Sophie Cousens

The title caught my eye since I know this is the song by Joe Jackson from 1979.

Anna is 38, divorced with two kids. Her job as a column writer is at stake and she needs to come up with an article about dating to impress her boss and the guy who wants to take over her column in a totally different format but then their boss decides she'll do one column on non-online dating and he'll do one on on-line dating. The war is on with her co-worker. A prospective new owner wants to take over the show more magazine and wants big changes. Will that mean the end of her job?

She decides to date the old fashioned way, offline, with no apps, and her kids, choosing her 7 dates, after she tries an app.

Date 1: Her son Ethan (age 7) picked his friends divorced dad. He asked her if she liked fishing. Of course she said yes (ha ha) and the results were disastrous.

Date 2: Jess (age 12) dared her to ask a 27 year old waiter. She's 38 but said she was 33. He did call her and she goes to a party at 10 pm (late for her obviously) and her sister babysits her kids. This is one of my favorite lines, "the carpet in this flat is older than she is."

I liked the idea of the chapter headings about what she was Googling but not sure if the type was supposed to be so darn small and "faded." Hard to read.

Date 3: Jess suggested the "rotund" (Anna's word) postman who's always singing Broadway tunes since she he said he broke up with someone. Doesn't work for her.

Date 4: Ethan suggested an tv actor who she really likes who happens to be in the area in a play. She decides on a long short to email his agent. Poof -- another date. Even she can't believe it. What are the odds? This date is very interesting to say the least. How did it go? Don't ask.

Date 5: Anna's cranky neighbor Noah who she wakes up in the middle of the night because her smoke alarm is beeping and it's driving her crazy and her ex-husband Dan took the ladder! This should be interesting.

Date 6: Speed dating at a bar! No luck.

Date 7: Jess suggests Ethan's new swimming teacher. He took her climbing.

As for the epilogue, I was like I know what's going to happen between her and Will. I was wrong! Finally an ending where it didn't turn into marriage but a long-distance relationship when Will moved to Paris.

An overall good chick lit which I can't say about every chick lit I've read. A solid 3 stars. show less

When I first began reading romantic comedies, I wasn’t sure who to read or what to like. I recall picking up "Just Haven’t Met You Yet" and instantly falling in love with Sophie Cousens' charm, wit, and female protagonists. She writes women any reader can relate to - they are vulnerable but strong, smart but self-aware, with an inner monologue that keeps you giggling. In "Is She Really Going Out With Him," everything we've come to love about Sophie Cousens shines bright. Eight books in, show more and she still knows how to captivate her audience and make us swoon over a male protagonist we love to hate, then can’t help but love. Most importantly, in "Is She Really Going Out With Him," she focuses on the hearts of every woman who needs a kindred spirit as they navigate dating, either post-divorce or in their late thirties or early forties. For those who are ready to be inspired, to find their inner Phoenix, to enter their rock era, this one is for you.

Anna Appleby never imagined that sixteen years after meeting Dan and twelve years after saying "I do," she would be staring at an email confirming the dissolution of her marriage. The promises, the memories - all over with the touch of a send button. One year later, Anna is convinced that her life is as it should be, and her singlehood is a choice (one she is not willing to relinquish without a fight!). She is happy; she has her kids, her house, her job, her sister, and doesn’t need a man in her life to make her whole. Despite the efforts of her kids and her sister, she doesn’t need to meet someone new to prove she is over her ex-husband, who is apparently playing house with a twenty-five-year-old Swedish bombshell. All she needs is her job and for one annoying coworker named Will Havers to magically disappear. Not only has he become the bane of her existence, but it turns out he is trying to take her column! This means war! As the company she works for is taken over by new owners, Anna finds herself fighting to remain relevant and appealing, which means stepping out of her comfort zone and doing the one thing she swore off - putting herself back out there and creating content for a new dating column. The twist? She has to write about each of her dates, chosen by her children, to prove her value and save her job. Easy enough until Will decides to weasel his way in. If it’s a fight he wants, it’s a fight he will get, but remember: All is fair in love and war, but neither love nor war is ever fair.

