Khi Rachel bị thất tình, hai người bạn thân nhất của cô đã đến bên cô và đưa cho cô một phương pháp trị bệnh đau khổ vì tình - một bản danh sách những việc cần làm của một cô nàng độc thân. Và những cuộc chu du hài hước lãng mạn được bắt đầu.
Cô nàng Rachel đã vạch ra một danh sách những việc cần làm trong cuộc sống và đã thực hiện được khá nhiều việc trong số đó: cô có một công việc yêu thích (là nghệ sĩ trang điểm cho những ngôi sao), có một cậu bạn trai hoàn hảo, một căn hộ ấm cúng ở London và những người bạn vui vẻ, tử tế. Bây giờ, bản danh sách của cô chỉ còn mỗi ba việc nữa là kết hôn, sinh con và sống hạnh phúc đến trọn đời. Thật đơn giản! Nhưng...
Đột ngột, cậu bạn trai hoàn hảo của Rachel trở nên xa cách dần. Cô tự nhủ đó chỉ là một chuyện giận hờn vu vơ, nhưng khi sự rạn nứt đã biến thành một cuộc chia tay, thì hai người bạn thân nhất của cô là Emelie và Matthew đã đến bên cô và đưa cho cô một phương pháp trị bệnh đau khổ vì tình - một bản danh sách những việc cần làm của một cô nàng độc thân, bao gồm 10 điều mà Rachel phải xem xét và thực hiện để bắt đầu cuộc đời độc thân mới.
Nhưng không ai ngờ được là bản danh sách đó lại đưa ba người bọn họ đi chu du khắp thành phố, thậm chí là ra cả nước ngoài, và chứng minh cho họ thấy rằng tình yêu vẫn ở đâu đó ngoài kia nếu bạn sẵn lòng cho nó một cơ hội...
Tiểu thuyết của Lindsey tràn ngập tiếng cười và sự lãng mạn, vô cùng lôi cuốn với những ai đang độc thân cũng như những ai đã tìm được một nửa của mình.
Lindsey Kelk is the Sunday Times bestselling author of books including the I Heart series, On A Night Like This, The Christmas Wish, and One in a Million, along with the middle grade Cinders & Sparks series.
As well as writing books, Lindsey co-hosts the award-winning beauty podcast, Full Coverage, and Tight and Fights, a pro-wrestling podcast on the Maximum Fun network.
Born and raised in South Yorkshire, Lindsey lived in Nottingham, London and New York before settling in LA, where she lives with her husband and two very rude cats.
When you read a standalone from the author who wrote an amazing book series, you can't help but compare those two together. At least, that's what I do. And this book, although it was fun and enjoyable, entertaining, girly and everything that a girl would want in a book, it was still not better the I Heart series.
However, it was really, really close to it (plus I admit I am extremly subjective here because I am just so attached to Angela Clark and Jenny Lopez and, in this case, that makes me a shitty reviewer, because a good reviewer should know how to separate the two).
Now, when I said how I feel, I think it's time for me to actually review a book.
The Single Girl's To-Do List is a chick lit in all it's glory. It will make you smile and I highly recommend to pick this one up if you need something to boost your mood and make you forget the world around you.
It follows a woman named Rachel who got dumped by her boyfriend of 5 years. Instead of crying herself to sleep for the rest of her life, with the help of her two best friends, she makes a list of things she should do while she's single.
I liked Rachel as a narrator. I think her sense of humor and approach to the story was great and she always kept the pace interesting.
Her best friends Emelie and Matthew are such a good friends, I liked them the best and if I could pull them out of those pages and make them my friends, I would do that in no brain!
I have to admit that I wasn't a fan of Dan at the beginning, but, as the story progressed, I started to like him more and more.
The end of the novel wrapped up differently then I tought it would, but I ended up liking it that way along with the message it carried.
All in all, if you're looking for a quick read that will make you laugh and remind you how fun reading actually can be, this is the book to go for!
Not going to do a long review for this one because I'm lazy. Takes a bit to get to the actual list. More women's fic (self discovery) than romance. Tbh I HATED Dan. She deserved waaaayyyy better. He seems the type to punch to TV when his fave team loses.
This is one of Kelk's early books, and you can tell. The bare bones were there, but she has improved A LOT. Her writing and pacing is sooo much punchier now. And because of that, her jokes land better. Also, this book reminded me how far we've come PC-wise lol. Some dicey language used here that is no longer appropriate but was the norm in the lawless wasteland of the early 2000s.
Lastly, the poutine slander hurted but I forgive you💖
Oh wow! This was quite the surprise and what a nice surprise this was. I have never read anything else from Lindsey Kelk and had no idea how this read would turn out. But I loved it, absolutely loved it.
Rachel is quite the character, very funny, independent, relatable and her two best friends are absolutely amazing. The story was quite predictable but that didn't stop me from enjoying it and loving it.
I really loved the idea to make a list to do things to get over your ex. The whole adventure takes place only in few days though which was a bit rushed in my opinion. But I enjoyed it nevertheless.
It's definitely a feel good story and lovers of chick-lit would end up loving this.
