Reviews with content warning for Acephobia/Arophobia - Let's Talk About Love

Reviews tagging 'Acephobia/Arophobia'

Let's Talk About Love by Claire Kann

83 reviews

ratnix's review

lighthearted relaxing

2.0

I will start by saying that I disagree with most of the below 3 stars reviews and the reasons they didn't enjoy this book.

• I did not find Alice a childish or immature MC: If I remember correctly she's around 20ish? Her frontal lobe is still developing let her be and let her have cute meters to describe how cute someone is💀 I think Alice was a great ace rep

• I did not think the book villainized Margot. I think Alice's reaction to being broken up because she didn't want to have sex makes sense. Totally fair if sex is a very important part of your relationship but in this case we see Alice's perspective and Alice is someone who doesn't care about sex so it only makes sense that she'd have this reaction. There are many ace people out there whose partners broke up with them because they had different needs so it makes sense that she'd feel resentful and bitter

Some things that I do agree with:

• While a love interest and either mentioned or appearing in every single chapter, Takumi was just there 😭 I guess he was a cute LI but that's just it

• The exaggerated use of parentheses made me want to bawl my eyes out. 9 times out of 10, the things said could have been written without the use of the parenthesis

Now, my biggest problem with this book is how Alice and Feenie's friendship was handled and Feenie's character in general

From the very beginning we get the image that miss Feenie needs to see a therapist for her anger issues. She's been in fights for Alice's sake (and generally) and it would have been a great way to explore Feenie's interest in professional fighting but no, it's just a way to show Feenie as the "angry" best friend who gets into fights all the time. Mind you, they have been best friends since they were kids

Her whole character is her wanting to get married and have kids with her boyfriend (who's also one of Alice's best friends) to give her kids the "childhood she didn't have", which, fine, I disagree with the entire reasoning behind her motives but whatever I won't promote my anti natalism beliefs here. But, miss, if you want to have kids and become a better mother to them than your mother was to you then maybe you should start by visiting a therapist?? Communicating and controlling your emotions??

That aside, Feenie is the worst possible friend to have.

She ditches Alice in a party to go make out with her boyfriend, Alice is assaulted and is rightfully angry and stressed and leaves the party, Feenie proceeds to get mad and blames Alice AND THEN manages to convince Alice that it was both hers and Alice's fault that they fell apart. Not to mention she tries to live through Alice, tries to convince her to have sex with Takumi because "you never know"

I was expecting to use Feenie as a way for Alice to stand up for herself, making her realize what a terrible friend she is but no - all's well at the end!

And we never hear about it again.

So, yes, everytime Feenie was on the page, my mouth foamed. It was such a missed opportunity

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ursa_arlo's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Positives. This book was such a cheesy, by-the-book romcom but I'm glad it exists anyway. Because ace people deserve to see themselves in shitty romcoms too! The story itself had very little substance but it provides a nuanced view of what it is like to date while asexual. I think it may be relatable to a lot of people (even if I -an aro/ace person- do not see much overlap with my situation) and it does not gloss over the difficulties that come with dating as an ace person. It's nice to see a fictional character navigate their aceness in relation to partners and other loved ones.

Negatives. Something that irks me is that Feenie's anger was shown to be just as justified as Alice's anger and I do not agree with that. As an aro/ace person, the fact that relationships with partners will always be portrayed as something inherently more valuable than friendships has me fuming. Even Feenie's promise that she will always stay in contact with Alice when Ryan and she get married does not negate that. Alice naturally feels left out by Rayn and Feenie, and while she is in the wrong for not addressing the situation, I don't think she should have been the one to apologize.

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specklecommittee's review

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emotional informative reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Although the story is written with all the cringe and yearning of a YA novel, its message felt nuanced and refreshing. The asexual representation was written with a lot of care. The main character's conflict stemmed from not being seen or accepted by others. And the development of the love interest felt healthy, endearing, and pretty radical.
At the same time, the story felt written for younger audiences, but had adult themes that people under at least 17 wouldn’t connect with/be appropriate for.

