Review: The V-Word by Amber Keyser

Publisher: Beyond Words

Publication Date: February 2nd, 2016

Rating: 4 Stars

Source: ARC from the publisher

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Summary (from Goodreads):

HAVING SEX FOR THE FIRST TIME IS A BIG UNKNOWN. LOTS OF PEOPLE WILL TELL YOU WHAT TO DO, BUT IS ANYONE TELLING YOU WHAT IT’S REALLY LIKE?

The V-Word pulls back the sheets on sex. Queer and straight. Relished and regretted. Funny and exhilarating. The seventeen women in this book (including Christa Desir, Justina Ireland, Sara Ryan, Carrie Mesrobian, Erica Lorraine Scheidt, and Jamia Wilson) write about first-time sex—hot, meaningful, cringe-worthy, gross, forgettable, magnificent, empowering, and transformative.

Whether you’re diving in or whether you’re waiting, we hope these stories will help you chart your own course.

I received this from Simon Pulse/Beyond Words for a blog tour that I did a couple weeks ago.

If you never got the sex talk and you want it or you have to give the sex talk and don't know where to start, seriously, just pick up this book.

This book is made up of a story section and a resource section.

All the stories in this book are about a different woman's first time. There's a little bit of everything in this book. Straight. Lesbian. Transgender. Awesome first times. Horrible first times. First times that aren't technically first times. First times just to cash in the V-card.

I found mostly all of the stories in this book to be interesting. All of these first times are so different and all of the writing is so different and unique. I think that these stories would all be valuable to someone trying to decide if they're ready to get it on. Out of the seventeen different stories in this book, there was only one of them that I skipped over because I didn't care for the writing. I thought it was kind of boring.

The second section of this book is resources. The resources section is GREAT! It has sections on knowing your body, knowing what turns you on, knowing what you're up against, knowing about being safe, knowing how to talk about it, and knowing when you're ready. There's a great Q&A. There's a list of website resources. And finally, there's a section of reassurances and resources for parents. There is a LOT of good information in this book for people who aren't sure if they're ready to take this step!

Overall, I would highly recommend this book! If you're a girl thinking about having sex for the first time or if you're a parent with a daughter and you need to have the talk, this would be good. For instance, my parents got divorced when I was little and I lived with my dad from the age of 8 until I moved out at like 22. How awkward of a conversation would that be to have with your dad? I think this would be a great book for a situation like that!