Honestly, I need to say up front that as a Japanese- American woman, I may be a little biased as we do not see a lot of representation in romance novels these days. I think that a common trope when it comes to seeing any kind of Asian American in a book is that they are going to have a toxic family life. This was not an exception to that. It is something I have some experience with but in a different way than the main character. It was an interesting and quick read for me. Not the next great American novel by any means but it was a cute fun book!

Thanks to NetGalley & St Martin's for an eARC of this book.

I have mixed feelings about this book. It was a quick and easy read. I thought the dog and the niece were adorable and they both made me smile. However, the insta-love was way too quick, and his feelings left over from grade school just seemed unrealistic. I didn't think recalling the late father's bad temper added to the story, and it felt out of place. As much as I like bacon, I got tired of hearing about it and I never enjoy fat shaming. Overall, I thought this book was a bit of a mess.

I absolutely devoured this in one day! This was such a fun rom com easy read. I was given an ARC by Netgalley & St. Martins Press in exchange for an honest review. These thoughts are my own opinion.

We meet Sora who is a writer for a website called Sleek. She is over men especially over her ex husband Marley. It’s February and Sora absolutely hates Valentine’s Day and has for most of her life. She creates #SoloFebruary where every day she is going to write a new article about finding self love and staying strong no dates, intimacy or relationships during the month of February. But life has a way of throwing curve balls at you when you least expect it.
Incomes Jack who is working at the pastry area in the grocery store who pretends to be Sora’s boyfriend after she sees her ex husband and his new girl there. Jack has loved Sora since Kindergarten when stood up for him when he was “Piggy Jack.” Sora has feelings to but is it worth loosing her job over a man that could possibly disappoint her again?

Quite a few trigger warnings: fat shaming, miscarriage, toxic parental & family relationships. Yes I could have done without some of the brutal negative body talk that is thrown Sora’s way by her mother and sister but the book still has a lot of redeeming qualities. I really enjoyed each of the articles that Sora wrote and the relationship between her and Jack. I absolutely hate the miscommunication trope! For the life of me I can never understand just talk like adults. My favourite quote was “ Love comes when you least expect it. That’s why they need to make security surveillance systems for the heart.”

I enjoyed my time reading this ARC and hope readers take a chance on love and pick this up on Jan 31,23.

I really enjoyed this story! I was captivated by the title and cute cover and am so glad I had an opportunity to read it! I liked the idea that the main character wanted to be single but found herself falling in love regardless.

oooof did not love this book. The premise sounded great, I love a slow burn romance but it was not what I expected. I expected the tension to last a long time but the characters gave in too quickly and it wasn't satisfying. I didn't like how much the main character talked about food and body shapes, it was distracting and not done well. It was also too instant of love for me. Also, it's hard for me to believe a crush from elementary school leaves that much of a mark?? It was a little cheesy.

This was a cute, sweet and very funny Romance novel. I really enjoyed it for the most part. Sora is absolutely fantastic and Jack, well he's pretty much perfect. Maybe a little too perfect, but it's a Romance novel so I'm ok with that. I really liked Sora's interactions with her best friend and her family and Jack with his niece was heart-meltingly cute. Overall there was so much cuteness and joy and laughter in this book that whenever anything darker was mentioned it really jarred me, I found it almost startling when things like grief over a loss or scary bouts of uncontrollable rage were mentioned. They just mostly didn't seem to belong in this funny, frothy Romance. I get it, maybe some people want that sort of reality based depth to their characters, but I just was kind of jolted out of the story whenever it happened. Overall it was a cute and frothy read with some really great humor.

This was a cute book without a doubt but it left me wishing it had been more. The main thing missing from this Romance was the actual love story. The main Characters spent hardly anytime together and to an extent I feel like we were just told it was love and expected to believe it.
What I loved:
- The meet cute was adorable
- The conclusion was sweet and memorable
- Same can be said for the epilogue.
- While I've never read any previous works by this author, this is her fist using her maiden name from what I understand, and my guess is that is in an effort to be more authentic to her heritage, and I'm here for it. I also loved the small touches of Japanese culture this book afforded us.
- The characters were earnest and endearing, loved them.

