‘Thank You, Next’ – written by Kathryn Freeman #BookReview @KathrynFreeman1 @rararesources

When a reality show matches you with not the man you want, but the man that broke you…

Synopsis

In this game of hearts, the stakes have never been higher…

Molly Harris is used to being left. Parents, boyfriends – she’s the queen of rejection. Her latest boyfriend, gym-fanatic Duncan, dumps her to go on reality dating show The One which sets up hot singletons to date for four weeks before meeting at the altar to say, ‘I do’.

But Duncan was the one who picked Molly up and put her back together the last time her heart got broken, so, determined not to let ‘The One’ get away, she follows Duncan onto the show. If she can prove that they’re meant to be, she might just get the happily ever after of her dreams…

But on the first day of filming, another reminder of her painful history walks into Happily Ever After Towers: Ben Knight, her it’s-not-you-it’s-me heartbreaker. The one she loved before Duncan.

In four weeks’ time, who will she meet at the altar? Duncan, the first person who ever made her feel loved, or Ben, the first person who made her feel?

My review

Molly Harris is deeply in love with her boyfriend Duncan. He is the one that helped her to get over her last heartbreak. She for sure can envision their future together, but is left flabbergasted when Duncan breaks up with her instead. Not because he doesn’t love her, but because he has the opportunity of a lifetime to participate on a reality dating show. And obviously being on television is the perfect way to boost his ego and his own brand.Not wanting to lose Duncan, even if their break – up is temporarily, Molly decides to take part in the same reality show. But instead of being matched to Duncan, she is matched with Ben, the man that broke her heart previously.With the grand finale of the show being to get married to The One, Molly now has to decide where her future lays. With the man that mended her heart and made her feel loved, or with the man that broke her heart but made her feel?

Reality dating shows are absolutely my guilty pleasure. And as the Dutch versions of Married at First Dates, First Dates etc are rather ‘tame’, I watch the UK and Australian versions for more popcorn – moments.

So having an author that I love, writing a book where such show is taking centre stage, of course I have to read it!

Now, I have to say that at the start of the story Molly rather clingy. It felt like Molly would do anything to not lose Duncan, even changing her eating habits and do more work – outs. If you want to do such things for yourself, absolutely no problem, but for a man? No, a man that truly loves you, accepts you just the way you are.

But the better I got to know Molly, the more I started to understand her and her fear of being abandoned. Her background is a sad one, especially learning how devastated she was after Ben broke her heart in an unexpected and terrible way, using the cliché of ‘it’s not you, it’s me’.

While I comprehended her a little bit better the more the story evolved, I couldn’t agree wit her choice of participating too on the reality show. If a man dismisses you so easily, is he truly the man for you?

On top of that, I truly didn’t like Duncan… not only because he wanted to change Molly into the perfect woman for him, but also because what kind of man breaks up with the woman he claims to love for the sake of fame and fortune???

And his behaviour for sure doesn’t get any better during the show, on the contrary! I felt like he was betting on two horses at the same time. I couldn’t understand what Molly could possibly see in a man like that!

But of course, Ben doesn’t make the best first impression either! He just participates on the show doing a favour to his sister, who actually works on the show.

It’s clear from the start that he is carrying around a big burden, a heavy weight on his shoulders. He has been burnt by love in the past, and he has been through a rather though time. And that made him just push love away.

And with the revelations of his hurt past, made me understand him so much better. While I still don’t agree with some of his choices back then, I could see where he was coming from. And it was understandable why he broke Molly’s heart, because it really wasn’t Molly, it was him.

Obviously, as a bystander it was just hilarious to see how Molly and Ben are being matched, despite Molly’s attempts to be matched with Duncan.

But as a reader, we know both sides of their story, and I just couldn’t wait to have all the cards on the table.

It’s clear that there is still something between Molly and Ben, but in their time apart, they also have moved on in a way. But we also see that they are also both still afraid to try to understand what their hearts are trying to tell them.

I for sure had several laughs while reading. The challenges were hilarious, the rivalry was palpable but there was also room for connections, not only between the matches but between the contestants too.

In this story we see how the past can affect someone. How it can make you scared of meeting someone, or scared of losing someone. We also see how we have to decipher what we truly feel and what the right kind of love feels like. Is it to love because we feel loved? Or is it love because we

*feel – feel*? It’s not easy to understand our own feelings, and giving in to those feelings can be scary.

But for the right person, it’s only right to be courageous. And that courage will only be more rewarding afterwards!

It was a truly delightful story to read, with so many hilarious bits, but with many heartfelt moments too! this for sure is an author that never disappoints!