I really liked the concept of this book, but the execution fell a little short for me.

Rebecca is a 28-year-old woman who has never had an orgasm. She has tried alone and with a partner but she just can’t seem to get there. Her ex boyfriend, Ethan, even leaves her because of it. She takes it upon herself to seek professional help and confides in her closest friends in order to figure out what is “wrong” with her.

I liked the message of female empowerment in the story. Rebecca is ready to do what it takes to sort through her issues and resolve them. This issue is common among women and it isn’t talked about enough, so I applaud Paulette Stout for shedding some light and levity on the topic.

I just couldn’t get past Rebecca’s negative self talk and low self esteem. I understand that she was in a dark place, but the negativity became almost boring at points and really took away from the reading experience. I would still read other books by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc to read and review.

⭐️⭐️💫

I want to fist say thank you to the author and NetGalley for giving me the eARC. Me gusto el mensaje mucho del libro pero el libro en sí no me convenció mucho. No me gustaron los amigos de ella, se sintieron bien falsos y no como amigos reales. Yo estoy estudiando para ser psicóloga y este libro es literalmente una alerta roja andante, no me gusto su terapeuta para nada, lo que el la hizo hacer a ella de quitarse y ropa y hacer lo que ya ustedes saben que si leyeron el libro no se sentó bien con mi estomago y este libro es un no para mi lo siento.

Unfortunately, this book was not for me.

I really, really enjoy that it addresses important issues like female empowerment. It should be a topic that we discuss more as a society. I personally related to the first 3 or 4 chapters a lot, and my expectations were real high -maybe too much.

It was very well written, the descriptives were on point. I really enjoyed the dialogue between the characters and their openness.

But I would not categorize this book as a ‘romance’. Felt like it was more a romanticized self love guide -if that makes sense- which can be good, but just not what I was expecting.

Overall the book was great, just not for me.

I mean this in the nicest way possible but: it’s a no from me dawg.

I probably should have DNF, but mama didn’t raise a quitter. That being said I had zero connection with Rebecca’s character, I found the pacing to be a bit weird, and in all honesty I skimmed a through a good chunk of the book so I could get it over with.

If you’re looking for a fun contemporary romance, definitely skip this one. The pacing is off (problems arise and solutions are found in less than 10 pages) and the plot is nearly nonexistent because of the poor pacing. The characters all seem shallow and either self-absorbed or full of self-loathing.

I received an advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for my honest review from Netgalley.
Paulette is a new author and this is her first book. I really loved the premise of this book and there was a lot to like. The Characters are decently developed, the story is driven well, and the was a HEA.

But this book just felt like it needed a few more edits, after first reading the free Prologue from Kyle’s POV I was surprised at the less refined feel of this book.
One example, there’s a whole scene in which Rebecca goes into detail about her job with a coworker and we learn a lot about marketing that just didn’t feel necessary to the story.

But like I said that was a lot to like about this book, the topic of female sexual empowerment is one that is still outside of the mainstream and is what drew me to this title in the first place.
Rebecca has a lot of self loathing over what she sees as her sexual inadequacies and they have virtually ruined her self-confidence. But at the same time was very determined and puts herself out there and into some very uncomfortable situations, the scenes with the medical study doctors were particularly disturbing. I was ever so glad when she put a stop to that. When she does finally find the help she wanted so badly and she had her transformative moment it was a relief to finally see her confident in her own skin and happy being with just herself. All women should feel this way.

Kyle has some trust issues and unresolved anxiety about his romantic partners cheating on him. Which he tells Rebecca about early on, after he has patched things up with said cheating ex. This however becomes a main catalyst for their final conflict and it felt forced and out of character for Kyle storm off after an encounter with Rebeccas most recent ex. Only to run to the cheating ex? For the most part Kyle was sensitive of Rebecca’s anxieties but there were a couple of times I felt he could have been a bit more understanding.

The relationship between Rebecca and Kyle seemed to just kind of happen, one page they are in an awkward after first date limbo and the next they were suddenly a couple without much preamble. They are however very cute together and the chemistry is defiantly there, they have some nice steamy scenes.

Over all I did like this book. I will be keeping an out for more from Stout and look forward to hopefully more female empowerment themes from her!

Please keep in mind I only reached Chapter 17 and stopped. I just couldn't find it in me to go on.

