dating plan

Make a . It's time to date with intention. Hi, I’m Katie Bulmer. I was the girl who looked for love in all the wrong fraternity boys. I settled, I made excuses and I whitewashed all of the red flags. Then I met the only man who would truly complete me. His name is Jesus, shortly after that I met the most amazing man I have ever met this side of heaven, so I married him. Between my parents, and my husbands our parents have a total of NINE divorces. With that less that ideal family history AND a past of making unwise dating relationships, I began a quest to study all I could about healthy relationships. I started mentoring young women and realized if they could get this ONE DECISION right, it could change future marriages and future mamas and daddies. Below I have a printable PDF and a mini-course designed to be a crash course in dating NON-NEGOTIABLES and to help you look at dating as a gift and a responsibility. An architect draws a blue print before they ever break ground. A business owner has a budget before the next fiscal year, yet beautiful women are walking into one of the biggest decisions of their life, a dating relationship with no plan!! I have two resources to serve you!

Digital Download. I really wanted to make this free. But when we pay, we pay attention and the health of your future relationships is too valuable to be taken lightly. So I made this 3 page PDF the price of a coffee yet with life long-lasting goodness. After coaching hundreds of young women through breakups, dating with intention, and the first years of marriage I have found there are a few good questions that lead to life-changing results as it helps you to date with intention. Take the Mini-Course for just $29. I took all the best advice from past podcast episodes, one-on-one mentoring, and the highlights from the countless dating books I have read and put them all together to bring you this course. Right at an hour, you will see a video of me teaching live, visuals and links for further study, AND the bonus of the $5 PDF for everyone who takes the course. Best spent hour!

That was the best spent hour!! I didn’t even know I needed to hear half of that and it was incredible! Even for someone who’s been in a relationship for 2 years, I needed to be reminded of some of these important non-negotiables!

Eye Opening! It truly opens your eyes to what characteristics you need to look for when entering the dating world. I wish I would’ve had this before I met my boyfriend. I think it would have helped me really focus on what I wanted in a relationship. Exactly what I needed. An hour of exactly what I needed. After breaking up with my boyfriend of almost 2 years, this is what I needed to regroup and set my standards before diving into another relationship. Make the right investment. We invest in our education, entertainment, and even our makeup. It's time to invest in one of the most important decisions of our life. a dating relationship. While much of my content is not faith-based I feel it would be doing you a disservice to leave faith out of the conversation as it relates to faith so this will be a Christain based teaching. Looking for a Light Escape? Read 'The ' These days, we could all use a light escape read, and the #ReadWithMC community agrees Sara Desai's The is just that. The romance novel follows Daisy and Liam who, after unexpectedly running into each other 10 years after their last encounter, plot a fake engagement à la Bridgerton to appease their own interests. Some characters are included from Desai's previous novel, The Marriage Game, but you don't have to read it to understand this story. Though readers had mixed reviews about the book, overall they appreciated the South Asian representation in the characters, the interracial relationships, and the ability to forget about reality for a bit. As one reviewer noted, "I’m glad I have access to books now where South Asian characters aren’t ashamed of their background and their families aren’t a burden to them. I loved that Daisy loved her family and that even though she would be frustrated with how overbearing they could be, she still wanted to respect them. I am always, always, always here for some joy." "When a book combines two tropes that I enjoy, fake dating and enemies to lovers, it is definitely one I can't wait to read! Daisy was a favorite character of mine from The Marriage Game, so I was excited that Sara Desai was giving us a book that focused on her. I really enjoyed this book and I loved that you get to catch up with Layla, Sam, and other characters we met in The Marriage Game. Daisy and Liam's fake relationship was both funny and emotional. Ten years prior when Daisy was in high school, she was in love with Liam, her older brother's best friend, but after he stood her up on prom night, she hasn't seen him since. Daisy was justified in having her walls up around Liam when he resurfaced in her life and once the reason behind Liam's abrupt departure was explained, I liked how slowly Daisy started to learn to trust him again. I felt for both characters there was tremendous growth throughout the book since they both had family and career drama to deal with. This book can be read as a standalone, since you are caught up with what happens in The Marriage Game, but I highly recommend reading that book as well. What is a and Why do I need one? The first time I heard about the concept of a , I was completely baffled. I need a plan to date?

