A beautiful book. Filled with different experiences and types of love, and every word is suffused with compassion and wisdom. I loved it so much I immediately pre-ordered so I would have it on my shelf forever.

Holy moly. What an absolute powerhouse of a book that I loved from the word go 🙌🏻

In Conversations On Love, Natasha discusses love in all forms with some of our favourite writers and some insightful psychologists, doctors and more. From the love we share with family and friends, to romantic love and online dating all the way through to loss and surviving in all forms, Conversations On Love is emotional, raw and sometimes heavy but in a way that is eye-opening, confirming and incredibly relatable.

There are moments in CoL that made me cry (proper ugly cry too), that made me feel very seen and comforted me in so many ways. As a young woman who's always desired love and felt the longing that Natasha writes about, it's very comforting to be able to read that you're not the only one.

The writing was so beautiful and so easy to read and follow. Natasha blended the interview-style conversations with pieces on her own story from meeting her husband Dan, to miscarriages to her gorgeous friendships.

This was a sweet, kind and thoughtful book that stayed with me long after I finished it. A classic of a genre I don't normally read.

I really enjoyed this book, in it Natasha Lunn tackles three themes, how do we find love, how do we sustain love and how do we cope when we lose love, she intersperses this with her own experiences in a thoughtful way. She has cleverly started her own journey to explore and understand love that becomes a universal exploration of love. One of the ways this happens is through the interviews, she has some really key people; Susie Orbach, Roxanne Gay, Esther Perel, Ariel Levy, Phillippa Perry, Candice Carty-Williams, Stephen Grosz, Emily Nagoski and others.

She has questions that she wants to ask them as a result of being familiar with their work, she introduces the interviews well, making it clear what she is hoping to explore and then asks some nuanced questions that result in well thought out answers. I like the way that she is open to what they may say and what she might learn, rather than seeking a definitive answer, I think the book grows and expands as a result of this. Starting with being about romantic (mostly Heterosexual) love to exploring the importance of other kinds of love; friendships, family (parents and/or children), and especially when she explores the affects of loss, where several people say the love you lose through death stays with you. At the end of each interview she writes a summary of what she understood the key points were before revealing where this makes her want to explore next.

This blend of personal memoir and interviews from cultural theorists, experts and novelists really drew me in and kept me engaged. I savoured each section, keen to absorb the ideas, without rushing through to the end of the book. I appreciated the mix of personal but also wider cultural reflections that comes from such a broad section of interviewees. A book to help to understand and think about love is all of its many forms and a good introduction to some key people and their bodies of work.

With thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First of all thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book really appealed to me on its description of a voyage through how love changes over a lifetime. I think it’s a book that will resonate with almost everyone and I really enjoy that it covers not just romantic love, but all aspects of love and relationships including friends and family, which are no less significant despite the prominence we often put on romantic love. I also really enjoyed hearing from such a wide range of authors, particularly enjoyed Roxane Gay and Dolly Alderton. However, and this is perhaps my own mistake given the title of the book is ‘Conversations in Love’, I didn’t expect the format to be a series of interviews. I think I would have preferred thematic chapters authored by or with input from the various interviewees. However, that’s perhaps just my dislike of reading interviews, I actually think it would work really well in an audiobook format.

Uplifting, honest, and important. Natasha Lunn combines her own personal experiences of love with conversations and interviews she’s carried out with a wide range of people, talking about the many types of love we experience in our lifetime. It was also wonderful to see authors such as Dolly Alderton and Candice Carty-Williams included, given their recent books about love and the power of friendship. Overall it’s a book everyone should read, it’s relatable and provides a great perspective on what love is.

