Sophie Cousens is a true gem, talented writer and someone I will auto buy forever.
Her writing is so realistic, with the perfect dash of whimsy and escapism. I ADORED these characters and how raw and real the story line was. Maybe it was because this story mimics my life nearly identically right now, but I loved the rays of hope I found in this story.!!!

I wasn’t really sure if this book was going to be for me after reading the description, but I absolutely loved it! Took me a while to get into the plot, but watching Anna’s kids decide who she is going to date was just adorable. I think my favorite character in the whole book was Ethan. He was so pure choosing who his mom was going to go out with that I was smiling nonstop while reading. I had to fight the urge not to yell at Will as it was taking him way too long to figure out what he wanted in life. I am most definitely recommending this book to other romance book fans and will be rereading it again very soon!

You NEED to read this ASAP!!

It is my new Sophie Cousens book. I absolutely LOVED IT. All the stars.

It was hilarious, the dates which are chosen by her kids and cast of characters was amazing.

The authors writing made Anna very relatable as she tried to juggle being a mum , a journalist and newly single after a divorce.

The office rivalry with Will was so well done with it being towards their column instead of just office pranks.

The story was heartwarming and heart wrenching as Anna is very vulnerable and raw about how she feels about dating at her age.

Watching her fall in love on her own journey to find herself again was beautiful.

Mom guilt is real. I cried.

This book was perfection. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
❤️😂🥰😭😍🔥❤️

Ps. Her last article for the Times was moving.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ 4.5 Stars

Sophie Cousens’ Is She Really Going Out With Him? is a beautifully nuanced and heartfelt story that balances romance, self-discovery, and the challenges of adult life with grace and wit.

What I loved:
• The characters feel refreshingly real, tackling relatable problems for adults in their thirties, from career changes to family responsibilities.
• Anna and her sister’s sibling relationship was one of my favorite elements—genuine, supportive, and sweet.
• The portrayal of divorce was incredibly thoughtful, showing it as both heartbreaking and sometimes the best choice. I loved the emphasis on cherishing the good years and the love that was shared.
• Co-parenting is a tough dynamic, but Cousens captures how it can work with respect and communication.
• The Bath setting, paired with the through-line of Jane Austen references, made this story shine. Austen fans will adore moments like Michael’s declaration, “I never jest when it comes to Jane.” Same, Michael, same!

What didn’t work as well for me:
• The book tackles a lot of heavy topics—divorce, grief, bullying, disability, sexism, ageism, and more. While each was handled sensitively, the sheer number of issues sometimes made the story feel overly full.
• The ambiguous ending was a mixed bag. On one hand, I appreciated that Anna and Will were choosing to be together without rushing into a traditional “happily ever after.” On the other hand, I was left with lingering questions, particularly about Will’s feelings on not having children and whether their long-distance relationship could truly work.
• Anna’s career transition from Bath Living to freelancing felt precarious and stressful in a way that hit a little too close to home. The lack of job security, benefits, and PTO distracted me from the romance at times (maybe that’s just my own anxieties showing!).

Overall, this is a wonderfully written, thoughtful, and realistic romance that explores love, loss, and new beginnings with heart and humor. Fans of Jane Austen, real-life love stories, and imperfect-but-perfect relationships will adore this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this gem!

4.5 out of 5 stars (rounded up) | "Is She Really Going Out with Him?" by Sophie Cousens is of the most heartwarming yet entertaining romance books that I have read in a long time! Within just a few chapters of the book starting, it became so easy to cheer on our FMC who is a newly divorced mom of two.

The essence of the journey the FMC goes on is not necessarily to find love (in fact she is almost opposed to the idea of love again) but to find love for herself again. In an effort to save her journalism career she starts writing a dating column where her children pick who she will date and we get to experience an array of entertaining moments and lovable side characters.

Before reading this book I expected hilarious dating stories and even for the FMC to eventually find love, but I did not expect to form an emotional attachment to her children and sister, witness a complex yet realistic dynamic with her ex-husband, and follow a string throughout the whole story where little by little, Anna finds herself.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. I have loved every single one of Sophie Cousens novels and this one was another 5 stars. It's adorable and I lived every single minute of it.

I absolutely adored this book. Sophie Cousens has been a go-to author for some time now but this book was a home run. I loved the dynamic between the two main characters. While I have never been divorced, Anna is honest and battling life post the change in her family's life. She unjustly but is aware fight with Will her co-worker who is creeping into her work arena. The banter progress from angry and bitter towards fun and playful pulling me in as a reader. Her concerns felt so valid and real that it was hard to to side with her and root for her even when you wanted her to make a different decision. Overall a FANTASTIC read that warms your soul!

This was the most perfect rom com! Funny, sweet and more to the story. I loved the character development of Ana. The little bits of “google searches” was a fun touch. I am a big fan of Sophie’s writing style and will continue to read all of her books! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for and ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a highly relatable romance and I loved that the FMC Anna Appleby was a 38 year old divorced mom of 2, having to deal with an unstable job situation while also navigating co-parenting with her ex and his predictably much younger girlfriend. Anna works at a local news magazine in Bath, England, where she nurses a rivalry with younger upstart, Will Havers. When a London conglomerate takes over and threatens layoffs, the two need to team up and and write a his and hers dating column to try to draw readers in. While Will focuses on being the man about town, Anna's angle is that online dating wasn't for her, and she goes on dates where the men are picked by her children. With their limited network, this hilariously includes single fathers from school, the next door neighbor, a TV actor, and the postman. When Anna and Will need to go on an off the grid in the woods couples retreat for a freelance assignment, their workplace rivalry finally melts away and Anna is able to see the motives behind Will's actions all along. This one had all the great tropes; enemies to lovers, workplace rivalry, forced proximity, and reverse age-gap. I hate age gap, but I'm also a giant hypocrite, and love to see an older woman get to have some fun with a younger man. The side characters were colorful, the children sincere, and Anna's Google searches made me laugh out loud. Overall this one was just a great feel good story that struck that delicate balance of having a lot of heart without being too emotional.

