She’s also dealing with anxiety and really enjoying reuniting with her queer Korean-American friend Nancy, who offers up her family's apple orchard as a venue for her mom's wedding.
Giving off tons of Gilmore Girls' vibes this was good on audio and had important themes of not making assumptions about people. Highly recommended for fans of books like Love letters for Joy or You don't have a shot (other YA books with aspec rep).
She’s also dealing with anxiety and really enjoying reuniting with her queer Korean-American friend Nancy, who offers up her family's apple orchard as a venue for her mom's wedding.
Giving off tons of Gilmore Girls' vibes this was good on audio and had important themes of not making assumptions about people. Highly recommended for fans of books like Love letters for Joy or You don't have a shot (other YA books with aspec rep).
March 16, 2023
2.5 rounded down.
I like Planning Perfect by Haley Neil in theory but in practice it falls flat for me. An anxious, asexual biromantic teen tries to plan her mother's wedding while trying to figure out her own life? Great idea. I just struggled a lot with the characters here. Felicity is honestly really unpleasant through roughly 85% of the book before making an abrupt about-face that just doesn't work for me. I also find it frustrating that we never see a resolution (i.e., apologies) from certain other characters. This doesn't make sense to me as the described situations never seemed to come to a satisfactory conclusion. See, in a strong YA book, it isn't just the protagonist who experiences growth - everyone else should grow, too. But we just don't see that here.
In general I feel like this book went a little tol long at the front end and not long enough at the back. Hell, even though the cover of this book features (what we would expect to be) love interests, their situation is not resolved until the last 3% of the book! Some judicious editing could have made this significantly better.
That being said, I think this author has a lot of potential, so I'll definitely keep an eye out for future books. Recommended for people interested in asexual (biromantic) characters; weddings; YA fiction that reads on the younger side; Jewish characters; seriously type-A, highly anxious teens; apple orchards.
I like Planning Perfect by Haley Neil in theory but in practice it falls flat for me. An anxious, asexual biromantic teen tries to plan her mother's wedding while trying to figure out her own life? Great idea. I just struggled a lot with the characters here. Felicity is honestly really unpleasant through roughly 85% of the book before making an abrupt about-face that just doesn't work for me. I also find it frustrating that we never see a resolution (i.e., apologies) from certain other characters. This doesn't make sense to me as the described situations never seemed to come to a satisfactory conclusion. See, in a strong YA book, it isn't just the protagonist who experiences growth - everyone else should grow, too. But we just don't see that here.
In general I feel like this book went a little tol long at the front end and not long enough at the back. Hell, even though the cover of this book features (what we would expect to be) love interests, their situation is not resolved until the last 3% of the book! Some judicious editing could have made this significantly better.
That being said, I think this author has a lot of potential, so I'll definitely keep an eye out for future books. Recommended for people interested in asexual (biromantic) characters; weddings; YA fiction that reads on the younger side; Jewish characters; seriously type-A, highly anxious teens; apple orchards.
May 21, 2023
4.5 stars!
The perfect kickoff to my summer rom-com binge <3 I really related to Felicity's anxiety issues and her tendency to get so caught up in her plans that she forgets the world around her. It reminded me a bit of the American Girl doll Blaire with the whole "wedding planner who gets lost in her own planning and forgets that she's the planner and not the one whose opinion matters in the case of the planning", as well as just being a super fun wedding story overall!
The perfect kickoff to my summer rom-com binge <3 I really related to Felicity's anxiety issues and her tendency to get so caught up in her plans that she forgets the world around her. It reminded me a bit of the American Girl doll Blaire with the whole "wedding planner who gets lost in her own planning and forgets that she's the planner and not the one whose opinion matters in the case of the planning", as well as just being a super fun wedding story overall!
March 29, 2023
I loved Planning Perfect!!! This is an absolute gem of a YA book and you need it on your summer tbr.
Felicity is a planner. So when her mom gets engaged she decides she’s going to plan the wedding. When her grandmother tells her a huge event planner will be attending as a guest, Felicity realizes the stakes of the wedding were higher than she originally thought. Luckily, her friend Nancy has volunteered her family orchard as the wedding venue. Felicity and her family head to Nancy’s family’s orchard for the summer so they can plan the wedding and take a little family trip. The thing is, Felicity might have a crush on Nancy.
