A review by patelyne
The Second You're Single by Cara Tanamachi

3.75

Jack had quite the unrequited (unnoticed really) crush on Sora way back when they were in elementary school, but after fifth grade his family moves away. 
Fast forward So Many Years and Sora, single again after a disastrous relationship or three, is writing a month long column project about going solo for February, to spite the Valentine’s Day Machine. So of course this is when she runs into Jack again, passing out pastries he’s baked at the local grocery. There’s a little spark, a minutes long fake relationship, and a misunderstanding. 
They connect again and again though, and it’s very much a ‘You find what you’re looking for as soon as you stop searching so hard’ situation. But should she risk her job to give this something they’re feeling a chance?

What I loved - The book starts off strong - there’s a lot humor, good banter, and a rescue dog that stole my heart. The scenes with Jack and his niece were sweet as all get out.  And while a few weeks of patience would have avoided the drama of the story, Sora and Jack getting all caught up in each was great.

What I could have done with much less of - the food/body shaming that kept popping up. Sora’s mother wording it as ‘issues they both have’ didn’t make it better, and there’s a scene with the sister at a dress fitting that I felt crossed a line. And I felt bad about how much Jack was still feeling the effects of childhood bullying. 

Outside of this, and overall, I did enjoy the story though and was happy with how it ended. 

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the ARC
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