The Second You’re Single was a cute romance for the Valentine season. I enjoyed the empowerment of people (women especially) finding comfort in being single. I also enjoyed the theme of how love finds you when you least expect it.

In this story the female POV was the majority of the story, which was a good balance for how it moved through the story. I liked how she was on a self discovery journey, and how she was doing so after a failed marriage and other relationships since. She was snarky, a bit weathered, and a sprinkle of “don’t give a damn”.

The male POV was sweet, and subverted gender norms, which I appreciated.

I especially liked the break up scene (but not giving spoilers here).

The audiobook: I liked the narrators. They did a great job with the characters and really brought them to life. I was able to listen at 2x the speed on my NetGalley iPhone app, and could not have listened at 1x the speed because the pace would have been way too slow (for me).

Thank you NetGalley and RB Media for this advanced audio readers copy.

A funny read just in time for Valentine's Day. I listened to this book and sadly the narrators weren't as captivating as they should've been. The love story of a love you didn't know existed was cute enough to keep my listening.

This was such a fun read! I love how real the characters were and enjoyed the theme around Valentine’s Day! Really liked the narration and will definitely read this author again.

3.5 ⭐️
🥓
This debut novel about an American Japanese woman Sora, who is frustrated by men and swears to be single the whole month of February. Que hot man entering the scene because of course, that’s how the universe works. But it’s not just any man but one Sora knew from grade school. Jack has fine tuned his body and cooking skills since she last saw him.
🥓
Sora really likes bacon. There’s a lot of food mentions, lots of bacon mentions that it was getting to be too much. I appreciate a heavier set heroine who likes to eat and is comfortable in their skin but this was a love triangle with bacon. 🥴 I’m not completely complaining but I do think there could’ve been more focus on Jack. Sora had great growth and self discovery but Jack’s POV seemed lacking and his confronting his ex was pretty juvenile. His story felt unfinished, especially with his niece since it was such a huge thing at the beginning of his POV.
🥓
This had fade to black, second chance romance, unrequited love, and a work challenge.
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The epilogue is the best part and a sweet ending. This book comes out next week. Thank you to the publishers and Net Galley for the audiobook, alc. These are my own thoughts and opinions.

Freelancer Sora hates Valentine's Day. She's writing a series of articles about staying single for the month of February. What happens when she reconnects with an old friend, and attraction hits?

Sora and Jack are adorable together. He's exactly what she needs to restore her faith in men. Staying apart for the sake of her article is difficult for them though, given how much chemistry they have. They both have to learn to be more honest and trust one another. I enjoyed the story and the audiobook narration.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

This was such a funny lighthearted romcom! For everyone who hates Valentines Day, read this! I haven't read anything from this author before but I'll be looking out for her now. Great story about learning to go with the flow.

The Second Your Single by Cara Tanamachi looks and sounds like a great Valentine’s Day read but beware!

✨Publication Date: January 31, 2023

Synopsis:
Sora believes in inertia, but the only thing that disrupts this inertia is her hate for Valentine’s Day. She is also a minimalist who does not like to work hard, and would rather do the minimum to get things that she wants. She loves bacon and is obsessed with her body.

This is a short synopsis because I have way more thoughts to share.

Thoughts:😡
OK, so I consider myself a person who does not get worked up or offended by many things. With that being said, this book pissed me off.

First, let’s get the easy things out-of-the-way. Sora, the main character, is way too obsessed with bacon. I know a bunch of people who love bacon, but not as much as Sora and it’s almost cringe worthy.

Second, there are so many awkward moments in this book, including the scenes between Sara and her boss. I just don’t see how these things could happen in real life and be OK. I feel like it was such a stretch in order to create a problem within the novel.

Third, I am one of three girls and I have never experience a sister fight that is as mean as the one between Sara and her sister. I mean if you are a teen, yeah, you say things that are extremely hurtful, but you would think in your 20s they would have learned to be respectful, I guess not.

Miscommunication trope is the fourth situation in this book that I did not like. If you like this trope, you might like this book. If this is not your favorite trope, you’re not going to like this book.

And finally, let’s get to the HUGE problem in the book (no pun intended). The massive amount of time these characters spend talking about weight was despicable.