I loved the Jewish, mental health, and lgbtq+ rep in this book. Haley does it all so well.
Felicity is a totally relatable character. She’s not perfect, but she’s so real. I felt like Haley wrote such a realistic teen character.
The story itself is also incredibly sweet. I loved Felicity’s unique relationship with all the other characters.
I hope more people pick up Planning Perfect, and I can’t wait to see you all tonight!!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from me!
Felicity is a planner. So when her mom gets engaged she decides she’s going to plan the wedding. When her grandmother tells her a huge event planner will be attending as a guest, Felicity realizes the stakes of the wedding were higher than she originally thought. Luckily, her friend Nancy has volunteered her family orchard as the wedding venue. Felicity and her family head to Nancy’s family’s orchard for the summer so they can plan the wedding and take a little family trip. The thing is, Felicity might have a crush on Nancy.
I loved the Jewish, mental health, and lgbtq+ rep in this book. Haley does it all so well.
Felicity is a totally relatable character. She’s not perfect, but she’s so real. I felt like Haley wrote such a realistic teen character.
The story itself is also incredibly sweet. I loved Felicity’s unique relationship with all the other characters.
I hope more people pick up Planning Perfect, and I can’t wait to see you all tonight!!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from me!
February 9, 2023
As an anxious, overachieving ace, I related to this one a lot. It's a fun YA with a cute, slow-burn friends-to-lovers sapphic romance that tackles a very important question: can an ace person successfully date and allo without crossing their boundaries?
But the romance isn't the main part of the story. Really, it's an awesome friendship for a vast majority of the book which I'm very happy about because I'm still in my romance-repulsed phase. It's mostly a story about learning to live with your anxiety and perfectionism tendencies in a way that doesn't completely burn you out and make you sick. I really liked the way it was handled, how therapy is normalized and how Felicity is never "cured" - but she learns to take it a little easier on herself.
Having said that - bear in mind that it's a 1POV book with a highly anxious MC. I enjoyed the insight into her brain a lot but it might be triggering to some people so take care of yourself!
I loved Felicity's mum. With a different hair colour every week and making a career out of ghost writing superhero movies into novels, she was easily my favourite character. I want to be her. Can you tell I'm a millenial? Or is it an age thing? Eric was also amazing, as was Aunt Gwendolyn.
Now, the thing that it's good to know before diving into it, is that Felicity is far from perfect. She makes some really poor choices, she can't communicate her feelings and needs with others, she snaps.... She's a teenager. A believable, relatable, messy teenager, who doesn't suddenly become perfect at the end. I love my messy characters but since lately there's a fashion to write teenagers who are very good at life and communication and things, it's good to know going into this one that it's not what we're going to get.
Really, I wish I'd learned the lessons that Felicity is learning about pushing herself to her limits at her age.
Speaking of that - I wish there was a little more resolution about Felicity's relationship with her mum and grandma. Felicity is really really hard on her (absolutely amazing) mum and thinks horrible things about her. Very teenager-like, very generational conflict. At the same time she idolizes her grandma, who triggers her perfectionism and anxiety which Felicity doesn't seem to realize. I wish there was perhaps a little more conversation there between Felicity and her mum, to make her realize this.
Overall - this book was a treat and if you're in a mood for a summery YA, I highly recommend it.
***Thank you Bloomsbury for the eARC!***
But the romance isn't the main part of the story. Really, it's an awesome friendship for a vast majority of the book which I'm very happy about because I'm still in my romance-repulsed phase. It's mostly a story about learning to live with your anxiety and perfectionism tendencies in a way that doesn't completely burn you out and make you sick. I really liked the way it was handled, how therapy is normalized and how Felicity is never "cured" - but she learns to take it a little easier on herself.
Having said that - bear in mind that it's a 1POV book with a highly anxious MC. I enjoyed the insight into her brain a lot but it might be triggering to some people so take care of yourself!
I loved Felicity's mum. With a different hair colour every week and making a career out of ghost writing superhero movies into novels, she was easily my favourite character. I want to be her. Can you tell I'm a millenial? Or is it an age thing? Eric was also amazing, as was Aunt Gwendolyn.
