Loved the premise, loved the characters, was a bit overwhelmed with everything else going on. For example, the anxiety rep was stellar, yet I wasn't really rooting for anyone and didn't feel completely immersed in the story.
Really enjoyed the witty remarks, though!

This book was not what I was expecting it to be. Unfortunately for me it wasn't what I wanted to read about so I did not finish.

When I started reading this I wasn't sure how such a sensitive kind of subject was going to work in a rom-com type setting, but it turned out to be a really enjoyable read. It treated mental health issues & the characters personal situations in a sensitive manner without the need for ridicule. Lovable characters, with a will they, won't they feel building throughout the book to a very happy ending, albeit one you could see coming a mile away.

'Are you still a virgin?
Want to talk about it in a safe space?
Meetings every other Tuesday.
You're not alone'

Many thanks to Netgalley for my ARC in return for my honest review.

𝗜 𝗴𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮 5 ⭐ 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴

I went into this book in the wrong frame of mind. It was my mistake but I was expecting a light rom-com story. This is not.

I liked that this book has dual perspective from the two main characters. It handles some important topics, not just sex, and it seems to have been covered well. It was well written and easy to read despite the topic. It wasn’t heavy or tough to read. I liked this but didn’t love it.

In looking for a light read for the month of January, Adult Virgins Anonymous by Amber Crewe garnered my attention because of its eye catching title and unusual premise. Billed as a romantic comedy, Kate and Freddie, both in their late twenties, meet at a support group for adult virgins.

This wasn’t quite the light hearted romp I was expecting though. When the book opens, Kate is on the verge of a depressive episode. Her career has stalled, her friends seem to have moved on and left her behind, and she has no choice other than to move back in with her parents. Meanwhile Freddie, who has a clinical history of anxiety and OCD, is tired of feeling misunderstood and alone. Both are virgins not through choice per se, but because of a lack of opportunity, and both feel it is a burden that contributes to their single status.

Cue the fortuitous discovery of a support group, where they learn they aren’t the only adult virgins in London. Hosted by a person who identifies as nonbinary, the group includes a diverse range of members who for varying reasons are also virgins. They are an appealing bunch, and Crewe takes care to flesh these characters out, even though they play a reasonably minor role in the story as individuals. The group though is the stage that allows for thoughtful discussion about the nature of desire, sex, sexuality, love, insecurity, loneliness and personal happiness.

Inevitably Kate and Freddie decide that having sex with each other is a good idea, an opportunity to get ‘it’ over with, with no strings, but predictably the pair catch feelings for each other they are too afraid to admit to. It’s a cute take on the friends to lovers trope though the repetitive cycle of angst before they confess does get a little tiring.

Crewe’s characterisation is impressive, and I thought she wrote sensitively in regards to the various issues explored in the novel, including on the subjects of adult virginity, OCD and self esteem. What I thought was uneven with regards to the story was the balance between the comic and serious elements, and the pacing.

While Adult Virgins Anonymous wasn’t quite the romantic comedy I was anticipating I thought it offered some unique detail, and enjoyed reading it.

A brilliant, funny read. Light and easy, absolutely what I need at the moment, great characters, cute romance and lovely writing, perfect escapism

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

A great fun book to read. If ever you thought your life was awkward - there is always someone else who's life is just as complicated! Just the thing to cheer you up and remind you that things DO get better....

I really enjoyed this book. It was funny, fun, light and fluffy, easy to read and wonderfully written. The characters were lovable and fantastic. Would recommend.

Adult Virgins Anonymous has an interesting premise. A support group for adults who have found themselves still virgins or just rather very inexperienced in love and sex after a certain age.

I really like how this book deals with anxiety. It describes certain feelings and concerns really well and I found that I could really relate to many of these things. Plus, I also love how it depicts and deals with different types of friendships.

However, that's about it for the feelings that this book roused in me. I didn't feel particularly happy or sad, or frustrated for the characters. I just didn't find anything about them to love or care for. I wasn't particularly rooting for them, but I also had no doubts it would work out well for them either. And the story moved at a slow pace, with too much exposition... It was a bit boring.

Overall, it was an interesting idea, but it didn't deliver on the funny, cutesy romance it appeared to be. It had some funny and adorable scenes, but in general, it was too slow and dull for me. I didn't enjoy this book very much.

I am going to be honest: I did not even finish reading the synopsis because I did not care to know everything it says, I knew I wanted to read it, so I had no idea whether the two leads were supposed to become a couple, help each other find someone or just be friends, or even less. I thought the idea was great and offered a lot of possibilities, so I just wanted to see where it would go. Not sure if it was a good or a bad thing for me to do, but it worked out well.

There's something about this book. I do not know if it's Kate and Freddie, the writing style and narration or how natural everything feels but I connected to Kate and Freddie a lot. I did not agree with everything they said but I understood how they felt throughout and I related to them a lot. I appreciated the different topics the book talks about, and I am glad it had more than I originally thought.

However, I have to say that I would have liked to see more of the secondary characters, those people in the group, and have both leads interact more with them. I liked their first meeting and how much they listened to everyone but I thought both the meetings and the people in them would play a bigger part. And they do but they also don't. They appear mostly at the start, to push both characters and their stories along, but then the focus shifts to our leads, which I understand, but I wanted more from their friends.