When looking at the front cover, Sora looks like your average woman she might even be considered on the tinier size. (I f*cking hate talking about people’s bodies) But in the book they make her out to be a “midsized” woman, whatever that means? I would consider myself to be “midsized” I guess, based on what the novel says and don’t think that the cover represents me.

I feel like this book is going to bring up a lot of feelings, especially for people who are struggling with their own weight or even for people who embrace their body no matter the size. Sora does not have the confidence she needs to embrace herself for who she is and since she is not considered to be overweight in this book, she sounds like a model complaining about a cheeseburger that they eat at lunch.

I was over this book before it got started, so I switched over to the audiobook, since these were both ARCs, and I like to finish those books.

Let me tell you I listen to this at 3.0 speed just to get the premise of the book and the more I listened, the more I got annoyed with the characters.

Jack is the only normal person in this book. He needs to run for the hills and get away from all of these women. I cannot with this one!

👏🏼Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for this gifted copy.

I thought this story, with the premise of #solofebruary (staying single and finding yourself) was really fun! I enjoyed the MMC Jack's POV, and thought he was a great character and interest for Sora. But Sora... She was funny, but her POVs were chaotic just like her! I did appreciate the last quarter of the book where most of the characters realize their toxic behaviors and try to change them. I thought the last half of the book was much better than the first half.

𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙚𝙣𝙟𝙤𝙮:
• bacon
• instalove
• midsize rep
• books about writers
• one eyed rescue dogs
• childhood friends to lovers

ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ʙᴇ ʙᴇᴛᴛᴇʀ :
Yikes. This book was SO focused on weight. Every character was focused on weight, weight loss, eating habits, dieting etc. The women in the book were constantly undermining each other, and tearing each other down. The narrative was downright toxic at times. Also. Bacon as a personality trait? No. Just no. I think I read the word "bacon" 100x in the first few chapters alone. The first half of the book has some fun parts, but because of all of this I almost DNF it.

I thought the audiobook was great! I liked both narrators.

I listened to the audio version of this book and I would say that the narrators did a decent job. I personally feel like it could have been read quicker, but I’m naturally a fast reader so I always have this issue with audio books. I appreciate the use of a male and female narration representation for the main characters.

In the beginning I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it, but I’m glad I gave it a chance! Overall I was surprised at the different twists the plot took and it didn’t follow what I feel are the “usual” tropes in a romance. (Yes, there were a few, but we all need a little normalcy in our life.) The author includes multi-racial characters and the manly man is a baker, YES! I appreciated the sister relationships and all the drama that can entail with mothers; the author really nailed it on that one!

I personally feel like the title should be something like “Solo February” or something like that, as it was so commonly used throughout the story. And sorry, but I don’t like the cover, either. I probably wouldn’t have picked this up based on the cover. But I’m glad I did read it and I would read more by this author for sure!

WOW!

The love interest makes BACON SWEET DESSERTS as an apology when it wasn’t even his fault 😭

If that sentence doesn’t convince you to read the book, hopefully you’ll be able to relate to the unconventional pretty girl who is always love crazed and vows to give up men for ONE month. And possibly picking the worst month was not the best idea… but it worked out for her in the end.

The book has lots of trigger warnings such as miscarriage, cheating, and body shaming. It sheds light on rights and wrongs and also makes people own up to what they caused despite their circumstances.

This book was hilarious with a plot that honestly I would love to have happen in my life. If my kindergarten boyfriend could please show up & proclaim his love for me now, that would be great.

This was a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read for me. Enjoy y’all!

Not a stand out story, if I wasn't reviewing it for Netgalley, I probably wouldn't have finished it. I will admit the story got much better half way through.

OMG this was such a cute book! I listened to the Audiobook and I really liked Michael Braun and Cindy Kay. Their narration of this book made it fun to listen too. I think the two childhood friends end up running into each other and how the story built from there. I don't want to give spoilers so I don't want to say more. This is a cute Rom-Com and I would recommend this book.

Thanks NetGalley and RB Media for allowing me to listen to this in advanced.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book before release.

Instantly I got How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days vibes and loved it! I love classic rom coms and this has that same vibe from chapter one.

I really wanted them to spend more time together at the beginning of the book. The time they do spend together is great and they work together.
I would’ve loved a few more chapters from Jacks POV.

