absolutely cole

This is an absolutely gorgeous book and I think everyone should read it. Alice Oseman is a powerhouse of a human. Her comic Heartstopper is amazing and she has a real gift for capturing the strange feeling of being a young person.

Loveless is a novel about a girl named Georgia who has never had a crush on anyone. As she begins her university life, she sets out to change this and to find love- after all, she loves love, thinking about it constantly and obsessing over fanfiction. With the help of her seemingly confident and knowledgeable roommate Rooney, and her best friends Jason and Pip, she embarks on her university journey towards true love.

Except- it doesn’t play out that way. As the novel progresses, Georgia has to come to terms with the fact that, actually, she doesn’t experience romantic or sexual attraction at all. With the help of Sunil, the aromantic asexual president of the Pride Society, she begins to accept her sexuality.

One of the amazing things about this novel is the characters- even the secondary characters feel fleshed out and believable, with their own quirks and personalities that make you love them. They are all real, flawed people, who are capable of doing both good and bad things and react in believable ways to the things that happen. Rooney was a particular favourite of mine; she is an absolute treasure and, as the story developed and I learned more about her, I just adored her.

The interaction between the characters felt so authentic; the group starts a Shakespeare Society and a lot of the story involves their attempt to put on a showcase of some of Old Shakey’s most romantic plays. The fact that Georgia is trying to come to terms with who she is around this is really affecting. The core message of the book is that the love between friends is just as important and as authentic as the love two humans can share romantically. This works so well here because the friendships depicted in the book are so raw and real.

In addition to Georgia’s journey of self-acceptance, there is also the absolute treat of the enemies-to-lovers, will-they-won’t-they romance between Pip and Rooney. I love this trope so much, and seeing it done so effectively between two queer female characters is a delight.

There is absolutely nothing I didn’t like about this book. It feels like an important piece of #ownvoices writing and a truly authentic and heartfelt story.

Reasons to read:

• A heartwarming, authentic story about an aroace character discovering and accepting themselves
• Diverse characters
• An amazing cast of characters who feel real and who are delightful
• Queer women in an enemies-to-lovers extravaganza
• Wholesome content

Possible trigger warnings:

• Mentions of past abusive behaviour
• Acephobic references
• Some experimenting with a character without them knowing