#10blindDates #NetGalley
An enjoyable, sweet, funny read about being in high school, dealing with family changes in dynamics, and how we grow as young people when we are put through everything.

10 Blonde Dates was super cute and a quick read. Highly enjoyable where my only complaint is that it's a fall release instead of summer! It's the perfect feet good summer contemporary.

Very cute light read! Perfect for the beach or hanging by the pool. Sophie is a cute very likable character and this book reads just like a rom com. Recommend when you want something light and fun!

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review:
10 Blind Dates
by Ashley Elston
Publishing Date: 01 Oct 2019
Read courtesy of Netgalley.com

Though not as sophisticated, I believe this book fits in with what the Sarah Dessen - Jay Asher - John Green - Deb Caletti readers might enjoy.

The main character, Sophie, has a very large family, necessary for the plot to take place. However, I got confused trying to keep them straight. The author, Ashley Elston, had to create a lot of personalities to give her secondary characters motivation, and I often had to re-read parts I'd previous read to get their relationships clear.

I made some comments to myself of things that distracted me from the story, really minor things, but I felt if these were able to distract me, then I wasn't too invested in the story. Things like "Who makes peanut butter cannolis?" and "Muffalettas aren't Italian," and "Seriously, another librarian stereotype?"

To be fair, there were times when I found myself engaged enough to try to guess who the dates might be, to chuckle where the reader was supposed to chuckle at a corny line or two, and to think, "Good pick! Good surprise and fits with the picker's personality," when one of Sophie's relatives picked someone Sophie already knew.

I'm still contemplating whether there was a need for a secondary story line as extensive as the one for Sophie's sister, Margot. I got that family was important and that the author needed a plot device to get Sophie to visit her relatives, but that story line didn't add to the family-importance theme in a significant way, and it often distracted from the primary story line.

Half-way through the story it was obvious with whom Sophie was supposed to end up. The author did do a nice job, though, of drawing the reader into routing for him even while Sophie was going on dates with others.

This story allowed the author to be creative, and it was (briefly) fun to see all of the different dates Sophie's relative planned for her. But like Sophie said, "I never thought I'd get tired of going on dates, but I'm officially there." Once each date was revealed, I also got tired of being on the dates with her. And I wondered how great her family could be if they were using these young men for their own entertainment.

At first it took me a while to get into this book. I could not understand what was going on. The beginning is a little confusing. It is not unto the grandmother starts the list, that this book stars coming to life. The family members fighting to put their names down to get Sophie a date was hilarious. Sophie as a character was hard to read at the beginning, I don't know if it was intentionally done, she come out as selfish, however as she begins going to her dates she becomes more humanize. Margot the sister was Hilarious with hers sausage toes, and it breaks your heart what she goes through with Anna. Olivia and Charlie, I want to know more please! They have such a great influence on Sophie that they are essential to her identity finding. With Wes you can pretty much know where he fits in the story, and that just makes you love him more. Dates I love, Seth and Paulo's were pretty great. Dates I cringed and laugh (not a good combination) the Evil Jo' sand their mother's chosen dates.

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

I was on my way to give this a solid 3 stars...until one paragraph at the end of the book brought it to 2.

If The Disney Channel and Hallmark Channel made a Christmas movie together, it would be 10 Blind Dates. There is no depth, nor is there meant to be. The writing is cute and perfect for middle school and high school fans of rom-com. Of course boys are in the picture, but friends and family relationships are a huge part of the story as well.

What brought the book down for me was a tiny paragraph at the end. The main character, Sophie, stays at her grandparents house for the holidays while her parents are with Sophie's older sister while she is on pregnancy bedrest. After the baby is born, the two have a text conversation about the baby. Older sister shares that the baby is hungry all the time and just want's to nurse. Sophie's response? "Ew, TMI!"
Sophie: You're 17 years old and come from a large family. The fact that you find nursing gross and embarrassing to talk about is just pathetic. Grow up.

A lot of this book is waiting for Sophie to "grow up". But I say that as a 40-something. Tweens and teens will like this just fine.

