"How to Get a Life in Ten Dates", by Jenny Howe, has a formulaic if not cute storyline. Haleigh has had awful luck finding the "right man" and has all but given up until her family and best friend come up with a plan: they will each set her up on blind dates. At the end of these 10 blind dates, if Haleigh hasn't found "the one", they will finally leave her alone and stop nagging her about her dating life. However, Haleigh doesn't know that her best friend, Jack, has a plan of his one: to help Haleigh see that he's the one for her. While Haleigh and Jack have a past of their own, he hasn't ever given up hope that she'll realize the love of her life has been in front of her all along.

While I like the "best friends to lovers" trope, I felt this book wasn't original enough and the chemistry between the main characters didn't keep my attention. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

A fun friends to lovers story with a lot of pit stops in between! Love the plus size representation and the journey the main character took to figure out what really mattered to her.

This book from page one was hard for me to stay engaged in. I was so hopeful from the description and cover, along with a plus size MC that I would love this book. Unfortunately, it was hard to keep my focus. It took over a month for me to read because I kept starting other books and putting this one on the back burner. I wish it would not have been such a slow paced plot.

I was lucky to receive an ARC for this book. I was very excited to read to based on the cover and the description of the book. I found it very slow to start. From the cover and the book description, it looks like she is interested in dating men but she's actually dating people of both genders which was not clear from the outset. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with it, it was a little confusing and could be uncomfortable for some readers. There's nothing wrong with the concept but the execution was jarring as she did not clearly have an affinity or a draw to women.

The overall concept for the book was cute with her family and friends are setting her up on dates. However, some of the dates were included for comedic relief which detracted from the book, in my opinion. It is pretty far-fetched that anyone in her family would think some of these people were good matches for her.

I really liked this author's other book, On The Plus Side, but this book left me wanting more. I truly felt there was a missed opportunity for character development.

How to Get a Life in Ten Dates by Jenny Howe was an okay book, but I had a really hard time getting into it. The story had potential, but for me, I just wasn't engaged. Thank you for NetGalley and the publisher for an advance review copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

2.5⭐️


Salir como mujer de talla grande ha sido agotador para Haleigh Berkshire. Claro, solo tiene veinticinco años, pero lo ha estado haciendo durante una década, y está empezando a pensar que es hora de un año sabático. No ayuda que haya estado locamente enamorada de su mejor amigo, Jack, durante años, pero un desastroso fin de semana en la universidad le enseñó por las malas que nunca serán más que amigos.

Con la celebración del compromiso de su hermana acercándose rápidamente, y sus amigos y familiares molestándola por un plus-uno, Haleigh y Jack hacen lo que mejor hacen: planear. Haleigh acepta dejar que sus amigos y familiares la arreglen con diez personas, y está segura de que, una vez que ninguno de ellos demuestre ser buenos partidos, sus seres queridos finalmente la dejarán desaparecer en una jubilación romántica en paz.

Para su sorpresa, algunas de las citas de Haleigh van mejor de lo esperado, y por primera vez en toda la vida, se está divirtiendo. Hasta que Jack empiece a romper todas las reglas que habían hecho para reparar su amistad en la universidad. Él produce una larga lista de defectos para todos los que le gustan, rompe algunas de sus noches de salida y finalmente la sorprende al lanzarse a sí mismo en la mezcla. Salir con Jack siempre ha sido el sueño, pero Haleigh tiene miedo de la realidad. ¿Vale la pena arriesgar a su mejor amiga por algo que tal vez nunca estaba destinado a ser?


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Haleigh me cayó bien, lo de las citas me gustó y las disfruté, lo único que no me gustó y por lo que le puse esa calificación fue por Jack. No me gustó que terminaran juntos, nunca vi que se amaran y tal vez sea que faltan povs de él para que me pudiera dar cuenta de sus sentimientos por ella.

In this charming new rom-com from Jenny L. Howe, a young woman who's fed up with dating challenges her family and friends to set her up on ten dates, but gets more than she bargained for when her best friend adds himself to the roster. Ten dates?? I can never imagine that in my whole life.

Warning! This review will have spoilers!
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Seriously, spoiler warning!
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This book was a bit of a mixed bag for me…

The writing was decent, and the premise was interesting - but Haleigh was not my favourite MFC. She was extremely negative, always finding faults with her dates even though I didn’t feel she was a real winner either. She kept complaining about being an adult and having adult responsibilities but then got angry when she felt like her family treated her like a child (simply because they kept asking her about getting a full-time job). You want to be a grown up? Then act like one.

