I read Loveless by Alice Oseman with some excitement. It was the first book that I was aware of that revolved around asexuality. Being on the asexual spectrum, and being fairly new and inexperienced with that, meant that I was very curious to read this story. There was a lot that I could relate to, I loved reading the descriptions of Georgia's experiences. Her failed experiments as she tried to navigate her own path. I loved her friendships, particularly her new friendship with roommate, Rooney. This was a really emotional read for me and I will think about it long after I've finished it.

Alice's focus on the characters and how their relationships interweave makes for a super cute read. Would highly recommend for the aromatic/asexual relationship, and for those searching for books about the first year of university. There are a variety of diverse side characters too, including gay and pansexual rep.

I always thought I knew what asexuality was but like most, but like most, believed some stereotypes until I did some further research. I then used reading loveless as a way to understand myself more than anything. That being said, I loved the characters portrayed in this book, all the pop culture references used, and truly enjoyed the experience of getting to see Georgia's acceptance being aroace. I still find sexuality confusing but I am 99% certain I am on the ace spectrum. Loveless is truly a joy to read that everyone should have the pleasure of reading and learning a bit more about asexuality!

I recently discovered Alice Oseman’s ‘I Was Born For This’ and was thoroughly impressed with her ability to so genuinely capture a BAME main character.

Alice Oseman explores asexuality in coming-of-age novels and offers a refreshing well welcomed take on the YA genre.

Always 5 stars from me! 👏🏼 👏🏼

Modern, relevant and relatable!

So many LGBTQ+ YA books forget about the "+" - this story about accepting your asexuality and aromanticism is so touching and necessary.

I have been a fan of Alice Oseman's HEARTSTOPPER and had high hopes for this. And yet...

While I think this book is hugely important representing ace and non-binery and makes them feel seen, I can't seem to connect to the writing for one reason or another. Plus, some of the issues I have read within many reviews raised alarm bells for me and this effect my reading.

I think most readers will love this, but it doesn't work for me. It's not you, Loveless, it's me. Honest!

I 100% knew I was going love this book because I love literally everything Alice Oseman writes. She was one of the first authors I met in person many, many years ago to get my copy of Radio Silence signed and since then I've been lucky to get a number of her other books signed. Being a big fan I knew that I was going to be in for a treat from one of UKYA's very best and I was not at all disappointed.

Loveless is Georgia's story. A story of a young girl moving away from home for her fresher year in university with her two best friends in tow. An exploration of expectations and hopes for university life alongside a really wonderful story of a young person finding her true self. Georgia just can't seem to fall for anyone, no matter how much she loves romance, or at least the idea of it. After a number of pretty disastrous experiments, she finally starts to come to terms with her own sexuality and how that will effect her future.

I REALLY loved the characters in this book. Writing teenagers is one of Alice Oseman's special talents. She just captures the exact thoughts, feelings and emotions of being a teenager and she really outshines herself in this novel. Georgia is our main protagonist but it feels like all of the characters go through some serious character development alongside her. I loved Rooney, Pip, Jason and Sunil just as much as I adored Georgia. I loved the way their friendships and romances reflected true life experience; certainly not straight forward. I think my absolute favourite thing about this book is the focus on how much love we can have for our friends. Yes romance is brilliant, but it's not everything and it certainly doesn't need to be. If you like Shakespeare there are also plenty of references to that as well as some fun pop culture type references.

Loveless is a book all about self-acceptance and identity. Finding yourself and allowing yourself to 'be you'. As a teacher, it is a book I hope to see falling into the hands of teenagers far and wide. There is a lot to be learnt from this novel as well as it being a thoroughly enjoyable read. Packed full of emotion, laughter, truth and friendship, Loveless is a book you need to pick up.

Loveless by Alice Oseman ⠀
⠀
This was my first Alice Oseman book and after reading it I know I’ll now want to read all of her other ones! Alice addressed what it’s like to be asexual/aromantic in such an intimate way and it doesn’t stereotype at all. ⠀
⠀
I loved all the different queer characters and this book really made you realise that you could explore your sexuality without having to put a particular label on it straight away and that there are so many people who are similar to you. ⠀
⠀
I also loved the focus of friends in this novel. This book really took me back to freshers week and what it’s like to have the pressure of making new friends and how people bring out parts of you that you didn’t know existed. I loved this book just so so much, I definitely need to buy a paperback copy of it!

