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A review by loveinpanels
The Second You're Single by Cara Tanamachi
Did not finish book. Stopped at 24%.
What I liked:
- The narrators were great! Cindy Kay and Michael Braun did a great job, especially with the humor.
- The premise was fun. I love a flimsy excuse to keep characters apart, especially when it dissolves quickly. In this case, it's there on the tin - Sora has pledged not to date at all for the month of February and is writing about it for her job. Of course that's when she's reunited with a former friend from elementary school who's grown up to be a sexy baker.
- The friendships were good, too.
- The main characters had genuine chemistry and their banter was cute.
What I didn't like:
- Sora has a near constant commentary about food and bodies. For someone who is supposedly accepting of her size 14 body and refuses to diet, she's talking and thinking about food all the time and judging everyone's bodies. Even when she's thinking they're hot! At one point, she thinks about how Jack has a little beer belly, but not "a gross one."
- All the women except Sora's best friend are awful (or at least not nice), including Sora's mom, who is size 18 and dislikes her body enough to also make Sora feel terrible about hers. (I *know* this is a really common dynamic, but I don't want to read it with everything else.)
I would absolutely try another book by Cara Tanamachi because I think she's got a lot of skill, but the constant body and food talk was really offputting. I came away from every reading session feeling bad about myself and I think readers who have a history of disordered eating should assess their current state of mind before diving into this one.
Thanks to RB Media for a review copy of this audiobook.
- The narrators were great! Cindy Kay and Michael Braun did a great job, especially with the humor.
- The premise was fun. I love a flimsy excuse to keep characters apart, especially when it dissolves quickly. In this case, it's there on the tin - Sora has pledged not to date at all for the month of February and is writing about it for her job. Of course that's when she's reunited with a former friend from elementary school who's grown up to be a sexy baker.
- The friendships were good, too.
- The main characters had genuine chemistry and their banter was cute.
What I didn't like:
- Sora has a near constant commentary about food and bodies. For someone who is supposedly accepting of her size 14 body and refuses to diet, she's talking and thinking about food all the time and judging everyone's bodies. Even when she's thinking they're hot! At one point, she thinks about how Jack has a little beer belly, but not "a gross one."
- All the women except Sora's best friend are awful (or at least not nice), including Sora's mom, who is size 18 and dislikes her body enough to also make Sora feel terrible about hers. (I *know* this is a really common dynamic, but I don't want to read it with everything else.)
I would absolutely try another book by Cara Tanamachi because I think she's got a lot of skill, but the constant body and food talk was really offputting. I came away from every reading session feeling bad about myself and I think readers who have a history of disordered eating should assess their current state of mind before diving into this one.
Thanks to RB Media for a review copy of this audiobook.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Infidelity, and Eating disorder
Moderate: Cancer