10 Blind Dates

Sophie's parents are out of town tending to her very pregnant sister, who, much like the older sister in every YA contemporary, is named Margot. Sophie is staying behind, eager to spend the holidays with her boyfriend Griffin. That doesn't pan out, or why would there be ten blind dates?I wanted very badly to like this. But I didn't like the writing, or the plot, or the characters, so that didn't leave me with much.- Writing: There's a lot more telling than showing. The dialogue sounds less like how young people talk, and more like an adult author trying to channel how young people talk.- Plot: All romances are somewhat predictable. We catch on before the characters understand they're meant to be. But the pacing is strange here. Mr. Right is made painfully obvious from the beginning, but the author builds tension by keeping Laurel and Wes together until almost the end of the book. Laurel could. not. care. less. She would have dumped Wes months ago. Why insist that both Sophie and Wes be barely out of a relationship? I don't get it. While we're behind the curtain, I also object to the surprisingly heavy Margot subplot. Sophie was often panicked about her sister and niece, abandoning ship *twice* to check on them. Aside from being unexpectedly dark, it doubles as a bizarre litmus test. A date's concern (or lack thereof) for Margot determines if he's a good guy, which...the bar is on the ground.- Characters: Sophie is very flat. Elston tries to give her more depth by having her two favorite cousins harp on the “old Sophie,” but there's no exposition until way too late, so what that means is anyone's guess. Even Sophie seems confused. When it's finally addressed, it still doesn't make sense, then is very quickly resolved. Despite this literal list of complaints, I can see why people like this. Many will find it funny and cute and fluffy. I just feel like it fails in every way [b:Foolish Hearts 33275690 Foolish Hearts Emma Mills https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1487081647l/33275690.SY75.jpg 53998283] succeeds. Merry Christmas?