Was It Good for You? by Kathryn Freeman was good for me. Sophie and Michael were characters I could believe in as were many of the bit players. The story was good and there was real emotion. My one issue is that the book was too long. I think it could have done with being cut by at least five chapters in the early to mid stages. It dragged repetitively in the middle and I almost gave up. That I didn't is testament to the engaging characters.

I was intrigued on how this book would work based on the spreadsheet concept however I’m pleased to say it worked well. Sophie has spreadsheets for everything, finances, what she eats on what day, when she is due a haircut, wax and her cats grooming along with a spreadsheet on her dates scoring out of ten for various elements such as style. After going on a date with her zumba teachers Brother in Law she accidentally sends the spreadsheet to all of her contacts. Michael is devastated to see that he has scored 2.5 especially as he had a very good reason for arriving at his date late. As part of her apology Sophie agrees with Michael to have ten dates to prove that her spreadsheet concept doesn’t work.
Over the ten dates you see how Michael and Sophie get to know each other better and Michael gets to understand the whole spreadsheet thing and the reason that Sophie does this. Sophie also gets to understand the impact that the spreadsheet has on Michael and the reason why.
This book has fantastic characters in both Sophie and Michael but also Michael’s Nan Betty. I liked the fact that they got to experience things they may not usually do which pushed them out of their comfort zone and that both had insecurities that led to misunderstandings on both sides, making them wary of a relationship but working through that.
I enjoyed this book a lot and although the concept seems strange you won’t be disappointed.
Thank you to Harper Collins One More Chapter and Netgalley for an advance copy of this for my honest review, which is completely my own opinion.

Another very solid romcom by Kathryn Freeman. I liked that the premise of the book didn't fit into any of the usual "forced proximity", "fake dating" etc. categories - that was very refreshing. The chemistry between the characters was great - very swoonworthy. Fun little read, maybe lacking a bit of depth, but that didn't stop me from enjoying it. Would have been even better without the epilogue.

I really enjoyed reading this book, so much so I didn’t want to finish it!! Loved the characters and thought it was just so cute! Ideal to just take time out and chill with this book and something cold to drink!

Sophie does things a little differently... She uses spreadsheets to plan her life. She uses them to track her diet, her exercise and even her love life. If someone rates below a 7/10, she isn't keeping them around. The concept of this book is unique and very entertaining, however there were so many times when I wanted to shake Sophie and drown her laptop.

Michael is an absolutely dream of a character, and the amount of times Sophie hurt his feelings made me cross. He is the sweetest, nicest and most compassionate man I've come across in a book in a long time!

The story itself was fun, and I love that Sophie and Michael kept pushing each other outside of their comfort zone. This led to a lot of growth and self discovery, and ultimately led to them seeing beyond the number Sophie rated Michael on the spreadsheet.

Overall this was a cute and enjoyable romcom! I might suggest going through and removing how many times Michael did something 'mildly' though.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review a copy of this one!

A real fun read. Sophie and Michael seem like opposites and have ten dates to see if they are. I loved seeing how brittle Sophie mellows as she takes in the country air, the dogs and even the cricket. Michael’s gran Betty is great, interfering and so kind and cheers on the couple. A proper feel good, happy read.

I really enjoyed this book and found it to be a cute cozy romance.
I like spreadsheets too but I don’t think I’d take it as far as Sophie did!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book

Sophie has made a habit of mapping her life on her excel spreadsheets: her finances, meal plan, appointments... even her dates! When a man falls below a 7/10 across the board, she moves on.

So when her first date with Michael, an exhausted village GP, crashes and burns, she writes him off with a low score of 3/10 (even though she admits that he's gorgeous). But when she tries to share the spreadsheet with her best friend Ava, the worst happens... and it's sent to 'all contacts' instead.

Mortified, she meets with Michael to apologise and he issues a challenge: give him 10 dates to prove that her spreadsheet is flawed. Will they prove her right? Or will she learn that you can't predict love?

Thank you to Author @kathryn.freeman_author @harpercollinsaustralia & @netgalley for providing me with an ARC. All opinions are my own and have been given freely.

I found this concept an unusual one and felt myself sympathising with the men on Sophie's list right away! Michael was the strong, silent type and it was easy to see how someone who wasn't gregarious or a charmer would fall short on Sophie's list. It was a fun take on enemies to lovers and I appreciated Sophie's position.