Don’t people just start doing it?

As Nike says, just do it. Why you need a : stop feeling like dating = failure. The process of creating a produced one of the most important shifts in my dating life. I realized that my primary goal of dating wasn’t necessarily to get married or some other kind of “end goal” that society had taught me was the prize worth winning, but rather my primary goal in dating was to learn more about myself in relationships with other people. Now regardless of the outcome of any singular date or string of dates, I can meet that goal of learning something about myself. Dating no longer feels like endless rounds of failing after I had a plan in place. Yes in the long term I still want to find a primary partnered relationship which may or may not have a legal marriage attached to it, but in the short term I want to enjoy my daily journey and focus on what I learn about myself. Why you need a : stay on track. I have found that if I am not intentional in approaching dating, then life can get messy really fast and I find myself in all sorts of situations I don’t want to be in. Before I had a plan in place, I hadn’t thought enough about what I wanted and didn’t want so I just kind of went along with things. I would go on a first date which might lead to a second or third date and before I knew it I was somehow “dating” someone I wasn’t all that fond of and didn’t know how to get out of. Like many people I have a hard time hurting people’s feelings and saying no and the longer things go on the harder that becomes. Or on the opposite end of the spectrum I would go on a “magical” first date and secretly be planning our matching rockers on the front porch of the old folks home together while completely missing the clues that the other person wasn’t all that into me. Having a plan that outlines all the stages of dating helps me be intentional and aware. What a is NOT. First let’s go over what a dating is not. A is NOT an unreasonable list of fantasy expectations you dream your future partner will fix in your life. That NEVER works. If your life needs major fixing, consider that you might not be ready to date. Focus on yourself first until you are ready to give in equal measure to a relationship. A is also NOT a rigid list of perfect check boxes you must tick off. Perfection has no place in dating and will set you up for heartbreak every time. There is no magic recipe to follow in dating to create a healthy relationship. What a IS. A is simply a set of guidelines about how you want to act while dating. The first step in a is to define the stages of dating for YOURSELF. This is a highly personal step as your goals and values around dating and relationships are unique to you. However you define these stages for yourself, in a broad sense the stages can generally be broken down into 4 to 5 stages: 1) initial interest/attraction 2) getting to know one another/casual dating 3) exclusive dating and then 4/5) cohabitation and planning for the future. The next step in the s is to lay out what behaviors are acceptable to you or not acceptable in these stages of a dating relationship. Check out our next article “How to create a ” for more information on the details. A 10-Step Plan for Dating with Purpose. Many people date unconsciously, content to enter a relationship with whoever comes along or shows interest. That’s certainly one approach, but it’s not likely to produce the lasting, loving relationship you dream of. When you are dating with purpose, you approach finding love from a higher consciousness. You define the qualities of your ideal partner and create an action plan to find that person. Dating to find love requires strategy, preparation and goal setting, to get the results you want. For some singles, this sounds too contrived. You expect to find love naturally, through your everyday life. That might work in your 20s, but if you’re over 30 the likelihood of your ideal mate magically showing up is minuscule. Knowing this, if you’re done with leaving your love life up to chance, dating with purpose is the way to go. 1. Get Serious. This first step is the biggest one. You are moving from lackadaisical dating to becoming serious about finding love. Part of this process is to make sure you believe your efforts will be rewarded; otherwise you might not feel motivated to follow through on the next nine steps. Believe love is possible for you – because IT IS. 2. Learn About Yourself. The journey to find love is one of self-discovery. You’ll learn about what works for you and what doesn’t. Sometimes people think they know what they want, but then discover it doesn’t work out. That’s why, even if you‘ve been married or in relationships, you might not have the self-awareness you need without taking this conscious step to learn from your mistakes. 3. Let Go of the Past. To make room for new love you must let go of the past. It’s time to clean house in your heart and mind. You need to forgive and forget before you can move on and attract a healthy relationship. Skipping this step could mean you repeatedly attract the same kind of person and replay the same mistakes. You can work with a therapist, visit a healer, use flower remedies, or employ a combination of several methods to clear the way. 4. Define Your Ideal Mate. I believe in making a list of qualities for your ideal mate. You won’t get everything on the list, but it’s so much better than not knowing what you want in a partner. This is wonderful for manifesting love, which I’ll explain in Step 5. One word of caution: I have seen people use their list as a way to disqualify nearly every person they meet. The point is to clarify who you are seeking so you’ll know when you find him or her, not to use it to keep yourself single. 5. Apply the Law of Attraction. If you haven’t heard of the Law of Attraction, the idea is that “Like attracts like.” That means if you want a successful, upbeat, social person, that’s who you need to be as well. Next, imagine how it would feel to find the love you crave, the excitement and happiness. When you spend time in these good feelings, you create a beacon to attract that love into your life. This is one of the steps that kept me going during my 15 month journey to find the man I married. When I had a bad date, got rejected or sank into despair, I relied on the Law of Attraction to reset my energy. Feeling the energy of the love I wanted helped me hold strong to the inner knowing that I was meant to be in a loving relationship. It worked! 6. Make a Plan to Meet Singles. How do you meet new people?

