Thanks to NetGalley for providing a review copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

Entwined by Alex Alberto is a collection of reflective essays on the author’s journey through exploring polyamory and building meaningful relationships. The introduction calls out how this type of book doesn’t really exist in within polyamory literature yet (which is largely still focussed around self-help and best practice) and I definitely agree with this and am glad for Alberto seeking to broaden the scope of what’s out there with a more subjective and memoir focus.

The great thing about broadening the cultural texts on polyamory out there is that there is more room for different viewpoints; because we don’t all agree. Sadly, this book didn’t click for me personally - I found the dynamic between the author and their nesting partner to be quite uncomfortable and some of their behaviours quite controlling.

I found this book compelling from the beginning. I enjoyed the variety of genres the author played with in some of the essays. I laughed in places and cried in others. There were many things I found relatable, and appreciate the author communicating about their experiences so openly. I especially found the discussion about the challenge of language limitations in relation to gender to be very interesting and enlightening. I have already recommended this book to multiple people!

I absolutely loved reading this book. It felt in many ways like a queer, polyamorous version of Everything I know about love. Alex so openly and lovingly discusses her life and relationships, as well as the challenges finding a sense of family in a society that views monogamy as the only appropriate relationship format.

There were a few times when I was a little confused by the timeline, but once you are familiar with the names this becomes a nonissue

No matter your preferred relationship format, I think everyone has something to learn and to gain from reading entwined

Entwined is a tender and playful addition to my polyamorous library. One of the first, I’d say, genuine stories of love and life as a polyamorous human that is: not a how to, does not attempt to give advice, nor pushes any ideology. Here we get to know Alex’s personal wanderings in a non monogamous life, and it is beautiful! I may be biased as a non monogamist, but I think that the stories and experiences Alex shares can be inspirational to anyone who practices any relationship types! They take down barriers, notably mononormativity, heteronormativity, rigid gender binaries, to create a life that is fulfilling and abundant. When you get down to it, isn’t that what love is all about!? Devotion to love freely, feel good, and have fun is what I found in these pages and I recommend to anyone with an open heart to indulge.

Many thanks to Quilted Press and Netgalley my ARC

This series of essays on Alex Alberto’s polyamory journey was everything I could’ve hoped for and more.

The writing was unflinchingly honest, and never shied away from sharing the messy bits. I found the commentary on hierarchical relationships and ensuring the compatibility of poly styles amongst partners to be particularly interesting. For me, there was a clear theme about leaning into abundance over fear and scarcity.

I also found the author’s eclectic approach to the essays refreshing, with each adopting a different style - one even in the form of a play. Generally they were great, although some were more difficult to follow, notably when the second person perspective was used predominately.

The order of the essays made sense, and I loved how the author’s exploration of their gender parallels (with a lag) their journey with polyamory and their increasing confidence and ease within it.

Most of all, I loved how the existence of this book and the experience reading it felt so normal and right (yay queer love and gender diversity!). Yet I know having these intersecting experiences represented in literature is relatively few and far between.

After reading I dived deep into the journey of Quilted Press and discovered two more incredibly exciting forthcoming books - which I hope to be able to read soon.

This book blew my socks off. And made me cry. I’m a queer and genderfluid person. I love stories like Alex’s. They are stories of people like me. Thank you for sharing this wonderful piece of writing with the world.

Alberto’s work gives voice to underrepresented identities, polyamorous, genderqueer, and immigrant, and the myriad ways these identities intersect with each other make the essays all the more interesting to read. The essays themselves are excellent written, shifting styles to maintain attention while always remaining rich in detail and emotion. The two that stand out most to me were “scenes from a polyamorous coming out on thanksgiving” and “queer en français,” as each made me think about polyamory and queerness in ways I hadn’t previously.

As with any collection of essays, I thought some were stronger than others in terms of writing, but together they provided full coverage of Alberto’s lived experiences that I think would be hard to replicate in any other fashion. I learned much about identities I previously knew little, and I think many will value the authentic representation present in this book.

I burned through this book. It’s unlike the other recent polyamory memoirs I’ve read. It’s queerer (there’s a section on the author’s gender identity that is unexpected from the title, and very moving/enlightening, and the types of love/relationships described are beautiful) and less “couple-focused” than recent books about open marriage/non-monogamy. It’s hilarious in parts, like when the author describes the different ways they react to polyamorous experiences in the early years vs later. It also made me reflect on some assumptions about relationships that are just “in the air” but may not be true. The author is not dogmatic or preachy, they just show their lives experience in a way that’s super accessible. This book will stick with me!