Not something I would normally seek out to read, but I'm glad I came across this one. It was really interesting and informative.

“Laid and Confused” was a fun mix of academic research, societal criticism, how-to guide and personal exploration. Yagoda aims to break down the taboos of sex and sexuality through this book and I thought the author did a great job doing so. By adding a personal element to the research, Yagoda makes it easier for listeners to explore their own hangups and insecurities in an effort to work through - and beyond - them.

Thanks St. Martin’s, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ALC!

Thank you to NetGalley, St Martin's Press, and MacMillian Audio for the ARC!

Did I derive pleasure from this book? No. Matter of fact, I actively cringed during some of the parts of the book where the author was making very poor choices. Yes, they were real choices that they made and they knew they needed to change... but then they didn't, and seemed to believe that was 'okay'.
The later chapters, where they explored consent, communication, and trying to become comfortable in their own body were actually quite good. But so much of this book could boil down to those later chapters. Communicate, learn to become comfortable with your own body, and consent. Could we have just started with that? Or even the hopeful tone of the last chapter right up front? Did we have to go through the 'character building' of the author struggling through 'bad sex' as if it were necessary?
This felt half memoir, half self help and I really would have preferred more of the latter.
Also, I had the audiobook, and I understand it's often good to have the author read their own book, but uh... their voice didn't hit my ears well. I had to force myself to listen, especially when they were going over their "I was having bad sex and I didn't know *why*." sections. I would have gone with a professional narrator for this one.
A lot of great books on sexual relations out there, and I wouldn't recommend this one.

Laid and Confused is not my typical read. However, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I gained perspective on how to communicate bad sex and had the validation that I'm not alone. My only regret is I didn't stumble across this book sooner. Where was this book in my twenties?!

I initially got this book with the understanding that I would be immersed in a cool socio-psych read. However, unfortunately, this book was more about the authors conquests. Still readable but not what I was wanting or looking forward to reading.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

I understand self-help books are typically written from someone's experiences but I did not need an entire book where Yagoda complained about her sex life the entire time.

Overall, this book didn't give me what I wanted out of it. I don't feel like I got much new or terribly useful information for myself. I do think there are groups of people that this book would've been better targeted towards. It is however a very inclusive book and this is important because there are groups of people who simply aren't given much grace when it comes to sex and the information they can find out there.

This book helps to break away from the mainstream thinking of what sex is, what it should be, who it is for, etc. I do believe this could have a big impact on the reader if it fell into the right hands.

I thought the topic was interesting, but I was not a huge fan of Yagoda's writing. I did, however, find the research information eye-opening and worth considering. I would have preferred an 80/20 ratio of facts to Yagoda's personal sex history, instead of the maybe 40/60 ratio that was in the book. Mainly because I couldn't relate to Yagoda's experiences so that felt more like reading a memoir that I wasn't interested in.

The journalistic portion covering facts and interviews included many interesting points though, such as: the influence on society of purity culture and cis/heterosexual-only sex ed taught in schools (if any); women learning it's men's sexual satisfaction that matters; the lack of accurate depictions of sex in the media; and the myth that partners shouldn't need to talk about sex if they are compatible, even though communication about sex with one's partner has shown to lead to greater satisfaction.

Yagoda was a surprisingly good audiobook narrator though, you never know when it's read by an author who isn't a performer.

Overall, if the book had been more of a reference book than memoir I would have found it more compelling.

I was interested in reading Laid and Confused by Maria Yagoda on title alone. I didn't know who the author was prior to reading so I didn't go into it with any preconceived notions. I would categorize Laid and Confused as a reflection on the authors personal experiences with sex with some research thrown in, over a truly educational read. It has a lot going on and each chapter handles each individual topic. I learned quite a bit and it kept my attention the whole time, so it was a good read overall. If the topic of sex is hard for you to talk about, this is a great introductory book into reshaping the way you think of sex and sexuality.

Thank you for access to this audio ARC!

I am so thankful to have gotten both audiobook access and a finished copy of Laid and Confused by Maria Yagoda before this gem publishes on May 30, 2023. I have St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley to thank for this gifted access.

Maria Yagoda details how sex is no longer something we have to put up with, but can take control of our bodies and communicate better with our sexual partners to effectively be pleasured. I feel like sex is such a taboo topic, especially within younger generations, but only because we were misinformed. If I had actually had biologically correct sex education in middle school, I'm sure I would have been more sexually confident in my early 20s.

Yagoda writes on how we as individuals perceive sex and pleasure, for insertion and penetration is not the only means of climaxing. How we view sex and intercourse defines our experiences but doesn't limit us in any way.

I am so thankful for this book and can't wait to see what more of my friends think about this resourceful guide.