I thought it was a romance but in reality it is a love story towards oneself and the path to acceptance and becoming a stronger being, a stronger women who owns her body
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With that in mind the book is totally different. A Women fiction that portrays Rebecca, a woman in her twenties who despite having an active sex life never had an orgasm.
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Her last relationship was the last drop in the glass back in a history of relationships where she was subjected to constant criticism and scrutiny, concerned about always satisfying others with low self-esteem.
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After a horrible breakup Rebecca begins to look for answers through medical consultations , with specialists psychologists and orthodox sexology. In this way the book gets into Rebecca's head and feelings and at times it is difficult to go through the consultations and doctors who lack empathy and humanity on sensitive issues such as the body and intimacy but between these experiences, appears Kyle, the great-nephew of her elder neighbor who does not stop smiling when he sees her. Both begin to know each other more and in some steps forward they also get stuck but both find their way to the other with patience and trust
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It is a book that not only portrays taboo issues about women's sexuality and health care, it gives a different point of view and approached with a lot of empathy and love, the story of Kyle and Rebecca gives it a heart warming and perfect closure.
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Thanks to Paulette Stout and PR by the Book for give me this great book to read in exchange for my honest opinion

This book!!!!
I loved it with all of my heart. It is a cute slow burn that is laugh out loud hilarious. It covers many issues that people (especially women) face and never speak up about. I loved it !!

After getting dumped by her boyfriend of 3 years due to some "issues" in bed and her roommate moving out all within 24 hours, this book follows Rebecca exploring multiple solutions and methods to her issues both in bed and in work, building back up her self esteem along the way. I very much appreciated the discussion and representation this book covers regarding issues dealing with sex. It's a taboo topic that people are hesitant to talk about and we don't really see in books.

I did feel the book was bit too slow, we don't meet love interest until 1/4 into the book (though there is a very brief introduction before that) and unfortunately, there wasn't as much romance in the book as I thought there was going to be. Then other areas of the book felt a little too fast and were breezed over too quickly, whether it was what I thought to be an important conversation or certain plot points. Due to this I had some trouble getting into the book, though did read all in one sitting - more so cause I was afraid I wouldn't pick it back up if I stopped. Overall I definitely recommend giving the book a try, more so to read about what Rebecca is going through instead of the romance.

I appreciate the subject of this novel. That’s not something that’s commonly or openly talked about- and it should be.
The execution was a tad off… a lot of things were left untouched and the relationships between friends in this story left me with concern.

It was a steamy quick read, so if that’s what you’re looking for, this could be it! But if you want to really get into the nitty gritty, this might not be.

This book was totally not what I expected. It tackles a very real issue, that is also personal and not often talked about. Talking about sex is often a taboo subject and you can feel how Rebecca is uncomfortable talking about it, even with medical professionals, but she pushes through after her last boyfriend called her a "frigid ice queen". It also, clearly discusses, how her self esteem is impacting her not only with sexual gratification, but in other places, including her job.

One of the problems I had with this book though was that it felt very "surface level" and didn't delve into any of the issues in a major way. We heard Rebecca was struggling at work, and confidence at work, but only saw a snippet with it. We same multiple conflicts between Rebecca and Kyle in their relationship, but it didn't really delve into either her issues with self confidence or his issues with trust.

I did like how patient Kyle was with Rebecca in the speed of the relationship, he was very gentle and kind with her. I also liked the exploration of anxiety and mental health, and how it impacted Rebecca, I only with there was more in depth exploration.

There were also things introduced in the book that I just wasn't sure of why. There is some talk about, friend Leslie's, job and investigative journalism, and how she had taken up smoking, but that never really went anywhere.

Overall, this was a middle of the road book for me. I will however check out Paulette Stout's books in the future. I received a copy of this from NetGalley and the publisher for an open and honest review. All opinions are 100% mine.

I needed a while to ponder my review. This book was so totally not what I expected..

The main character, Rebecca, is dumped by her boyfriend because of issues in bed and she takes it very very personal (as would most people I guess). But when she decides to go and do something about it (kudos to her) the story feels more like a therapy book than a romance novel. I thought it odd Rebecca would agree to telling her most intimate secrets to a bunch of doctors she could not even see, it gave me a feeling of unease. Everything Rebecca does and feels in her quest for the big O is very detailed. And yes, I do think we need this honesty in a world full of romance novels where everything s*x seems to go easy, but .. it is not a romance novel.

