A review by yoursupremereads
Loveless by Alice Oseman

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective 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

3.75

Oseman you genius! Have I said that already? I'll say it again. I loved this book! I really really did! And the fact I was able to finish it right at the beginning of Pride Month. Cherry on top. This is a story not really about self-discovery, well it is that. But it's about acceptance in that discovery. Learning to be able to openly say what you are and not feel bad or demote yourself because of who you are, how your body works, and how your brain functions. Georgia is a relatable protagonist who's thrusted into the world thinking she should be doing one thing, when no matter how much she wants to, she ends up doing something completely different. Add to that a wonderful cast of characters, her two best friends Pip and Jason, her newest best-friend and roommate Rooney, and her college mentor Sunil, and you get a loving story about what you find when your away from home to create your own home. Oseman does a breathtaking job in conveying the mental hardships of asexuality and aromanticism when you live in world where no one wants to fully understand those terms and what they mean to the people who have come to terms with them. And I can't thank her enough for that. As someone who has recognized themselves as ace homoromantic for a while I understood Georgia's fear and frustrations in accepting the identify she came to. I understood her fear of people not understanding, or writing her feelings off as "not having found the one yet," or the classic "how can you know if you haven't tried it" mentality. And I also understand her frustrations with wanting to feel romantic love or wanting to be loved by someone else in a romantic way despite the negative bodily feelings that come with those prospects when they are finally in front of you. In short this book made me feel seen. And I can't say thank you to Oseman enough for that.
I would also like to add that Oseman writes men an in incredibly endearing way. Jason is a legit teddy bear. And even though Georgia hurts him through a misunderstanding, he comes back around, and is still the teddy bear we have come to love. And Sunil, sweet love. The way he is just a breath of fresh air whenever he comes into a scene is wonderful. Also could relate to his reservations about being in out and open ace POC. Being a Black ace identifying person myself, it is complicated, and given that there are plenty of "taboo" or "nonexistent" subjects you don't talk about in the Black community, the sexual spectrum being one of them, I related completely to Sunil. And Oseman's B plot of Rooney and Pip having an enemies to lovers journey was spectacular. Could not stop smiling at the end of the book when they got together. And the icing on the cake, when Rooney essentially asks Georgia if she can be Georgia's true love was wonderful. Because Oseman did yet another thing that I have not been able to stop thinking about. She took the time and space to say that for most ace-aro people, their friendships are their romantic relationships. And for them that's where they cultivate the love they need and desire in the healthiest and platonic way possible. Rooney recognizing that and asking Georgia to be that for her was wonderful and it gave me all the warm and fuzzies inside. And all five of them (Georgia, Pip, Jason, Rooney, and Sunil) getting a house at the end of the school year so they can live together for the rest of uni was adorable.
This is a solid recommend from me, especially if your ace identifying. I will be reading this again. And Oseman has become one of my favorite new contemporary authors!
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