As another “post-married” woman in her 30s (though without kids) satisfied with her singleness but on the apps, I connected to Anna in ways I never thought I would. Though adding in a man like Will seems like a far-fetched fantasy 😅 This is a must-read if you just want to feel something.

This book was good but not my favorite, It felt really slow at times and I was just waiting for it to pick up. I really loved Will’s character. Anna, on the other hand, while I enjoyed her growth wasn’t my favorite. I also wish that when Anna was asking out random people that’ someone said no. It just seemed a little unbelievable to me that everyone said yes.

Is She Really Going Out With Him?

Oh my heart, Sophie Cousens has done it again!! Hands down, my favorite of hers. I absolutely adored and devoured this one. I can’t stop smiling over it. Ahhh

Anna Appleby is a journalist and mom of two working hard to take care of her family, while also finding herself and her identity after divorce. Work is up in the air as their publication is being bought out by an investor who thinks her style is dated, Anna suddenly finds herself on a dating column quest about her personal life - specifically dates picked by her 7 year old son and 13 year old daughter. The antics are HILARIOUS. Who says you can’t ask out your mailman, the famous actor in a local play or your grumpy widowed neighbor?

Of course, all her columns are juxtaposed with her work rival, Will. He’s younger, infinitely cool, and annoyingly charming. Is his correcting her grammatical errors the journalist equivalent of pulling her pigtails? Or is she terribly misjudging this after having been out of the dating scene for so long?

Y’all, I adored this book. As a mom of toddlers, finding myself while also embracing the chaos of raising littles is such a powerful theme to me. I adored Anna’s journey and was here for the rivals to lovers tension. I highly recommend!

Check this one out if you’re looking for:
Rivals to lovers
Workplace romance
Set in small town England
A delightful cast of characters, found and blood family alike
Hilarious dating antics
Swoon butterflies

Thank you to Putnam for this ARC! My opinions are my own.

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is my second book from this author, I loved the first one I read by her and I thought that this one was decent. I absolutely loved the plot of this book, I thought it was such a cute idea. The main thing I loved in this book was the main character and her kids. Anna is a fantastic mom and her kids (especially Ethan) are adorable. I also enjoyed seeing Anna's journey through all her dates and figure out how to be herself again after her divorce.

I'm not 100% sure my opinion on Will. When we're first introduced to him part of me kind of hoped that he wasn't the endgame relationship. Once she spent more time with him I kind of saw it but I never got to the point of fully loving him as the main male character. He's fine but not really swoon worthy to me.

3.5 stars rounded down

Absolutely delightful book about a divorced mom who goes on various dates chosen by her children all while tension builds with her younger coworker. I loved the relationship and banter between Anna and will but also really loved Anna's journey to find herself again. Will read anything by the author!

Sophie Cousens does it again! This was such a sweet story with good chemistry and solid tension between the FMC and the MMC. I loved that the FMC was late 30's because a lot of romcom stories, the leads are in their 20's and I am just over that age bracket. This was more relatable. I laughed out loud at some of her dates and the conversations were never cringey. It all felt natural and I just loved it all!

This was my first Sophie Cousens book and I have to say this book is probably one of my top 10 most favourite romance books of all time. I absolutely loved Anna and Will's story!! The enemies to lovers writing was so so good!

The dating Anna does for her column ends up being hilarious. You see her develop throughout the story line and it is so fun to watch. She went from a down on her luck, divorced single mom of two to a fun loving woman who replized who and what she wanted and went after it.

I devoured this book in a day and a half. I absolutely loved the banter - I love that he fell hard. I loved that Will was so good to her kids and just made life feel normal and how love is supposed to feel when he was with Anna.

Highly recommend this book!

This book was such a delight! I've never read anything by Sophie Cousens, and this was such a good entrance into her books.

My favorite thing about this book was that Anna was closer to my age than most FMC in romance novels. She was smart and capable, she had a sense of humor. She was a bad-ass!

This book reminded me so much of Annabel Monaghan's books, and I loved it. I loved every character and what they brought to the story. They each had their own identity, and they didn't shy away from it. It was an absolute pleasure to read this book. No notes.

Initially, I thought I wouldn't like the FMC, Anna, because she was such a...curmudgeon. BUT!!!!! I was totally wrong. I fell in love with Anna and the MMC, Will, and the way their relationship unfolded. And the spice in the book was still sweet in a way, which I really appreciated. (I'd give it a 1/5 on the spice scale.)

Without giving anything away, I would highly recommend this book. Just...so cute, so sweet, and so good!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

This was the cutest story! I adored Anna’s character and loved seeing her dates unfold. If you need a good heartfelt but funny book, Sophie Cousens always delivers!

thank you to netgalley for my e-arc. oh my god the banter between these two. cousens is usually great at the banter and bickering, i really love her character development and her writing style. i need to catch up on her backlist now.