𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗻: Frustrated with the nuances of online dating, where I've met zero princes among many toads, I agree to 10 dates - all selected by my children.

𝗔𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗯𝘆 is on the "the wrong side" of her thirties and has a monotonous divorce with very overwhelming consequences in her arsenal.
As she stumbles back into the dating world, she's reminded of just how awful it is, truly devastating. But added to the already daunting task is thought that they're all handpicked by her dear children - from the neighbour to their classmates's granddad, no one's safe.

𝙄𝙨 𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙂𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙊𝙪𝙩 𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙃𝙞𝙢? is a blend of women's fiction and romance set with an uplifting tone and witty plot.

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From the moment my eyes graced the first page which read the title '𝘐𝘴 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘎𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘖𝘶𝘵 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝗛𝗶𝗺? ' with those particular tone inflictions, like what do you mean? She's REALLY going out? With HIM??? Oh the incredulity of it all.
I knew I was in for a ride.

And let me tell you, it was a bit scandalous. I didn't think the author had it in her. She had me giggling the entire time with my feet thrown in the air.

I'll not spoil the read for you but Anna deserves all the kisses from her prince.
Initially I thought the would-be-hero of the story wouldn't get much time amongst all these dates but no, it was all perfectly aligned. Amazing book.

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4.06 / 5✩

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘗𝘶𝘵𝘯𝘢𝘮 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.

This was a cute, low spice rom com. Anna has been divorced for a year and is struggling with life and her ex moving on. She ends up doing a dating column for work and going on dates chosen by her children. The dates themselves were a little out there sometimes, but I enjoyed the genuine non-romantic connections that she made. I liked the coupling that happened in the book, but I struggled with the quick resolution that didn’t really resolve much. There was a happy ending, but it felt rushed and incomplete. Other than that it was a cute and fun read. Thanks to NetGalley and GP Putnams Sons for the ARC.

This was alright. The premise sounded interesting but Galway though it I started to loose interest. I do wished that the slow burn was a bit slower because I wasn't interested in the main couple towards the ending.

Thank you to Sophie Cousens, Penguin Group Putnam|GP Putnam’s Sons and NetGalley for an advance reader copy of this hilarious and heartwarming novel. I pretty much love every book written by Sophie Cousens, but this surpassed all of the others! Cousen’s gift of writing dialogue, her hilarious “google searches” at the top of each chapter and the sensitivity she writes middle aged women with (multidimensional-thank you!) creates a story that is so pleasing to read!

Anna, a recent divorcee, is struggling to remain relevant in her journalism job. Will, younger and highly ambitious, seems to enjoy critiquing her writing and fighting to take her column on his way up the ladder. I won’t say more because the joy is in the banter and scenes unfolding with much miscommunication and well meaning children. This story is such a fun read. It will be published November 19th, 2024 and I highly encourage you to pick up a copy for you and your best friend. I plan on buying several copies to give as Christmas presents!

Is She Really Going Out with Him? by Sophie Cousens is a terrific book that made me laugh and want more.

Anna is ready to start dating again and letting herself do for herself and not just her children a year after her divorce is finalized. This blooms into an idea for her magazine column - she'll document her jumping back into dating. Will, also needs to get back into the dating game and they are going to each write about their experiences, her with her dates being chosen by her kids and him using dating apps.

It's not hard to figure out how the book will end, but it was a joy reading about the journey to get their. Anna navigates being a single working mom, forging a relationship with her ex-husband and HIS dating situations, and finding her new life and romantic relationships with a sense of humor, love for her kids, and juggling to keep everything together.

I haven't read a lot of Sophie Cousens, but this book has made me want to go find her backlist and devour it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I loved this! It’s like an updated, more mature version of Sally Thorne’s The Hating Game. The banter was phenomenal, the Google searches were hilarious, and I enjoyed the entire concept of Anna’s children picking her dates. All of the characters were extremely well-developed and unique. I loved reading about a late-30s woman trying to navigate parenting, work, and dating. This is Sophie Cousens’s best novel yet!

Thank you to Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

A delightful new read from Sophie Cousens!

Anna has been divorced for about a year and it's time to get back out there. Well, if "time" means that she needs to save her job and proposes an idea for a new magazine column that is based on her children choosing dates for her! As the weeks pass, Anna and her co-worker Will each go on dates, her set up by her kids and his using online apps. and write dueling columns to document their experiences.

Readers will enjoy following Anna's journey back into the dating world and how she chooses to navigate her ex-husband's new relationship. I think that there will be a lot of people who relate to these dating/divorce struggles which should attract a nice audience.

I think this is my favorite Cousens book so far! Thanks to NetGalley for the digital advanced copy.

