[A little disclaimer: I think reading philosophical takes on love in a language that is not my mother tongue set me up for failure from the beginning. I felt detached from her perspective after the first few chapters and this could be due to the fact that nothing she wrote felt revolutionary or particularly new or moving to me, but also to the fact that I don't seem to feel as deeply in English as in my native language. And lots of people like this book, so 🤷‍♀️]

This book leaves me confused, and not in a "I need to think about this a little more" but in a "what did I just read". One review quote in the back calls this a "spiritual handbook" and I think I agree. There were many good bits about patriarchy, materialism and some great quotes but everything I liked was overshadowed by religious/spiritual takes that I did not enjoy. I can see how that aspect would work for others but I couldn't connect with anything she said, which diminished my interest in listening to her perspective on love (which eventually started to feel repetitive too and weirdly contradictory?). The last chapter read like a full blown bible study and an analysis of angels and that sure is for some but definitely not for me.

The biggest letdown were some shockingly unkind positions towards women which I didn't expect at all and felt completely unnecessary.

hooks also makes a lot of claims regarding women and men, generations and people in general and rarely backs them up with sources. It felt like she was mostly pulling from personal experiences but the way it was framed made it sound like a generalised fact.

All in all, I don't think I will revisit this book, even for the aspects about capitalism and consumerism.