I ready On the Plus side by this author and it was seriously just an amazing story so I was super excited to read How to Get a life in Ten Dates. This author does love stories for real people. People with anxiety, people that don't have that shit together, people that don't have six pack abs and I just love that her stories portray her characters with real world issues. I really loved the whole dating line story of this book. Having to go on ten dates chosen by her friends and family and hilarity was what happened. It makes me so glad that I am not dating in this world because emotional support cockatoos, and men who think it is ok to shove oysters down your throat was just WAY to much and way to believable. ( PS i think I am married to the sports loving bar tender).
I really liked Haleigh and how she was starting to make a life for herself, trying to figure things out. What I actually didn't love in this book was Jack. Yes, they were best friends, but I am just not sure why. I have to tell you I was rooting for Brian and for her to grow out of Jack because he was way too immature for her.
I get that he had anxiety and mental health issues, and he obviously felt that he loved her for his whole life and maybe I am just a super cynical second chance love person, but I didn't think he did anything to deserve her love. I feel like she bent over, walked on pins and needles waiting for him to get mad at her and leave her like he did in Hawaii. I guess I just wasn't sold on them being end game. I love Haliegh and I wanted her to find someone that she could really grow with - not someone that she couldn't be her authentic messy crazy self.
Overall, the beginning part of the books was fantastic, I loved hearing all the bad stories and loved when Jack 'rescued" from them. I just wish I had seen more growth in Jack to make them fit better together.

I had really high hopes for this book as I was such a lover of On The Plus Side, it had been a five star read for me. But this book didn’t pull me in the same way.

Let’s first talk about what I did like - I thought the concept was fun, the idea of having your closest people set you up on a variety of dates to try and get some traction on your dating life was entertaining. I also found some of the characters that Haleigh meets on these dates funny and a good bit of comic relief. I also did like both of the main love interests, Brian and Jack. But I did find the story a bit exhausting at times. I understand that one of the plot points was both Haleigh and Jacks mental health but I found the way that it was shown on the page a bit stressful and frustrating. I felt like there were some loose ends that never really got wrapped up that I would have like to have seen finished.

Overall I found the book just fine, not amazing or great, but just fine - it was enjoyable at parts but I didn’t feel the same love or excitement about these characters as I did with the first book in this series.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I really loved the premise of this romcom and enjoyed each of the dates. Some were frustrating and others were just funny (the guy with the bird?! iykyk). I appreciated that the main character is confident in her skin, and her journey is not about changing her appearance to fit into a mold but about embracing life more fully on her own terms.

That said, while the premise is fun and engaging, the execution stumbles at times. The miscommunication trope is central to the story’s conflict, and for readers like me who find this trope frustrating, it may feel like an unnecessary hurdle rather than a meaningful plot driver. Additionally, the romantic arc was too predictable, which affected the emotional payoff for me.

If you're looking for a romance that champions self-love and offers a warm, easy read, How to Get a Life in 10 Dates has plenty to offer—even if it is a bit predictable.

Just adore Jenny’s plus sized romances! They are always so sweet, fun, and feel good! This one was just wonderful! I enjoyed every page. The characters were great and it felt realistic! Seriously recommend her books! So ready for what’s next from her!

Charming and fun with just the right amount of heart. I loved the concept and the main character’s growth throughout. A few secondary characters felt underdeveloped, but the romance was sweet and believable. A great pick-me-up read.

I almost DNF'd this book early because the main character was a lot and the dating scenarios felt sooooo far fetched. Luckily I stuck with it and it leveled out a bit to be an overall enjoyable read. The main character was still a little too dramatic at times, but the ending was so darn satisfying.

Did we really need to make Haleigh that annoying? Her attitude and negativity really soured the storyline for me. It had it's LOL moments, but liiiiike sorry I would not be friends with you girly.

So cute! Very cozy, low stakes romance. Second chance romance is not usually my vibe but I liked it here. I enjoyed that the main character was plus sized but didn’t make it her entire personality.

2.5 🌟

Thank you NetGalley|St. Martin’s Press|St. Martin’s Griffin for an eARC of this book. **Though I received an ARC, all thoughts and opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review in any way**

How to Get a Life in Ten Dates follows Haleigh Berkshire’s quest to prove to her family that dating just isn’t for her right now. How is she doing this? By allowing them to pick the dates for her. She’ll give them an honest shot and after 10 dates, if she doesn’t connect with anyone then her family has to get off her back about dating.

While I loved the concept of this book, it fell flat for me in delivery. From the very beginning, you know who she is going to end up with, which I can be fine with, but the path to getting there was irritating. Haleigh makes a lot of assumptions throughout this book that border on being the cousin to miscommunication or just a plain lack of communication. First, it started with the very first date in the book where she assumed it was going to go south because of the small talk. She didn’t even fully give the date a chance before she was over it. Later she immediately assumes that her roommate is going to kick her out because their partner might move in. No discussion had, no other indication, simply assuming from what she overheard. She later assumes that her front-runner might be seeing other people, so why shouldn’t she? In all of these instances (plus others) she cuts people off from talking and that is one thing that bugs me the most in a book. Stop thinking you know the answer when you can simply communicate.

I truly did not like the storyline of Haleigh and her best friend. It takes her going on dates with someone else and actually hitting it off for him to finally step up and put himself in the picture after he already had ample time to do it and did not. It felt possessive and manipulative. It did not come off as lovey and cute to me. Their rule list also did not make sense to me. They have to tell each other everything involving their relationship, yet “couldn’t” try out a relationship again after “the trip.” — trying not to give away the full story — if you want to get over each other maybe give each other space, not set stipulations to your friendship.

