Eleanor Pilcher did an outstanding job or writing a coming of age novel for the LGBTQ community. I have never come across a book about Demisexualism, and I find it a breath of fresh air when there is representation for all in books. I did think there was a large emphasis on Beth's sexuality in the book as if she had to tell everyone but there was a lot of progression in the end for her where she overcomes it. Serena I originally was bothered by but in the end she had major character development. Overall it has me entrigued and I would share it with anyone looking for diversity in their TBR.

Thank you to Eleanor Pilcher and Avon Books for the ARC of That's What She Said! I absolutely adored it.

From the very beginning of this story, where we found Beth uncomfortable and embarrassed at an overly sexual hen do and Serena swooping in to save her, I was immediately hooked. I related to both of them in different ways - Beth's anxiety and discomfort with sex, Serena's life-of-the-party attitude - that made me want to get to know them more deeply.

When I read the summary, I thought at first that this was a friends with benefits book... then I thought it was all about their wacky 'sexual odyssey' hijinks. About halfway in, though, it became very clear that this was not a surface-level read, and oh my gosh how refreshing it was.

Beth and Serena both have some things to work through, but they're very human in their approaches. I could tell based on other reviews I read that not everyone agrees with this. Many felt they were childish, but honestly, aren't we the people always talking about how we don't want to 'adult' and still feel like college kids sometimes, not knowing how to be proper people? I know I've felt that way, and having characters that drop into what's 'easy' or 'comfortable' instead of doing what's right for themselves or others feels distinctly human. The fact that this was explored and we saw the flaws but also the strengths of their friendship was so good.

By the end of the book, I found myself frequently fighting off tears at the pure relief of it all. Having a friendship as deep and long as theirs comes with a lot of complicated feelings, and I was so grateful to see things work out all the way around. The ending was a little rushed, but I didn't mind.

Demisexual and Bisexual rep, sexuality exploration in a whole new way, and a realistic look at female friendships... I'm grateful I got to read this. Absolutely adored it.

Thank you again so much for the ARC! That's What She Said by Eleanor Pilcher is out on April 15th. I highly recommend checking it out.

So i’m not exactly sure what I expected from this story, but what I got was entirely unexpected. I loved Beth’s sexual journey, especially as I am demisexual as well, so I really appreciated an actual realistic portrayal of her feelings in regards to her complicated sexual orientation. In that respect, her character felt very relatable, but other than that, there was no emotional depth or likeability factor to truly get me invested in her character. The entire book is all about her inability to form a strong enough connection to feel sexually charged or interested in dating someone, but once Evan comes back into the picture, it felt extremely rushed and fast for someone who had spent their entire life sexually struggling. It just felt like a switch was all of the sudden turned and BEth was magically cured of her demisexuality.

I wouldn't say Serena is an unlikeable character, but there was just something about her that always felt fake, so therefore I also couldn’t feel completely invested in the outcome of her story. Her relationship with her parents definitely sucked, which played a role in her inability to form long term relationships and trust that her partner wouldn’t leave her like her parents did. But unfortunately throughout most of the story, I found Serena to be either too confident, selfish, annoying, immature, or too much of a coward to actually admit her feelings for reasons that didn’t seem to make sense. Zoey from the beginning seemed to always show Serena how much she cared for her and constantly professed her feelings, so I’m not sure why Serena fought so hard against it.

As far as side characters go, I absolutely loved Penny, Delphi, Zoey, Arnold, and even Evan. They pretty much made the story for me with their humor, ability to actually give good advice, and the fact that they were instantly likeable. When reading the description I wasn’t expecting there to be two separate stories, I thought for sure Beth and Serena were going to end up in a relationship. Therefore the fact that they were so intimate for a friendship, kind of made the whole dynamic a bit strange. I wish there had been more time with the romance side rather than the friendship side of things. Even though I loved how things worked out in the end, it felt a little too good to be true and wrapped up too easily, especially how horrible Serena treated Beth. Their opposites attract personalities and opposite end of the sexual spectrum was a bit too much at times, which made things feel inauthentic. Though it was interesting how they each viewed certain situations,thoughts, and experiences revolving around sex, I still felt like the way they went about things was very immature for their age. I definitely felt an unhealthy sense of dependence that they each had for each other that made it hard for them to have serious conversations.

