The Special Relationship

by Frederica Hendricks Noble

The Special Relationship describes how one American woman fell in love with a British man and learned the rules of engagement in order to make her life in England successful.

Are you thinking about dating (or marrying) a British man and heading off to the United Kingdom to be with him? Have you found your Mr. Darcy? This book offers insider tips and advice from an American who found her Prince Charming. Her beguiling “prince” affectionately refers to her as the “original Meghan Markle”. This practical, easy-to-read, and sometimes humorous guidebook will help modern women better understand British men, English culture and how to create their own special relationship.

211 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 22, 2021

Reviews

[Living My Best Book Life · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Special Relationship is such a fun book. When I was little, I always saw the royals on TV and dreamt that I would find my prince charming. This book is so fun because it's a guide to learning the rules and culture if you ever fell in love with a British person. It's detailed with maps, pictures, and facts about the culture. It really breaks everything down so that you can be ready if you meet the man/woman of your dreams and they just so happen to be British. Loved reading this!! ⁣

[Meagan Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Special Relationship describes itself as a guidebook written by a woman who fell in love with a British man and moved to England, but it definitely offers a lot more than a love story. This is a fantastic source to all things UK and would be a great reference for anyone thinking about or planning a trip. I know I will find myself referencing a lot of the information when I plan a visit in the future!

Thank you Book Publicity Services for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

[ChaoticReaderLife · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the book title (and the blurb) describes this as a guide for a Modern American Girl to find love with a British man, I'd still say it's more than that. The Special Relationship is a self-help guide for a newbie to survive in Britain. All the data is nicely represented with colored Maps, flags, pictures, etc. You could belong to any nationality, any gender, and this book can be a helpful quick guide. I am from India and have been living in the UK for 3 years now. Although I do know a lot of things mentioned in the book now, there's still a lot I learned after reading the book. Frederica does mention how she connected with her husband and her challenges when she moved to the U.K, but it's still comparatively less talked about than the actual information (which I enjoyed).

I loved the chapters describing how the U.K is divided into England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, and what's the difference and link between English, United Kingdom, British, Britain, etc. Trust me, it was confusing for me too when I first came here.

There's also a chapter that provides a very compact guide to all the places to visit in the U.K. Although there are soo soooo many more that can be included (there's a lot to see throughout the U.K), but there were a few that caught my attention.

Frederica also talks about the events that happen throughout the U.K like Queen's birthday parade, Christmas events, etc. But what I didn't know (like a lot many things that I still need to explore) is the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. And thank god I read the book just in time, as the Festival starts in August and I might plan to go this year (If it didn't cancel because of Covid).

Checkout my full review here: https://divyakaushik1010.wixsite.com/...

[Anna Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This made my little Anglophile heart happy. Growing up I dreamed of traveling and experiencing a new culture, and to this day that is still a dream of mine. This book was filled with advice and facts that any reader (who’s obsessed with British literature like me) should know!

[Nicolette · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an interesting book and would come in very handy for anyone who is dating an Englishman or is seeking to do so. Since that's not my reality I found that it was a good history lesson and perhaps a good guide if I ever visit the UK.

[Terry ~ Huntress of Erudition · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nice, informative book for those getting acclimated to living in the UK.
I originally thought it would be a humorous book about dating English guys, since it is oddly called The Special Relationship, but this book contains information regarding geography, sports, food, an interesting history of tea, slang terms, measuring equivalents, royalty, anything to do with English culture.

[Kylie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a complimentary copy of The Special Relationship in return for my review, however all opinions are my own. As a past British expat who did the reverse (moved from UK to the US), I wish I had a book like this to help during my relocation! As well as having personal aspects of the author's journey, it is full of information and facts about the UK. It covers lots of different things that an expat would find helpful, from cultural quirks to differences between the two countries. Things like language differences, clothing size conversions, cooking conversions, quick summaries on historic events, sports and geographical locations around the UK.
It is more of a fact book rather than a narrative and definitely aimed towards those relocating to the UK from overseas. As a British expat, I could relate to some of the things being said and found it interesting to see the perspective of someone that did the journey in reverse. Sometimes you don't necessarily notice the differences when travelling or visiting somewhere on holiday, you only discover them when you relocate for the long haul.
As an expat factual guide it's great, the only thing stopping me from rating it higher was that there were a couple of formatting errors. Such as duplicated paragraphs and pictures in the wrong location.

[Sekai Braithwaite · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing book! Although I am British myself, I learnt so much from reading this book. I loved the pictures included and reminded me of photographs with my own family. I have been using the 'Need-to-Know-Football Vocabulary' and honestly everyone has been impressed with my new found knowledge! I particularly loved the clear structure of the book and how easily it flowed. Fantastic book by a fantastic writer! Highly recommend, you will not be disappointed!

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I often tell my husband how much I’d love to travel to England someday. I’ve even gone so far as to look up the types of accommodations we’d stay in, and the types of activities we’d participate in. Noble’s novel was like its own special guidebook for all things British, yet it also infused her own personal experiences into the mix, which made it even more interesting.

While I’m not looking to marry or date a British man myself, I did find a lot of useful information that pertains to the traveling aspect of things–where to go, what to do, and how to find your way around once you get there. The chapters are all spread out in such a way that it’s easily broken down into the nitty gritty of life; what to do when you get there, how to travel and get the most out of your trip, the differences between the UK, England and Great Britain, and what’s it like to be involved with someone who is your “Mr. Darcy.” It really was a combo relationship/travel book!

I can’t say when I’ll be able to make it out to England as of yet, but I think The Special Relationship will be my travel guidebook when I do!

[Brooke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to Book Publicity Services for providing me with a copy of THE SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP in exchange for an honest review.

This book was not at all what I expected. I thought that this was going to be a humorous read about how to date a British man, considering that's what the subtitle suggests. The preface kind of suggested that, too. But it's really an informational guide to the UK with information including food, geography, sports, vernacular and more.

I would really only read this if you plan to move to the UK or study abroad or travel there. I think it would be a good gift for someone who is planning on doing any of those things.