Loveless was one of my most highly anticipated novels of 2020, I am always looking for more own voices novels with aroace characters. However not only did Alice Oseman deliver one of the best aroace characters but they also detailed the main character, Georgia's, entire exploration and discovery of being asexual and aromantic. This story is a learning curve for Georgia as well as the book's readers, but it's important to remember that Loveless tells the story of only one of many aroace experiences. For myself, Loveless exceeded any and all expectations I had, the realisation of being aroace unfolded so clearly around Georgia but it was the support group of friends that encompassed her that made reading Loveless the most heart-warming experience.
In my opinion, Alice Oseman's writing has improved with each and every novel they write. Prior to reading Loveless, their third novel, I Was Born For This, was my favourite however Loveless has most definitely now stolen the top spot! Something I particularly love about Alice Oseman's writing style is the short chapters with blunt yet at times hilariously relevant chapter titles, a few favourites from Loveless are; Shakespeare and House Plants, We Sure Do Love Drama, Straight Out of a Romance Novel and Could Have Gone Harder with the Pride Flags.
Loveless is an incredibly important novel, but it isn't just a novel for aromantic and asexual people. Alice Oseman's fourth novel focuses on the importance of platonic relationships for everyone. There will be times when romantic relationships fail, when marriages dissolve into divorce and partners quarrel and fall out with each other, it's in these moments that you will realise the importance of your platonic relationships. It is just as essential to love your friends as it is to love your partner, to be there for your friends when they need you so they can also be there for you.
For anyone who's attended a British university, I think you'll find Alice Oseman's depiction of university life incredibly realistic and relatable. Georgia and Rooney are thrown together as roommates on the very first day, and an illogical but fast friendship quickly develops as they tend to do at university. Every character in this story was perfectly written, each showed both their strengths and flaws throughout the book and discussed their own sexuality at their own pace. Georgia most definitely grew the most throughout the story due to her discovery of being aroace, however Rooney's character also developed more self-confidence and understanding of what she wanted in life.
Loveless explores and discusses the aroace identity, platonic relationships, self-confidence, past relationships, sexuality, gender identity, pronouns and so much more. Alice Oseman has packed this novel with essential and enlightening conversations and I would recommend this novel to everyone!

A review for this book will be going up on my youtube channel in December.

I thought that this was a very well written, well paced book and I loved the overall plots and themes of this novel. As an asexual Durham graduate there was a lot for my to relate to in this and it definitely added something new to its genre. The only thing that I would point out is that my rating of this book was lowered as some LGBTQ members felt like the book had negative or harmful stereotypes of their sexual identity, and therefore I would recommend that to the publisher to consider sensitivity readers when publishing something of this again.

I loved this book. I was expecting a teenage romcom style novel and wasn’t prepared to be impressed by it, but I really enjoyed it, mostly because it reminded me of my own university experience. Homesickness, not fitting in, finally finding the right balance. It was refreshing to read a book that ended up being about friendship rather than romantic love. I think this would be a worthwhile read for any young person whatever their sexuality, but I imagine it would provide reassurance to anyone who may identify as asexual, that their experience is just part of the fabric of life.

A sweet story that touches on lgbt life without feeling forced. Asexuality is rarely represented in books so this was refreshing.

Genre: YA Fiction/LGBTQIA+

The Gist: A group of friends head off to university. Whilst they begin to lose each other, they also begin to find themselves.

Short Review: Loveless is the story of friendship that falls apart when they all discover themselves at university. Love, new social groups and dealing with sexuality are all things that impact this story.

Long Review: Georgia and her friends Pip and Jason are off to Durham University. Whilst her friends are off meeting people and having new adventures Georgia realises that she doesn’t feel the same as they do when it comes to new relationships.

Whilst everyone is pairing off Georgia struggles to find anyone. She starts to question her sexuality. She doesn’t think that she is a lesbian like her best friend Pip; she tries to go out with other best friend Jason but that relationship repulses her. Georgia doesn’t know why she is feeling this way and it is making her miserable.

