How to Find Your (First) Husband

by Rosie Blake

It's a beautiful day in 1994 and the turn-out in the school playground is fantastic. Isobel is eight years old and marrying Andrew Parker, the boy of her dreams. Life is perfect. Then the ceremony is over, and a week later so is the marriage. Twenty years on and Isobel is dressed as a prawn handing out promotional fliers outside an L.A. fish market. Her career is going nowhere and her love life leaves a lot to be desired. Nothing Isobel hoped for has gone to plan. Then, she catches sight of Andrew, her first husband, in the background of a TV news item and if she can track down Andrew, will she recapture the happiness that she felt all those years ago? Isobel travels the globe to find her first husband, via Cornwall, Devon and a remote Malaysian island, but is he really what she is looking for?

Genres: Romance, Chick Lit, Fiction, Womens Fiction, Ebooks, Adventure, Travel

400 pages, Paperback

Published June 2, 2016

About the author

Rosie is a writer, vlogger and amateur Mum. She loves to chat and write about love, sex, dating and relationships. She has written features for Cosmopolitan, The Lady, The Sunday People, Reveal and Best Magazine. She has appeared on ITV, Sky and Channel 4.

Her first romantic comedy HOW TO GET A (LOVE) LIFE was published in 2014. Atlantic Books published HOW TO STUFF UP CHRISTMAS in 2015 and HOW TO FIND YOUR (FIRST) HUSBAND in 2016. Her latest book THE HYGGE HOLIDAY is out in September 2017 with Sphere, an imprint of Little Brown. Rosie is represented by Clare Wallace at the Darley Anderson Agency.

Rosie wishes to continue writing romantic comedies, persuade Julia Roberts to be her best friend and discover the world’s greatest Black Forest Gateaux recipe.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

YUSSSS ROSIE!
I have to hold my hands up and say I haven't loved Rosie's two previous novels but I am always eager to read her latest offerings. And I am SO glad I read this one. I freakin' loved it.
It was funny, fresh, full of wonderful characters and fantastic scenery. It had the perfect time frame, the perfect pace and I had a hard time putting it down; I wanted to keep reading and imagine being on an island with sand and sea and TURTLES.
I read this in just two sittings and did a big 'noooooooooo' when it ended. I WANT MORE.
Only niggle I had were a few overused phrases but whatevssss, it was still a great story.
I can't wait to see what comes next from Rosie! I am well excited.

[Suze · Rating 5 out of 5]

Isobel moved to LA to become a presenter. Instead she's now dressing up as shellfish or vegetables on a daily basis. She is unhappy with her job and her boyfriend who isn't offering any excitement at all. She dreams about Andrew, the boy she loved and married when she was a little girl. When she sees him at the background of a news item she decides to look for him. Isobel travels back to England to find her childhood sweetheart.

It's nice to be with her parents again, but it soon becomes clear that Isobel won't be able to find Andrew in England. He's on Tioman Island, a small Malaysian island where he works during the summer. It's a beautiful tropical place and Isobel has the chance to completely be free. Will this enchanting setting bring her what she wants, will Isobel find true love now that she's traveled so far to get it?

How to Find Your (First) Husband is a fun and romantic book. I immediately loved Isobel. She's a bit chaotic and messes things up on a regular basis, which is quite endearing. She has a heart of gold and she's absolutely wonderful. I loved this book straight away because of who she is. I really wanted Isobel to find true love. The idea of the long journey to find the person she's supposed to be with for the rest of her life is fantastic. It's such a sweet theme for a book and I loved Rosie Blake's charming execution.

Rosie Blake has a great sense of humor and I often laughed out loud while reading How to Find Your (First) Husband. I also loved the location and Rosie Blake's gorgeous descriptions make the island come to life really well. It's the perfect setting for a dreamy story with a nostalgic element. I couldn't wait to find out if Andrew would be the one for Isobel. The ending is adorable, a great and fitting finale of a perfect love story. I liked this book a lot and highly recommend it.

[Agi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh guys, "How to Find Your (First) Husband" is Rosie Blake at her best! I couldn't put the book down, literally. It is the author's third book, and I had a pleasure to read all of them, and I think the fact that I rated all of them with five stars is speaking for itself!
I find the idea of the plot hilarious and brilliant at the same time, starting with a childhood wedding in a school playground (brilliant, just brilliant!), and then fast - forwarding and taking us first to LA for some belly - laughing scenes, then back to England and then to Malaysia, with some of the best views and embarrassing and awkward situations. I think I haven't read anything like this before and I adored how Rosie Blake plotted the book and how she delivered a fantastic, original story.

