I’m delighted today to be helping launch the blog tour for the new book from Kathryn Freeman, Was It Good For You?, and sharing my publication day review. This is the eighth book in her RomCom Collection, published today as an ebook on all major platforms by One More Chapter – kindle version available via Amazon in the UK and US – with the paperback to follow on 3rd August. Thank you to Rachel of Rachel’s Random Resources for the invitation and support, and to the publishers for my advance reading e-copy (provided via netgalley).
I’ve been reading and enjoying Kate’s wonderful romantic comedies since 2016 – there’s a handful of authors (ok, maybe a couple of hands full…) whose books I always really look forward to, knowing I’m going to enjoy whatever they write, and she’s certainly one of them. As well as loving her immensely readable style and original ideas, I’m always blown away by the extraordinary chemistry between her characters – and her books just get better and better with every book. Did you read her last one, Nobody Puts Romcoms In The Corner? If not, and you have even just a passing interest in chick flicks, you really must – one for romantics everywhere, her best book yet I thought, and total magic (you’ll find my review here – and it’s only 99p at the moment!). And if you pop her name into my search bar, and you’ll find posts (reviews, cover reveals, spotlights and guest posts) for almost all of her books – hey, I’m a fan, ok?! And now, a book apparently based around an Excel spreadsheet – and even if that’s not quite my thing these days, in my post-retirement life, I know she’ll have made it something wonderful…
If you’re not a ten on Sophie’s spreadsheet, you’re never getting her between the bedsheets…
No aspect of Sophie’s life goes unrecorded in her Excel spreadsheets, so when she accidentally sends it to her entire contact list instead of just her best friend, Sophie has a lot of uncomfortable explaining to do.
First on the list? Dr Michael Adams. After a disastrous first date, Michael scored a ‘3’ on Sophie’s ‘love life’ tab, but when she shows up to apologise for sharing his result with the world, he issues an unexpected challenge: ten dates to prove that love can’t be calculated by an equation or contained by boxes on a spreadsheet.
Sophie isn’t someone who’s used to thinking outside the digital box, but there’s something about Michael that makes her want to take a chance…
Perhaps one of the main requirements of a romantic comedy is that it must make you laugh – and, although there’s a welcome depth to the story, even a few tears along the way, this book really is such fun from beginning to end. And, of course, there needs to be romance – and, although things certainly don’t look too promising at the beginning, the romance that almost didn’t get off the starting blocks became one I entirely loved and totally believed in. And it’s always good to have an original idea – and while the “ten dates” idea might just have been done before, I can honestly say I’ve never read a book before based around running your life with a spreadsheet…
Sophie plans every detail of her busy life – it’s an exhausting round of activity, filling every moment after a devastating personal loss, and she needs to be firmly in control. And, as it works so well for everything else, she also uses her personal spreadsheet to manage her love life – if a date doesn’t score at least a seven against her exacting personal requirements, the relationship won’t go any further. Her date with Michael is a disaster from the very beginning – he’s late, arrives flustered and dishevelled, the conversation is painful, she drinks most of the bottle of wine on the table, and heads home to give him a really low score on her spreadsheet. But, in a distracted moment, she accidentally sends her spreadsheet to everyone on her contacts list – with frantic recalling and a round of apologies to follow. But Michael – already called “boring” by a previous girlfriend, and feeling particularly hurt – isn’t willing to leave it there, and challenges her to ten dates to prove that her spreadsheet judgements are flawed.
They’re very different people – her life is non-stop and high energy, while he’s a country GP living with his gran, enjoying his cricket and walks in the country with their dogs (another black mark against him – she’s very much a cat person!). But the relationship that develops between them is simply fantastic – the wonderful exchanges between them as they both find themselves well outside their personal comfort zones, their initial friendship soon becoming something considerably more than that as the author’s really special touch with personal chemistry really comes to the fore. Some of the scenes are hilarious – I loved Sophie’s first experience of a cricket match, gin-fuelled, surrounded by characters so far removed from the boring country bumpkins she’d expected – but there are others that are particularly emotional, involving Sophie’s family and the reasons for her hard protective shell, and I loved Michael more with his every intervention. The family relationships are so well drawn – Michael’s with his grandmother Betty too (what a great character she is!), and I so enjoyed the friendship that developed between her and Sophie. The romance, of course, is sizzling – just the right degree of heat, with an attraction you could really feel and believe in – with two very real individuals finding comfort and healing and real joy in being together.
The writing and pacing of the story was everything I wanted it to be, the character development just superb – and the ending (the music, the sequins…) so totally perfect it brought an unexpected tear to my eye as well as the widest smile. This book was just wonderful – immense fun, but with an underlying story that really touched my heart. This is one you really must add to your summer reading list – I absolutely loved it.
About the author
A former pharmacist, I now write romantic comedies; books that bring a smile to the face, but also a lump to the throat. Mr Right Across the Street won the RNA Award for Romantic Comedy in 2022.
With a husband who asks every Valentine’s Day whether he has to buy a card (yes, he does), the romance is all in my head. Then again, his unstinting support of my career change proves love isn’t always about hearts and flowers – and heroes come in many disguises.
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Aw, Anne…you brought a tear to my eye too, with your review. Thank you so, so much for your kind words, and for taking part in the tour. I’m hugely grateful 🙂
Always such a pleasure, my lovely! xx