I should have got it from the title, but I was still surprised by the structure of this book as a series of interviews with writers, artists, practitioners, etc., and I personally would have liked it to have been grouped into chapters slightly more thematically. Instead, it kind of bumbles along from interviewee to interviewee, with Lunn talking to people like Lemn Sissay, Philippa Perry, and Dolly Alderton. All people who had interesting things to say on the subject of love, but it did feel a little bit like a collection of the usual suspects of relationship and life advice (think guests on Elizabeth Day’s podcast). That said, lots of the book’s sections were moving, particularly when Lunn got personal on subjects such as her early marriage and fertility problems. Overall, Conversations on Love gave a positive reading experience, but it just wasn’t quite what I wanted from a book on love.

This lovely book is a joy to read. Love in all its forms, between partners, parents, children, friends, etc is reflected in this book. I’m not sure that the interview style format will appeal to everyone, but I think it is a book you could dip into now and then.
My thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley or an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A fascinating insight into the conversation on love. A celebration of love in all its forms. Well-written with deep empathy. Recommended.

Natasha Lunn has astounded me in Conversations on Love by laying every aspect of love on the table. She cleverly does this in a myriad of cleverly structured interviews with hugely interesting interviewees.

The layering of aspects of life defining love caught me on each and every occasion not least my empathy towards her own personal heartache.

I would love to read more from Natasha and found Conversations on Love a compelling, thought-provoking that left me questioning and assessing my own personal experiences in love in a new and braver light.

All praise for Conversations on Love and many, many thanks to NetGalley for providing me with the privilege of reading it.

“For anyone who feels lost in longing”

I knew I’d struck gold the second I read that dedication.

In this book, Natasha Lunn shares very intimate and brave conversations that she conducts with a wide range of writers, romantics, doctors and experts. Many names you will recognise; some are in their 35th year of marriage, others on their 2nd marriages, and others that commit to friendship alone.

These conversations explore a lot more than romantic love. In fact, loss is a huge topic that highlights love in a very powerful way. Lunn talks to people who have lost partners, who have lost the ability to walk, who have lost parents at a young age, and devastatingly - people who have lost children too.

Lunn is an incredible writer and an incredible interviewer. Her metaphors are beautiful (see my quote below) and the questions she asks always unlocks incredible wisdom - all around topics that people are usually too afraid to delve into. I felt privileged reading such personal details.

I resonated so strongly with certain interviews, but I also gained valuable insight into other kinds of love and loss I won’t ever experience myself. It gave me a new appreciation for my life and the love within it.

I highlighted so many paragraphs in this book! But I’ll do my best to choose a favourite:

“The simple fact of the unknown was one I could not resist wrestling with. Like hauling a heavy suitcase up the stairs at a station, I imagined it would be easier if there were an end point in sight, because when you can see the top of the station stairs or the finish line of a run, it’s easy to dig deep for an extra bit of strength to get there.”

Conversations on Love is out on the 15th of July, thank you NetGalley for the arc.

I really enjoyed reading this. I was able to relate to 85% of the content and advice shared & I liked how it covered all forms of love from agape (love from and for God), to philia (sibling, friendship and platonic relationships), to storge (the ability to empathise with everyone from a stranger to those who’ve experienced loss) and lastly Eros (romantic love).

Some of the conversations read like an interview, whereas others sound like the reader is a fly on the wall of a conversation between two old friends. The latter is the most rewarding, by way of learning from another’s experience. It’s also great that Natasha weaves each with personal reflection and anecdotes from her own life - what lacked though was a clear structure and a breakdown of content thematically / by chapters.

“love is not the answer, but the line that marks the start”

I enjoyed this book and it had some real great
quotes in, I found it really interesting to read other people’s takes on love.

Unfortunately I found the changing of character every so often difficult to keep up with!

All in all... a good and informative read!

What’s the digital equivalent of “well-thumbed”? I highlighted so many passages in the PDF advance copy of this book that entire pages were coloured in, rendering the exercise almost pointless: I even took photos of my Kindle’s screen, saving snippets of Lunn’s most poignant words – and am intending to buy a lot of copies for a lot of people when this incredible book is published in the summer. Based on her wildly popular series of email newsletters, Lunn’s Conversations on Love – like all the most brilliant works – is a simple concept at heart: the writer questions celebrities, experts and those with first-hand knowledge of love in all its forms on their experiences of the much-sought connection, from parenting through to platonic relationships. She asks: how do we find love? How do we sustain it? And how do we survive when we lose it? This book is absolutely beautiful, completely reassuring and tear-provokingly insightful, and is a perfectly-timed read for anyone in the process of establishing their post-pandemic priorities.

