It took me a good 20% to get into this book. I couldn’t figure out Will’s angle at the beginning and I was afraid I wouldn’t grow to like him as our romantic interest. Luckily, as his story fleshed out and as Anna’s hilarious dates came to fruition, I found myself devouring this book.

It was refreshing to have the protagonist of a romance novel be a late 30s divorcee with two kids, a career, and a younger love interest. Anna was incredibly real and relatable being both the mature adult and ocasional hot mess that we all are. This ended up being my favorite type of romance with the perfect blend of humor, depth, and a little bit of enemies-to-lovers.

Vibes- workplace romance between journalists and post divorce romance

I thought this was so cute. First I really like this author so I was excited to read this book. It is a great post divorce finding yourself again book. She is trying her best- working at be job and keeping her 2 kids alive. She is a journalist being asked to do a column on dating but finding someone the old fashioned way. No dating apps! She goes on all of these adventures when her annoying coworker has been right in front of her the whole time.

#netgalley #isshereallygoingoutwithhim #romancebooks

I've read two of Sophie Cousens' books before this one, and she consistently delivers engaging, feel-good reads that hover around the 4-star mark. Her novels often feature characters who are flawed at the start and experience meaningful growth throughout the story, and this book is no exception.

The romantic leads are both navigating the challenges of adulthood, trying to figure out what comes next in their lives. The slow-burn enemies-to-lovers dynamic between them is well-executed, and the eventual payoff is definitely worth the wait.

One element that was a bit hard to believe, however, was the portrayal of the 38-year-old divorced female protagonist—specifically, the idea that a mother of two with no workout routine would be considered "hot" by much younger men. It felt unrealistic, though this didn’t take away from the story as a whole.

The subplot involving the female protagonist's daughter, who faces social challenges at school, felt underdeveloped. It’s introduced and rushed through at the end of the book. I couldn’t help but feel it was either too minor to include or needed more depth to truly resonate.

At 368 pages, the book feels longer than necessary, and while the plot summary mentions that the protagonist’s kids play a role in setting her up on dates, this is a side plot that’s not as prominent as expected. It’s mentioned, but doesn’t take center stage, so if you’re hoping for more of that storyline, you might be a bit disappointed.

If you’re a fan of Sophie Cousens, this novel will not disappoint. It’s another solid, heartwarming read with an uplifting message of growth, love, and self-discovery.

Thank you Netgalley and. Putnam Books for the ARC. The release date is November 19, 2024.

Such a sweet read — so lighthearted and funny! Loved the concept and the chapter titles, usually I’m not a fan of this, but it was a perfect mix of funny and cute 🤍🤭 the perfect Sunday binge read — def recommend adding it to your TBR.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of “Are you really going out with him?” by Sophie Cousens.

Jess is a thirty-eight year old, divorced mother of two, who works for the local publication in her home of Bath, England. Her husband has moved on (and in) with his new (much younger) girlfriend. Her colleague, Will, is trying to steal her space in the publication. When a new investor comes in, Jess is challenged to make her column more appealing to a younger audience. Will is the bane of her existence - always correcting her or finding a typo (before it had been edited), basically a thorn in her side. They come up with an idea to write competing dating columns - Will dating online, while Jess’s dates (both the person and location) are selected by her two kids. From a fishing date gone wrong, to accidental tattoos to rock climbing and promenading in Jane Austen attire, Jess has some of the worst dates imaginable. That is, until a work conference and a phone-free, romantic retreat in the woods brings these 2 enemies closer together.

Enemies to lovers. One bed. He falls first. It was a light read - I laughed (see: fishing date gone wrong). I really enjoyed this book.

Two years following a difficult divorce, news columnist Anna is struggling to get back out in the dating world. Her life has become too focused on her children and her work. When her office rival, Will, starts vying for her column, Anna decides to pitch a series of articles about dating in the modern age, told from her perspective and also his. Letting her children pick her dates for her, Anna goes on a series of bad dates while starting to feel attracted to her much younger coworker, Will.

This rivals-to-lovers romance was really cute about a woman finding her self-worth amidst the fallout from a rough divorce. It was great to see Anna find her voice, her strength, and her voice as she explores doing new things. Putting herself out there also opened her to new friendships and romance. Will was a great love interest with his kindness, humor and charm, appreciating Anna for the woman she is.

*** I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. ***

📝 Is She Really Going Out with Him? by Sophie Cousens 📝

First, I want to say thank you to Penguin Group Putnam, and Sophie Cousens for the ARC copy for this book, allowing me to read this amazing book early. This book comes out on November 18th, so definitely be sure to pick this book up when it comes out!!!

