The Dating Game is my first book by author Sandy Baker

In this book we meet Abigail, who is an aspiring big-name journalist who currently writes sassy recaps of reality TV shows under a pseudonym for the online blog, Feed Your Mind. When her post gets discovered by the producer of The Stag, a popular British reality TV show; she is invited, undercover, to join the next season of the show to be able to write better recaps. The premise is of a reality TV show that’s similar to The Bachelorette. A group of 12 (6 from the UK and 6 from Australia) women are invited to Sydney, Australia to compete against each other to find love with The Stag.

I thought this was a quick, witty, sweet, funny book. I want to read more by this author and would definitely recommend to my followers.

I received an arc from netgalley.

This book was so cute. As an avid dating reality television watcher I was very excited for this book and it did not disappoint. It had very cute moments between the main couple that I loved but it didn't have anything that particularly stuck out to me. I feel as though this book would greatly benefit from having duel POV. Understanding where Jack is coming from and what he is doing in certain moments would add something to the book but overall I really enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and One More Chapter/Harper Collins UK for an ARC of The Dating Game!

When journalist Abby Jones article about a popular dating show goes viral, she finds herself given and opportunity that she (literally) cannot ignore - the chance to join the next season of the show as a contestant. However, she is really just undercover to write behind the scenes articles as the show is filmed. She connects with one of the producers, Jack, throughout filming, and finds out that there might be more for her on this show than she bargained for.

It's summer and seriously all I want to read is fluffy romance novels and this totally fit the bill! I finished it in one evening. It was light and breezy and a good summer read. I actually laughed out loud a few times - particularly in relation to Kaz's antics (please, please can she get her own book?! She was hilarious!). I think the tension between Abby and Jack was actually done pretty well but I was a bit disappointed in the lack of spice included :)

I loved the premise of this cute little "Bachelor" inspired book. An author of a blog is invited to participate in the dating show she reviews each week, only to end up finding love with a producer.

Unfortunately for me, I couldn't get into it. The humor didn't work for me. I didn't feel the chemistry. I didn't like the FMC.

It wasn't terrible. Just...not for me, I think.

Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC.

I really wanted to like this one. But it reminded me of so many other reality tv based books and this just didn’t do it for me. The writing wasn’t smooth and the dialogue didn’t flow for me. The main characters kind of got on my nerves too. I wanted to like them but the way they handled situations seemed childish and not their age. I wish I liked it more.

What happens when an undercover journalist infiltrates a reality TV dating programme, and perhaps even falls in love? Though not necessarily with the male contestant of the show...

This rom com sports an original, entertaining premise, ripe for the age of reality TV, and I loved the female friendships which developed along the way. Wit galore and a beautiful setting make this a fun and refreshing read.

As a Bachelorette / Bachelor fan, I was eagerly anticipating this novel which features a journalist going undercover on a similar reality show. Although I did fly through it, nothing in particular stuck out to me as especially memorable.

Abby Jones wants to be a serious journalist, but she's most famous for her witty, biting recaps of The Stag. When she is voluntold to go undercover as one of the "Does", she at least hopes she can turn the experience into a legitimate expose of the show.

Things get complicated when she forms relationships with a few other women and falls hard for one of the producers.

Ultimately, this is an easy, cute read but I can't say it has the depth or exceptional writing I value in my most recommended contemporary romances. Any fan of this type of reality show will enjoy the premise no matter what, though!

This was a very enjoyable, quick read! Abby is a popular writer that reviews a popular reality TV show similar to The Bachelor. She agrees to go on the show undercover to get information to write in her reviews, but before she even starts filming, she meets Jack, a producer on the show. There is a meet cute and instant chemistry between Abby and Jack, but they deny their attraction for each other at the start. The show’s lead, Daniel, takes interest in Abby, but she can’t stand to be around him. I appreciated the lack of drama in Abby and Jack’s relationship once they got together, but I wish there were more romantic scenes with the two of them. I really liked all of the girls on the show and the way that they cared for one another. I’ve read a few books inspired by The Bachelor, but this one was unique and definitely my favorite.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!

this book says it's a romance but there really wasn't much romance at all. There was no tension or chemistry.