As for what I didn't love, as previously mentioned, I wish Jack & Sora actually spent more time together in the book so that we could feel them falling in love rather than just being told it happened.

This book was a great Valentine’s Day romance and I loved the idea of #gosolo February. Sora’s challenges were relatable throughout the book; her struggle with failed relationships and finally finding someone when she couldn’t commit to a relationship added to her character. Some of the jokes were hilarious and the side characters were really sweet but unfortunately somewhat neglected past the halfway point. The multiple POV’s in this book were really beneficial in forming Jack’s character as well. However, consistently referring to the his hands as ‘paws’ made me slightly uncomfortable. I still recommend this book for anyone who has ever been unlucky in love, and, like Sora, is waiting for their Jack.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I started off really liking this one but it quickly delved into a hot mess. Did you know there are many, many other foods than bacon or salad to eat for a healthy relationship with food? I’m not huge into salad, but I don’t eat bacon every day either. Imagine. Sorry, that was just a big pet peeve of mine. The MC was supposed to be relatable at a size 14 but all she ate was sweets and bacon. You can eat a fairly balanced diet and still be a size 14. Also, if you want to eat healthier, you don’t just get to eat “sad salads.” There’s a whole range of great foods and there’s also a beautiful thing called moderation. I realize what she ate wasn’t the plot of the book, but it could have been as much as bacon was mentioned.

As far as the actual plot and love story went, what they felt was lust, not love, and how hard is it to say, “I think you’re cute but I’m doing this solo challenge that’s important to me and my job so I can’t date you right now.” What about a book where the MC actually does this and takes care of herself in a non-man hating, non-only eating bacon kind of way. Then the whole reason she got mad at poor Jack in the end?! He left the table where his “date” was to run after her. That doesn’t clue her in he’s telling the truth?

I just have such a short fuse for immature MC these days. You are a grown woman who owns a home and has a job. You shouldn’t have needed a therapist best friend to clue you in to how to be an actual adult (and why did said best friend not have that conversation with her earlier?).

Too many unlikeable females in a supposedly female-empowering novel, except maybe that best friend. All of the women were shallow and/or mean but all of a sudden become better people in the end conveniently but not realistically. Years of being spoiled and getting what she wants and being a pretty awful person and one conversation in a coffee house turns Mal into the person that would track her ex’s crush down to make things right? Sigh.

I liked Larry the dog though.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

A solid 3 stars. It started out closer to 5, but declined at about 60% when the personalities of the main characters seemed to lose their consistency, especially Sora. She went from smart, witty and hilarious to selfish and whiny. I was happy to see growth in her, the mom, sister, and Jack's ex.

Overall a good debut, but I wish it had ended as strong as it began.

This was an easy-breezy, one-sitting read for me. Sora is a freelance writer who would love to be promoted to a full-time gig. After discovering that her boyfriend is married and was cheating on his wife with her, she declares that she will swear off dating for the entire month of February. She pitches a story on her #gosolo pledge to her editor, who loves the idea -- and before long, Sora's posts go viral, with readers across the country cheering Sora on and promising to follow her example.

Unfortunately for Sora's journalistic credibility, early in the month she runs into an old schoolmate, Jack. Sparks fly, and Sora's resolve is thoroughly tested, especially when Jack confesses that he had a crush on her all those years ago.

I was kind of hoping this would be a slow-burn romance, with the two of them unable to keep their hands off each other but having to do so because of Sora's work commitment, but they jump into bed almost immediately (leading to wacky hijinks when Sora's boss comes over the next morning). I loved the fact that Sora had a one-eyed rescue dog, but as a dog owner myself, I tend to get way too invested in fictional pets; when Sora injured her ankle, for instance, and Jack had to carry her up the stairs to her third-floor walk-up, I couldn't help but wonder who was going to take the dog out for his bathroom breaks?! (Her neighbor hates dogs, so no luck there.)

