Reviews with content warning for Biphobia - Acts of Service

Acts of service is at once a story and a sexual treatise. It considers sex with all of its hang ups and freedoms, ultimately arriving at a grey space. With Romi, Eve uses the relationship to determine her worth and value (being with a "good" person). With Nathan and Olivia, Eve finds desirability and is understood for what makes her feel ashamed (she feels more wholly seen).

Sex is a tangled web of of all of this. At times, Acts of Service gets too in the weeds and you never really feel the sense of relief Eve tries to convince us she has, or it isn't worth the pay off for how tense and stressed she is for much of the book. But I suppose that is for Eve to decide herself and not me.

Content Warnings

wilful_wisp's review against another edition

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challenging reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Content Warnings

librarianknight's review against another edition

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Look, if I needed someone to tell me that rather than being with a woman I should be with a man who's sexually degrading and uncaring for my consent, and that other women are only my competition, I'd talk to my Catholic grandmother.

Also, I promise quotation marks are really cool and the lack of them doesn't elevate your writing whatsoever.

Content Warnings

micaelacccc's review against another edition

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challenging slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

hecateswickeddaughter's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

mollywill's review against another edition

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challenging reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

selfbybee's review against another edition

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challenging reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

I am solidly sitting a 3.5 to 4 stars right now but I imagine I may comeback to this review as I cannot stop unpacking this book in my head for so many reasons.

cw: sexual violence, coercion, cheating, toxic romantic relationship, homophobia(lesbo and biphobia), mentions of -ape, gaslighting

I am trying to find a very succinct way to say this story is a very thin white feminist exploration of hedonism, BDSM themes, (poor) polyamory, sexual desire and vanity. If that seems like a lot of themes at once that's because this book is JAM PACKED with the inner workings of a unlikable late 20 year old.

Eve is unlikable in every sense of the word feeling "unfulfilled" while coasting through life on that coattails of her generational wealth. There are many poignant lines, and and I enjoy some of her thoughts around sex, desire and how for women & femmes those concepts feel flimsy and hard to grasp--and shameful when embraced & celebrated because of our social conditioning.

That's all I can think of right now I will comeback to this review because I have no clue how to even approach Olivia and Nathan the (2) parties involved in the polyam aspect of this book.

Content Warnings

samsters's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

I honestly cannot rate this book. It was infuriating and also page-turning. Very dissociative feminism. Clearly going for some capital D Discourse, and unfortunately I do want to see what the girlies are saying.

Content Warnings

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