As I said before, I have always loved Sophie’s writing. She knows how to write a female main character you just get! It doesn’t matter how old you are or where you are in life; you can relate to who she is, what she is going through, and how she feels. You may be in your twenties but have still experienced disappointment and heartbreak - whether it is from a friendship lost, a family withdrawn, a career that is letting you down, or a love that came to an end. You may even be in your sixties and look back and relate to the rollercoaster that Anna has been through, reflecting on your own wins and losses, triumphs and tragedies, and admiring where you have landed in life or feeling inspired to not give up just yet. No matter where you fall on the spectrum, Anna carries a piece of you as she picks up the pieces of the shattered life she thought she would live and uses them to rebuild a life she would never have imagined.

To be honest, out of all the things I enjoyed about this book, the Google searches were the best! If I was really into the book and realized I had moved on to another chapter without reading them, I would go back! I have never seen anything like that in a book, and it was an excellent touch. Each chapter (if relevant to what was happening in her life) had new ones, and they cracked me up every single time. Sophie also has a talent for creating a community of characters that breathe huge life into the story.

Speaking of secondary characters, I can't forget to mention the dates - the first few were absolutely hilarious! Each date cracked Anna open more and more. She was forced out of her comfort zone to write the column, and the eccentric dates and even more hilarious characters started poking holes in her facade. Slowly, we got to see the real Anna seep out - her confidence, her sass, her strength, her voice, her belief in herself, her talent, and most of all - her true self. Seeing all the gifts the column brought her by the end reminds the reader that going for it, despite the consequences, doubts, and what-ifs, can be worth it. Even if it’s not, as Jonathan taught us, at least you tried and gave it your everything.

The book was definitely a closed-door, fade-to-black romance, but the moments before the curtains closed were just as enticing and spicy. Each feeling, each moment was constantly downplayed and justified as something other than what it was because she was determined to protect herself from getting hurt again. It was lust, not love - a need for distraction, not growing infatuation. The worst part was that her efforts to protect her heart made it easier to keep the peace with everyone and everything around her rather than stand her ground. She didn’t want to deal with another relationship and a potential fallout. She didn't want to stir the pot at work, push back against Dan, or intrude on her children - she just wanted to survive each day. She hadn't lost her power, she gave it up willingly.

Sophie addresses a number of points in this book - how she managed to cram all of them in without pulling away from the overall story is beyond me. Again, this book speaks volumes to older women, no matter what phase they are in their lives. It reflects on seasoned women in their careers attempting to stay relevant and hip in a trending world, women rediscovering themselves after divorce and revisiting a dating scene that has greatly shifted, single moms doing it all while holding it together, and women dealing with the significant other of an ex who wants the title of mom but not the responsibility that goes with it - all fun and fab, but never grim and dull. She also addresses bullying and the impact it can have on young women, how easily it can go unnoticed, and the damage it can cause. She sprinkles in the concept of rebirth as we see Loretta take on a second chance in life with no apologies, like a force of nature. Sophie illustrates our evolution as women, our waxes, wanes, and phases. We are constantly growing and shrinking, consistently changing, and while it can be scary, it is part of the journey and essence that makes us who we are.

I never know what journey Sophie is going to take me on when I open her books, and just like the ones before this, I am never disappointed. "Is She Really Going Out With Him" will make you feel less alone, no matter where you are in life. It will make you feel seen, validated, and, if you need it, provide that little push forward to stop being afraid and take a risk. We may find comfort and solace where we are, but life lasts only so long, and some opportunities happen only once in a lifetime. Stop making excuses and take a chance. Even if it doesn’t work out, the memory, the effort, the experience will still be a consolation prize worth having. show less

Thirty-eight-year-old Anna Appleby is a divorced mother who lives in Bath, England, with her daughter, Jess, and son, Ethan. The children regularly spend time with their father, Dan, and his girlfriend, a twenty-five-year-old Swedish beauty. Anna is a journalist who works for a local lifestyle and culture magazine, "Bath Living." She is alarmed when her boss reveals that someone new has taken over their faltering publication. If she wants to keep her job, she will have to up her game by show more writing original and relatable columns that appeal to a younger audience.