If you are dating with purpose, you won’t rely solely on chance. Instead, make an action plan to meet singles. You plan can include online dating, speed dating, Meetup.com groups, blind dates or singles dances. You can also meet new people in general because everyone knows approximately 250 people and the bigger your circle, the more chances you have to meet someone new. Nearly 30% of all relationships start through people you know. I met my husband on a blind date after meeting his sister. 7. Go on Dates. Finally, it’s time to go on dates! Dating with purpose is a numbers game. The more dates you go on, the better your chances of finding a match. Plus, going on lots of dates builds confidence, hones your skills, and toughens your skin so you can roll with disappointment. The best cure for getting stood up or a bad date is to have another date lined up!

8. Adopt a Positive Mindset. To date with purpose, you want to be open, feel positive and learn how to handle rejection with grace. Set your expectations to reality and recognize you’ll have to kiss quite a few frogs to connect with “The One.” I recommend my clients adopt a mindset of ‘positive neutrality,’ which means when they meet someone they’re excited about, they remain calm and have a ‘wait and see’ outlook. This mindset can help you prevent premature attachment and the resulting heartbreak before you really know if the person you’re dating is right for you. 9. Take the Pressure Off. If you are dating with purpose, you know the wisdom of taking the pressure off each date. Having lots of dates makes the outcome of one particular date less important. This is how you can relax and be yourself – your best self of course, because you only get one chance to make a good first impression. The more you take the pressure off, the more confidence you exude, which makes you that much more attractive. When I was looking for love, I stopped hoping each man would be The One and got comfortable simply getting to know the guys. I knew that if it wasn’t this man, it could be the next. This light-hearted outlook helped me stay emotionally balanced even when things didn’t work out. 10. Persevere. Dating isn’t easy, especially in midlife. What will make it more enjoyable is to stay positive and keep at it. Once in a while you may want to take a break. That’s perfectly fine, but don’t hide out for too long since it can become your new status which won’t help you find love. When dating with purpose, you know that the best solution is to continue dating until you find The One. Finding love is totally possible, whether you are looking for your first love or your third husband. People fall in love every day – it’s that common. There is no reason why you should think love has passed you by or there are no good men left or all women want rich men. These limiting thoughts are nothing more than excuses to avoid dating and the love you deserve. Date with purpose and before you know it, you’ll meet that one special person that will make all your romantic efforts totally worthwhile. I found love and married for the first time at 43.You can do it too. A 10-Step Plan for Dating with Purpose. Many people date unconsciously, content to enter a relationship with whoever comes along or shows interest. That’s certainly one approach, but it’s not likely to produce the lasting, loving relationship you dream of. When you are dating with purpose, you approach finding love from a higher consciousness. You define the qualities of your ideal partner and create an action plan to find that person. Dating to find love requires strategy, preparation and goal setting, to get the results you want. For some singles, this sounds too contrived. You expect to find love naturally, through your everyday life. That might work in your 20s, but if you’re over 30 the likelihood of your ideal mate magically showing up is minuscule. Knowing this, if you’re done with leaving your love life up to chance, dating with purpose is the way to go. 1. Get Serious. This first step is the biggest one. You are moving from lackadaisical dating to becoming serious about finding love. Part of this process is to make sure you believe your efforts will be rewarded; otherwise you might not feel motivated to follow through on the next nine steps. Believe love is possible for you – because IT IS. 2. Learn About Yourself. The journey to find love is one of self-discovery. You’ll learn about what works for you and what doesn’t. Sometimes people think they know what they want, but then discover it doesn’t work out. That’s why, even if you‘ve been married or in relationships, you might not have the self-awareness you need without taking this conscious step to learn from your mistakes. 