Books & Audiobooks
Anna Appleby is newly divorced with two kids and a job at Bath Living that she adores. But when the magazine gets bought out by a big conglomerate and Anna’s at risk of being made redundant, she’s pushed into writing a dating column (which is really not her forte) by her handsome and annoying office rival. The clinch? Her kids will choose her dates, and she’ll write about them weekly.
Before she knows it, Anna is asking out men like her annoying neighbour, the postman, waiters, and a famous actor from British telly. Anna is convinced she doesn’t need a man; her life is full and happy with her kids, her cat, and the remote for the TV, but as she puts herself out there in unfortunate, and sometimes hilarious situations, she realizes that falling in love again isn’t the worst thing that could happen to her.
Is She Really Going Out With Him by Sophie Cousens was the saving grace of a pretty bad reading year for me. Not much captured my attention in 2024 and I struggled to find books that I could sing praises about on this blog. In the last few days of the year, I stumbled upon Is She Really Going Out With Him and I devoured it over the holidays.
Anna is a refreshingly down-to-earth and disillusioned main character; her divorce has forced her to be realistic with her expectations of life and what it can serve her. She lives for her kids and, like most moms, does everything in her power to make them happy, while sacrificing her own happiness. But her kids are a hoot! They are funny and add levity to the story, so that it doesn’t become too heavy. They’re three-dimensional kids who are figuring out how to live in two different homes, with parents who no longer live together.
The romance is sweet and makes you melt inside, like a gooey ice cream sundae, in the best way. Very quickly it becomes obvious who makes Anna’s heart sing, and it’s someone she never would have imagined. Their office shenanigans are hilarious, especially during the restructuring of the magazine, as both are trying their hardest to make their individual columns the most popular.
As the column begins to get popular and her job at the magazine becomes more secure, Anna grows and changes. As she embarks on her journey of self-discovery, she realizes that she is someone worthy of love. And that’s the best part.
Is She Really Going Out With Him made me laugh, it made me cry, and it made me swoon. The Britishisms and the quiet references to Jane Austen were the cherry ontop of this heartwarming and lovely read. I can’t wait read Sophie Cousens’ next book!