Author Ann Marie Walker brings you a laugh-out-loud romantic comedy that’ll warm your heart for Singles Day (the true anti-Valentine’s Day!) and every day after!
Single and proud of it! Oh, oops…
As a Certified Professional Organizer, everything in Paige Parker’s world is as it should be. Perfect apartment, perfect office, perfect life. And now, the perfect vacation planned to celebrate … now, the perfect vacation planned to celebrate Singles Day. After all, what’s better than celebrating her pride in being single? Because who needs a man anyway? They have zero taste in quality television, leave the toilet seat up, and sleep with your best friend. No thanks. Her life is fine just the way it is.
As the owner of a now-dormant bed & breakfast, single dad Lucas Croft finally has some peace and quiet. It’s only him and his five-year-old daughter, which is just the way he likes it. Because who needs a woman anyway? They nag you to clean up your stuff, want the toilet seat put down, and expect the dishes to be done the same day the meal is cooked. No thanks. His life is fine just the way it is.
But when Paige books a room that Lucas’ well-intentioned sister listed without his knowledge, their two worlds collide. If they can survive the week together, they just might discover exactly what they’ve both been missing.
“Adorable, romantic, funny, and sexy!”—Kirkus Reviews for Black Tie Optional
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I won this copy in a giveaway. I didn’t request it on Netgalley but my FOMO and the adorable cover made me want it.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t the book for me. The struggle was real, folks. Some things that bothered me are that the girl featured on the cover looks nothing like the body positive image I think the author described (which is certainly not her fault), what I’ll refer to as the heavy lust factor set up for some steam and it ended up being closed door, and the insta-love trope. I actually prefer closed door so that’s not my complaint. More that the door slam didn’t at all match the leadup. Also, the peanut-butter-banister slobby, pigsty mess had me cringing most of the time.
What I did like: the setting is adorable, I do love forced proximity, and the secondary characters salvaged and made me interested in the last third of the book.
I think the author has the ability to do great things and meeting her for the book club zoom was a highlight. This tale just didn’t happen to work for me.
Thank you to SourcebooksCasa for the giveaway win. All thoughts in this review are my own.
This is a book all Romance fans should read and I will keep recommending it for a long time.
First, I have to say the whole concept of “You should not change your plans for a guy” is something we need to start teaching kids. While love means compromise and being in love is not a weakness, we should all know it also means we’re going to love the other person exactly as they are, including their hopes and dreams.
This book is valuable because of that.
I love everything about this book and the characters (main and secondary). Paige and Lucas although they were completely different from each other were absolutely perfect for each other. Two souls that were in the process of healing their own wounds in their own way. I love how Paige was able to empathize with him and his situation even when he was a little rude and distant at the beginning. The chemistry and attraction was visible since the very beginning, even if they didn’t notice.
I believe authors need to keep writing heroines like Paige, who are so sure of themselves and what they want and are not afraid of go look for them. This society needs to normalize seeing successful women in charge of their lives without the need of having a partner to validate them. She didn’t need Lucas but she realized how much she wanted him in her life and he could be part of the dreams she was already building for herself.
Lucas’ backstory was heartbreaking, I was able to empathize with him and understand his struggle and doubts about how things were developing. I loved seeing him putting his daughter’s needs as a priority, their banter and fun dynamic as a little family was satisfying and heartwarming. And I was moved to see him going another step towards healing. Mourning is definitely never linear and it doesn’t look the same in every person.
I loved how Paige didn’t let the first awful impression dictate what she thought about Lucas. In the end, he was fighting a battle she didn’t know about and granted him the little grace he needed. Once they were able to move past that, the conversation flowed easy, natural and comfortable as if they were long-time friends. Enough for them to start opening up and know each other better to the point of finally being able to be themselves. The lessons they taught each other were valuable, not only for the relationship to grow but for them to conquer the demons they’d been fighting and drop the baggage they’d been carrying.
This was a slow burn written on point! The anticipation and tension build up so nicely and it was perfectly satisfying at the end, although it’s all in close doors.
I loved all the unique secondary characters, especially Luca’s little daughter. Maddie and Paige’s meet-cute has to be the funniest and most adorable I’ve seen from all the single-parent books I’ve read! The connection they made for their love of animals and their sense of adventure was the cherry on the top for the beautiful family they didn’t know they were going to form.
This was a beautiful love story of healing, new beginnings and true love: The one that doesn’t cut our wings but encourages us to fly as high as we can.
Happy Singles Day by Ann Marie Walker is seriously such a great story of second chance love. I found my self laughing out loud multiple times and easily being able to relate to these characters so much that I instantly fell in love with them. When Paige takes a quiz online, she decides to take a desperately needed week-long vacation. Little does she know that the quaint bed and breakfast she booked wasn’t as advertised. When she runs into the innkeeper, Lucas, fireworks quickly fly but not in the best way. As she gets stuck on the island due to a storm, they both soon realize that there is more raging than just the storm outside. What follows is such a great love story, I can’t even describe it. You just need to read it for yourself. Despite getting this as an ARC from the publisher, I may just have to buy this book to give to my friend, who I know will love it just as much! I’m definitely going to have to read Ann’s other books.
Happy Singles Day is a charming story. Lucas is a widower and father to a 4-year-old daughter, and he’s barely keeping his head above water. With bills coming due, his sister steps in and rents a room in his bed and breakfast. Without telling him. Paige has dedicated her life to cleaning up other people’s messes, quite literally, she’s a certified professional organizer. Pushed out the door by her assistant on a forced vacation Paige finds herself stranded on an island with a less than welcoming host in a bed and breakfast that’s not exactly as advertised.
This is a very Hallmark-esque story. While Lucas is a widower his grief isn’t really a big part of the story, neither is Paige’s ex-fiance’s infidelity, it is all very low drama despite the tragic backstories. Every time there was a setup for big drama, there wasn’t any, which I found a little disappointing I was hoping it would make my heart hurt a little bit. I thought that there was some good chemistry in the beginning, but towards the end, it started to lose me a little. It’s well written and has really good characters that are relatable. If you’re looking for a seriously low drama, fluffy book, with puppies and cute kid, this is definitely for you.