I appreciate how we got different perspectives and ideas, not only in the book, but in the people that attended the meetings, and I guess that's why I wanted to know more about them and have Kate and Freddie be a bigger part in that. I am happy that Kate had Lindsey, and happy she and Freddie got to understand more about each other and who they could rely on.

Another surprise was how easy the book was to read. There are a lot of parts that given our leads personalities, are narrated by them, or do not have as much dialogue as I would have liked, but those sections do not drag or feel boring, on the contrary, it helps you understand them better and I think it works very well, because this book is about Kate and Freddie, so we follow them along, it is not an ation-packed romance, it's more character-based.

The title pulled me in with this one. Then the blurb sealed the deal.

Generally enjoyable, but it did find it dragged a bit in places.

Definitely an author I'd read again though.

Adult Virgins Anonymous - the title alone piqued my curiosity. Add in the tantalising synopsis...

“Are you still a virgin? Want to talk about it in a safe space? Meetings every other Tuesday.
You're not alone.”

...and I was sold on giving this one a go!

Romance stories are full of virgins, some believable and some not so much. But this story was different. Freddie and Kate were extremely believable as adult virgins. They’re not virgins through choice, more through circumstances. Their backstories were well thought out and I loved that they weren’t portrayed as weird or strange because of their sexual status, although they often felt that way themselves.

Fundamentally this story is not about sex, or the lack of it, it’s about acceptance and self esteem. It’s about finding that person who really understands you and loves you for who you are. It’s about finding the courage to be yourself and what’s more relatable than that?

The romance, although a slow burn, was cute and awkward allowing for some laugh out loud moments but still felt warm, light and uplifting. There were parts of the story that were enlightening too and gave me an insight into what it’s like dealing with anxiety and OCD.

A great contemporary romance with brilliantly realistic and relatable characters - well worth a read!

A great read, the story of Kate and Freddie. Both have their own reasons for why they end up joining the Adult Virgins Anonymous group. As they spend more time together, Kate realises they could just help each out, but will it really be that simple?

Adult Virgins Anonymous is a story about two people who reach a crossroads in their life and decide to make a positive change for their future. Something we could all learn from! Kate and Freddie are both virgins and feel like it had held them back as adults but when they discover the comfort of adult virgins anonymous speaking about the problem made it seem less daunting.

This is an easy read that I finished in just a few days. The ending is predictable in a comforting, rainy day read sort of way but I still wanted to find out if there was a happy ending for both Kate and Freddie. I loved this romantic, awkward and honest book. Showing that the people who love you most can't help everything and you have to act in your life to change things.

My only cavate is if you have OCD then I'm not sure how you would relate to Amber Crewe's depiction of Freddie's OCD. A disorder that threatened to ruin his life several years before but thanks to medication and therapy he has better control of now.

I cannot deny how intrigued I was after hearing the title for this and when I was offered a place on the tour I instantly ran at the chance. Being a virgin in your late 20s is almost seen as a taboo and it was so refreshing to read a book that actually celebrates it and makes you realise how normal it is. It's also a nice reminder that life is not a race, which I constantly need to remind myself.

The whole concept of this book just drew me in and I absolutely devoured it within a few hours. The characters are so realistic and the range of diversity in this book was just amazing.

I do feel like some parts of this book were a little rushed but that didn't stop me from fully enjoying this journey that Freddie and Kate went on.

It was such a beautiful and much needed story that everyone should read. This subject matter is something that is rarely touched on in a serious manner. It shouldn't be difficult to talk about being a virgin in your 20s but society and the media has definitely played a hand in making it something to keep secret. We need more books like this, that embrace individuality and different life choices! I 100% recommend this book to anyone who loves a cute, awkward love story.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this book.
Unexpected is indeed the word for this story. I was surprised by the personalities of the two main leads, and how much empathy I felt for them and their situations. It was more endearing than I predicted and really enjoyed reading this.
The side characters in the group were a good mix of different people, and the dates Kate went on were good examples of her not settling for just anyone.
The ending came a little bit quicker than I anticipated and I wasn't disappointed, however I would have liked to see what happened with Freddie and his brother. Or to see how Freddie and Kate were going in an epilogue.

This was a cute and generally sweet romance. I liked both Kate and Freddie and they were interesting and well written characters. The story progressed really nicely and it was an enjoyable read.
I'd definitely read more by this author as I really like this one.

I was really interested in the premise of this book as we don't see adult virgins represented much in any kind of media and when they are it tends to be in a bad light. I wanted to love this but it just did not hit the mark for me. The pacing of this was really slow it felt like nothing was a actually happening which meant that I just could not get into the story and neither of our main characters interested me and so I DNFed at 40%.

Although the premise was interesting, I found this predictable and boring. Romance isn't a genre I usually enjoy so this may appeal more to people who do read a lot more of this kind of thing.

Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and #NetGalley for an advanced copy.

I found this very difficult to get excited about so stopped reading a few chapters in, I'm afraid. Not for me.