Sora is no luck when it comes to relationships. In a moment of frustration because of this, she pitches a single February challenge for herself and writes about it in her segment the site she writes for. She provides updates with her progress until she reunites with her former classmate, Jack. Jack and Sora reconnect in the grocery store, where Jack has his bakery. In the brief trip, they both have encounters with each others exes and the messes that they were involved with were very visible. Eventually Sora and Jack work past all of these issues and end up together. The story was entertaining and noted that sometimes things just happen at the right time. It was a fun quirky Valentine's day read.

Well that was certainly…something.

The Second You're Single doesn't just read like a debut novel (which it is), it reads like the first draft of a debut novel that's about to be sent out to the first group of beta readers.

Don't get me wrong, the potential is there. It just needs to be unearthed through multiple rounds of editing and some major revisions.

I actually thought Cara Tanamachi's debut got off to a strong start. She gives her protagonist a great voice that immediately pulled me in, and after the first chapter, I was ready for Tanamachi to nail the whole "cheerfully irreverent, bitingly funny" romance thing. Unfortunately, she doesn't manage to sustain the momentum and the rest of the story ends up being kind of a train wreck.

The Synopsis (Veronica's Version):

The story follows Sora, a down-on-her-luck freelance writer who's stuck in a dead-end job and stuck in a cycle of dead-end relationships with a bunch of deadbeats (apparently she has a type). After her latest romantic fiasco, she decides to devote the entire month of February to "dating" herself and her one, true love, bacon. Her boss loves the idea and so do thousands of women across the internet. Swearing off love shouldn't be hard for a newly single homebody, but Sora's old elementary school friend makes a sudden reappearance in her life bearing raspberry tortes and a new set of muscles. Between his lumberjack good looks and his sweet baker's heart, Jack Mann suddenly made the #GoSolo challenge that much more…challenging.

So it's a decent premise, right? I mean, it's not necessarily the most original, but it's one that definitely speaks to my inner skeptic-slash-romantic. The problem with Tanamachi's story is all in the execution.

The Plot:

My biggest issue with The Second You're Single is the plot, which is a hot mess. The synopsis is pretty straightforward and you read it thinking what you see is what you're gonna get. In reality, what you get is a big jumbled mess.

I don't even know if Tanamachi knew exactly what kind of book she wanted to write. The overall tone is what you'd expect from your typical, albeit bitingly irreverent, rom-com: light, breezy and fun, but then, out of nowhere, she'll throw total tone shifts at us that make it seem like she wants to write a more Serious Story. And I don't mean "serious" like addressing toxic relationships and an unhealthy need for validation. I mean she tries to incorporate more serious issues like miscarriages and pediatric cancer but they're treated so superficially they feel more like plot devices or over-simplistic life lessons. It feels like she took pieces from two different puzzle sets, mixed them all together, and tries to sell it to us as a complete puzzle. It's full of inconsistencies and random subplots that are started, dropped and never really picked back up again (like the Jack's brother's maritial problems). Other side storylines are threaded throughout book but never fully fleshed out and just feel woefully incomplete. Like, there's this whole thing with Sora's dysfunctional family that's addressed but never fully resolved, and another thing with one of the Valentine's Day when Sora and Jack were in elementary school that feels like it's supposed to be a big part of their love story or at least the reason for some kind of tension, but it's just kind of…there. It's mentioned a few times but never really developed in a meaningful way. I honestly still don't know what Tanamachi was trying to accomplish with that particular storyline, but the whole thing falls flat.

Despite the many weaknesses, The Second You're Single does give us a glimpse into the kind of author Cara Tanamachi could be. When she isn't beating us over the heads with the same, tired jokes, she's actually funny, I do appreciate the fact that Tanamachi didn't make the Sora some kind of man-hating, bitter bastion of feminist power. #GoSolo is born because Sora likes men "a little too much" and has lost herself in the process of looking for love in all the wrong places. She's not swearing off men for good; she's just trying to work on herself before she jumps into her next relationship. You can all tell she's a strong writer. She has an economic sense of language, using diction to maximize each of her sentences, and, as evidenced by Sora's POV, can give us a narrator with a distinctive voice. She could be someone to look out for down the road, but she'll have to sharpen her storytelling skills if she wants to write a successful sophomore novel.

SYNOPSIS: Sora Reid is sick of love, and Valentine's Day. She's ready to live the single life and freaking LOVE IT. She decides to write an article for her freelance job, pledging to #GoSolo, and love herself more. She inspires countless women to do the same, but she's hiding a secret. While at the grocery store, she experiences the meet cute of meet cutes, and finds a hunky man who is very interested in her. Does she decide to stay solo, and continue her self-love journey, or disappoint her ever-growing readerbase?

