Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - The Second You're Single

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The Second You're Single by Cara Tanamachi

4 reviews

dogoodwithbooks's review

funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a free e-ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Sora Reid has had enough with love. Having had strings of bad relationship to another, Sora decides to kick off a month-long #GoSolo journey in February and highlight those experiences at her freelancing gig. Sure, running into old childhood friend, Jack Mann, might make

The Second You’re Single isn’t necessarily bad. But it’s not great. When I first heard about the book, I thought that it would be a really cool concept. Though, when I got deep into the book, I don’t think Tanamachi really met my expectations.

One of the things I’ve noticed is that a lot of the characters seem to be the “pick me” type. Sure, there were some exceptions (i.e. Stella) and even Sora at times didn’t fall into the “pick me” trope. But there were too many “pick me” characters to the point where they just sounded annoying or desperate. Worst of all of them were Mal, and I really didn’t like her as a character.

Also, most of the dialogue felt either forced and/or over exaggerated. I get with rom-coms that some things have to go a certain way to fit a particular trope. But Tanamachi writes characters saying things that I don’t feel like most people would actually say. Again, I think this goes into characters either sounding annoying or desperate complaints I mentioned earlier.

Though, there were some things that Tanamachi gets right in this book. One, this book is VERY witty/funny. I think because of Sora's blunt and sometimes sarcastic take on things really helps get this to be a decent read. I also think Sora does go through a really good character development and how she ultimately finds herself. Also, no one can tell me that the epilogue was NOT adorable.

Overall, I don’t think The Second You’re Single is a bad read, but I don’t know if I would read it again either. I think that there were less “pick me” characters and somewhat realistic dialogue, I think would have rated this book higher. Though, if you like books with a sarcastic MC trying to somehow find herself, maybe you can get something out of this book.

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elfit's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

This felt like home. As an Asian-American (Japanese-Mexican-American) growing up before the 2000s with the diet stigmas, the fitting in stigmas of and for immigrants and immigrant children, and just the dating and living stigmas of the now times this book was both bullet points of my life and familiar vignettes of being a cis lady wanting happiness in the world.
I loved the Asian representation from both main characters, their family dynamics (especially Allie and all her glitter glory), and just the way Sora works through everything. I found myself nodding or saving passages of wisdom.

Over all this one made me happy. It is a comfortable rom-com filled with bacon, annoying exes, and misunderstandings. Just feel goods all around.

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chymerra's review

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dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

When I first read the blurb for The Second You’re Single, I didn’t like it. I am not a huge Valentine’s Day fan, but I am not an all-out hater. So I sat on this invite for a while. I wanted to make sure that I wanted to read a book about a bitter woman complaining about Valentine’s Day. I was confident and glad I did because this book was nothing like I thought it would be. It wasn’t a book about a bitter woman complaining about Valentine’s Day, that’s for sure.

Before I get into the review, I want to let you know that this book has several trigger warnings. They are body shaming (multiple people shame Sora about her weight throughout the book), fatphobia (ex’s new girlfriend and Jack’s ex both make comments), miscarriage (Sora and her ex), cancer (Jack’s niece had leukemia as a toddler), cheating (both Jack and Sora’s exes cheated on them. Also Sora’s sister gets cheated on by her fiancee), bullying (Jack was severely bullied by classmates growing up, Sora experienced online bullying towards the end of the book), death of a parent (Sora’s father dies before the book starts but she is still working through grief), verbal abuse (Sora’s father verbally abused them), neglect and its repercussions (Jack’s ex), stalking (Jack’s ex), and depression (Sora). If any of these trigger you, I recommend not reading this book.

