Member Reviews
I loved this so much, only criticism is it’s slow to start, but really worth getting into it, you won’t regret it. A lovely light read, great for humour and also very entertaining as you will be shouting at Tansy to open her eyes and see what is in front of her, a book about learning what is and isn’t right for you, the hard way, but full of fun.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion
A lot of reviews about this book talk about how funny it is, and it is in part. But the first half is slow and kind of drawn out. It gets a little better in the second half. I liked that it takes a look at the growing epidemic of eating disorders and how so many torture themselves to become someone else's idea of who they should be. I was happy to see that at the end Tansy started for focus more on being happy with who she was instead of who she wasn't.
This book was not for me, I tried so hard to get into it but could not. I have read similar books when a girl and a guy break up and then she or he tries to win the girl or boy back. But there were so many boring parts that did not make sense to me at all in the book. The main character seemed so stuck on wanting this guy back, and I get it, but I thought it would be a little more funny to read. I didn't enjoy it as much and I'm SORRY I didn't.
Tansy met the man of her dreams, Renzo, and falls deeply for him. On the night Renzo tells her he loves her, they end up breaking up. Tandy vows to get back together with him and formulated a plan with her house mate to accidentally run into him off and on. While trying to get Renzo back, she starts dealing with problems at work and financially is struggling to help provide for her mother. Tandy’s old mentor Debbie, who got her into the fashion buying world, contacts her out of the blue and asks if her son Josh can stay with her for a little while until he can find a place to live. Tansy has known josh since they were kids and still holds a grudge against him for what he did to her. Soon she finds herself drawn to him and she strikes up a plan to make Renzo jealous. But what will happen when Josh finds out?? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
This book was a Iight and easy read! Overall it was a cute quirky romance and the relationships she builds with her prodigy Chelsea, a young designer who sells her clothes on the street, is so heartwarming. I found myself rooting for Josh more and more when Tansy takes you through flash back moments of her relationship with Renzo. This is a fun read if you are looking for something super fluffy and light. I am a huge fan of Sophie Kinsella and this authors writing style is very comparable to that! I will look for more books by Sophie Ranald because I do really enjoy her quirkyness and British humor!! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
This is a really cute book with a heavy message. I loved the main character and that she went after what she wanted/believed in. A lot of women will be able to relate to this story. There are a lot of laugh out loud moments.
I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.
It’s Not You It’s Him follows Tansy as she tries to get over being dumped by her boyfriend Renzo, deal with issues at work and her growing feelings for someone from her past who she thought she hated.
As the New Year is being rung in by Tansy and her friends, she decides that she is going to get her ex back one way or another, she is just not sure how. Now we all know that sometimes decisions made when under the influence of alcohol are not always the best ones, but Tansy is determined that getting Renzo back is the right move and she somehow convinces her flatmate and Renzo’s colleague to assist her in her endeavours.
Tansy is probably like a lot of us….at work seems to be completely on top of it but at home a complete and utter mess which for me made her that little bit more relatable. It doesn’t mean there weren’t times that she really frustrated me. Her initial friendship with new girl Felicity was one that seemed a bit superficial but Tansy it turns out was not the only one hiding a secret as to why they had connected.
The more I got to see of Renzo the more I didn’t like him. I get that things from Tansy’s past may not have been ideal, but he just seemed a bit self-centred and expected everything his way. For me he didn’t seem to have any redeeming qualities and I couldn’t understand why Tansy would want him back.
I loved Tansy’s flatmate Adam. He was a bit of a geek and obsessed with the neighbour’s cat Freezer, but he really cared about her. I found myself chuckling when he really got into his role of “spy” to keep Tansy updated on Renzo’s movements. His jealousy over Freezers sharing of affections with their new flatmate brought a smile to my face.
Throughout the book you get to learn about Tansy’s childhood and some of her insecurities from this period in her life come back in a big way when Josh, an old classmate and son of her mentor moves back to the UK and crashes at her flat for a while. His laid-back attitude challenges Tansy and she finally confronts the things that upset her growing up.
