Adult Virgins anonymous by Amber Crewe

Katie’s life isn’t going her way plain facing thirty at speed friends leaving her behind as she faces redundancy and Freddie's life is full of OCD, anxiety and generally struggling with life. They meet at a self help group where they decide that maybe they could help each other.

A lovely book where it gives you faith in life and makes you realise that it ok to be different and not everyone can cope living in the fast lane . A refreshing read if may be a tad predictable .

Unfortunately I no longer have access to this earc due to changing my kindle. But if I get to it in future, I'll come back and review.

. Adult Virgins Anonymous didn’t disappoint. Whilst it will not remain one of my favourite books ever, or perhaps one of those reads i will recall years down the line, i thoroughly enjoyed Amber Crews writing. Predictable friends to lovers, who meet at a support group for adult virgins, it was stereotypical but it was equally as heartwarming.

Fantastic book, really well written and a great feel good to give you a laugh! The characters are unique and interesting and will find you resonating with them in the funniest ways.

I would firstly like to thank Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

An awkwardly sweet story! I loved both Kate and Freddie, and was rooting for them from the very start. While I wasn't bored at any point, the story flowed at a very steady pace - I would of liked a slight twist or shock to the story. But regardless, a sweet story that had a lovely ending.

This book had some really interesting discussions about adult virginity and sexuality and it did so in a way that focussed on self-esteem and self-acceptance rather than sexual relationships. While it might at times fall into the predictable 'girl meets boy' category, there were some really interesting aspects to this story that opened my eyes to these topics that I am not so well versed on. It's stories like these that remind me why I love reading contemporary and contemporary romance books - to learn about other people's experiences (fictional or otherwise) that help me to understand the world around me.

While this was not the best writing I have ever read, this book was a great read and I would definitely recommend it to those looking for a contemporary novel!

Thank you to Net Gallery for letting me read this book. having never read any previous books from this author, I was particularly drawn to the titles and also the cover. The read is a fun but informative about the struggles people have with anxiety and OCD.
An easy read perfect for poolside reading

Funny and quirky read, great for the summer holidays.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest feedback.

Despite trying a few times I couldn't get into this book, the writing and my brain would not cooperate, despite the general plot of the book seeming appealing originally. These things happen sometimes though, through no fault of the author or me, the book just didn't stick.

A cute rom-com that highlights the pressure society puts on itself over the act of losing your virginity.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

I really liked this book. It felt like a warm, Cosy hug with friends. I liked both main characters equally a Freddie is quiet and reserved and over anxious about everything which i can do relate to. Kate seems to have just not had the right timing but was also a ‘nice’ person. It is unusual for me to be happy with both main characters but they fitted well together

I enjoyed the slow burn of the romance and felt that it fit in well worth the theme of the book.

such a lovely tale! easy to read, interesting and touching, just sailed through it and could have read more

A very realistic and well written story. I was drawn to this book from just the title alone, and it was more than I thought it would be. The author dealt with certain subjects very well

What a delightfully awkward romance this is. Not in the way it's written as it felt so authentic to how adult virgins must feel.

But more due to the lack of experience from both Freddie and Kate when it comes to anything to do with relationships, sex, and the emotions that are involved in such situations.

I did really enjoy meeting our leads and seeing the story from both perspectives. I kept wanting to reach out and give Freddie a great big hug.

I really felt for both Freddie who has a bit of a nightmarish family and Kate who seems to have not the nicest of friends. They are both going through tough times in their lives and yet there is just something about them both that I found so endearing.

And the group of Adult Virgins I really enjoyed the discussions that came out of it. Some eye opening threads of thought.

It's an amusing story that I really enjoyed reading.

Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

I was drawn to this book by the title, and thought it would be a light-hearted read.

While this book wasn't too serious, I did find it to be a bit slow. I loved Freddie as a character - he just seems like a really lovely person, however, there just wasn't very much momentum in the book, and I found that a lot of it was spent with the characters overthinking things.

Reading this book was a pleasant way to pass the weekend.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This romantic comedy was the absolute perfect balance of romance and comedy, I had the BEST time reading this book, there were moments that I found myself laughing out loud, and others where I had butterflies in my stomach from this relationship. I really enjoyed Amber Crewe's writing style and I can't wait to see what they bring out next.

Freddie is always conscious of the fact that he’s a virgin in his twenties. Along with his anxiety and OCD, he finds it hard to connect with new people, and the thought of dating and sex makes him terrified. He’s constantly feeling like he’s falling behind in life.
Kate feels like she’s losing everything – her friends, her job, her flat – except her virginity. For Kate, the act of sex is wrapped up in feelings, emotions, romance, and dating. But if she’s so bothered about being a virgin, shouldn’t she try to dismantle those connections and just… do it? When they both see a flyer in a pub for an Adult Virgins Anonymous club, they are intrigued and excited to find people just like them. Can this group become their support bubble, and help them conquer their fears?

