Book Review: It’s Not You It’s Him by Sophie Ranald
New Year’s Eve. The most overrated night of the year, right? I have to get through an evening of enforced fun, drink all the prosecco and talk about new beginnings. But I don’t want new beginnings. I want my old beginning back.
It’s been ten days, two hours and forty-three minutes since Tansy got dumped. Two heartbreaking weeks since Renzo, who made her weak at the knees and dizzy with excitement, found out Tansy’s secret – and ended it on the spot.
Since then, she’s spent every evening scrolling through their old photos, drunk texted him twenty-six times (he stopped reading after five), and lost count of how many packets of Kleenex she’s cried her way through.
That’s where Operation Get Renzo Back comes in. She ropes in a new wing-woman, maxes out her credit card and accidentally-on-purpose bumps into him at every opportunity. Oh, and she finds a fake boyfriend, as you do… But while she’s busy pretending, Tansy’s plan is thrown a major curveball. She has to learn the hard way that it’s not her, it’s him – and that sometimes, a break-up can end up being the making of you.
★★★★☆
This book was a fast read for me. I read it in about 4 days total with the majority being read in one night, and finishing it at 2am. Overall, I enjoyed it a lot.
The story unfolds with the main character, Tansy, not quite ready to accept that her 6-month long relationship with Renzo is over. She schemes and plots how to win him back, meanwhile, dealing with some pretty major life events and personal set backs. The character of Tansy was well rounded with insecurities of body image, appearance, and grappling with her identity. It’s your typical romantic comedy and frenemy / fake dating tropes… and I personally enjoyed it. And even though it may have felt obvious how it would all unfold, the author did weave in some unknowns that kept you guessing.
I particularly enjoyed reading the scenes that unfolded the (however, fake) relationship between Tansy and Josh. I do enjoy books when love interests are written really well.
I look forward to reading more of Sophie Ranald’s books in 2021.
Genre: Romantic Comedy