Like humor? Romance? If so, you'll not want to miss The Second You're Single. Cara Tanamachi has provided readers with a well-written book populated with fun, lovable characters. Kudos to Ms. Tanamachi for her snappy, fresh dialog that kept a smile on my face from cover to cover. Sora has had a string of bad Valentine's Days and is writing a GoSolo daily blog for Slick. Jack had a crush on Sora from kindergarten and when she's close enough for him to tempt her with his samples at the grocery store, he reels her in. Sora and Jack's story is hilarious and a totally fun read. I look forward to reading more from Cara Tanamachi in the future. This is a complete book, not a cliffhanger.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a light, quick read with the childhood friends to lovers and boy falls first tropes.

I was immediately intrigued by the premise of this book. Sora, a freelance writer, is swearing off men for the month of February after a series of bad relationships. Sora is committed to staying single until she runs into Jack, a talented and gorgeous chef, who just so happens to be Sora’s former classmate. Sora and Jack hit it off right away and Sora’s patience is tested as she tries to keep it platonic until March.

I loved Sora and Jack’s meet cute and the easy chemistry that followed but I do wish that their relationship was more developed. Jack had a crush on Sora in grade school but there was little development to show why he liked her in the present. Another thing that didn’t work for me was how judgmental the heroine was. She was constantly criticizing other people’s bodies. Sora very much wants to be seen as ‘not like the other girls’ and in 2022, I’m so over that trope.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 rounded up to 3 stars

This was a cute and light hearted read about the challenge of staying single for the #gosolo challenge you are writing about vs reconnecting with your elementary school crush

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this book!

This was a very cute, easy read, contemporary romance. The characters went to elementary school together and reconnect years later (MC is in her late 20s). Sora has had her share of terrible men in her life and she decides to start a Solo February pact and write articles about it for the magazine she freelances for. The trouble with her solo month starts when she runs into Jack in the store and he immediately wants to ask her out. I found it refreshing that Jack is the only that had a crush on her in school. I would have liked a little more background on Jack and his bakery, and maybe a few more days/dates about them falling for each other. Loved the part with Sora's family as well.

Recommend for anybody needing a super cute romance, (bonus: there is a dog).

Very sweet book! Loved Sora and her spunk - she is a writer who has had several bad dating experiences and a failed marriage. Sora decides to have a Single February and write about it for a magazine. Enter Jack Mann - the sweetest lumberjack who has had a crush on her since elementary school. As Sora tries to ignore the sparks between her and Jack, she begins to realize what really matters in life. Perfect Valentine's read - really, anytime read! Check it out.

I started reading this after a few heavy novels, wanting something fun. When I first began this, I was finding it to be laugh out loud funny, relatable, cringe-y, and it had so much heart. I’m still not sure what happened.

I didn’t like Sora, I didn’t like Jack (do real adults actually say “AF” in any situation ever? Ugh). Larry is the best character in this novel; he’s certainly the most likeable.

This went from smart to really immature. The constant mentions of "bacon" was really annoying. I know that Sora was supposed to be a mid-sized woman but the constant mentions of her “unhealthy” eating gave off some serious vibes of guilt and shaming.

With the exception of the best friend, the majority of female secondary characters are portrayed as scheming and/or bitchy.

The romance aspect of this isn’t even on a chart, because there is nothing here between these two characters - he had a crush on her in elementary school because she wasn’t mean to him, and she falls in love with him because of his kindness to her, and the oft-mentioned good looks he possess. There was never an actual emotional connection. Sex is mentioned in passing, and engaged in off page.

This one unfortunately didn’t work well for me.

This was a fun and quick read. Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book.

This was a DNF for me. The concept was really interesting, and I really liked the parts in Jack’s POV. HOWEVER, I found the book to be a bit fatphobic. I appreciate the mid-size representation, but Sora (a size 14) was made into this stereotypical representation of a fat girl who hates working out and who lives a food centered life. She has a weird obsession with bacon and is constantly talking about, thinking about, and consuming bacon. And when it isn’t bacon, it’s food in general. I DNFed at 30% and Sora talking about food was already half of what I read!
At one point, Sora mentions that she’s happy as she is, but the way she consistently nitpicks and talks negatively about her appearance leads me to believe otherwise.