Rachel Summers loves a to-do list: • Boyfriend • Flat • Great job
NOT on the list: • Being dumped
Best friends Emelie and Matthew ride to her rescue with an entirely new kind of list – The Single Girl’s To-Do List. Rachel doesn’t know it, but it will take her on all kinds of wild adventures – and get her in some romantic pickles too.
Not going to lie, I read this when I was in my "being single is the shit phase" feeling all Spice Girls women power. I read a bunch of single girl books where the main character was trying to find love and feeling the strength from being single and using men as a tool blah blah blah. Typical chick-lit. Some were boring and uneventful. And, some were great and a fun read like this one. I highly recommend it if you are single. Maybe you too will feel the Spice Girls power (I'm Posh Spice, so pick anyone but her to be). Or, if you are traveling and want a quick and non-depressing book to relax with.
I've been feeling rather crappy lately and been under great pressure. I was looking for an easy, uplifting, funny book that will get me out of this shit mood. I have a huge TBR list and yet I found myself asking for people's help in finding THAT book that will lift my spirits. At the end, they suggested couple of books, but I had a strong feeling I should FINALLY read this book. Being a big fan of Kelk's I pretty much knew what to expect (which is comforting, when you know the author writes fantastic and you're obviously gonna enjoy the book), but this book exceeded all my expectations.
First off, as much as I enjoyed The I Heart series (though I have not finished all parts) I have to admit I enjoyed this book more. It could be the fact I'm not that crazy about series'. BUT frankly, one could tell when comparing the first 2 books from I Heart series with this stand alone, that Lindsey certainly polished her writing style, got more original and grown as a writer.
Now don't get me wrong, the books in the I Heart series are great, however in this book I liked the MC more. In my opinion, Rachel just felt more real, I could relate to her though I'm not going through the same stuff she's going through. But she's fantastic, I'm telling you! Now some of the parts, like the time frame in which she's to complete her to-do list which her friends made for her, might be a bit unbelievable, I still didn't care. She's hilarious and so are her two besties, Emelie and Matthew. What I appreciate the most is the fact that you can see Lindsey put as much effort in creating fantastic and well developed side characters, as she did in creating the MC. Honestly, I can't say who's my fave of them all, they are just such a jolly bunch, each adding to the story.
The list they create for Rachel is simply hilarious, some stuff being maybe over the top. Yet, they will make you laugh out loud! I started reading it last night, went to bed and this book was the first thing on my mind when I woke up (of course after...ahem... bathroom and teeth brushing). I literally devoured it in less than 24 hours, it was that good. And the best part...It totally brightened my day, even energized me and definitely made me forget about all the stress I've been feeling lately. In one sentence, if you're feeling crappy and looking for a lough out book - THIS is the one for you! Trust me, it's the BEST THERAPY you could get!
I have read all of Lindsey Kelk’s books including her kindle book Jenny Lopez Has A Bad Week, and I have enjoyed every one of them. While I have patiently been waiting for the new I Heart book to come out I then heard that Lindsey Kelk was releasing another book called A Single Girls To Do List. I could not wait to read this one hoping it was going to be as good as her previous books.
Plot Rachel Summers has been dumped by the heartless Simon. Her best friends Emelie and Matthew are on hand to help her come to terms with singlehood as it is somewhere Rachel has never found herself for long. They decide it is best for her to conquer being single for once and for all to make her get over Simon.
Rachel has always had a thing about making lists so it seemed the perfect thing to do with a few drinks inside of them to sit and come up with a Single Girls To Do List! Little does Rachel know this list is going to take her on an adventurous journey doing things she has never even dreamed of doing!
My Opinion I cannot explain to you my excitement when this arrived on my door mat to review. Luckily I had just finished Freya North Chances and so I could start this book straight away. My problem with this book was I enjoyed it so much I had finished it a night later!
The first thing which needs to be mentioned about this book is the front cover. This cover is going to scream out at you from the shelves to buy it. Bold and eye-catching is the only way to describe this book. There will be no hunting for this book. The title is in bold pink letters which have been written on a list. The back ground is light blue with pink stars and a pink car in the top corner, every chick lit lovers dream cover!
The main character in this book is Rachel. From the start of this book I loved her character. When we meet Rachel she is being dumped by Simon and so we meet Rachel right from the start of her journey and see the emotion she is going through. I think this is why we warm to her character straight away as I am sure most of us have found ourselves in her situation so we can relate to her character.
I loved her friends Emelie and Matthew, I found that they helped to bringthe humor to the story which was a good touch as it broke the book up so that the story wasn’t doom and gloom. We could all do with friends like them. I did find that it took me a while to like the character of Dan who works on set with Rachel. There was something about him which made me sit on the fence about his character right upto the end of the book I didn’t feel like I could trust him.
I found that The Single Girl’s To Do List had a similar feel to the I Heart series books even though it is a stand alone book. It is an easy read, nothing to challenging and yet enjoyable all the same.
This book is a real page turner and it kept me entertained the whole way through the book. From the first page we were off on a fast pace being drawn into the story and the book carried on in this way. There were no low points to the book were you would usually find yourself skimming a chapter. The ending was up nicely. In my opinion the end of the book really was the end of the book for me. When I read The I Heart series at the end of each book I found myself needing another book as they felt like they had somewhere else to go and I felt the same with The Jenny Lopez has A Bad Week book, but with this book I did not feel that the book could go any further. I hope it does just stay as a stand alone book.