I absolutely loved Loveless. For me, Alice Oseman really is the leading voice in talking to teens about sexuality. I learned so much from this book and I know that when I was a teenager my friends and I would have appreciated a book like this that answers questions that we didn’t even know we had.

Loveless is a brilliant book, one that has friendship at the heart and one that is ironically full of love. It was fantastic.

Loveless by Alice Oseman is available now.

For more information regarding Alice Oseman (@AliceOseman) please visit www.aliceoseman.com.

For more information regarding Harper Collins UK (@HarperCollinsUK) please visit their Twitter page.

As an aroace-spec person I'm incredibly grateful to have been approved for an eARC of this book, however I have to be honest and say that I didn't receive this eARC until after I'd already bought my own copy of this book so when I do review this book I'll reviewing the finished copy I bought rather than the copy I was very kindly sent.

I LOVED this! A super important book by an incredible author. As someone who has recently learned they’re on the ace spectrum, I read the whole of this going ‘ohhhh! This makes so much sense!’ so a very big thank you for that Alice Oseman, and another very big thank you for writing Georgia’s story ♥️

Keep the ace books coming YA publishers! 💜🤍🖤

This book was featured in National Book Tokens' guide on 'How to crack university and beyond: a survival guide in books'.

Absolutely adored this book! I swear I already submitted my review, but clearly not..

Such a great read, really eye opening and definitely hits home on the situations involved. I would highly recommend this book especially to Young Adult readers in schools, to raise awareness.

Georgia is different, she can't work out why but she is and life is very confusing. During her first year of uni she begins to explore her sexuality with the support of new and old friends.

This is the first book I've ever read with an asexual character and I loved it. The plot was very internalised as the reader is fully in Georgia's head as she comes to terms with who she is. It felt very real and true to life and I would recommended this book to anyone who is struggling with their sexuality and who feels like they don't fit in.

I feel like I've gone on a journey with the main character and I've learnt a lot from her experience. I would like to read more about this group of friends and their Shakespeare Society, hopefully there might be a follow up as the author seems to do that with her characters :)

Eighteen year old Georgia has never been in love. In fact, she's realising, she's never even had a crush. But Georgia loves romance. She's a connoisseur of fanfiction and romcoms and she knows that one day she'll fall in love and have that big, romantic love affair, just like the ones she's read about. Everyone meets the right person for them eventually, right? Plus, Georgia's new uni roommate, Rooney, seems to have no trouble finding people she fancies, and she's more than happy to help Georgia put herself out there.

The thing is, the more Georgia does put herself out there, the more she starts to wonder if there really is a right person for everyone. What does it mean if Georgia doesn't fall in love? What if she can't? Between arguments with her two best friends, Pip and Jason, trying to help Rooney with her doomed Shakespeare Society, and now trying to figure out an extremely important part of herself, Georgia's first year of university isn't exactly turning out the way she expected.

In many ways, this is a classic coming of age story, full of teen drama, existential doubt, longing, and everything else we're used to from a story of a young person trying to figure out their place in the world. The difference with Loveless is that this is the first novel I've read where the main character is figuring out that they are asexual and aromantic. Of course, one story can never encompass the many different experiences of people who share a common identity, but I feel sure that many young asexual and aromantic people will see themselves reflected in Georgia, possibly for the first time, and perhaps feel a little bit less alone than Georgia does in certain parts of her story.

Georgia makes mistakes over the course of the novel, of course, and she learns a lot about herself and the people around her, to the backdrop of a slightly strange Shakespeare production, esteemed university traditions, and rather a lot of Scooby Doo references. Georgia, along with her new and old friends, Jason, Pip, Rooney, and the older and more confident Sunil, go through a few problems together, but their love for each other is what gets them through. In Georgia's story, Oseman captures both the loneliness that can come from figuring out who you are and the joy that comes from being around people you love. In the end, Georgia knows that as long as she has good friends, she will never be loveless.

Loveless is a coming of age story that follows Georgia through her journey of self-discovery and coming to terms with the fact that she is different from everyone else. I didn't know much about ace-aro before I read this story.

I loved the different friendships within this novel, and the journey through their first year of university together. Oseman is a masterful writer, and I always look forward to what comes next.

Full review to come on my blog.