Julie

Disappointing

Reviewed: 02-12-22

Disappointing to have a book that’s claiming to be scientific using pseudoscience like polyvagal theory. I was also disappointed in how the author discounted how valid, important, and powerful virtual connection can be. Seems a bit out of touch with the author trying to generalize the A-list and wealthy clients he works with. I also expected more practical info.

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3 people found this helpful

Interesting and informative

Reviewed: 01-31-22

Dr. Ley presents fascinating stories of the people he interviewed who explore the sexual practice of hotwifing and cuckolding. I enjoyed learning from their perspectives and Ley’s research. Rose Caraway’s narration was fantastic as always!

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Enjoyed the experts and personal stories

Reviewed: 07-13-21

I would recommend Love Without Sex to anyone who is new to polyamory, who wants to understand more about asexuality, or who is interested in challenging the idea that love include sex. Johnson provides a pathway for how to separate the concepts of sexual attraction, sexual desire, love, affectional attraction, romance, and more.

Love Without Sex shines when Johnson features other voices and stories. Hearing from people of various genders, sexual orientations, backgrounds, and relationship experiences gives readers a sense of how people can break away from mononormativity to create the relationships that work for them. The section on Chosen Family was especially powerful by challenging traditional ideas of family structure and pointing to how sex and gender minorities have been crafting space for family when their families of origin do not welcome them.

Johnson’s choice to feature stories of asexual individuals and their experiences is much needed when so often media and stories neglect to include people who identify as asexual. However, the way in which Johnson presents these stories could potentially be dismissive to that population. Rather than giving space for these voices as a way to learn more about asexual individuals and their relationships, Johnson presents them as a way to learn more about love and relationships can mean for others. These people and their stories deserve to be heard without the qualifier of what others can learn through them.

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Really disappointing

Reviewed: 06-19-21

There were a few good stories in this collection. I really loved Safeword, Canada, and Reach. The others did not make it worth buying this whole book. Some were just okay. But many were dangerous and irresponsible depictions of kink. This collection seeks to show a variety of ways people explore and understand kink, but the lack of consent in so many of these stories is alarming. While I know that's part of some people's journey, I want an intentionally kink space to honor the need for consent and negotiation that are so important in relationships/interaction that involve kink. And these weren't stories that were depicted as an erotic fantasy where consensual-non-consent could be understood to have happened outside the story, some contained abuse or rape. I am really disappointed and don't recommend buying this collection.

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2 people found this helpful

Narrator made it hard to get into

Reviewed: 06-19-21

I could not finish this book because the narrator was very cold and choppy. It was distracting from the story and sadly I could not finish it.

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