Really didn’t love all the body shaming and fat phobia because Sora seems healthy, so having her family say ‘they’re worried she’s going to die’ as an excuse for saying horrible things to her it isn’t the kind, caring response it’s played off to be.

😬 🙈 & honestly I think 2 stars is being generous.

I thought this was going to be a fun, rom com type read, but it fell extremely flat. This novel follows Sora and Jack as they “rekindle” a love between each other.

I found the way that this story was constructed and written was extremely cringy and not believable. A man who fell in love with someone in ELEMENTARY school and that crush is still going strong as adults? hmm. That’s extremely far fetched and truthfully not believable at all.

I thought the idea of shining light on body positivity and overcoming negative body image of oneself is a great thing to showcase in a novel, BUT it was not done well in this novel. Overall, it didn’t sit well with me at all.. almost every other page it was a mention of Jack being a “chubby” child, Sora’a mothers comments, the dieting, and honestly the way Sora constantly pointed out other body types.

Overall, this was a quick read, but not my cup of tea.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sora is struggling to write something she feels strongly about for her freelance column. She's also in a rut and, with Valentines Day approaching, the only things she's sure about is her love of her one eyed rescue dog and bacon. In a burst of inspiration, she starts "Solo February"- an article series about learning more about herself, pampering herself, not giving in to societal norms and enjoying her own wants, needs, and loves. This is the kind of care she needs!

Enter Baker Jack Mann who happens to witness an ill- fated grocery trip during which Sora runs into her ex-husband and his new girlfriend - her polar opposite. Jack remembers Sora, his grade school crush and friend, and steps in when the interaction gets ugly. Jack can't believe his luck running into Sora. He loves their banter and chemistry. She feels it too. But what happens when the woman who started a Stay Solo movement is no longer interested in being solo?

A cute, quirky story, Sora and Jack have to overcome exes, family dynamics, the past, and communication issues to arrive at a future. It's got some great honest moments and takes a look at what it means to really self care "not just a pedicure but being the adult in your own life."
#arc
#netgalley
#thesecondyouresingle

I had fun listening this book. Found myself smiling while listening. Felt kinship with Zora on her bacon addiction. I liked how Zora was portrayed as someone who tried to do what she thought was expected of her but ended up stumbling which just makes her human. We all stumble sometimes. While some of her actions made me roll my eyes, I found myself liking her and hoping that she'll find happiness. And Jack does sound like the man of dreams. Who wouldn't like a man who knows how to bake.
Bonus points for safe sex. Seems to be something too many authors seem indifferent about nowadays.

This was the first audio book I have listened to and honestly it was an easy listen. The narration was lite and easy to follow. I think the concept of the book was cute and something a lot of people like. Childhood friends fall in love after all the wrong people and wrong time. Boy falls first, girl is unavailable but then realizes how in love with him she is. I thought the characters were relatable and we all probably know someone like them in real life. I did have a little issue with how the Main Characters weight was heavily focused on and almost felt like it consumed some chapters. I think as a woman we can all relate to the body issues she had but how they were handled in this book was just a little off to me. Overall I thought it was a cute, quick listen. But not something I would listen too again.

This book was 4 ⭐️ for me!!! It was such a fun, quirky, well written book and I was hooked from chapter 1. I related to the characters so much, and thought Sora was such a fun character to follow. It’s a perfect Valentine’s read.

When Sora starts writing an article series for February called “solo February” she is swearing off Valentines Day. Until she reconnects with Jack— a friend from elementary school— who throws off her well laid Valentine’s Day plans dating hiatus.
This book had laugh out loud funny moments but dealt with grief and learning to value yourself. The addition of an ex-filled meet cute and complex family dynamics gave this Valentine’s Day love story a little bit more depth than some. The narration was enjoyable. I struggled with the fixation on food, body image, but appreciated that the protagonist was midsized and want to see more size diversity in this genre.

Despite my love for romances, I can also recognize when tropes are overplayed or cross the 'cringe' threshold. The Second You're Single plays out the cliché tropes well and leaves you with a heartwarming feeling. I enjoyed the chemistry between the characters, and found the book delightful and funny. The Second You're Single is a cute and easy read to add to your collection, but also is a perfect book to get you in the mood this Valentine's season. (Full review can be viewed on A Sunday Love and Books blog).