The Second You’re Single by Cara Tanamachi
Pub. date: Feb. 14/23
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you are looking for a sweet romantic story then this is for you. Cara Tanamachi has created characters who are witty and likeable. A writer, Sora, tries to find a way to get through February with her heart intact. Having been through some difficult relationships she hopes to change the focus on loving herself and encourages others to do the same via her magazine column. However then comes Jack. The loveable pastry chef who turns her life upside down which is both good and bad. The story is written from both points of view thus providing the opportunity to get more insight into both Sora and Jack. Overall this book is a bit predictable but enjoyable all the same.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Matins Griffin for the opportunity to read this eARC.

Although I read this Valentine-themed book in October, I can easily recommend it for the season we either love or love to hate. I’ll be honest— I wasn’t sure if Sora was going to make the most of her solo challenge. Self-care is so much more than pampering (which she eventually realizes). I liked the evolution of her character. It wasn’t extreme, which made it more believable. This is a quick, light read and good for anyone who’s ever been tired of dating.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sora Reid detests valentine’s day. I mean, why wouldn’t she, after a string of bad relationships, including a divorce, she has every right to abhor that holiday that plays on single women’s frustration, as well as the pressure and the humiliation that comes with being on your own at that particular time of the year.

So Sora decides that enough is enough, playing on her hate for Valentine’s day, Sora took inspiration for her slightly viral blog series; #Gosolo. Sora decides to become committed solely to self-love until the end of February. And all seems well until she runs across an old elementary school classmate, Jack Mann.

Jack had a crush on Sora in elementary school, but there wasn't much to indicate why he still did in the present. The heroine's judgemental nature was another element that I found unsatisfactory. She was always critiquing the physical appearance of others. Sora really wants to stand out as "not like the other girls” but in 2022, I'm so sick of that cliché.

To be quite honest, the overt fatphobia in this book really got under my skin. The main female character is such a dumb stereotype for a "fat" character. This was one of the parts that made me slightly annoyed with the book and I struggled to read those parts.

This book's idea—writing down her experiences of going a month without dating—was interesting. But when she couldn't even maintain it halfway through the month, it truly fell flat.

2 stars, I really wanted to like this book, but it just wasn’t doing it for me.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5035682219

Sora is a freelance writer who loves bacon and her one-eyed rescue dog, Larry. Her past relationships have left her a bit jaded. Sora decides February will be spent focused solely on her. She pitches the idea of a Solo February blog series to her editor and it's a hit. So many people love the idea. Saying no to all things involving coupledom isn't easy, especially when maybe Mr. Right is right in front of you.
I loved this book. It had everything and then more. From family issues to relationship woes to career decisions, this story went there and back. Life is never wrapped up in a neat package. It would be nice if we could take things at face value, but we are conditioned to be skeptical. I liked Sora's journey. I am so glad I was able to take this journey with her. Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martins Press., for this advance copy. It was thoroughly enjoyed.

This was such a cute, sweet read for me! The characters were likeable and fun. The story held my attention and I enjoyed every part of the book!

I loved this book. This is what a true rom-com is to me. I believed in the characters, and I rooted for them.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book- my opinions are my own.

Freelance writer Sora Reid hates Valentines Day- and why shouldn’t she? With a divorce and a handful of failed relationships behind her, who could blame a girl for becoming disillusioned with the idea of love eternal? The commercialism, the pressure, the stigma of being a single woman during the month of February all inspire Sora to write her most well-read blog series #gosolo. Sora is fired up and committed to the cause of self-love- until she runs into an old elementary school friend, Jack Mann. Jack has been pining for Sora since their childhood- and when fate brings them together at a local grocery store, Jack feels like it’s now or never to make his feelings known and pursue a relationship with the one who got away.

Here’s what I liked about the novel:
- Sora’s character seemed comfortable in her own skin- she is of Japanese-American and Scottish heritage, LOVES bacon and hates exercise. She has aspirations of being a more influential writer, but seems to enjoy her career, and she has a rescue dog that steals your heart.
- I love a childhood friends to lovers trope, no matter how it plays out
- I love when love wins- whether it is winning over the anti-valentines crowd, soothing a broken heart or just bringing people together that otherwise would have missed out on a love opportunity.

Here’s what I found lacking:
- I found like I was getting a very basic view of the plot, and not really a deeper connection to characters, setting etc. It seemed a bit flat to me.
- Sora has a really heartbreaking background, and I feel like it wasn’t flushed out enough. There were some big life events that happen to her, and make her who she is today, yet they get a few sentences in passing and seem ‘rushed’.
- A few times when describing Sora’s physique or making reference to Jack as a child, I cringed a little. It might just be me, but I felt like too much emphasis was being put on Sora’s love for bacon or snack foods, or Jack’s weight as a child. I think the author’s intention was to show that people are loveable and wonderful regardless of these things, but for me, it felt a bit judgemental at times.

