Most Anticipated Romance by Buzzfeed

Cheerfully irreverent, bitingly funny, and filled with romantic charm, Cara Tanamachi's The Second You're Single is all about navigating the most romantic month of the year, and how love always seems to arrive when you least expect it.

Freelance writer Sora Reid believes in inertia. She’s the odd one out in a close-knit family of go-getters, including her Japanese-American mom, who hints about her need to lose weight, and her soon-to-be married, overachieving younger sister, who needs her to have a date for the wedding, since a wedding party couples' dance with their Scottish great uncle Bob simply won't do. For Sora, minimal input, minimal expectations is the way to go. She’d rather stay at home with her insufferable neighbor and her adorable pitbull.

The one thing that disrupts her inertia: an intense dislike for Valentine’s Day. What is it with the commercial love machine? Why do we pin our hopes on one romantic day, when staying home with a package of bacon and a bottle of tequila would be way better? Sora’s been betrayed and disappointed more than once and her heart is starting to feel like her Grandma Mitsuye’s antique Japanese ceramic bowl, with its many gold-filled cracks.

When her pledge to stay single in February inspires readers to #gosolo, Sora has a responsibility to empower her readers. But relationships aren’t built to last, so it shouldn’t be that hard. Right?

Enter Jack Mann. A muscle-bound baker who looks like he lifts logs on the weekends, Sora hasn’t thought of Jack since they were in elementary school together. When they see each other at the local grocery store and the attraction hits hard, Sora knows she has to shut it down, quick. She can’t #gosolo AND get the guy. She can’t let down her readers. And relationships always end, so why should Jack be any different–even though he’s confounding all her long-held expectations of love?

“Riotous, whip-smart, and original. Read this happy-making book if you love yourself.” —Jayci Lee, Author of Booked on a Feeling

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. A cute, quick and fun read. The plot moved nicely.

Sora is a single woman who isn't looking for love. She has a cynical outlook of it. She writes of her about her dislike for Valentine's Day and how it is a commercial holiday. Her readers are interested in what she is writing and the celebration of the Anti-Valentine's Day mantra. She meets up with an old schoolmate and sparks fly. But she is determined to stay her course. The story being a Rom-Com the reader knows that the plot thickens and someone one is going to throw her world upside down. The story is a cute and sweet. The characters make the reader want to root for them. I enjoy rom-c0ms and l am looking forward to reading more from this author.

Disclaimer: Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this review copy and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Cara Tanamachi's The Second You're Single is a cheerfully irreverent and bitingly funny rom-com that captures the chaos and charm of navigating love during the most romantic month of the year. Sora Reid, a freelance writer, is content with her low-key life and has an intense dislike for Valentine's Day. Her pledge to stay single for February turns into a viral #gosolo movement, empowering her readers and herself. But when she reconnects with Jack Mann, a hunky baker from her past, Sora's commitment to singlehood is tested. Tanamachi's witty writing and relatable characters make this a delightful read about love arriving when least expected. Perfect for fans of humorous and heartfelt romances.

The main character of Sora was super relatable, and watching her journey to find self-love and actualize her dreams is a great reminder that romantic love is its fullest when your own love of yourself is stable. The writing is witty and keeps a nice pace, which is especially important in a romance.

Great book. I was able to connect with characters and the plot. I recommend this book……………………………..,,,,.

Thank you netgalley and St Martin’s Press for an arc.

I really wish I read this during the month of February because of all the Valentine’s Day or Anti Valentine’s Day if you will feels. I loved Sora and Jack. Their cute banter and childhood nostalgia. I really got the “How you lose a guy in 10 days vibes from this one because of Sora being a freelance writer and chronicling her #gosolo experiences throughout the month of February.

This was cute!

Nothing mind blowing, and I get a tad weirded out when people fall in love after a first date, but it’s sweet!

I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

Cute story but didn’t love the fat shaming. I liked that the author used dual point of views as it helped understand the characters more. Overall a cute rom com

Check TW: this book has mentions of pregnancy loss, childhood cancer and body image.

I have mixed feelings on this book. Overall I enjoyed it, but something was lacking for me. The story had all the elements to make a great story, but it could have used more depth into the plot.

The main fmc grew on me. She comes off very bitter in the beginning of the story (almost too much) but if you can stick with the story she gets better. I understand why she was written this way and it plays into the story. I did enjoy the other characters in the story, but some of them deserved more time throughout the story.

I did like that this is told in dual POV, but we do get more from the female perspective.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

The fat shaming alone is this book would’ve turned me off but there was so many things that I didn’t enjoy reading.