This book was SO adorable. I loved how there was the competition between Will and Anna for the column spot on the magazine. I loved the tension between them because you can really feel it building up to the peak moment everything happens! I also thought it was really adorable how Anna had her kids pick the people she would go on dates with, and what they would do together so it was a fun date instead of sitting at a bar and getting a drink. I really loved how they tried doing dating different than focusing on the online dating scene. Anna is definitely so relatable with the fact that she loves staying home and not really wanting to go out. I also loved how Anna kept saying she was happy and not necessarily looking for love, but still going out of her way to try and go on these dates so she was at least getting out of her comfort zone, and grow as a character. I am also OBSESSED with the fact that Sophie included the google searches on the top of the page for each new chapter. I thought it was such a clever way to tie in humor, as well as make Anna seem like such a relatable character.

An absolute delight! Sophie Cousens is one of my favorite authors and Is She Really Going Out with Him was so cute! The characters were so well developed and felt real. The banter and tension between the male and female main characters was pitch perfect. I loved getting to watch Anna navigate life and love after divorce.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! This was a cute read! I found both main characters Anna and Will extremely likable and Cousens gave them amazing chemistry. The storyline got a little muddled for me with the added characters in their work environment that I didn't feel were necessary. The idea of having her kids pick dates was clever and gave the story some funny moments along we all knew who she'd end up with. I adored Loretta and would have loved for her to be a bigger part of the book or have us/Anna meet her sooner. I didn't love the amount of back and forth of emotions of Anna at the end of the book, gave some whiplash but I get where Cousens was coming from. Overall a very enjoybable rom-comy read but probably won't be super memorable amongst others.

Sophie Cousens, I love you. Another 5 star read! I’ll read anything you write.

Is She Really Going Out With Him follows Anna as she gets back into the dating scene after her divorce. I loved the idea of her kids choosing the men she goes on dates with. The MMC is swooooonworthy.

This book has enemies to lovers, one bed!!! and (mostly) closed door steam 🫣

If you’ve loved her other books, you’ll love this one as well.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy and opportunity to read early. I’ll be recommending to everyone I know. ISRGOWH is out November 19!

Thanks to NetGalley and G. P. Putnam’s Sons for my ARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be published November 19, 2024.

This is the fourth book I’ve read by this author. They have all been consistently good. I’m a fan!

This rom-com was both rom and com. Anna’s 6 dates with random people are hilarious! There’s her neighbor Noah; they disagree over the height of his hedge. There’s the 20+ year old that takes her to a party where she mistakenly eats pot brownies and gets a tattoo. Then there’s the date with lice. And the celebrity date. It was a really fun read.

The rom part was somewhat predictable but that didn’t diminish how the story unfolded. While the ending wasn’t fairy tale perfect, it worked perfectly for me. ❤️

I really enjoyed that each chapter started with her recent google searches.

This is my first Sophie Cousens book, and I loved it! It’s the kind of book that makes you not feel so bad when you wake up at 3 am and can’t sleep because then you can read your book, only slightly hoping you read yourself back to sleep. Therefore, I finished this book within 24 hours of starting it. So good!

One year after her divorce is finalized, Anna Appleby is pretty happy with her single life. Her job as a columnist, her two children, her cat, and a home that is hers to rule make for a plenty-full life. There is no need to complicate this with a man, and especially not with the horrors of online dating. But when magazine ownership shifts and she faces competition to maintain her job and column, she pitches a novel idea: offline dating. She’ll go on one date a week, all found offline, with men chosen by her children ages 12 and 7.

I don’t want to say too much about the plot because it is so fun to see it play out. This story has all the feels. It will make you laugh out loud, giggle, and swoon. I especially appreciated great life lessons without excessive ruminating. 😀

Things I liked:
💕Set in Bath, England, complete with Jane Austen moments.
💕Glamping, firebuilding, and wild swimming.
💕Speed dating.
💕Loretta!
💕Interesting dates—the men and the activities
💕Competition at the office
💕Sweet, complex, swoony MMC

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book. So charming, original and full of heart.

Anna Appelby, a divorced journalist who’s grown disillusioned with modern dating, pitches a bold new column: her two children will choose her dates, and she'll write about each for the magazine where she works. What follows is a series of dates arranged by her kids—from the mailman to her son’s swim instructor and even her celebrity crush.

This book is filled with friendship, connection, and reminders that it’s never too late to enter your “Fleetwood Mac era.” It was great to see Anna come into her own as the book progressed, rediscovering herself post-divorce.

This book was so fun! I loved Anna's story. She grew so much throughout this book, and I loved that for her. The character development was perfect. "Is She Really Going Out with Him?" has such a fun, unique story line! I've never read anything like it before. I was laughing out loud, squealing from embarrassment, and getting teary eyed during vulnerable parts for Anna. My goodness, some of the dates she went on....just amazing. Sophie Cousens crushed it. This book was so enjoyable, and I will definitely recommend it.