This book is very out there with its contents so you need to have an imagination to read it, the things Rachel gets up to such as getting a Tattoo and flying round the world to meet someone you had a crush on at school all in the space of two weeks! I liked the little part where Jenny Lopez turns up in the book it did give a familiar feel to the book, without actually taking over the book. It was a nice touch.
The style in which Lindsey writes her books is unlike any Author I have read before she really has got an edge to her books and that continues to show in this latest book.
I would defiantly recommend this book. I couldn’t find any negative points to this book it is everything I look for in a great easy chick-lit style read. If you have a holiday coming up this is the book you should be taking with you. We now have the wait for the next in the I Heart series which comes out this year and I still hold onto the hope that Lindsey Kelk will be writing a full book of Jenny Lopez!
I have been a fan of Lindsey Kelk's work for a while now and have slowly been making my way through her novels. This one in particular has been sitting on my TBR shelf and kindle for a few months and I picked it up because of the GORGEOUS and FUN cover. I am so glad that I have actually gotten around to reading it. The Single Girl's To-Do List is a breath of fresh air and pure chick like GOLD. It's got a fantastic set of characters, a realistic and relatable plot, and a little bit of an unexpected romance to bring a smile to readers face.
For those who aren't too familiar with chick lit novels, I want to tell you the basic differences between this genre and a romance. For chick lit novels, the main focus is that of one character (who is always female). The entire narrative of the story follows this woman and, a lot of the time, her group of friends as well, as they go through the trials and tribulations of womanhood. Chick lit novels DO tend to have romance in them, however, the book doesn't focus on this part of the story. So, if you are looking for a book based on a couple and their relationship, you won't really get that with chick lit. In some cases, there is blossoming relationships, but mostly they focus on the heroine and her life, career, and issues of womanhood.
ABOUT THE BOOK
This book revolves around a woman named Rachel right after a scarring breakup with the man she thought she was going to marry. Having never really been single before, Rachel feels like she has hit rock bottom. Good thing she has two fantastic friends to help her get through it though!
Emelie and Matthew know that Rachel is a bit OCD. She likes lists and feeling organized, but is at an utter standstill in her life when she suddenly looses the man she loves. So the trio come up with an idea, a sort of "to-do" list for getting over the relationship. It's pretty easy to follow and will certainly keep Rachel's head out of those depressive thoughts. What's the worst that can happen?
Follow this trio of best friends as they maneuver breakups, potential makeups, and all the fun stuff in between.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It's a lot of fun to read, especially if you like seeing heroines triumph in love and life. Additionally, I am a pretty big fan of Lindsey Kelk and think she is up there with some of my other favorite chick lit authors like Sophie Kinsella. So jumping on this book was an easy feat for me, and I am so glad I did.
If you are a fan of chick lit novels and have a thing for beautoful covers, then I highly recommend reading this one. It's a no brainer to pick up a Lindsey Kelk book when you're in the mood for this genre.
Want more book reviews, recommendations, sales, upcoming releases, and other bookish stuff?? You can find all of this on my blog >> http://bit.ly/2zWy7QJ
Rachel Summer's makes To-Do lists persistently. When her long-term boyfriend dumps her, she decides to make a list of things to do as a new singleton.
Along with her friends Matthew and Emelie she finds herself with a compulsive need to do them all in the 2 weeks before her father's 4th wedding.
In theory, I like the idea of this book. What better way to forget about the man who dumped you than by looking to what you can do without him. In practice, most of what they do initially is get drunk, throw up and make questionable life decisions.
Rachel, who is a make up artist, within the first few pages wants to write 'slag' on a model's butt because she's promiscuous, doesn't immediately endear herself. She backs this up by being flummoxed that someone wealthy would want to marry a beautiful model who she deems 'dumb' but not her apparently stellar self, and describing someone's make up as 'tranny like'.
So, honestly, I didn't think a whole lot of her, even though the model in question doesn't seem like the nicest person, promiscuity is hardly the thing to call her out on. Also her inner monologue humour is OTT in the way that following Friends from the POV of Chandler would eventually become tiresome from line after line of bad 'jokes'.
Her friends, also, seem worryingly one dimensional and both similar to each other to the point if they weren't one male and one female they would seem almost interchangeable.
I really liked this story. It was full of humor and with a good old love-hate relationship! Those are my favorites! Dan has definitely gained a spot in my book-boyfriends hall of fame.
Fav quote (this is unusual): I turned to stare at him open mouthed. This was a new height of dickishness, even for him. 'Oh my god, you absolute bastard.' I marched over, yanked the bag of Monster Munch out of his hand and stomped on it with what I hoped was a defiant and not-at-all crazy stare.
Why it's not 5 stars: -the word vomit, vom, or its derivatives appear too many times. Not only after people are drunk but also in many other situations like getting a tattoo, or after an amusement park ride. It's just a gross word I don't need to read it that often. -All Kelk's characters seem to have a mild drinking problem. I found this also in other books from her. Do the protagonists really need to get always trashed to the point of ...(see point one)? - Many pages were wasted in giving a touristic guide of Toronto. It was especially annoying because it was toward the end when you wanted to get to the point of the story and not waste time reading about this view, or that tower. If I want a guide of a city I'm going to buy one. It was the same in Kelk's heart series. -I could've lived better without some gross things like references to porn and other stuff
Main story review (5 stars) Loved the main story and short story we get afterwards that follows the three friends. Lovely romance story. Only reason why I gave it 4 stars is that the short story that followed the main story felt very unfinished.
