From the first chapter, I felt like Haleigh Berkshire could have been one of my friends — messy, funny, tired of the dating circus, and just trying to survive the chaos around her. Jenny L. Howe didn't just write a rom-com; she gave us a woman who's exhausted, vulnerable, and still somehow hilarious while navigating a world that expects her to shrink herself in every way. I loved how real Haleigh's struggle felt — the constant pressure to perform for everyone else while secretly holding onto the one person she'd loved all along.
The dynamic between Haleigh and Jack had me grinning like an idiot and clutching my chest simultaneously. Their friendship had so much messy history packed into it, and when Jack started throwing himself into the dating experiment like a human grenade, I was utterly hooked. It was clear from the beginning that their feelings weren't as buried as they pretended, but watching them wrestle through it, mistake after mistake, felt so true to life.
One of the things I appreciated most was how Howe treated Haleigh's plus-size identity. It wasn't a punchline or a sad story—it was just a fact of her life, woven into the narrative with honesty and heart. It made her wins feel bigger, her fears sharper, and her joy much more earned. I didn't just root for her to get the guy; I rooted for her to choose herself at every turn.
This book is a celebration of second chances, growing up even when you think you already have, and believing you're worthy of the kind of love that sets your whole damn world on fire. I finished the last page feeling like I'd just hugged my best friend after a long overdue heart-to-heart — hopeful, complete, and ready to believe that maybe the risk was worth it.

I was excited to read this book because the FMC is plus sized. She was relatable from page one and I liked her immediately. This was a sweet romcom and I think romance lovers will enjoy this book.

This is a good book. The two main characters are Haleigh and Jack. They have known each other since second grade. They are best friends. They come up with a plan to get Haleigh dating. She ask some family members and friends to set her up on blind dates. She meets some crazy people. The last one is Jack. They realize they love each other.

I enjoyed this and recommend this rom com!

In the beginning, I did struggle with the main character. She was quite negative and I was pretty frustrated with her. Thankfully that got better.

I appreciated how the author spoke about anxiety! How it can affect your day to day life (as well as your relationships).

This is my first book by this author but I would definitely read more by her!

As a plus size person, its nice to see romance catered to people who are plus size. So much of this novel is relatable, from her struggles with family expectations, as well as finding dates in general. I found myself constantly flipping sides, and wondering where the plot was going to go! This book felt like a comforting, familiar read, but the turns and twists were just enough to not ruin the feeling the book carried.

Thank you for the ARC!

How to Get a Life in Ten Dates was a sweet romcom. A little cheesy, but sometimes that’s okay! I found myself really rooting for the main character Haleigh and loved that the focus wasn’t on her size the whole time.

Synopsis:
Dating as a plus-size woman has been exhausting for Haleigh Berkshire. Sure, she's only twenty-five, but she's been doing it for a decade, and she's beginning to think it's time for a sabbatical. It doesn't help that she's been madly in love with her best friend, Jack, for years--but one disastrous weekend in college taught her the hard way that they'll never be more than friends.

Thoughts:
It was good. It wasn’t the best book, but it wasn’t the worst. Also, Haleigh was kind of annoying at times. This book is good if you’re looking for a cute, fluffy romance!

A very enjoyable read. As the intro stated, the author did not overly focus on the size of the lead, except for the usual insecurities we might have,… her date experiences were funny, and some far fetched (bird date) but made me laugh. True delayed love was very nicely written. I enjoyed this one.

I thought this was a cute romantic comedy. I think you will enjoy this book if you like best friend turned lovers. The scenarios that the author thought up for the dates were truly hysterical. This book had me laughing out loud with tears in my eyes. I also love that the main character is a plus size woman. There needs to be more plus size representation in romance. Overall this was a great book and perfect for your next read.

I liked this more than I expected to. I was really invested in the main character and wanted her to not only find romance but happiness and fulfillment in herself as well.

Thank you to St Martins Press and NetGalley for a copy of this ARC. I loved the premise and feel like it was executed so well. The book was genuinely SO funny with each of the dates and the way that the author blended the questionnaire into the storyline. I really enjoyed seeing Haleigh mature and chase her dreams. It was a bit predictable at times which is why I took a star off but it does not take away from the fun I had reading this one. I also don’t love the miscommunication trope but I think in this book, it worked for me. I would whole heartedly recommend this to anyone looking for a fun quick romance book!

Haleigh is a plus size woman in her mid-twenties who has had a rough time with dating. She agrees ro go on dates set up by her family and friends in the hopes if having a plus one for her sister's engagement party. I thought the dates were fun. I was not a fan of Haleigh.... she had more problems than being plus size such as no stable job, income, housing! Like girl needed to get herself together before even worrying about dating.

Haleigh Berkshire is so over dating apps—so when her sister’s engagement party looms and she finds herself single, she lets her friends and family set her up on ten blind dates (what could possibly go wrong, right?).

