Reading Loud: Accept Nothing Less Than the Life You Deserve was really like watching Drew on TikTok. I could hear her voice in my head. I was so excited to be able to read this ARC. Drew has been calling out misogynistic men on the internet for quite a while, and has blown up (rightfully so) due to this. Her book has jokes that land perfectly while also speaking about self-love and hammering home what the title suggests - accepting nothing less than what you deserve. Special thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC!

Arc provided by publisher through NetGalley! This was such an easy read! I really hope she records the audio because I read the whole thing in her voice! It was really amazing to see how far Drew has come! Her sister’s coming out story ripped my heart in two, I love that she was able to rectify that situation and that it didn’t negatively affect their long term relationship!! I’ve always been a fan of Drew’s but I love her even more now!

Thank you to NetGalley and AUWA for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

It’s been a long while since I’ve read a non-fiction book, as I’ve been focused on reading fiction for the most part. But I feel SO lucky to have had the opportunity to read Afualo’s debut early!

Afualo’s writing style was informative while still containing the wit and candor that she’s so well known for. While I haven’t been following her on social media for a long time, I do appreciate and love her content. Her book is a solid extension of her aforementioned content, making it as enjoyable as her posts. I flew through this book with ease and savouring every chapter happily.

I wouldn’t call this just a memoir or just a self-help book. Rather, it’s a perfect mash-up of the two, blending Afualo’s candid anecdotes with excellent advice on destroying the patriarchy, internal biases, and more. She brings her own life experiences (as well as other events that have occurred throughout the world) to strengthen her arguments. All of this forced me to examine my own experiences and question my own motives and thoughts at the time. I definitely learned a lot and will try my best to apply everything I’ve read in my everyday life.

What I loved most about Afualo’s book is how she hammers home the point that you, the reader, deserve the best. You deserve to be loved, to be surrounded by amazing people, and to not put up with any man’s crap. She stands by all of the above and makes sure that you know how loved and valued you should feel. As someone who has struggled a LOT with self-love, this was wonderful to see.

All in all, this was an excellent debut that I can’t recommend enough! If you need a serious pep talk on self-love and deserving better, this book is for you.

Loveeeeeee Drew. I seriously look up to her so much and admire her confidence. I really appreciate what she says in this book and think it’s so valuable to people everywhere (except for horrible men). It helps give me the confidence I need to stand up for myself. Also I LOVE the cover, it fits her so much.
Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this.

If there's one thing I love, it's Drew. As a fan of her tiktok videos for so long, I was so excited to see her release a book and it didn't disappoint at all. I love that she decided to go with a book like this instead of fiction because it's just another great way to see her personality. This made me love her 10 times more. I feel like every girl in their 20-30's should read this

Thank you for letting me review this arc!!

I’ve seen Drew of course through TikTok—I was interested in seeing her release a book!

This felt like I was watching one of her TikTok. An audiobook with her as the narrator would be epic. With that being said this felt like a good (although a bit repetitive) subject that feminists books have. I love that she put her experience but also multiple stages of life that made her her.

“Learning how to love yourself—like truly love yourself —is not easy. In fact, it might be one of the hardest things you’ll ever have to do. But look, there’s only one person you’ll be with from the moment you are born until the moment you die. Give yourself a chance”

This was such a pleasure to read - Loud is accessible, engaging, and empowering in all of the right ways. Drew's voice shone beautifully throughout the book and kept me happily turning each page. I would highly recommend it to folks in their teens, 20s, and early 30s especially.
One thing I struggled with in terms of a memoir specifically, which Drew noted herself, is that she is in the early phases of her own journey, being in her late 20s. Nonetheless, she offers solid insight and thoughtful perspectives that I appreciated deeply.

Thank you the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an unbiased review of this book!

Such a thoughtful and inspiring book. Reminded me so much of the connection women share that transcends our race, age and country we live in. Drew gave me so much to think about when it came to my relationship with myself, my friends and other women in general.

Immensely fun and enormously funny, just like Drew. Fantastic for anyone who enjoys her - and for anyone who needs to hear the healing power of her laugh!

A true role model!

Drew has been a constant in my life since I happened upon her in the pandemic. She a true delight and has made all women be proud to be who they are.

If you were late to the Drew Afualo train this book will catch you up. I consume most of the media she produces so this book was like listening to a story an old friend is telling. She does a great job of balancing her life story and speaking on problems all women face.

