Book Review: Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann

AMAZON — GOODREADS — BARNES & NOBLES — BOOK DEPOSITORY

I really didn’t have such high hopes before I read this book, and that can be blamed on the fact that I only picked it up because of the cover and the fact that it features an ace character. I’m quite glad I read it, though, since it brought me out of my reading slump/smut fest.

Let’s Talk About Love is about Alice and her experiences as an ace person trying to navigate life and relationships. Although the book’s focus is the romance, it also shows how Alice is going about deciding what she wants for her future, even though her parents and the people around her have other ideas.

Even though the presence of a black, ace girl was what drew me to this book, I didn’t expect to relate too much (as an ace person myself) because I’m quite aware that the spectrum is very wide, and with the general lack of representation of such characters in books, the chances of me finding an ace story that mirrors mine would be slim. That said, I quite enjoyed reading Alice’s story. I liked seeing her get more comfortable with her sexuality as she grows (and there is a good amount of character growth), and I especially liked the fact that she sees a therapist in order to make sense of her identity.

I did find myself less interested in the main romantic theme of the story (which is why I’m not really talking about it) and more interested in the minor plot points as the story went on. So, instead of me looking forward to seeing Alice interact with Takumi, I just wanted to know if she’d give in to her family’s nagging or decide her own future for herself, and how she’d resolve her differences with her best friend.

I liked Alice’s character just fine. We probably wouldn’t be best friends if I met her, because as much as I can relate to staring creepily at pretty people, her “cutesy” attitude would be tolerable at best. Speaking of best friends, I really didn’t like Feenie (Alice’s best friend). As much as I love a good portrayal of sisterhood/friendship in books, this one made me shake my head so many times. I really hated how unbalanced their friendship seemed to be, and how their fight sort of just fizzles out without them properly resolving their problems (I get annoyed when the character who’s not at fault ends up apologising for the sake of peace).

I don’t know what else to say apart from that I liked this book just fine. It was a solid read, but if I were to give it a rating, it would be no more or less than a three-star read. It’s been so long since I read a contemporary story that wasn’t (intentionally plotless) smut; and because of that, I felt how plotless this story is. It’s not plot-driven (which I don’t mind, really) but somehow, even all the fights were just mellow and made me bored. Frankly, I’m surprised I finished reading this in less than four hours.

What makes a book a three-star read for you?