This book started so well and so promising! Haleigh is a plus-sized woman tired of dating so she turns to those she loves most to set her up on ten dates - and if those fail, they agree they will let her take a dating hiatus without complaints. Some of these dates are hilariously bad - like the one where the emotional support bird takes off with her bagel - and some are so off the mark you have to wonder if these people who claim to love her actually really KNOW her.

Of course, Haleigh is really secretly in love with her best friend Jack, whom she's known since second grade. Years ago, on a trip to Hawaii, they confessed their feelings for each other and spent the entire trip together together, but then when they overslept an alarm and missed a flight, Jack's anxiety kicked in and he treated Haleigh terribly and broke everything off. So they decided to remain strictly platonic, while she secretly pined for him and had him rescue her from all bad dates. Meanwhile, he sets up his house to her liking - building bookshelves for her, buying her favorite books, painting walls her favorite colors - so it's pretty obvious he's secretly into her, too.

This is where the book fell flat for me - Haleigh really hit it off with one of her dates and sparks really flew. You really started to root for them as a couple - and in comes Jack to save the day. I actually did not want her to give him a second chance knowing how he broke her heart before and seeing how he was following a path of self destruction again. It felt like the author threw a random thing in there to make us not like Brian so that we'd want her to choose Jack and it just all felt messy.

I DO love the plus size representation, especially with the male plus size representation, too!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.

If you loved 10 Blind Dates but want to age it up, then you'll love How to Get a Life in Ten Dates. Although this does not take place during the holidays, we do have family members and friends getting to pick 2 people yo set our fmc, Haleigh: her gramps, her mom, her sister, and her best friend.

When the book started with Haleigh going on a date with a girl, I had hopes that more than one of the Blind Dates would have been with females, but alas, we only had one. But if not for the two main love interests, she was my favourite. Our two main love interests I found kind and generous, and a little flat. I liked him for boosting Haleigh's confidence, but after reading the synopsis, I was waiting for the best friend to step in. Leading up to that point in the synopsis was... ~70% into the book. You could tell who the main two interests would be though, from how the author had them interact.

I loved getting flashbacks of Haleigh and Jack's past together and what lead up to these rules they have in their friendship. I also loved seeing the dates answers to Haleigh's survey - so cute and set up that date perfectly.

Haleigh's family was interesting too. Gramps was funny, although very very old school. Mom was very particular and the sister had high expectations. You could feel the pressure they were putting on Haleigh, which made me sad. I would have honestly loved if the ending didn't have a pair up - we don't need a relationship to prove we're successful.

Which therein lies the point the author was making, I think. I loved the overall "love yourself, love what you do" message I was getting. I also loved who Haleigh ended up with. I won't spoil it, but the fact that the one love interest doesn't even read (or watch movies) 🤨 I don't know if I could get behind that pairing lol.

I've had my eye on Jenny L Howe's other books and with this one having such great relationships and addictive writing style, I can see myself going through her backlist.

“Messes can be beautiful.”

This might just be my favorite Jenny L. Howe masterpiece yet!

I genuinely loved the real and raw friendship between Haleigh and Jack and the plot incentive of going on set-up dates in order to earn her dating freedom.

The way Jenny incorporates the hardship of dating in modern times is both too real and ultimately hilarious (when it’s not happening to you!). But she manages to also highlight the importance of true friendship through it all, which makes it all manageable…at least until your best friend interferes with your dating life.

But I think one of my favorite parts is honestly the representation including throughout every nook and cranny of this story. From anxiety and OCD to plus-size/fat representation, this book has it all and does it in a way that makes us all feel seen.

I loved the beauty and the messes. The love and the pain. The heartbreak and the heartwarming. I loved how it wasn’t just an easy decision once a decision was posed—but one worth working through because when is life or love easy?

And the audio is DIVINE. You can’t go wrong with Billie Bryant as your narrator—and she truly helps bring this story to life!

“Every step she took was a step forward, even if it didn’t lead her anywhere.”

Check this one out if you enjoy:
- Friends to lovers
- Mutual pining
- Friendship rules
- Blind dates
- Dating questionnaire
- Second chance

I love anything Jenny Howe writes. This book was no exception! From her prose to her characters, Howe knows how to create the best stories and keep readers coming back for more. Five stars!!!

I really liked Howe’s last book, but I absolutely adored this one! Haleigh is just so relatable in her life goals, how much water she hilariously consumes, how she interacts with the dates she’s on, and even how she interacts with her family. I love how there were multiple threads of the story that all came to fruition in the end. Not only that, but there was no second act breakup, and plenty of steam without being a fully open (or closed, actually) door view into the romance.

Jenny Howe’s books are always such a delight and this little rom com is no exception. I loved the chemistry between Haleigh and Jackson and I loved the premise of having the 5 most important people in her life send Haleigh on dates. I laughed out loud at some of the predicaments, especially the bird and the bagel. I enjoyed Haleigh starting to find her way but I wanted a little more of that chutzpah and I wanted her and Jackson to let their guard down with each other a little more. I will always read what Howe is putting out and I love her fat rep so much!!

Rating: 4.5/5
I received an eARC for my honest opinion.

