In a word: Loved!
4.5 ⭐️
My Review: Life long friends who had a previous disastrous attempt at romance are at a crossroads: will they rekindle or move on?

It was wonderful to see some of the characters I loved in On The Plus Side adjacent to this story. I really enjoyed the normalcy approach to LBGTQ+ characters as well as body diversity. I love reading about characters who are living in a world I would want to hang out it. (Otherwise I would read non-fiction.) I did find frustration with the FMC’s inner struggle that was often based on false assumptions she was making about others. (It frustrates me because I do it in real life and is not a trait I enjoy about myself.) I wanted her to stop mind-reading others and making life decisions based on her assumptions.

I love the love triangle plot, the adorable pets and the family dynamics.
So much to love in this book!
I’m really looking forward to the next book by Jenny Howe.

Please note, I did receive this ARC for free; I am writing this honest review voluntarily and appreciate the opportunity provided by the author to review this book.
Thank you to Net Galley, St. Martin’s Griffin and the author for the opportunity to review this book.

I really wanted to love this book, but sadly, I didn’t. I didn’t feel the connection between Jack and Haleigh. I might have felt differently if I’d met them as their friendship grew before they went to Hawaii. Coming in at the middle, when so much had transpired between them, made it feel like I was missing something. There was more chemistry between Haleigh and Brian than I felt between her and Jack. This isn’t a terrible book, I just wanted more. Thank you to the publisher for providing an advanced reader copy of this book.

4.5 stars! I always enjoy Jenny L. Howe’s writing and this was no exception. Right from the beginning I was feeling so much, maybe too much. Her characters and their feelings hit so close to home, especially with the fat rep and mental health rep in this book. I was rooting for Haleigh and Jack the whole time. I also loved the cameos from the characters from Jenny’s previous books! That was a fun bonus. Overall definitely recommend!

I was granted access to this ARC in exchange of my honest opinion by Netgalley

Haleigh is a 25-year-old plus size woman tired of the dating scene, she keeps having these bad dates this added to the fac that works part times makes it so everyone in her family always have something to say when they see her. it doesn't help that she has a thing for her best friend, but they have to keep it platonic.

When Haleigh's sister gets engaged and she must take a plus one to the engagement party her family and friends strike a deal with her, they will set her up on 10 dates to hopefully she'll find a date to the party but maybe a long term Parter, each of them get 2 picks. will Haleigh find her perfect match in one of the dates and finally get over best friend Jack or will she end up on the dating sabbatical she so desperately wants.

this was a cute read, it was easy to get in to once i picked it up for good, read about 79% of it before i put it down.
I enjoyed the representation since our FMC is a plus size person, we got to see some of the horrors one experiences when living on a bigger body.

We got to see how the Haleigh and Jack's friendship is and how much they trust and rely on each other

it was a quick read, i enjoyed it and over all i recommended it .

*****spoilers***
what i did not like, throughout the book we get to see the dates, some are very terrible and definitely justify why our FMC does not want to date. until we get to Brian

Brian is good guy, he is vet, he is sweet, makes Haleigh laugh and they have a good time together. i love brian <3
As things are going good with Brian, Jack decides to finally come up and be open about his feelings and he confesses his never ending love for her, they decide to start dating.
Haleigh is dating both of them and until this point, i could not see why anyone would be team Jack.
we spent most of the book seeing the dates and jack being stressed about work and seeing how he was reacts to stress, not a good look tbh

From the point that Haleigh decides to explore things with both of them we now see that Brian is not as perfect as we though, why you might ask;
he does not read... the horror..
he also does not watch Tv... the tragedy...
he is willing to watch TV if thats what Haleigh wants but she does not want that, she wants a man who will read with her and discuss books with her and watch TV because he wants to, not because he has too

in turn we see how Jack started to read to be better for her, he is on a book club for her and jack arranges a book shopping spree for her when she is stressed so OfCourse he is the perfect man for her

petty as it might be this bothered me, there was nothing wrong with Brian

I love a friends to lovers trope, and a plus sized main character, was a plus (pardon the pun). This was the first Jenn Howe book that I read, but I enjoyed it so much, I don't think "How to Get a Life in Ten Dates" will be my last!

Cute little palate cleanser! I love that there were plus size characters and felt like her feelings towards dating as a plus sized girl were so accurately portrayed. I like that there were LGBTQ+ characters. The banter within the friend group was so fun! I could see this being a Netflix movie, and although the characters weren't super well developed, it was still fun to watch the growth. I love to read contemporary romance between deep fantasy and dark romance, so this was exactly the light hearted read I needed. It was entertaining and fast paced with a happily ever after.

