This is a charming rom-com about two people who run into each other many years after being elementary school classmates. Instant chemistry but the wrong timing because she just swore off dating/men for the month of February.

Sweet love story just went a little long for me. Not a bad thing. I liked the characters and the storyline. I did not love the narrator but not enough to stop listening.

While the story line was OK - the narration of this audiobook was hard to get through. So it took me longer to finish as I would choose other choices before starting this one back up. Maybe had I read it I would have been able to finish quicker.

Sora and an old flame Jack have both been burned in failed relationships but manage in the end to find each other again and perhaps get a chance to see things differently.

I like the plot that focuses on the excesses of the Valentine's Day traditions of romantic love, chocolates, red roses, etc. Sora decides to publicize and write about her decision to go solo in February and her #gosolo articles are a hit online with similarly discouraged young women who can relate to the sentiment. When true romance with Jack interferes with Sora's plans to #gosolo, there is a resulting plot twist that should delight romance readers.

I enjoyed listening to Jack and Sora reading their chapters in the audiobook, but wondered why the two readers were not used all the time to portray their characters. For example, in the chapters read by Sora, the female reader impersonates Jack in speech. And vice versa, the character who reads as Jack in his chapters imitates the voice of Sora. Why not use the male and female readers in all the chapters? That was puzzling and a negative in the audiobook version.

3.5 stars!

I thought this was a cute romance with witty writing and I enjoyed the audiobook format which was narrated by Michael Braun and Cindy Kay.

While this fell in more of a breezy light romance category for me, I would’ve enjoyed the story so much more if there wasn’t a constant mention of weight and body image, analyzing every piece of food that was eaten.

*many thanks to St Martins Press and Macmillan Audio/Netgalley for the gifted copy

This Was a very cute story, and I enjoyed that it was an Asian American romance. I also loved all the bacon references because bacon is my favorite food. I was lucky enough to get access to both the ebook and the audiobook. The story was great and the narrators were too. I would definitely consider checking out other books by this author! Thank you to NetGalley for providing me a copy of this beautiful story!

I really liked the premise of #SoloFebruary and the attempted journey of finding yourself and not needing anyone else! The story features a childhood friend to lovers trope which was pleasantly amusing and
I saw a few others have issues with how much Sora mentions bacon but I’m a bacon girlie so no problems here! Lol

This serves as one of your typical rom com read! It’s heartwarming and humorous and certainly enjoyable. Will it leave much of a lasting impression? Not really but that’s ok sometimes when you just want something quick and lighthearted!

I found it a little hard to get into this book. I was looking forward to the second chance romance but just couldn’t get into it.

I started this one, but just couldn't get into it. The FMC just rubbed me the wrong way. Doesn't mean that this story won't be perfect for someone else it just wasn't cutting it for me.

2.5⭐️ (rounded up)

Sora Reid HATES Valentines Day and everything that comes with Valentines Day. So the freelance writer decides to stay single during the month of February and inspires readers too also #gosolo. So what happens when Sora is on her grocery run to pick up a basket full of bacon and she runs into Jack Mann, a lumberjack baker that has too many muscles to count? Jack Mann, who also went to elementary school with Sora, and has been ‘secretly’ in love with Sora the whole time. Can Sora #gosolo and get the guy?

The Second You’re Single is a dual first person POV, friends-to-lovers, childhood friends, guy falls first, instalove, closed door romance.

I have mixed feelings about this book. Sora and Jack’s relationship was sweet and Sora deserves a partner that actually cares for her and her interests. I wish there was more time spent exploring their relationship. But I think this book works best if you’re not going to be deeply analyzing it. Its best if you listen to the audiobook while doing chores or driving, not giving it your full attention. Which sucks because Cara Tanamachi is a great writer! This book just didn’t hit the mark for me.

We get it, Sora loves bacon. She loves bacon more than men. Bacon is her Valentine. We don’t need to hear about it every third paragraph. Sora’s previous relationships also were not my favourite. I understand her relationship with her ex Marley, the circumstances surrounding their relationship and the reasonings why it lasted so long make sense. But her relationship with Dan was not it. She continued to sleep with Dan after she found out that Dan was married and had children……. I’ve also read a fair bit of books with curvy women representation and being curvy myself, this did not hit the mark. The only person in this book that had anything good to say about curvy or midsized bodies was Jack. There was too much focus on weight and food and it made me uncomfortable at times. Even with Sora, she only made herself feel good in her body by tearing down other woman’s bodies. Even Sora’s comments about Jacks body was a no-no “I can tell he’s got big, thick, muscular arms, and the tiniest hint of a beer belly. Not gross big, just a slight, comforting pudge.” Like what? Usually books where you don’t particularly like the main character has strong supporting characters but there wasn’t much to like. Sora’s mom constantly makes degrading comments about Sora’s body, Sora’s sister, Nami, is a bridezilla (thats a size 0, which is repeated numerous times) and Jacks ex Mal essential stalks and blackmails him.

