This was a cute story that feel a little flat for me. This is about Sora who picks the worse men and decides for the month of February she is doing Solo February to focus on herself and not a relationship. But the moment this cute baker she knew from her childhood shows up she starts focusing on him and not what this journey could of been. She should of just told him what she was doing and if he wanted to go on a date with her to wait 28 days. They create some drama that could of been avoided.

I would of loved to actually see her focus on her wants and needs as a person.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the E-ARC in exchange of my honest review.

I was given the audio version of this book courtesy of NetGalley, and sadly I did not enjoy this books. I wanted to DNF this book twice- about half way though and at 82% of the way though. I just did not enjoy the writing style, or the voice of our two main characters.
They both felt very childish and not well thought out.
One of my biggest frustrations with any book is miscommunication causing issues, so I was annoyed several times because of that trope. I also do not appreciate all of the body talk/food talk in a negative light by Sora throughout this whole book, and her general pessimism was unbearable.

I have a bad habit of requesting books that are set to archive a few days later. This is one of those cases. I did not get it downloaded before the archive date.

2.5/5

Thank you to St Martin's Press, Cara Tanamachi and Netgalley for gifting me a copy of The Second You're Single in return for my honest opinion.

This reminded me of a cookie cutter hallmark movie type plot and it wasn't bad but it wasn't good either. I feel like a lot of the points could have been executed better then they were done. For example, the weight/body image message it was trying to incorporate, it just missed the mark. Our main character Sora is midsize and we love to see it but between Sora herself and every other character in the book making comments about her weight/size it became too much. She is so worried about everyone else's weight/diets/size that it becomes overstated and i found myself rolling my eyes a few times. It was all just too much, and at points it left me feeling uncomfortable.

I did like the chemistry that she had with Jack but, with that said that was all I liked about them. Jack was not a likable character and he just seemed off to me. Also don't get me started on the stupid third act break up like really it was so predictable it was almost comical. I'm not a fan of third act breakups in general but this one was just bad.

The reason I finished this is that I enjoyed the narrators, guy and a girl, who read/acted out the book. They made listening to it enjoyable other wise it would have been a DNF for me.

Sora is a freelance writer for a women's magazine that recently broke up with her boyfriend. Why does she always choose the wrong guy? When she is ready to give up on love, or at least take a break from it during the month of February in order to heal and write several articles about it, she meets Jack. Maybe he is exactly what Sora has wanted all along, but why did she have to find him during her #gosolo challenge?

What I liked: The book is funny and easy to read (well, listen to). I enjoyed the audiobook version as the narrators are good. My favorite character was Sora's adorable dog, and I liked how the relationships between Sora and her mother and sister evolved throughout the book.

What I didn't like: I didn't really feel the chemistry between Sora and Jack, so I wasn't really invested in their love story. There were actually several red flags in Jack's behavior that are interpreted in the book as him just being really interested in Sora. I mean, I understand that it was important to him to embrace the present moment, but why was it such a big deal to wait less than ONE month to date? Jack's POV was kind of weird because he used so many "manly expressions" that made him cliché. Also, there are way too many jokes about bacon, and several women are portrayed as shallow and annoying just because they are interested in fitness and were romantically involved with Jack and Sora´s ex.

(I want to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this ARC, which I received in exchange for an honest review.)

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 and promotes #SoloFebruary ; She encourages her readers to celebrate being single through her entertaining and thoughtful daily posts.
Jack is working in a grocery store as their baker after losing his prestigious job working under a chef at a Michelin-star restaurant due to his now ex-fiancée. He's up for a baker of the year award and hopes to use the prize money to open his own bakery soon.
Jack had a crush on Sora when they were children but were away from each other's life since then.

While I really wanted to like this one, I struggled to really get into the story and with the likeability of the characters.

Sora Reid is tired of being in relationships where she gets her heart bruised. She decides to do away with men for the whole month of February and uses her experiences in her freelance writing job to inspire other readers. When she runs into Jack Mann whom she has known since elementary school there is an instant attraction, but how does that fit in with her go solo initiative?

I love childhood friends to lovers stories so much so I had high expectations for this one coming in, but it kind of fell flat for me. I had a really hard time liking Sora for some reason. I feel like that was compounded by the audiobook narrator who read Sora who seemed to read older than I pictured her being. I liked Jack but he wasn't enough to carry the story for me.

Thank you to Recorded Books and the publisher for providing me advanced copies in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Sora is no luck when it comes to relationships. In a moment of frustration because of this, she pitches a single February challenge for herself and writes about it in her segment the site she writes for. She provides updates with her progress until she reunites with her former classmate, Jack. Jack and Sora reconnect in the grocery store, where Jack has his bakery. In the brief trip, they both have encounters with each others exes and the messes that they were involved with were very visible. Eventually Sora and Jack work past all of these issues and end up together. The story was entertaining and noted that sometimes things just happen at the right time. It was a fun quirky Valentine's day listen.

Thank you to RB Media and NetGalley for the audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the audiobook performance. The plot at first was interesting but I feel like the book stumbled a little with the execution. Personally, I think I wouldn’t have finished it if I had a text copy of the book, but the audiobook performers helped me to want to see how the book ended.

**please note due to low rating I will not be leaving a public review for this book as I have not paid for it.**

I'm so sorry but I couldn't last more than an hour and It had ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with the author and everything to do with this narrator. I can't stand her voice.

