Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. This was a quick read that had me smiling the whole way through. Now I want to pick up all of her books!
Tropes: he falls first! Rivals to lovers. Workplace romance. One bed.
Loved the internet searches at the beginning of each chapter. Quirky cast of side characters. Anna and Will’s banter was top notch.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book! It was a quick read and a great mix of heartwarming, funny, and charming. What makes this romance great? Hmmm. Rivals to lovers. Workplace romance. He falls first. Only one bed. FMC over thirty. Quirky cast of side characters. Lots to love! Won’t be the last Cousens book I pick up!

5 surprisingly delightful stars

This is my first book by this author, and I am excited that she has four others that I can read.

I loved this one for its real and multidimensional main characters, Anna Appleby's inner banter, the daily online searches she made (noted at the start of each chapter), and the time it took to develop a romance.

I haven’t read a workplace romance in a while, but this one definitely worked for me!

Anna and Will are both writers at a dying newspaper in Bath. With upcoming changes, only one of them might be kept on. Anna is divorced and really needs this job. Will seems to be critiquing her columns, constantly pointing out typos, and coming up with solid story ideas, and Anna is worried!

To keep her job, Anna comes up with the idea of finally trying to date again and writing about her adventures. When her children want to select who she dates, the unique concept is a hit. It was a clever idea, because don’t our children know us well? There are some hilarious dates and adventures for sure in this one! I wondered how things might turn out!

And there is much more to Will, and we get to know his motivations and what he wants out of life.

And did I mention the smoldering looks between Will and Anna? Are they flirting or enemies?

Anna’s internal monologue was spot-on, and I laughed out loud a few times, especially when she was around her ex-husband and his new girlfriend. The pistachio shells in the couch thoughts make for a favorite scene!

This one got me out of a reading slump and I’m excited to find a favorite read of the year.

I really resonated with these characters, the messiness of dating, divorced life, and finding what will truly make you happy.

3.5/5 - Honestly, this book was a solid 4 star book the whole way until the end. I didn’t find the conclusion very satisfying and it wrapped up a little too quickly for my taste. I liked Anna as a main character quite a bit. She felt like someone who was reasonably responding to the things going on in her life. I would have liked to have seen more from her relationship with Lottie (did we HAVE to introduce a character named Loretta have way through the book???) and thought it was weird that Lottie’s husband was never really on the page.

I don’t say this often, but I think this book also could have benefitted from dual POVs. We don’t really get much context for Will’s feelings and I felt like we needed that to buy a relationship between them.

Overall, I liked this book, I think I just wanted more from it. I liked the scenes with Jess and Ethan and think the author could have leaned even more into Anna’s life as a mother.

Note: I received an ARC of this book free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

“People are not chopsticks; they do work alone.”

I laughed when I read this line and it’s stuck with me ever since. There are so many good lines in this book, it was almost impossible to pick one, but that was the one that stood out after a few weeks.

Anna’s kids were adorable in their quest to find her kin a date, and her desperation to keep her column kept the story moving forward in the funniest way possible. The mailman was the least likely of all her dates and yet ended up being one of my favorites.

Very well written and a cute story with an HEA. Another Sophie Cousens triumph!

Sophie Cousens is an auto-read author for me, but I felt like this one fell slightly short compared to her other titles. It was still fun & cute, but I was pretty bored at the beginning. However, once I hit about 50% in, I couldn’t put it down!
It was fun to read about a little older of a FMC. I found her endearing and captivating, relating to her in different ways even if our lives aren't all that similar. I loved the communications between her and her kids, as well as her interactions with Dan and Sylvie. I imagine her feelings are very relatable and real. I thought that Sophie handled the situation of divorce and second chance love very beautifully.
Will was charming and everything I wanted in the MMC and more. I thought he brought a fun and young element, but also reminded me of a dashing leading man in an Austen novel.
Overall, it was cute, flirty & warm. It was well-written & executed, just could have used a little more editing to shorten the first half in my opinion.