"Single Girl's To Do List" follows Rachel. Rachel is happily dating her long time boyfriend until he tells her he needs a break. What follows is a permanent break with Rachel trying to find herself again with her two best friends (Matthew and Emelie) helping her along.
I loved Rachel. She takes on things she has been scared of and or did not do because she knew her ex would not approve. While trying to put herself back out there though, she runs away from a guy who seems to know exactly who she is.
Matthew and Emelie are so loyal and funny together I was laughing through most of this book. It honestly made me miss my best friends and how we would just do stuff like this before I moved away and they got married (and/or) had kids.
It was also interesting to see how Rachel managed to let go of a lot of fears. But I also love that she chose herself in a pivotal point. I think a lot of romance readers would have had things go the other way (which would have drove me up the wall).
Short story review (2.5 stars)
This will spoil the main book so read spoiler tag if you are interested.
“The single girl’s to do list” este o carte pe care am luat-o mega întâmplător, atunci când eram în Tesco și m-am lovit (a fost destinul, vă zic eu) de secțiunea de cărți. Acum, dacă mă întrebați, nu era o lectură obligatorie/pe care să o mai fi văzut în online/de care să fi auzit. Mi-a plăcut titlul+ un impuls de moment de cumpărături și bum, am mai adăugat o carte la colecție.🤣 💔📝❤️🩹 Mi-a plăcut mult premiza cărții: o fată care a fost atâta timp în relații de durată brusc se trezește singură. Cu ajutorul prietenilor ei alcătuiește o listă prin care trebuie să treacă pentru a-și accepta noul statut și pentru a trece de despărțirea dureroasă. Iar ce au pus cei 3 pe listă rămâne un mister pe care o să-l aflați dacă citiți cartea.🤫 Daar, pot să vă spun că au fost câteva activități chiar interesante.🤣 💔📝❤️🩹 Și acum intrăm puțin pe sentimente și vă mărturisesc că această carte m-a atras pentru că plus/minus mă identific cu protagonista. Nu, n-am trecut printr-o recentă despărțire, dar și eu până acum un an am fost obișnuită cu relații lungi, cu o perioadă scurtă între relații, mereu obișnuită să am pe cineva alături, chiar dacă poate lucrurile nu stăteau atât de roz. Cred în dragoste și o să lupt mereu pentru ea, dar frica de singurătate a avut cuvântul decisiv în multe situații. 💔📝❤️🩹 Asta până acum un an, când toate credințele și tot ce știam despre mine mi-au cam fost zdruncinate. Când a trebuit să învăț să fiu pe cont propriu, să mă redescopăr (fără să-mi fi dat seama, mă pierdusem aproape în întregime) și să învăț să mă iubesc pe mine în primul rând. Știu că sună a clișeu total, dar exact asta s-a întâmplat. 2020 m-a învățat foarte multe și îi sunt foarte recunoscătoare. Nu o să mai stau niciodată într-o relație…doar pentru a fi într-o relație. Nu o să mai las pe nimeni să mă trateze cu mai puțin decât merit. Nu o să mai duc bătălii ce au fost pierdute încă de la început. Și știu că o să spuneți că “da, ete na, era evident ce trebuia făcut și că așa trebuie să gândești. Și eu o să vă zic că nu știți cum veți reacționa până nu sunteți voi în acea situație. Dar oricum, din fiecare experiență proastă este ceva de învățat, iar eu prețuiesc acele lecții. Little did I know tho că acea călătorie nu s-a oprit în 2020, ci a revenit acum, dar asta este o cu totul altă poveste. 💔📝❤️🩹 Așa că vă întreb pe voi: ce părere aveți de relații? De despărțiri? De regăsirea sinelui? De timp petrecut tu cu tine? Cât timp lupți? Câte lași de la tine? Care sunt sfaturile voastre după o despărțire? Aștept cu drag răspunsurile voastre!🥰 💔📝❤️🩹 Revenind totuși la cărticică, din păcate, oricât de bine suna premiza, execuția a cam scârțâit.🙁 Mi s-a părut tare șmecheră ideea aceasta de “to do list”, pentru că într-adevăr îți mai ia mintea de la suferință (care nu trebuie ignorată complet, dar care prin această metodă poate fi manevrată mai ușor) și te ajută să te redescoperi și să te dezvolți. Ce m-a deranjat totuși este că totul s-a desfășurat în 2 săptămâni și că toate activitățile au căzut “la țanc”. Eu cred că universul complotează ca să îți ajute visurile, dar ce s-a întâmplat în cartea asta nu mi s-a părut deloc credibil.😅 2 săptămâni mi se pare extrem de puțin pentru o transformare atât de drastică și de o schimbare a modului de gândire. Nu zic că nu este posibil, dar mi-ar fi plăcut totuși să nu fi fost totul pe repede înainte… 💔📝❤️🩹 M-a mai deranjat și finalul cărții și de fapt alegerea autoarei de a încheia astfel povestea și transformarea protagonistei. În mod normal, lucrurile nu se nimeresc chiar așa la fix când treci prin astfel de experiențe. Dar ce să zic, mă bucur pentru eroina noastră.😅 💔📝❤️🩹 În ultimele pagini a fost foarte multă dramă inutilă care putea fi evitată fără absolut nicio problemă. În sine cartea mi s-a părut că a mers greoi, deși nu are foarte multe pagini, iar limbajul este unul foarte accesibil. 🧐 În schimb, mi-au plăcut tare mult prietenii ei, care au făcut lectura mult mai palpitantă. Șiii, într-adevăr, când treci printr-o despărțire mi se pare absolut necesar să ai prieteni alături care să fie alături de tine și să îți arate că lumea nu se sfârșește acolo. Pe această cale *și dacă cumva ajung să citească toată vorbăria aceasta* le mulțumesc din suflet prietenilor mei care au fost și sunt alături de mine!🥰 💔📝❤️🩹 Nu este o carte rea, este bună mai mult pentru anotimpul verii când vreți ceva ușurel și drăguț. Aș fi putut să trăiesc și fără să o citesc, totuși.😅