Such a great (big Italian!) family to base this story around. I really loved the concept of the MCs grandma setting up this huge family blind date game to make her granddaughter feel better after a break up (who doesn’t love a strong and mischievous matriarch!?).

I’m not sure how this book could have been better for the book that it is, and the sweet moments and messages it got across. I loved the sorting through how family-friendship relationships shift and change as we grow, and the MC and her sister’s relationship was completely precious to me. I really enjoyed reading this one and it made me happy. This one is a great one to have in older classrooms but especially to rec to friends and students for some nice summer reading. I like that this is one that can be appealing to middle schoolers all the way up to adults (like me! Who want to unwind and enjoy a good romcom vibe that’s new ish but also a fan favorite trope).. 4.5 stars. I wish there were more of these that I could read before bed :).

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for a copy of an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

3.5 Stars

This was a cute, fluffy read. Sophie is thrilled that her parents are going out of town over the Christmas break to visit her pregnant sister, and she'll get some time at home alone with her boyfriend, Griffin...until she hears him say she isn't fun anymore and that he wants to break up with her. Sophie takes her broken heart to her grandmother's house where the rest of her family has descended for the holiday, and they all set out to take her mind off her troubles. They create a list of 10 blind dates, one for each day of the break, and compete to see which one will be her favorite. They take bets on what time she'll get home and who she'll like best. She's certain this is the worst idea in history. Until it turns out that she's having a lot of fun and has barely thought about Griffin, who now seems to want her back. Meanwhile, she can't help hoping that one of her dates will be with Wes, the cute boy she's known forever who lives next door to her grandma. Will this ridiculous set of dates end up with Sophie finding true love?

There isn't a lot of depth to this book in terms of meaningful truths about life or important lessons learned, but sometimes it's fun to just escape into a silly story that you know is going to end in happily ever after. The characters were charming, the plot is predictable but with clever details (some of the dates were super-creative and hilarious), and I read the last page with a smile on my face. Sweet, fluffy fun.

***Thanks to NetGalley and Disney-Hyperion for the adorable read in exchange for my honest review!***

10 Blind dates by Ashley Elston is a laugh out loud joy to read. Sophie is an adorable character who you'll be rooting for till the end.I just couldn't wait to see who and what each date was all about. I loved the big family helping her out and couldn't help but laugh at some of the outrageous outings. This was a great read that I'll have to read over and over around the holidays. Can't wait to read Ashley's next book.

I got this book of Netgalley because I thought the cover and title looked cute. The book did not disappoint. I thoroughly enjoyed this read because I quickly fell in love with the characters and how the author really delves into the intricacies of family life. Sophie is a girl with everything going for her. She is a senior and has one semester until graduation. She has an amazing boyfriend. She has a niece on the way. She has applied to several colleges, and she is sure she will get in. Her parents are on their way out of town for the Christmas holidays - they are only going a few towns over to Southern Louisiana. Sophia has a day before she has to show up at her Grandmother’s house for the holidays, so she wants her boyfriend Griffin to hang out with her. Only....he wants to party with friends. She shows up to persuade him to go back and spend alone time with her, but she walks up with him talking about how boring she has become and that he think he wants to break up with her. Crying hysterically she goes to Nonna’s house where the family will not have her hysterics over some dumb boy. Now when we say family, we mean her mother is one of 8 brothers and sisters. And not a holiday goes by where the ENTIRE family doesn’t come to hang out and stay at Nonna’s. When Sophie arrives grieving her lost love, the family bans together to get her out of if. They decide she will go on 10 Blind Dates over the holiday break. Each person signs up and the bets begin.

A heartwarming rom-com about love, family, and finding yourself. After Sophie overhears her boyfriend telling his friend he wants a break, Sophie is devestated. Her family decides to help, setting her up on ten blind dates over the holiday break. Funny and poignant, any fan of romance will love this novel.

After overhearing her boyfriend talk about dumping her, Sophie finds herself newly single right before Christmas with her large, nosy, boisterous family. Naturally, her family decides to step in and cheer her up by each setting her up on a blind date of their design.

