Quick Synopsis – Haleigh is tired of being looked at as the single mess, so she agrees to be set up by her friends and family. She’s convinced that if she can go on ten dates, she can show them how hard it is to date and maybe finally get over her best friend Jack in the process.

Song This Reminds Me Of – Cup of Tea by Desiree Dawson

Publication Date – Dec. 10, 2024

Content Notes – This is a romance novel and there is some explicit sexual content. Not like XXX or super kinky, but adult. Mental health is a central theme of the book and there are descriptions of anxiety, depression, and panic attacks. Both main characters deal with anxiety (GAD and OCD). There is some fatphobia, mostly in the past.

Steamy Rating – 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Overall Rating – ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

Review – I love bisexual chaos. And a plus sized female main character? Oof, you got me Jenny Howe. My favorite part of this book was that the dating experiences were a little over the top, but honestly kind of realistic. Haleigh is honest about her body and isn’t ashamed. Her anxiety isn’t about how she’s going to look on dates, her anxiety is about the future and finances. I loved that Haleigh was confident in who she was and what she wanted.

I also loved the friendship between Jackson and Haleigh, this is easily a friend to lovers’ story, but the friendship was so lovely and support. The way that Haleigh had protected Jackson even when they were kids and that she would copy his OCD ticks to help him cope. Swoon. I hate the miscommunication trope, and this book avoids it like the plague. Jackson and Haleigh communicate and are mostly so healthy. The family dynamics felt really natural to me too. I liked that the sisters weren’t super close, and that Haleigh felt so much pressure to get her poop in a group. Life is messy and I enjoy a book that embraces that.

The one plot point I didn’t love was Haleigh’s job search. She had a lot of anxiety about applying and looking for jobs, which is understandable. But the thing that really bothered me was the slip-up she made during one of the interviews was so easily resolvable. She could have just reached out via e-mail! Like if it was your dream job, wouldn’t you fight a little? The argument could be made that the anxiety was crippling, but I just didn’t get that feeling. It just felt like an unnecessary foil.

This is a fun, quick, romantic book. If you’re a fan of friends to lovers, this is for you.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press Griffin for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.