Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
It's rare to find a book written by a woman with sex addiction. The author does well explaining her sex addiction and food addiction. She writes with honesty and shows that people can overcome and understand their addictions.

This book was an intense and raw depiction of female sex addiction which is a taboo and rarely talked about subject. Paulina did an amazing job demonstrating just how difficult it was to overcome and even recognize in herself. This was a true story of redemption and not for the weak of heart!

"I am so grateful to be on this side of recovery. Is it perfect? No, but it's better. The healing journey is not without new cracks in my Kintsugi Vase. I will continue to repair, and that process is lifelong."

tw: vulgar language, sex, addiction

This is the kind of raw, brutally honest, and vulgar writing that I was looking forward to.

I skimmed a few reviews before I started reading, and I was pleasantly surprised by how many people had positive things to say. Coupled with the constant mentions of refreshing vulgar language, I was one hundred percent down.

What I got was exactly what I wanted.

It's true, that sex addiction itself is seen as extremely taboo in today's world. Even moreso for female sex addicts. Due to such a heavy stigma around it, I have to applaud Pantyleva for being so open about her addiction journey. As many others have said, her honesty is needed in a memoir dealing with a topic such as this one.

The quote mentioned above talks about kintsugi. I think a good majority of people know what that is, but for those who don't: Kintsugi is the Japanese art of putting things back together with gold. The gold emphasizes the cracks rather than hiding them, symbolizing how damage can be good and does not have to be shameful or hidden. I have always liked kintsugi and the deeper meaning behind it, but honestly, it's become such an overused metaphor that it becomes tiring to hear about it over and over again. I liked Pantyleva's use of it, but that doesn't mean it's not still a tired metaphor in my mind.

The short chapters that the story is separated into was a good call in my opinion; it felt organized properly and not jumbled at all, as some memoirs tend to do. It can be hard to write something when you're trying to include past, current, and future tense all in one book. Especially if there are memories or flashbacks being discussed. The mini-chapters that separated points in time as well as different ideas was really helpful to keep things straight in my head.

Overall, I truly enjoyed this book. I loved the honesty and the way Pantyleva refuses to be ashamed of something that society sees as taboo. It's something truly inspirational.