A hilarious and romantic standalone novel from the bestselling author of the I Heart series
Rachel Summers loves a to-do list:
• Boyfriend • Flat • Great job
NOT on the list:
• Being dumped
Best friends Emelie and Matthew ride to her rescue with an entirely new kind of list – The Single Girl’s To-Do List. Rachel doesn’t know it, but it will take her on all kinds of wild adventures – and get her in some romantic pickles too. And then it won't be a case of what but who she decides to tick off…
• Mr. bendy yoga instructor • Mr. teenage sweetheart • Mr. persistent ex • Mr. deeply unsuitable
The Single Girl’s To-Do List gives Rachel the perfect heartbreak cure – and proves love is out there if you’re willing to take a chance. ******************************************* I enjoyed reading Lindsey Kelk's book `I Heart Hollywood' but I wasn't prepared for just how much I would love this one. The whole point of reading this type of book is the fact that they are usually fun and light hearted. Sometimes the storylines are predictable but in a way I kind of like knowing I will get the ending I want. When I started reading this book I found myself smiling and smirking as I painfully re-lived moments in my younger years where I was experiencing `the single life'.
The book is a respectable 400 pages, but I have to be truthful and say that the humour started from the time I opened the book. The main character Rachel Summers is an absolute sweetheart who I fell in love with immediately. Her predicament is one that I am sure many readers can sympathise with. Don't get me wrong, it isn't your rip-roaring, tears streaming down the face kind of humour, but it touched chords with the scenarios and situations Rachel seems to get herself in to.
Add in to the mix Rachel's two best friends and this book was made for me. Emilie is a woman that is addicted to men, whether it be flirting with them, sleeping with them or getting free drinks off them. Matthew is the six foot plus stunner, who also happens to be gay but definitely not camp. The three of them make an unlikely trio, but their characters are what made this book for me.
We get to see Rachel's journey from hell as she tries to adapt to a single life. The list is what started her strange journey and it is ultimately the list that creates some very crazy and humorous scenarios. As time went on you could see Rachel getting braver and more daring with herself, and you get the distinct impression you are party of watching her become a stronger person. The book takes us and the trio of friends from London to Canada and watches all three of them struggle to keep up with the craziness.
There were moments in this book when I did laugh out loud and moments where I was smirking to myself, but I cannot fault this book one little bit. I adored everything about it from the people to the places to the crazy and daring challenges Rachel faces. The ending was perfect for me and when I had finished I was truly disappointed.
No, this won't be everybody's cup of tea, but it was certainly mine. It's not intellectually challenging, but frankly when a book makes me smile this much I really don't care. HIGHLY recommended! Can't wait to see what Lindsey comes up with next!
Dnf-ed at 59% Oh how I hate this book! The idea of it was quite promising. I hoped for an empowering book with funny characters, a journey of self-discovery and realisation a girl doesn't need a man to be happy and fulfilled. The amount of slut-shaming and fat-shaming in this book is just unforgivable. The main character is a self-centred bitch who thinks a breakup is an explanation for behaving like a spoiled brat with no regards to people's feelings. When she acts unprofessionally she is surprised she got fired because in her head cursing at everybody while being hungover is so acceptable during personal problems. The idea of this book is to get over a boy you need to do a makeover, not get fat and jump into bed with someone else. But also then get quickly engaged with that person because you can't be a slut. I decided to dnf it because after reading some reviews I realised she is not going to change. It was just not worth it.
Last week I read a book that sounded promising but turned out to be a damp squib which never seemed to end.
This week, I (with one eyebrow cocked disdainfully) picked up the dodgy sounding, loaded with smarmy self-help undertones The Single Girls To-Do List and.....ate a large slice of humble-pie as I breezed through this totally addictive, feel-good read.
It’s the story of make-up artist Rachel Lulu Summers. 28-year old Rachel has just been brutally ditched by her supposedly stable boyfriend of five years, Simon. While she can easily wallow in a pit of dire despair, her best friends Emelie and Matthew have a better (and slightly bizarre) plan.