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vael's review against another edition

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The way it's written triggers me so much so I'm going to DNF this one, maybe another time

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whiteflowerose's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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warlocksarecool21's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Overall, Let’s Talk About Love was a sweet story about growing up and learning how to navigate relationships. I had some mixed feelings about some things in this book but I did like it. The strongest part of this story for me was Alice. I thought she was a fun character and her problems were very realistic and relatable for young adults. I liked the balance between Alice’s steadfastness in knowing what she wants for herself (in both her career and relationships) and her learning to be okay with doing things that might upset others. I really appreciated the asexual rep, a lot of Alice’s experiences with being ace are very similar to my own. All this to say, Alice is a very real and sweet character. (Updating this a little to make a comment inspired by a very angry and insecure review I saw: Not every asexual person is the same. If Alice’s experiences don’t match your experiences being asexual that’s ok, it’s not for you but it doesn’t mean it’s bad representation.)

Now, for the parts I had issues with. I will preface that I did really like her relationship with Takumi, they were really cute and sweet together. I did wish more time was given to address some of the conflicts they had (

Mainly, her expecting him to be perfect, and Takumi figuring out what a relationship would look like for them.

). They were talked about, but it happened very quickly so it was a little dissatisfying. I did enjoy the rest of their relationship though.

I had minor issues with the writing style but I was able to look past it. The technical skill was there I just didn’t vibe with all of the humor and pop culture references. It was very reminiscent of Tumblr culture several years ago (when this book was written) that didn’t completely come across now. Not that it aged poorly in a problematic sense but some of the references/jokes (and there were a lot) just weren’t funny to me 😂. But if you really like that style of humor it might be for you.

My biggest issue was regarding Alice’s friends (Feenie and Ryan) she deserves so much better 😭😭. Their whole situation was so unhealthy and toxic at times and I just didn’t like their friendship. Alice’s individual dynamic with Ryan was fine but I did not like Feenie. To me, Feenie did not treat Alice that well?. I think Feenie acted really unfairly and that there was a double standard when it came down to how each one of them was allowed to act. The main issue was how possessive Feenie got when Alice started being friends with Takumi.

It just felt so toxic to me that Feenie was allowed to live her own life and do whatever she wanted but when Alice decided to branch out and make new friends (because she was tired of being a 3rd wheel) Alice was being unreasonable and selfish?? Make it make sense. And then when the whole thing was resolved most of the onus fell on Alice and she had to take accountability for Feenie’s insecurity but Feenie couldn’t acknowledge the hurt she caused. She even continued being possessive in their little reconciliation scene when she said that she needs Alice because she’s the only person who can make her calm (like girl that’s not healthy).

. It was not handled well and I did not like their friendship. Basically, I don’t think the conflict resolution was done very well in this book and it did make me rate it lower than I was hoping.

That being said, I did enjoy this book, I liked Alice and Takumi. There were a few too many issues for me to want to rate it higher but it’s a cute book and worth the read.

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mari1532's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing tense medium-paced

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

4.5

#23for23 (Learn more: https://www.23for23.net/)

I checked this audiobook out of my library.

Brief Synopsis: Alice is going to have the best summer. Eating great food, working her cozy job at the library, watching television, and spending time with her girlfriend...except she doesn't have a girlfriend anymore. After Alice tells her girlfriend that she's asexual, Alice finds herself no longer in a relationship. With a broken heart, she enters the summer with no thoughts toward anything other than going to work and avoiding people. Then she meets her new coworker, Takumi, and suddenly the summer seems full of terrifying possibilities for Alice.

Thoughts: I loved the romance between Alice and Takumi throughout this book. The way that they care for each other and build a connection with one another was so heartwarming to watch and a joy to read. I also really appreciated Alice's growth within her asexuality and how Takumi and she were able to navigate the meaning of that within their romance.

I also love that the place where Alice and Takumi fall for each other is a library. It's a perfect combination of some of my favourite things romance and books.

The only thing I did not like about this book is Alice's relationship with her best friends, Feenie and Ryan, who are in a partnership with each other. I felt that Feenie and Alice's relationship was a little toxic. They had a lot of history together and I do not doubt that at some point they were very close and had a lot of love for each other. However, when Feenie is upset that Alice is forming a relationship with Takumi being jealous, rather than supportive it rubbed me the wrong way. I also felt that the resolution of that tension was not entirely satisfying.

This is a great romance with asexual representation. I would recommend this book.

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