The thing is: Rebecca had so much more issues than what the story was essentially about. It was sometimes a bit hard to read about her low esteem. She chased after a dream to be able to have the big O, but that is part of a bigger picture. Maybe that is what the author tried to convey? I don't know.

I applaud the author for writing this book, but it is not my cup of tea. Maybe it should be marketed a bit different, I don't know.

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I have so many conflicting/complicated thoughts about this book! I am always thankful for books that challenge the conventional norms of romance, particularly in regards to the typical sexual tropes of automatic orgasms all day every day, and I appreciated that Stout decided to frame a story around the topic. There are parts of this book that I found to be heartbreakingly poignant and very real -- particularly the trauma of her relationship and breakup with Ethan and the pressure and insecurity she felt with him and because of him. In a world where the "orgasm gap" exists, these stories are so important and meaningful. My hesitancies come more with the character of Kyle. Yes, he existed as the perfect foil to Ethan and he was highly swoon-worthy, but I also found him to be a little too perfect and a little too convenient to the plot? Because of this, I found Rebecca's constant refusal to communicate with him to then be extremely frustrating...there was just something a little off there. Their relationship also just seemed to go from 0-100 really fast, and that messed with the pacing of the book at times. My other hesitancy stems from Rebecca's behavior/choices at certain moments, particularly with Kyle's ex and then with the sex therapist, but also with her friends ..... she seems to not understand boundaries and her repeated actions made me not like her at all, which was very frustrating as a reader who wanted to root for her!
Overall, this book is a good step in the right direction in terms of the larger subject matter but its execution fails to fully deliver.

I found Love, Only Better to be very cute. This book wasn't my usual speed but it was enjoyable and entertaining.

Blurb:
Our main character is 28-year old, Jewish-Latina Rebecca. In her 28 years on this earth she has never been able to achieve the big O. This issue has ruined many, if not all her relationships and sexual experiences. She has decided to swear off dating. Until, a sexy biker by the name of Kyle moves in across the hall. There is instant chemistry between the two when they meet. Rebecca wants her relationship with Kyle to work but she believes in order to do that she must figure out how to achieve the big O. This is her big secret and she can't solve this problem on her own to she brings in the experts.

Review:

There were many elements to this book that made it enjoyable. I liked the idea of women empowerment and I felt like the characters were great and diverse. I've never read a cute romance novel with a Jewish lead so that was sweet. This was ideally a slow-burn which I usually like but couldn't really buckle in for this ride. There were times when I felt like Rebecca really needed a therapist and not a vibrator. She had a lot of self hatred and confidence issues. Which naturally I believe her past relationships contributed to but she was borderline obsessive about her quest for an orgasm as if it was the cure to a deadly disease. Alternatively, this was a learning experience for her and perhaps this journey of self discovery really was important for her to grow as a person. overall, this probably wasn't my favorite read.

Thank you NetGalley and PR by the Book for this ARC

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I was so excited when I saw I got Love, Only Better arc because I really like that in this book the author deals with very important issues, such as female empowerment. However, I did not like it as much as I thought I would. I really liked the blurb, so I expected to love the book, but sadly the plot barely matched it.
I think the story was too focused on Rebecca's and that we needed more of Kyle's perspective.
Overall many things in this book didn’t work for me.

The premise and blurb of this book intrigued me and brought me in. I wasn't expecting the typical romance story line and thought this would be a little more of a common issue among women. However, the plot did not deliver and the overall story was lost to me. Again the concept of female empowerment was promised but I don't feel it fully delivered.

I would still have women read this book as there is a lot of research and information but maybe it was too much at one time.

I truly wanted to like this novel, as it has a favorite trope. Unfortunately, I felt that the heroine's problem and her therapy for that issue was handled in a way that interfered with the story (it felt a bit too clinical and creepy?) Also, how her therapy created a conflict for the couple just didn't feel believable to me.

In Love, Only Better Rebecca is on a mission to find that missing piece from her sex life that has caused her nothing but problems. The first step is admitting there’s something wrong and that’s exactly what Rebecca does and how she ended up in a clinical study for women in her similar situation. Things are uncomfortable but going okay until a complication moves in across the hall in the form of a tall and handsome motorcycle rider named Kyle. Can Rebecca’s journey of self improvement continue and allow her to have a future with Kyle?

