ABOUT THE BOOK

Don’t drink and text.

Even on the cusp of forty, I had to learn that the hard way. After discovering my best friend, who I was supposed to grow old and single with, got engaged, I drowned my loneliness in one too many Old Fashioneds and woke up with thirty-nine responses from every available man in my phone. Yup, I even texted my plumber…and he turned me down.

Apparently, my liquor-infused text said that while I don’t need a man, maybe I’d be down for a constant sidekick for movies, plus-one invites, and dinner on the table after my grueling shifts as a concierge doctor–till death do us part…and was anyone in?

Through the absolute mortification of thirty-seven rejections, shockingly, I realize two men have said yes. Behind Bachelor Door #1 is Rob, my old high school crush: the comfortable, dependable boy-next-door. Behind Bachelor Door #2 is Darius, the exciting, flashy news reporter about to hit it big. Does this mean I’ll have to get out of my yoga pants and actually go on dates now?  

Dax, the local bartender who got me into this disaster in the first place–remember the Old Fashioneds?–can’t believe I’ve given up on finding true love. What does a tattooed, broody twentysomething know about carving out a future for yourself, anyway?

Too bad the further into this hot mess I get, the less I know about who I am. And I’m going to have to figure out exactly what I need if I ever want to find a true happily ever after.

MY REVIEW

Ms. Hammerle is another new author for me and she had me laughing and rooting for the socially dysfunctional Dr. Annie Kyle.

Annie is a workaholic who lives and breathes her career as a concierge doctor for celebrities. So much so that she has lost touch with her friends who have moved on with their lives. Annie is almost forty and realizes she doesn’t want to be the “last spinster standing” so on a drunken binge of dread and doom, she decides to propose to 39 men in her contact list. At her mortification 37 of them turn her down, but surprisingly 2 of them say yes. Rob, the dependable next-door-neighbor and her high school crush, and Darius, Chicago’s own Man on the Street up-and-coming news reporter. As she considers her two suitors, Dax, the twenty-seven-year-old bartender, aspiring musician, and Annie’s fellow Chicago trivia partner, moves into Annie’s basement with his big goofy dog, Joanne, and proceeds to charm her with his seriously broody ways and honest advice to choose marriage for the right reasons.

As we follow Annie’s date nights, trivia competitions, and her best friends bridezilla moments, we begin to see her change for the better and discover that musicians lust was real. And who does she choose to live happily ever after with by accident? I think you know. 

Annie is a bit contradictory with her successful career and her mess of a personal life. Her obsession at the beginning with her friend moving back in with her because she was lonely was a bit adolescent and unrealistic. After all, she chose her loneliness. And, if I had a friend who was that age and couldn’t make time for me, I think I would bail on her, too.  However, I have to admit her friends Yessi and Kelly really did a number on her when they held back important things from her like the engagement. Kelly, especially, was a real bitch to Annie and I wasn’t a fan of Kelly’s controlling fiancé either at first, but they all made their peace with each other.

I liked Rob and Darius who were both nice guys with issues of their own to resolve. And Dax was a surprise with his mature wisdom and acceptance of Annie as she is. As endings go, it was a bit up in the air, but it made sense as they begin their journey to happily every after on their own terms.

Overall, this was a delightfully funny, coming-of-age-at-40 romance discussing career and romance, and deciding when to make time for your own happiness.

Thank you to Ms. Hammerle for giving me the opportunity to read this book with no expectation of a positive review.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

USA Today bestselling author Julie Hammerle writes young adult novels that focus on nerds, geeks, and basket cases falling in love. On the YA side, she is the author of The Sound of Us (Entangled TEEN, 2016) and the North Pole romance series (Entangled Crush, 2017). For adult romances, look for Knocked-Up Cinderella in the fall of 2018. A graduate of Butler University with degrees in secondary education and Latin with a minor in music, Julie lives in Chicago with her family and enjoys reading, cooking, and watching all the television.

Follow Julie on her website, Goodreads, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Bookbub, and Newsletter.

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