Based on the podcast of the same name, Millennial Love is a mixture of memoir, social commentary and insight from public figures on the complexities of modern romance. Technology has made dating easier than ever but also offers new ways for us to feel rejected (it's nice to remember a time before you could be "left on read") and I am glad this book exists, for everyone who has ever felt like the only one dealing with this nonsense!

This collection is more wide-ranging than I expected, covering topics such as porn, the Me Too movement and female grooming, alongside modern dating. The author is a millennial by the skin of her teeth, as am I (at the other end!) so many of the topics here felt fairly removed from my own experience, which was why I wanted to read it. It felt more like a series of individual chapters than a cohesive book and it was a little dry in places but overall an interesting read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

A really intriguing and refreshing read, I couldnt put it down it was rivetting and I really hope that there are further works soon. I really enjoyed it.

Millennial Love is an essay collection that explores the contemporary dating landscape and much more. It explores topics such as contraception, dating apps, Love Island, porn and MeToo.

This was a very readable piece of non-fiction to start off non-fiction November. Olivia Petter explores topics surrounding the modern world for women in a lighthearted and funny way, as well as moving on to some more serious topics and handling them with care as well as it being engaging.

I read along with the audiobook and I think this heightened my enjoyment as Olivia did such a brilliant job at narrating it.

Overall, Millennial Love was an easy to read and compelling book about the experiences many of us face, especially as women. Its relatable, funny, informative and addresses some difficult topics.

Thanks to Netgalley and 4th Estate for the advance copy of this book.

The book takes a look at what love and dating looks like for millennials. The author takes examples from friends, her own life, research, the media, and guests from her podcast.

She covers a range of topics in a very open and honest way, including dating apps (and so many of the behaviours/trends that have stemmed from them), social media, reality TV, race, #MeToo, and much more.

A quick and personal read covering timely topics but also many „heavy hitters“, which you will have in all likelihood read up on before.

Online dating, the Me Too movement, consent and contraception all get a mention and I found myself highlighting a few passages and new-to-me phrases. But on the whole I knew all the other personalities and authors mentioned and had at least second-hand experience in every topic discussed. As I am a millennial, I guess that means the book delivered what it promises.

This book gives an honest opinion on what it is like in today's dating world. It draws on personal experience, data/studies and anecdotes from former podcast interviewees of their experience in the dating world. The openness of the author to share unfiltered experiences allows the reader to see firsthand the struggles of millennial dating. It's thought provoking, questioning why people stalk exes or their previous and future partners. This book doesn't give you a how to guide of what will mean successful millennial dating. But it will show you a rounded view of the dating world. Making is a little more relatable, relievable of the highs and lows in modern love.

'Gone are the days when you'd just approach someone you fancied on a night out and ask for their number'. That quote really struck me as I am the same age as the author - 27, eek - and that is exactly how I did meet my boyfriend in 2013 (before anyone had even heard of Tinder, when internet dating was still a weird thing no one did). I really enjoyed reading Millennial Love (gifted by @4thestatebooks) as it was a glimpse into a world I am very familiar with and also simultaneously know nothing about, seeing as I've never actually dated. @oliviapetter8 weaves in stories from her own life, anecdotes from people she has interviewed on the Millennial Love podcast, and relationship and sex-based research, uncovering the dating realities of topics like social media stalking, break-ups, read receipts, sexual assault, abortion and the 'cool girl' trope. I loved the nuance in the chapters about all things social media and the way the online world has intruded on the way we conceptualise dating and relationships - I made so many notes for my own writing! It's a mix between the frivolous and the serious, with chapters on Love Island and #MeToo alike, and I honestly could have read a book twice the size (but these topics are VERY up my street - although I have never watched Love Island and never intend to). So glad I read this and I would recommend if you're interested in reading about modern relationships. 4 🌟

How much sleep have I lost over being left on read, stalking a potential Bumble date before crafting the *perfect* opening line and wondering whether I’ve been blocked by an ex or if they’re “just taking an insta break”? Sadly, A LOT! Millennial Love nails dating in the modern age, but also provides some valuable commentary beyond swiping right, on topics including contraception and porn.

