Let me start by telling you that this was NOT what I was expecting. My idea of first dates after fifty is very different from what it was for the author.

Sometimes, in our late-night talks, we (I and my husband) discuss how terrifying it would be to go out there and find a new partner. It makes us appreciate having each other even more. The world has become such a complex place. Anyhow, I have envisioned how it would be. When I came across this book and read the synopsis, I assumed that it would take me on exactly that type of journey without needing to be the one dating. I was mistaken. This story tells a totally different experience from what I envisioned.

I am very grateful that the author shared her story. It made me think a lot about myself and how I see relationships and closeness. Also, enlightened about different lifestyles. It is indeed great material about self-discovery, knowing your worth, being true to yourself, and being brave.

While there are a lot of great thoughts, some things did not work for me. There is a lot of repetitiveness through dates, and the story became boring after one-third of the book. It seemed that the author was repeating the same mistakes over and over again. In the book, she focuses a lot on learning from mistakes, recognizing needs, striving to find a perfect match while, at the same time, continuing to choose unavailable and taken men for over two years. And I think she would have gained more if she broadened her search range. She was around the same crowd all the time, stepping on the same stones.

Let me be honest. It bothered me, that the author went on dates (and was sleeping) with a married man for the sake of the research. This is my personal opinion and has nothing to do with the author nor her experience. It is clear from the first page that everyone involved was aware of it and agreed. Just putting it out there that this book is quite contradictory, and those that find polygamy and sharing of partners inappropriate should either keep open-mid or avoid reading this.

Thank you to the author, She Writes Press and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the idea of a book exploring an older woman's search for a permanent partner in life. The author's story centers a strong woman that has gathered a lot of life experience, but never found that one person to settle down with, and is ready to go outside her comfort zone to do that "after fifty". However, what I read was so drenched in OTT new age eroticism and so repetitive that I lost interest within the first 50 pages. There was basically no character development that would have helped me to become invested in following the story.

After the initial pages, I found myself not connecting with the story so I decided to pass on this book. Did not finish

I did not realize this was a memoir and, honestly, continued to forget because it did not read like one. I loved this book to the point that I will probably buy it physically when it gets released! It was just wonderful. I never hear of romance of any kind for older people and I definitely don't often hear of a romance with the main character dating multiple people - unless you count a reverse harem, but this isn't the dame genre. I believe it is worth many people's time.

The cover and sypnosis drew me into wanting to read this book.
Bring a single woman in the dating world also was interesting to read how other woman date in this time. Was an over all a good book relating to putting yourself out there.

Thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an early release of thos book.

Fifty First Dates after Fifty
By Carolyn Lee Arnold

This is my first time reading a memoir and I don't know what to expect. Nevertheless, reading a memoir is such a refreshing and wonderful experience.

The thing is, I don't know if Fifty First Dates after Fifty is a book for me. While enjoying reading the book, I still questioned myself why I chose to read this book. Maybe the idea of reading a genre that is out of my comfort zone intrigued me, so I give it a try. I think the reason why I'm not enjoying this book as much as I want to because I can hardly relate to the author herself, a middle age woman who want to find a partner to settle down by going on 50 dates with different man. Despite this book introducing the greatness of accepting and loving yourself, consent and choices in relationship, women empowerment and lots of great aspects, I can't seem to be attracted or indulge with it.

I really want to like this book but I found reading this book feels more like a chore than hobby for me, so I decided to dnf it. I don't want to affect my reading because I can't fully grasp and appreciate the idea of this one book.

Perfect book for the intended audience 💖

I read this book wide eyed. I have read similar books, but this one was very forward, open, and graphic. Carolyn is looking for a partner, and assigns herself to go on 50 dates in search of him. Her definition of dating is different than mine. Her choices are very different. She does find what she sought and is happy with herself. She just has a completely different lifestyle than me. It’s an interesting read.

I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS BOOK! I hope to be Carolyn (if I’m ever in that predicament) someday. She handled singlehood so incredibly well and got to truly know herself during that time period. Her research project helped her recognize what she wanted in her “Mr. Right”; I might have to start taking cues from her. This book was so well written and I could envision every aspect!

A woman in an open relationship decides to go on 50 first dates to find her next perfect mate. Carolyn was in a relationship that ended after 7 years. She still loved him and wanted to maintain the status quo but he needed to move on and travel the world. Carolyn had been married to a man and then divorced, then lived a lesbian lifestyle for 16 years, and had been in a series of relationships that she described as short term before meeting the man she was in a serious relationship for 7 years, although she was always involved in an open relationship, having sex with others at different sex parties and relationship retreats.
This was not the book I expected from the title, but that was due to my limited imagination and life. I imagined a newly widowed or divorced 50+ year old woman who was re-entering the dating world after being in a long term monogamous relationship.
Carolyn used the dates, that occurred over a 2 year time span, to learn what she really wanted out of a relationship and what she didn't want.
The book was part personal discovery, by erotica, part sexual relationship etiquette, and part self-love story.

Thank you Net Galley for providing me with this book for free in return for an unbiased review.

First off, thank you NetGalley for the early opportunity to read this book. Unfortunately, this just wasn’t the book for me. I had a hard time with this one, but I think that there will be people out there who really like it. It did give me a lot of ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ vibes, but not for me.

