DNF ( )

Sorry, Not Sorry is a fun, entertaining novel and an easy read, perfect for a lazy day on the beach or after a long day at work. If follows the story of Charlotte, a bored twenty-seven year old woman struggling to find love. When she listens to the podcast “Sorry Not Sorry,” which encourages women to find their inner bad girl and jump into the dating game, Charlotte takes the challenge and stumbles into a comedy of errors.

There are laugh-out-loud moments, cringe-worthy moments, and fun surprise moments. The writing is easy to follow and the pace is comfortable for a late night read with a cuppa. Charlotte is a well-developed and relatable character as she struggles through love’s highs and lows. She fumbles around in the dating game, mostly making a fool out of herself, but learns from her experiences and earns self-respect. And of course, the person she ends up with is the last person she expects.

This isn’t a fast-paced narrative, but the writing style (told from Charlotte’s perspective) is often dead-pan and witty, and is extremely gratifying. The supporting characters are developed well and are believable—we all have a friend or a boss like Charlotte’s.

Overall, this is an enjoyable chick-lit rom-com. It won’t change your life, but it’s a must-read for anyone who loves romance and humour. ( )

Please note that I received this book via NetGalley. This did not affect my rating or review.

So this was actually really good. I laughed, cried, and laughed some more. The character of Charlotte was written well and so were all of the secondary characters. I really liked the overall plot of Charlotte trying to do more with her life and meet someone and the subplots of her changing relationship with Maddy, and her two new roommates, Tansy and Adam. I am wondering if Ranald has plans to write a sequel to this and I hope so. I need to find out what happens with Tansy!

Sorry, Not Sorry follows 20 something Charlotte who is left reeling slightly after her best friend and roommate Maddy moves out to set up house with her fiancee. Charlotte is going to have to deal with two new roomies too since Maddy's fiancee was their other roommate. Realizing that she doesn't do much besides work and come home, Charlotte starts listening to a podcast called, Sorry, Not Sorry, that has her trying to change up her life and find someone.

Charlotte is a really good character. It's been a while since I have read a romance book that didn't make me hard sigh at the main character. You want to root for people that you are reading about and I rooted for Charlotte. She's hilarious and topical (her horror at being told she resembles Ivanka Trump made me howl) and she really wants to be there for her friends, but has to work. I sympathize. And I felt her pain when she realized she is being pushed out of her friend's life since's she's single. I think the best part is reading her and her romantic up and downs as well as her growing friendship with her new roommate Tansy. And I love that the author explains why Charlotte is feeling a bit crushed due to not being close with her mother and having no siblings.

Charlotte following along with the podcast advice cracked me up (trying to exercise, meet someone via a friend group, etc. all were a bit of a mess). I do laugh though that most of my podcasts are true crime or entertainment.

And, I have to say, that Charlotte takes responsibility for things and doesn't try to dodge anything which was refreshing.

The secondary characters like Tansy, Xander, etc. were written really good. We get to hear more about Maddy than see her, but it's understandable since they have grown apart.

So you are probably going what the heck? You gave this four stars though?! Why? Well, the Adam subplot. That was a big fat no for me. And I hated how it ended. I won't spoil in the review, but would love to hear other readers comments about that when they finish this book. I just ended up feeling ticked off because it just gives the wrong message in my point of view.

I thought the writing was very good and I liked how each chapter had some of the podcast excerpts up front. As a podcast listener I like how Ranald tapped into something that I don't think I have seen in many contemporary romances these days. She brings in technology and how that shapes how people date now. Charlotte mentions Tinder and Instagram and even how the friends have a Slack Channel. I feel woefully out of touch!

The flow was pretty good. I think the only time it got a bit off was towards the end. Bagieu jumps through a lot of things to bring everyone up to the present.

The ending was good I thought (we jump three months later) and I have some quibbles with Charlotte and her proposed plans (can't get into without spoiling). This is why I hope there's a sequel. I have to know how things work out. ( )