This synopsis and concept was such a great theme for me, especially as I read the book around Valentine's Day. However, Sora is an extremeley difficult character to root for sometimes, and I found myself trying to push to get through. It was cute, and I liked it, but this wasn't a LOVE read for me.

This was a cute friends to lovers tale that made for a quick read. I enjoyed the sweet moments that happen between the lumberjack baker and free-lance health and beauty journalists. I also enjoyed the rescue pup cuteness and the solo February shenanigans.

I quite enjoyed this debut novel by this author. It’s about Sora, a freelance writer, who swears off men for February as she hates Valentine’s Day and everything that goes along with it #gosolo - a great idea for her column in a woman’s magazine and it takes off. Of course once February starts, she reconnects with her elementary school friend, Jack, who she hasn’t seen since Grade 5 is now absolutely gorgeous. How is she going to handle this? The novel has dual views from Sora and Jack, so it gives you good perspective on the man’s point of view. It was a fun, easy read romcom novel and I can’t wait to read her next one.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

2.5⭐

Sora is a freelance writer who takes a #GoSolo pledge for February, swearing off men after all of her past relationships crashed and burned. The only problem is Jack Mann, her childhood friend she runs into and immediately feels a connection with. Sora has to decide between #GoSolo and all her supporters and Jack, who might be the one.

Truthfully, I didn’t like this book.

Characterization wise, I found Sora to annoy me to no end. Though midsize representation was attempted, having one of her only personality traits to be about bacon didn’t work with me. She also regularly put other characters down simply for looking differently–skinnier–than her. I understand frustrations and insecurities, but there was no attempt at realizing the put-downs were simply reflections of her own insecurities so she just seemed bitter, honestly. She also was completely a pushover and I wanted her to finally set some boundaries, or at least begin to, earlier than 80% of the way through the book.

Jack was an enjoyable character. He seems genuine and even though he fell unrealistically quickly for Sora, it’s a romance book so I can’t complain. The only problem was that I wanted more from him, more from the story in general. My favorite part was when he didn’t respond and set a boundary with Sora, which for a romance book where I’m supposed to want the couple together, probably isn’t a good thing.

I did love Larry, the pitbull rescue Sora had and this book was an objectively quick read. The plot had a good premise, though the side plots thrown in didn’t always feel natural. Any book with characters I, personally, don’t like aren’t my favorite, but it was enjoyable enough to still be a 2.5/5⭐.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Second You’re Single
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Romance
Format: Kindle eBook and Audiobook
Date Published: 1/31/23
Author: Cara Tanamachi
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press and RB Media
GR: 3.33

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and RB Media and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: Freelance writer Sora Reid is 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. 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. 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. 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?

My Thoughts: The premise of this book was fantastic but the execution fell a little short. I had the pleasure of having the ebook and audiobook on this one. The audiobook did keep my attention, where I feel the book may not. Sora’s obsession with bacon was eccentric to say the least. Now, I love bacon just as much but it doesn’t carry over into my daily life. There was body shaming going on with her mother, which I did not care for. I do love it when author’s talk about overweight characters, but I like when it spins into more of a body positivity than in the negative. I would love to have seen more chemistry between Sora and Jack. I appreciated their love story and thought it was cute, but wanted more. This was an enjoyable listen and I would recommend, I just wanted more.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙣𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙜𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙘 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙝 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙢𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙞𝙩.

📍 Read if you like:
• Childhood Friends-To-Lovers
• Fade-To-Black Scenes
• “It’s Always Been You”
• Valentine’s Day

This was such an anticipated read that I knew I had to read it around Valentine’s. While I did enjoy the book overall, I had some issues that took from that enjoyment.

Sora Reid isn’t in the best place at the moment. She still lives in the condo she bought with her ex-husband, her family shames her for many reasons, her relationships never last, and she’s struggling to become a writer so has her lifestyle blog.

She then decides to #gosolo for the month of February, which means no dating, no relationships, and no romance whatsoever.

However, she ends up bumping into her childhood crush named Jack Mann, who happens to be followed by his ex-fiancé all the time. Jack is this pastry chef and instantly sparks a connection with Sora.

I really enjoyed the childhood-to-lovers in this book. However, I had so many issues with the book itself. Firstly, it started off so slowly. It did eventually pick up though. Also, I didn’t love the talk about weight and weight loss. Sora’s family was so disrespectful toward her and it annoyed me how many times this book mentioned the word “bacon” as a personality trait.