"Is She Really Going Out with Him?" by Sophie Cousens has more depth than its title suggests. This is a clever, funny, and touching novel with an appealing array of characters. Cousens' story revolves around the well-worn trope of competitive co-workers who repeatedly snipe at one another. Will Havers, who is eight years younger than Anna, gets on her nerves—although she secretly acknowledges that he is a talented journalist who is also extremely attractive. With the encouragement of their managing editor, Will and Sophie agree to write parallel dating columns. Sophie will go out with men chosen by her children (!), and Havers will date women he meets online.

The dates that Jess and Ethan suggest for their mum are a hilarious assortment of misfits. Some of the fellows are sweet but weird, others are sour and weird, and one is downright obnoxious. In addition, Will and Anna team up to take two job-related trips, which gives them the opportunity to exchange personal and sometimes painful information about their past experiences. Gradually, their frosty relationship begins to thaw. This charming and entertaining book is not a run-of-the-mill romcom. It has poignant subplots about the distress a wife may feel when her once loving spouse leaves her; the difficulty of balancing a career with parenthood; and Anna's fear that, if she falls for this desirable younger man, she will be setting herself up for heartbreak. "Is She Really Going Out with Him?" is engaging, amusing, and satisfying from beginning to end. show less

Please note that I received this book via NetGalley. This did not affect my rating or review.

So funny enough I could have used this for a Cannonball 14 bingo because of the constant discussion of stars, who knew. But seriously though. This is the third book by Cousens I have read and they just keep getting better. Potential romance readers may be worried about the plot of this one and if this will work for them, but I promise you it will. It was lovely the whole way through. I called it a show more chaotic romance and it really is. And you are going to not like parts of Audrey sometimes, but you are going to be rooting for her while you read. I thought several times while reading this book that some characters were saying a lot of things I wish I had heard/known when I was younger.

"Before I Do" follows Audrey who is about to marry her fiancée Josh. Audrey feels a bit "off" the night before their wedding and wonders if this is what she really wants and can she and Josh make each other truly happy. Audrey is shocked when Josh's sister brings Fred "one who got away" to the rehearsal dinner and Audrey is left floored about whether this is a sign that means the wedding is a mistake. The book goes back and forth to a time before the wedding and the time after.

So Audrey is a bit of a mess. And there's good reason she is we slowly find out. Outside of her mother's multiple marriages, she's still reeling from an incident when she was a young woman which left her feeling guilty. And now that Fred, the first man who ever made her feel "something" is back before her wedding, she wonders if that is a sign she's about to make a big mistake. You may want to shake Audrey while reading, but there's reasons why she feels the way she does, and why she feels so off. An amateur astronomer, it feels as if Audrey is constantly giving up her dreams and has watched all of her friends, even her mother, continue to couple up. Part of her feels the push/pull of that. But we also get to see the many times she met Josh through the years and how he ended up being someone she wanted to be with. The story of Audrey and the story of Audrey and Josh was wonderful to read. And it was great to see an acknowledgement through other characters about how hard marriage is and how often it sucks.

The writing was great and I laughed a few times while reading. Seriously the night before the wedding had the most messy stuff happening outside of Fred. I would have probably opened a bottle of champagne after the dead bat incident (you have to read it).

The pace actually works for this. Cousens does a good job of setting up points in time by saying X hours, days, months, years before Audrey is supposed to say I do.

The ending was great I thought. You don't get the in between stuff, but almost the entire story in the end. show less