Now, the thing that it's good to know before diving into it, is that Felicity is far from perfect. She makes some really poor choices, she can't communicate her feelings and needs with others, she snaps.... She's a teenager. A believable, relatable, messy teenager, who doesn't suddenly become perfect at the end. I love my messy characters but since lately there's a fashion to write teenagers who are very good at life and communication and things, it's good to know going into this one that it's not what we're going to get.
Really, I wish I'd learned the lessons that Felicity is learning about pushing herself to her limits at her age.
Speaking of that - I wish there was a little more resolution about Felicity's relationship with her mum and grandma. Felicity is really really hard on her (absolutely amazing) mum and thinks horrible things about her. Very teenager-like, very generational conflict. At the same time she idolizes her grandma, who triggers her perfectionism and anxiety which Felicity doesn't seem to realize. I wish there was perhaps a little more conversation there between Felicity and her mum, to make her realize this.
Overall - this book was a treat and if you're in a mood for a summery YA, I highly recommend it.
***Thank you Bloomsbury for the eARC!***
April 8, 2023
I feel like there could’ve been so much more character development of the MC but it was cute
June 3, 2023
4.5 This was so cute!! The characters and the story were really well written and I love all the tv/movie references - especially that one sentence about the bad place. I love the lgbt representation not just with the sapphic couple but also with the ace rep, it was written so beautifully and I love that it actually said the word asexual, the author didn’t just talk around it which was great. The main character also has anxiety and is a perfectionist, she also struggled with her sexuality and not being able to be enough for Nancy and be able give her the kind of relationship she wanted. I just loved reading about that. It was also a really fun and complicated relationship between her and the mom because her mom is the complete opposite being carefree and just has fun.
There were times when I got annoyed at the characters but overall I really loved this and the character development
There were times when I got annoyed at the characters but overall I really loved this and the character development
January 12, 2023
Maybe really 4.5 stars? Either way, this adorable rom-com had me charmed from the first chapter, and I was hooked all the way through the sweetly satisfying ending. Some aspects were predictable, but in the way where it's still very enjoyable to see everything play out. All of the characters were wonderful, and Felicity has such a great voice. I know a lot of people are looking for a book like this, so it's going to be something I recommend frequently!
CW: hospitalization, racism
I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.
CW: hospitalization, racism
I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.
June 27, 2025
4.5 Stars
August 22, 2025
Very cutie!!!
August 18, 2023
I love a cute YA romance
April 20, 2023
liked this book better than the authors first, but it still wasn’t as fun as i had hoped. the main character was sort of relateable but also sort of exhausting, i felt like the same basic things happened over and over. but, i appreciated the mix of friend/family/relationship drama and the setting was cute and fun, if the ending was predictable
April 10, 2023
I love this book. Felicity is one of the most relatable characters and honestly if I had been out or understanding my own asexuality as a teenager, I could have been Felicity. She is a mid-size anxious overachiever asexual teenage girl who likes to dress up every day and takes time to style her hair. Even down to the fact that she comes out as bisexual before asexual is exactly my experience. Like I was also in love with my best friend in high school (in hindsight, I was very much not out or aware of my queerness) and had no idea what to do about it or what it meant.
So this whole book is about Felicity who her mom gets engaged and so Felicity automatically takes over wedding planning. Except Felicity is an anxious mess and needs everything to be perfect. She struggles with knowing when to stop and when to take a break and this leads her to lots of struggles. When her long distance best friend says that she should host the wedding at her family's orchard, Felicity gets her mom and future stepdad on board and they set off for summer vacation. As Felicity is trying to plan the wedding she's getting closer to her best friend and trying to figure out her feelings on how to date as an asexual person and also how to date an allo. I really loved how the friendship blossomed and all of the characters, besides the grandma.
There's definitely some generational conflict as well as some under resolved tension between Felicity and her mom and grandma. I love felicity's mom and also would have been so frustrated with her if I was Felicity. There's something about free-spirited people when you are an anxious overachieving perfectionist that drives you nuts even though you don't dislike them because of it. It's just frustrating. I felt that in my soul.
I definitely wanted to cry multiple times for listening to this but held off at work. It's an emotional one for sure and it is a first person POV with an anxious character so please keep that in mind when reading and listening.