Billed as a laugh out loud rom-com it does touch very briefly on things that are a bit more in the social conscience area such as the exploitation of workers in the garment industry and body shaming but they are only in the background to assist in specific parts of Tansy’s story. This is certainly a fun book with entertaining characters that is easy to get into and certainly one to pack for reading by the pool on your holidays.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
It’s Not You It’s Him follows Tansy who was recently dumped by her boyfriend of six months Renzo. Tansy was head over heels in love with Renzo and after confessing a secret to him at a work event Renzo ends the relationship on the spot. Since then Tansy has drunk texted him, scrolled through old photos and has decided to commence Operation Get Renzo Back.
With the help of a new wing-woman, a credit card she can max out and an inside man, Tansy finds herself accidently-on-purpose bumping into him at every opportunity. When that isn’t enough she then decides to use her mentor’s son Josh as a fake boyfriend in hopes to make Renzo jealous.
While she’s busy pretending, life throws a curveball and she now has to learn the hard way that maybe it isn’t her, it’s actually him and that sometimes a break-up can end up being the best thing to happen to you.
This book is told in past and present, allowing you to see parts of Tansy’s past and even her relationship with Renzo. It was a fun read and I liked Tansy’s character. Not only does she help her family out financially she fights for what she believes in, even if that is her relationship with Renzo. There is an incredible amount of character growth in this book and it’s something I really enjoyed reading.
This is the first book of Sophie Ranald I've read and whilst I did enjoy the book there were several things I struggled with.
I found the first half of the book slow, with no real momentum with the storyline other than Tansy over-spending and pestering her roommate to get her information about Renzo. It became a bit repetitive to me and I found myself getting bored.
The second half was a lot better and the drama really intensified, but I still felt that it lacked something. I would have liked more scenes with Josh and Tansy, I wanted to watch their relationship develop and instead it felt incredibly rushed.
Whilst the book touched on important subjects such as eating disorders and gambling, I felt like they were made important enough. I felt that when they were mentioned it was incredibly out of place and brushed off rather quickly.
Overall it was a good read but I personally just felt like it fell flat from the beginning which hindered what could have been a fantastic book.
Like Hot Dog Girl earlier this month, this was another fake dating, manipulative heroine, let down 😭 I thought the romance here made more sense how it came together, at least, but I found it so hard to root for anyone as both the heroine and the ex she wanted to win back we’re not great people. I had high hopes for this but hated the why of their breakup, that she tried to win him back despite him having a new girl, and that her fake BF wasn’t in on the plot 😩
I did like how the side plots wrapped up though. The writing itself was fine, so I’m bummed this story just wasn’t for me.
What an interesting story.
It's only the first book that I've read by the author and apparently I might have to go back and read the previous book in the series but I could get into it with no troubles at all so it can be read as a stand-alone.
Told in first person present, it's a story about Tansy and her struggling life in London, where she's trying to make ends and help her family as well. She had a relationship with Renzo but he thought they're not good together and , because her flat roommate is working at his company, she wants to know every step of Renzo and tries to get him back.
We are taken back and forward with moments from their relationship and traveling times, and everything she was feeling and thinking about what she thought she wanted at that time.
I liked how she grows by the end of the book, how everything settled for her and really enjoyed the secondary characters and their banter.
The book also touched a lot of contemporary topics like how perfect we have to be seen nowadays and what we feel and think isn't that important.
Thanks for the opportunity to read and review NetGalley and Bookouture publisher.
Seriously Tansy - get over him! Renzo dumped Tansy and she's not there yet. Many of us have had a similar experience of thinking we can win back a love who has left but how often does that work? How often should it work? Tansy's got a lot going on with her crummy boss and her friends. Adam is a good guy who puts up with a lot. Josh, well, see what you think will happen with him. This is a quick read which has some funny spots (and also some spots where you must remind yourself that Tansy is 26). Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For the beach!
I really felt like this book was all about Tansy. I enjoyed the writing. Tansy was a good character. The secondary characters are interesting. There is really a lot going on. An enjoyable read.
This was hands down one of my favorite reads this year. I already read "Sorry Not Sorry" and was fretting about what would come next for Tansy. Ranald does such a great job of showing Tansy during her school years, present day, and in select moments during her relationship with her ex Renzo. Ranald also does a good job of working in some sub-plots dealing with Tansy's family as well as her job and her mentoring an up and coming designer.
"It's Not You It's Him" is the follow up to Ranald's "Sorry Not Sorry". I would recommend you read that book first to get a lay of the land. As readers know Tansy was dumped by her boyfriend Renzo after she told him that she used to do webcam work. Feeling devastated and not really engaged with work anymore, Tansy starts focusing on ways to get Renzo back. Since Adam (her housemate who is still a loon by the way) is now working at Renzo's company she enlists him in telling her where Renzo is going to be in order to see if she can make him remember how good they were with each other. Of course things don't always go to plan.
I thought Ranald did a great with developing Tansy. I rooted for her the whole way through this book. She feels trapped by what is going on with her family and her job. She loves Renzo, but when we follow her memories of him, you start to wonder about that. I thought it was great to see Tansy's developing friendship with Adam (still sucks though due to actions in book #1) and her work colleague Felicity. And I think it was great to see how her old boss's son (Josh) coming to stay with her and Adam for a few months ended up bringing up things she rather would have forgot about school.
Ranald developed the secondary characters quite well too. I thought she did a great job with making Adam the butt of jokes (his obsession with next door's cat is a hot mess) and then him getting upset when Freezer fell in bro-love with Josh. I really did like Josh though wish we had more scenes to get to know him, but honestly I thought she did very well with him. Ranald even did a great job with showcasing Renzo too I thought.
The writing was very good and at times funny and other times sad. No spoilers, but Ranald takes a look at the very different ways you can be abused in relationships. Not only verbally, but mentally and financially too. She does a great job with you being able to hear Tansy's "voice" the whole way through and you get to see her change over time with what she thought she wanted and what she actually does need.
The flow was really good and there was no awkwardness going back and forth between present day, Tansy's relationship with Renzo, and her doing her school days.
The setting of the book takes place in London and we do get to get out of there a bit here and there when we have Tansy remarking on trips she made with Renzo or when she goes home to see her family.
The ending was so good and now I have a feeling the third book (if there is one) is going to follow Adam. Please let it be about Felicity or someone else.
I love how relatable Tansy is. She was so much fun to read about. I laughed a lot and was overall impressed by how much I enjoyed this book. A must read that’ll put a smile on your face.
(Also posted on my GR page)
Is it possible to love a sequel more than the prequel? Because I was squee-ing and grinning and annoyed at Tansy in any good ways possible than with Charlotte.
Sophie Ranald wrote my first meeting with Tansy during Charlotte's story. Now that Charlotte had found her own happy ending (for now), it's time for Tansy to make amend with her past. (And bty, will I get Adam's story although I'm happy that Adam was such a supportive friend for Tansy in his own clumsy way).
In Sorry Not Sorry (review here), we knew that Tansy was broken-hearted, left by Renzo. Here, we learned what drove Tansy to do her work, her daily job, her friendship, her family hardship, and most of all: the arrival of Josh, Tansy's (probable) first love. In between her strict boss, money problem, and a cat that seemed to love their house (shared with Adam and Josh while Charlotte's away), Tansy planned to get her ex back. This could only ended in tears.
I love the portrayal of Tansy, she was such a scene-stealer in Sorry Not Sorry, and now I got to properly know her. At times, I wanted to smack her head because she desperately wanted Renzo back, but then, yea, that's typical for someone who just broke up. I'm glad that she could come to terms with (almost) everything in her life and that it looked good where I left her at the end.
Recommended for chick-lit lover, it was an easy and fun read too!
It's Not You, It's Him is a delightful book about recently dumped Tansy, who sets off to win her dream man, Renzo, back. She's full of grandiose schemes to win him back, but of course, life rarely goes according to plan.
Tansy is a relatable and quirky main character, and I found myself not only amused by her hijinks and methods of reasoning to herself, but also relating to some of her struggles and insecurities. Sophie Ranald does a great job of making her characters seem real. I loved the friendship between several of the characters, but particularly between Tansy and Adam. It was sweet and a solid friendship, and it's nice to see purely platonic relationships between opposite sexes portrayed in books as well.
I definitely found myself shaking my head at Tansy's obsession with Renzo, especially as the story progresses and we learn more about his character and the relationship they had. It seemed a little unbelievable that she would want him back! But following along in her journey and seeing how she matures really brought everything together for me, and I loved the endings for all the characters.
Overall, this is a fun read perfect for fans of British chick-lit (Sophie Kinsella, anyone?) and I really enjoyed it! I would definitely pick up her previous book as well. Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy.
I started out wondering why I was reading this book about a spineless airhead. But as Tansy matured I became more and more hooked. By the end of the book I loved it. This is NOT my usual MO with books so I was surprised how much I enjoyed the whole experience. After a long time reading tense mysteries this book was a welcome change. A big thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the arc.
***I received an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and Sophie Ranald.***
I requested It's Not You It's Him, by Sophie Ranald, from NetGalley because the listing sounded fun. Tansy has been dumped by Renzo, her boyfriend of 6 months, and the only thing she wants is to win him back. Her initial strategy is to run into him “randomly” once she finds out where he’s going, followed by trying to use a fake boyfriend to make him jealous. Along the way she discovers a few things about herself and her past.
Tansy was ok. I had a little trouble relating to her. Her desperation to win Renzo back got in the way of seeing who she really was. The stuff that happened to her in grade school and high school seemed to weigh very heavily on her still. Even after the situation was explained it didn’t seem significant enough to hold a grudge as long as she did.
I liked her roommates Adam and Josh. I felt for Tansy’s situation with her parents, and was glad she got that sorted eventually.
In terms of writing, the plot was a bit muddled with little things. The book’s summary made it sound like it would be hilarious but I didn’t find it to be particularly funny. There was too much description for my liking. I also found Tansy to be in her head a lot. The backstory relating to her weight was a bit too subtle until the very end. I wish I’d understood it long before it was finally explained as it would have gone a long way towards understanding Tansy.
From the first chapter, this book had me well and truly hooked. From the start I connected with the main character, Tansy, and was able to share my emotions with her throughout.
The book touched on a subject that is very common for most women, the first love and then the brutal loss of that love. It’s Not You It’s Him painted that story perfectly, and followed Tansy through her journey to win back her ex boyfriend Renzo, whilst juggling a struggling family, a demanding job and a new, attractive housemate. A story which I’m sure we can all relate to in some way or another.
I would definitely recommend this book to others who enjoy ‘chick flick’ and ‘rom-com’ stories. I also feel that Sophie’s writing was very similar to that of Cecilia Ahern.
I look forward to seeing what Sophie has to offer in the future, and reading what’s yet to come.
This was my first book by Sophie Ranald, and there was a lot of fun in it, but there also were some serious issues as well.
The book tells the story of Tansy, whose boyfriend has recently broken up with her after Tansy admitted a secret about her past. Tansy wants to win him back, and with the help of her flatmate and current coworker of her ex, Tansy begins a plan to "run into" her ex. During this, she is struggling with her work as a fashion buyer for a luxury discount website.
Of course there is a hot new boy looming, Joshua, who Tansy knew in high school, recently back from Australia, and Tansy has recently made a new friend, the gorgeous, rich girl who may be trying to take over Tansy's job and ex-boyfriend.
While most of the book was very fun and a quick read, the author also tried to touch on way too many serious subjects: bullying, sexual abuse, addiction, anorexia, sexual harassment, child labor, and feminism, with not much success. I appreciate the author trying to tell us Tansy had/has serious issues, but these seem to have not been dealt with and glossed over or featured in a very superficial way. I would have preferred to see Tansy herself make actual progress dealing with one of these issues.
Overall it was a good summer read.
Tansy has had the worst New Years ever and all she wants is to get her boyfriend Renzo back. On her quest to win Renzo’s heart back, she is thrown several curve balls and learns to love herself in the process. This was a cute rom-com that I enjoyed. It was touted as a hilarious feel good read. Hilarious... ehh but feel good for sure. A definite summer beach read. Thank you NetGalley for the early review copy. 🌟🌟🌟🌟