Rachel has always been an obsessive list-maker. Her life revolves around them. So keeping this little obsession in mind, the high-on friendly and drunken fervour trio make The Single Girls To-Do List. Including some doable and mostly questionable tasks, the list is Rachel, Emilie and Matthew’s road trip on the highway of rip-roaring fun, bawdy humour and the thing that makes the world go nauseous : *LOVE*.
Seriously, this book was such a pleasant surprise. It was Four Weddings and a Funeral coupled with all those lovely, inappropriate , brimming with raucous laughter and drunken splurges Brit rom-coms that you wished would step out of the silver screen and just happen in real-life already!
The strength of these frivolous rom-coms lies in the support system that surrounds the heroine. I absolutely loved the gorgeous (and comfortable with it) Emelie and the great big splendidly gay Matthew. Call me optimistic, but I like it when a friend doesn’t disintegrate into a frenemy. Em and Matthew came across as supportive individuals who while burdened with bad decisions of their own, never once, not ever, ditched Rachel to her own devices. You absolutely, most definitely need friends who, when you cut off your waist-length ponytail in a blind moment of panic and screech, 'I look like a boy. Oh God, I look like Justin Beiber.' go, ever so supportively, 'He looks like a girl anyway' I loved that bit. I don’t know why. It just made me want to litter a bunch of mental smileys all over the page.
The love-interests are predictable and yet again, that’s a plus. The book is not a big suspenseful “who-WILL-she end up-with” drama. It’s a tale that’s been told a million times....a tale of a girl (clichéd as it is) who’s trying to find herself. And if along the way, you have a nice looking bloke thrown in to tie things up nicely, then, I , for one, have no complaints, whatsoever.
The language or the tone is not for those with delicate dispositions. It’s loud, littered with profanities and blotched up by many a drunken binge. And it works.
So pick up this book if you want a cute, quick, utterly girly, partly unladylike, marginally funny romantic read.
Lagi kangen baca chicklit yang bagus. Beberapa kali liat buku ini seliweran di tumpukan obralan, akhirnya beli deh sambil berharap ceritanya tidak mengecewakan. Dan ternyata buku ini menyenangkaan, aku sukaaa 😊 Sejak mulai dewasa sampai menjelang 30 tahun, Rachel nyaris tak pernah melajang. Dia selalu punya pacar dan rasanya tak bisa hidup tanpa pasangan. Setelah cowok terakhir yang dipacarinya selama 5 tahun dan dia kira akan menjadi suami mencampakkannya dengan brengsek, Rachel menghadapi kenyataan bahwa dia kini benar-benar harus melajang. Dibantu Matthew dan Emelie, dua sahabat setia yang rela mati untuknya (uuuh bikin iri baca pertemanan mereka), Rachel menyusun daftar tugas cewek lajang untuk membantunya move on dan menyambut kehidupan baru, bukan berkubang dalam duka. Di antaranya: membuat tato, melanggar hukum, membeli sesuatu yang mahal dan egois untuk diri sendiri, sampai menghubungi cowok pertama yang ditaksir. Seru deh ngikutin petualangan mereka mencentang daftar itu satu per satu. Ada satu nasihat bagus dari ibu Rachel untuk putrinya: "Sendirian bukan berarti kesepian. Kita terbuat dari bahan yang lebih kuat. Cowok tidak bisa membuatmu bahagia kalau kau tidak bahagia dengan dirimu sendiri." Daftar tugas kalian seperti apa kira-kira, kalau harus move on dari sesuatu? Saya mungkin salah satunya menguras tabungan buat keliling dunia, dan menjual rumah untuk melanjutkan keliling dunia 😁
I read this book because Goodreads recommended it to me, based off of my 4-star rating for A Girl Like You by Gemma Burgess. And I figured hey, synopsis sounds like fun, let's give it a go.
Clearly, I am a fool and should not trust GR recs.
This was fine, really, but this could have been a much better book. Truly! The first 40% of this was actually quite good (despite the blatant and constant slut-shaming, which I sort of filed away under this being over 10 years old and I mostly tried to ignore it) and I was enjoying myself, but then the book turns into a hot mess.
It's also one of those typical UK books where it's not really a romance, it's more of a chicklit, girl is on a path of self discovery type of books. The main love interest was also a big of a dick and though he does ultimately apologise, there was far too little grovelling involved for me to redeem him.
So, to sum up: this was a super quick read and it had potential, but it ultimately doesn't make me want to pick up any other books by this author.
PURE PLEASURE READ! I would normally have rated this book 3 stars but I fell in love with it so much that I had to add an extra star.
Lindsey Kelk's The Single Girl's To-Do List centers around Rachel Summers whose life seems to be following the perfect check list. She has a great job, a great boyfriend and a great flat until suddenly she is dumped and finds her life turned upside down, unsure how to react or how to be single. With a little help from her two best friends Emelie and Matthew, she creates a new to-do check list on how to be a single girl.
Let me start by saying why I loved this book so much. We have ALL been there (or maybe just me). You feel like your life is going as planned and then you are dumped. Confusion, tears and feeling lost inevitably follows. Kelk pens a book that summarizes those exact feelings and takes the reader on a uplifting wild adventure that puts sitting around eating pints of ice-cream and watching Pretty Woman on repeat to shame. Seriously. Every gal that is going through or has gone through a breakup should read this!