Our main character, Isobel, might have come a little "stalkerish" at time, but in a funny, funny way. What actually happened that she wanted to find her "first husband"? Well, her life didn't take the turn she was hoping for and instead of working in television, she was dishing out leaflets dressed as a potato for example, and her being "dumped" by her agent was the last straw. This, and seeing Andrew on TV! She couldn't forget the fact that Andrew dumped her only few weeks after their "wedding" in the playground, and then he moved out of the town, and Isobel didn't know why he dumped her. And there was no divorce! So, was she married now or not? And well, Andrew's last words were like a curse, right? That she'll never have another husband. So after seeing him she decides on the spot to find him and make him fall in love with her again.

The story is told from Isobel's point of view mostly, and most of the chapters ended with the entries from her old diary that she's written at school, and you know what, she was really smitten with in Andrew :) I warmed to her immediately, she just felt like my kind of girl, and I kept my fingers crossed for her in her quest to find her first love. She was so determined, and when I know that I'd give up, she just continued, and even though she was not sure at the beginning, she decided to pursue Andrew on the other side of the world, leaving her old life behind. Of course, the support she had from parents here was really important, and I loved her mum.
Isobel has pictured Andrew as a kind of hero, the most perfect man in the world and she was imagining her life with him already. But - is Andrew like this at all? Is he going to remember Isobel at all after all those years? And - will she find him at all? I've never, for a single moment, thought that Isobel shouldn't search for Andrew, that she's lost her plot or something, no way, I was rooting for her as I personally was incredibly curious if her idea of Andrew reflects Andrew now. She would only stop obsessing about him when she found him and she wasn't afraid of going to really any lengths, and I thought, go girl! It's your time! I mean, to leave everything behind to pursue a man of your dreams? You need to have guts for this, me thinks.

We can't forget other characters here, and especially Isobel's friend Mel. The girls were working together in LA and they both, dressed as lobsters, were a great team, trying to make the best of what's going on in their lives, but when Mel is relatively resigned to it, Isobel is not, hence the search for Andrew. Also, where Mel is in a happy relationship with Dex, Isobel's pilot "boyfriend" turns out not to be the best catch in the end. Though the scene of their phone conversation was brilliant :) But also the people that Isobel meets in Tioman were one of the most colourful, funny group of characters, especially the narcissistic sex God with not six - , but ten - pack, and his one - liners.

Rosie Blake's writing style is fabulous. It's light, incredibly funny, and one of the best bits in the story were the moments when Isobel was talking to herself in her head - really, her reflections were the best! Rosie made me laugh our loud but also cringe with embarrassment at Isobel's antics and some of the situations she finds herself in.

The idyllic island Tioman was the perfect setting for this wonderful story. it's just like your dream island, and the way Rosie presented the laid - back life there made me want to spend my own holidays there. She brought the setting to life, no problems there, with its beaches, forest islands and waterfalls. I loved the descriptions of this small island, with beach huts, beach bars, crystal clear water and nature. And add to this a bunch of brilliant, colourful, different characters, some lady's rivalry, cleaning the turtle tanks and setting kitchen on fire and you have the ultimate, perfect read!

Oh my word, guys, I've so kept my fingers crossed for Isobel! I so wanted her to find her perfect Andrew and I so wanted Andrew to be this perfect. I adored to accompany her on every step that took her closer to her dream man. In my opinion Isobel found herself on the island in the right moment, it didn't take too long, it didn't take too short, just in the perfect moment, and in a perfect place. It didn't felt too rushed, it didn't felt too slow, the pace was just ideal. And the best bit is that after landing on the island the story really unwound, and there were some twists and turns that added so much fun and spice to the whole plot. The will they/won't they and adding some other male characters made the way to the happy end really curvy and thrilling and heart - stopping and I loved every single word of this story. You couldn't really be sure how the story was going to end. "How to Find Your (First) Husband" is a truly heart - warming, hilarious story that I literally devoured and incredibly enjoyed, this kind of book that you'd love to read again for the first time. Highly, highly recommended!

Copy provided by the publisher in exchange for a review.

[Katrien]

DNF
Ik kwam er niet in, ben een paar keer ernaar teruggekeerd maar nope. Misschien sta ik te ver can het karakter. Misschien is het de manier waarop het geschreven is.
Het leven is te kort om dingen tegen mijn zin te lezen...

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

brilliant book!!

