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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
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
It was a pretty standard "close friends who can't be lovers to lovers" story. It was obvious who she would end up with in the end, and basically every other plot point was on the mark. I think the misunderstanding that led to them not dating 5 years ago was a little thin, especially that they're so attracted to each other that they have to make rules for continuing to live without the other.
I thought the dates were entertaining to read about, although every character was some kind of archetype. I agree with another reviewer that Haleigh had much more chemistry with Brian than she did with Jack, so it was frustrating knowing throughout their mini relationship that it was never going to last. It was cute. Helped me get through a 6.5 hour car ride so it was definitely engaging.
I thought the dates were entertaining to read about, although every character was some kind of archetype. I agree with another reviewer that Haleigh had much more chemistry with Brian than she did with Jack, so it was frustrating knowing throughout their mini relationship that it was never going to last. It was cute. Helped me get through a 6.5 hour car ride so it was definitely engaging.
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Minor: Fatphobia
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.75 ????? rounded up. The ending felt a little rushed, but overall I had a fun time!
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for an advanced copy in return for an honest review.
Haleigh is tired of dating. One disastrous date after another has made her wish for a hiatus - but her family is on her case about having a +1 to her successful older sister's engagement party/weekend coming up in a few months. Complicating matters is that Haleigh has been in love with her best friend Jack for years - but a disastrous hook-up in Hawaii 5 years ago proved they were better off as friends and they developed rules to maintain the boundaries of their friendship. Haleigh, with the help of Jack, come up with a plan to appease her family and give herself the break from dating that she's craving - 5 family members/friends, 2 blind dates each. If nothing clicks, they leave her alone for 6 months. Let the datepocalypse begin.
I gave this book 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3 for goodreads. I found the ending to be incredibly disappointing, and unfortunately the reasons why are rather spoilery. Suffice to say, as much as I'm usually a sucker for the main trope in this book, I did not ship it. Spoilers start below.
One of Haleigh's dates is wildly successful and I felt that they clicked incredibly well - I was a big fan of the pair. And after one mediocre date, during which Haleigh seemed like she was going to try to 'turn him' into a reader (despite him making it very clear that he's not a reader), suddenly all the previous chemistry was just..... gone. The abrupt flip was so jarring and out of left field, it was hard to believe that Haleigh found it ultimately so easy to throw aside that budding relationship. To her credit, there was a very mature conversation regarding it instead of ghosting him so thank god for that. I also feel like Jack did not show the amount of personal growth needed for their relationship to develop -- for starters, it took him over 5 years to apologize for the things he said to her that he clearly knew echoed her own deep-seated insecurities over being messy/disorganized/chaotic. He also had crossed the boundaries of their clearly stated and agreed upon rules SEVERAL times, resulting in new rules being created over the past 5 years - and Haleigh says that he's crossed these boundaries when drunk several times over the years. I don't care how much personal history there are between two people, you don't cross boundaries. If he was unhappy with the boundaries, he should have had a conversation with her - after all, HE was the one who said he regretted hooking up. Instead, he had to be convinced to be more open with his therapist about his struggles so that he could go through all that personal growth AFTER they got together. I don't think people have to be perfect/healed in order to be in a relationship - but the fact that Jack didn't ask Haleigh for support through some of these struggles as best friends, and only once they were dating, left a sour taste in my mouth. For the last spoiler - who the fuck thinks it's a good idea to propose to your girlfriend in the middle of her sister's engagement party? Like not even at the end of the weekend - in the middle of the dance floor, on the first day, right at the start? If this was an AITAH post, I would say ESH.
Haleigh is tired of dating. One disastrous date after another has made her wish for a hiatus - but her family is on her case about having a +1 to her successful older sister's engagement party/weekend coming up in a few months. Complicating matters is that Haleigh has been in love with her best friend Jack for years - but a disastrous hook-up in Hawaii 5 years ago proved they were better off as friends and they developed rules to maintain the boundaries of their friendship. Haleigh, with the help of Jack, come up with a plan to appease her family and give herself the break from dating that she's craving - 5 family members/friends, 2 blind dates each. If nothing clicks, they leave her alone for 6 months. Let the datepocalypse begin.
I gave this book 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3 for goodreads. I found the ending to be incredibly disappointing, and unfortunately the reasons why are rather spoilery. Suffice to say, as much as I'm usually a sucker for the main trope in this book, I did not ship it. Spoilers start below.
This is a fun book. I loved Haleigh. There are so many funny moments! I thought I went on some bad blind dates in my day but man, Haleigh has some doozies. This book has snappy dialogue, great side characters like Stanton and her grandfather, and a puppy pile that I didn't know I needed. I look forward to reading Jenny Howe's back catalog and learning about some of those cameos.
I really was Team Brian but totally get why it is Team Jack. More than anything, I'm glad that through this Friends & Family Fix Her Upper, Haleigh realized that it's not only Jack who could be a good romantic match for her. She chose Jack this time, it wasn't just that he was the only man standing near her at the end.
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
First, the pros. I love body diversity, particularly in romance. For better or worse, our bodies tend to be the first thing someone notices, so it rang true to have a FMC voice the desire to have any blind dates know that she was plus-sized to avoid the (unwarranted) disappointment. I loved that Haleigh was not the only plus-size character, as I read Jack's description as being a plus-size man, not to mention Haleigh's ability to swap clothes with her sister.
I also adored the cast of characters, from Haleigh's roommates to the aforementioned sister, to her various dates. All of them had some defining characteristics that made them unique and fit the story.
As for the cons, they start and stop with the two competing love interests. It seemed reasonably clear which one of them was the end game, but I expected a longer competition, so to speak.I really thought Haleigh's relationship with Brian ended too abruptly. They go from being compatible and having great conversations to him suddenly not liking to read or do anything fun? It just didn't ring true to me based on his previous character development.
Ultimately, I'm really torn on the final resolution.Haleigh's relationship with Jack was borderline toxic. Although he was working on how he treats her during stressful situations, everything about his role in the dating scheme was manipulative - setting her up with someone he knew she'd hate, not listening to her when she said she didn't need him, only showing interest when someone else was involved. I had a hard time buying that this was her HEA.
Overall, I still enjoyed the book, and I really liked a lot of the characters. I just felt let down by the ending.
I also adored the cast of characters, from Haleigh's roommates to the aforementioned sister, to her various dates. All of them had some defining characteristics that made them unique and fit the story.
As for the cons, they start and stop with the two competing love interests. It seemed reasonably clear which one of them was the end game, but I expected a longer competition, so to speak.
Ultimately, I'm really torn on the final resolution.
Overall, I still enjoyed the book, and I really liked a lot of the characters. I just felt let down by the ending.
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Love Jenny Howe for some fat contemporary representation, and there were times when this story really had me (aka when it's obvious that the main characters are friends who are yearning for each other when one is going out on a lot of dates) and times when it didn't (aka when the main character had this plan to woo his friend who he basically shut down years earlier, which was okay and made sense at the time, but then to keep your mouth shut while she goes on all these terrible dates so you can sweep in at the end when she actually meets someone and is tentatively opening herself up to the idea of being in love with someone else )