I'm not leaving a public review. But I am going to try this book in the e format if it comes to my library.

So sorry

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this advance copy of The Second You're Single.

While I didn't hate this book, I also wouldn't jump at the opportunity to read it again. I had a hard time liking the main character because she had pretty hateful internal dialogue towards people with other body types. She did have some redemption towards the end of the book in learning how to choose herself. The relationship/romance aspect of the book was decent but too rushed for me.

The Second You’re Single
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Romance
Format: Kindle eBook and Audiobook
Date Published: 1/31/23
Author: Cara Tanamachi
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press and RB Media
GR: 3.33

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and RB Media and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: Freelance writer Sora Reid is the odd one out in a close-knit family of go-getters, including her Japanese-American mom, who hints about her need to lose weight, and her soon-to-be married, overachieving younger sister, who needs her to have a date for the wedding. Sora’s been betrayed and disappointed more than once and her heart is starting to feel like her Grandma Mitsuye’s antique Japanese ceramic bowl, with its many gold-filled cracks. When her pledge to stay single in February inspires readers to #gosolo, Sora has a responsibility to empower her readers. Right? Enter Jack Mann. A muscle-bound baker who looks like he lifts logs on the weekends, Sora hasn’t thought of Jack since they were in elementary school together. When they see each other at the local grocery store and the attraction hits hard. She can’t #gosolo AND get the guy. She can’t let down her readers. And relationships always end, so why should Jack be any different–even though he’s confounding all her long-held expectations of love?

My Thoughts: The premise of this book was fantastic but the execution fell a little short. I had the pleasure of having the ebook and audiobook on this one. The audiobook did keep my attention, where I feel the book may not. Sora’s obsession with bacon was eccentric to say the least. Now, I love bacon just as much but it doesn’t carry over into my daily life. There was body shaming going on with her mother, which I did not care for. I do love it when author’s talk about overweight characters, but I like when it spins into more of a body positivity than in the negative. I would love to have seen more chemistry between Sora and Jack. I appreciated their love story and thought it was cute, but wanted more. The narrators did a fantastic job with voice variation in this story. This was an enjoyable listen and I would recommend, I just wanted more.

This was such a fun listen. I loved that it was themed around Valentine’s Day. The characters were well developed and the storyline was great. I also enjoyed the narrator.

Narrator wasn't my favorite, which kept me from really getting into this book. I also just have not been in the mood for a rom com in a while so I just couldn't connect with this book. Hopefully I can give it another go someday.

This was a cute, light, and quick RomCom listen and adorable for Valentine’s Day. It kinda fell a bit flat for me, but I’d still recommend. I wasn’t a fan of the miscommunication trope, but loved Sora’s internal monologue

Sorry it took so long for feedback. This one just didn't connect with me so I will not be reviewing elsewhere, Thank you to the publisher for the ALC.

The Second You’re Single is a delightful tale by Cara Tanamachi. Sora Reid has bought in to inertia. She has reached a point of status quo and rarely pushes further. Her career isn’t exactly what she wants, but she fell into the job. But then she comes up with an idea she does put forth to her editor. On the backside of a lying, turns out married, boyfriend she kicked to the curb and having already survived a cheating ex-husband, Sora is ready to swear off men and wonders if there are many women feeling the same. This brings her to the concept of #gosolo February, which sparks both her editor and the public that follows her. Why should those not in a relationship be made to feel bad for an artificial holiday?

Just as this idea goes viral with her online followers, Sora has a surprise encounter with a ghost from the past. Jack Mann had been a fellow student of Sora’s in elementary school. He had been enamored of her then and those feelings still lie dormant. When he encounters Sora, and subsequently her ex-husband and his new squeeze as well as his ex-fiancé, it doesn’t go so well. Luckily, times change, but can they until before solo February is over?

This is such a laugh out loud funny story! I enjoyed every moment of this tale. With richly drawn characters and a perfectly developed plot, this book is a gem! I very much enjoyed this story and highly recommend it.

The Second You're Single was a sweet story of a girl who is so tired of heartbreak that she makes a month-long vow to stay single, and a boy who has pined for her since elementary school.

Despite the "pining-since-childhood," this felt too insta-lovey. You've been on one date and you're saying I love you? Uhhhh.

This was such an enjoyable audiobook, both narrators made me feel like I was part of the story. And what a sweet story it was. Imagine bumping into an old friend from elementary school and he's absolutely dreamy? Only you've just sworn off men for the month of February. I adored this book, it was great to start of my year listening to it.

I've always been told that the minute you stop looking for love, it will smack right into you. As I have been married for almost 30 years now, meeting my husband after I declared to be "single forever," I'd say that saying holds a lot of truth to it. This book fits with that saying completely. Our heroine decides to take a break from the dating world after once again, finding her love life in shambles. This is the story of her journey, her growth, her finding her place in her own life while be packaged as a cute romance story. The narration is fantastic and really brings the emotions of the story to life as well as the humor. While the romance story is heartwarming and cute, the real meat of the story is the underlying plot of our heroine finding out who she truly is, who she truly wants to be and the steps she finally starts to take to achieve her goals. This is a new to me author, but I will definitely be looking for more of her books as this one was thoughtfully written and laced with humor to keep the reader entertained and inspired!