Release Date: Expected 1st July 2023
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Meet Esther. She’s happy – kind of. She loves her job and her friends, even if her flat is falling apart and she can never get her eyebrows to match. But honestly, she’d be a lot happier if she had someone to love. So when she and her friends find an old 90’s magazine, they flip through the pages for some good old-fashioned dating advice.
And then they come across something that almost feels written for her – an article explaining the seven men a woman will date before they find “the one.” They’re the first love, the work mistake, the FWB, the overlap, the missed change, the bastard, and the serious one. As they relive her dating history, it all comes together – this is a sign. So Esther decides it’s time to walk down memory lane and see if ‘the one’ could be one that got away…
“All my relationships, all the connections – real, stupid, intense, absurd, horrible, heart-breaking, illuminating, silly, sexy – they’re all there on the page.”
Agonisingly funny and relatable, this witty commentary on modern love and dating is refreshing and smart, but with plenty of heart. Lucy Vine isn’t afraid to get real. This book jumps into our innate human desire to love and be loved, but also tenderly explores the impact the people of our pasts can have on our present and even our futures. Whether that’s your friends, your regrets, or the ones you miss, this book will make you want to reflect on every person who has collectively shaped you and left a piece of themselves with you along the way.
Esther was a delight to behold – the very embodiment of a woman struggling to find her place in the world but staying hopeful it’s out there. She was brilliantly honest. She didn’t always make good choices, but she always had something good to say and a smile when you needed it. Her friends made me absolutely howl with just how familiar they felt to me, but in the best way. Bibi, the overqualified academic working in a pub, and Louise the struggling artist both felt like people I already knew and loved.
Fast-paced and so easy to read, this story lures you in with vivid and cringe-inducing nostalgia, bold characters, and a warm, personal writing style.
It’s wonderfully chaotic at times and definitely had a few moments where everything was absurdly ‘too much,’ but very much in a hot-mess kind of way that was still endearing and entertaining.
Right from the start, Esther bares her soul on the pages and admits things to us we all think sometimes about her insecurities and worries, her desires, and dreams. We jump back in time with her as she recalls the defining moments of her relationships with that strange clarity you can only get after leaving – and wondering what the hell you were doing.
A little bit rom-com, a little bit drunken conversation with a girlfriend, Seven Exes is a triumphantly fun time you don’t want to miss!
“We’re human beings, and we’re all a little bit of everything. So every relationship has its good and bad moments.”
Originally published at bethanys-bookshelf.blogspot.com – please note this review is based on a UK advanced reviewers copy of this book.
Photo by Lum3n