I don’t enjoy love triangles at all, and as soon as Jack threw his name in the ring I felt bad for Brian. That guy seemed like a legitimately good person and he never stood a chance.

Another positive in this book was the mental health representation. Both Haleigh and Jack suffered from anxiety (and he also clearly had a mild case of OCD) - and I thought the author did a decent job of writing about the effects on the characters daily lives.

Overall - I didn’t hate this, but I didn’t love it either. I won’t write off reading more from this author in the future though.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC of this one.

This was a really great romance. I honestly didn't know who to root for in the end here because both love interests were wonderful, but we have Haleigh realistically torn between a past and a potential new future.

"How to Get a Life in Ten Dates" follows freelancer/dog walker, Haleigh. Haleigh is 25 and feels at odds with where her family wants her to be (happily engaged/dating/married) and where she is (single, fat [I love that she owns that word). Haleigh though realizes she has to do something to get her mother, grandfather, and sister off her back. So she and her best friend, Jack come up with an idea that they all can (along with Haleigh's roommate) can select up to two people each to set up Haleigh before her sister's nuptials.

Honestly, I laughed hysterically several times while reading this. I have been on some bad dates, and some of these had me going, oh geez and well at least mine wasn't that bad. But also Howe does a great job of showing Haleigh fighting with anxiety and how to move on to something new that she wants. I thought all the characters were developed very well and Haleigh has great chemistry with at least two guys. We also get some red hot love scenes that I much appreciated. Also, Haleigh is bisexual and it was nice to just read without anyone making a big thing about it.

The flow was really great and the tension was nice throughout. The ending gives you a HEA which was great.

Fun, quick and enjoyable! Loved it! A very diverse read that will appeal to romance readers. Will look for more by Jenny!

How to Get a Life in Ten Dates was a fun read! I related to the characters and found the dialogue very realistic. It was super enjoyable and I highly recommend it.

Such a fun read! Highly recommend.

Many thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed reading How to Get a Life in Ten Dates. I would have loved to see more angst between Haleigh and Jackson while she was going through her date-pocalypse but absolutely ADORED how Jack was rescuing her when she needed it.

It’s tough being out in the dating world and this book shines a light on how having some extra curves can make it much harder. It was also nice to see anxiety and OCD being explored more and how it can affect our every day lives and relationships.

A nice cozy read and a cute story between 2 lifelong friends who finally find their happily ever after and with low spice but there’s definitely some on-the-page spice scenes.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin New York!

This book had a lot of potential but missed the mark for me. I was excited about the plus size main character and the premise is cute but it just fell flat.

I loved the representation in this one--a diverse cast including bisexuality, anxiety, and OCD--and some of the terrible dates made me snort out loud.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! Opinions are my own.

Thank you to the author and publisher for the ARC!
All opinions are my own and freely given.

I got bored and the characters annoyed me.

I liked the last 25% of this book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, this one just didn’t work for me. Cute premise, but the first part really dragged. There were so many mentions of the “Hawaii” incident that I was over it by the time it was explained. The fall out from that also didn’t make sense. I honestly felt that there was too much leading up to the actual 10 dates. Some of the dates were funny, but the characters were flat and you could see the “end” coming from page 1. I know it’s all about the “journey”, but I just didn’t enjoy the ride as much as I had hoped.

Absolutely, positively loved everything about this book!!! I will ready anything by Jenny L. Howe, because I love her writing style, the characters, and their stories. You swoon, laugh out loud, and fall in love. 🥰🫶 I loved that this book caused some indecisiveness on the reader’s part too. Like who are we rooting for?? Cannot wait for the next one, and hopefully a returning character?! 🫣🤞 You don’t want to miss this one!!

I read this book last summer. I don't think I reviewed How to Get a Life in Ten Dates before now simply because I found it unbelievable. Haleigh and Jack are BFFs but a move up to the next level from platonic friendship to something more nearly ruins everything. They apparently spend years afterward unable to discuss what happened or why. Haleigh dates everyone male and female in her search for a mate, but the one she wants is the one she has crossed off the list. So when she decides to find a mate in ten dates, when Jack even jumps into the plan to help her,, what will become of their friendship?

The concept was cute. The story just didn’t do it for me. Haleigh was flighty and would complain about her situation but wasn’t I a hurry to change it. Comparing her life to her sister’s whose life is falling into place. Not wanting to show up to her sister’s engagement party / Harvard graduation solo she starts a dating plan. Her being bisexual was a surprise when that was nowhere in the description of the book. The would you rather questionnaire was brilliant but should e been a key indicator that some were clearly not her match. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins press for the free advanced copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily