How to Get a Life in Ten Dates

I had the opportunity to read this on NetGalley, and holy cow, this book was adorable, funny, relatable and swoon worthy!

Description: “Dating as a plus-size woman has been exhausting for Haleigh Berkshire. Sure, she's only twenty-five, but she's been doing it for a decade, and she's beginning to think it's time for a sabbatical. It doesn't help that she's been madly in love with her best friend, Jack, for years—but one disastrous weekend in college taught her the hard way that they'll never be more than friends.

With her sister's engagement celebration fast approaching, and her friends and family nagging her about a plus-one, Haleigh and Jack do what they do best: scheme. Haleigh agrees to let her friends and family set her up with ten people—and she's sure that, once none of them prove to be good matches, her loved ones will finally let her fade into romantic retirement in peace.

To her surprise, some of Haleigh’s dates go better than expected, and for the first time in forever, she's actually having fun. Until Jack starts breaking all the rules they’d made to mend their friendship in college. He produces a laundry list of flaws for everyone she likes, crashes some of her nights out, and finally shocks her by throwing himself into the mix. Dating Jack has always been the dream, but Haleigh is afraid of the reality. Is it worth risking her best friend for something that may have never been meant to be?”

Haleigh was incredibly relatable, and I loved having a FMC that was perfectly imperfect. I loved the mental health representation in both of the main characters, and how Jenny L. Howe portrays anxiety and how the characters worked through it and how it was a positive proponent for therapy.

I found myself laughing along with Haleigh’s disastrous dates, nervous along with her, and swooning over the adorable love interests! This was overall such an enjoyable read and I couldn’t get enough!

Haleigh our plus size heroine is a wee bit of a disaster . She’s trying to find her place in the world while attempting to fall out of love with her best friend. This leads to members of her family and friends setting her up on different dates, that range from offensively bad to hilariously outrageous to absolutely perfect. But Haleigh soon has to decide what is the best choice for her.

This book was so cute. It has great representation for plus size women as well as the LGBTQ community. You find yourself rooting for Haleigh and hoping for the best! This was such a relaxing read, seriously binged it in one night.

This book had me laughing out loud from the start. I absolutely devoured it on holiday. If you are looking for something relatable and witty this is the book for you.

This was the first book I have read by this author and I really loved it. I’m always a big fan of books that have curvy FMCs so that immediately drew me to this book. I really loved both Haleigh and Jack and the chemistry and banter they had. I also really loved the cute questionnaires that Haleigh had her dates fill out. The questions had me laughing so hard. Would highly recommend if you enjoy a good friends to lovers romcom.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for providing this digital arc in exchange for an honest review

It is my humble opinion that this is Jenny‘s best book yet!

I am always absolutely absorbed by her characters and their lives but this surpassed all others. Haleigh’s journey through life was a little uncanny for me. I completely saw myself in her character, almost an exact mirror image, and felt a little less unmoored.

Jenny reflects in her acknowledgments how she wrote some of her own experiences with mental health into Haleigh and all I can say is I completely understand.

The power authors have when writing about mental health and body positivity is precarious at best, but Jenny clearly understood the importance and sensitive nature these topics can create. She is eloquent and realistic, which produced a well balanced and relatable story.

It’s no secret that this is my favorite of her books so far and I can’t wait until her next publication!

How to Get a Life in Ten Dates by Jenny L Howe is scheduled to be published December 10th, 2024.
I highly recommend this book as essential literature, for any romance reader.