So this whole book is about Felicity who her mom gets engaged and so Felicity automatically takes over wedding planning. Except Felicity is an anxious mess and needs everything to be perfect. She struggles with knowing when to stop and when to take a break and this leads her to lots of struggles. When her long distance best friend says that she should host the wedding at her family's orchard, Felicity gets her mom and future stepdad on board and they set off for summer vacation. As Felicity is trying to plan the wedding she's getting closer to her best friend and trying to figure out her feelings on how to date as an asexual person and also how to date an allo. I really loved how the friendship blossomed and all of the characters, besides the grandma.
There's definitely some generational conflict as well as some under resolved tension between Felicity and her mom and grandma. I love felicity's mom and also would have been so frustrated with her if I was Felicity. There's something about free-spirited people when you are an anxious overachieving perfectionist that drives you nuts even though you don't dislike them because of it. It's just frustrating. I felt that in my soul.
I definitely wanted to cry multiple times for listening to this but held off at work. It's an emotional one for sure and it is a first person POV with an anxious character so please keep that in mind when reading and listening.
March 17, 2023
A solid YA about a girl who tries to craft the perfect wedding for her mother, while dealing with a lot of pressure (from herself), a distant best friend and lots of questions regarding dating while being ace.
Some might put Felicity into the "annoying character" box as she's an over-worker, anxious perfectionist who can get wild and forget about other people's feelings at times. But this is about her learning to let go and enjoy the ride, and create things that her friends and family will love, without it having to be "traditionally perfect", and I really appreciated that.
What I loved most was Felicity's struggles with wanting to date Nancy while being very insecure about the fact she is ace. She worries about what that means when Nancy seems to like physical affection in a way Felicity might never be able to give. The whole "why am I like this?" speech us aces always seem to have to go through.
On one hand, I loved reading so much about it, I saw so much of myself in Felicity as an anxious biromantic asexual girl who hasn't ever really dated before.
Then again, I would have appreciated it even more if we got to see Felicity and Nancy talk TOGETHER about sexuality, boundries, and how they could make it work as a couple.
Yeah, the main plot points were predictable and might I even say quite simple.
But it doesn't really matter so much for me as this type of character and character development means a lot.
Felicity and her close friends and parents were very lovable (while being flawed!), they all grew and learned, and came together to form a big found family.
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Some might put Felicity into the "annoying character" box as she's an over-worker, anxious perfectionist who can get wild and forget about other people's feelings at times. But this is about her learning to let go and enjoy the ride, and create things that her friends and family will love, without it having to be "traditionally perfect", and I really appreciated that.
What I loved most was Felicity's struggles with wanting to date Nancy while being very insecure about the fact she is ace. She worries about what that means when Nancy seems to like physical affection in a way Felicity might never be able to give. The whole "why am I like this?" speech us aces always seem to have to go through.
On one hand, I loved reading so much about it, I saw so much of myself in Felicity as an anxious biromantic asexual girl who hasn't ever really dated before.
Then again, I would have appreciated it even more if we got to see Felicity and Nancy talk TOGETHER about sexuality, boundries, and how they could make it work as a couple.
Yeah, the main plot points were predictable and might I even say quite simple.
But it doesn't really matter so much for me as this type of character and character development means a lot.
Felicity and her close friends and parents were very lovable (while being flawed!), they all grew and learned, and came together to form a big found family.
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March 31, 2025
This one suffered from pacing and balance issues. I was quite enjoying the story until about the 60% mark. I noticed we had spent a lot of time in the main character's head and not enough time moving along a number of the problems. Many of her thoughts and fears were repeated.
The romance/relationship was cute until it came to a halt. It resumed in the final moments of the book but I didnt feel like I was rooting for the couple. There was a lot of connection that was missing for me.
The romance/relationship was cute until it came to a halt. It resumed in the final moments of the book but I didnt feel like I was rooting for the couple. There was a lot of connection that was missing for me.
January 29, 2024
[REVIEW]
*Trigger/content warnings in this book for anxiety and racism*
When searching for my read for Sapphic September, I came across Planning Perfect on Libby. Since it was one of the only available sapphic audiobooks on the app, I immediately checked it out. I’d also been eyeing this book for a while, so I decided that this must be a sign to read it.