Overall, there is some witty banter between characters, and I was rooting for Jack Mann to win Sora’s affections, so I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a witty romance, especially Valentines themed stories.

This was another book I wanted to like but just couldn’t. I didn’t feel like Sora treated Jack very well and he was super nice to her. Plus, there was a lot of talk about weight which I didn’t love either.

🌀Synopsis
Sora’s latest freelance article - staying single for all of February. It’s something she foresees will be very easy for her. A list of tasks and things she’s going to do instead of dating. Should be simple.

Then she runs into an old school mate, Jack, at the store and he looks significantly better than when they went to school. As it turns out, he had a big crush on her back then. A crush that still lasts today.

Sora tries to balance being single for her job and wanting to date Jack. Jack insists he’ll wait for the challenge to be over and then pursue her. However, in a moment of weakness the two sleep together and Sora breaks the challenge. Now she needs to break it to her followers and figure out how to tell Jack how she really feels.

I am a big fan of rom-com books and I really wanted to like this story. There were times where I liked where the author was heading with the story and then there were times where I didn’t. The main thing that kept me from loving this book was that I didn’t feel a strong connection to Sora. I did grow very fond of Jack though and I wish we could have gotten to know his character some more!

If you like friends to lovers, sarcastic main characters, good banter, and the guy falls first trope, then this book will give you some happy feelings.

Sora is a freelance writer, who despises how commercialized valentine’s day is, and pledges to take a break from dating for the month of February; She encourages her readers to celebrate being single through her entertaining and thoughtful daily posts. My opinion is this book could have been better and here’s why.

Parts of this book are really funny, and the chemistry between Sora and Jack is clear. We do see our main characters get to know each other, but I wish their relationship was developed a bit more. He had a crush on her when they were children, they have a chance encounter as adults, and then they go from being in lust to in love pretty quickly.

I didn’t care for how judgmental Sora was about her own body and other people’s bodies. I think the representation and the intention to show body image struggles for people of all sizes was there, especially when you have a parent who is constantly criticizing their own weight and yo-yo dieting, but the execution didn’t sit well with me.

I think parts of this book were smart and sweet, but I cannot overlook certain unnecessary stereotypes.

I loved the diverse characters and realistic conversations; this book felt like a friend telling me her story. But I struggled to connect with the plot line, I think because of the suddenness of the reunion. Thank you for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"The Second You're Single" was a fun book. Sora is stuck. She lives in a condo she does not like but she cannot motivate herself to sell it and find a better place. She works as a freelance magazine writer, which is what she wants to do, but instead of writing serious articles on important topics, she writes "fluff" articles for Slick, a woman's fashion magazine. She married young to a guy who turned out be quite a loser and she has not had much success with relationships since then. It is approaching February and Valentine's Day, and she is not appreciating seeing the Valentine's Day displays, ads, etc., as she hates the holiday. Sora writes an article against Valentine's Day and stating she is vowing to stay single the entire month of February -- no dating, no dating apps, no sex -- taking a break from relationships to focus on herself. When her editor, Arial, tells her that the article she has been working on has been shelved, and is being replaced with a story that is equally uninspiring, Sora takes a risk and pitches the Solo February idea. Arial loves the idea and proposes making it a daily diary, with readers following Sora as she goes on her personal journey of being solo for the month. The series is a hit, with lots of positive feedback and readers writing in with questions about doing the challenge themselves.

However, at the beginning of the month, while at the grocery store, Sora meets "Sexy Beardstache Baker", who is passing out samples, and some serious flirting occurs. While flirting with the baker, Sora's ex-husband, Marley, and his new girlfriend approach, and introductions are made. When Marley and his girlfriend start making rude comments to Sora, the baker, whose name is Jack, steps in and introduces himself as her boyfriend, much to the shock of everyone. After Marley and his girlfriend leave, Sora and Jack continue talking, and when Jack says they have met before and talks about memories from elementary school, Sora realizes that the sexy baker is Jack Mann, a former classmate. Jack cannot believe he is talking to Sora Reid, on whom he had a crush between kindergarten and fifth grade. In school he was a chubby kid with the nickname "Piggy Jack", but he is not that chubby kid anymore. As they continue to reminisce, Jack's ex-fiancée, Mal, shows up for lunch -- a lunch date that Jack had not agreed to or planned.