The writing is amusing...
"It was one thing for him to want to break up with me; it was another thing for him to tell the entire internet. It was just so final, so public. Surely I should be allowed to tell people in my own time? Now 417 people had all been told that I'd be dumped with my knowledge. I hadn't even told my mum. Bloody Facebook - and to think I'd enjoyed The Social Network. Clearly Mark Zuckerberg was the devil.
The characters are honest...
"Before I could answer, a strapping six-foot yoga god wandered into my vision, pushed me over onto my arse and swooped in to give Asher a great big kiss. I sat on the grass weeping while my fantasy children sobbed, 'why, daddy, why?'"
And the reader is reminded of how wonderful friends can be..
"So your options are, we can get drunk, slag him off and stagger home with a kebab..Or we can get drunk, you can cry and embarrass yourself horribly, then we stagger home with a kebab."
There are a million things I could say about this book. Are there flaws? Yes. Do they matter? Not at all.
Pick this book up. You will laugh, fall in love with new friends, have an adventure, and find a girl that will remind you of the single girl in all of us.
I would not normally read this type of book. Chic-lit is not my thing. But this book is really worth a try.
After being dumped by her boyfriend of five years, Rachel Summers doesn't know how she is going to live as a single woman. Borderline OCD, Rachel is very fond of lists, so, with the help of her best friends Emelie and Mathew, she comes up with a ten-item list of things she must accomplish to prove herself a true single girl.
The list and the way they came up with it was kind of stupid, but the entire story was actually pretty funny. I can't say I absolutely adored Rachel or her friends, but they were funny enough together to keep me reading.
And the idea of the list, despite the crazy items they put in there, was quite interesting. Not only we do not need a significant other in our lives to be happy, we can do pretty much anything we set our minds onto. And that is a good message.
Quite slow reading for me. Well written by Lindsey Kelk. I love the cover. A great storyline. I love this quote, “Being alone doesn’t mean being lonely.” The ups and downs of oneself while going through the moment of mending the broken heart. The author made it right.
Wow, I've had a really bad streak of books lately. I wanted a light, fluffy romance. What I got was a hypocritical main character, a stereotypical gay best friend (seriously?) and and a love interest who was somehow in love with our main character for no apparent reason.
What irritated the hell out of me was the absurd amount of slut-shaming in this book. First chapter, Rachel wants to write "slag" across a model's bum because she has the audacity to have a sex life. Later on, she calls her a "oversexed, vacuous cow". It's not like Rachel displays any sort of intelligence either.
Throughout the whole book Rachel basically thinks everyone is a slag if they have sex and are not yet married (like it's her business... oh wait). Or maybe even then.
That doesn't stop her from almost having a one-night stand with Dan and then telling him she was actually just going to use him for sex. Her best friend thinks you should never tell someone that if you do it - how about not use anyone? People are not objects and have actual feelings.
I had a really, REALLY hard time feeling even remotely sorry for her. Yes, her ex was an ass (for which we got some half-hearted explanation later on) but her attitude towards anyone she meets annoyed the hell out of me. I have no idea whatsoever why Dan was in love with her for six years.
On top of that were quite a lot of casual comments about suicide (meant as a joke, because suicide is such a hillarious topic), "tranny" and other things that should not be written in a book published in 2011.
On a more technical level: My kindle-version had quite a lot of spelling and punctuation mistakes. Not a deal-breaker otherwise, but with a annoying main character I noticed them a lot more.
So my quest to find a romance novel for me continues
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I wondered if I could like any of Lindsey Kelk's books as much as any of the I Heart Series and this story managed to keep my interest easily just like her other series. Rachel is so likeable (I love how much she likes Toblerone) and her friends (Emilie and Matthew) are so fun too. The story itself is about Rachel who has never been single being dumped by her boyfriend (who becomes the persistent ex) and her friends encourage her to complete a list of what a single girl would do. Along the way she has a drastic hair change and does a bungee jump. The other men involved in the story are Mr Teenage Sweetheart in Toronto filling two ticks on her list, Mr Bendy yoga instructor (who isn't around for too long and Mr.Deeply Unsuitable. The thing with Deeply Unsuitable though is was he deeply unsuitable just to old Rachel and not new. Dan is character who i grow to love through the story. The last highlight of the book was Jenny being in a chapter I enjoyed the link between this book and I Heart and how Jenny thinks Rachel reminds her of someone else she knows (Angela).
I enjoyed this book more for her learning her independence than I did for the romance. And let me tell you it does not take 2 hours to get the the Falls from Toronto unless there is mad traffic on the highway. Seeing Toronto through Rachel's eyes was funny tho. As well as the gawdy city of Niagara Falls.
While I'm writing this review I'm kind of re-reading it bc I don't remember anything good about it. Chick-lit is supposed to be funny but I spent the whole book trying to like her. Never happened. Boring as hell.
This book had the recipe of everything I look for in a contemporary romance!
This hilarious read follows the life of Rachel, whose boyfriend of 5 years unceremoniously dumps her! Her friends rally around her and help her get through heartbreak in the most adventurous ways! I absolutely adored their friendship and banter.