This was actually my second book by this author (I read this and The Takeover in reverse order...oops). This book is stand alone, but also introduces characters that get their own story in The Takeover. The FMCs of the two books are sisters, and their storylines act as sub-plots in each book. This was overall a cute read and there are some elements that were enjoyable.

This felt a bit like a take on How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days, with a free-lance writer creating #gosolo for February and essentially documenting her solo experience for the month and through the Valentine's Day holiday. There was good POC representation and I did find the banter between the two MCs to be pretty amusing at times. I was glad that the MMC wasn't tricked or lied to with respect to the FMC staying single - but I also felt like that part of the story really impacted the chemistry/relationship building between the two characters. There was a bit of a yo-yo aspect between the two that started to feel tiresome.

Also, the fatphobia/fat shaming in this book was pretty intense for the FMC. There are multiple scenes where this is highlighted and that kind of representation didn't feel as necessary to the story. And while I also enjoy bacon on occasion, the FMCs obsession with bacon in particular felt a bit over the top and distracting.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this book.

definitely a cheesy romcom. and unfortunately not my favorite. typical love story about a girl who reconnects with a past class mate and has to decide on what she wants to do. it was cute but i wanted a little more drama to my romance lol

This Was a very cute story, and I enjoyed that it was an Asian American romance. I also loved all the bacon references because bacon is my favorite food. I was lucky enough to get access to both the ebook and the audiobook. The story was great and the narrators were too. I would definitely consider checking out other books by this author! Thank you to NetGalley for providing me a copy of this beautiful story!

My blog is https://bookreviewsbyjules.blogspot.com/

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/44083250-julia

Instagram/bookstagram https://www.instagram.com/bookreviewsbyjules/

Synopsis:

Freelance writer Sora Reid is the odd one out in her family, and needs to have a date for her overachieving younger sister's wedding. Her intense dislike for Valentine's Day has her pledge being single for February and she lets her readers know she's going to #gosolo. Enter Jack Mann, a muscle-bound baker who went to elementary school with her. They see each other at the grocery store and attraction hits hard, but Sora knows she needs to shut it down to #gosolo. Plus relationships always end, so why should Jack be any different?

Review:

This was an easy read. Who doesn't want to read an MMC who's buff and bakes?! Sora had an interesting family dynamic and I enjoyed following a long on her road to self-acceptance. I loved that Jack was a nerd in elementary and now he's really come into his own - I was like this. I remember being hit on by someone in my early 20s, who I went to high school with and they refused to believe that we had gone to school together. Cheers to the late bloomers!

3.5/5, rounded up to 4

Thank you St Martin's Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own!

This was such a fun one! I love reading books around the same time of year that the books are set in. This is a valentines day story that has such a great message. I really enjoyed the character development. I also enjoyed the messages that come across as these characters develop. I just wish that we got more from Jack it was from both their points of view. However, I felt like his side kind of lacked the during the whole story.

This story is about freelance writer Sora Reid who has just gone through a rough break up. She decides to start no date February. As she makes this commitment and starts writing about what she is learning as she takes this vow she meets someone. Jack Mann could be her one! Yet she wants to keep her vow and keep her job. As she continues to get to Jack she realizes that maybe she doesn't want to write about being single all the time. Sora realizes there is more to her life and relationships than what she has given them.

Read if you enjoy
Character development
Attract at first meet
Romance
Anti-Valentines day
Dual POV

I was so bored that i just couldn't finish it. This book was so cringy.
I do not recommend this book.

Fast paced and fun!

I loved the Asian culture and LBGTQIA references. I thought it was done well. I also loved that our main character is of a midsize diva! We really need more of them. Loved that the guy fell first.

However, I felt like their chemistry and love story was slightly rushed because of Jacks long standing infatuation with Sora.

***4 Stars***

Is it weird that I felt like I was reading a manuscript of my life with my own family? Not all of it, but there were quite a few moments where I was like “Yup. Know that feeling” “Yup, I know people that happened to” So, I did connect to Sora and why she thought the things that she did because I’ve been there. Were there eye-rolling moments? Yes. Many. But, overall, I enjoyed the read. Sora and Jack are like many people out there trying to figure out what they want, don’t want, who they want and many times we have crazy conversations in our heads with ourselves. But I really liked Jack and Sora. Both are good humans who just need to follow their own hearts and guts.

Now there were people I wanted to reach into my Kindle and Gibbs smack, there were actually quite a few and there were times when I wanted to do that to Sora and Jack, but they definitely kept things interesting, even if my eyes ended up hurting in the end.