Is She Really Going Out with Him by Sophie Cousens
Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons on November 19, 2024
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Goodreads
A hilarious love story about a disillusioned divorcée who agrees to let her children play matchmaker.
Columnist Anna Appleby has left her love life behind after a painful divorce. Who needs a man when she has two kids, a cat, and uncontested control of the TV remote? Besides, she’d rather be single than subject herself to the hell of online dating. But her office rival is vying for her column, and no column means no stable source of income. In a desperate attempt to keep her job, Anna finds herself pitching a unique angle: seven dates, all found offline, chosen by her children.
From awkward encounters to unexpected connections, Anna gamely begins to put herself out there, asking out waiters, the mailman, and even her celebrity crush. But when a romantic connection appears where she least expected it, will she be brave enough to take another chance on love?
With her job on the line, single mom Anna agrees to re-enter the dating pool and write about her experiences. The catch - her children get to play matchmaker.
My affection for Cousens has been growing with each book, and Is She Really Going Out With Him may be the best one yet. The story was a lot of fun and made me laugh, but what I really loved was seeing Anna heal from her past and reconnect herself.
When I first met her, Anna was down with love. She was still feeling the pain of her divorce while her ex moved on. She wasn't looking for love or attachment, she was just trying to keep up with life in general. When she was forced to begin dating again, she reluctantly accepted the challenge. The dates were often hilarious, but also resulted in Anna discovering something about herself or tapping into a part of herself she had lost over the years as wife and mother.
Her work nemesis, Will, was tasked with writing a companion column. Anna really seemed to despise Will, but with each date and column, she began to thaw. Will's charm and heart revealed itself, and even I was unable to resist him. Their growing friendship and attraction was done so well, and even as obstacles began to pile up, I still couldn't help rooting for this couple.
There was just so much that appealed to me in this story. It packed with humor, heart, and emotion. It was a healing journey as well as a romance and it had me fully invested and entertained. In a word, it was perfection for me.
*ARC PROVIDED BY THE PUBLISHER
Joy For Beginners by Erica Bauermeister
Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons on June 9, 2011
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Fiction
Goodreads
From national bestselling author of Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club pick The Scent Keeper comes a beautifully crafted novel about daring to experience true joy, starting one small step at a time.
Having survived a life-threatening illness, Kate celebrates by gathering with six close friends. At an intimate outdoor dinner on a warm September evening, the women challenge Kate to start her new lease on life by going white-water rafting down the Grand Canyon with her daughter. But Kate is reluctant to take the risk.
That is, until her friend Marion proposes a pact: if Kate will face the rapids, each woman will do one thing in the next year that scares her. Kate agrees, with one provision—she didn't get to choose her challenge, so she gets to choose theirs. Whether it's learning to let go of the past or getting a tattoo, each woman’s story interweaves with the others, forming a seamless portrait of the power of female friendships.
After conquering cancer, Kate and her friends gathered for a victory party. At that party, they encouraged Kate to sign up for a rafting trip with her daughter. She agreed, but only if all the other women did something they were scared to do, as well, BUT Kate got to name the challenge.
This book followed each woman's personal journey as they worked towards completing their challenge in chapters spotlighting each person. I enjoyed the format and that I had the opportunity to learn more about each woman's highs and lows which helped me understand why they were assigned that task.
The chapters did not only shed light on the individual, but also on the group as a whole. Two women were sisters, two grew up together, while the other two were neighbors who were absorbed into this great group of women when one was in need. I am a sucker for women supporting women, and this was a group I would loved to be a part of. Some had experienced more loss than others, but all were there to help lift each other up.
Overall, this was a really beautiful story of friendship that was touching and uplifting.
Let us know in the comments!
I keep seeing such great reviews for Cousens' book. Can't wait to pick it up!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait for you to read it. It was fun and sweet and I loved it.
DeleteIs She Really Going Out With Him totally has me thinking of that Joe Jackson song now :)
ReplyDeleteBut glad that both of these were good!
I sing it every time I see this book. At least it's a good song
DeleteYou make Sophie Cousen's book so tempting!
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think it's her best yet and I really loved the last one.
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