Heartwarming and necessary

This is not your typical romance. The MCs are both on the asexual spectrum and Jordan struggled with being labeled for it. Even though Jordan and Hennessy are attracted to one another, they don’t want or need sex to express their feelings.

In true N.R. Walker fashion, I was entertained and charmed from the first chapter. Relevant and necessary for today, this book tackles a tough issue and makes you look at societal “norms” and what they really mean.

I believe my husband is asexual. It’s something we struggle with, not because I need him to meet my sexual needs, but because I don’t think he’s come to terms with it for himself. He’s my Jordan and I love him no matter what. I’m going to give him this book as a gift. I truly think it’s enlightening and therapeutic.

Love is love is love. And no one expression of it is more right than the other. Thank you N.R. Walker. We need more representation like this.

7 people found this helpful

OMG! That voice, and those words!

Another book that left me smiling. It’s very well written. I loved it! You will, too!

3 people found this helpful

Beautiful and heartwarming

Labels.

We all have them. The world is built on them. Good and bad. Big and small. Some labels make us fit in, other set us apart. Many are chosen for us, some are chosen by us. No matter how much we try we can never run away from them, outrun them. And some have the power to change our world.

Jordan recently found a new label. One he wished desperately not to fit, but one that explained so much about himself and all his past relationship failures; asexual. But he had enough labels already and didn’t want to add a new one to the collection. He was perfectly content with his life as a librarian, his two best friends and to stare and daydream about Headphones Guy on the bus. He really didn’t need anything else. His best friend Merry didn’t agree with him and dragged him to a support group for asexuals. A meeting that had him confront some truths and realise that maybe one more label wasn’t the end of the world. This is my kind of book. I loved the sweetness, the slow-burn; or rather the building of a relationship. Letting it grow over time. And doing it on a bus ride with the Soup Crew cheering made it much more special and fun.

I’m loving this new narrator; Glen Lloyd. His Aussie accent had me melting. It made me realise how much I’d missed when listening to books set in Australia but narrated by non-native Aussie speakers. Upside Down might be Lloyd’s first foray into audiobook narration, but if I hadn’t looked that fact up I wouldn’t have known it from listening to this book. He was that good, not flawless but nothing that labelled him as a novice either.

Glen Lloyd captured the heart and essence of Jordan. His nervousness and verbal diarrhea was spot on. But more than that, he really made the listener feel him questioning himself, trying to find answers, a place and people to belong with. At the same time he was also desperately trying to avoid another label. It all shone through in Lloyd’s words. He made you ride the bus with the Soup Crew, cheering Jordan on, offering suggestions, helpful and otherwise. In short, he made you a part of Jordan’s journey.

There was only one thing that I wished for with Lloyd’s narration, and that was different voices for Hennessy and Jordan. At times it was difficult to keep track of who was speaking. This was especially true during the rapid fire exchanges that Walker does so brilliantly. Lloyd does distinguish between male and female characters, but when the two main characters are male, you – or at least I – need some difference between them. I mean their personalities were vastly different, but still it wasn’t always clear who was who. And then there was a re-take that wasn’t ideal, where the same sentence was repeated twice. But you know what, those are all minor things in the whole of it. Because, I still loved every second of this book, and will more than gladly listen to more books by Lloyd. I hope there he’ll produce many more to come.

For me it’s rare to find books about ace people. Even more rare to find really good books with ace people, with a lot of intimacy, and not the sexual kind. Walker gave me that with this book. And so much more. It celebrated love in all shapes and forms. It celebrated diversity and acceptance and that no matter how or who you loved it was all love.

At its core, this book was all about finding and accepting yourself. About love in all shapes and forms. It was a sweet slow-burn love story filled with the humour and fun characters that Walker is known and loved for. She also showed us that some labels can make the world turn right way up.

A copy of this book was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review for Love Bytes.

1 person found this helpful

Loving, lovely, all good story

what a great, uplifting story! Speaks to all of us, A-sexual, bi, and relationships of all kinds. live is love, and so does this romance.

MFer that was good!

This was an absolutely wonderful story and I seriously hope it gets made into a Netflix limited series or something.

Educational but a little preachy

Good primer on asexuality, but the tone felt a little preachy and the story wasn't super original or interesting

Ace positivity!

The book has next to no conflict, either internal or external, so for a while I was a little skeptical. The utter lack of tension seemed iffy to me in the first place, but honestly, it's fun to read a book that's just so sweet and nice and everything gets all nicely wrapped up and it's just a really good book for asexual positivity. To me it sounds like it is written for asexual people, not as a tool to educate people about asexuality, and that makes a big difference to me. There is of course a lot of explanation in it, but in the end it's just down to ace people finding their place and feeling good, so it was just really sweet.

Upside Down is Right Side Up for Jordan & Hennessy

This is an amazing audiobook with asexual MCs which I really appreciated. Jordan is a librarian and struggles to label his feelings. He doesn't want to add another label on top of another label so his best friend, Merry, takes him to support group for other people on the ace spectrum. He discovers that the man who rides his bus every day, Hennessy, is the support group's leader and organizer. Hennessy and Jordan are both attracted to the other as their friendship develops. With help from their friends and the Soup Crew members, both men navigate how to have a romantic relationship without sex being the defining factor. There are some misunderstandings that occur but both men are able to resolve the issues for a much needed HEA :)

Omg this is the sweetest thing ever!

Wow! This book was so freaking sweet! ❤️ I absolutely loved it! Jordan and Hennessey are the cutest couple I've ever read. I definitely recommend this audio!

loved it

I enjoyed this audiobook immensely!! It was engaging and funny and surprisingly sweet. I loved Jordan’s personality and the way his mind worked. I must admit that I enjoyed the chapter’s that were in his point of view versus the chapters in Hennessy’s. Not that his chapters were boring or anything, but Jordan is just hilarious, and Hennessy is a bit more sedate, although he has his moments.
This is an amazingly sweet and fluffy love story that I cannot recommend enough!
Narration by Glen Lloyd was great. He really brought Jordan and Hennessy to life.