I received an audiobook copy, which was narrated by Michael Braun and Cindy Kay. I’ve listened to other books narrated by Cindy Kay and she’s fantastic (see the whole Twisted series, These Violent Delights and many more). I’ve always been wary of one narrator for dual POV books and this book have dual narrators shows exactly why it is needed. If this book only have one narrator it would be hard to differentiate between the two characters chapters, since there seemed to be missing a distinct differences in the characters voices. The two narrators helped a lot with this and made it easier to follow.

Thank you NetGalley and RB Media for an advanced audio copy for an honest review.

This was a cute romance! Solo February.. no men what so ever but there is always an exception to the rule. Overall this was a good listen but Cara mentioned bacon way too much. I love bacon do not get me wrong but a little goes a long way. Thank you NetGalley for the chance to listen to this book in exchange for my honest feedback!

I really enjoyed that this one was more than just a romance, I liked the main character's journey of finding herself throughout this story. I really enjoyed the characters in this one and would definitely recommend.

This review has been added to Goodreads, Literal and Storygraph, as well as Barnes & Noble and Amazon. This will be posted to my instagram (@manymerrybooks) within the week.

Thank you for allowing me to listen to this story!!

I had to drop it halfway. I enjoyed the story up to a point, but it seemed to meander a lot more than it needed too and by the midpoint I just couldn't get over two grown adults completely incapable of abstaining from sex for a couple of weeks? Like she knows it will tank her career and he understands that it's for work, and yet can't respect that boundary? It's two weeks. He waited 25 years for her but can't wait 14 more days? Come on. This could have been a cute story about the creative ways in which they avoid having sex for a month and discover that getting to know a person first actually makes a relationship more successful. But instead we're supposed to just go on a five year acquaintanceship from 20 years ago and accept that neither one of them has changed significantly as a person in that time? As much as I enjoyed the early parts of the story, my anxiety spiked when they decided to have sex because there was still half a book left and I could guess where we were headed. If I'm wrong about that direction, my apologies to the author, but I still hate that they couldn't wait for 2 weeks 🤷🏻‍♀️

This is a fun second chance romance with childhood ties. I loved the prominent storyline however the constant body shaming and self loathing due to size is so disheartening and frustrating to have to constantly hear throughout the book

This was not the book for me. I really tried to like it and give it a chance but I had to DNF a few chapters in. I did not like much of the humor and the writing style wasn’t for me. The humor was very repetitive and I didn’t think it was that funny the first time so the repetitiveness sent me over the edge.

If I hear the words crème brulée one more time, I will riot. I have nothing good to say about this. Sora gives women a bad name. Everyone in this book is incredibly unlikeable.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.

Thank you @stmartinspress and @netgalley for an e-arc of in exchange for an honest review!

I went into this book blind, and I really enjoyed it! I listened to parts of it, and loved the audio. This book is fun, lighthearted -would make a perfect palate cleanser type book, and a quick read! There is a little bit of steam, and a whole lot of self care/love and figuring out it’s okay to be single/in a relationship no matter what stage of life you are in, as long as you are happy. This book takes place primarily in the month of February, with lots of focus on Valentine’s Day!

This is a cute story that centers around a second chance romance between a plus-size writer and a typically attractive baker.

First, some disclaimers off the bat, if you are struggling with your perception of your body, this might not be the best book for you. I did not find it too off putting but others who are in different situations might.

The writing style was not my favorite and overemphasized bacon. There were way too many mentions of bacon. The main characters were fine. The secondary characters were not my favorite. Many of them were overly critical of the main character Sora.

This book might work for some people but for me, it was just average.

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

Cute, but if I never hear the word bacon again . . . That may be too soon. Seriously. You can like something and not shove it in the readers face. At some point it becomes off putting and not about the character anymore.

I think there are a lot who may like this story more than I did, but it was not for me.

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you to RB Media for a free copy of the audiobook.

As a lover of the movie How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days, I knew I had to read The Second You’re Single. The premise is similar except that Sora Reid has to stay single for the month of February. Sora is writing a column and posting on social media how great it is to #gosolo and empowers her readers to do the same. Of course…when you least expect to find love…you do.

This was a fun book to read leading up to February. It was funny and full of romantic charm. Sora represents so many women who have been in bad relationships. The characters have great chemistry and banter making this book super cute and enjoyable.

The audiobook was narrated by both a male and a female. This made listening enjoyable.

4 Stars

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