Acts of Service
- Downloads：4163
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-08-21 08:51:49
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Lillian Fishman
- ISBN：1787703851
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
I had been going around for years trying to figure out what sex meant to other people。。。
Eve has an adoring girlfriend， an impulsive streak， and a secret fear that she’s wasting her brief youth with just one person。 So one evening she posts some nudes online。 This is how Eve meets Olivia， and through Olivia the charismatic Nathan。 Despite her better instincts， the three soon begin a relationship—one that disturbs Eve as much as it enthralls her。
As each act of their affair unfolds across a cold and glittering New York， Eve is forced to confront the questions that most consume her: What do we bring to sex？ What does it reveal of ourselves， and one another？ And how do we reconcile what we want with what we think we should want？
In the way only great fiction can， Acts of Service takes between its teeth the contradictions written all over our ideas of sex and sexuality。 At once juicy and intellectually challenging， sacred and profane， Lillian Fishman’s riveting debut is bold， unabashed， and required reading of the most pleasurable sort。
Eve has an adoring girlfriend， an impulsive streak， and a secret fear that she’s wasting her brief youth with just one person。 So one evening she posts some nudes online。 This is how Eve meets Olivia， and through Olivia the charismatic Nathan。 Despite her better instincts， the three soon begin a relationship—one that disturbs Eve as much as it enthralls her。
As each act of their affair unfolds across a cold and glittering New York， Eve is forced to confront the questions that most consume her: What do we bring to sex？ What does it reveal of ourselves， and one another？ And how do we reconcile what we want with what we think we should want？
In the way only great fiction can， Acts of Service takes between its teeth the contradictions written all over our ideas of sex and sexuality。 At once juicy and intellectually challenging， sacred and profane， Lillian Fishman’s riveting debut is bold， unabashed， and required reading of the most pleasurable sort。
Reviews
literaturelover
，
it does something to me when i’ve been heavily consumed by a book everybody seems to dislike - fuels my superiority delusions。 ‘the purpose of my life at large remained mysterious， but i had come around to the idea that my purpose as a body was simple’ - she is me， i am her。 that’s it。
Lucy
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This was a book that I kind of knew immediately was up there with best books I’ve read。 It feels strange saying that about a book that’s so outwardly and unapologetically about sex， but I think that’s part of what the book speaks to。 Truthfully， I haven’t really processed my opinion on the contents of the book。 The point is that it makes you question all of your preconceived notions about sex， desire， and relationships。 Sex， specifically the act of sex， is a concept that is genuinely central to This was a book that I kind of knew immediately was up there with best books I’ve read。 It feels strange saying that about a book that’s so outwardly and unapologetically about sex， but I think that’s part of what the book speaks to。 Truthfully， I haven’t really processed my opinion on the contents of the book。 The point is that it makes you question all of your preconceived notions about sex， desire， and relationships。 Sex， specifically the act of sex， is a concept that is genuinely central to a lot of peoples’ lives， but it is so hidden。 It’s something that has to live deep below the surface， compartmentalized and only existing at the requisite time， location， with the right person， etc。 This book brings it into the open。 It forces you to think about the boundaries that you’ve set for yourself in relationships， or the boundaries that have been set by society but you’ve internalized。 Nathan is a manipulative， dominating， predatory character who gets to live outside the rules of society， because he has learned how to manipulate them， too。 At the end of the book I absolutely craved for him to be brought to justice， but the response of Olivia and Eve was so contrary to that。 In their circle， he hasn’t done anything wrong。 The fact of him being an ultra dominant figure was positive in their relationship， because their relationship was only sexual in nature。 Because he was exactly what both of them wanted。 I don’t think it’s worth moralizing the actions of the characters in this book， or maybe I’ll ruminate more on this and come back and moralize them later。 I just think this book poses a fantastic thought experiment to the reader。I feel like the end of my reviews always contain a less serious note， so here it is: this book has some fantastic sex scenes。 Consistently and right off the bat。 10/10 book to read if you’re horny， I can’t stress that enough。 Lastly， I am inordinately happy about the choice of the name Eve for the main character。 Perfect。 。。。more
Sara Stewart
，
What a ride！
Melissa Jane
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Hmmmm。I feel like i read two different books at the same time。 One on the edge of a conversation we only dance around on convention and intimacy。 The other a detailed preamble leading up to a pretty oddly referenced conflict point with the law suit。I think I thought it was just going to be edgy and convention confronting。 But i am uncertain where the law suit turn fits in…。
Giuls （la_fisiolettrice）
，
3，5 ⭐️
Hailey Williams
，
2。5 the dude was insufferable and made this book such a slog to get through
Sarahjanereed4
，
A deeply frustrating book that approaches something important but then falls spectacularly short
Caitlin
，
Probably best novel about sex I've ever read Probably best novel about sex I've ever read 。。。more
Morgan
，
2。5 stars rounded down。 I started and finished this in a day， but for me it didn’t deliver。 It felt at times like I was reading a grad school essay that posed thought-provoking questions on sexuality and desire， but it only answered its own questions with more questions。 As a lesbian myself， it also really bothered me that Eve identifies as a “political lesbian” but is attracted to and sleeps with men， which is inherently contradictory。 Why not just have the character be bisexual from the start？ 2。5 stars rounded down。 I started and finished this in a day， but for me it didn’t deliver。 It felt at times like I was reading a grad school essay that posed thought-provoking questions on sexuality and desire， but it only answered its own questions with more questions。 As a lesbian myself， it also really bothered me that Eve identifies as a “political lesbian” but is attracted to and sleeps with men， which is inherently contradictory。 Why not just have the character be bisexual from the start？ Another critique is that there are no quotations used in the writing at all， which sometimes made it difficult to determine which character was speaking。 I had high expectations for this but it fell flat for me。 。。。more
Hannah Young
，
So beautifully written！ The space between integrity and pleasure and when one compromises the other is interesting to read about。 I really liked it， awkward to explain to colleagues what it’s about tho
Jillian
，
If I could have been able to pretend that Nathan was Tyrell Wellick from Mr。 Robot then this would have been 5 stars。
Lauren
，
What an annoying thing to read？ I thought I was missing something but in the end， I think it just was annoying characters， annoying lack of meaning， and—I’m sorry but please bring quotation marks back to books， like enough is enough？
Stay Fetters
，
"We had been made to believe that beauty was suspect， vanity was sin， desire was predatory。 We believed we were at our most attractive when shy and acquiescent toward each other。"Sally Rooney meets Fifty Shades of Grey （sorta） in a novel where a woman fulfills her desires。We all know how obsessed I am with Sally Rooney， so you know once this was compared to one of my many book loves I had to read it。 Then I saw the cover and read the synopsis， I was all in with every fiber of my being。 It sounde "We had been made to believe that beauty was suspect， vanity was sin， desire was predatory。 We believed we were at our most attractive when shy and acquiescent toward each other。"Sally Rooney meets Fifty Shades of Grey （sorta） in a novel where a woman fulfills her desires。We all know how obsessed I am with Sally Rooney， so you know once this was compared to one of my many book loves I had to read it。 Then I saw the cover and read the synopsis， I was all in with every fiber of my being。 It sounded like the book that I have been waiting for。 The wait was worth it because this was outstanding。 This was an utterly fantastic read。 There is a lot of hate out there for this book but I found myself really enjoying it。 Eve was that indecisive character that we all love。 Highly recommended if you're into the freedom of expression through sexuality。RTC 。。。more
Esthela
，
nathan should have gone to jail¡¡¡
Hannah
，
I felt like I got what it was saying by chapter 3 and then just kept going。 Incredibly tedious。 Characters are so unlikeable too！ Which can be okay， but they’re boring。 So it’s a frustrating read。 I did finish it but I had to start skipping through a lot of sections by chapter 5ish so maybe I missed something。
Violet Metta
，
3。5 an adept and interesting exploration of internalized male gaze， sexuality and “rules。” i don’t think i particularly liked it that much however。
Birnehelene
，
Not sure where to start: boring， shalow and basically just another 'shades of grey' heteronormativity under a imposed queer label。 Do not like the cover of the german version either。 Not sure where to start: boring， shalow and basically just another 'shades of grey' heteronormativity under a imposed queer label。 Do not like the cover of the german version either。 。。。more
Izzie Nai
，
4。5
Marthe AllGoodreads
，