3.75 rounded up. If you're a fan of Sophie Cousens, you will probably like this book. It was not my favorite of hers, but I enjoyed it enough and it was a quick read. While there were some sweet (and some steamy) scenes between the 2 main characters, I never quite found the true chemistry that I hoped for between the two of them. Some parts of the book felt a little disjointed for me and a few threads felt either dropped or tied up a little too neatly. But overall this one was fine and I think will be enjoyed by many.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and G. P. Putnam’s Sons/ Penguin Random House for allowing me to read and review this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion. I’m a Sophie Cousens fan so it was a bias for me when going into this one but I loved it! Enemies to lovers, single/widowed/divorced parent trope, kinda age gap and realism all around. Anna and Will Have chemistry sizzling from the start but this feels like a relationship you know. Like someone at the park or work could be going through this. Love!

Sophie Cousens has written another winner. At first, I wasn’t sure how I felt about the premise of the book (divorced woman dating for a work assignment). However, I was quickly pulled into the story.

I adored Will’s character and the banter between him and Anna. I loved that the story didn’t feel rushed. This made it feel more realistic to me. I genuinely liked the characters and I was invested in what happened to them. There were funny moments and sad moments.

I would definitely recommend this one to anyone who is a fan of an enemies to lovers trope, or a fan of Sophie Cousens. You won’t be disappointed!

Thank you to NetGalley and G. P. Putnam’s Sons/ Penguin Random House for allowing me to read and review this ARC.

I'm a Sophie Cousens completist, and I am happy to report that her new book, Is She Really Going Out With Him?, is yet another delightful romance that will please a wide variety of readers. I loved the humorous moments, the enemies-to-lovers dynamic, the kooky cast of characters, the workplace drama, and the silly scenarios that main character Anna found herself in. I'll read anything Sophie Cousens writes because each book is its own unique world that I don't want to leave behind when I reach the final pages.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Putnam for the eARC in exchange for my honest feedback. You've got another hit on your hands!

4.5 stars!!

Omggggg this was so cute!! I usually don’t gravitate towards books with the single/widowed/divorced parent trope, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t push off this ARC for those reasons (I requested it bc the cover was cute and other people were raving about it ok SUE ME). But now that I’ve read it, WOW I’m so glad I gave it a chance!

I love how the FMC was able to come back into her own post divorce. The book was so full of hope, and really drove home the idea that life doesn’t have to be over after a huge life change like divorce. She went out of her comfort zone with dating in both the types of people she went out with, and the age gaps (I love an older woman age gap bc I hate how men get a free pass for it but women are gawked at for dating younger men).

I loved it. The ending wasn’t my all time favorite, but it was happy and they were happy and so I guess I’m happy haha. PLEASE GO READ IT!!

Thank you Netgally for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam for the ARC of *Is She Really Going Out With Him* by Sophie Cousens! This was a 4.5-star read for me, and I absolutely loved it. The characters felt incredibly real, with chemistry that leapt off the page, making it so easy to imagine this story adapted into a super cute movie. The dynamic between Anna and her kids was heartwarming and authentic, and the interactions between Anna and her ex-husband captured a rawness and humor that's hard to find in books about divorce and co-parenting.

Of course, in real life, navigating co-parenting or moving on after divorce is rarely so smooth, and it’s not without challenges. But I appreciated how Cousens highlighted that, even when things get tough, humor and goodwill can make all the difference.

And don’t even get me started on the chemistry between Anna and Will. Off the charts!

This book left me with such a feel-good vibe, and as a fan of Cousens’ previous works, I’ll keep reading whatever she writes.

What a refreshing read. A rom-com that tackles realistic issues. A divorced mom struggling with dating. I really enjoyed this book and would definitely read more books from Sophie Cousens.

This book felt like a nice warm hug on a cold day! Brilliant and funny - what more could you want in a romance?

Anna and Will are work place rivals (one of my all time favorite tropes) and they are competing with each other on who get's the dating/lifestyle column at the magazine they both work at. Because of this, they are both writing about their dating experiences and we get to follow along on their dates (mostly Anna's as we are in her POV but we get the occasional update from Will about his dates). Anna is recently divorce and is overall rediscovering herself and making some friends along the way. Will is the hot eligible bachelor that everyone wants to date so obviously our girl Anna ends up falling for him.