A big thank you to Drew and Deison for talking about NetGalley on their podcast, two idiot girls, because without that I would not have been able to get an advance copy of the book.

Thank you to Farrar, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for a copy of this book.

I plan to read at least one nonfiction book a year, and this was it. Now that I have reached my quota, I am going back to fiction land. Bye.

So honored to receive an arc of this wonderful read!!

I've been a follower of Drew for a few years now on TikTok so supporting her is important to me.

This was a wonderful read. Like many readers said it was like a letter from your baddie BFF.

It was uplifting and inspiring.

I will be recommending this to every young woman I can.

first of all i have to thank drew's podcast, two idiot girls, because without it i wouldn't have known i could request this ARC through netgalley.

this book really took me by surprise. don't get me wrong, i was very excited when i saw that drew was releasing a book, but it was still an influencer book so i didn't expect it to have a lot of substance, but boy was i wrong. this book actually delves quite deep into complex sociological topics and discussions while still being easily digestible and funny! drew tackles racism, homophobia, transphobia, fatphobia, and obviously misogyny using both her own life experiences and data from studies to further provide context and evidence.

it often reminded me of conversations i've had with my friends, especially with the way it was written. i feel like even people who aren't fans of drew could easily read this book and find enjoyment or learn something new from it.

as someone who has a degree in sociology i was so pleased to see drew describing sociological theories in an easily understandable way and i hope that people will learn something new from this book, whether that be something about themselves or others.

i also found the discussion of Samoan culture to be very interesting because i feel like Samoan people are very underrepresented in media. also as a general nerd i just really enjoy learning about different people and cultures!

overall, this book exceeded my expectations and was an enjoyable and relatively quick read. from one virgo queen to another, i can't wait to see what drew does next!!

4.5 star rating

I feel like this book was everything I expected in the most wonderful way. I have been a fan of Drew’s since 2020 and so I was thrilled to be picked for this ARC. It has all the quintessential man-hating I needed, but was still uplifting and funny at the same time. Worth the read for any fan of Drew’s or fellow fed up feminists

Afualo is a TikTok sensation who has been all over my FYP for years at this point. I was both excited and skeptical to see that she had written a book. We seem to be living in an era where TikTokers are churning out books left and right. But after reading Loud, I can say with confidence that Afualo is an online celebrity with a lot of good things to say.

Feminist, brash, and funny, Afualo wrote this book to inspire and motivate the reader. It's chalked full of lessons, both historical and social. Her unique voice shines through the pages. She's a fantastic influence. This book gave me a newfound appreciation for her and her content. A fun read and one that I would recommend!

"Women don't owe you shit."

As a ~40-year-old laaady~ I feel like I wasn't the prime audience for this book, however I did have a lot of enjoyment in reading about Drew's family background and her vulnerability in sharing the life experiences that lead to her brand of content creation.

I could tell she wrote this with a lot of heart while still maintaining the humor that she's known for in dunking on mediocre men. It was a fun, quick read but not quite what I was expecting. I thought it was going to be more of a biography/memoir and less of a self-help guidebook.

Thank you to Farrar, Straus and Giroux/AUWA and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I asked for an advanced copy of this book because I was already such a big fan of the author. I’ve been following her on TikTok for quite some time and just had to read this when it was announced. I’m not normally a self help girlie but I knew this was going to be great.

I was totally right. I loved loved this book. It’s part self help and part memoir rolled into one. Each part was just as good as the other. The memoir was beautifully written and heart wrenching at points. She really dives into her life to provide background for the self help portions of the book. It can be hard to read at points but I think it’s well worth it. The self help section was full of great advice and I hope a lot of other people can find it helpful too.


Overall I highly recommend this book, especially for fans of her TikTok. I genuinely hope she writes more in the future and if she does I’ll be one of the first people to read whatever it is.

This is such a powerful guide to living authentically and boldly. Drew's straightforward approach and inspiring insights encourage readers to embrace their true selves and pursue their dreams with passion. This book is a reminder to everyone that they deserve to live life on their own terms, loudly and unapologetically.

Huge thanks to Farrar, Straus, and Giroux and Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve followed Drew on TikTok since her first “red flags” video, so I was super excited for this.

This book started as closer to a 3.5 for me, but faded a bit as I got some distance.