A series of misadventures will bring Sora and Jack back together and a friendship will develop, and then the possibility of something more. This places Sora in quite a bind, as being with Jack violates Solo February and undermines the message that she is sending with her increasingly popular articles. Jack is willing to wait until March to start a relationship, but events end up speeding up the process. Sora's attempts to balance Solo February and her burgeoning relationship with Jack will explode, having serious repercussions for her life and career, and will seem to end any chance at a relationship with a truly good man. It will take the intervention of an unexpected character to set things right.

I received a copy of the e-book via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

This book was a cute read. It was quick and the writing style wasn't great, but in taking the story for what it was a rom com I enjoyed it. There were some parts I didn't care for, but I think Sora and Jack are a cute couple and at the same time a solo February is an intriguing concept considering all the commercialness of the month of love.

Overall it's a cute cold weather read and I enjoyed it.

This was such a cute and quick romance read. Sora swears off men for a February work assignment and quickly finds herself going viral. At the same time, she reconnects with someone from her past and suddenly ends up stuck between her duties to her work & new #gosolo movement and Jack who she is quickly falling for. I appreciated that even the bad guys weren't pure evil in this book.

Thanks NetGalley for the advance copy of this book.

This book was everything I wanted it to be. It had me turned pages without even realizing. It was so good!

Too much judgement in this book. It really bothered me unfortunately.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review

I just couldn’t finish this one. Our main character Sora is so judgmental, constantly making comments about what people eat, wear, their body size. It is quite the disservice to put a midsized character in a book, and make her a total bitch. She is constantly talking about bacon, it is so cliche. I am tired of the healthy at any size movement that is going on right now, it should be unhealthy at every size for our country and the relationship so many of us have with food. I just can’t tolerate reading anymore of this garbage. Sorry.

Bottom Line: Pass

**I received a copy of The Second You’re Single from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are of my own.**

This unfortunately was a hard book to read for me. The first reason being I didn't really enjoy the writing; it was very choppy and almost written like a stream of consciousness. While I was very intrigued by the idea behind the book, I think there was a lot lacking in reality. We are supposed to have Sora, a mid-sized girl who is happy to just be herself. But in reality, there is just so much talking about people's size in general, it is distracting. Why shame her skinny sister? Why constantly discuss Jack's big body? Why discuss his "beer belly" at all? I think this entire focus was really lost in translation, and instead of normalizing all bodies, or even trying to be body positive, it had quite the opposite effect. This is also written with lots of over the top scenes (eg. pages worth of bacon-grease covered hands slipping on silk in an exercise class? Does Sora not wash her hands?) as well as lots of pop culture references I think take away from the story. The romance is instalove, even though they are supposed to be pining, and the pacing just seemed off. I think if you like over the top rom-com's you may enjoy this more than I did. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to provide my honest review.

Wish I would've like this book better, dnf @24%...I really dislike this style of writing, few authors can pull of first-person present tense, and Tanamachi falls into the traps of making the story feel disjointed and choppy. No one goes around their daily life narrating everything that they do "I flip the page, I put down the book in frustration, I type my review" which makes the narrative feel weird.

I also wish there was stronger character development, everything seemed more like tell and not show. It's clear that Cara is trying to give Sora the "quirky' vibe and it comes off too much as "not like other girls." Sora's entire personality is that she like bacon. Don't get me wrong...I absolutely a d o r e bacon, but I'd like to think that I'm not solely defined by that? But it seems like the characterization here was quite lazy, where every scene Sora would either be thinking about or physically eating bacon. At this point, it seems like you're just being hit over the head with her love for bacon and that's really her only personality trait I can remember.

Also a lot of the scenes were definitely trying to push for the rom-com funny, but a lot of the comedic elements just pushed straight into cringe for me. Take the aerial yoga scene for example....if one were to teach a class where you are doing yoga while suspended by silk, I'm no expert but I would expect some sort of safety crash course in the beginning or something. But in such case where we can pretend maybe they have different levels and Sora happened to be in the expert level (which how did she even qualify with no experience) and they don't run through safety guidelines.....GIRL WHY DO YOU NOT WASH YOUR HANDS??? I think it is SOOOOO disgusting that Sorya not only a) just uses her hands to double fist bacon while driving (this is slightly more acceptable IMO) but b) DOES NOT WASH HER HANDS AFTER! She explicitly states that her entire hands are greasy and thus cannot get the traction to grab the silk things. THAT IS SO DISGUSTING how do you get grease all over and not just your fingertips and why would you not just wash before engaging in a physical activity that highly requires your hands?????

Wish I enjoyed this book more bc I love a good baker romance but sadly even the main mans (Jack) was underwhelming. Too much of a simp and has no character besides being obsessed with the girl who defended him as a child. blah.

I chose this book due to the cover art and the title but had never heard of the author. I was not disappointed! It's a cute book and I loved Sora and Jack. I didn't want the book to end and it was a very comfy read. I could totally see this book as a movie.