Featured in June’s Book Club in Cambridge Edition Magazine – thanks to #NetGalley for the advance copy! https://online.bright-publishing.com/view/765983352/15/

This is a lovely book and was a joy to read.

Love comes in many forms, between partners, parents, children, friends, etc and this book reflects on all of this.

As always some you can connect with more than others, but they are all worth reading and contemplating.

Highly recommended.

I really enjoyed reading different perspectives and definitions of love in this compilation of interviews with famous writers and artists that the author Natasha Lunn has put together in this book.

The book doesnt feel like a self help book which is what kept me hooked till the end. I felt like I was having coffee or late evening drinks with my girl friends and we were talking about our lives and our struggles with love and the expectations that we have from it.

Just like any conversations with friends, the conversations touch upon subjects such as romantic love, how to stay in love, the science of sex, the psychology behind feeling alone, the aftermath of losing a loved one and how to live after that, the love that comes from being a parent or having loving parents, the importance of platonic love..

What felt even more heartwarming with this book was that the author bares her own story and her struggles and that helped in building a rapport with the readers as well.

There are some good book recommendations really good usable advice for singles or couples struggling with love in general.

**Thank you Netgalley for sharing a review e-copy of the book. Opinions are unbiased and my own.**

Do you remember the last time you spoke to someone about love and loss? And I mean a REAL conversation- raw, unfiltered and heartbreakingly honest.

That’s what this book is.

Featuring interviews with an incredible cast of humans, Natasha Lynn takes a simultaneously heartwarming and heartbreaking dive into what it means to love - in every sense of the word. It explores every possible form of love, and doesn’t shy away from exploring things that are inextricably linked to love - fear, heartbreak and loss.

Reading this book during a breakup had a uniquely therapeutic feel for me. I’d read sections that felt raw and painful, and then inhale the next chapter, which was full of hope and joy.

Conversations in Love is one of those rare books that you can read and re-read at different points of your life and glean something new every single time.

I can’t remember ever having an in-depth conversation with my friends about love and loss. And that’s something I intend to change after reading this book.

Somehow I was expecting something more literary. I wasn't very keen on the interview-style format and didn't finish the book. I'm sure some people will enjoy it - especially those with an interest in self-help books, although Conversations on Love is a bit more than that - but not my cup of tea, I'm afraid.

A wonderful insightful look at love in all its forms .Deep romantic love,,love in platonic forms family love.I really enjoyed the interviews woven in with the authors point of view.A book I will be recommending,really enjoyed.#netgalley#penguingeneraluk

"Love leaks in and out of all of our lives, every day, freely, cruelly and beautifully"

This is a collection of writers, therapists and experts experiences of love. How we find love, how do we sustain love and how to cope when we lose it. From Juno Dawson on understanding and accepting ourselves for who we are, Candice Carty-Wiliams on the value of loving friendships as a reliable support network to Lisa Taddeo on loss and a broken heart.

The most affecting piece that still stayed with me was from Lemn Sissay on growing to understand love as an adult after experiencing a childhood without it.He spoke to my core when he writes how "every single person wants to love and be loved" - ...... "All those different people moving through King's Cross Station each with their own stories, their own private hopes and disappointments and yearnings, all connected by a desire to love and be loved"

This book was enjoyable in itself but I feel that it would have read better as a collection of essays. The interview style was bitty and didn't flow and the interspersion of authors own experiences and comments didn't really add much to the readers experience. All in all a decent read but It has been done so many more times recently including the highly popular "Everything I Know About Love" By Dolly Alderton and has little new to contribute to the discussion of love.