Some of my problems with it:
~ co-worker being portrayed as unsanitary due to excessive dandruff. As a person who struggles with dandruff and other scalp issues (big insecurity triggers), having that portrayed as ‘disgusting’ is very offensive to me. Maybe it’s a nitpick, but I find this detail as being unnecessary in understanding that this co-worker is a bad person.
~ a lot of unnecessary details. There are MANY step-by-step scenes. Like when she went to the restaurant, we know exactly the path she waked, what she saw up until she got out of her office building) another example: “Cosmetics were usually against the right or left. The layout was likely decreed in article 7 of the pharmaceutical constitution. This particular store had its section on the left, so she meandered over, resisting the impulse to grab a 99-cent plastic proof from a display barrel. No matter how many she owned, she always wanted one.”
~ the way the study was introduced was absolutely creepy. Is this a romance or a thriller? And let’s not mention the illegality of not informing someone they’re going to be videotaped until the last second (when they actually a pressure her).
~ Barbara and Leslie are horrible friends. The pressure they put in her to disclose things they know she’s not comfortable with sharing is disgusting. Needless to say that is swept under the rug by the end of the chapter
~ excuse me what? The orgasm program ‘ALLOWS’ Rebecca to take the relationship with Kyle to a physical level? Wtf?!! AND they want a play by play report of everything R&K do WITHOUT his consent?

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is definitely on the chick lit side of romance. Don't get me wrong - the romance is definitely there - but this is much more about self-discovery and owning your own sexuality. Rebecca starts the book directly after her boyfriend as broken up with her and declared her a "frigid bitch." Rebecca has never been able to have an orgasm - either alone or with a partner. She feels a lot of emotional pain and shame over this - and most of the book is focused on her journey to stand up for herself and own her own life as well as her sexuality.

The romance between Kyle and Rebecca is definitely sweet - but mostly this book was focused on Rebecca's personal journey. You could see throughout how her lack of self-confidence and past history led her to where she was in life. Stuck - unable to move forward - and not owning her feelings and beliefs.

This book could also be a manual for women who have the same issues - which I think is wayyyyy more common than anyone in romancelandia (at least) would want us to believe.

Overall - I really enjoyed it. I just maybe wanted more romance and less solo time.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, but these opinions are all my own.

Thanks to Netgalley and Publisher for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First, I have to give the author props for portraying the taboo topic around women’s sexuality and bringing light to it in a more fun and approachable way than it usually is.

While I do understand insta-love romances, I feel like we still didn’t get enough depth to the main relationship. Even if there is romance in the book, I wouldn’t consider it its focus. The story is mainly focused on female empowerment and a self-discovery process while dealing with self-esteem issues. I think it would benefit if it wasn’t marketed strictly as a romance book.

I also wanted to mention how some parts of the book didn’t really move forward the story and just felt like they were there as filler. For instance, when the main character helps another employee at her work and there’s this long dialogue explaining how to do her job in full detail.

All in all, I think it’s good that the author stepped out of the box and dealt with the topic. If you’d like to read about sexual empowerment this might be it for you, but the story didn’t work for me.

Where to begin…I really wanted to like this book. The idea behind it was great. I like the message the story is saying about female empowerment, however, I did not like the execution as much.

The main character Rebecca was too negative for my taste. It was difficult at times to read because she frustrated me A LOT. Kyle wasn’t as fleshed out as I would’ve liked. The relationships with her friends and even her mother were toxic. Basically, there wasn’t a lot of high points to all the low points this story brought. Even the scenes with the doctors were uncomfortable to read.

Overall I appreciate the thought behind the book, but it wasn’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of Love, Only Better for an honest review

⭐️⭐️ Star rating

1.5/5
My problem with this book is that I just couldn't get into it. There was a strong focus on female empowerment and the MC exploring her sexuality. Sadly, I think the whole thing was poorly handled. The fact that Rebecca went and confronted the sex therapist was just uncomfortable and awkward. And her self-sabotage was just too much for me. At first, I understood it and was okay with it but by the end of the book, I was just so over that excuse. The romance was a bit boring and this book was just not for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review.

So excited for my first NetGalley ARC! Thank you to both the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.
I was drawn to the book because of the premise and the really cute cover. It's refreshing to read a romance novel that is an exploration of a woman's sexuality and her complicated journey to personal self-fulfillment. I respect the author for bringing awareness to Rebecca's self-confidence struggles and how that affected her relationships with not only partners, but family, friends and co-workers. That said, I felt much of the beginning of the book dwelled too long on her feeling sorry for herself and blaming others for her own issues. It's difficult to develop sympathy for a character while she is quite dismissive and sometimes overly judgemental of people in her life, particularly her co-workers. She is twenty-eight, not a teenager!
I also felt there were too many secondary characters, who were not relevant to move the plot forward. I would have liked more time for the development of Rebecca's new and interesting relationship with Kyle, who seemed to take a backseat to the more unnecessary jumble of characters. Understandably Rebecca needed to learn to love herself first and foremost. Just wished she could have done that without the need to elevate herself over others.

i was excited to read this book but unfortunately it didn't work for me, the idea was what got me to request this arc, finally a book about female empowerment and the journey of discovering one's sexuality, but the execution was not satisfying. i couldn't connect with the characters and even though the romance wasn't the main focus i still thought it could have been developed better.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC in an exchange for an honest review.

