seriously romantic: the undateable by sarah title

when you accidentally become a meme due to your resting bitch face and fall into stereotypes you've long tried to rise above, it makes life a little difficult. it's not like bernie had an active dating life. she wasn't even wishing she had an active dating life.

but colin, the only male on staff at a fashion blog/e-zine, needs a story that will up readership and solidify his place as the features writer. so he approaches bernie with a plan. he'll prove that she isn't undateable, if she'll let the magazine feature her dates as a series, and offer some help in the fashion, makeup, and hair department.

the undateable follows bernie and colin as they navigate her horrible dates and he posts dispatches about the highlights and lowlights. it's not all terrible. and some of the dates show some promise. bernie realizes that making an effort for a date doesn't mean becoming someone she is not. it's not an assault on feminism if you dress up or put on a little mascara. there is something to be said for looking good for yourself. making time to feel good about how you look isn't a horrible thing. if it helps you feel good, then there is nothing wrong with it. and bernie figures out what her limits are--what things are for her and what changes cross the line.

feeling better about herself does improve her dating life. and this improvement proves to be unsettling for colin. he can't deny he is attracted to bernie. in some ways he's the one who spends the most time with her throughout the dating series. they start out antagonizing each other, only to become friends. they never put up the walls that often exist when you start out on a relationship with someone. bernie and colin see the worst of each other, and for a time believe the worst of one another, but the truth is that they know each other better than anyone. the friendship that grows between them is something real and precious.

when colin kisses bernie after she is stood up on one of her dates, he's not sure how he crossed that line. but soon they find themselves crossing it more and more. but bernie is committed to having thirty first dates in thirty days and colin has committed to seeing it through. and when colin's boss insists on a bachelor-like finale, colin is put in an untenable position. he knows that bernie doesn't want anything like that. at the same time he can't say no. it's his job to see this through. and his avoidance of the issue cause some real problems that he and bernie need to figure out.

**the undateable will publish on february 28, 2017. i received an advance ready copy courtesy of netgalley/kensington books (zebra shout) in exchange for my honest review.