And it was…fine? I appreciated the asexual, biromantic rep. And I did like exploring the protagonist’s fears of getting into relationships with the expectations of eventual sex. However, I never found myself really CARING about anything. I think this is because not everything was explored to its potential. From the romance to Felicity’s relationship with her new stepdad to her trauma of being hospitalized, I feel like so much was touched, but never delved into further.
I really don’t have any other thoughts. This was just fine. If you’re looking for a book with Jewish characters, casual queer rep, and isn’t too heavy, then maybe you’ll like this.
*Trigger/content warnings in this book for anxiety and racism*
When searching for my read for Sapphic September, I came across Planning Perfect on Libby. Since it was one of the only available sapphic audiobooks on the app, I immediately checked it out. I’d also been eyeing this book for a while, so I decided that this must be a sign to read it.
And it was…fine? I appreciated the asexual, biromantic rep. And I did like exploring the protagonist’s fears of getting into relationships with the expectations of eventual sex. However, I never found myself really CARING about anything. I think this is because not everything was explored to its potential. From the romance to Felicity’s relationship with her new stepdad to her trauma of being hospitalized, I feel like so much was touched, but never delved into further.
I really don’t have any other thoughts. This was just fine. If you’re looking for a book with Jewish characters, casual queer rep, and isn’t too heavy, then maybe you’ll like this.
April 28, 2023
I was so excited when I found out there was Ace rep in this book! Even more so when I found out it was the main character!
Unfortunately, I was so off put by Felicity's character I struggled so much to finish this one. She was judgmental, unpleasant and just so dang unlikable. The way she treats her best friend was absolutely ridiculous. The way she has these absurd standards of what her mother "should be" and what she "should do" I just wanted to kick her. I understand she has anxiety and a serious case of perfectionism- I think that was written and addressed well, however that doesn't excuse her behaviors. I was also disappointed in the tidy little relationship conversation Nancy and Felicity have at the end I think there should've been more development there.
However the rest of the cast in this story was top tier! I loved everyone especially nancy's aunt and Felicity's step-dad. He was wonderful.
Unfortunately, I was so off put by Felicity's character I struggled so much to finish this one. She was judgmental, unpleasant and just so dang unlikable. The way she treats her best friend was absolutely ridiculous. The way she has these absurd standards of what her mother "should be" and what she "should do" I just wanted to kick her. I understand she has anxiety and a serious case of perfectionism- I think that was written and addressed well, however that doesn't excuse her behaviors. I was also disappointed in the tidy little relationship conversation Nancy and Felicity have at the end I think there should've been more development there.
However the rest of the cast in this story was top tier! I loved everyone especially nancy's aunt and Felicity's step-dad. He was wonderful.
May 22, 2023
First of all: love the ace rep. Felicity’s fears about how one day her partner will want something she can't give resonated so hard with me, as well as the struggle to conceptualize what her romances might look like without sex. I’ve never seen an ace protagonist in a romance and that made me very happy.
I wish we’d had more of the romance and their wedding date adventures; it’s easily the strongest part of this book. Nancy is a perfect love interest for Felicity, able to both support her and push her out of her comfort zone. In comparison, the family and best friend drama is … meh. I found Felicity kind of self-absorbed and hard to like during most of it, but that’s YA for ya.
I wish we’d had more of the romance and their wedding date adventures; it’s easily the strongest part of this book. Nancy is a perfect love interest for Felicity, able to both support her and push her out of her comfort zone. In comparison, the family and best friend drama is … meh. I found Felicity kind of self-absorbed and hard to like during most of it, but that’s YA for ya.
May 31, 2023
*sniffles* where was this book when i was 16?
January 24, 2023
What a cute story!
The characters were so well written. I love all the lgbtq tv/movie references.
It has ace rep which was done really well. The main character struggles with anxiety and is a perfectionist while her mom is the exact opposite (carefree, having fun ect).
I expected it to be more cliche ya romcom but was surprised by how unique it still was!!!
The characters were so well written. I love all the lgbtq tv/movie references.
It has ace rep which was done really well. The main character struggles with anxiety and is a perfectionist while her mom is the exact opposite (carefree, having fun ect).
I expected it to be more cliche ya romcom but was surprised by how unique it still was!!!
March 11, 2023
Oh this was cute
November 17, 2023
This was a pretty good book, but I found the main character a bit irritating, particularly in the beginning
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