This book was absolutely everything! I’ve been trying to think of what to say, but the truth is that I had an absolute GREAT time reading this. It’s not a secret that I’m a sucker for writers romance, but add a little age gap, a workplace “competition” sort of situation, a little touch of forced proximity, and a late 30s mom trying to move on after a divorce, I ate this up!
The premise was very unique, and I felt like all the characters were very well written and developed. I wouldn’t change a single thing about it, from beginning to end, I had so much fun. I laughed, I cried, I held my breath and was giggling kicking my feet.

Thank you so much Penguin Group Putnam & NetGalley for this early digital copy, all opinions are mine & mine only. ✨

Holy moly!! Thank you to net galley and Sophie Cousens for the arc!

To begin although I went into this mostly blind I could still see some of the end game by about 15-20% into the book. However I’m so so glad that the vibes and general sense of the book were not ruined by the possible insinuation of a pregnancy trope in 3rd act. The google searches at the beginning of each chapter were genius and just made me kick my feet and giggle!! Honestly this book was amazing and I totally recommend it!!


Overall: 4.5/5 ⭐️
Spice: 2/5 🌶️ (it was there, but not too much and happened late half in the book but the spice slapped!)
Plot: 3/5 🌏 (the premise was unique, fun, and the characters had amazing development however the pacing felt a little off with progression and after 70% it felt a little slow until the last 5% ish which all just snowballed)

10/10 recommend giving a shot when you can!!

I am enjoying this book so much! Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Books Putnam for providing this book, with my honest review below.

Sophie Cousens hasn’t let me down yet with well written and deeply moving romances. Is She Really Going Out with Him? Is another example of her stellar writing and creative plots. We start off with a bang, introduced to newly single mom Anna as she has a meltdown during reading at her son’s school. A year later Anna is finally ready to date again - at least as a way of retaining her job as a columnist. With the cute spin of having her kids pick her dates, the different guys Anna goes out with are fun enough to read about, but what sticks with you are the realizations and growth Anna makes along the way. Sweet in the romance area but also significant in character growth (and rife with great supporting characters), this is a highly recommended read!

Cousens is a fantastic writer and a must-read author of mine. I found this book to be entertaining, and I enjoyed the inclusion of the main character's children. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Great cover, cute story.

Anna finds herself going on dates with people she meets in real life, selected by her children, then writing about it as an attempt to save her job as a columnist at a failing magazine. Anna is lovely and her encounters are real, and the author does a great job of letting us feel all those true emotions. She is building connections with all of her dates, even if they aren’t the romantic type. Will, her rival colleague, had a few too many scenes for too far into the story where he’s doing or saying something unlikeable. This couple had two main reasons they shouldn’t get together. These reasons were reiterated at the very end of the book without a resolution. The Google searches at the beginning of each chapter are hilariously relatable.
Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Books for providing this ARC.

Anna is a recent divorcee who decides to go on dates in an attempt to save her column/job from being poached by a younger/more hip work colleague, Will. In an attempt to appeal to a younger audience, she pitches an idea of going on 7 dates that are chosen by her children. As a result, Anna begrudgingly joins and explores the dating world post-divorce, but ends up learning much more about herself in the process.

Tropes:
age-gap romance (10 ish years)
rivals-to-lovers
workplace romance
definite yearning

I thought this book was very realistic with the perspectives of dating in late 30's, getting back out there again after divorce, and dating in the modern era. Anna is a very relatable protagonist and is someone who prioritizes everyone else before herself and her happiness. After a long marriage, she is understandably wary of dating again. Despite her reluctance, I liked that she went into each date with an open mind and learned/re-discovered something about herself after every date, no matter how bad the date was. We also see how Anna interacts with her children and how she deals with and adjusts to co-parenting with her ex-husband. There were definitely some laugh out loud moments, and I thought the list of google searches before each chapter were adorable. Will was easy to like, despite his flirty demeanor, when he revealed his softer side, and it was cute to see how oblivious Anna was to Will when it was painfully obvious to the reader.

Overall, this was a flirty, fun romance that also had a surprising amount of depth to its characters and plot.

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam and NetGalley for the ARC!

What could go wrong when you let your children pick out your date? for the hilarious answers, read Is She Really Going Out With Him!

IS SHE REALLY GOING OUT WITH HIM? is a sweet, fun and flirty romance that felt refreshing to read. With a unique premise, Anna must write a newspaper column about her dating experiences picked out by her children, while her office nemesis Will will counter each article with his own dating experiences. Anna is divorced, not looking to getting her heartbroken again, bust taking care of her kids, and isn't serious about dating. Will is a flirt, always gives unsolicited feedback on Anna's work, and not to mention not her type no matter how cute he looks dressed at the office...there's no spark between them or is it that they just don't want to admit? Being single again forces Anna to ask herself what it is that she wants, what is it that makes her happy, and where is she settling in life, including in her career. And I so loved the google searches at the beginning of each chapter!!

Thank you to G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.