this book was really entertaining and I can definitely see it being a hot pick this summer. definitely recommend.

This book started a little slow but then I loved it. Fun, quick read. If you're a fan of a romantic comedy then pick this one up.

Good, fun book. It started a little slow and I had a hard time getting past the immaturity of the main character, but the plot eventually started coming together.

This is a follow up to Sophie Ranald's last novel, Sorry Not Sorry, but it stands alone too. It follows the intriguing tale of Tansy Barlow, the impossibly glamorous flatmate whose shameful secret got her dumped catastrophically on New Year's Eve. Tansy is determined, come what may, to Get Renzo Back.

The reader knows that he's probably a bad lot with serious madonna vs whore issues, but like your best mate chasing an unsuitable guy, you have to let Tansy make her own mistakes and hope that one day she'll notice the hottie standing right next to her. Spoiler: there's a top notch sex scene - so difficult to write well, but Sophie Ranald nails it (so to speak...).

Tansy's exciting job as a fashion buyer in a sorta net-a-porter operation means we get a great side plotline showing the downsides to fast fashion, and a glimpse into the passion and persistence required to make it in design when you've plenty of talent but no money and no time. (Note to Bookouture: please commission the third instalment, following the lovely Chelsea as she tries to make it in haute couture.) Talking of trilogies, the three way man-cat-man bromance had me chuckling. There's nothing finer than a couple of handsome men getting gooey over a cat...

I loved this: it's frothy romance of the very best sort.

(I received a free review copy from NetGalley, thank you!)

This is a great, easy read, perfect for fans of romantic comedies. Its set (I think) in 2018 so plenty of modern-day references, the characters are great, particularly Felicity. It was refreshing to see a character in this genre that's average sized and not trying to lose weight (at least when we first meet her) and I also loved how this book developed what we knew about Tansy's work life in the fashion industry.

If you've read Sophie's previous book Sorry Not Sorry (and can remember what happened) then you will be in on Tansy's secret until about a quarter of the way through; but I don't think one way of approaching this would be better than the other, one makes you feel like you're in on the secret as to why Tansy and Renzo's relationship ended, the other adds an air of mystery, putting you in the same position as most of Tansy's friends who all seemed to have viewed their six month relationship as going really well up to its abrupt ending just before Christmas.

I wouldn't call this a sequel to Sorry Not Sorry but it does pick up where it left off and we follow some of the same characters. Its New Year's Eve and Tansy has decided on her New Year's resolution, to win back her recent ex, Renzo.  Alongside this parts of Tansy's past come back to haunt her when an old school friend becomes her new housemate, Josh's return from Australia brings back all sorts of memories from her teenage years, introducing a few more serious topics than you'd probably expect from first impressions.

A great book! Something fascinating to curl up with on a rainy evening, holding a cup of tea... The characters are believable and realistic. Kudos to the writer!

Light beachy read, I enjoyed this a lot! The reveals were predictable but that didn't dampen my appreciation.

The perfect summer read for fans of Sophie Kinsella! I really liked this story. The author describes the setting and clothing in such detail. While I enjoy the details, some parts did seem to drag on a bit. Overall I really enjoyed this clean, fun super quick romance! 3.5 stars. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for this advanced readers copy.

* 2,5 stars *

Thank you NetGalley for providing me a digital copy in return for an honest review, this hasn't altered my opinions in any way.

The book is a story about an insecure business woman trying to get back with her ex after an argument. Her plan involves making him jealous and finding out where he'll be to win him back, all this with the help of her roommate Adam and later with help of Josh her childhood friend.
It's a dramatic and modern tale of love and heartbreaks, which I enjoyed to an extent.

Well frankly, here's my problems with the book:

• People's reviews kepts describing how it was hilarious while actually I didn't see any funny scenes in it... I could say wholesome scenes, but funny? Hilarious? No.

• I felt like the author used to write fanfiction, it's not exactly badly written but simply and also the fanfiction tropes annoyed me. (E.g. describing clothes in excruciating detail and yes I know she works in the fashion industry but it was ridiculous, the moment she gets with the good guy all her problems fade away, ofc the fake dating au but I quite liked that, angsty discovery of a secret but turns out okay anyway! X2,...)

