Can an intervention help a reclusive introvert?

Synopsis

Is true love just a few dates away … or even closer than you think?

Tom has always been a hopeless romantic: but now he’s just hopeless. After lockdown in particular made the millennial a reclusive introvert, it was finally time to get back ‘out there’ – at least according to his best friends Adam, Allison and sister Sarah.

As the group sets up ten miracle dates to rejuvenate Tom’s love life, he soon realises how difficult the dating scene has become, along with juggling his Shakespearean-themed café on the side and a hobby of romantic mixtape making.

As the dates continue to turn into disasters, an old flame keeps reappearing in Tom’s sight – along with bittersweet memories. Fearing it may be too little too late, Tom must decide whether he can date his way to happiness, or find his true match was under his nose the whole time…

My review

Right before the pandemic lockdown, Tom messed up big time with the woman he loves. And the lockdown didn’t help at all, as it turned Tom into a complete reclusive introvert.
His best friends Adam and Alisson, together with his sister Sarah, decide it’s time for an intervention. They set up 10 dates, to make Tom get out there again. Tom has no other choice than go along with their plans. But dating has changed a lot, and where some dates go rather well, some end in total disaster…
Will Tom find through these dates his happiness again?  

In real life, a lot has changed due the pandemic. And now that everything is somehow back to normal, we all realize that the pandemic somehow changed us, even for those who were spared from it.
I see this also with myself… hugging and kissing people are things I still somehow avoid (thank God no more kissing for Christmas or New Year!). And I never was someone who went out each weekend and the lockdown made me enjoy the staying at home part even more. 

That made me understand Tom so well as I felt the same things he felt and is still feeling. But I also felt a bit sad for him, because right before lockdown he screwed up big time and hasn’t been able to come clean about his real feelings, losing one of his best friends because of it.
So reading how his other best friends come up with this intervention, made me glad, because they do have Tom’s best interest at heart, and they want to see him happy again. 

Of course, if all the dates would go without a hiccup, this book would lose a lot of its charm. But thanks to these hiccups, disasters and even dates that go rather well, Tom starts to see and understand that he has to move on.
And seeing Tom getting out of his shell, initially still screwing up a bit yet slowly gaining back his self-confidence, was heart – warming and also somehow eye – opening as it’s easy to wallow yourself in self-pity and loneliness, but by putting yourself on the line, you understand yourself better and you see things you didn’t before. 

I have to also add that seeing Tom on these dates, made me laugh out loud at moments. There were many sweet moments between Tom and his friends and sister, and even the most terrible dates put a sadistic smile on my face.  

Now… while I found it sweet how Tom’s friends intervene and plan these dates, I was absolutely shocked and a bit disgusted when the truth came out. I got so angry, felt betrayed and heart – broken at the same time when I realized that one character didn’t act out on the kindness of their heart, but pure for a selfish reason.
Just like Tom, I just couldn’t forgive that person, as it put their friends also in an awkward situation for keeping it a secret for so long. And getting to know how long the ‘thing’ was going on, even getting to the next step, made my blood boil, making me put the book away for a moment. 

I liked how the author again managed to add the importance of music in this book too, with the help of the old – fashioned mixed tapes. And even a small cameo of characters from his previous book was a nice addition, but it’s not a great deal if you wouldn’t recognize them. 

This book shows us that even the most introvert person can manage to get out of his shell. And that it’s never to late to make up for made mistakes. It’s never too late or wrong to tell someone what your feelings are.
While that big twist almost let me like this book a bit lesser, in the end, after digesting everything I had read, I just couldn’t.
Because even after everything Tom has been through, losing not only a few friends, but also himself, he still found the courage and strength to take his shot at happiness.
And that hopeful message, that anyone can get that shot, makes up of the bit I truly didn’t like and made me see that one ugly event doesn’t take away the beauty a whole story contains. And the author already got forgiven for it with his ending!