Tropes:
-Enemies to Lovers
-Age Gap
-One Bed/Forced Proximities
-Single Mom

Spice Rating - Mild
Language Rating - Mild: the Lord's name is used in vain at times. which docks this book down a star for me.
Content Warnings - Divorce

I think Sophie Cousens writes in such a unique way that she really sucks the reader into her story. This book had a premise unlike anything I have ever read before and I thoroughly enjoyed it. For a majority of the book, I honestly didn’t know what was gonna happen and it kept me engaged with the story. Cousens is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors!

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the e-ARC.

AHH, another perfect book by Sophie Cousens. She is slowly becoming one of my favorite romance authors. I love the feelings this book evoked and loved the different personalities throughout.

Is She Really Going Out With Him? is a delightful roller-coaster of emotions—one moment I was laughing, the next feeling teary-eyed. The story follows Anna, recently divorced and reluctantly returning to the dating scene to write a work column. She’s convinced she’s perfectly fine on her own, with her kids, her job, and her sister. Who needs romance, right? But then there’s Will, an irritating coworker with his sights set on her column. Forced to work together, Anna begins to see Will in a different light, and what starts as rivalry might just turn into something else.
Sophie Cousens’ characters are a joy, each adding their own humor and heart to the story. Anna’s Google search history is hilarious, and her resilience is inspiring. Will is one of those characters who unexpectedly grows on you, making him easy to root for, and Anna’s family, especially Lottie and the kids, bring warmth and depth.
This book has just the right balance of romance, humor, and relatable life drama. The chemistry between Anna and Will is fantastic, and the retreat part was amazing. Overall, Is She Really Going Out With Him? is a feel-good, page-turning rom-com that stays with you long after. I already can’t wait to see what Sophie Cousens writes next!

Is She Really Going Out with Him is the first book I have read by Sophie Cousens and with this one book, I am ready to get into my car and drive to my bookstore to buy EVERYTHING she has written.

I thought this would be a fluffy romance- something low stakes, funny, sweet, something I could read in one sitting. And don't get me wrong, it is all of this! For me, it was so much more.

Anna is divorced and is trying to save her job as a writer from her work rival Will by pitching a new idea where her children select dates for her. From the dates to her google searches, I laughed quite a bit. The kids were adorable, the side characters were amazing and the chemistry between Will and Anna had me squealing. ( The window scene!!) The star for me was Anna- her vulnerability and as far as characters go, she may be one of the most relatable characters I have had the pleasure of reading.

As someone who is divorced and who is older, I felt too deeply her insecurities about being not enough or " having an expiration date" not being worthy and all those things that scream so loudly when we aren't feeling our best self. The love story for me was Anna and herself. Finding her joy again.

This book was a powerful reminder to me to give myself grace and to love again.

Thank you so much to Penguin Group Putnam and Sophie Cousens for this advanced copy!

Thank you to Putnam and Netgalley for the eARC! I loved Sopie Cousens previous outing., The Good Part, and this book reminded me why I love her writing style so much. Infused with humor, charm, and humanization, Sophie Cousens' story of Ana Appleby is an engaging read that ticked all the boxes for me. Fun premise? A journalist writing a dating column where the suitors are picked by her children, while her work rival writes a companion column about online dating. Check. A healthy amount of banter, flirting, and sexual tension between the FMC and said rival? Check. A fully realized FMC whose story doesn't just focus on the romance, and demonstrates growth? Check. Fun side characters who had me hysterically laughing? Yes! This was such a phenomenal book. I absolutely adored it and I'm jumping into Sophie Cousens' backlog ASAP.

This! This is how a romance should be written! What a heartwarming, humorous, and touching story.

This is the first book I've read by Sophie Cousens and it definitely won't be the last.

Anna is in her late 30s, divorced with two children and a columnist for a magazine. She's content with her life the way it is. Anna finds out that the magazine is having financial difficulty, the owner is looking for "fresh" content, and her office rival Will is ready and willing to take over. She knows she has to do something original, so she proposes that the two of them write dating columns: he will explore online dating and she will go out on a series of dates found by her children.

This book is realistic and funny, I immediately warmed to Anna as a character and her life seemed very relatable. What happens with the dates was very unexpected--there are some good, bad, and ugly dates and all of the results seemed so true to life. Even Anna's children acted exactly like I would expect children to act and it was a refreshing part of the story.

I know it's a cliché but I literally couldn't put this book down. It's one that I found myself reading late into the night, picking up the minute I woke up, and when things took me away from it I longed to start reading again. The romance is hot and heavy, but it's mostly behind closed doors so that it's not overly graphic. That takes supreme writing talent because I felt the heat, the romantic tension and the passion even when it wasn't directly described.

You will definitely not be disappointed in this fantastically written, beautifully developed romance novel.