Toen ik in de iconic Passa Porta de achterflap van Acts of Service las， dacht ik dat het een boeiende roman zou zijn die （hoofdzakelijk） ging over queer vrouwen。 Het leek me geen slecht boek， zeker omdat het uitgestald was op een ‘lees-deze-boeken’-tafel。 Gelukkig heb ik het gewoon gelezen in de gratis e-bookversie （🏴☠️）， want het was verrassend slecht！De schrijfstijl van de auteur is niet top。 Ergens in een review had ik gelezen dat je niet zou merken dat AoS haar eerste roman is。 Niets is min Toen ik in de iconic Passa Porta de achterflap van Acts of Service las， dacht ik dat het een boeiende roman zou zijn die （hoofdzakelijk） ging over queer vrouwen。 Het leek me geen slecht boek， zeker omdat het uitgestald was op een ‘lees-deze-boeken’-tafel。 Gelukkig heb ik het gewoon gelezen in de gratis e-bookversie （🏴☠️）， want het was verrassend slecht！De schrijfstijl van de auteur is niet top。 Ergens in een review had ik gelezen dat je niet zou merken dat AoS haar eerste roman is。 Niets is minder waar！ In het algemeen valt het wel mee， maar sommige dingen zijn zo cringey dat ze afkomstig lijken van een beginnend wattpad-auteur。 De storyline was niet wat ik ervan verwacht had en zat boordevol clichés。 In kort: een driehoeksverhouding （met veel uitschieters） bestaande uit een manipulatieve alpha male en ‘zijn’ twee hopelessly devoted （RIP ONJ） vrouwen， waarvan één helemaal gebrainwashed is en de andere een haat/liefde-verhouding heeft met hem （en ook met zichzelf？） en zich vragen stelt over hoe vrouwvriendelijk de situatie eigenlijk wel is。Bovendien trok het einde echt op niets， opeens was het gewoon gedaan terwijl er nog zo veel onterecht onbeantwoord bleef？？ Omdat het zó slecht was dat het verslavend werd geef ik het nog een 2 op 5。 Waarschijnlijk overdrijf ik in deze review qua slechtheid， maar het boek verdient het echt niet om in zoveel boekenwinkels uitgestald te worden （heb het in elke boekenwinkel waar ik de laatste twee weken ben geweest uitgestald gezien）。 Misschien is het gewoon een wanhoopspoging van de verkopers om af te geraken van hun overgrote voorraad van Acts of Service 🙏 。。。more
Annika
，
This was frustrating
Caroline
，
Lillian Fishman is clearly talented but I don’t think this book is as clever （or as sexy） as it thinks it is。Everyone in the throuple takes themselves very seriously。 I don’t care if he’s an amazing shag， Nathan is a tedious dickhead。What a shame！ Wanted to love it。
Martinis
，
Sincero。
Alora
，
I have thoughts but it's 12am so I quite literally need to sleep on it but I had a good time and am also。。。 disappointed？ Am I？ Who can say。 Brb。 I have thoughts but it's 12am so I quite literally need to sleep on it but I had a good time and am also。。。 disappointed？ Am I？ Who can say。 Brb。 。。。more
Abigail Franklin
，
Nathan is truly a terrible person & there is no romanticizing it
Aimee
，
Lieber Gott， vielen Dank， das es Männer gibt。Ich meine。。。 Wer sonst könnte mich Sexuell wirklich erfüllen？ Etwa meine feste Partnerin？Wer könnte mich an meiner Sexualität zweifeln lassen？Überhaupt an allem， an mir selbst？ Wer， wenn nicht die Männer？ Und vor allem hier herausstechend: Nathan。So。。。 Fühlte ich mich zumindest während ich dieses Buch gelesen habe。Ich fand mich nicht， wie der Buchrücken versprach: Direkt hinein gezogen。Sondern es hat wirklich lange gedauert。。。 Wirkliche Wendungen gab Lieber Gott， vielen Dank， das es Männer gibt。Ich meine。。。 Wer sonst könnte mich Sexuell wirklich erfüllen？ Etwa meine feste Partnerin？Wer könnte mich an meiner Sexualität zweifeln lassen？Überhaupt an allem， an mir selbst？ Wer， wenn nicht die Männer？ Und vor allem hier herausstechend: Nathan。So。。。 Fühlte ich mich zumindest während ich dieses Buch gelesen habe。Ich fand mich nicht， wie der Buchrücken versprach: Direkt hinein gezogen。Sondern es hat wirklich lange gedauert。。。 Wirkliche Wendungen gab es ab Seite。。。 200？ Kurz vor Ende。 Die mich dann aber auch überrascht haben。Auch manchmal wurden wirklich kluge Dinge gesagt， die mich haben nachdenken lassen。 Aber alles in allem， kam es mir nicht wie das vor， was es sein wollte。Auch hier wird wie bei Sally Rooney ohne "" gearbeitet， nur fiel es mir hier deutlich schwerer。Für mich hatte dieses Buch mehr zu tun mit Gottesanbetung eines Mannes， zu viel angefangenen Dingen und zu wenig beendeten。 。。。more
Margarida Pina
，
SO FUCKING GOOD！！！ i’m a sucker for complicated and toxic relationships！！ the author did an amazing job with captivating the reader， literally couldn’t stop reading。 absolutely brilliant piece of work for a debut。 beautiful and insightful takes on sexuality， politics and power/misogyny
Jess Campbell-Dykes
，
While this book was a quick read， it was also an extremely painful one。 Maybe someone who could connect more to the themes of polygamy and queerness and the kind of detachment that the characters possess would find this book much more fascinating。 But I， on the other hand， couldn’t connect to it one bit。 In fact， I found the interwoven misogyny， manipulation and overall cruelty overwhelming。 This was not a book about female empowerment at all， and the male character involved in the relationship While this book was a quick read， it was also an extremely painful one。 Maybe someone who could connect more to the themes of polygamy and queerness and the kind of detachment that the characters possess would find this book much more fascinating。 But I， on the other hand， couldn’t connect to it one bit。 In fact， I found the interwoven misogyny， manipulation and overall cruelty overwhelming。 This was not a book about female empowerment at all， and the male character involved in the relationship was a modern day Iago over the women。 At times I just wanted to grab the protagonist by the shoulders and shake her delusions out of her！ 。。。more
