The Loveless Princess by Lilian Bodley

The Loveless Princess by Lilian Bodley

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Less than Three Press in exchange for an honest review.

I read this work because it was short and I was under the impression that it involved an asexual character. I was misinformed (or didn't remember correctly what I'd been told). The description doesn't actually say that it involves an asexual person, though so it isn't the story's fault. *looks at description on NetGalley* Yeah, doesn't say asexual there either. (ETA: with more thought on the matter, as seen later in my review, yes, Anette is asexual, it is just the case that she's more than just asexual. There's some other element that she is as well, whatever word goes for that. 'alove' or something.)

This is not a story about an asexual main character, she's something . . . extra. This is a story about . . . not actually sure what word gets used. I tried to find a word that could be used for someone who cannot love, but all I can find involve things like "Scientifically speaking, the only people completely unable to love are the people whose brain genetically lacks empathy, people commonly..."; or psychopaths. But that's not the main character either, because The Loveless Princess, Anette, does have empathy. And she didn't really seem like a psychopath. I do not know enough about psychopaths to know though.

Why am I going down this road? Someone who is asexual has no desire to have any kind of sexual relations. They might love, they might get into a relationship, they might . . . etc. They just have no desire to have sex ('person who has no sexual feelings or desires.'). Someone who is aromantic has no desire to have a romance. "A person who experiences little or no romantic attraction to others." An aromantic person can have desire for sex, can feel love - just not romantic love. A specific individual might be both asexual and aromantic.

So is Anette asexual? Well, she has no desire to have sex. I'm somewhat short-sighted to immediately say that because she has no ability to love that that means that she's not asexual. Instead she's asexual with the addition of something else (whatever the 'inability to love' part would be called - not aromantic, because, again, they can form attachments/love, just not romantic love - like they can love their parents or siblings, but feel no romantic desire for another). And Anette cannot love at all. Not just can't form romantic attachments. She is, as the title notes, 'The Loveless Princess'. Again, though, she's not a psychopath because she can feel empathy.

Bah. Okay, Anette is a princess of some unknown age who has been told by her parents that she is going to be marrying Prince something or other. They argue but Anette can't get out of it. And no, this isn't one of those fantasy lands where everyone is magically open to everything - this is a land where a man must marry a woman; and Anette's mother actually began to get furious with the idea, short lived, that her daughter might be attracted to women (short lived as Anette feels no attractions at all).

'For reasons' (like, what else is she going to do?), Anette goes along with the marriage. Marries the dude. Glancing at people in the audience, then at the groom, then around, she comes to the conclusion that the man might have some vaguely attractive features . . . to others. She feels nothing towards him.

After they are married, the Prince takes his new wife back to his kingdom (well, his parents at still in charge so 'his kingdom' in the sense that's where he's from). 'Stuff happens'. Turns out the Prince has no real desire for the Princess, like the Princess towards the Prince, but the Prince is definitely not asexual. No, he's homosexual. (He's not bisexual, he can't even get it up to fulfill his duties as a husband to his wife).

'Something happens' and the Prince poofs. Princess has to save him. Quest occurs.

The End (of the short story).

hmms. Sorry to have spent so long battling with the concept of 'asexual not equal alove!'. Annoyed me. Especially considering the underlying theme of the story. On the other hand, yes, marriage/love does not have to be either the path to happiness or, in and of itself - the happiness.

Rating: 3.5

May 12 2017



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