While I absolutely loved Jack’s character, I didn’t care too much for Sora. There were times were she annoyed me. I’m glad she became confident in herself and did what she wanted, but I wish she would’ve stood up for herself more.

Overall, this was a fine Valentine’s read. I had such high hopes for it but it was a bit slow. There were some moments I didn’t love, but I did really connect with Jack’s character. I also enjoyed the Dual POV and childhood-to-lovers trope. Solid holiday romance!

TW: Miscarriage, Infidelity, leukemia, body shaming

Writer Sora Reid is dreading this upcoming Valentine’s day, given the outcome of her last relationship and her younger sister’s wedding approaching fast, she is caught in the throes of romance all around her. Suddenly an idea hits her to pledge to be single, and go solo for February. When she writes an article about her pledge, her readers resonate with her and her idea becomes a sensation having everyone everywhere pledging to go solo for February. In the midst of all the attention her article is getting, Sora runs into Jack Mann, they went to elementary school together and there is some undeniable chemistry that Sora can simply not ignore. Sora now has to choose to stick to her pledge alongside her reader or risk loosing a chance at a true connection.

•

Unfortunately, this one missed the mark for me. It was a little too cheesy for my taste and was really hard to connect with these two MC’s. I do appreciate that this story was told in Sora and Jack’s POV, it gave a better understanding to what they are both thinking and feeling but I do wish there was more tension in this one as it is a “forbidden romance” kind of vibe. Sora is dead set on following her pledge but all of that really goes flying through the window the moment she sees Jack. There was also A LOT of body shaming in this one which was not necessary and seemed repetitive, for example, Sora’s sister getting furious and throwing some unforgivable comments at Sora simply because she did not fit into her bridesmaid dress. This is a closed door kind of romance but I felt like it had the potential to be such a steamy read given the way these two feel about each other. There were also some heavy themes in this book that I wish the author would have gone into more detail about, they seemed just kind of thrown in there and briefly touched on. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review, this title is now available to purchase.

Great characters who have powerful chemistry and yet keep getting in their own way based on their individual life experience and fear. It’s a fun, witty, rom-com with a great cast. It only took a few pages to have me rooting for Jack and Sora and hoping for their well deserved happily ever after. Really enjoyed every moment of this story.
The perfect story to make you smile, laugh and have hope.

As someone who has been recently single, I related to this book so much. There were times I was wondering if this book was written for me. You just never know who can walk into your life the minute you decide to give up...the minute you're single ;)

Thank you netgalley and Cara Tanamachi for the ARC!

✨ PRINCEMAN REVIEW ✨

📝 Sora Reid has been unlucky in love. Divorced and many failed relationships under her belt, she's ready to give up on love! At least for the month of February. So, #GoSolo is launched for her freelanced writing gig. Soon after, she runs into her childhood friend, Jack Mann, in the bakery section at the grocery store. Could he be THE ONE to break her single status?

What I 🤍:
🍰 A Man Who Bakes
🐶 One-Eyed Larry, Her Dog
💘 Valentine's Day Romance
💕 Childhood Friends to Lovers

I am sorry to say that this book WAS NOT for me. There's a variety of reasons, and each just didn't sit well with me. In all honesty, I'm really surprised St. Martins Press allowed this to printing before some major edits.
✔️ Fat Shaming: There's such an emphasis on her weight and gaining weight. What set me over was when her sister got mad at her for gaining weight. What the heck!?
✔️ Single Shaming: Sora's family always wanted her with someone. In fact, she was told it would ruin her sister's wedding if she didn't have a date. 😭
✔️ Miscarriage: This one really upset me. There was no book warning about this ANYWHERE before reading. When a character went through the miscarriage (in her second trimester), the family was happy the baby was lost. No care was given to the person who went through this terrible experience. As a person who's gone through a miscarriage, it was clear the author hasn't, and no taste was written in this situation.

Prince's Rating: ⭐️⭐️
Passion: 🔥🔥(One Closed Door)
Read 📅: In February

Sadly, this isn't one I wouldn't recommend. I had high hopes, but morally I had some major concerns with this book. I wish this could have gone back to editing because it really had potential.

Publishers and authors.......Please start putting Content Warnings at the beginning of your books.