[Marie’s Book Boutique]

Review coming soon

[Rachel Gilbey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, so much that I read it in a very short amount of time. It is full of amusing sections, incredibly sweet reminiscences of a childhood "romance" and a borderline stalkerish hunt for Isobel's first love.

For when Isobel was still in school, she and Andrew Parker had a wedding in the playground, however she was then dumped a few weeks later, and then Andrew left the school, and Isobel has been without closure since. Unlike some of her childhood friends she never did the playground divorce thing with Andrew, and still considers them married, even after he cursed her to never have another husband.

Fast forward to adulthood and Isbobel is living in LA, doesn't exactly have the life of her dreams, and finds herself continually daydreaming about what could have been with her and Andrew. So when she spots him in the background of a newsclip, she decides the only thing to do is to find him, and persuade him to fall in love with her.

What follows is a fabulous story as Isobel travels to England and then onto Malaysia in order to find him.

As much as I loved all the lead up and the initial search for Andrew, it was once Isobel was on the various flights to get to Tioman Island, Malaysia, that I felt the story really kicked up a gear, as Isobel starts to rediscover who she really is.

Anyone that has seen some of my reviews previously, may by now realise that I love books with exotic locations, and this one was fantastic, although I didn't get a feel for Malaysia itself, there was definitely a wild small island feel to the story, with beach huts, local wildlife and a new group of friends all determined to have a fantastic summer.

Rosie Blake's storytelling skills are as amusing as they are enchanting in this delightful story about re-discovering your first love and friendship.

Thank you so much to Alison Davies at Corvus for this review copy. This was my honest opinion.

[Alba · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally posted on: http://www.albainbookland.com/2016/06...

I've read and love Rosie Blake's previous books so when I picked her latest one, I knew I was in for a treat and I was not wrong at all. I found the premise for this story fantastic. I mean, who didn't have a crush in school with the golden boy of the class? And who hasn't wondered how life would be with him? Well Rosie Blake takes it one step further: Isobel, the star of the story, needs a change in her life so when she spots Andrew, her first crush and husband (there was a ceremony in the playground) on TV, she decides to go for it and chase him to the other end of the world.

As you can imagine, this story is completely bonkers and I couldn't have loved it more. Isobel is such a great character, she had me in stitches more than once and her ideas to seduce Andrew were just hilarious. I had such great fun following her around the world and I fell a bit in love with Tioman Island, in Malaysia, where great part of the story took place. Rosie Blake described it so well and the attention to detail was amazing. If I closed my eyes, I could easily picture myself there, spying Isobel's shenanigans with a cocktail on my hand.

Apart from Isobel and Andrew, there were a few more characters key to the story, like Isobel's best friend or a photographer we meet in Malaysia. I was a big fan of all of them, they were really supportive of Isobel and her crazy ideas and made the story even more interesting with their own little stories.

How To Find Your (First) Husband is everything a summer read should be and more. With an amazing setting, lovable character, an hilarious plot and turtles thrown into the mix, this is the book you cannot miss this summer. Laughs and good vibes guaranteed!

(review copy)

[Rachel (Smelleykins) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just adore Rosie, her books and writing are just so happy and make you smile and take you to all these fun places. The latest instalment is when Iz goes on a quest to find her first husband, Andrew. Whom she married in school and has dreamt of ever since. He's the one. Or least that has Iz see's it and no-one else will ever come close. Forget they've not seen each other for years!

After a freak chance of catching a glimpse of Andrew on TV, Iz ups and leaves LA to go back to England to find true love. But he's not there and its another trip to Malaysia... Does Iz find the love of her life?

Rosie captures everything fantastically. The descriptions of the remote Island sound beautiful and you wonder if such things exsit ever. There are a few interesting characters along the way, we have Iz's best friend Mel, who is the ultimate best friend. They're amazing together, we meet the gorgeous photographer Zeb and Andrew.

It's a fun book where you'll giggle and cringe at some of the things Iz is doing. You do sometimes (least i did) want to try knock some sense into her but you know she's forgiven. I really can't wait to see what is next for Rosie!

[Nuria · Rating 2 out of 5]

First, let me say that I am Rosie Blake's number 1 fan. I LOVE her newest book "The Hygge Holiday". So naturally, I had to check out all her other books. Because that's what you do when you are in love with an author.

And my strong obsession with Rosie Blake is probably why I find writing this review a bit hard. Because I was disappointed by How to Find Your (First) Husband. The main reason being that I just couldn't identify with the main character Isobel. Her quest to find her childhood husband (she was eight!) because she feels like he will make her happy, just felt so ridiculous. Who does something like that? And then she goes and stalks him literally ALL over the world...