I loved this book so much. I think the concept is so fun, but I also think it deals with the societal pressures to have sex, especially for the first time, so well. This is never something that’s discussed in media – being above a certain age and not having had sex. It’s something that is portrayed as ALWAYS happening by a certain age, and if you read any book, watch any TV or film, you’ll get the impression that everyone is having sex and having it young.

But obviously, that doesn’t happen for everybody, and so we meet Kate and Freddie.

I cannot tell you how hard I relate to Kate. She feels so lost, so abandoned by her friends and left behind by those around her, getting married, moving to far away countries for swanky new jobs, while she sits in the flat she can’t afford since losing her big job, and dwells on how life is passing her by. That’s a big theme in this book – that life is passing you by, that everything is happening to everyone else, and if only it could happen to Kate too. If only something could happen for Kate.

Freddie is a lot like Kate in some ways, and so very different in others. Shy, anxious, and constantly feeling like he’s not good enough, not interesting enough, just not enough. I can’t speak for how Freddie’s OCD is portrayed in this book, as I don’t have OCD, but as an outsider it seemed accurate and sensitive. Freddie is a lovable character, one that as a reader I was wanting to comfort and cheer on and support, but also who I was rooting for. He cared, he gave good advice, he was a good friend, most of the time, but it was clear he was always trying his best.

I wasn’t only rooting for Freddie, but for him and Kate together. And not just romantically either, but the way that they reacted as friends, as cheerleaders of one another, was cute, and relatable, and full of humour and appreciate for one another. I was torn about the way I wanted the book to go – did I want these characters to have sex or not? Part of me wanted them not to – to show that not everything has to accumulate in sex, at least on the page. But part of me did – I was reading a romance novel after all, and I was excited for them to end up together. As it happened, I was very happy with the ending.

Disregarding the whole sex aspect of this book (which, I know, is the whole premise of the book), this book was so well written. On a personal and emotional level of each character, they were so well crafted, from their complicated feelings towards sex because of what they’ve been told about sex their whole lives, what they’ve been lead to believe about it, and all that side of things. But they are fully rounded people without that aspect. They have other hopes and dreams and worries and they aren’t just one dimensial characters wanting sex. The whole conversation around sex in this book is mostly inclusive, and inviting, and is a great read to people to identify with Freddie and Kate and those that don’t.

But on the other hand, I just felt so much about these characters that has nothing to do with their sex lives. Freddie and Kate are worried, they are scared, they are struggling with being ‘adults’ and the pressure of having your shit together. Probably because I was reading this while feeling like life was passing me by (thank you pandemic for side tracking my twenties) and it really got to me. I felt really quite emotional reading it, and had to take a little break in the middle (mainly because I wasn’t in a good place and it was hitting a little too close to home, not because it wasn’t a good book.)

I was a bit skeptical when nearing the end of this book, when I was considering rating it 5 stars. I normally save my 5 star reviews for… well, not romance books. But, I mean, why?? I loved this book, it made me feeeeeel things, it made me cry, why would I not rate it what it deserves, in my opinion, because of it’s genre. Just because I usually save my highest of ratings for… what? More hard hitting books? Genre books or literary fiction? Not a good enough excuse, Rebecca. And so, yes, I am fully giving this book 5 stars, because I adored it, the characters, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it for days.

This was a really cute romance, and I fell head over heels for Freddie. However, it wasn't really anything special. I found the romance lacking a little, and the plot wasn't really that enjoyable either. I didn't really like Kate. I felt a little more in-depth would have been better.

I wanted to love this book but sadly it didn't quite hit the mark for me.
I did go into it expecting some kind of rom-com style story and that's not what this is.
It did drag in places and I didn't feel as invested in the characters as I would have liked to.
But I am really happy to see some of the themes that were covered in this be discussed so openly and publicly.
The subject matter of adult virgins in particular is something that we don't really see spoken about, other than to almost shame or make fun of people, like The 40 Year Old Virgin did to quite an extent.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Adult Virgins Anonymous definitely made me laugh out loud on numerous occasions! It speaks to many people in their twenties who feel like they have catching up to do in many different aspects of life in order to be 'successful'.

This book was so honest and raised important points. It highlights the importance placed on having a partner within society and the pressures it creates when you don't have one.

A really good read for anyone who feels like life just isn't going the way they had planned!