3. Let Go of the Past. To make room for new love you must let go of the past. It’s time to clean house in your heart and mind. You need to forgive and forget before you can move on and attract a healthy relationship. Skipping this step could mean you repeatedly attract the same kind of person and replay the same mistakes. You can work with a therapist, visit a healer, use flower remedies, or employ a combination of several methods to clear the way. 4. Define Your Ideal Mate. I believe in making a list of qualities for your ideal mate. You won’t get everything on the list, but it’s so much better than not knowing what you want in a partner. This is wonderful for manifesting love, which I’ll explain in Step 5. One word of caution: I have seen people use their list as a way to disqualify nearly every person they meet. The point is to clarify who you are seeking so you’ll know when you find him or her, not to use it to keep yourself single. 5. Apply the Law of Attraction. If you haven’t heard of the Law of Attraction, the idea is that “Like attracts like.” That means if you want a successful, upbeat, social person, that’s who you need to be as well. Next, imagine how it would feel to find the love you crave, the excitement and happiness. When you spend time in these good feelings, you create a beacon to attract that love into your life. This is one of the steps that kept me going during my 15 month journey to find the man I married. When I had a bad date, got rejected or sank into despair, I relied on the Law of Attraction to reset my energy. Feeling the energy of the love I wanted helped me hold strong to the inner knowing that I was meant to be in a loving relationship. It worked! 8. Adopt a Positive Mindset. To date with purpose, you want to be open, feel positive and learn how to handle rejection with grace. Set your expectations to reality and recognize you’ll have to kiss quite a few frogs to connect with “The One.” I recommend my clients adopt a mindset of ‘positive neutrality,’ which means when they meet someone they’re excited about, they remain calm and have a ‘wait and see’ outlook. This mindset can help you prevent premature attachment and the resulting heartbreak before you really know if the person you’re dating is right for you. 9. Take the Pressure Off. If you are dating with purpose, you know the wisdom of taking the pressure off each date. Having lots of dates makes the outcome of one particular date less important. This is how you can relax and be yourself – your best self of course, because you only get one chance to make a good first impression. The more you take the pressure off, the more confidence you exude, which makes you that much more attractive. When I was looking for love, I stopped hoping each man would be The One and got comfortable simply getting to know the guys. I knew that if it wasn’t this man, it could be the next. This light-hearted outlook helped me stay emotionally balanced even when things didn’t work out. 10. Persevere. Dating isn’t easy, especially in midlife. What will make it more enjoyable is to stay positive and keep at it. Once in a while you may want to take a break. That’s perfectly fine, but don’t hide out for too long since it can become your new status which won’t help you find love. When dating with purpose, you know that the best solution is to continue dating until you find The One. Finding love is totally possible, whether you are looking for your first love or your third husband. People fall in love every day – it’s that common. There is no reason why you should think love has passed you by or there are no good men left or all women want rich men. These limiting thoughts are nothing more than excuses to avoid dating and the love you deserve. Date with purpose and before you know it, you’ll meet that one special person that will make all your romantic efforts totally worthwhile. I found love and married for the first time at 43.You can do it too. Looking for a Light Escape?

