Anna has expectantly has found herself a single mum after a painful divorce that she didn’t see coming. Blindsided, it hurts even more than her ex has a new young wife and she is struggling with work and kids on her own. Then she learns her rival at work is angling to take her column, and when there is a merger on the cards and potential job losses she knows she needs to make herself invaluable. Cue her crazy idea to let her kids pick her potential dates.

I really enjoyed this book, I mostly listened to it and the narrator was great. It was fun, cute, well paced, enemies to lovers but also a great representation of the vulnerability of dating in the modern day. I actually loved it and I know my friend @leeandruhh did too!

I have read a lot of work place romances lately but this one truly stands out! It’s got a depth to it that not many stories in the genre have and it really really works. There are so many layers to these relationships and it gave me alllllll the feels.

The dates were funny and interesting and the overall storyline was very wholesome. I really enjoyed the familial situations these characters were in and how this affected the way they interacted.

This was my first Sophie Cousens book and I wasn’t disappointed! Her humour truly shines through the story and I’m now franticly searching her backlog for my next read!

I listened to this one on audio and really enjoyed the narration. Kerry Gilbert does a great job of bringing the characters to life and amplifying both the humorous and more serious moments in the story.

Please please please read this and the come talk to me about the window scene 🥵

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Is She Really Going Out With Him? is a second-chance romance that follows columnist Anna Appleby, a divorced mum of two who ends up letting her kids play matchmaker in a bid to save her job. Set in the charming city of Bath, this book had a promising premise and some sweet moments—but ultimately didn’t quite land for me.

The biggest struggle was the beginning. I found it hard to connect with Anna, who came across as condescending and judgmental. I felt like she lacked personality, and I almost DNFed the book around the 40% mark. That said, I’m glad I stuck with it. The story does improve as Anna’s character softens and becomes more likeable, and I appreciated the glimpses of growth, vulnerability, and charm in the later chapters.

The setting was a highlight—realistic and vividly described, especially having visited Bath recently myself. I also enjoyed the concept of exploring offline dating through her children’s eyes, and the unpredictable nature of her dates made for some entertaining moments.

While marketed as a rom-com, I found the humour a bit lacking, and the ending felt a bit rushed and uneven. Still, there’s something satisfying about a story of starting over, especially when it leans into both the chaos and hope that can bring.

Anna Appleby is a mum of 2, recently divorced and a columnist for a magazine. Her life starts to turn further upside down when her post at the magazine becomes under threat and she has to try and put a new spin on her column that is fresh and young to please her new boss and keep her job. Part of her new storyline is that she has to start dating again but only with men that her children have picked out for her. This new idea keeps her boss interested and adds some more colour into Anna's life as she navigates dating again! Part of the twist on her story is she is competing with another magazine columnist who just happens to be someone Anna is at a personal war with. As the two go through their dates together they find they have more in common than Anna could ever imagine.

If you like a funny, relatable rom-com, this one's for you!

Loved the 'older than usual' fmc and think the angle getting kids involved with Anna's dating was great. The chemistry between the characters was well-done and the Google search entries were brilliant!

With excellent audio narration, this is highly recommended if you need a light and heartwarming read.

Anna is a single parent and a journalist working for a Bath magazine. In order to keep her job, she agrees to let her children choose dates for her that she can then write about. Her pompous younger colleague reports about his digital dating experience. Her children find her all sorts of dates, from the delivery driver, to a celebrity.
It made me laugh throughout. A light hearted audiobook, beautifully narrated, that I didn’t want to end.

I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook and Sophie Cousens never disappoints.

I liked that it was ok for the main character not to be in a relationship and thought it was fun that her kids came up with dates so she could write about them in her column.

It’s a great read/listen and a 5 star recommendation from me.

Anna has been through a divorce and is a working single Mum with two kids. She has a column in a failing local lifestyle magazine.

She ends up competing for her job and column inches with her nempshis, Will. She ends up co-writing a dating column where she has ended up going on dates with people her children have chosen. All while her ex husband his cosying up with his new 25 year old Swedish girlfriend.

The dates were pretty amusing but not laugh out loud funny. The book as a whole was ok. Decent story, characters were ok. If you want a Rom com which is more rom than com, then this is probably right up your street.

I've given this an average 3.5/5 rounded down to 3.

This book was really cute.

I love romances where the kids are involved, so the kids picking out the dates added plenty of humour. And then the real workplace romance? Yeah, that was good stuff.

This was a truly enjoyable book and I would recommend.

I really enjoyed this audio book, I felt the narration by Kerry Gilbert really complimented the character of Anna.
When it first started I thought maybe it was aimed at the young adult area but as the story progressed I found myself relating to Anna.
It’s a hilarious story of rebuilding and moving on.