Interesting an a fun read. Recommend it.

This book was good!
I didn’t truly get into the book until about 30% in but when it picks up..it’s good! Rebecca has had her fair share of relationships but none that give her what she needs..in the bedroom.
When Kyle, who moves in with his aunt a few doors down in the same apartment complex..things start to heat up..and fast!
This book was a 4/5 with the way that Kyle treats Rebecca is just *chefs kiss*

Summary: Rebecca has a problem, she’s never orgasmed and this is a problem not only for her but for her borderline abusive past boyfriends as well. After another break up Rebecca decides to join a study to fix her problem but a simpler solution might exist in her new neighbor Kyle.

Thoughts: So it was better than I thought it would be. It was definitely an interesting plot and I liked that it was all women power and embracing/ accepting yourself. That being said I still didn’t really love Rebecca I still don’t understand why she doesn’t have a good relationship with her mom which it’s super weird when you consider than her mom gives her money to help her. Also while Kyle was super precious their relationship felt rushed, and abrupt. Also nothing happens with her friend’s job. We learn that one of her friends is investigating a sex trafficking ring but nothing comes of it, it’s just a little fun fact that has nothing to do with the plot. I thought Rebecca’s study was going to be part of the sex traffic ring, it wasn’t. Also it gets weird at the end with the Ex boyfriend. Overall, the story was cute and I wanted to like it more I definitely liked parts of it but I don’t know how to feel about it as whole.

Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

This book didn't really work for me. I liked that it tackled female empowerment and the journey of the MC exploring her own sexuality. Sadly this wasn't done very well in my opinion.

The whole clinical study setting felt unsettling, the ending with the MC confronting a sex therapist felt like she was crossing a line. Rebecca was acting like a stalker, she wouldn't accept the "no" and it really annoyed me. The amount of self-loathing and self-sabotaging got too much. At first I felt like it could be excused because the fact that this poor woman had her self esteem destroyed and trampled on by exes and also in her upbringing but that excuse didn't even work in the end.
I couldn't feel good about her finally being more confident in the end.

I didn't care for either of her best friends . They felt like bullies in the beginning and were completely useless towards to end. I know the romance wasn't the most important part of this story but it still felt like it could have been done so much better .
It was pretty lackluster.

Rebecca is in her late twenties and she's never had an orgasm. After her long-term boyfriend dumps her she decides to seek professional help. As she embarks on a mission to give herself an orgasm a very handsome neighbour moves in across the hall. Rebecca's had a long line of boyfriends that won't understand so she desperately tries to keep the truth from him while resisting their connection.

I enjoyed this book, especially the first 75%. Rebecca has very low self-esteem which is partially caused by her inability to orgasm but also her critical and controlling mother. I thought the author did a great depiction of mental health and was highlighting some really important issues in our society.

My main criticism is the ending was unsatisfactory (spoilers ahead). I was sold this book for the romance and it turned out to have a very different focus on Rebecca's development which I didn't mind. But her achieving an orgasm was only a small part of her mental health and I thought it was an oversimplification for her deeply entrenched low self-worth to miraculously go away as soon as she achieved one. Also unrealistic for her issues with her mother to just go away after one apologetic conversation. Kyle was professed to be not like other men. Yet, even when he knew about Rebecca's past experiences, he still made references to them having sex which seemed like he was pressuring her. I feel the only reason he didn't come across as a arsehole sometimes was because her past partners were abusive. Also there was no resolution about her work situation. There were lots and lots of parts where her boss was being derogatory or taking advantage of Rebecca and none of this got resolved other than a good work evaluation.

All in all it was an enjoyable read, certainly showed a lot of potential.

I loved this!
As soon as I began reading it, I couldn’t put it down!! I really found this story interest as a 27, nearly 28 year old too.
This was a very interesting story and I really connected with the main character.
I would read more from this author!

I really loved this book. Female sexual exploration should be a larger topic explored within popular culture, without the book being total erotica. The fact that the hot guy does not magically solve a girl's lack of sexual fulfillment is important to the sake of the story. The thing I enjoyed the most about the story is the character's non-romantic relationship development, including an affirmation within her job.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from #netgalley , thank you. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.