Not for me.

Abby is a writer - is writing recaps of trashy reality TV her dream job? No, but it pays the bills. And it’s just her luck when the producers of The Stag see her recap that is boosting ratings for the show and ask her to come along - not just as a behind the scenes writer, but as a contestant. She’ll be playing the game, and writing the recaps all from sunny Sydney. And with a hot Australian producer in her sights, will the “Stag” even have a chance?

I love the drama that these books are full of - when I watch the Bachelor in snippets (usually because a family member puts in on) I feel my brain cells jumping ship. Watching a horde of women put each other down in order to achieve romantic success and/or fame is a bit much for me. But seeing the behind the scenes? I’m a sucker for it. Seeing how the producers spin a story through editing and guidance is so fascinating, and I’m much more interested in seeing both the result and the actuality of the situation - something you get lots of in this book!

What I liked most about this book was that it put female friendships at the forefront. Yes we’ve got villains to cheer against here too, but Abby’s perspective brings us lots of camaraderie amongst the women in the house. They stick up for each other, and lift each other up for the most part, and it was nice to see how that friendship evolved as the stakes got higher.

Abby’s recaps were a great way to move along the story without us needing to experience everything with Abby firsthand. The snarky style of writing was a lot of fun to read. And the sweet little romance was great too! It really wasn’t the focus of the story, so keep that in mind. Nothing steamy in this book, only a bit of kissing!

This book is for fans of love Island and the bachelor. Abby a gossip journalist decides to go under cover and see what really happens hopefully to advance her career. Fun quick read with some laugh out loud moments.

Th is book was cute! Based on a reality tv show similar to the Bachelor, the book explores what happens when a gossip columnist goes undercover as a contestant. While the storyline was interesting, I found it hard it hard to keep track of the point of view, whether it was the real Abby, contestant Abby or the gossip columnist. There were a lot of details which some times drew out parts of the novel.

Overall, this is a cute and light hearted read. I would recommend if you enjoy the Bachelor franchise, reality tv and lots of gossip!

Thank you NetGalley & One More Chapter for the advanced copy for an honest review.

Abby Jones has aspirations of being a serious expose journalist. Instead, she’s corralled by her editor into writing recaps of reality TV under a secret identity. When the hilarious and snarky voice of Anastasia Blabbergasted goes viral after a recap of The Stag—a popular dating show—Abby finds herself assigned to writing recaps onset in beautiful Sydney, Australia. But the producers don’t just want Abby writing the recaps from the sidelines, they want her on the show as a contestant. Followed by cameras and pretending to be someone she’s not is the last thing Abby wants to do. But when friendships with the other contestants, and a secret romance with the producer develops, Abby actually begins to enjoy her time onset. That is, until she’s finding it hard to keep her secret life and the real one separate.

The Dating Game was such a fun read! As someone who despises reality television, especially shows like The Bachelor, I enjoyed the behind-the-scenes aspect of the story illustrating how scripted and fake these shows are. But the book does a great job of maintaining a positive perspective so that those who do watch dating shows will still enjoy the book, rather than feeling like something they love is being mocked and ridiculed.


Things I loved:

- The unexpected friendships amongst the women in the house. This was the best part of the story, in my opinion. There were a couple “villains” of course, as there always will be in life. But to have a story where a group of women, despite competing for the affection of one man, built each other up and fostered uplifting friendships was incredibly refreshing.
- As the central romance was focused between Abby and the producer, Jack, I had almost expected there to be the issue of a love-triangle once Abby got to know The Stag (basically The Bachelor). I was pleasantly surprised this wasn’t the case. In this regard, I didn’t predict major plot points, and thoroughly enjoyed being surprised by the story, rather than easily predicting it.
- I loved reading Anastasia’s recaps of The Stag. She had a hilarious voice, and I looked forward to hearing her recaps, and how Abby would write them while trying to separate her experiences on the show to Anastasia’s.