I don't know. I just couldn't warm to her. The only good thing was Seb. He made the whole story "bearable". I don't want to give away the ending. But...

Compared to "The Hygge Holiday" this one just isn't up there. Sorry Rosie Blake. Doesn't mean tough, that I'm not still completely in love with you :) I'm sure that the book is enjoyable if you can manage to identify with Isobel. Otherwise it's a bit pointless.

[charlottebibliophile · Rating 2 out of 5]

“I do secretly believe that if I hope enough somewhere Hogwarts does exist and one day I WILL receive my letter telling me I am a witch.”

When Isobel Graves finds herself stuck in a dead end job and in an unhappy relationship, she decides to take matters into her own hands: locate her first husband, the boy she married on the school playground as a child. Travelling from Los Angeles to the UK, she learns that Andrew, the object of her desire, is currently volunteering on a remote Malaysian island, but distance is no barrier to true love.

In theory this plot sounds great, but the execution was lacklustre to say the least. I didn’t care for Isobel or Andrew; in fact, the only two characters I had any love for where Isobel’s crazy best friend, Mel, and Zeb, a photographer she meets on her flight to Asia. The story was slow and repetitive, and it felt like a chore to read.

[Blodeuedd Finland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Isobel Isobel. She is is stuck in a crappy job, her dream of working on tv has gone nowhere. She has a boyfriend that she is rather meh about. She needs something, just something.

What she does next is, well rather crazy. She sees the boy she married when she was 8, the boy who then moved away, and she decides to track him down. A man she now knows nothing about, but she feels they could be perfect for each other.

The question is, when she does find him, will she want him?

I did like hers spirit, she might not have gotten it, but she needed change. And this chase was something to do.

Andrew then, oh he was a bore. I was all give it up Isobel! He is boring! You can do better.

LA to England to Malaysia. She finds her way, and she also finds love.

[Carla Moreira · Rating 2 out of 5]

A story about a woman who believes that the boy she married in a playground wedding as a child, might be the love of her life and chases him across the world to see if he really is. So in theory this was an interesting concept, but sadly in execution it misses the mark. The main Characters is so set on this one fact... that I'm not entirely sure she is aware that a playground wedding between 10 year olds isn't legal. She complety ignores the very charming love interest that she has real chemistry with for the moody, not particularly likeable child hood Obsession. I spent most of this book waiting for her to wake the hell up. And frankly when she does, there is about 5 pages left. I quite loved the very few bits we got of her and the love interest. He was a genuinely interesting character, but as she is constantly dismissing him, you never quite get enough of him. And as I already mentioned even when they finally do, it's way way too short. I was so hoping for a proper Romantic moment, but sadly I never quite got it.
The writing style is enjoyable. It makes you smile often but it lost a 🌟 for the main Characters being just too far in her own delusions to be realistic and a 2nd 🌟 for not giving me what all romance Novels should! A good Romantic scene with the actual guy she ends up with.

[Dawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I tried to enjoy this book, I really persisted with it but finally gave up after 7 hours of reading about a stupid, brainless, obsessed stalker of a woman. Isobel gets into stalker mode when she spots in the background of a TV interview, a man who used to be at school with her. She immediately decides that all these years since they had a playground 'marriage' ceremony he has been pining for her and sets off across the world by long haul flight, rickety small plane and numerous taxi rides all with the idea that as soon as he sees her he will immediately realise he has found his one true love.

During her obsessive fantasising she comes into contact with other men who seem - to me at least - to be much more interested in her than the focus of her obsession. I have no idea how the story ends as I still have three hours or so to listen to but I honestly can't bear any more of her irritating self importance.

However I enjoyed the writing style, which is probably why I persisted for so long and would choose to read another book by the same author, because maybe I might find it more enjoyable than this.

[Zahra Hueheu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok... I initially hated the main character so much (and the plot in the beginning) but as the story unfolded towards the end... I have to admit I kinda enjoyed the book.

Very light reading - funny and dumb, tho some part I feel like it's so unnecessary.. and forced?

I feel like towards the end only then things started to fall into places. Else it's just about a girl blindly following her heart, I mean at 29 she could've acted better like more logical but that’s okay I guess, it’s fictional after all....

Still annoyed me when Iz tried to force the connection, I was so glad she realised how dumb it was towards the end.

Anyways - Andrew is a CLASS A JERK. Like bruh WTF. Idk a man could be ‘jerker’ than that.