I wanted to give this book a chance, but I couldn’t do it anymore.


I was given an ARC by NetGalley and St. Martins Griffin. All opinions are my own.

Cute story! I really liked Sora and Jack, especially their communication and connection. I wasn’t a fan of Sora being sort of a slob who didn’t really seem to care about herself, but I think she figured some of that out by the end.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Honestly, I need to say up front that as a Japanese- American woman, I may be a little biased as we do not see a lot of representation in romance novels these days. I think that a common trope when it comes to seeing any kind of Asian American in a book is that they are going to have a toxic family life. This was not an exception to that. It is something I have some experience with but in a different way than the main character. It was an interesting and quick read for me. Not the next great American novel by any means but it was a cute fun book!

Thanks to NetGalley & St Martin's for an eARC of this book.

I have mixed feelings about this book. It was a quick and easy read. I thought the dog and the niece were adorable and they both made me smile. However, the insta-love was way too quick, and his feelings left over from grade school just seemed unrealistic. I didn't think recalling the late father's bad temper added to the story, and it felt out of place. As much as I like bacon, I got tired of hearing about it and I never enjoy fat shaming. Overall, I thought this book was a bit of a mess.

I absolutely devoured this in one day! This was such a fun rom com easy read. I was given an ARC by Netgalley & St. Martins Press in exchange for an honest review. These thoughts are my own opinion.

We meet Sora who is a writer for a website called Sleek. She is over men especially over her ex husband Marley. It’s February and Sora absolutely hates Valentine’s Day and has for most of her life. She creates #SoloFebruary where every day she is going to write a new article about finding self love and staying strong no dates, intimacy or relationships during the month of February. But life has a way of throwing curve balls at you when you least expect it.
Incomes Jack who is working at the pastry area in the grocery store who pretends to be Sora’s boyfriend after she sees her ex husband and his new girl there. Jack has loved Sora since Kindergarten when stood up for him when he was “Piggy Jack.” Sora has feelings to but is it worth loosing her job over a man that could possibly disappoint her again?

Quite a few trigger warnings: fat shaming, miscarriage, toxic parental & family relationships. Yes I could have done without some of the brutal negative body talk that is thrown Sora’s way by her mother and sister but the book still has a lot of redeeming qualities. I really enjoyed each of the articles that Sora wrote and the relationship between her and Jack. I absolutely hate the miscommunication trope! For the life of me I can never understand just talk like adults. My favourite quote was “ Love comes when you least expect it. That’s why they need to make security surveillance systems for the heart.”

I enjoyed my time reading this ARC and hope readers take a chance on love and pick this up on Jan 31,23.

I really enjoyed this story! I was captivated by the title and cute cover and am so glad I had an opportunity to read it! I liked the idea that the main character wanted to be single but found herself falling in love regardless.

oooof did not love this book. The premise sounded great, I love a slow burn romance but it was not what I expected. I expected the tension to last a long time but the characters gave in too quickly and it wasn't satisfying. I didn't like how much the main character talked about food and body shapes, it was distracting and not done well. It was also too instant of love for me. Also, it's hard for me to believe a crush from elementary school leaves that much of a mark?? It was a little cheesy.

This was a cute, sweet and very funny Romance novel. I really enjoyed it for the most part. Sora is absolutely fantastic and Jack, well he's pretty much perfect. Maybe a little too perfect, but it's a Romance novel so I'm ok with that. I really liked Sora's interactions with her best friend and her family and Jack with his niece was heart-meltingly cute. Overall there was so much cuteness and joy and laughter in this book that whenever anything darker was mentioned it really jarred me, I found it almost startling when things like grief over a loss or scary bouts of uncontrollable rage were mentioned. They just mostly didn't seem to belong in this funny, frothy Romance. I get it, maybe some people want that sort of reality based depth to their characters, but I just was kind of jolted out of the story whenever it happened. Overall it was a cute and frothy read with some really great humor.

This was a cute book without a doubt but it left me wishing it had been more. The main thing missing from this Romance was the actual love story. The main Characters spent hardly anytime together and to an extent I feel like we were just told it was love and expected to believe it.
What I loved:
- The meet cute was adorable
- The conclusion was sweet and memorable
- Same can be said for the epilogue.
- While I've never read any previous works by this author, this is her fist using her maiden name from what I understand, and my guess is that is in an effort to be more authentic to her heritage, and I'm here for it. I also loved the small touches of Japanese culture this book afforded us.
- The characters were earnest and endearing, loved them.