"The Second You're Single" will be published on Jan. 31, just in time for those who prefer Galentine's Day to Valentine's Day. Thank you to St. Martin's Griffin for the review copy via NetGalley.

Hmm… complex feelings in the air!

I have to admit;the book’s BIPOC, Asian culture and LGBTQ representations were realistic.
But three things made me irritated:
1)Mixed, dislikable, conflicting approach to body and weight image!
2)The very insta love and lack of chemistry between main characters
3)The unfair crazy ex-girlfriend approach.

I was so hopeful to read about women’s fiction with more feminism vibes after checking the blurb! It was promising to read a romance centered on midsize heroine.

Sora could be more likable character if she stops her long monologues, quitting to mention about her endless love for bacon!

Jack was dreamy-picture perfect boyfriend material: blond, blue eyed, hot and he’s a baker! He is in love with the heroine since elementary school but I didn’t feel that intense chemistry between them so I found their love a little unrealistic.

Last third: there’s a quick angsty part which resolved faster than I expected and lost its effect instantly.

Overall: it’s still fast reading, some parts are entertaining but it’s not catchy and heartfelt enough to stay on your mind for a long time. So I decided to give solid three stars to move on my next reads.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/ St. Martin’s Griffin for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

I’m keeping this review short because I don’t want to speak negatively about it needlessly; this book might be other’s cup of tea but it was not mine.The whole premise, while sounding good in theory, The whole premise, while sounding good in theory, but the execution was very lacking.but the execution was very lacking.
It's a decent read with good representation.

Sadly, this one just wasn't for me.

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I don't think this book was for me. The premise sounded great and I was excited, but it fell flat. Kudos to the plus-sized main character rep, but all of the comments surrounding size and body types and weigh did not leave a good taste in my mouth.

(Also, not sure about the bacon obsession, but it felt intense and went overboard. I feel like it went from a fun character quirk to intensely irritating fairly quickly.)

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and the Cara Tanamachi for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

This sounded like a fairly interested read, but I realized very quickly it really really was not for me. The writing at times felt too wordy, and clunky to read through.

Sora had about 2 personality traits, hating Valentine's day and loving bacon. After the first chapter had multiple mentions of her love of bacon, I decided to literally tally how many mentions there were in the book of bacon... there were <i>22</i>. Was this supposed to be a quirky thing because she's a plus sized character? If so, it was irritating. Her mom and sister constantly were body shaming her, and Sora herself even says she couldn't fit into a dress because she ate too much bacon.

For a character that is comfortable in her own body, Sora sure did criticize other people's. This book felt like constant negative judgements about the people around her. Such an extreme amount of criticizing people's bodies throughout this book and it was aggravating.

The concept of this book was fun, writing down her experiences not dating for an entire month! Except it fell really flat when she couldn't even stick with it half way through the month.

There's a whole list of things that made my eye twitch while reading this.


Thank you Netgalley, Cara Tanamachi, and St. Martin's Griffin this read now ARC in exchange for an honest review.

1 star.

I found this book via the Read Now feature. To be honest, I was only semi-interested in reading it. After reading my friend Hannah B's review, however, I am not interested at all in reading a book with conflicting messages about weight and body image. No thanks.

I love seeing midsize rep but this book did not make me, a midsize person, feel comfortable. There were too many offhand comments made by SORA let alone every other fricken character in this book besides maybe Jack. She was constantly concerned about people’s eating habits, weights, and bodies—making broad generalizations and weird comments.

She was also obsessed with bacon which was just plain weird. Sure, make the midsize character obsessed with food to the point of a gimmick. Other characters would call out the way she talked about bacon, and it was even used as a way to shame her since she didn’t fit into a bridesmaid dress due to her overconsumption.

Jack was “chubby” as a kid but “lost a bunch of weight and went on a diet” and “looks great” now. Not a message I necessarily needed to read about. He did say he didn’t want people to always mention how he lost weight, but everyone around him including Sora gave that vibe. Sora initially said he had a slight beer belly but not “gross big.” Again, not a comment I like to see. Then when she sees him naked, he’s not “too skinny or too fat.” Again again, le sigh.