I am conflicted about this review. This wasn’t a bad read, but it wasn’t my favorite. I really enjoyed some parts, but others really irked me. For starters I loved the main character. I felt like she was under so much pressure from her family to get her life together, and I just wanted to scream at them that she is only 25. I certainly had a lot going on in my life at 25 and would not classify myself as having it all together. Kuddos to those who do though! I also really loved reading about all the dates that she went on. There were some really fun ones, and they were great. I loved that Haleigh was bisexual and dated both men and women. It was also nice to read a book with amazing anxiety rep. Okay now here’s what sort of ruined the book for me. The relationship between Haleigh and her best friend, Jack. He loves her, she’s not sure of her feelings for him after something from their past. It just felt like the miscommunication trope gone haywire for me. It was too much. Jack was clearly in love with her and she just ignored it all and flaunted the dates she was going on in his face. So very frustrating to read.


3.5 stars rounded to 4

I absolutely loved it! This book is a hilarious and heartwarming journey through the ups and downs of modern dating. Howe’s witty writing had me laughing out loud, and the quirky characters felt like friends I’d want to hang out with.

The premise is both relatable and entertaining: a countdown of ten dates that leads to unexpected twists and plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. I found myself rooting for the protagonist as she navigated the dating scene, facing both the absurdities and the joys of finding love.

Honestly, this book would make a fantastic movie! The blend of humor, romance, and life lessons would resonate with anyone who’s ever dipped their toes into the dating pool. If you’re looking for a fun read that leaves you smiling, I highly recommend it!

A cutesy romance. Friends to lovers trope. Second chance trope. Series of terrible dates. Awkward set-up dates.

Haleigh is a plus size woman who’s had a string of terrible dates. She’s secretly in love with her best friend, but their one attempt at getting together ended poorly and they’d agreed not to go there again. With her sister’s engagement party coming up, Haleigh asks her family and friends to set her up on a ten dates to help her find her “plus one”. One date really stands out but when the last set-up takes her by surprise, she finds herself having to choose.

First, while the description highlights the main character as “plus size”, Haleigh’s weight is blip in the story. She is comfortable in her skin, and that is pretty much the end of it. However, she is a bit obsessed with muscular men who clearly work out. And I thought it was strange to continuously mention their fitness. Can none of the men be plus size?

Second, Haleigh is pretty young. I think it was 25 years old… and her obsession with suddenly finding the one at this stage of her life feels antiquated. Perhaps someone in her life should’ve told her to quit whining and enjoy her youth instead of forcing her on more terrible dates. But then we wouldn’t have this story.

Overall, very cute story that I enjoyed. Well written and I liked how the surveys were worked into the story!

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

I loved this!! I appreciated Haleigh so much, she knew her worth and didn't settle. It was such a joy seeing her and Jake get together and grow together.
The only thing that bothered me just a smidgen was the use of the word "pépère" without any explanation. I'm french so I know what it means, but a bit more context would have been appreciated.

This book is a lot of fun. It's reminiscent of How to Lose a Guy in Ten Dates, but this time with a protagonist who just wants her family and friends to leave her alone and stop trying to set her up. So instead, they get to set her up on two dates each and then forever hold their peace on her relationship status (or lack thereof).

The dates end by at times hilarious means. The banter is a-bantering and the rom com is a-rom-comming. I had a lot of fun with this one.

Content: language, explicit, brief love triangle

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this book. This review is voluntarily written and the thoughts and opinions contained in this review are my own.

So honestly this story only started to get good when Haleigh started to actually like her dates. It was super slow paced in my opinion. I felt like we always knew the outcome of what was going to happen. So, I was hoping she would have had more tension with either her dates or with the true love interest. But everything felt very lack luster when it came together. There wasn’t really a moment for me where the main love interest wasn’t going to be the one. This book does start to read faster once you’re about 65% through. Overall, it was good but not a story I’d look to reread again.

Thanks Netgalley and St. Martins Press for this opportunity!

I loved this read! The FMC is so real and relatable. I couldn't put it down and just was left with such big swoony feelings after!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and of course the author for providing this eARC.

I was hooked from the start, laughing out loud at how funny it was. The characters were so likable, and the ones who weren’t—well, they did their job too! I just loved how real they all felt, and I wish I could experience it again from scratch, not knowing what was going to happen. Dating is something I haven’t taken lightly because of how intimidating it can be as a plus-size woman. While this book didn’t completely ease my anxieties about dating, it made me laugh at the absurdity of it all. It was also refreshing to feel that as a plus-size woman, I can still be desirable, and there are people out there who want to date me. I knew this book would make me cry, and it did—so many happy tears for all the characters involved. This was truly a rom-com to remember.

I highly recommend it to everyone—read this now!

I always love Jenny Howe’s books! the characters are sweet, swoony, and spicy, and the plot is deep, loving, and oh so tender. I loved Haleigh and Jacks friends to lovers, slow burn romance. I love being able to see how they’ve both grown, matured, and healed/ are healing over the years to be the best partners they can to each other. I loved the side characters here as well, especially Brian who’s just a big ole cinnamon roll!!!

overall, another adorable, amazing story from Jenny Howe! thank you for the arc!!!!

