I Touch My Shelf by Allie York

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With some more free time I went back to one of my new favorite series, Words for Nerds by Allie York! The next book in the series is the third, I Touch My Shelf. I used this to cover the Ivy (brown on the cover) prompt for the Taylor Swift Quarterly Challenge and also the book with a punny title prompt for the 2nd board of Love Has Sprung.

Tuesday has been in love with her best friend Rae's older brother Leo since she was 10 years old. They have been dancing around each other for a while now, especially after they both came of age. After Leo is a little rude to Tuesday, she loses her temper and let's him have it. Faced with the option that she might have to finally move on, Leo finally makes his move and kisses Tuesday. From them they really start opening up to each other even more. What Leo doesn't know though, Tuesday is actually a popular science-fiction writer. When he reaches out to the author hoping to convince "him" to do a signing at his bookstore to make Tuesday happy, Tuesday fights with opening up to everyone, including her twin sister, about her secret persona.

Guys, guys, guys. This book. This series. They are giving me life. Tuesday and Leo were a mutual pining masterpiece with sci-fi and fantasy twists (Tuesday's main fandom is Lord of the Rings). I loved getting to see them connect in a different way and really push what they want from their relationship. I also loved that even though Tuesday was a virgin, it wasn't made that big of deal. Leo just accepted that he was the first for her but it was more of a sweet moment knowing that she was trusting enough of him to allow that kind of vulnerability for the first time. I also loved the way they connected over reading and books (are we really that surprised?). Some of their time together was spent reading together (either both reading the same book or reading separately while cuddling). It was really sweet and just made me feel so happy.

Now, the big 3rd act conflict was kind of predictable, but I liked how it played out and that it eventually led to Tuesday and her twin sister Greer getting even closer in the next book. Another fun aspect is that Tuesday runs Second Breakfast, the mini-café associated with the Words for Nerds comic shop. It was a fun addition seeing her put together unique sandwiches and coffees and coming up with nerdy and punny names. Another thing that is also touched base on is Leo's OCD. It's been an issue with his previous relationships and I loved how accepting and adaptable that Tuesday was for him. Once again, it wasn't made into some big thing. It just made them both feel so much more real.

If you couldn't already tell, I'm absolutely obsessed with this series and these characters. This the nerdy series of my dreams and I love the strong friendships between everyone. Seriously, if you enjoy any aspect of Nerd-dom culture, check out this series. I'll definitely be looking into Allie's other works after getting through this series.

Have you read I Touch My Shelf?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: I Touch My Shelf, Allie York, 5-stars, 1 day, eBook, 184 pages, published in 2021, indie published