Thank you, Next by Sophie Ranald

Happy Publication Day to Sophie Ranald's Thank you, Next!

We all need an uplifting romantic comedy from time to time and when it comes from Sophie Ranald, you know it is going to be entertaining. But what is it all about?

Synopsis:

Seriously, why do guys on dating apps think I want a picture of what’s in their pants? I could open an art gallery with the collection I’ve got.

Zoe really doesn’t want to die alone and surrounded by cats. But it’s not looking good: she’s had sex precisely twice in the last year, and her feline friend isn’t the kind of male company she wants in bed…

Her top dating disasters include:

1) The guy who kissed her hand, took out a violin and serenaded her in public.
2) The guy who force-fed her oysters (she can confirm that they’re not an aphrodisiac).
3) The guy who was so hungover he turned up with his t-shirt on inside out, sweating sambuca.
4) The guy who brought his actual kid on a dinner date.

And don’t even get her started on the dick pics, or how on earth you’re supposed to know whether a total stranger is an axe murderer or not.

Zoe's ready to give up on the search for love, until her friend has an idea. Robbie lives by his horoscope, and he’s sure she’s got this dating stuff all wrong. He dares her to work her way through the zodiac until she finds The One.

Usually Zoe would laugh at such a suggestion, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Could love be written in the stars? Or is she destined to end up alone, eating take-out in bed and watching endless re-runs of Friends?


My thoughts:
This is my sixth book by Sophie Ranald, so you can call me a fan. There is something about her characters that makes me relate to their problems, love life disasters, and their choices.
Chances are that if you read Sophie's previous book Just Saying, you hated Zoe. She was the infamous ex who appeared out of blue in Joe And Alice's life and tried to win Joe back, while Alice was dealing with her unexpected unemployment. Zoe, beautiful, exotic, fun loving, sexy, always ready to listen (to Joe) and empathise, Zoe who couldn't get over the fact that Joe did move on and was now building something new with Alice.
Well, now we get Zoe's story. I don't mean what happened while she was sharing Alice and Joe's flat, but what happened afterwards. Because at some point you do have to let your old love and heartbreak go and start living...
I would have never guessed that I was going to be on Zoe's team.  And yet... Zoe's desire to find somebody to share her life, despite her dating disasters, her feeling slightly misplaced because she spent her early twenties travelling, while other people were building their support systems and friend networks, above all, Zoe's courage to put herself out into the world and risk being ridiculed, misunderstood, or even taken advantage of- all of them made me root for her and sigh with satisfaction when she does meet her own Mr Right.
If you like getting the other people's perspective, or enjoy reading about dating disasters, while secretly knowing that the happy-end is guaranteed, or are a fan of British romcoms and think that nobody does them better, this book is for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the review copy. All opinions are my own and were not influenced in any way.