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champ81 's review for:
How to Get a Life in Ten Dates
by Jenny L. Howe
I liked this. Wanted to love it--I really enjoyed On the Plus Side--but there was missed potential here in both plotting and characterization. On the whole, I'd recommend this for someone who wants a nice friends-to-lovers story. It just left me wanting more.
Haleigh and Jack have been besties since elementary school, and Haleigh has been in love with Jack almost that long. It seemed like they would become something more when they were in college, but when that appeared to be a bit of a disaster, they vowed to go back to being friends...this time, with rules to maintain their platonic relationship. When Haleigh makes the decision (at the ripe old age of *checks notes* 25?!) that she wants to go on a dating hiatus, she gives her friends and family the chance to set her up on 10 dates to either help her find the right person or leave her alone to her spinsterhood. And when she starts to see glimmers of potential with one of her dates, Jack has to make a decision: will he leave her to enjoy her new romance or step up as a candidate himself?
The good: Strong fat, LGBTQ+ (at least one lead is bi- or perhaps demisexual, and there are several same-sex couples and dates), and mental health representation. Some funny bad dates, including one with an oyster that is haunting. Healthy adult communication between romantic leads.
The could-be-better: The central romance. It's a problem when there's more heat with the one you know she won't pick than the one she will. Some of that is due to the stakes being so obviously predetermined, for a romantic relationship we're told to care about half a book before we ever see the failed romantic attempt standing between Haleigh and Jack. There's mild awkwardness without any tangible explanation, and virtually no heat between them until Jack decides to jump in the ring. It was sweet they got together, but more in the "aw, good for them" way you'd think about acquaintances than a "thank god, because that sexual tension was killing me" way you want to see in a good first-person friends-to-lovers romance.
It's cute and predictable, which may be exactly what you are looking for. If you are looking to be moved by your romance, this may not be it. (Which is really hard to write because it had such potential!)
I received an advance reader copy from Netgalley for an honest review.
Haleigh and Jack have been besties since elementary school, and Haleigh has been in love with Jack almost that long. It seemed like they would become something more when they were in college, but when that appeared to be a bit of a disaster, they vowed to go back to being friends...this time, with rules to maintain their platonic relationship. When Haleigh makes the decision (at the ripe old age of *checks notes* 25?!) that she wants to go on a dating hiatus, she gives her friends and family the chance to set her up on 10 dates to either help her find the right person or leave her alone to her spinsterhood. And when she starts to see glimmers of potential with one of her dates, Jack has to make a decision: will he leave her to enjoy her new romance or step up as a candidate himself?
The good: Strong fat, LGBTQ+ (at least one lead is bi- or perhaps demisexual, and there are several same-sex couples and dates), and mental health representation. Some funny bad dates, including one with an oyster that is haunting. Healthy adult communication between romantic leads.
The could-be-better: The central romance. It's a problem when there's more heat with the one you know she won't pick than the one she will. Some of that is due to the stakes being so obviously predetermined, for a romantic relationship we're told to care about half a book before we ever see the failed romantic attempt standing between Haleigh and Jack. There's mild awkwardness without any tangible explanation, and virtually no heat between them until Jack decides to jump in the ring. It was sweet they got together, but more in the "aw, good for them" way you'd think about acquaintances than a "thank god, because that sexual tension was killing me" way you want to see in a good first-person friends-to-lovers romance.
It's cute and predictable, which may be exactly what you are looking for. If you are looking to be moved by your romance, this may not be it. (Which is really hard to write because it had such potential!)
I received an advance reader copy from Netgalley for an honest review.