My fav character is prolly Zeb and Mel. hihi

Okay that's all, overall, a quirky fun novel.

I didn’t realised I read it so fast cause I was so annoyed with the main character.

haha ok bye.

p/s: I feel like the end the author should include the part where Iz unfolded the story to her mom or grandma nyee

[~☆starlight · Rating 5 out of 5]

So this is my second Rosie Blake book and I got through it in a day which goes to show how much I enjoyed it!! The book centers around Iz who dreams of being a presenter has moved out to LA in hope of finding the dream job but so far hasn't amounted to much accept dressing up as a prawn and handing out leaflets. Feeling her life is at a complete stand still she decides to hear back to England in the hope of finding her school sweetheart Andrew who she's never quite gotten over. However as you guessed it's not all that simple and she soon finds herself on a Malaysian island which is when her adventure really begins!!! I loved this book it had just the right amount of romance and plenty of humour (my kind of book) I found myself completely swept up in the story and the characters and I just could not put it down. Cannot wait to read her other books luckily I have them.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wouldn't say I disliked this book but I also wouldn't go as far as saying I liked it.

It was very predictable and to be a honest a bit odd. Who travels half way across the world to meet someone they haven't seen since they were a child in hopes to fall in love with them and live happily ever after?

As soon as zeb was introduced it was obvious where the story was going.

I also genuinely did not care about Andrew at all, it was too obvious where the story was going so I started zoning out at the parts with Andrew because I knew they didn't really matter and they weren't interesting enough to keep my attention.

I enjoyed it enough to finish it but I was glad when it was over.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was exactly what I love in a Chick Lit book! It was funny, light, sweetly romantic without being cheesy...... I could barely put it down! I loved it so much! I reserve 5 stars for AMAZING books, but this could possibly have rated a 4.5.... I immediately went to my library website to order any other Rosie Blake books they had. I found this one on a random search of 'Chick Lit' on the library site, and fortunately they have a few more available, so I will be able to read more of Ms Blake's writing..... I did read one review of this book that said they didn't like the last two Rosie Blake books, so I am hoping that won't be true for me!

[Hope · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book but I struggled with how unrealistic the plot line was. It was also tough to warm to Isobel as a main character because she doesn't experience much personal growth or help herself at all. The writing style was fun and catchy and kept me engaged enough to read through the story and it was well supported by some really fun side characters, specially Mel and Isobel's parents. The plot was predictable but worked well for the sort of storyline it was and definitely had a bit of a twist near the end which was effective.

[Chloe Halfacree · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of the first books in a while that I have read that I really didn’t enjoy. I found it really hard to connect with the main character - for a, if I can remember correctly, 29 year old woman, being so obsessed over a man she hasn’t seen in 20 years that she’d never dated seemed quite immature. I wasn’t a fan of Isobel’s character and I think the message it sends to young women today isn’t a positive one. Would’ve liked a bit more maturity and depth to the character. Was a very easy and predictable read.

[Vikkie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book, this is my second Rosie Blake read. I found the characters likeable and the plot gripped my attention due to the developing love story and needing to find out what happened. I was able to relate to the main character in the way of having a childhood friend, who I have wondered in my adult years what he is up to. I read this book in two sittings and would honestly recommend this book to friends.

[Sinead · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought I’d absolutely love this book but unfortunately I just couldn’t warm to the main character Isobel at all! I found her completely head wrecking! But I liked the premise of the story and that’s what I’m giving the 3 stars for.

[Crystal Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the stars!!!! I loved this book so much! The characters are quirky, the writing is perfection, and the plot is the perfect blend of humor and heartfelt emotion. If you love writers like Christina Lauren, Marisa de los Santos, or Jenny Colgan, you’ll love this, too. I was somewhat skeptical about the plot, but it was a fresh, fun, and gorgeous read that I savored until the end. A sequel would not hurt my feelings.

[Dutchy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love a good chicklit / romance but this book wasnot for me!

[Margaret Haigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light girly read, no challenges, you could write the ending from a third of the way through, but enjoyable and relaxing.

[Marica Cindric · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really loved characters of Mel and Zeb the plot a little predictable and drawn out but a good holiday read by the beach

[Nichola Peacock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely heartfelt easy read! Great book to get you out of a reading slump!!!

[Sharlene Rowan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The main character seems insane trailing a stranger around the world it's quite far fetched but a good listen non the less.

[Ashton · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5⭐️

[Ani Zafieri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and easy read for the most part; on the minus side I found it wrapped up quite suddenly with a splash of fantastic melodrama at the end.