As for what I didn't love, as previously mentioned, I wish Jack & Sora actually spent more time together in the book so that we could feel them falling in love rather than just being told it happened.

This book was a great Valentine’s Day romance and I loved the idea of #gosolo February. Sora’s challenges were relatable throughout the book; her struggle with failed relationships and finally finding someone when she couldn’t commit to a relationship added to her character. Some of the jokes were hilarious and the side characters were really sweet but unfortunately somewhat neglected past the halfway point. The multiple POV’s in this book were really beneficial in forming Jack’s character as well. However, consistently referring to the his hands as ‘paws’ made me slightly uncomfortable. I still recommend this book for anyone who has ever been unlucky in love, and, like Sora, is waiting for their Jack.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I started off really liking this one but it quickly delved into a hot mess. Did you know there are many, many other foods than bacon or salad to eat for a healthy relationship with food? I’m not huge into salad, but I don’t eat bacon every day either. Imagine. Sorry, that was just a big pet peeve of mine. The MC was supposed to be relatable at a size 14 but all she ate was sweets and bacon. You can eat a fairly balanced diet and still be a size 14. Also, if you want to eat healthier, you don’t just get to eat “sad salads.” There’s a whole range of great foods and there’s also a beautiful thing called moderation. I realize what she ate wasn’t the plot of the book, but it could have been as much as bacon was mentioned.

As far as the actual plot and love story went, what they felt was lust, not love, and how hard is it to say, “I think you’re cute but I’m doing this solo challenge that’s important to me and my job so I can’t date you right now.” What about a book where the MC actually does this and takes care of herself in a non-man hating, non-only eating bacon kind of way. Then the whole reason she got mad at poor Jack in the end?! He left the table where his “date” was to run after her. That doesn’t clue her in he’s telling the truth?

I just have such a short fuse for immature MC these days. You are a grown woman who owns a home and has a job. You shouldn’t have needed a therapist best friend to clue you in to how to be an actual adult (and why did said best friend not have that conversation with her earlier?).

Too many unlikeable females in a supposedly female-empowering novel, except maybe that best friend. All of the women were shallow and/or mean but all of a sudden become better people in the end conveniently but not realistically. Years of being spoiled and getting what she wants and being a pretty awful person and one conversation in a coffee house turns Mal into the person that would track her ex’s crush down to make things right? Sigh.

I liked Larry the dog though.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

A solid 3 stars. It started out closer to 5, but declined at about 60% when the personalities of the main characters seemed to lose their consistency, especially Sora. She went from smart, witty and hilarious to selfish and whiny. I was happy to see growth in her, the mom, sister, and Jack's ex.

Overall a good debut, but I wish it had ended as strong as it began.

This was an easy-breezy, one-sitting read for me. Sora is a freelance writer who would love to be promoted to a full-time gig. After discovering that her boyfriend is married and was cheating on his wife with her, she declares that she will swear off dating for the entire month of February. She pitches a story on her #gosolo pledge to her editor, who loves the idea -- and before long, Sora's posts go viral, with readers across the country cheering Sora on and promising to follow her example.

Unfortunately for Sora's journalistic credibility, early in the month she runs into an old schoolmate, Jack. Sparks fly, and Sora's resolve is thoroughly tested, especially when Jack confesses that he had a crush on her all those years ago.

I was kind of hoping this would be a slow-burn romance, with the two of them unable to keep their hands off each other but having to do so because of Sora's work commitment, but they jump into bed almost immediately (leading to wacky hijinks when Sora's boss comes over the next morning). I loved the fact that Sora had a one-eyed rescue dog, but as a dog owner myself, I tend to get way too invested in fictional pets; when Sora injured her ankle, for instance, and Jack had to carry her up the stairs to her third-floor walk-up, I couldn't help but wonder who was going to take the dog out for his bathroom breaks?! (Her neighbor hates dogs, so no luck there.)

"The Second You're Single" will be published on Jan. 31, just in time for those who prefer Galentine's Day to Valentine's Day. Thank you to St. Martin's Griffin for the review copy via NetGalley.