Loveless

4.5/5 stars

I was scared to read this book as I feared being disappointed by the aro-ace representation in it. The books that have both Aro and Ace represented in them are rare to find, and it is even harder to know if the representation will be accurate. Overall, I was not disappointed by how they were represented in this book. I was really able to relate to Georgia and her messy journey to self-discovery.

This book did a great job of portraying friendship as being just as important as love. Although Georgia, Sunil, Jason, Rooney, and Pip had very different backgrounds and struggles, they still didn't manage to overshadow each other. Throughout the book, we do focus more on Georgia, and we see how she explores her identity. From confusion to self-acceptance, this book was an emotional rollercoaster.

We start the book with Georgia being hopeful of finding love. This is best represented by:

I loved romance. Always had. I loved Disney. I loved fanfiction. I loved thinking about what my own wedding would be like. I just. Loved. Love.

As someone who grew up watching Disney movies and reading fanfiction, it was very easy for me to understand why Georgia had these expectations and why she put herself in situations in which she felt awkward and uncomfortable. Spoiler: Although it's easy to dislike her for using Jason as a way to get experience, you can still understand that she was genuinely trying to fall in love. Conflicts could have been avoided with her friends if they had talked it out. Pip's anger was understandable, but she could have been more mature about the problem. It was a bit convenient to have a cousin who is an ace/aro, but it worked out. 

The realization about how heteronormativity affected her really hit home in my case. I could relate to a lot of her thoughts, from being scared of ending up alone to realizing I only know about love in theory. 

In the end, that was the problem with romance. It was so easy to romanticize romance because it was everywhere. It was in music and on TV and in filtered Instagram photos. It was in the air, crisp and alive with fresh possibility. It was in falling leaves, crumbling wooden doorways, scuffed cobblestones, and fields of dandelions. It was in the touch of hands, scrawled letters, crumpled sheets, and the golden hour. A soft yawn, early morning laughter, shoes lined up together by the door. Eyes across a dance floor. I could see it all, all the time, all around, but when I got closer, I found nothing was there. A mirage

Overall, this is what made me rate it 4 stars. Even if you aren't an aro or ace, you can still resonate with this book. Anyone who hasn't found their label yet or is still trying to figure out their sexuality should read this book. This book goes over the process of what it feels like to try and figure out one's identity. It shows how helpful it can be to figure out who you are.