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.

2 of 2 people found this review 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 of 1 people found this review helpful

Fan fu$@ing-tastic!

Glen Lloyd and N.R. Walker make total magic together! I put off listening to this one because I wasn’t sure if I’d be into an asexual story but holy hell this will now be one of my go to reads!

The banter between lead characters is so smooth and intelligently written. Kudos to N.R. and her prose! If you love character connections and chemistry this book is for you.

I’ve also discovered a new narrator to be obsessed over. Glen Lloyd is now in the leagues with Joel Leslie and Michael Paulie! Truly superb narration!

So much fun and so full of heart!

I'm going to share my review of the ebook, because it still holds true this second go 'round.
Jordan and Hennessy are such wonderful characters, I adore them.
Theirs was such a beautiful romance!
All the fun and laughs were bookended with tears- I should have known better, thinking I'd get through this one unscathed. Tears of heartache and tears of such happiness!
I so wish I had friends like the Soup Crew.
Although I can't speak with any knowledge when it comes to someone being on the ACE spectrum, or really the ACE spectrum in general, I have to think Ms. Walker did her research when it came to this story. I know I appreciated the thoughtfulness and care in how she treated and portrayed both Jordan and Hennessy. And I definitely learned something new after reading this story.

Upside Down was another winner from Ms. Walker- so fun and sweet, and utterly charming!

From what I understand this is Glen Lloyd's first book he's narrated and I have to say I hope it isn't his last, he was fantastic! His performance was pretty much perfect. He nailed Jordan with his ramblings and showcased his vulnerabilities- it was hard to hold back my tears. I loved everything about this book, narration included!

upside down 😍😍😍😍

It's review time 🎧

Upside Down
By N R Walker
Narrated by Glen Lloyd
6h 17m

Narrator score🎧 ; I loved everything about this preference! It was brilliant the rambling the voices everything was great.

Level of steam🔥: it's a story about an asexual couple so no steam in here. And non needed.

Level of anxiety and sadness0😱😢: this book is hilarious, heart warming and so lovely and just wonderful

The book itself📖:if you're upset in a bad mood this book is just for you! I love Hennessy and Jackson soooo very much. The story is so cute and sugary I just think I might need to check my sugar levels 😅😅😅.
The story as a whole is so respectful the subject is so well addressed and I love it. Just love it.

I didn't expect to like this...... But I Did!

Hennessey and Jordan are both asexuals - something that is hard to understand - but you can on some level. I started the book in the same way - although NRW is one of my very favorite authors - Red Dirt Hearts... Etc. I didn't see what the draw would be without chemistry - and yet there was chemistry - albeit a chemistry I don't totally get but you could feel it viscerally and I was sold. Both written and audio (Glen Lloyd rocks these two - had the perfect voice and acting skills to pull this one off - Listen, it's fun and whimsical and at the end of it all LOVE. NRW you rock - keep em coming honey!

Practically perfect in every way

This book was wonderful!!! It was special in ways that many books aren’t. The book was hysterical and posed questions that really made me think. The characters development was fantastic. Each characters voice was unique and provided a full world experience. Can’t recommend this book more highly

Perfect

I love this story with the passion of a thousand hugs and adore the simple yet beautiful way asexuality is represented. This performance by new Australian narrator Glen Lloyd perfectly captures the tone and hilarity of Jordan and his wonderful Hennessy. The use of a native Australian voice cannot be approved of more! An absolute delight from start to finish

Love the book

Great story love J and H. And I learned a lot to.
This was a new for me, but a good narrator.

loved it

I'm a sucker for all things NR Walker and I loved this one from start to finish. This book explores an asexual relationship and the fact asexuality is normal - it is a lesson we can all learn. My only negative comment would be Jordan's use of "motherf****r". I get it was part of his character, but I'm not a big swearer and found it overused, excessive and unnecessary in places.

Glen Lloyd is a newbie narrator for me. His native Aussie accent suites the characters and he did a great job bringing all the characters to life.