Book Sojourner: New Release, Review & Giveaway: Dating-ish by Penny Reid

Dating-ish by Penny Reid

May 16, 2017

304 pages

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Contains: sex, language

There are three things you need to know about Marie Harris:
1) She’s fed up with online dating,
2) She’s so fed up, she’s willing to forego the annoyance and consider more creative alternatives, and
3) She knows how to knit.

After the most bizarre and irritating first date in the history of human kind, Marie is looking for an alternative to men. With the help of her friends, she quickly identifies a few possibilities:

Need a cuddle? Use a professional cuddler. Need affirmation? Get yourself a life coach. Need an orgasm? Try orgasm meditation! Why does she need the hassle of a romantic partner when she can meet all her needs with paid services?
But then her irritating date resurfaces. And he’s not at all the person she thought he was. And he suggests a different—and crazier—solution to her dilemma . . .
As everyone knows (or will soon come to realize), traditional relations between humans are a thing of the past. Robots are our future. And if robots are our future, then why do we need other people at all?

I must be honest. I was so nervous about this book. I love that Penny Reid takes risks and writes about current things, intelligent characters, weird notions. That's what drew me to her stories. They are smart, funny, heartfelt, and genuine. But I also never know what to expect. So when I read that Marie would be exploring the notion of not needing a significant other and getting all her needs met by professionals, robots, etc, I had no idea what the outcome would be. Truly, this story could have gone in any direction. I could have loved it. I could have hated it.

Fortunately, I loved it!!

Now the journey was not easy. My heart hurt for Marie in the beginning. My heart just poured out its heartache and sympathy for Marie and her dating struggles. Those first few chapters, and Matt's idiocy, made me ache. Made me sad. I was like, "Penny Reid, make it better!" But truly, she nailed Marie's feelings. No superficiality here. And then the journey to finding an alternative to men, or significant others, took me on a ride that I truly appreciated. This could have easily been a one-dimensional joke, but instead it explored so many depths, even aspects I hadn't considered, and I really respected the journey.

But the journey was also fun and sweet and sexy and brought the zings. You see, Marie isn't actually alone in this explorative journey. There's this hot scientist named Matt who was along for the ride. They were really a fascinating couple, who wasn't actually a couple. I mean, we can all see how perfect they are for each other, but that would make this journey way too simple. So instead we get this beautiful slow-burn, partnership to friendship to more. We get heart-breaking misunderstandings and heartfelt, tender gestures. We have two people mending their hearts and exploring vulnerablity and want and love.

By the end, I was completely in love with Marie and Matt, and had mad respect for the depth of exploration Penny Reid brought to this story, even when it made me sad and uncomfortable, because the beautiful, sexy, sweet, yummy parts made up for everything else. Plus, we get the amazing 'Knitting' gang and their just as amazing male counterparts. I loved the tie-ins to the friendships, making this story all the better. This was a beautiful reluctant romance with a side of unconditional friendships. Marie and Matt stole my heart.