Frustrated with dating, Haleigh has her family & friends set her up on ten dates of their choosing so they will stop hounding her about finding partner, after which she plans to go on a dating hiatus. I thought this was cute, fast paced and easy to read.

I love a good rom-com book and find their predictability a nice palate cleanser between heavier books or a way to just let my brain relax when real life gets busy. This book isn’t it. I found the plot so messy and unbelievable, but not in the typical rom-com, fairy-tale way. First off, our MFC is 25 and is stressing about needing to “get her life together”. Why isn’t she a powerful editor at a major publishing company yet? Why doesn’t she own her own home? Why isn’t she married and settled down already? These are things everyone should have accomplished by 25, right?! Second, she’s in love with her best friend since second grade, Jack (our MFC). Except, after hooking up in Hawaii, Jack acted like a giant asshole. But Haleigh just couldn’t live without him because he’s so wonderful…So they stayed best friends. For another 5 years. She starts dating a super awesome, hot veterinarian but He’S NoT jAcK, and he (*gasp*) doesn’t like to read as a hobby, and is therefore not excellent boyfriend material. Even though he’s the most mature, delightful person in the entire book. Best go back to Jack, who is finally ready for a relationship with Haley, despite the fact that he lies to his therapist and refuses medication to help with his severe anxiety and OCD. Good choice.

Also randomly, after deciding Jack is THE ONE, Haleigh refers to herself as a “mama bear” where Jack is concerned. GROSS. Absolutely not. No thank you. Change that line.

Anyway, save yourself time and read something else.

3.5 stars rounded down for Goodreads.

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for my advanced copy of this book!

This one was cute! Haleigh, the FMC, is sick of her family bothering her about her dating life, so she agrees to let them set her up on a total of ten dates, as long as they’ll leave her alone for awhile after she puts forth the effort on the dates.

Honestly, the dates were pretty funny, and I enjoyed reading them! Made me glad I’m not currently in that season of life 🤣

Haleigh is plus-sized and deals with quite a bit of anxiety. Her struggles with her mental health felt real and relatable. However, she also seems immature at times, not wanting to “adult” and kind of stuck in a life she’s unhappy with, but not really willing to do the hard work to make the necessary changes. She did have growth in this area throughout, though, so I appreciated that.

The MMC, Jack, also dealt with mental health issues of his own. I like that the rep in this book was both from a female and a male POV.

I felt like the reasons Haleigh and Jack aren’t together initially in this book are a bit weak, and a nice long sit down could have probably solved a lot of their issues. But, nonetheless, I love second chance and friends to lovers, and will never complain about either of those tropes!

This was a fun read, and a nice palette cleanser in between heavier reads. It tackled mental health issues without feeling draining or too heavy itself.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for an ARC of Jenny L. Howe's How to Get a Life in Ten Dates in exchange for an honest review. While I'm not 100% sure this book is what I thought it would be about when I started reading about it, I do have to say, I enjoyed the book. The preface of the book is that Haleigh is sick of her family giving her grief about her life since she doesn't "have a real job" and doesn't date anyone seriously. Her sister is getting married and is having a weekend, out of town affair and Haleigh is invited with a plus one. To get her family off her back, she invites her family and friends to each set her up with either a man or woman of their choice. Once she has gone on 10 dates, they must get off her back and give her much needed time off from the dating (and them nagging) scene.

Let me just say that I LOVE the relationship Haleigh has with Jack. They are such a perfect couple, whether as friends or as more. They truly know each other and what the other needs. I also LOVE Stanton. His character is an absolute riot! It seems as though Haleigh has some wonderful people surrounding her which is important in life.

I really enjoyed this book.

A cute, funny read with a fat positive lead, supportive and amazing side characters, and lgbtq+ representation. 

In the beginning, I was hesitant on liking Haleigh, as she seems slightly immature, but she definitely grows as the story goes, and she eventually starts to "grow up" and attempts to get her life in order. I loved Jack from the beginning but grew skeptical of him after learning about his reaction in Hawaii, which led to the two leads making a list of rules in order to maintain their friendship. I won't lie as much as I love the two main characters. I really fell in love with Brian in this love triangle and would love to see him get a story of some kind.

As someone who suffers from anxiety herself, I think the author realistically shows how anxiety can really drag you down, cause mental havoc, and create a domino effect on life (i.e., Jack in Hawaii or Haleigh constantly comparing herself to her sister and friends).

This is a first from Howe for me, and I now know she also wrote On the Plus Side, which has been on my list of romances to read, so I will eventually make my way back to reading it and look forward to other books she writes in the future.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳, 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘦-𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺.