This was a very interesting read. It was more detailed than I expected. It definitely empowered women in all areas of their body and thoughts.

This book is defintiely not what I thought it would be. Unfortunatley, it was too dry to resonate with me. I hope it will find its audience but I am defintely not it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in excahnge for an honest review.

(2.25/5, so not rounded to 3)

I'm torn on this (audio)book. The vast majority of Suzannah Weiss's takes are either such popular opinion by now that I don't care to read it in a book or so time-worn that again, I don't care to read it in a book.

Part of why I'm torn is how effectively her hidden gems of bombshell one-liners could mitigate the former (why is my brain suddenly trying out these words rn? good question. is this growth, or am i being pretentious?). During the most monotonous chapters, sometimes there would be a sentence or phrase that felt like there should have been a *mic drop* pumped in after it. This is certainly subjective, being dependent on everything from personal experience to other research and lit read; I like to think I'm more well-read than the avg 28 year old - esp as a new mom (S/O SAHMing) - so I'm hoping there will be at least a take or two that's fresh for you and you can take value from as well.

The other reason I'm torn is the distinctive position Weiss is able to write from. I'm used to a mutually exclusive outlook when it comes to those who write about sex and/or sexuality - they're either SUPER scholarly or SUPER woo-woo. Suzannah is a blend so balanced she's able to write from both positions. Not to mention the openness to experience and transparently sharing that experience with readers. I've never come across another book with this perspective that isn't intended to arouse (instead of inform).

Admittedly I'm not entirely sure if this is just an audiobook issue (therefore this is common and I've never noticed it until this book) or if this applies to the print/ebook edition(s) as well - but one of the biggest downfalls for me was the lack of citation (I'll even take casual mention of the researchers. Actually, I think I prefer it) when presenting research or info claimed to be science-backed. It's almost like it's all assumed to be such common knowledge that readers don't need to be provided with context. Well, I want the context. I want to be confident enough in what the author is saying that I'd be comfy repeating it in the wild. I'm not even confident I'd be able to find the studies mentioned, let alone repeat the gist.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend this book. It's not that it's bad; it's that there are a lot of extremely similar books that are much better than this one. Yes, there are some unique takes - especially in the sections about Suzannah's unique experiences in group settings - but not enough to make it worth trudging through the whole of the book.

{Thank you bunches to NetGalley, Suzanna Weiss, and publisher for the ALC!}