Read'The ' These days, we could all use a light escape read, and the #ReadWithMC community agrees Sara Desai's The is just that. The romance novel follows Daisy and Liam who, after unexpectedly running into each other 10 years after their last encounter, plot a fake engagement à la Bridgerton to appease their own interests. Some characters are included from Desai's previous novel, The Marriage Game, but you don't have to read it to understand this story. Though readers had mixed reviews about the book, overall they appreciated the South Asian representation in the characters, the interracial relationships, and the ability to forget about reality for a bit. As one reviewer noted,"I’m glad I have access to books now where South Asian characters aren’t ashamed of their background and their families aren’t a burden to them. I loved that Daisy loved her family and that even though she would be frustrated with how overbearing they could be, she still wanted to respect them. I am always, always, always here for some joy." "When a book combines two tropes that I enjoy, fake dating and enemies to lovers, it is definitely one I can't wait to read! Daisy was a favorite character of mine from The Marriage Game, so I was excited that Sara Desai was giving us a book that focused on her. I really enjoyed this book and I loved that you get to catch up with Layla, Sam, and other characters we met in The Marriage Game. Daisy and Liam's fake relationship was both funny and emotional. Ten years prior when Daisy was in high school, she was in love with Liam, her older brother's best friend, but after he stood her up on prom night, she hasn't seen him since. Daisy was justified in having her walls up around Liam when he resurfaced in her life and once the reason behind Liam's abrupt departure was explained, I liked how slowly Daisy started to learn to trust him again. I felt for both characters there was tremendous growth throughout the book since they both had family and career drama to deal with. This book can be read as a standalone, since you are caught up with what happens in The Marriage Game, but I highly recommend reading that book as well. " The follows the story of Daisy and Liam, who become fake fiancees to help Daisy get her matchmaking relatives off her back and Liam fulfill the terms of his late grandfather's will. C:'I loved this one so much!

Daisy and Liam's relationship was totally believable to me and I loved how Desai weaved their families into the story as well. It also was super fun reading a book that took place in SF!' E:'This enemies to lovers romantic comedy was a great beach read and had me laughing out loud throughout!

I loved Daisy's character—she was so. —and like that it took place in the Bay Area and that Daisy and Liam both worked in the Silicon Valley world!

I also really enjoyed both of the family's dynamics.'" —@canwegoreadnow. When we have a Tortured Hero who’s also The Older Brother’s Best Friend, we’re in for a good time. Marriage of convenience isn’t a trope I really gravitate towards, but the enemies to lovers and fake dating in this drew me in. I also read this the weekend after January 6th and it was a perfect and necessary escape from gestures wildly. For me, reading about characters that look like I do means everything. Growing up, I read a grand total of three books with South Asian main characters and they were either about the immigrant experience or about first gen kids who wanted to fit in (which in these cases meant be white). Those are absolutely valid stories, but I love to see myself represented in things like romcoms. I’m glad I have access to books now where South Asian characters aren’t ashamed of their background and their families aren’t a burden to them. I loved that Daisy loved her family and that even though she would be frustrated with how overbearing they could be, she still wanted to respect them. I am always, always, always here for some joy." —@tothineshelfbetrue. "The story opens with drama and I love it!

Imagine running into the ladies room only to find your ex with your former boss hooking up behind one of the bathroom stalls. Then the pad machine malfunctions and starts making noise, spitting out pads. So you grab the pads and run out as your former boss asks if someone is there. Then you come out of the restroom, only to find your match making auntie'in the neighborhood' and wants you to meet a potential husband. Then you nearly fall and the man of your dreams (who also broke your heart 10 years back) breaks your fall!

This is how chapter 1 opens! The book starts right away with humor and a fast paced, but realistic storyline. I am so infatuated with love stories that involve people having a friendship or knowing each other from grade school. There is so much history and understanding between the main character Daisy Patel and her high school crush Liam Murphy, who is also her brother Sanjay’s old best friend. Although a story like this is unlikely to ever happen in real life, many of the events that took place in the beginning were surprisingly realistic (for me anyways). I like that Daisy and Liam get to know each other again and open up about things from the past, contributing to their commitment issues. "Daisy is a software engineer with no interest in love but wants to keep her meddling family off her back. After stumbling into her old crush Liam, the two agree to be fake engaged so he can secure his inheritance and help keep her matchmaking relatives away. This was a cute and sweet romance and it had me hooked with its fake dating storyline. It's a bit cheesy, but there's also fun banter and it'll leave you feeling good. I liked the STEM representation in Daisy's career, and enjoyed seeing the closeness of her Indian family and their traditions. Some of the character stereotypes and family drama felt a bit over the top, and Liam and Daisy's arguments seemed to both escalate and de-escalate very quickly. Overall it's a fun, quick-read romance, but not particularly memorable." —@whatstephisreading. "First book finished of the year was #thedatingplan by @saradesaiwrites. Honestly, I fell in love with the characters in this book. I want to read her first book now. This was a sweet and spicy romance that made you want more after it ended. The characters were well thought out, it discussed challenges of interracial relationships, and how family choices impact us in big and small ways." —@blackbookishbabe89. "A fake relationship trope?