I was really excited to read a book about an older woman, like me, who is trying to find a permanent partner in life. The first part of the book fit my expectations. I very much liked that the protagonist is a strong woman who has tried different paths to finding her comfort zone in relationships with others. I recognized that I know little to nothing about the weekend retreats on sexuality or nonsexual touching that factor heavily in this character's life over the decades and was initially happy to learn more. But even within the first 20% of the novel that I read, that focus became very repetitive, very fast over time that could have been spent on character development. But even more concerning to me as a reader was the increasing level of risk, just in the first part of the book, that the protagonist was willing to accept to herself as she explored this world of finding the right partner; I think I began to withdraw at that point because I wouldn't let myself come to care about this character. I'm not a big thriller novel reader and it was giving me those vibes, even though I did not read anything in a review that made me think this was a thriller.

Romance novels are my brain candy; I did not expect to DNF one. :(

Interesting..... Some fascinating thoughts and experiences but over all did quite hit home with me. Felt a little too new age for me personally

(2.25) Thank you to NetGalley for sending an eARC! Carolyn's life is incredibly interesting and I admire the way she is so open about it. However, you can tell that she is a researcher at heart, as the way this memoir was written felt very stringent. It was very point a to point b, and I had a hard time getting invested. I also disliked the way she wrote about herself, as it came across as quite conceited. I am all for self-confidence, but that wasn't how it came across to me.

What a book. This had a story line that you just were not sure how things would go. In other words, this was not boring. Details to make it intriguing and keep your attention.
The author related from her life and gave an honest upfront view.
I would heartily recommend it to other.

Besides being my first biography-memoirs genre read, this was a very interesting book. Easy to read, well written, chronologically speaking as well.

I like how the author approaches normally topics extensively judge with pride and openness; this made it a comfortable read for me.

I would recommend it for open-minded readers only, otherwise, they wouldn't capture the messages the author tries to state in her memoirs.

You can find me here: https://www.instagram.com/i_am_a_slow_reader/ https://www.facebook.com/TheSlowReadersPage/ https://twitter.com/Elliemas6

I thought Fifty Firsts Dates was a little too over the top for me. Never understood the New Age on a good day, nor free love? Had to put it down,

While this book was adorable and the cover was very visually appealing, it just wasn't the type of book I would come back and pick up. The writing style was also very personable and easy to read. I can definitely see others reading this book with much more enthusiasm than I did. It just wasn't a good fit for me.

I thought this book was very insightful and interesting. I think it’s a good look on the relationships we have and sexuality and everything that encompasses that. I think it will be interesting to pick up this book in another 30 years and see how my mindset has changed and if I have a more insightful outlook on everything. I also enjoyed the writing style of this book!


Thank you for this book!

#FiftyFirstDatesAfterFifty #NetGalley

If this book were fiction, I would recommend it as straight up erotica... It's not, though- it's a memoir. And I think that changes how I feel about the book somewhat.

"Fifty First Dates After Fifty" is the memoir of a woman in her late 50s who goes through a significant breakup and decides to date 50 different men as part of her search for a long term partner. The book is very sex positive- the author dates and is sexual with multiple men simultaneously and most of those men are also in polyamorous relationships. There are plenty of details about sex parties and relationship workshops and polyamory and honestly- it was kind of fascinating in a "this-is-so-far-outside-of-my-own-experience-but-wow" sort of way. Good for the author for knowing what she wanted, doing the work, and getting it done.

And also, I sometimes felt some annoyance with the author. She is very much the central character of her own story, and sometimes comes across as somewhat selfish, shallow, and blind to her own privilege. I tried to do some self examination- Why do I expect more from a real woman in a memoir than I would expect from a fictional woman? I don't think it's that I'm expecting perfection, I think I just wanted to see a more layered, multidimensional character, and this portrayal is flatter than I had hoped. Nevertheless, for the right reader this will be an intriguing- and perhaps even inspiring- read.

I received an arc of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. My thanks to the author, publisher, and #NetGalley for this opportunity. #FiftyFirstDatesAfterFifty

Dating in an alternative lifestyle

Carolyn, over 50 and just out of a long term relationship is looking for a new partner to fulfill her life, and also fit in with her somewhat unusual lifestyle in the Bay Area of San Francisco. She sets about going on 50 first dates to ascertain what exactly she is looking for in a man, and in the hope of finding him.
My curiosity was piqued by what would happen if Carolyn found Mr. Right after, say, 10 first dates, and how an older woman goes about dating in current times. Both questions were answered in Carolyn’s fast moving, fun memoir.
Socialising in a New Age free love community Carolyn had plenty of men available to date – the fact that many of them were not available for monogamous relationships seemed of little consequence to her. She also used internet dating sites. Carolyn gives the reader a glimpse into her busy life, her successful career, her numerous concurrent lovers and her quest to find out what she is looking for in a partner. She also shares plenty of detail about her sexual activities.
This is a bubbly, lively memoir which had me wondering how it would end. Could Carolyn ever find the right man for her? It is well written, and gave me an insight into a lifestyle I didn’t even know existed; Carolyn came across as a fun and likeable person.
3*s from me as I did not read the book blurb carefully enough, and so was expecting something very different. If the book blurb appeals to you then I highly recommend this book, and am sure many readers will be giving it 5*s.