When fifty something Jessica Gabriel finds herself heartbroken and single after failed marriage number two, her adult kids convince her to explore the tumultuous world of online dating. With a new haircut, gym membership, and a dating profile as a forty-nine-year-old, Jessica trudges through a pool of not-so-eligible bachelors-from a pothead who tells her weed makes sex better, to a much younger man who called her the name of another lover, to a dominant male with a penchant for clothespins.
Jessica’s new life comes with a new job, where she’s often left to do all of the work while her boss eats doughnuts and gossips with his three cronies. When her advice helps save her co-worker’s marriage, her hope in love is renewed.
Jessica’s journey is full of tears, laughter, and an astonishing amount of sex. With the love and support of her family and friends, she discovers that being alone doesn’t have to be lonely.
Genre: Fiction
Number of Pages: 318 pages
Date of Publication: 09/02/2021
Author/Illustrator/Publisher:
The author of this book is Cari Scribner who has been a journalist and a freelance feature writer for more than twenty years. A Girl Like You is Cari’s first novel.
Rating: 4/5
Review:
This book was a little departure from what I normally read but it is always nice to try something different where the main character was a 57-year-old women. The story focuses on Jessica who had two failed marriages and is struggling to ‘find the one’ and she doesn’t want to lose her chance to find it. The story takes place over the period of one year where we learn that she signed up for an online dating site where she meets really weird guys.
I loved Jessica’s relationship with her older children (21/24) and how all of them supported each other no matter what. They had such a great bond which felt so real and it fits the story nicely. They give each other dating advice and the way that they showed support for each other was really nice to read and also I loved how the writer managed to transmit these feeling into the scenes of the story. I also really liked how well thought out and described the (minor spoiler) loss of their beloved pet was and the grief that is suffered with so many emotions and was very real. Friendship and family play an important part in the story and at how these topics have a huge impact on the ending.
I did find some parts of the book a bit slow and others a bit cringey, there were lots of moments that it was obvious are meant to be embarrassing and awkward for some of the characters but this sometimes just felt like a bit much. I really liked the ending of the story but somehow I wish there had being a bit more development with Jessica’s life and character after the realisations she made as there were lots of great messages there.
This story contains mature content.
I really liked the book and I am glad I read it.
Availability: The book is available on Amazon
Shelf Life 
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