Friday, January 16, 2015

"A Girl's Guide to the Birds and the Bees" by Sophie Hart

Sex therapist Annie Hall gets a lot of questions about her job- most of them along the lines of what you would expect. For the record, no she does not watch couples "getting it on" nor does she expect them to strip naked in front of her, but she does help couples who are experiencing roadblocks with their sex life move past them by figuring out what the real issue is behind the troubles in the bedroom. There are Nick and Julia, a young couple trying desperately for a baby and finding that sex has lost all appeal to them both. Will Annie be able to fix their relationship before its too late? There are Zoe and Simon, engaged to be married and unable to keep their hands off of one another. They've vowed to stay celibate until their wedding day. Will Annie be able to help them keep their promise to one another? Finally there is Roy and Linda, a couple at retirement age. Roy wants to retire and enjoy his golden years with his wife but she refuses to stop working. Will Annie be able to help them rediscover the magic that has been there all along?

As Annie begins to help these three couples work on their issues she finds herself falling for the handsome guy who works out of her building as well. Having been hurt in the past Annie is reluctant to open herself up to Jamie and to the potential of love. Will she be able to take some of her own advice and be successful in a relationship of her own?

If you're looking for an erotic novel, A Girl's Guide to the Birds and the Bees isn't it. But if you're looking for a fun and witty novel about love and relationships and romance, then you've found it! I enjoyed this clever novel. The character of Annie definitely ties everything together and makes A Girl's Guide... a pleasure to read. Her wisdom was sage and scarily accurate and when her own vulnerabilities to love are exposed she was even more likable. The supporting characters were great as well. I found myself especially enjoying Julia and Nick's story. Nick was so eager to please his wife, and you could tell how much he loved her and wanted to make her happy, but at the same time he was tired with the way things were between them and you could tell that he really wanted to fix their relationship. I couldn't help but like him!

The scenes when all of the characters were participating in group therapy were especially enlightening. I loved that the author managed to make those scenes feel natural instead of awkward and I even managed to pick up a relationship tip or two- a bonus! Sophie Hart definitely did her homework when it came to relationship counselling and it made the story feel all that more authentic.

I did find the scenes when Jamie (Annie's love interest) was explaining to her how to play a video game that he was designing a little tedious. I didn't think that it was necessary to the plot to know exactly how it worked and what the levels were like. I found myself skimming through those parts, though thankfully I believe that it only came up twice!

A Girl's Guide to the Birds and the Bees was a light, romantic read, perfect for curling up with on a lazy afternoon. The characters were all likable, some difficult things were touched on but the book never became too heavy, and the book was well-written and flowed nicely. If you're looking for an enjoyable read that feels like you're catching up with old friends and has a deliciously happy ending you've found it in A Girl's Guide to the Birds and the Bees. My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a review copy of this book!

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