The book sums up the angsty texts in my group chats about behaviours (and non behaviours) of our respective dates, and I felt extremely seen for about 80% of the book. But it also touches on the stuff which, for some reason, we still don’t talk about with friends, which has given me a lot to think about.

While modern romance remains a myth to me, Millennial Love was both a depressingly accurate and reassuring remedy. Thank you to the publishers for the advance copy!

IG: @thekindlegram

In Millennial Love, journalist and chart-topping podcast host, on which this book is based, explores the trials, the terms and trends of the modern dating world. Witty, smart, self-probing and vibrant, it is part guide to the absurdities of dating apps, part personal exploration of the author’s own experiences. It’s a honest examination that will bring anyone with a smart phone fully up to date on how we behave like we do in the seemingly inconsequential landscape of online dating.

It’s the kind of book I wish was a mandatory downloadable for every Hinge applicant, so we are all on the same page when it comes to ghosting, haunting, orbiting and breadcrumbing; ludicrous as these terms are, they are vital label in both understanding and tackling the emotionally abusive behaviours that can rule the inauthentic world of social media.

Much of the bad behaviour, which Olivia interestingly argues is perpetrated by social media platforms; why do we have the read receipts? the blue ticks? ‘By giving us access to this degree of detail, it keeps us hooked to our phones’ Petter observes. An unnecessary feature that feeds our involvement in a texting relationship which can bizarrely contain all the insecurities, hopes and sympathies of a real-life connection. This book will help you understand just how modern dating can make us feel lonelier than ever.

Petter steps outside the app world for the second half of the book and into an exploration of the roles society is still conditioning us to play. She looks at sexuality, Weinstein and the Me Too movement, among other subjects. She looks at how black women are stereotyped and fetishised online, and how James Franco found a sympathetic live audience when quizzed on his predatory instagram messages with a 17 year old school girl.

Apps aren’t going to go anywhere, that is for sure. But we can learn, with the help of this book, to rethink our relationship with the free-reigning landscape of modern millennial love.

I am continually fascinated by modern dating and relationships. The unwritten etiquette the digital world has seemingly enforced on my generation is amusing and more often frustrating, so I love reading about other people's experiences of it. I haven't listened to Olivia Petter's podcast, but might tune in after reading this book. I found it to be fairly surface level and a lot of the topics covered are things I have explored deeper myself before. I think this is a good book for those who perhaps have read less around this area. I read Aziz Ansari's A Modern Romance a few years back now and found myself recalling many of the things I read in that book. Perhaps not much has changed, but I wished for something a bit different in Millenial Love. Having said that, I like Petter's tone and the inclusion of the anecdotes from various podcast guests. I think this will be popular among a lot of millennial who are still as baffled as me as to how to navigate relationships and dating in today's world.

This book is based on a podcast which examines the highways and byways of love. My dating days were around two decades ago, before smartphones and dating apps became the norm. In this respect, "Millennial Love" was an eye-opener on contemporary courtship rituals. Obviously, relationships have always tended to be shaped by social norms. Many of the chapters in this book are eye-opening as to how they are now also influenced by available technology.

Petter keeps a light touch, providing plenty of anecdotes - both personal and picked from those of guests to her podcasts or persons who got in touch with her through social media. As the book progresses, the subjects become heavier and the light-hearted approach starts to jar. There is a section on the #metoo phenomenon, which raises some interesting and very valid points on the tricky definition of consent. Then there's a chapter on contraception and the 'politics' behind it (why is it considered a female thing when it is perfectly possible to have highly effective male contraceptives?) The chapter then veers into abortion, to which just a few pages are dedicated - not enough to even start mentioning (let alone discussing) the associated ethical issues which make this such a divisive topic.

I’m a millennial. This book made me feel old. Mostly because I met my partner in real life and not on the internet.

Some of the chapters in this book I really connected with but some of them I was just meh about. The book starts with lighter issues as the book progresses the issues that it highlights become darker.

The book was a mixed bag for me.

I love this podcast. When it first came out it felt like it was made for me, I haven’t listened to in a while but completely devoured this book. Exactly what I needed. Thank you.