Kelsey Weekman
，
Another absolutely delightful book in which nothing happens and a woman ruminates on her relationships。 You don't see me complaining！ Feels a bit like an elevated A Very Nice Girl （Imogen Crimp） with more power dynamics and a more interesting main character。 Not at all what I expected in a good way。 I love when books mine the bad things we do and explore why we do them。 I read it in one sitting！！ Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free copy！ Another absolutely delightful book in which nothing happens and a woman ruminates on her relationships。 You don't see me complaining！ Feels a bit like an elevated A Very Nice Girl （Imogen Crimp） with more power dynamics and a more interesting main character。 Not at all what I expected in a good way。 I love when books mine the bad things we do and explore why we do them。 I read it in one sitting！！ Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free copy！ 。。。more
Marzy
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 2。5*Writing nope = 0Yes I did learn a couple of new words。 But sometimes it was hard for me to understand the string of thoughts。 They felt way too deep for me to understand and I found myself skimming through it。 Maybe if I read it again when I’m older I’ll probably understand it better but I don’t think I’ll learn anything groundbreaking so I won’t reread this。 Characters nope = 0MC was confusing， some might deem her as morally grey。 Though she was definitely self aware of the situation she pu 2。5*Writing nope = 0Yes I did learn a couple of new words。 But sometimes it was hard for me to understand the string of thoughts。 They felt way too deep for me to understand and I found myself skimming through it。 Maybe if I read it again when I’m older I’ll probably understand it better but I don’t think I’ll learn anything groundbreaking so I won’t reread this。 Characters nope = 0MC was confusing， some might deem her as morally grey。 Though she was definitely self aware of the situation she put herself in， she still went ahead with this weird relationship dynamic just cuz she felt like it。 Olivia needs a mental checkup。 Nathan？？ wtf？？ Yeah sure your wife is okay with you fucking other women！！！ And just cuz you think eve has a rape fantasy doesn’t mean God appointed you to satisfy that fantasy for her， considering the fact that you can’t be so sure that she has that fantasy。 You’re not psychic。 Romi and Fatima were the only sensible characters in this book。 Sadly Romi was boring but I liked Fatima and her protectiveness and love over Eve…。 It was sweet。World yes = 2NYC as the backdrop？ yes please Plot meh = 1Pacing meh = 1It was slow at some points， I was going to dnf this but I pushed through till I reached the parts where the pacing sped up。 Themes interesting？ = 2There is a lot to unpack。 But I feel like the ideas mentioned in the book through a queer lens is just what I needed， with a caveat。 The discussion that went on around these ideas fell flat to me and were…。 disgusting。 They weren’t even discussed throughly and were very black and white。 If it were nuanced and explained better than I might’ve liked this book a lil more。 For example， the whole idea that it’s easier to be with the opposite sex since you don’t have to write your own narrative and everything falls into place not like when you’re with the same sex where you have there aren’t any standard set for every queer couple to follow， is definitely true in some ways。 But the author in a way decided （well societally was trapped in this for millennia） that the standard or the formula of heterosexual relationships includes submission of the female partner and and that her sexual enjoyment is extracted from the patriarchal/male gaze viewpoint directed towards her。 Which is utter nonsense。 Enjoyment meh = 1I did have to force myself to finish this one。 In the beginning I didn’t enjoy it at all because of how dull and boring the characters seemed。 Eventually I got used to it， as I do know that this book is theme driven rather than character or plot driven。 Maybe I’m just not used to reading this type of lit fic （specifically talking about the style of writing here）。 。。。more
Frederique
，
good… but something was missing， can’t put my finger on it
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Acts of Service
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Acts of Service&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Acts of Service&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0