Some of my favorite parts revolved around Serena and Arnold’s talks and how much he felt like a father figure to her. Beth and Delphi’s friendship was also a surprise that I didn’t think would last, but was happy to find out about them still keeping in touch. I typically prefer wlw relationships, but I will admit that Evan was very adorable and the perfect person to end up with Beth. I really appreciated Beth’s therapy sessions and how her feelings were validated and also challenged. But the thing I loved the most was the tantra sexual retreat, it honestly seemed so fun and fascinating. It was so refreshing to hear intimacy viewed in other ways other than just through sex. This book definitely hit the mark when it came to representing asexuality and demisexuality in an honest and realistic way that didn't feel dismissed or looked down upon. For people who don’t know anything about those forms of sexual orientation, I think they would learn some valuable lessons by reading this. Being a virgin at 28 is something also hardly written about, so hearing Beth’s challenges and the struggles she went towards feeling accepted was really powerful and how she was ultimately able to overcome those obstacles.

Overall though, I just hoped for something more. More romance, more excitement, more conflict, and a better plot. In addition, the pacing was slow, both Serena and Beth needed more substance and emotional maturity, and there was nothing worth rooting for or feeling invested in to make me remember much about the story other than the demisexual representation.

I’m sorry I DNFED. How do I say this without sounding like I’m hating just to hate. I don’t know a lot about demisexuality but something about Beth’s attempts to almost ignore how she feels in an attempt to push her outside her comfort zone for Serena’s article. Almost like she’s exploiting something icky. I know Beth consents to this but it still feels wrong to me. Also I go in and out of liking and disliking many of the characters. The hen party was scary. I was both kind of bored and disgusted. Maybe I’ll come back to this another time. For now I can’t continue.

Two 20-somethings exploring friendship, sex, sexuality, virginity, and all of the things that one explores in their 20s. Both fall into the co-dependency that so often happens to women in friendships. I don't know that it's talked about as annoyingly as this, but...whatever. It's captured exactly how it is when inside of one of those friendships.

That's What She Said by Eleanor Pilcher should probably be under "New Adult" rather than General Fiction, as it's still a bit naive and full of that early adulthood angst.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A great story about friendship and timing of when you’re ready to start something new. This was an enjoyable read and reminded me so much about my friendship with my own best friend. Writing was great!

DNF at 10%

A book about friendship staring one demisexual MC and one bisexual MC is right up my alley. I feel badly for Beth because that was a super awkward interaction with the stripper, but I immediately couldn't stand Serena "I'm such a pro at partying", whose solution to saving Beth at the hen do (bachelorette party) is to get SUPER drunk. So I checked some reviews and yeah, this book's not going to be for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

I went into That's What She Said expecting a heartwarming story about a strong female friendship. Unfortunately, while the book did deliver a female friendship, the execution of it left me wanting much more.

For starters, the two protagonists, Serena and Beth, had no personality or motivation beyond how each of them felt about sex. Additionally, they were both very immature and often acted like teenagers despite being in their late 20s. These factors contributed to their friendship falling flat. On top of that, they didn't communicate very well. Serena continuously pushed Beth into doing things without asking her if she actually wanted to pretty much every time Beth buried her frustration or anger and went along with it.. Considering how close they were supposed to be and how long they had been friends, this constant poor communication felt both unrealistic and frustrating to read.

Outside of Beth and Serena's friendship there was also a subplot of romance for each woman, with Beth's love interest being her former coworker/crush and Serena's being her friend with benefits. These relationships had a few cute moments but there was hardly any focus on them so it was hard to care about them too much.

Despite the issues I had while reading, I don't think this was a bad book. The writing was fine, the pacing was relatively quick to get through, and there was some nice, casual queer representation. There was also a decent amount of entertaining angst and high school-esque drama. If you like messy characters and relationships you might love this book. That said, it wasn't for me.

DNF review.

I was optimistic with this book and looked forward to the juxtaposition of a virgin demisexual MC with a best friend who's very sexually active terrified of commitment.

Listen, the author absolutely delivered that... in the most annoying package possible. The MCs are both so immature, one terrified of sex and the other of relationships in ways that are so repetitive and nowhere near endearing, which I'm sure was the intent. I forced myself through 75% of the book before finally giving up. I hope the book finds its target audience, it just wasn't for me.

I first want to thank Netgalley and Harper Collins for giving me the opportunity to read That's What She Said by Eleanor Pilcher. This review is solely my own opinion. Let me start by saying this is not my typical read, but I still enjoyed the story. It follows Beth and Serena, best friends since college who have been living with each other for the past 10 years. Beth is demisexual and, throughout the book, is trying to find her way on her path to what her sexual discovery will be. Serena is a journalist and talks Beth into letting her write a story about Beth's "sexual odyssey." Serena has agreed to help Beth in any way she can. The outcome of the odyssey may just break their friendship up. I enjoyed the story, and I found myself rooting for both characters' growth and live lives, even if both may not have been likable throughout the entire story. I gave the book 3.75 stars and definitely recommend it to anyone interested in the story.

While I really appreciate the representation of other kinds of sexuality, I was unable to finish this book. I really tried but I just could not connect with the characters. Again, I appreciate the representation over the spectrum of sexuality and I hope others can find themselves feeling connected to the characters in this book!