This book had me giggling and gasping at moments and I loved getting to watch Anna's and Will fall for each other. There is a found family aspect while also showcasing the messy part of life. Overall, this book is 100% my favorite book from Sophie Cousens yet and I highly recommend reading it if you enjoyed her other books.

A special thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This author has a way of mixing humor and heart that makes the characters come to life on the page. I really enjoyed discovering a main character in her late thirties, as it feels every rom-com main character these days is pushing the ripe old age of 26. The search engine topics were some of my favorite parts of the book and was a unique way to provide insight into our main character’s head. The concept is original and managed to showcase Anna’s children without having them become the focus of the story. A nice balancing act, which seems like a metaphor for an any mother looking to reconnect with her “old self.” I read this book over a weekend and it was the perfect pick-me-up.
#IsSheReallyGoingOutwithHim #NetGalley

Sophie Cousens writes books that are the true definition of a rom-com. The humor had me laughing out loud, while the love interest made me feel swoony. Loved this one!

Anna is a columnist and recent divorcee, and in order to keep her job she pitches a novel idea: she will go on dates with people chosen by her children and write about them. Her colleague Will ends up writing a similar column to go side by side with hers, and the pair are thrown together over and over while on their dating journeys.

I adored Anna, and I related to her. I loved seeing a main character in her late 30s, with children, in a similar stage of life to my own. Cousens easily shows how moms end up putting themselves last, taking whatever is easiest for other people instead of making their own needs known, and how draining that can become. I loved Anna’s growth and loved seeing her find the things that made her happy once again.

The dates Anna goes on are with a unique cast of characters, and each date had a totally different vibe. Of course, once we realize who Anna is really meant to be with, every reader will be just a little bit in love with the dashing and flirtatious MMC. This is a closed door romance with little hints of what is about to happen, and somehow Cousens made closed door feel very spicy through the incredible chemistry she built!

Thank you to Putnam for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

How cute was this book that Anna let her kids pick her date. That part realty made it cute and makes you want to be fully aware of everything is happening to see if the kids made a good choice, This book had some great chuckles in it and other times you would smile so big. I can’t wait for this to come out on audio so I can listen to it and laugh even more.

Is She Really Going Out with Him by Sophie Cousens is a funny and heartwarming tale of love and unexpected second chances. Anna Appleby, a witty columnist and divorcée, has sworn off dating until her job depends on it. Desperate to keep her column, she agrees to let her children play matchmaker. Anna navigates each quirky date, while reconnecting with past crushes to chance encounters with strangers. This was such a beautiful story about rediscovering self worth and daring to love again!

What do you get when you let your kids pick your dates instead of the apps? You get this charming story.

Columnist Anna Appleby has left her love life behind after a painful divorce. Who needs a man when she has two kids, a cat, and uncontested control of the TV remote? Besides, she’d rather be single than subject herself to the hell of online dating. But her office rival is vying for her column, and no column means no stable source of income. In a desperate attempt to keep her job, Anna finds herself pitching a unique angle: seven dates, all found offline, chosen by her children.

Dates that can be described as Awkward! Hilarious! Cringey! Borderline Assaulty! But eventually, they might just get it right.

Sophie Cousens always hits just the right note. Great plot, great characters, all the feels. This one had top-tier banter, a May-December romance (older woman, younger man), and hot enemies-to-lovers chemistry. I loved how she opened each chapter with a hilarious list of Google searches.

Add this to your TBR. You won’t be disappointed.

Thank you to Penguin Group and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy. All opinions are my own.

What do you get when you let your kids pick seven dates for you…this book, you get this book and this book was SO GOOD.

The banter, the laughs, the swoons this story had it all and I urge you to pick up a copy on November 19th because I know I am.

Sometimes life can be messy and sometimes it’s okay to laugh about it and the laughs are plenty with this book.

We follow Anna as she tries to find love again after her recent divorce and her journey to get there is such a fun ride. And don’t even get me started on Will. He is THE ideal book boyfriend we all crave and if you read this book for any reason-do it for Will!

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for an arc of this book. All opinions are my own.