Say no more. I was on board with The the moment I saw it as an early release @bookofthemonth choice. Liam Murphy was Daisy Patel’s childhood crush and brother’s best friend, who became part of the Patel family, but when he stood her up as her prom date he became her enemy. Years later, the two run into each other at a business conference and a fake engagement for mutual benefit and convenience is formed. I sooo enjoyed Sara Desai’s writing style, and the storyline between the two love interests began immediately, so I was hooked from page one. I found this book really cute!

It was light, had lots of humor, and was the perfect combo of rom-com and steam. As an employee at a dress company, I loved how the author highlighted Daisy’s dresses and shoes (just a small tidbit I noticed and appreciated). Of course there were some super corny parts (and I am getting worn of the'I’m not like other girls' main character), but I thought Daisy was likable and it was really refreshing to read about a character with a strong identity tied to her culture and family that was weaved into the story!

I caught myself smiling at the pages more than once and could totally see this as a movie. Finally, when I finished this book, I realized that Sara Desai’s first book, The Marriage Game, takes place in this same'world' and Daisy’s cousin Layla was the main character of that book featuring her own love story!

It does not affect how this book reads though, so I am definitely going to backtrack and pick that one up too!" —@read_instyle. "I really wanted to like this book!

Especially because I love the fake dating trope, and this one has an Indian-American protagonist!

There were lots of inaccuracies when it came to the cultural representation, and it felt like the author cherry picked food, language, and customs from all over India and blended them together into one weird generalized character and a weird generalized family that both felt like caricatures. It felt like this was written for a non-Desi audience and had tons of tropes. It felt like there were lots of opportunities for the author to do some additional research and that wasn't done. Additionally, Daisy, the main character, feels a bit like a'pick me' girl, who frequently asserts that she's nerdy and not like the others—which isn't something that makes her particularly likeable or relatable. The book has its sweet moments, and the fake dating trope itself is fun, but overall isn't something I'd recommend to others or want to re-read." —@bhavanareadsbooks. "I honestly had mixed feelings about this book. Ten years ago Daisy’s childhood crush, older brother's best friend, and basically her dads second son ditched her on prom night breaking her heart and then went rogue not only abandoning her, but her entire family too. So she’s in for a real shock when she bumps into THE Liam Murphy at a tech conference. Now that they’ve reconnected they’ve realized they can use each other for their own personal gain, Daisy can use his connections to save her company and finally get the marriage-obsessed aunties off his back, and Liam can use to get his inheritance from his late grandfather who left him his distillery, but only if he’s married. So they enter a fake relationship to have a real marriage of convenience, but they soon realize that maybe this isn’t just about practicality. So on one hand this book was entertaining enough and fun escapism with desi rep which is all great, on the other hand the writing wasn't that great and the characters were kinda dumb and the dialogue was way too on the nose. It started out strong, but my interest waned as it progressed. Also if you’re fake engaged and trying to convince everyone that it’s real, why would you tell literally every single person you talk to that it’s just fake?? Also at first I was like really you’re still not over your prom date?? But now I realize that they had more history than that. I really liked some parts, but some parts were so cheesy or just cringey. It’s one of those books that can be good as long as you don’t think too hard about it. To balance it out I’d give it 3/5 stars which isn’t bad, but not amazing." —@riasbookstagram. "This book was such a fun read! I loved the enemies to lovers trope, how it's set in San Francisco, and how the main characters worked in jobs that I don’t typically see represented in books. Desai brought Indian culture into this book so well and I couldn’t help but chuckle at all the scenes with Daisy’s nosy but well-meaning aunties. This book also had a big emphasis on the importance of family and the power of forgiveness both towards others and yourself, which I found heartwarming. I did wish that it was a bit less predictable, but it is a romcom after all. 😂 I’d recommend this book if you’re looking for a cute and lighthearted read with likable characters!" —@one.sitting. Daisy Patel is a software engineer who runs into her brother’s ex-best friend who broke her heart 10 years ago. During their reunion at a conference, they fake-kiss and tell her pestering aunties that they’re engaged. The follows them through this fake engagement. Let’s start with the bad news first—this book plays so heavily into stereotypes. It’s all i could think about as I read. Of COURSE the software engineer is anti-social, loves the marvel universe, and is super organized and quirky. And of COURSE the'bad boy' drives a motorcycle and has a short temper paired with a traumatic past. I understand sometimes stereotypes are a bit unavoidable, but this one was chock-full of them. There were also a LOT of events in the book that just felt dramatic or downright unrealistic. I know it’s fiction, but I like to walk that fine line in romances to where something like this MIGHT happen to someone, you know?