The storyline for The Second You’re Single was funny and interesting. Sora had just found out that her ex was lying to her. He was married with children….not the single DJ she was led to believe. Disillusioned with men and the holiday that caters only to people in relationships, Sora writes an article for the online magazine she works for promoting #gosolo for February. What she wasn’t expecting was how much it resonated with people. She wasn’t expecting Jack to walk into her life right as #gosolo took off, and she certainly wasn’t expecting to fall in love with him. Can Sora keep her promise to her readers about going solo for the month of February? Will she be able to keep her relationship with Jack under wraps? What about Jack’s blonde model ex-girlfriend? Will Sora be able to compete with her?

The Second You’re Single was a fast-paced, hilarious romance that takes place in Chicago. Let me clarify that it takes place in winter in Chicago. I was cold even reading this book.

The characters in The Second You’re Single were well-written. I was able to connect with all of them, even the “villains” (aka Jack’s ex and Sora’s neighbor). Some characters I wished had more page time, and others I wished were scaled back.

Sora—While I loved her character, I thought she was a hot mess for most of the book. I did think that she was depressed for a good part of the book, and guess what? She had reason to be. She had a tough few years with some awful things happening to her. I would have been surprised if she wasn’t depressed. She couldn’t trust her feelings when it came to Jack (because his ex was semi-stalking him), and she needed to be single until March 1st. Again, I wasn’t surprised when everything blew up in her face. But it was after that made me impressed with her. Oh, and her love of bacon. I think she and my 9-year-old would get along great. She also cut through the BS when it came to her sister. But I wish that it had been sooner.
Jack–Did he have his issues? He did. He comes across as too needy and a little desperate at the beginning of the book. He was also too kind to his ex. He took everything that woman did with grace and understanding; that was amazing. I also liked that he understood Sora’s situation with solo February. But I didn’t think he got how big it was until he was forced to the side and hidden away. I didn’t blame him for feeling the way he did. I would have done the same thing.

The Second You’re Single fits perfectly into the romance genre. It was a friends-to-lovers trope with a healthy dose of Instalove thrown in. I am not a fan of Instalove but I did like it in this case. Because Sora and Jack knew each other in elementary school (Sora was Jack’s only friend, and she stood up for him against bullies), Jack loved her back then. So, it wasn’t hard for me to imagine them falling for each other within a few weeks of their meeting. Oh, let’s not forget the comedy angle of this book too. I was dying laughing at the one-liners that Sora had.

The storyline with Sora, Jack, their relationship, the #gosolo challenge, and Jack’s ex was interesting. I didn’t know how anything would end except Sora and Jack’s relationship. As I said above, I thought Jack was too nice to his ex, and it did come back to bite him in the butt, big time. Their breakup wasn’t unexpected (it happens in all romances), but what was unexpected was Sora’s come to Jesus moment with her best friend (who is a therapist) after. Everything said was true, and I liked that Sora took what she said to heart. The #gosolo challenge was fun, and I could see it happening in real life (maybe it has?).

There were several secondary storylines that I enjoyed reading. There are some that I hope the author follows up on (Jack has several unmarried brothers and Sora has a sister).

The end of The Second You’re Single was your typical HEA. I was surprised at who was instrumental in pushing Sora and Jack back together. But, considering what happened and the talk this person had with Jack, I should have seen it coming. I loved seeing Sora and Jack’s changes, both together and separately. But, it was the scene on the playground that got me. I was laughing and crying at once.

I recommend The Second You’re Single to anyone over 21. There are sexual scenes and situations, language, and mild violence. Also, see my trigger warnings above.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin, NetGalley, and Cara Tanamachi for allowing me to read and review The Second You’re Single. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

Content Warnings

hellowildflower's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book before release.

Instantly I got How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days vibes and loved that! I love classic rom coms and this has that same vibe from chapter one.

I really wanted them to spend more time together at the beginning of the book. The time they do spend together is great and they work together.

I would’ve loved a few more chapters from Jacks POV.

Really didn’t love all the body shaming and fat phobia because Sora seems healthy, so having her family say ‘they’re worried she’s going to die’ as an excuse for saying horrible things to her it isn’t the kind, caring response it’s played off to be.

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