If “comparison is the thief of joy” was a book, it would be this one. Every single date and moment was compared to her relationship/connection to one person and that got old and annoying really fast. She called herself giving people an honest try, but just kept comparing everything, even the good things, to one person.

Haleigh also felt like she had to have EVERYTHING in common with the people she was seeing and any sign of them not having a similar interest sent her running. Even the person that she went on multiple dates with and had no signs of having issues with all of a sudden because of a few differences in basic interests, he was no longer it. Given that Haleigh ultimate goal was to focus on herself, it would have been nice to see that used as an opportunity to allow her to explore her own interests or maybe learn something new from someone else. It could have also been a fun storyline to see her take herself on 10 dates in a quest to get a life.

I did like the mental health representation in this book, though there could have been more time spent in therapy than on dates. I also appreciated the diversity in sexual orientation, ethnicity, and body-size, but unfortunately these things were not enough to save this book for me. This was my first book by this author and I do like to give authors another chance, so I may try another book in the future.

Haleigh has been unsuccessful in dating so she decides to get help from her family and friends to find a date to her sister’s engagement celebration.
I enjoyed the dynamic between Haleigh and her family because it felt real. It showed that sometimes your family misunderstands you, but have a good heart.
Jack is Haleigh’s childhood best friend, who she had a brief fling with on a vacation 5 years prior. They’re super close and he bails her out of any bad date.
Haleigh has a handful of bad dates that she got set up on, but then she meets Brian. They have good chemistry and genuinely like each other.
Jack, unbeknownst to Haleigh, sets up himself to be her last date because he’s been in love with her his whole life.
I loved the friends to lovers dynamic in this book. They both had to grow as people before they could be together and work out.

How to Get a Life in Ten Dates is a heartfelt and humorous rom-com that delves into the complexities of friendship, love, and self-discovery. Haleigh is a relatable and endearing protagonist, navigating the challenges of dating while managing anxiety and societal expectations. The dynamic between Haleigh and Jack is both tender and tension-filled, capturing the essence of a friends-to-lovers narrative. The inclusion of diverse and quirky dates adds levity, while the exploration of mental health and body positivity provides depth. Jenny L. Howe's writing is engaging, balancing wit with genuine emotion, making this novel a compelling read for those seeking a modern love story with substance.
Macmillan Publishers

This was a predictable, but cute story. I enjoyed the read, but won’t be shouting about it to everybody I know.

This was a fun rom-com-ish palate cleanser for me. I enjoyed "On The Plus Side" by the same author, so I gave this one a shot and was pleasantly surprised that it, too, was a good read. I appreciated the plus-size representation and inclusion of mental health and LGBTQ+ aspects. This theme was friends-to-lovers and a good second-chance style romance.

I absolutely devoured How to Get a Life in Ten Dates! There is so much to love about it - friends to lovers, plus-size rep, and such a relatable character who struggles with her mental health. I need to go back and read everything this author has written.

I wanted to like this book but just couldn't. And it wasn't even the love triangle aspect to it which is a trope I dont really like. Harping on how she is such a lost cuase at only 25 was just too much for me.

How to Get a Life in Ten Dates by Jenny L. Howe was a cute rom-com with second chance romance and even blind dates. My favorite part of this story was the childhood friends attempting to date. Fun read!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, & the publisher for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was my first book by Jenny Howe and it definitely will not be my last.

I really liked her writing style. If there is one thing I will eat up every time it is the "we just need to be friends" trope. I enjoyed getting to see all of the men Haleigh went on dates with.

Jack won me over when he took her to a bookstore and let her pick books for herself (and told her to choose one for him). He also cooks for her!!

I'll just end by saying I gave three stars to this book because justice for Brian.

From the first chapter, I felt like Haleigh Berkshire could have been one of my friends — messy, funny, tired of the dating circus, and just trying to survive the chaos around her. Jenny L. Howe didn't just write a rom-com; she gave us a woman who's exhausted, vulnerable, and still somehow hilarious while navigating a world that expects her to shrink herself in every way. I loved how real Haleigh's struggle felt — the constant pressure to perform for everyone else while secretly holding onto the one person she'd loved all along.
The dynamic between Haleigh and Jack had me grinning like an idiot and clutching my chest simultaneously. Their friendship had so much messy history packed into it, and when Jack started throwing himself into the dating experiment like a human grenade, I was utterly hooked. It was clear from the beginning that their feelings weren't as buried as they pretended, but watching them wrestle through it, mistake after mistake, felt so true to life.
One of the things I appreciated most was how Howe treated Haleigh's plus-size identity. It wasn't a punchline or a sad story—it was just a fact of her life, woven into the narrative with honesty and heart. It made her wins feel bigger, her fears sharper, and her joy much more earned. I didn't just root for her to get the guy; I rooted for her to choose herself at every turn.
This book is a celebration of second chances, growing up even when you think you already have, and believing you're worthy of the kind of love that sets your whole damn world on fire. I finished the last page feeling like I'd just hugged my best friend after a long overdue heart-to-heart — hopeful, complete, and ready to believe that maybe the risk was worth it.

I was excited to read this book because the FMC is plus sized. She was relatable from page one and I liked her immediately. This was a sweet romcom and I think romance lovers will enjoy this book.

This is a good book. The two main characters are Haleigh and Jack. They have known each other since second grade. They are best friends. They come up with a plan to get Haleigh dating. She ask some family members and friends to set her up on blind dates. She meets some crazy people. The last one is Jack. They realize they love each other.