Both characters were well thought out with a thorough back story. Witnessing the twists and turns of their relationship had me giggling and let's just say it wasn't a closed door romance!

This book is publishing on July 31st 2023 so pre-order today!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5549241457

Very enjoyable romance. Yes it's contrived, and yes the plot is a bit silly, but it brings lots of joy and sparkle and is perfect for anyone in need of a bit of escapism.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this one!

I thought that it had a good and solid storyline, the pace for the book was good, it was a little slow in places but it soon picked back up.

It was a really good read and I loved the ending! The characters were well developed and I loved the interaction between them and how things changed

It is 4 stars from me for this one – highly recommended!

Well, its fair to say that I will never understand Sophie and her spreadsheet obsession, I'm personally more of a PowerPoint girl.
That being said, poor Michael scoring low and a story centred around this score was quite surprising.

I liked their chemistry and how this unravelled. Fun, a little bit silly but I was happy to roll with it and see it took me. A good set of mates, an adorable doctor and a few giggles along the way.

Kathryn Freeman has been on my radar for a while now, and I’m glad I finally read one of her novels. Was It Good For You? follows colour consultant Sophie Williams. She’s obsessed with spreadsheets to organise every part of her life, even her love life. After being set up on a blind date with doctor, Michael Adams, and scoring him a low 2.5 on her spreadsheet, she inadvertently sends her spreadsheet to all of her contacts… including Michael. Wanting to prove that he’s a better catch than the low grade she’s given, Sophie and Michael strike up a deal. 10 dates so he can prove her spreadsheet is incorrect, but she’s adamant that it will prove that it’s still correct and that they are wrong for each other. However, neither of them are prepared for their hearts to get involved.

The novel is a sweet romance that proves opposites really do attract. It is full of romantic moments and spicy scenes. Originally I wanted to give it 5 stars, but some of the dialogue jarred for me and felt a bit corny. Also, the spreadsheet seemed to be the major sticking point for Sophie and Michael, creating drama that didn’t always seem realistic.

I enjoyed this novel: a lovely summer read. I’m looking forward to checking out a lot of Freeman’s back catalogue.

This book reminded me of something that would come out of The Big Bang Theory with Sheldon and his spreadsheets. The ten dates thing was a fun idea. But I thought it could have been executed a bit better

This book is a sweet, funny story about two imperfect souls with so much love to give.

We quickly learn that Michael and Sophie are total opposites- she is boisterous and chatty and he is quiet and reserved. Despite some fumbled first impressions, it soon becomes apparent that they are just the right kind of opposite each other needs.

At first, I didn’t fully understand the spreadsheet aspect of the plot - probably because it caused so much frustration for a couple who had such sizzling chemistry and an easy manner with each other! But it did eventually serve its purpose in showing them both what they deserved, despite what life had led them to believe.

Michael helped Sophie to live her life for herself because time is fleeting.

Sophie showed Michael that he should be loved deeply for all the qualities he felt made him unlovable.

You’ll love this if you love:
🤍Opposites attract
🤍Fun dates
🤍Meddling grannies
🤍Second first impressions

*Thank you so much Net Galley for providing me with an eARC!*

3 ⭐ Numbers and spreadsheets to measure love.

Doesn't that sound kind of ridiculous? Well, there you go. That's this book in a nutshell. Ridiculous, kind of cringe although sort of sweet at times. But there are too many things that personally didn't work for me to totally be on board with this one.

Sophie got her heart broken when her two year relationship ended with an 'I just don't see you that way' to the question "should we move in together?". Michael got his life upended when he caught his girlfriend cheating on him with his best friend because he was "too boring". When they're set up on a blind date by Michael's sister-in-law, the date goes down less than perfect. But is it fair when Micheal sees (by mistake) that she's rated him a 2.5/10??

The premise of this book could have worked, if it wasn't because of the mmc's constant overreactions. It took so much of me to just keep reading about her apologizing to this virtual stranger about what were basically her very deserved thoughts on their date, and him being an absolute child about it all. He was the one that was late, short and dismissive, and then took a call within minutes after arriving there - all of it with zero explanation- but she's the one that's constantly apologizing? For what? For putting down her thoughts in a semi-dairy entry and then him getting butthurt after seeing that he messed up? Here's the thing, though. That's exactly what first dates are for! You very much judge the person in front of you based on very minimal interaction and then you decide if you want to see them again or not. Why did she have to keep saying sorry? Like he was faultless?? Ugh, it irked me to no end.