✨

Women were constantly villainized as plot points and given pretty poor arcs. Mal’s character was tiresome, but I do think it brought up good points of men also being the victim of stalking and invasive behaviors. I just think it could’ve been handled in less of a cookie-cutter tropey way of “crazy ex girlfriend.”

I also did not like Jack’s POV sections. He used the phrase “AF” right away and I got the ick. He generally did not sound like a real person, especially his beginning parts. His part in the third act breakup was tiresome and wholly expected. I also did not like how Jack was so cagey about admitting he slept with Mal the week before he saw Sora at the grocery store. He was hiding it and making her feel weird about being slightly concerned.

✨

Overall, the vibe of this book was weird and off-putting. The concept seems cool but the “no sex and dating” February thing was just a poor way to make the relationship forbidden, since they literally had sex before 50%. It just really made no sense why they couldn’t wait the two weeks.

Jack was weird about it when he literally knew she was holding off on dating because of her job. Then Sora reveals it all in a wishy washy article, naturally gets hate, “explains herself” in another wishy washy article, and everything is fine again.

⭐️.25/5 🌶.5*/5


*Sex was talked about, but there wasn’t any explicit language or scenes. It was closed door and tile jump to next morning. One of my biggest pet peeves is closed door shutting us out of sex, but then CONSTANTLY bringing up just how crazy and bananas the sex was and how good it was. All. The. Time.

** Also in one of Sora’s articles she was like “scientific evidence shows single people are happier than married people” but cites no sources. I’m sorry but that’s a lazy article right there are we sure she’s a professional? No I’m absolutely not sure. If you’re gonna include articles and stuff that the MC writes, make sure they actually sound like they’d gain the traction of 400,000 likes.


CWs: body shaming, weight shaming, cancer, miscarriage, pandemic mentions, cheating (not between MCs)

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this Read Now eARC. All opinions are honest and my own.

Sora is in her mid-twenties and stuck. She has a home and a job she doesn't love. Burned too many times by romance gone wrong, she blogs about boycotting men during the month of February, gains a following on social media, impresses her boss, and has a meet-cute with a drop-dead handsome man. Who, it turns out, has been in love with Sora Reid since elementary school. Now the trick is for Sora and Jack to navigate a budding romance in the face of all the pressures: her disappointed mother, her bridezilla sister, her vapid boss, Jack's stalker-level ex. A good romance and the ending made me cry happy tears.

Freelance writer Sora pledges to remain single but falls for Jack, a baker. Can she keep her resolve to remain single or will she allow herself to fall in love?

Love both characters and I love how they grow together. Jack is a prize and so is Sora. :) I wish that they see that about themselves earlier. The humor and romance in the book are outstanding. I love the subtle inclusion of a multi-cultural world in the book because that's the reality in our world! A totally charming rom-com.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

Sora is a freelance magazine writer who has been burned so many times by shady men that she decides to stay single for the month of February and she takes her readers along for the ride. This immediately takes off and becomes a whole movement of women who join her and choose to date themselves. Sora’s career is finally gaining traction and she is learning to take care of herself when a chance encounter with a childhood friend puts her in a sticky situation where she has to choose between the perfect man and staying true to her readers.

The beginning of this book had me smiling from ear to ear because it was just so cute. I am sure many people will add Jack to their list of book boyfriends. He’s very handsome and exceptionally kind and HE CAN BAKE! What more could you ask for?

I think Sora’s self-care journey was important for her character development. Growing up with parents who push you to be quiet and not make trouble can make it hard to learn to prioritize your needs and to speak up for yourself, so I really enjoyed watching her break out of her shell.

Overall, this was a cute love story with some added depth. I enjoyed the dual POV and the childhood friends to lovers trope and it had some absolutely hilarious moments. I also thought the epilogue was so heartwarming. I would recommend this to anyone who loves romance, rescue dogs, and especially bacon!

Thank you so much to St. Martin’s Griffin and NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions are my own.