I have loved Howe’s work since I read her debut novel, and I have only grown more and more fascinated with her books as each one is released. This was just another book that I loved. In this book you will meet Haleigh, she has to find a plus one for her sister’s engagement party and with it approaching fast and having her family/friends nagging her about who she is going to take as her plus one. With the help of her best friend Jack, they come up with a great idea: have her friends and family pick ten men or women to go on dates with to see if one of them might be the perfect match. Now to hope that the dates go good or at least she will have fun relying on the dates to her bestie. It’s not until the last date that Haleigh is really able to have fun, and let her hair down, but will this date work out in the long run or is it going to be a disaster again?

I loved the plot of this book, and yes, it’s a character driven plot, but you will love the storyline and the characters so much. I liked the fact that we got to understand Haleigh more but more than that I found myself able to connect and relate to her characters so much. Like with being an adult but not really feeling like an adult, the whole dating scene, the family/friends always questioning about the fact that you’re single and so much more. I loved the love triangle in this book with Haleigh, not sure about Jack or Brian and taking her time to see if things might workout with Brian but in the past, you will see that things with Jack did not go so well and they agreed to stick with friendship rules to make sure that their friendship is never again but on the line. I found Haleigh’s character to be interesting, fun, something new and fresh, I loved that she was a plus size female and still rocked it, she was flawed and made her easy to connect with. I loved getting to see all the dates that she went on and all the feelings that she had with all the different people that her family/friends picked. It made me wonder if I was still single and who my family/friends would try to hook me up with lol. I loved that in this book you will see Haleigh get her HEA and another character as well… well tbh, the whole family too (because everyone knew that they would be perfect together). I loved that this was about second chances, friends to lovers, and having the MFC being a plus size, romance book. You have to read it, it’s fast-paced and easy to read, you will find yourself at the end saying that’s all, but I want more because of the writing and the characters.

I really can’t wait to see what the next book that Howe will write.

I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin Press for the opportunity to review this book.

I love perfectly imperfect female characters and Haleigh fit the bill perfectly (pun intended). This was such a fun and swoonworthy romance and I loved it! Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the advance copy!

HOOK: Haleigh is a plus-size single who's willing to try one more thing, going on dates as a scheme with her best friend and long time crush, Jack, but then Jack starts breaking the rules they came up with. Is trying with him worth the risk of losing him?

REVIEW: I love a curvy heroine. I love a best friend to lovers trope. I love the premise! It was cute, swoon-y, unapologetic, and everything I wanted a rom-com to be.

RATING: 4.5!

Haleigh is 25, a self-described bit of a mess, and after yet another dating disaster, she's ready to swear off the whole dating scene for awhile. Her real problem is that the perfect guy for her is Jack, her childhood best friend, but they briefly tried a romantic relationship in college that crashed and burned almost before it got going. Five yrs later, Jack is still her best friend, but she is has to face the fact that he will never be more.

In desperation, to get her family to leave her alone about finding a partner, she agrees to let her mom, granddad, sister, roommate, and Jack set her up with 2 blind dates each for a total of 10 dates. After that, if none of them click, they have all agreed to back off on her love life.

Although the description makes the book sound like a romance, it's really more on the chick lit side, as focuses more on Haleigh finding her path in life than it is about any romance she might have. Most of the dates are predictably awful. My favorite was the guy who brought his emotional support cockatoo along with predictably chaotic results. Just as Haleigh finds herself clicking with Brian, one of the blind dates who is an absolute sweetheart, Jack suddenly emerges as a contender, finally wanting to break their friendship rules.

I thought the book was fun and pretty relatable as we've all suffered on the dating scene. Also, it was an effective means to show Haleigh's own growth as she starts to figure out what she really wants and stops hiding from responsibility and "adulting". Although her ultimate choice was clear from the start, it was a fun ride to get there in the end. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

This was my first time reading one of Jenny L. Howe, and I loved it! Haleigh, our curvy, relatable FMC, is over the dating scene and the constant comparisons to her overachieving sister. To get her family off her back, she agrees to go on ten dates—each one set up by someone she knows. Let’s just say the results are a mix of amusement, cringe, and pure chaos. 😂

What made this story shine for me was Haleigh’s chemistry and banter with her best friend, Jack. The way she recaps her dating disasters to him (including those hilarious questionnaires her dates have to fill out!) had me laughing out loud. The narrative also shifts between past and present, slowly revealing the complicated history between Haleigh and Jack, making their dynamic even more intriguing.

I loved the self-discovery aspect, too. Haleigh’s journey felt authentic, and the book touches on resisting societal pressures and learning to embrace your true self. Plus, the friends-to-lovers tension was so well done - though I’ll admit, there were moments I was rooting for the new guy, Brian. He was so thoughtful and supportive, and I kind of wished he was the one! But in the end, Haleigh and Jack’s flaws and all-too-real connection gave me hope for their happiness.

If you’re looking for a lighthearted yet meaningful rom-com with inclusive characters and a relatable heroine, this one’s for you. 💕

Huge thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

With wonderful romantic chemistry and clever banter, this was such a gentle and endearing second-chance/friends-to-lovers romance. The book, in my opinion, did a fantastic job of illustrating the relationships between the main characters. My heart stopped in a few of those moments. A few moments to make you swoon.