• Don't care about Chelsea's subplot and wasn't given enough to make me care about it honestly. Also didn't care about her workplace at all. You have a shitty boss, we know.

• I absolutely hated the majority of the characters because of how superficial and fake they seem, I wouldn't mingle with any of them besides Adam or Josh tbh.

• The character was telling the story first person but describes things as 'I caught myself blushing' well you cannot unless you have a mirror close. You feel the heat going to your cheeks, you don't control blushing really. (also a fanfiction writer thing actually)


Now besides this, I still have it 2,5 stars because I am a sucker for happy endings, otherwise it would've been 1,5 or 2 to be honest. Also I liked Freezer's tiny subplot. Like for some reason I really disliked pretty much any female in this book besides the mom, Chelsea's mom, Perdita and sometime Chelsea.

In general, it was the fake dating au I wanted but executed in a non-satisfactory way to me. Maybe it's because I generally don't gravitate to contemporary romance, but I just felt like the editors were lacking and the author didn't deliver as well as she could've, there is potential I know that.

I liked the premise of this, it sounded like a Sophie Kinsella or Helen Fielding kind of read. Tansy got dumped by her dream guy Renzo and she planned on getting him back. She went through all sorts of schemes and plots. This was funny enough but some parts dragged for me. Tansy had a tough school life and part of why she has her own hang ups. It continued on for her as she got older.

I wanted to see if her plans worked in getting back her ex only to realize that there were red flags she didn't realize. So many times she could've done something about the messy stuff in her life, yes I get that it's not easy but she had these thoughts in her head just didn't want to take action. I wish it had more resolution than near the end wrap it all up fast. Josh the other guy in the picture had a past with teenage Tansy and it clouded her view of him since. He grew up and was actually more mature. Tansy used him for one of her plots and it backfired.

The setting was my favorite part the whole fashion and London scene. Tansy had lots of growing to do and accepting the real her it was a good start. It did have the British rom com vibe that was always great to read. I just felt like it could have been more, the other romance was also slow lots of misunderstandings that suddenly went from zero to 100. It was an ok read but not one I read straight through.

One for fans of Mhairi MacFarlane - there are lots of similarities (though MacFarlane will always have my heart). This is a great romcom style storyline with a backstory too which reaches out and envelops the reader. Not quite as strong as the first in the series and took a bit more reading to get into it, but a good piece of work nonetheless.

Fun, clean romance with good backstory and plot. The cat Freezer was a great addition and really stole the scenes!

The synopsis of this book totally hooked me in and the novel delivered! It was funny, cheeky, and relatable. I loved the humor of the characters, the way they navigated through relationships and downfalls, and the writing style was so easy to read. I am excited to recommend this book with my friends!

I enjoyed reading it and felt it was a well-told story. While it definitely wasn’t “a hilarious rom-com,” it was a feel good exploration of womenhood in your 20s—finding a place in your career, friendships, family life, and romance.

There was a romantic element to this book, but it definitely wasn’t at the center of it. The core of this book is Tansy figuring out who she is and who she wants to be. She makes many mistakes along the way, and I enjoyed learning with/from her. If you’ve read Sophie Kinsella or Mhaire McFarlane, this was in a very similar vein. Ranald’s writing was less humorous than other rom-coms, but it was also more touching. On the surface the writing might seem breezy, but the subjects the book touches on are really relatable. It’s a credit to Ranald that she writes about some serious things without being too heavy or overwhelming; while this wasn’t “hilarious,” it also still felt light and uplifting. I really connected to Tansy and was invested in her story and I think that’s what really carries this book. I recommend this to anyone who has felt loss in their 20s/30s and needs to feel a little less alone.

TW: gambling, eating disorders.

