the will to try dating again
Anna Appleby rode her bike into a brick wall when she was 8 and broke her collarbone. So whenever someone tells her that she should get back into the dating pool, that it’s “just like riding a bike,” all she can think is that it will be a similar disaster. But she doesn’t have a lot of choices.
Her husband wanted a divorce after reinventing himself, so he moved out of the home they shared with their two children and started over. Anna stayed in their home, raising the kids through the week, and enjoying time with her cat. She is a columnist for Bath Living, exploring the artistic and literary corners of life in Bath, England. It wasn’t until she started to feel threatened by another columnist at work that she started to consider dating again.
Will Havers had come to the magazine, and everyone loved him immediately. He was smart and handsome, and the women on staff all laughed when he flirted with them. He was also an exceptional writer and younger than Anna, so he was more in touch with the younger readers that her bosses were trying to reach.
Anna pitched a dating column, and her editor was interested in it. But she needed to find some sort of twist to it. She tried dating apps, but after a few mediocre dates, she knows she needs a different idea. She thinks that it might be better to try to meet people in real life, and her son thinks he knows the perfect person. So when Anna pitches the idea to her editor, to meet people in real life, she mentions as an example that her son had an idea of who she should go out with. Her editor loved the idea and insists she only go out with men her kids suggest. Will, meanwhile, will mirror her dating columns with columns of his own. Anna is irritated at how he injected himself into her column idea, but she knows it might get more view that way, and that is what she needs to keep her job.
As she juggles two kids, an ex-husband, his new girlfriend, and dating men chosen by her kids, Anna is reminded that she still has a lot of life to life. She’s still young (in her 30s), she’s hot, she’s smart and funny and willing to try new things. She ends up going out with a waiter who turns out to be way too young for her, the grumpy next-door neighbor, a recently divorced dad from school, and even Anna’s celebrity crush. She writes columns that are poignant and honest, showing her vulnerability and winning new fans. She finds out about Jane Austen cosplayers, hash brownies, tattoos, and dating a successful actor.
But when all this dating and vulnerability leads her to a genuine connection with someone, will she be able to ride that bike again? Or will the memories of the pain keep her home, alone, giving up on love?
Is She Really Going Out with Him? is the latest rom com from Sophie Cousens, and it’s a lovely look at life post-divorce. With humor and insight, Cousens looks at modern dating, at the ways we hold back from anxiety and the ways we jump in with an open heart.
I loved how Cousens leaned into the attractions in Bath. I did get a chance to visit many years ago, and I absolutely fell in love with it. I was so happy to get to revisit it through this novel. I also loved that while Anna found herself on several dates that were never going to lead to love, she still made friends and made connections that she carried on with as she finally crafted the life she was always wanting. This book just made me smile all the way through. It was a delight, filled with sweetness and humor and love. It may be her best book yet.
Egalleys for Is She Really Going Out with Him? were provided by G.P. Putnam’s Sons through NetGalley, with many thanks.