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this book was a very easy read and was very cute. I loved the premise even though I just read one that was very similar it was still different and fun. All the terrible dates that Haleigh went on were so ridiculous and hysterical.

I also was a fan of the fact that I truly liked both of the guys in the love triangle and I would have been happy for her if she ended up with either of them.

I am absolutely in love with How to Get a Life in Ten Dates! It’s so much fun and has a lot of heart.

Thank you St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Haleigh is tired of her family meddling in her life and always thinking she’s a disaster because she hasn’t followed the life path of getting a traditional job, settling down, and getting married. So she and her longtime best friend, Jack, come up with a plan for her friends & family to set her up on a series of dates after which they have to agree to stop meddling and let her live her life her way. The dates range from alright to downright awful to infuriating (looking at you, Bradley Cooper (not that one)) and despite all the dating disasters it was refreshing that none of it was attributed to her weight/fatphobia.

As a plus-size someone who is living their own non-traditional life path with a disastrous dating life, I really enjoyed seeing Haleigh figure things out on her journey. Even though I’m a whole decade older than her, it served as a nice reminder that everyone is on their own timeline and it’ll only make you miserable trying to live up to other people’s expectations.

I only wish I had a Jack of my own 😜

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 stars. Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book for review.

Overall, I really enjoyed the premise of the book, along with the cast of side characters. I laughed at several moments in the book. I love that it centered a queer and curvy FMC who embraced those parts of her identity. The main thing that kept me from really loving this book was Haleigh's level of immaturity for being 25. I felt like the book put too much emphasis on her career insecurity and personality quirks. The date experiences were hilarious, I love Jack and the ways he shows up for Haleigh, and Brian gave me the vibes of Ted from Schitt's Creek. I'm always a sucker for a friends to lovers storyline. I enjoyed the book enough that I will likely explore some of Jenny Howe's other works.

How to get a life In 10 Dates is a laugh out loud romantic comedy I love a love story that you see the main characters falling in love, see the process of Falling in Love and it's unexpected. When you have a scheming get together plot and you accidentally fall in love! There's comedy ,there's drama,there's a little bit of emotion this is an excellent read such a good time with absolutely recommend.

I blew through this in a night. Jenny L Howe is an amazing storyteller. I loved the fat representation, as well as the anxiety representation and how these two things come into play while dating. Jenny writes books for the girls who learned to love themselves authentically as they are

“This was why (…) dating was off the table. She was too chaotic. He was too rigid. They were too different in ways that could break them, that already almost had (…).”

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 2 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Touches on body image prejudices, unhealthy relationship dynamics, and mental health struggles. Contains some sexual content.

“How to Get a Life in Ten Dates” follows Haleigh Berkshire, a plus-sized part time dog walker and editor, who’s worn out by dating drama and family pressure. Her sister has her engagement party soon and Haleigh should have a plus one, but all she wants is a break on dating. That’s when her best friend (and unrequited crush), Jack, suggests that she lets her family and close friends sent her up on 10 blind dates. If none of them work, then her family and friends can’t go on complaining about Haleigh’s dating sabbatical.

Haleigh’s journey is messy, charming, and deeply human. While Jack isn’t your typical perfect hero, his flaws make the romance feel genuine—you definitely catch on the been-best-friends-forever vibes with these ones right away.

If you’re a fan of friends-to-lovers and second chance romances that balance humor, emotional growth, and a sprinkle of chaos, then this book belongs on your shelf.

ARC provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: December 10, 2024

Haleigh was such an incredibly relatable character, and I absolutely adored having a main character who wasn’t portrayed as perfect but rather as perfectly imperfect. It made her so much more authentic and easy to connect with on an emotional level. The mental health representation in this story was absolutely stellar, especially in how the author depicted anxiety and the journey of working through it. I loved how the characters didn’t just struggle in silence but actively embraced therapy as a positive, empowering tool, which was such a refreshing and important message to see. Especially for someone who struggles themselves.

I found myself cracking up at Haleigh’s hilariously chaotic and sometimes cringey dates. I was totally in love with the love interests who completely stole my heart. The balance of humor, heart, and emotional depth made this such an engaging read. I couldn’t put it down and genuinely didn’t want it to end—I wanted to stay in Haleigh’s world forever! Because it's hard to find a read with a plus size FMC that isn't annoying to read. I loved it!!!

After a point in the story, it was very obvious to me who Haleigh would end up with, and I think it's disrespectful and plain weird to be going on so many dates when you're stuck on one person. I didn't love the main character or side characters that much, and though I get that adulting is hard, I'm not a fan of the constant cribbing. I genuinely enjoyed On the Plus Side, the only other book I've read by the author, which I believe actually had a strong plot and characters. This book unfortunately goes on and on about the struggles of being fat and as a reader, I get it! The reality is that most people get body-shamed for something or the other. This book was tolerable to me at best so I wouldn't recommend it, and I'm going to think twice before grabbing a book just because I liked another work by the author.