From awkward meetups to downright disasters, the dates are wild and had me literally laughing out loud!

Things heat up when her best friend Jack suddenly has opinions... and maybe even feelings. Cue the banter, the butterflies, and a slow-burn that makes romcoms so deliciously engaging!

This one is pure romcom gold—I was rooting for Haleigh from page one! This one released in December so go secure your copy now!

Thank you NetGalley, Jenny L. Howe, and St. Martin's Press for giving me a free copy of the book provided I leave a review.

RATING 2.5/5 I received this book as an ARC (s/o Jenny) and enjoyed it. The plot was funny and the book was quick to read. I know Jenny writes solid plus sized characters, but in this book it felt like an afterthought not a main character trait I think as was intended.

I loved the tropes and conclusion. It felt a little rushed but I’m also satisfied with how it ended so I won’t fault her too much. Glad I read. Would still recommend.

A predictable ending. I was expecting a little more drama with her decision. It ended too perfectly and felt unrealistic.

This was my second book by Howe and I’m not sure I’ll continue. It wasn’t bad per se but it also went exactly good either. I’m not sure if what it was as exactly that did it but I found myself struggling to finish. The characters end storyline had potential but yeah, it just didn’t quite hit the mark for me

Haleigh Berkshire is fed up with the dating scene for plus sized women, as well as her family’s expectations to find her perfect match and get married. As a matter of fact, she decides to turn the tables on her family and best friend to prove that finding a decent partner isn’t as easy as they think.

Haleigh allows each family member and her best friend to set her up with two people, totaling ten dates. Most dates are a disaster including a man with an emotional support bird that steals her bagel and talks to her. But, a couple are absolutely wonderful and she is faced with making a choice between the two.

This is a cute friends to lovers read for the hopeless romantic. Being a plus sized individual, I can relate a lot to how Haleigh describes the dating scene and societal expectations. It can be a rough road and certainly isn’t for the faint of heart.

I found the characters to be cheesy and not very realistic. I appreciate the representation attempted in this book, but unfortunately it fell a little flat for me.

This was charming and fun and fabulous! I love Jenny’s work and this book was no exception. She writes fat characters with so much care and intention and I appreciate her so much.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for an advanced copy in return for an honest review.

Haleigh is tired of dating. One disastrous date after another has made her wish for a hiatus - but her family is on her case about having a +1 to her successful older sister's engagement party/weekend coming up in a few months. Complicating matters is that Haleigh has been in love with her best friend Jack for years - but a disastrous hook-up in Hawaii 5 years ago proved they were better off as friends and they developed rules to maintain the boundaries of their friendship. Haleigh, with the help of Jack, come up with a plan to appease her family and give herself the break from dating that she's craving - 5 family members/friends, 2 blind dates each. If nothing clicks, they leave her alone for 6 months. Let the datepocalypse begin.

I gave this book 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3 for goodreads. I found the ending to be incredibly disappointing, and unfortunately the reasons why are rather spoilery. Suffice to say, as much as I'm usually a sucker for the main trope in this book, I did not ship it. Spoilers start below.

<spoiler>One of Haleigh's dates is wildly successful and I felt that they clicked incredibly well - I was a big fan of the pair. And after one mediocre date, during which Haleigh seemed like she was going to try to 'turn him' into a reader (despite him making it very clear that he's not a reader), suddenly all the previous chemistry was just..... gone. The abrupt flip was so jarring and out of left field, it was hard to believe that Haleigh found it ultimately so easy to throw aside that budding relationship. To her credit, there was a very mature conversation regarding it instead of ghosting him so thank god for that. I also feel like Jack did not show the amount of personal growth needed for their relationship to develop -- for starters, it took him over 5 years to apologize for the things he said to her that he clearly knew echoed her own deep-seated insecurities over being messy/disorganized/chaotic. He also had crossed the boundaries of their clearly stated and agreed upon rules SEVERAL times, resulting in new rules being created over the past 5 years - and Haleigh says that he's crossed these boundaries when drunk several times over the years. I don't care how much personal history there are between two people, you don't cross boundaries. If he was unhappy with the boundaries, he should have had a conversation with her - after all, HE was the one who said he regretted hooking up. Instead, he had to be convinced to be more open with his therapist about his struggles so that he could go through all that personal growth AFTER they got together. I don't think people have to be perfect/healed in order to be in a relationship - but the fact that Jack didn't ask Haleigh for support through some of these struggles as best friends, and only once they were dating, left a sour taste in my mouth. For the last spoiler - who the fuck thinks it's a good idea to propose to your girlfriend in the middle of her sister's engagement party? Like not even at the end of the weekend - in the middle of the dance floor, on the first day, right at the start? If this was an AITAH post, I would say ESH.</spoiler>