Review: Losing It by Emma Rathbone

Posted July 14, 2016 by Lisa Mandina in / 8 Comments

Book info:
TitleLosing It  
Author:  Emma Rathbone
Genre:  Romance
Published:  July 19th, 2016
Source:  ARC requested from publisher, Riverhead Books

Synopsis:
Julia Greenfield has a problem: she’s twenty-six years old and she’s still a virgin. Sex ought to be easy. People have it all the time! But, without meaning to, she made it through college and into adulthood with her virginity intact. Something’s got to change.

To re-route herself from her stalled life, Julia travels to spend the summer with her mysterious aunt Vivienne in North Carolina. It’s not long, however, before she unearths a confounding secret—her 58 year old aunt is a virgin too. In the unrelenting heat of the southern summer, Julia becomes fixated on puzzling out what could have lead to Viv’s appalling condition, all while trying to avoid the same fate.

My Review:
When I first saw this on Edelweiss, I got so excited that I immediately emailed the publishers and asked if there was any way that they would send me a physical ARC of the title.  I mean, come on, how funny does that synopsis sound?  I’m a little sad to say that the book didn’t quite live up to my expectations. 

While the story itself was really good, I mean I totally identified with a lot of the thoughts the main character, Julia, had, the humor was really pretty subtle and not as laugh out loud as I’d hoped for.  While I don’t have the same issue she had, it has been a long time, and I’m maybe a born-again one of what she is.  In fact, if I hadn’t made the friends I did in college, there was probably a pretty good chance that I could have ended up like Julia, or at the rate I’ve been going since college was over, like her aunt Viv! 

Julia talked at one point about wondering if she let off some kind of scent or sense of being desperate to the people around her, men especially.  And I remember a guy I had a summer job with when I was in college, that said I had the words, “Marry Me” on my forehead.  Meaning that I was looking for a boyfriend.  Yeah, I might have been, but what girl isn’t for certain parts of her life?  And then there is the part where she mentions that people always say it is easy for a girl to get laid, not true, the way this book described the whole situation with Julia was so true. 

Unfortunately, the title made me go into it thinking there would be lots of episodes of Julia meeting guys and trying to lose her virginity, in funny little scenes.  There were a few examples of this, but not in the way that made me really laugh very much.  I smiled, and nodded in understanding with her online adventures, as well as workplace adventures, but that was about it.  There were times that I just didn’t understand why she did what she did, especially if her goal is to have sex. 

Then there was her aunt.  Her aunt was very quirky, and at times pretty funny. But, there was so much that was just kind of random, and never really tied into anything, or contributed to the actual plot.  I would like to have had some more about that in the story.  

But, I can see that many people who enjoy a more subtle read will probably enjoy this, and I definitely am very glad that the publisher sent it to me to read.

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8 responses to “Review: Losing It by Emma Rathbone

    • It did seem sad, but the way they wrote it made me think it would be humorous, plus the cover is more funny than serious to me. But oh well. It wasn't bad, just not what I'd expected.

  1. I feel you that this sounds like it should be relatable on a lot of levels (I am in serious jeopardy of becoming a born-again Viv myself bwhaha) but it's sad that it isn't like… fun. I mean, also kind of sad that she's trying so badly to just like, throw herself out there just "because". I mean, I haven;t read it, so I certainly can't judge it, but I hope it doesn't have a celibacy-shaming message. I am so sorry it didn't live up to your expectations!

    • Sorry that you like me are in the born-again path. 🙂 Yeah, I just feel like it should be more fun than it is. It doesn't shame celibacy, so that's good. It just makes it kind of blah. And I really was sad that's all it was. Thanks for stopping by!

  2. Too bad this book was a humorous novel because the premise screams sarcasm of society. I read A totally Awkward Love Story this year and found it humorous, although after awhile got tired of the character's goal to have sex. Thanks for the review.

    • It totally should have been more sarcastic and funny. It was sad to me and disappointing that it didn't live up to my expectations. Thanks for visiting!

  3. Great review Lisa this is actually the first time I heard about this book. I don't think it is my kind of book, but I am really intrigued about the concept about the book that I might just give have too check it out one day. Thank you so much for the awesome post Lisa.

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