Reviewer: Tracy 10 Dates by Emily James
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: May 16th 2017
Genres: Contemporary Romance
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Joanie Fox can't wait to settle down and marry the man of her dreams. However, when her engagement starts to look more stalemate than soulmate, her best friend stages an intervention sure to make even the most hardened, serial daters wince: 10 Dates in 10 Days.
Statistically, if you kiss a lot of frogs there's bound to be at least one that's not a complete toad, isn't there? With nothing to lose, Joanie embarks on a crazy rollercoaster of blind dates. After all, what can possibly go wrong in the search for Mr. Right?
10 Dates is a standalone, sexy, laugh out loud romantic comedy with a happy ending. It is not for the feint hearted and is best suited for readers over the age of eighteen due to sexual themes and mature content.
Joanie’s been with the same loser boyfriend, Chris, for three years. The guy has cheated on her, used her and her money and she still hopes that he asks her to marry him. Ok… So Chris asks Joanie to put on a New Year’s Eve party which she does – spending all of her own money – because she thinks he’s going to propose and why not go all out on your engagement party, right? Instead he announces that he’s leaving England to head to New York to promote his dating app. Chris is shocked when Joanie is upset – but that’s not before he pops her in the eye (albeit accidentally) with a champagne cork and she falls into the cake at the party.
Joanie is arguing with Chris the next day in the lobby of her apartment building when a tenant comes out to make sure everything is alright. Joanie is speechless as the guy is dripping wet and only in a towel but she manages to keep her tongue in her mouth. That starts the interactions between Joanie who lives in apartment number 4 and her next-door neighbor who lives in apartment 6. They have no idea what each other’s names are so they go by Four and Six.
Joanie’s best friends Melinda and Mikey decide (mostly Melinda) that Joanie needs to go on 10 dates in 10 days with guys that Melinda has chosen and there’s bound to be someone that Joanie connects with. So begin the dates and they go from bad to worse. While all of this is going on Joanie’s flirting with Six and she starts to think that something’s there. Unfortunately some miscommunication sends the pair reeling and the two might never be able to connect.
This was a cute little romance. I like Joanie a lot and thought she had an overabundance of patience with her best friends. They were each going through their own relationship issues so they were all kind of working together to get through it all.
Joanie and Six’s friendship started off well and I loved their interactions. They were very cute together and I could see how they would be good together. I wish that they could have spent a bit more time together on page but we did have to get through the dates.
Another issue with the book is one that might not bother anyone else. I’m not a huge fan of slapstick comedy and this book had a bunch. If something bad could happen to Joanie it did and she was constantly, slipping, falling, acting crazy, eating pot cookies – you name it – that would make her act silly. Some readers might think it’s fun and funny but I just thought it made her look ridiculous and clumsy (although the pot cookies were not her fault. 🙂 ).
Despite my issues with the comedy and on-page time I thought the story and characters were great. I really enjoyed reading Joanie’s journey through her dates and the romance between Joanie and Six.
Rating: 3.75 out of 5