Anyway, this book was very odd. It read like an Ode to White Straight Relationships. Which are not a bad thing at all. It's just not that interesting either, is it? I don't want to hear the praises of changing the big city for the quaint little town, or the joys of babysitting the niece of the guy your seeing over a musical festival with your friends. And you're definitely never going to convince me that cricket is an interesting sport. I'm sorry, but cricket gives me colonizer vibes -it was genuinely the first thought that popped into my head. I know. Yikes. Also, the fmc uses the phrase "Crikey Michael" in a serious conversation and I can not abide.

The last 35% of the book was decently spicy, but the beginning is null in that regard.

It's just all been done before, and better... so idk.

Best: Betty!
Worst: The emotionally unavailable mmc with an ego problem.

⭐⭐⭐ /5
🌶️.5 / 5

This review has already been uploaded to Goodreads!

I loved every second of this book. It was fun and flirty and exactly what I needed this bank holiday weekend.

The concept of this novel was fun at first and a great motive for the characters to get close and see each other for ten dates. However after a while, it became tiresome to read about the spreadsheet and for the FMC to consistently stand behind her reasons for this despite all other characters clearly showing it was no longer applicable to her life. I also felt while the MMC's family were sweet and fun to read about, the friends of FMC were quite two-dimensional and always seemed to be having "silent conversations" around her which was irking to read.

Overall it was a light-hearted read but one that held on to the premise a little too tightly.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a lovely read. Both of the main characters were really likeable in their own way, however Sophie was quite annoying at times.

I loved how you could see the very clear journey both characters were on. This would be a great read while on holidays. Would definitely recommend to friends.

Sophie knows that facts are better than feelings — her master spreadsheet rules her life, planning her meals, her bikini waxes, which gifts she’s given and even keeping meticulous score of how her dates went to decide if they’re getting a second one.

But when she accidentally sends a copy to “all” instead of her friend, chaos ensues and everyone knows more than they should. Especially Dr Michael Adams, the recipient of a painful 2.5 rating after one failed date. Sophie tries to apologise, especially after realising there was more to that date than she know and they come up with a challenge — ten dates, to see if her formula really can tell her if someone is worth another date. She thinks it’s fool proof, the scores won’t change. He thinks you can’t assign a number to chemistry.

They're both looking to win this challenge; but if Michael really proves they can fall in love without an equation … what’s next?

I’d call Kathryn Freeman my guilty pleasure but I don’t feel guilty at all for loving these books. Ever since I stumbled across her years ago I’ve impatiently waited to see what she puts out next because I know it’s going to be a lot of fun.

Was It Good For You? is a refreshingly contemporary romance, taking all your favourite familiar tropes with her own flair to make something cosy, light-hearted and so entertaining.

Sophie was a gem — as someone who also lives my life in spreadsheets although not as much as she does I connected right away with her. She was a wonderful narrator, witty and funny but with a lot of heart.

I absolutely adored her friendships with Ava and Grace (and tinker bell the cat, of course!) and how loving and supportive their relationships were. as for Dr Adams — he was delightful; dry and cheeky, and secure enough to show love and express his feminine side - a brilliant romcom love interest. Their romance was a hilarious mix of playful dares, slow burning enemies-to-lovers and proximity with a beautiful growth arc that had me both cringing and smiling. There's a few moments when things get real and emotional, but overall this was such a light, entertaining story for anyone looking to indulge in some sweet, steamy romance for a few hours.

Michael says it best, this book is “a dash of humour, a dollop of cheeky and a hint of sexy.” - Silly, sweet and sassy — this is the perfect easy read for the summer!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Was it good for you explores a new take on enemies to lovers. The book starts out with promise. I enjoyed reading the characters journey together. However, truthfully I found the FMC to be lacking depth, she staunchly defends her behaviours and doesn’t truly seem to understand why they’re toxic. And the ending really wasn’t for me. But if you’re looking for a light hearted read, this is one for you. The MMC is rather enjoyable to read.