This book lost me pretty quickly with the amount of times "hen" was used in the first chapter. The relationship between Beth and Serena is underdeveloped and their dynamic does not seem believable.

I’m not sure what to write about this book honestly because I’m not sure what to feel about it. I never really developed any connection to either of these characters. It might be hard to tell them apart aside from ‘the one who has sex and the one who doesn’t’ or ‘the nepo baby and the non nepo baby’. Aside from that I don’t know that we genuinely got to know either of them on a deeper level than that.

I think this book would make a cute funny movie. I would also like to add that I think I just might not have been the perfect audience for this.

I received an e-arc of this book through netgalley and I’m very appreciative for that.

Okay, I really wanted to love this book. And I did, in a way. The witty humour and the demisexual and the bisexual reps are amazing! But, unfortunately, I cannot bond with the characters, especially Beth. I’m feeling really sad about it. It’s a shame, because the plot is interesting, even if it felt a little be rushed at the end.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

I enjoyed this book’s representation of demisexuality and there were some slightly amusing bits. But it was not really my personal sense of humour and I felt like I wanted more depth from the relationship between Beth and Serena. It felt a little rushed and amateurish in parts which was a shame because I felt the premise was great and there was so much potential for exploration of the intricacies of living as a demisexual in today’s society.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love the representation in this book, both of demisexuality and female friendships (especially in your 20s). The blurb and plot were not what I had expected and I found myself not connecting with the story like I expected I would. Despite the strong representation, I found myself uninvested in the characters. I believe this to be more of a "me" issue and would encourage interested people to read this book.

That's What She Said is one of the first books I've read that included a focus on ace's (asexuals) and their sexual experiences. And it's definitely the first I've read that focused primarily on demisexuality. I thought the approach to sexuality was mostly done well and respectfully throughout the book, which means a lot as a member of the LGBTQ community. There's bisexual representation in this story also!
Now, back to the story itself. Beth is on a quest to lose her virginity. (Don't get me started on the whole concept of virginity. It's such a BS concept in and of itself). She's tired of not feeling like she has the experience for dating and is missing out on important parts of life. Her best friend Serena has no such issues and has a new sexual partner on a regular basis. And from there, things build. I really struggled to connect with the characters in this story. I think that for me, I'm just in such a different stage of life. I'm much older and have established friends and I'm just in a very different space. The characters are nice, they're age appropriate, they are fairly well developed. Much like I wouldn't care for hanging out with young 20 somethings for fun, I wasn't crazy about the characters. I felt like Beth was putting too much pressure on herself and her sexuality and if she explained demisexuality to me one more time I would want to scream. And Serena! Aww. She needs a good hug and to learn how to be a good friend.
Overall, this is an enjoyable read. It hits to the heart of friendship and growth and being true to ones self. Huge thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for sharing an ARC of this book!

fun read that mixes humor and complex relationships really well. less a book about sex, but about the love of friendships and the difficult experience of setting new boundaries in old friendships. great coming of age novel for girlies in their 20s, a must read

Beth, a 28 year old demisexual virgin, becomes more interested in her sexuality and enlists the help of her sex positive best friend Serena to complete “Beth’s Sexual Odyssey List”.

I picked this book on netgalley because I have the humor of a 12 year old and loved the title. For a book all about sex and sexuality there wasn’t any spice to be found. While Beth explores her sexuality through the “list”, like speed dating, a sex therapist, and a tantra workshop, she also explores the nuances of her friendship with Serena. A book all about sex on the surface was more about women friendship and growing up. It was humorous and fun, while also having depth.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

before you read this review i want you to know that im incredibly stressed/angry right now which may in fact color the opinions im expressing here. doesnt entirely mean any of what im saying is wrong per se, just that everything i dislike about this novel is amplified tenfold lol

i want to begin this review by saying i love dialogue, okay. i think dialogue is a good way to convey multiple things at once: characterization, plot movement, etc. but to use an excessive amount of dialogue at the very beginning of the novel before anything else betrays the possibility that the author may be inept with exposition skills. this possibility is supported by the fact that exposition throughout this entire novel is restrained to characters' internal monologues more than anything else. i would like to add a note here as well to say that i like internal monologues, as long as he prose is not drowned in it.

i would say "i don't like this prose style" if there were any style involved here at all, let alone prose. might be a little too harsh/cruel so im dialling it back a little to say maybe it's really just a pacing issue. or maybe the way this novel is written is really just not for me.

i still like the themes talked about here though, which is the main reasons why i picked it up in the first place., and now a reason why it's not gonna get a 1* on netgalley for me.

that said i'd still like to thank netgalley for the eARC!