Things I didn’t love:

- Abigail had high hopes for her future as a hard-hitting journalist, and the expose she was working on while onset was what she needed to jump-start her career. At the end of the book, she abandons the expose, and although it’s assumed she isn’t abandoning her dreams of journalism, it almost feels like that’s the case. Her focus shifts to figuring out how to maintain her relationship with a man who lives in a different country.
- Anastasia’s articles weren’t formatted separately from the rest of the text. It was difficult to understand if I was reading Abby’s inner dialogue, or Anastasia’s writing. I would go from reading an article straight into inner dialogue not realizing there’d been a change, and have to back track and re-read because I was so confused. It would have been nice if the writing had been given a different font, or at the very least paragraph breaks to show the end/start of an article/text. (This may be more of an editing/publishing issue rather than the fault of the author, but was nonetheless frustrating.)
- Abby’s best friend, Lisa, is a major part of the story, and is described as having a “top-secret job, likely as a spy.” This comes off almost like a joke, an ongoing one throughout the story, yet it has no conclusion. I’m left wanting an answer to what Lisa’s job actually is, and reads almost as if it’s a set-up to a spin-off for Lisa. According to Sandy Barker’s Goodreads, The Dating Game is a standalone. If this is the case, I feel as though this whole secretive job/ongoing-joke-but-not-a-joke was an unnecessary addition to the story, and provided nothing but more unanswered questions.

I’m rating The Dating Game by Sandy Barker four stars. Thank you to NetGalley, One More Chapter/Harper Collins UK, and Sandy Barker for providing me a digital ARC. Be sure to pick up The Dating Game on September 10, 2021.

I thoroughly enjoyed this light and fun romance story! This caught me be surprise with its clever characters and wit. I enjoyed the British and Australian settings, as well as the influences on their dialogue. It's always fun to read British and Aussie slang words, since they're so different from my own dialect. I enjoyed the lighthearted story with lots of expected moments with different rivalries on this "Bachelor" style reality tv show as well as some sweet heart to heart, positive female friendship moments. I enjoyed how this subverted my expectations and was told from a unique perspective. This main character's trajectory is unique and I give the author lots of props for originality. This was a fun and enjoyable, lighthearted summer read. I'm glad that I checked out this book!

Content: abandonment (absent father figure), forbidden romance trope, reality show competition (depiction for tv vs. reality), investigative journalism, some swoonworthy kisses

To be completely transparent, I requested this because I've been watching Love Island and wanted to get a quick hit of drama. I wasn't expecting this to be as great as it is.

Barker's managed to write THE rom-com of the summer as far as I'm concerned. This book is charming and funny, and the romance is suuuuch a compelling slow-burn. This was a joy to read and I cannot recommend it enough for anyone who's looking for something light-hearted and engaging.

The Dating Game follows Abby Jones as she joins a reality show looking for love. But actually she's there to write about the show and has no interest in finding love with the Stag.

This book confused me because its classified as a romcom or a romance. There was very little romance, the two characters rarely interact that we see. A lot of their moments are briefly touched on but in past tense. Instead of this book having fade to black for more adult scenes, it instead as fade to black for bonding moments between the protagonist and her love interest. The only time we see them interact is usually when they're fighting. So in my opinion this was not a romance.

What it actually seemed to be about was the relationships between the women on the show. There was so much character development shown from the other contestants on the show. I loved the girl bonding and them sticking up for each other. However, the book is supposed to be a romance so for me I have to give it a 2.5/5. I was just disappointed because I was looking forward to a romance and their meet cute was promising. I think Abby is such an interesting and beautiful character though.