This book took a few chapters for me to get into, but after I did, I couldn't put it down. It was fun, and feel-good, and adorable, and it's the perfect fluffy romance for the holidays. One thread of the plot is Sophie rediscovering her "old," pre-boyfriend self that took risks and had fun with her family, and the book itself found a similar journey--it started out a bit bland, but ended up totally lovable. I would absolutely recommend it to anyone looking for some cute mind-candy.

I was absolutely in love with this read and I think it's my favorite classic contemporary read of the year. Sophie was a delight of a main character. She was hilarious, relatable, and all around fantastic. Her large, involved family was a breath of fresh air in YA and I loved seeing her relationship with each member of her large, extended family.

The characterization in this novel is its strong suit and even though there was an enormous cast of characters, each character stood on their own and had a unique personality. My favorites had to be Nona and Uncle Michael but there wasn't a character that I didn't like. Her sister was a gem and I loved their relationship, especially all of the weird pictures texted back and forth.

Sophie's character development is amazing. We get to watch her find her place in a large family, wrestling with what she expects of them and what they truly are. We see her become a better version of herself throughout her dates and while she figures out her relationship with Griffin. I loved watching her grow and realize what, and who, really matters to her.

Overall, 1o Blind Dates is an adorable rom-com that makes you fall head over heels for Sophie and her family, while she may or may not be falling head over heels for someone else.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Disney-Hyperion through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.*

Okay, holy cuteness overload. 😍 This was honestly such a great book. I loved the family dynamics that were woven in with the really fun 10 blind dates idea. I'm definitely going to be buying this one when it's published.

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. I enjoyed this clean contemporary romance about breaking up and moving on. Sophia also strengthens family bods while finally moving forward in a relationship herself. Great supporting cast of friends and family in this book. Everything with the family interaction was plausible and I enjoyed the large characters.. can't wait to read more by this author.

This book was so cute!! Perfect for fans of rom-coms, Jenny Han, Stephanie Perkins, etc. I loved the unique family story alongside the romance and think this would be a fun read around the holidays, when all your crazy family members are around. I look forward to recommending this one!

10 Blind Dates was a quick and cute read. I read the synopsis and knew that I needed to read it immediately. While the main focus of the book is obviously romance, friendship along with family and relationships were also strong themes of this book. I loved Sophie's relationship with her sister Margot and just how close and supportive they were of each other. The Fab Four of Sophie, neighbor Wes, cousin Olivia and cousin Charlie were also quite the read. They were so fun, pushing the envelope/thinking outside of the box and had such a solid friendship with each other. The family was so supportive and eccentric that I fell in love with them. I felt like a part of the family while reading.

I laughed so many times while reading this because of the crazy date betting going on and some of the bad dates poor Sophie had to go on. The blind dates were such a crazy concept but now I wish it was something I could do. They really helped Sophie find herself again and she met some nice guys who she had fun with. Definitely stealing some of those date ideas, except for maybe the second date and third to last date set up by the Evil Jo's. Even through all the date madness though, Sophie finds her way back to her family and old friendships. I love who she ends up with, but it was predictable.

Final Thoughts:
10 Blind Dates will be my most recommended winter break read I feel like and will be added to my favorite rom-com list. While the ending was predictable, it didn't make the journey any less fun. The Fab Four stole my heart and I can't wait for everyone else to get ahold of this one. I'm so glad I was able to get an advanced copy of this book and please check it out when it is released!

This was a fun rom-com read! Taking place during the Christmas holiday season, Sophia over hears her boyfriend talking about breaking up with her. She heads to her grandparent's house to recover from this traumatic breakup and finds herself swept away by her family who are trying to support her. They come up with a plan for Sophie to participate in 10 blind dates while she is staying with them and they will all be a surprise to her. While Sophie is at her grandparent's house, her parents are with her sister who is about to have a baby and dealing with complications. The texting and conversation between the sisters was so realistic and I really loved how the author created this bond. Sophie also uses this time to reconnect to her cousins and Nonna's next door neighbor, Wes, who she had a crush on most of her life. This is a story about friendship and dating but it really focuses on family and the value and importance of the love and support of family. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review. This was exactly what I needed to get me out of a little reading slump!