I’ll start with what I liked!
- Drew is just an objectively hilarious person. Her hilarity shines through in her writing without a doubt.
- She’s great at making intersectionality a bit more digestible and she explains the concepts she’s discussing very well. She has a really strong through point and provides great insights and examples through both pop culture and her own life.
- It is extremely evident how important her work is to her. I know that what she believes is who Drew is, and she’s solid to the core with it.
- I am SO GLAD this doesn’t feel like a memoir or a self help book necessarily. She actually addressed this fact up front, that she doesn’t claim to have experienced enough to write a memoir, but she has some things to share. (Not a direct quote.) Her self awareness felt like her sitting on the floor next to you to chat about some important social issues instead of preaching what she knows (she’s great about this in general; hilarity helps)
- Deison’s (Drew’s sister who is a fellow lesbian) dedicated chapter especially made me weep. Drew is really, really talented at emotional honesty and writing in a very emotionally effective way.
- I loved learning more about Drew’s family and their Samoan culture. It felt extremely personal and as someone who follows Drew and has seen her family, they shine through so well in the book. It just feels like they’re handled with such care and their best versions are reflected.

What I Didn’t Like:
- This book is so thoroughly Tik-Tok’d. I know that Drew is a Tik Tokker, and yes I literally knew what I was getting myself into. I think I didn’t expect it to be quite at the level it was. I totally get it, but some of the material has already aged from the time it was written, and the book doesn’t come out until this summer. It feels too directly tied to the exact time it was written because online trends shift so subtly so often.
- There were points that just felt especially repetitive. A few larger themes in general, but mostly the fact that Drew is a Virgo, which she packed in so many times in the first few chapters that it almost felt like a word hunt game for “Virgo”. It also stood out to me how many times she feigns disgust for her sexuality?
- A couple of notes as a lesbian specifically, I am so absolutely tired of women further aligning themselves with queer allyship by saying “YUCK I can’t believe I’m attracted to men as a heterosexual woman even though I’m in a deep loving relationship with an extremely handsome man UGH!”. It always rubs me the wrong way and feels so deeply disingenuous. Just love Pili girl, we understand why you do! You tell us just how wonderful men can be by exemplifying the men you love, but then gag at the attraction? That’s tired to me. Also, “women & femmes” an inclusive phrase used in the book. The word “femmes” is used 54 times. (I checked so I wasn’t just spouting numbers.) I know who Drew was meaning to refer to, which is women and people who do not identify as women but are oppressed under the patriarchy. But that’s a ton of words, right? So of course that was shortened! But it was done in the wrong way and I don’t think super thoroughly studied before using. I just think it’s important to note that the word femmes is actually specific to the lesbian community, not the LGBTQ+ community as a whole. Therefore, a large portion of the group Drew was attempting to refer to is actually exempt anyways, as many do not identify as lesbians. I think it’s important to know exactly what a word means and what its history is when you’re borrowing from queer language! I was a bit disappointed by that.

All in all, this was a book written by an extremely well loved (if you’re in the right circles) Tik Tokker for people to read and relate to and enjoy. I think this will be extremely informative for a lot of people, I learned a lot about Samoan culture and identity that was so intriguing to me. I’m excited to keep following Drew’s career and I hope she writes something else too!

Thank you to Netgalley and Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux for the ARC of Loud. I ended up DNF-ing Loud at about 40%. While I enjoy Drew’s social media accounts and I think she did a good job with her writing overall, I think this book was meant for a younger audience than me (almost 45). I appreciated learning a little more about her family but the philosophizing and advice were geared to different fans. But, keep taking down those garbage men and living your most authentic self Drew. I love it.

Loud by Drew Afualo has been at the top of my TBR since she announced a book- Yes, even before it had its title.

Now, I am not typically a memoir/self help girlie but as an avid consumer of the ACU (Afualo Cinematic Universe) I have been so excited for this.

This book is so authentically Drew. It’s so obviously her it seems like she’s reading it to you, which makes me excited for the audiobook version!

Drew not only tackles bigoted beliefs, dethroning misogyny, embracing body neutrality, talking about intersectionality and defending women and femmes- she also shows us how to look at ourselves and take accountability when wrong and how to unlearn toxic behavior taught to us by society.

Everything said in this book holds true to the values Drew has spoken of since day one. One thing about her is she stands on mfcking business. This book made me cry and laugh out loud. It was as everything I wanted from it and so much more.

I wish every single woman, femme and nonbinary out there could read this book. It is that moving and I can’t wait for everyone to have it in their hands!