Predictable? Yes, as such books always are. But definitely still worth a go.
I highly recommend listening to the audiobook for this. Makes it more interesting and hilarious!
Lovely feel-good story! I read this book for the second time and still loved it. Rachel gets dumped and has to find out how to actually be single. She makes a list and sims to tick off all items. Along the way she learns new stuff about herself, learns to love herself and grow stronger and independent. I like how this book is not about getting the guy, but about finding yourself and putting yourself first.
Kanske inte min typ av bok. Den är lite som en mysig feelgood tv-serie som går lite släpande fram till ett lyckligt slut du vet stundar. Känner man för det är den nog bra! För mig som föredrar lite mer spänning kändes det ett tag som att boken aldrig skulle ta slut. Mysig men inte särskilt minnesvärd.
Absolutely loved this book! ❤️ Rachel could be a little clueless at times but that's what makes her endearing. Her friends are just too funny. A really good book! 😊
I must admit, prior to reading The Single Girl’s To Do List I haven’t been the biggest Lindsey Kelk fan. I enjoy her writing style, it’s incredibly quick, but I thought the two I Heart novels I read (New York & Hollywood) were filled to the absolute brim with cliche after cliche. They were paint by numbers stories as far as I was concerned, and I wanted a bit more ‘oomph’ to them. However I downloaded Lindsey’s exclusive short story Jenny Lopez Has A Bad Week and I loved it and when I heard Lindsey was writing a stand-alone novel I was looking forward to reading it and when I received a copy to review I was thrilled. I settled down to read it on bank holiday Monday and I absolutely loved it.
The Single Girl’s To Do List is probably just as light a read as I Heart New York (and Hollywood and undoubtedly Paris) was. But for me, there’s a big difference: the idea of the novel is different and not something I’ve read before and the characters are infinitely better. There’s a very small part of me that wonders if everything that happens throughout The Single Girl’s To Do List can really happen in two weeks as that’s the general time-frame of the book. But rather than overly question it and ruin the novel for myself, I instead ran with it and found myself very entertained. I hitched myself to its pages and I enjoyed the ride, finishing the novel in just two sittings.
I like the idea Kelk presents that there’s a ‘list’ every girl should complete to really feel single. Some of the items on Rachel’s list are totally insane – bungy jumping, anyone? But I loved the majority of the items and they are totally what you’d find in any break-up bible. Makeover? Check. Tattoo? Check. Write a letter to your feckless ex? Check. Rachel is a girl after my own heart with her list-making. I see myself as a rather organised person, but I’m no list maker. Mainly because I end up getting distracted if I write down the tasks I need to do and, instead, I go and procrastinate meaning I don’t get to check off any of my objectives. Don’t ask why I’m allergic to writing a to-do list, I just am. I’m much better just trying to remember it in my head, although invariably I do forget, meaning a list would have been a good idea (I’m the same with books I need to read, I don’t like telling myself what I have to read otherwise I won’t want to read them). Yes. I am a freak. I love organised female characters who keep lists, they’re what I aspire to be!
I absolutely loved Rachel. From the first page, I absolutely loved her (despite the fact she has Angela’s ‘boy’ affliction. They’re men. Or guys. Even dudes. But they’re not boys.). I do think that I’d have enjoyed the I Heart novels more if the character was more like Rachel, because she’s infinitely likeable. I liked how she threw herself into Emelie and Matthew’s to-do list rather than barricading herself in her bedroom when Simon dumped her. Her best mates Emelie and Matthew (not Matt) really push the novel along, too, with their quirky ways and their inability to let their best friend wallow in her pity and sadness. They were quite a trio, actually, Rachel, Matthew and Emelie, and I loved all three of them. Unsurprisingly, I wasn’t a fan of Rachel’s ex Simon. He was a bit of an tool. I did, however, absolutely love photographer Dan, who Rachel (a make-up artist) works with on photo-shoots. He sounded drop dead gorgeous.
The Single Girl’s To Do List is one of the lightest reads I’ve read all year, but it was exactly what I was looking for. I loved it, I really did. The pages practically turned themselves and I was pleased to get to meet this new crop of characters. Lindsey’s writing style, boys aside, is so so easy to get lost in. Honestly, it just flows brilliantly and I was sucked up into the book from page one. I didn’t have any particular niggles with the book, though at times Rachel doesn’t exactly come across in the best light, and I hope Kelk sticks with writing standalone novels like The Single Girl’s To Do List. She definitely has the ability to become big in Chick Lit because she has a fresh and funny style and I laughed numerous times whilst reading the novel. The novel was definitely a triumph, and I’m pleased to say that the books ends so well that there is no need for a sequel. I enjoyed getting to know Rachel, Emelie, Matthew and co. but I don’t think a second novel would work. I’m looking forward to Kelk’s next novel and I’m hoping it’s one of two things: A Jenny Lopez full-length novel or another stand-alone novel. I’ll be first in the queue to buy either of those. Definitely pick this one up, you’ll thoroughly enjoy it.
I cannot praise this book enough. One of my new favourite books, made me laugh and cry. Every girl should read this as a reminder of how great they are and how amazing life can be on your own❤️❤️❤️ also I want Matthew and Emelie as my friends