On the other hand, I LOVED the representation in this book—I feel like software engineers and venture capitalists aren’t usually the type of characters we usually see in books to begin with, and I loved that Daisy was a woman of color. Reading about her family and her culture added to the reading experience for sure. I also really enjoyed the themes that were explored in this novel. From exploring the effects of childhood trauma, to how your career should (and shouldn’t) dominate your life, and the importance of accepting yourself and your worth, I think there was a lot of good stuff packed into this one. THE . Daisy Patel has a particular way of doing things as a self-described "neurotic software engineer." With her life in chaos after she catches her boyfriend cheating and learns that her company is in dire financial straits, Daisy can't take any more of her parents' romantic meddling. Liam Murphy has returned to San Francisco to mourn his grandfather and take over the family distillery, but there's a catch with his inheritance: He needs to get married. Though Liam is a friend of her brother's and her former high school crush, Daisy isn't exactly thrilled about their reunion, considering that he stood her up on prom night a decade earlier. However, a spark of lingering attraction motivates the pair to form a mutually beneficial agreement: They'll pretend to date and then marry out of convenience. Daisy's family is fond of Liam, and it'd give her some freedom from their pressure to settle down, and Liam will finally have the power to make some much-needed changes to the distillery. Given Daisy's love of detail and organization, she concocts a for the two of them, though sticking to the rules proves to be hard when pretending feels a lot like the real thing. Pop-culture nerds may appreciate Daisy's love for Marvel movies, as she often wears clothing emblazoned with the Avengers, but her obsession with Liam's prom-night gaffe makes this detail feel infantilizing rather than an unabashed example of fandom love. The weak conflict of a disappointing prom night feels unnecessary in the face of other obstacles Daisy and Liam may have to contend with as fake partners approaching a modern marriage of convenience. RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE. Alex Claremont-Diaz, son of the American President Ellen Claremont, knows one thing for sure: He hates Henry, the British prince to whom he is always compared. He lives for their verbal sparring matches, but when one of their fights at a royal wedding goes a bit too far, they end up falling into a wedding cake and making tabloid headlines. An international scandal could ruin Alex’s mother’s chances for re-election, so it’s time for damage control. The plan? Alex and Henry must pretend to be best friends, giving the tabloids pictures of their bromance and neutralizing the threat to Ellen's presidency. But after a few photo ops with Henry, Alex starts to realize that the passionate anger he feels toward him might be a cover for regular old passion. There are, naturally, a million roadblocks between their first kiss and their happily-ever-after—how can American political royalty and actual British royalty ever be together? How can they navigate being open about their sexualities (Alex is bisexual; Henry is gay) in their very public and very scrutinized roles?

Alex and Henry must decide if they’ll risk their futures, their families, and their careers to take a chance on happiness. Although the story’s premise might be a fantasy—it takes place in a world in which a divorced-mom Texan Democrat won the 2016 election—the emotions are all real. The love affair between Alex and Henry is intense and romantic, made all the more so by the inclusion of their poetic emails that manage to be both funny and steamy. McQuiston’s strength is in dialogue; her characters speak in hilarious rapid-fire bursts with plenty of “likes,” “ums,” creative punctuation, and pop-culture references, sounding like smarter, funnier versions of real people. Although Alex and Henry’s relationship is the heart of the story, their friends and family members are all rich, well-drawn characters, and their respective worlds feel both realistic and larger-than-life.

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