This book really embraces women’s sexuality and their needs and desire to feel comfortable with themselves. Rebecca is definitely on a journey of self discovery and improvement throughout the book and learns so much. The only real hang up I had with Rebecca’s character is that she was so incredibly hard on herself almost to a point that I felt like skipping over her inner monologue thoughts. Trust me, I understand everyone is their own worst critic and struggle with confidence from time to time but it was a constant thing for her character. Overall this was a good and enjoyable (and informative) read.

Thank you @netgalley and publishers for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Nope. I don’t want to know what kind of friendships the author has in their life. If I had to guess by this book they’d be toxic, full of judgement and hazardous to your mental health.

Female empowerment, YES. This book, NO. I was so bored. So so bored. Although the sex scenes were steamy enough, the actual story wasn't worth it.

“Someone ought to tell Goth-Girl that she was entirely too happy to be dressed like that.” -From Love, Only Better

Oh, I thought I would love this book. I loved the blue, and the cute bright colored cover. This book ended up putting me in a mini reading slump. Many things didn’t work for me. One, the creepy doctor scenes. It was so all off putting. I would like to erase all of that from my brain. Two, there are almost exclusively toxic female relationships. From the mother, friends, coworkers, even just people the MC meets she has to lash out with judgmental comments like this one I quoted. Rebecca is even mean to poor birds outside her window- she was so unlikeable. Three, the love interest seemed so imaginary and a complete prop. Even with him being so one dimensional, he would still deserve better than our MC. The writing shifts from describing certain unimportant things in vivid detail, like the pharmacy, to almost glossing over what readers want to spend time on like the meet cute.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was not for me but I will say I loved that the author was thorough and detailed about the steps to achieving the big O in a way that didn't shame any kinks or make the reader feel like what they fantasized about was wrong. That being said I was not rooting for Becca and Kyle to get together because he seemed just as toxic as her putz ex BF Ethan.

The topic of this book is one which has been a long time coming (pardon the pun) as it counters the myths which have informed so many romance novels for generations. I can imagine many readers picking this up with a sigh of relief that finally a romance book will offer some realism about the physical aspects of the relationships it contains. The premise of this book is great but I found some of the less appealing aspects of the book outweighed that a bit. Some pretty toxic relationships undid a lot of the potential this books offers.

So... this is awkward because this book is one big tough cookie. As much as I loved the blurb, the plot barely matched that, if at all. Unfortunately, the style didn't help the case as I often found it dry and I felt like I was reading a script rather than an actual finished piece.

It was a little stalkerish, a little troubling with the doctors and some other situations Rebecca inserted herself into and in the end, I still question what was her real motivation.

Kyle is an eye-candy for sure, and I loved him most times but a little more build up with that relationship wouldn't have hurt. As it is, poor boy gave the impression of being a prop and the prize for Rebecca. And not in the cute way. More like when you treat a dog when they follow your orders. That treat was Kyle.

I fully understand and support the message at it's core, that's the reason why this book caught my interest in the first place, but... this series of unfortunate events was just not it.

Over all, it was interesting to see how Rebecca dealt with her situation but there were so many wrong turns on the way, it was hard to believe she could land where she did in the end.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for access to the advance reader copy of Love, Only Better.

The concept of this book really appealed to me - I love the idea of exploring the mechanisms of female pleasure. The author’s note was great too, it helped set the intention of the book.

Unfortunately I had some issues with the execution.

Things I liked:
- The awareness raised re. the female orgasm
- Reflecting on the relationship between self confidence and pleasure - although I found it strange that having an orgasm seemed to immediately improve Rebecca’s confidence

Things I didn’t like:
- Rebecca’s friends weren’t very good to her - they did improve, but they were tough at the start
- Some scenes were really over the top long and descriptive (like what was in each aisle at a pharmacy), but key elements (like a build up to Kyle and Rebecca getting together) were lacking
- The study seemed quite unusual, particularly the pressure the Drs put on Rebecca, and the filming component - I question the ethics?
- I also am unsure about the ethics of the sex therapist

There were a few typos (organisms instead of orgasms etc.) which might need to be checked before publication.

In short: I absolutely loved the idea of this book, but the ”romance” execution fell short. I think it could have been really fun if Kyle was 100% committed to working with Rebecca on achieving her orgasm and went on the journey with her.

This book deals with very important issues, and I really wanted to like it. But I couldn't.
The amount of self-loathing from the main character was way to much, to the point of being boring (and trust me, I know a LOT about self-loathing). The study seemed like it was being done in the 50's, the best friends were bullies.

The concept was good, the idea of talking about difficult issues that women face with their sexuality was very good, but in the end the execution was poor.