I read an advanced reader copy of It’s Not You It’s Him. Tansy was dumped right before Christmas and she’s struggling. She enlists her roommate to spy on her ex at work to try to meet up with him. And maybe embellishes a fake boyfriend to make him jealous 🤷🏻‍♀️ As you do. ⁣
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The tag line describes this book pretty well: A fresh, funny and fabulous novel for anyone who has been dumped, got a post-break-up haircut, stalked an ex on Facebook, and then realised they were WAY better off without them. ⁣
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It’s Not You It’s Him will hit the shelves on June 18th this year. Keep an eye out for it! ⁣
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Thank you to @netgalley and @bookouture for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. ⁣
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Adam and Tansy are back, Charlotte’s room mates from “Sorry not Sorry”, as well as Renzo, who is now Tansy’ ex. Charlotte and Xander just left on their honeymoon and that leaves a room open in the house. Josh, an old school friend of Tansy moves in, as a favour to his mother, who was a mentor for Tansy at the start of her career in fashion.

I liked the book, but I found this less engaging than “Sorry not Sorry”. Tansy is a very likable woman, she works for a mean boss, but she stays because she admires his rise to the top, and she enjoys her job. She takes on a young girl to mentor, and I really enjoyed their interactions. For the most part Tansy spends her free time trying to “accidentally” run into Renzo, so she can win him back. When the issues at work seems to become too explosive, Tansy realizes that she doesn’t have to settle for this life, and she starts to make changes.

It was good to see more of Adam. He is an interesting character and tends to do and say some unpredictable things. Josh was great, but he was more in the background until the very end. The animosity Tansy has towards Josh at the start is because she is still upset about something that had happened a long time ago, and the incident at that time was due to someone else’s interference.

This was a quick, and fairly entertaining read.

I received an advanced copy of the book from Netgalley to review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

ARC provided by Net Galley and the publishing house in exchange of an honest review.

The whole time I was reading It’s Not You It’s Him, I felt like I was watching a movie. Everything in this books was so well written and it entertained me so much, that I was seeing pictures and not words.

The book follows Tansy, a 26 year old British woman working in the fashion industry. We see
the good, the bad and the funny things her life offers her. We also get to meet her friends/colleagues:
Adam, her technology « freak » best friend and house mate
Josh, the handsome boy who came back from Australia to start a life,
Felicity, her fashionable and gorgeous colleague.
And Chelsea, Tansy’s mentee, who is a aspiring fashion designer.

I really loved every single character in this book( except someone very rude and very Italian) and I found myself wanting to enter their lives and talk and laugh with them all.

One other major thing I enjoyed in this book, was the diversity. It may not scream rainbows, but there where some characters were that made me like this even more.

Major trigger warning for eating disorders. Our main character has/has one and if you’ve had something similar, I would suggest going in to the book with caution.

I really enjoyed this, and I hope I get to read more of this authors work. Thank you Net Galley!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of the book. I found this book to be slow moving up to the halfway point and very hard to maintain focus. The premise seemed interesting at first but the story was predictable and similar to other British rom coms I have read. I did enjoy the friendship between Tansy and Felicity throughout the whole book as well as Tansy and Adam. The book did pick up at the end, which enticed me to finish the book. With a little bit of further editing, I think this story could be a light, feelgood hit.

I had start by thanking net galley and the publisher/ author for providing me with E-ARC of this amazing and hillarious Rom-com/ chic lit. Ah this book is equal part funny and engaging. I had a blast reading it. Our heroine basically had a bad break up and was trying to win back the so called love of her Renzo back. Tansy did some pretty crazy think from stalking him to use Josh along the way to win back her ex boyfriend. But unfirtunately this funny,sarcastic,hardworking and kind girl fell in love with Josh along the way and fell out of love with Renzo( which was long due BTW). I think the matter which led to Renzo and Tansy's breakup was pretty serious and I hated Renzo very much due his personality which plain sucks! One more positive thing about this book was Adam and Tansy's friendship which is to say was awesome! Everyone needs friends like that! And the romantic moments between jost and tansy was enjoyable to say the least. I definately recomment this book. Its a straight up ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐read for me! Hope everyone likes it too.

I could not put this book down!! I was in love from the first page. The main character was someone I want to have coffee with. It was like talking to your girlfriends while reading this book. Amazing work!!