I received a digital copy of this book free from NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5 stars

I was looking to change up my reading palate and thought <b>The Dating Game</b> would be the perfect book to do just that.

Abigail is an aspiring big-name journalist who currently writes sassy recaps of reality TV shows under a pseudonym for the online blog, Feed Your Mind. When her post gets discovered by the producer of The Stag, a popular British reality TV show; she is invited, undercover, to join the next season of the show to be able to write better recaps. The premise is of a reality TV show that’s similar to The Bachelorette. A group of 12 (6 from the UK and 6 from Australia) women are invited to Sydney, Australia to compete against each other to find love with The Stag.

I thought it was a quick and easy read. Simple to follow along and interesting enough to keep me invested. Abigail is juggling multiple personas as we go through this book. She is simply herself; her pseudonym, Anastasia Blabbergasted; and Doe Abby. Ultimately, what it comes down to, in my opinion, is Abigail attempting to reconcile her many views of herself into one person and to <u>value</u> that person. This may not have been the main goal or intention of the book but it was nice to see Abigail grow into herself and her potential as a strong and more self-assured person.

To give the author credit, reading this was a lot like watching a reality TV show. There’s drama, cute moments, and lots of bonding between the women. There’s also a lot of cattiness. And when you thought you knew where things were going… well, you could often be wrong. What I did not especially love was the set up of the book, or I guess the writing structure, to be specific. I often had trouble figuring out what was happening… are we in Abigail’s thoughts? Are we speaking? Are we reading a blog post? There was a lot of ambiguity, in my opinion, of the different sections. This, of course, can be easily fixed and will greatly enhance the reader’s ease in following along.

The ending of the TV show came as a pleasant surprise, with a neat little twist thrown in. It was truly the best ending that could have been had.

Throughout the novel, we have many flirtatious scenes and thoughts between Abigail and the gorgeous producer, Jack. We are left following along, never knowing until much later in the novel, whether these thoughts and feelings are reciprocated. I thought it to be a nice tangent to the main story. I would have appreciated a further look into the dynamic between these two characters, but alas, one cannot have it all. The ending was well done… if not a bit abrupt. There was definitely room for a more developed conclusion.

All in all, a quick, fun read!

<i>I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for this advanced digital copy and the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for an honest review! All opinions expressed are my own. Upon publishing of this novel, I will also be posting my review to Amazon Canada.</i>

While this didn’t feel like Sandy’s usual ‘armchair travel’ books, I thoroughly enjoyed The Dating Game and found it a fun and easy read. It was full of this author’s trademark warmth, wit and emotional angst. The story was also very original (there aren’t many books around that are set in the middle of a reality TV dating show) and there was heaps of friendship, and female solidarity, which Sandy is particularly good at - as well as a hot love interest.

I was really rooting for the main character Abby, but I was also emotionally invested in seeing how the other Does would fare, and what they’d do. This book was much more than a light read about an undercover girl who falls in love with a guy she can’t have - it was also about identity, and believing in yourself and what you have to offer the world.

Reading this after a long day at work was refreshing and like relaxing with a friend for a chat with a glass of wine to hand.

With thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

The Dating Game by Sandy Barker stars Abby Jones, a woman with dreams of being a serious writer that ends up writing recaps of reality shows like "The Stag" under her pseudonym Anastasia Blabbergasted. When her most recent recap goes viral, she is voluntold by her agent that the producers want her on the show as a plant to get the juiciest gossip to write more recaps. This one was so much fun! I loved that it went further than a typical romance, and focused on the dynamics of the "Does" with some romance sprinkled in later. This was a funny, light-hearted read!

This was a quick & enjoyable read. I loved the snarky recap articles - very much my take on these types of shows! I enjoyed the drama with the Does & rolled my eyes any time the Stag was on the page. I thought the ending was great & there were many laugh out loud moments.

Thanks to One More Chapter & NetGalley for the DRC in exchange for an honest review.