I would recommend this to anyone looking for a lighthearted, easy going romcom.

Sophie Cousens can do no wrong. Honestly. This was my fourth book by her and think it might just be my favourite...

I absolutely loved Anna and Will's story. It was such a wholesome tale of starting over in your late thirties when your life falls apart. The dates arranged by Anna's children, Ethan and Jess, were hilarious, sweet and embarrasing at times.

The message of the book being how important it is to find happiness within yourself is one of my favourites in books; when the characters know they can be alone but they prefer to be together. Anna was such a relatable character that I couldn't help but root for her all the way through!

A wonderfully warm and funny story.

One of my favourites, aside from Katniss 🥹🥲 an absolute joy to read.

Can't wait to read the next one! 🩷🫶🏻

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy of the audiobook.

I loved Is She Really Going Out With Him. I have enjoyed all of Sophie's books so far and this is another great one. Easy to read, great characters, brilliant.

I really enjoyed this novel. Will and Anna’s journey from enemies ish to lovers while also learning about dating, and more about themselves, was a great read. Perfect to enjoy on a sun lounger this year! The narrator was great at telling the story.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book by Sophie Cousens.

It was the perfect book to pull me out of a reading slump. The classic enemies-to-lovers trope was done beautifully, and I found myself captivated by every moment.

The chemistry between the characters kept me hooked from start to finish. A heartwarming, fun read that I highly recommend for anyone looking for a light-hearted romance.

Not last I would like to thank to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for offering me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was an absolutely fabulous book. The narrator was excellent and brought the story to life. The characters just came to life and jumped out of the pages. I thoroughly enjoyed the story from start to finish. The best audiobook I have listened to in a very long time. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me access to this wonderful audiobook. Faultless.

I’ve not long read the book for this and loved it!! but somehow this audio made it SOOOOO good and added that ‘little bit of spice’
Definitely 4.5 ⭐️

Sophie Cousens is a totally new author to me, and ‘Is she really going out with him?’ hit the mark for me. Honestly, I devoured this book from start to finish, and I was completely hooked. Cousens clearly has a knack for writing dialogue that engages the reader and just sparkles off the page!!

The MCs were just amazing! It was nice to see a 30-something FMC in a romance book who, by the way, was one of the most relatable characters I’ve seen in a while! The chemistry between her and Will—🥵🔥—and the woods scenes had me swooning and falling in love; I was rooting for them every single sentence!

I loved the twist on the conventional online dating, and incorporating the kids choice of dates was such a fresh idea! I also giggled at those Google searches in every chapter header!

This book would have easily been a 5-star read for me; the only thing holding it back was the inclusion of the death of the family pet that just felt a bit unnecessary. The ending, while satisfying with the HEA, fell a little flat compared to the rest of the book; it didn’t sparkle or have me grinning from ear to ear (which is how I spent most of the book).

But overall, this book was absolutely fantastic, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a fun and heartwarming read!
I definitely need to buy a physical copy of this book to include with my books on my favourites shelf.

I love a good romcom with witty banter, and this book delivers! Kerry Gilbert’s narration brings the story to life, making it even more fun to listen to. The book’s told in first-person POV and wraps up with an ending that left me smiling. 

Anna’s dates were both hilarious and painfully relatable. I was laughing out loud, swooning, and giggling all day.

If you love romcoms that make you laugh, swoon, and maybe consider getting a tattoo, you need this on your TBR.

Favourite quote:
“The baggage we carry isn’t a bad thing; it is our substance, our history. The experiences that make us who we are. All the reasons not to be together might be surmountable because LOVE IS RARE, and if you’re lucky enough to feel it, you shouldn’t let it pass you by.”

Thank you, Hodder & Stoughton Audio and NetGalley, for the ALC. Opinions are my own.

#IsSheReallyGoingOutWithHim #romcom #alc #netgalley #audiobook #bookreview

I was in desperate need of a decent light hearted rom com story and this book 100% ticked all the boxes. The story was so well written, you could really feel the chemistry between the characters. The author always handled perfectly the mixed emotions between the failed relationships in the book as well. Overall a fantastic read with some proper laugh out laugh moments. I had the audio book version and this was very well narrated. Five stars, recommend!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC, I really enjoyed this audiobook.

It was cute, romantic, and it was such an easy listen. It'd be a good filler book, or pallet cleanser if you will for in between heavier reads.

A fun, easy listen.

I really enjoyed this audiobook. Loved the storyline and the characters. It was a fun listen and I enjoyed it very much