The Second You’re Single is a delightful tale by Cara Tanamachi. Sora Reid has bought in to inertia. She has reached a point of status quo and rarely pushes further. Her career isn’t exactly what she wants, but she fell into the job. But then she comes up with an idea she does put forth to her editor. On the backside of a lying, turns out married, boyfriend she kicked to the curb and having already survived a cheating ex-husband, Sora is ready to swear off men and wonders if there are many women feeling the same. This brings her to the concept of #gosolo February, which sparks both her editor and the public that follows her. Why should those not in a relationship be made to feel bad for an artificial holiday?

Just as this idea goes viral with her online followers, Sora has a surprise encounter with a ghost from the past. Jack Mann had been a fellow student of Sora’s in elementary school. He had been enamored of her then and those feelings still lie dormant. When he encounters Sora, and subsequently her ex-husband and his new squeeze as well as his ex-fiancé, it doesn’t go so well. Luckily, times change, but can they until before solo February is over?

This is such a laugh out loud funny story! I enjoyed every moment of this tale. With richly drawn characters and a perfectly developed plot, this book is a gem! I very much enjoyed this story and highly recommend it.

Are you in the mood for a cute, cheesy and quick to read romance? Yes? Then this is the book for you!

The Second You’re Single is a shorter read. So it reads quick. I usually take a few days to read romance novels and this one I got done in a day. Sadly, it did also feel rushed. Like there could easily be more. Jack and Sora have knew each other in elementary school, now 10ish years later they are reconnecting. I feel like Jack and Sora both were like “Your the same person you were when you were in grade school” as a teacher whose seen many many kids grow up I can say “nope sorry”

But Jack and Sora did have a spark and it was easy to see/feel on the page. Going back to what I said before about it feeling rushed, I would have really liked to see more growth and a longer courtship between the two. It kind of felt like instalove, which isnt the point of reading a romance novel to me.

One thing I didn’t like was that Sora was described as a “heavier” or “plus size” when at a size 14. That is average and healthy. And while I am happy to see a main character that isn’t a size 2,I wish there as more positivity around that.

Overall, a fast, decent, and easy read.

The Second Your Single is a solid debut from Cara Tanamachi.

I liked the story and that Sola was #GoingSolo for February, and the struggles that occur when childhood friend Jack reenters her life. There were plenty of funny moments between the two of them and you could see the connection happening.

I struggled a bit with the constant reminder that Jack fell in love with her in kindergarten. It was kind of weird.

I really wanted to love this one. I really did, but it fell flat for me. There were some funny parts, but those felt forced. It almost felt like it was missing something and I can’t quite pinpoint it. I loved that Sora was a writer and the idea she has of showing people it’s just fine to be single for valentines is great. I just didn’t love Sora’s character. I think that’s why I couldn’t quite connect with this book as a whole, but did enjoy parts of it. Very cute premise and was excited to read it. It does have an HEA…but this one missed the mark for me. Rounded up to three stars.

This sounded really good but the writing wasn’t for me. The jokes tried a little too hard, not a big fan of closed door romance, and there was definitely a bit of fat phobia!

It’s the way this book is Goblin Mode in paper form.


Just read it. You’ll see what I mean and feel absolutely validated for every choice you ever made post-breakup.


Tropes I loved:
He Fell First
Swearing Off Men/Dating
Second chance romance
School yard crushes

Such a charming romantic novel that left my cheeks hurting from smiling, and my heart feeling happy! This was my first novel from this author but I will for sure buy every novel this author releases!

📚Book review:
The Second You're Single by Cara Tanamachi (released Jan 31/23)
⭐⭐⭐⭐

I really enjoyed this book aside from a couple of small things that bothered me. Right away in the first chapter I found myself smiling and laughing because of the FMC's internal dialogue, much of which I related to. I loved the power and value to the singles idea and appreciated the journey the FMC went on as far as self love and care, even though she did still end up falling in love. Bonus: a bit of dual POV! It was very heavily Sora's story but we did get Jack's side of things on occasion, which I enjoyed.

My two complaints: the use of the word "handi-capable" in reference to Sora's one-eyed dog--many of us in the Disabled community prefer for those made up combo cutesy terms to be used--just say disabled! Right off the top I made a note and was thrilled that Sora had adopted a disabled dog since not everyone would. The other thing was I thought the author did a pretty good job of Sora loving and accepting her body size and shape as a mid-sized character from a family of tiny women who put pressure on. At the end, though, though she did imply that finding balance around foods eaten was the right way to do things, there was some language around choosing "right" and "healthy" foods over others and I'm not a fan of terms that moralize food, especially when there is such a disparity around food privilege and how expensive "healthy" foods often are.

Those couple of moments where I cringed meant for me that I had to knock off a star, but otherwise the reading experience and the story itself were super enjoyable!

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the advanced copy!

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