This book just wasn’t what I expected at all. I liked the idea, the concept, but I had imagined the book wouldn’t be majorly about the dates and that it would focus on Ivy and Fran’s relationship, which it didn’t, something that kind of ruined it for me. Just not the right book for me, that’s all!

The book is basically all about the dates so if that’s what you’re looking for I’d recommend it but if you’re looking for a romance, I don’t think this book is the right one for it, unfortunately.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this as an arc!

She’s done it again with Big Date Energy - perfect, fun, and inclusive romance. I’ll read anything Bethany Rutter writes.

Big Date Energy is a novel about a woman who finally has the chance to date as many people as possible, only for her mum to apply for her to take part in a dating show. Fran has been in three long term monogamous relationships, but now she's single, it's time for her to date around and have a good time. When her mum applies for her to be on a new TV dating show, The Meet-Cute, she's not sure, but thinks it might be a laugh. However, she ends up face to face with her school girlfriend, Ivy, who broke her heart, and from then onwards, Fran has to work out what she's actually looking for.

This is a fun romcom about a bisexual woman taking advantage of the chance to date, meet people, have sex, and have a good time, alongside a plotline about the one that got away. The book is overwhelmingly positive, with Fran even seeing the positive side of bad dates or people who seem less interesting, and it's refreshing that the concept of the book isn't matched up with a depiction of funny bad dates or weird people. Instead, there's a lot of no-strings-attached dating and Fran knowing her own mind, alongside the fat positivity you'd expect from Bethany Rutter's work. It's a good book for people looking for a story that embraces dating as a bisexual person and also embraces that people are different and not everyone is looking for the same thing.

The overall narrative was more predictable than I hoped, as I thought the book might explore polyamory or less conventional types of relationships even if not through the protagonist, and the ending was a bit neat. I did like that near the end there was a crisis moment for the protagonist around realising that her fun attitude to herself did mean that she often overlooked checking in with friends and family about their lives, as it added a bit more complexity to Fran's story. I could imagine a sequel that maybe focused on one of Fran's friends or was more of an ensemble story, as it felt like there could be more, for example around Fran's makeup artist career, and there's some good characters.

I don't read many romantic comedies, but I like good queer ones, and as a fan of the dating show that The Meet-Cute is clearly partly based on, I liked that premise as a set up (on that show there are occasional people who do already have a history, making the conceit of the book strangely realistic). This is a book that is easy to get absorbed into and the sort of romcom that is low on stress and high on fun, ideal for people who like that kind of formula.

A fun, sexy queer romcom. I loved Fran and her confidence - if you want to read a protagonist who truly adores herself, start here!