I am so thankful for the day I discovered Sophie Cousens. Her romances are unique, sometimes unconventional, but always heartwarming and full of optimism. Her newest book Is She Really Going Out with Him? is no exception.
Anna Appleby is a newly divorced journalist, nearing 40 and with two young children. She’s convinced herself that she’s no longer interested in love or marriage, but when her job at a floundering magazine is suddenly on the line and Will, age 30 and her workplace nemesis, seems to be gunning for her job and impressing both the previous and new owners, she realizes she needs to step up her game and find a way to make her column more enticing to younger readers. Yet, she never expects that she will be forced into a competition where she agrees to ten dates suggested by her children and Will arranges similar dates using an online app, both sharing back page column space. In the process, Anna not only rediscovers her vitality and self-worth but also learns that her misconceptions about Will are unfounded.
The setting for this novel is Bath, UK, and Cousens highlights many of the places and events that make this gorgeous city so memorable, including Bath Abbey, the Roman baths, and the Jane Austen Centre and annual ball. I appreciate her depiction of divorce and how it doesn’t have to be a romance death sentence for middle-aged women, and that everyone, no matter their interests, appearance, idiosyncrasies, or stage in life, can find a love match. I also liked how she juxtaposed Anna’s ex with his much younger girlfriend against Will and his defiance of the sexist stereotypes that seem to define modern dating. Cousens has such a talent for bringing her characters to life, including secondary ones like Anna’s children, many of her unconventional dates, and the colorful character of Loretta.
Fans of Jill Mansell, Debbie Johnson, Abby Jimenez, Katherine Center, and Emily Henry will adore this novel. Highly recommended.
I received a complimentary ARC of this book from G.P. Putnam’s Sons through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.
3*
This is the second book by DeWitt I’ve read (the first being Savor It which I rated highly), and I’m disappointed that I struggled to get through it. I’m giving it the benefit of a doubt because I’ve been distracted by life, but the story didn’t compel me enough to want to put everything else aside to focus on it. First and foremost, I just didn’t care for LaRynn, the FMC. Yes, she had major baggage after being abused and neglected by her father and abandoned by her mother, feeling like she was incapable of being loved. However, her behavior towards Deacon, the anger, the rudeness, and her inability to be vulnerable and to share important parts of herself and her history, really frustrated me.
The use of a dual timeline (present-day and when they were lovers for a summer prior to her first year of college) and alternating chapters from both points of view, gave a full picture of their love story and the mistakes they both made along the way. However, in a character-driven romance, I need to believe in both main characters, and I just couldn’t with LaRynn for about 75% of the story. So, I was actually really thankful for the insight provided by the epilogue ten years in the future.
It’s not a badly-written book, and, if I were in a different frame of mind, I might have enjoyed it more. Unfortunately, I was just bored.
I received a complimentary ARC of this book from St. Martin’s Griffin through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.
4*
Ruth Winters, who is presumably autistic, had spent the entirety of her adult life putting herself last and giving up her dream of a career in the art world. She also suffers from social anxiety, which contributes to her aversion to change. However, after spending her young adulthood serving as caregiver to her incapacitated father and many more years married to her late husband who was more of a roommate than love match, she finds herself at loose ends after being laid off. So, life begins to change whether she’s ready for it or not.
Aside from the babysitting she falls into, her life is small and lonely. She only has her loving niece Chloe and a highly-contentiously relationship with her sister, Ronnie. Then, in anticipation of her 50th high school reunion, she hears from an old crush, Martin, who wants to see her. She also gets some awful news from her sister which sets them on the road to reconciliation. It’s both humorous and heartwarming watching Ruth’s self-confidence build as others come to rely on her and, with the attention from both Martin and her sister, witnessing her really come out of the self-imposed cocoon she’d been wrapped in for decades.
As a woman almost as old as 68-year-old Ruth, I could relate to so much of what she has gone through. Her transformation is really inspiring for those of us who have sacrificed so much for our children, or in Ruth’s case, for her father and late husband, especially when we find ourselves lonely for companionship, reminiscing about our youth, and questioning some of the decisions we made that have caused some degree of regret. I know I’m not alone in occasionally thinking about “the one who got away” and how it would play out if given the chance to reconnect.
I liked almost everything about this book except the very abrupt ending. I would have preferred to see more of Ruth and Martin’s relationship building and have some insight into where Ruth’s life was heading. However, it is still a worthwhile, character-driven read that has left me pondering my own life choices, which is a great way to get my mind off of current events that I can’t control. Recommended.
I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Lake Union Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.
