2 out of 5 Stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Wild Lime Books for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Marissa Jones and her friends have made a pact. To have their LAST first date and to find “The One”. It started out as a bit of a joke, but when it works for 2 of her friends, it’s not so much of a joking matter.

Then Marissa notices that her ex-boyfriend of 7 years is engaged. The love of her life. The one she waited for who had left her bereft and broken hearted. Now, that last first date is looking pretty good!

Three men, one day and one will be her last First Date. But, who will be the lucky man??

Excerpt

“What’s stopping you?”he asked, punctuating my thoughts.

“Singing in the shower? I already do that!”

“No,”he said with a chuckle, “what’s stopping you pursuing singing, like say, for an audience?”

Me, was the simple answer. I hadn’t always been the slim, confident woman I was today. No way, José. Not too many years ago, guys like Nash and Coleman and Blaze wouldn’t have given me a second glance. I was shy, totally lacking in confidence, and I was a little on the plump side of the equation. Heck, who was I kidding? I was F. A. T. fat. And I hated it. Some women embraced their size, loving their curves. Like Bailey. She was curvy and looked like some sort of Italian screen goddess from the fifties. Not me. I had been a major comfort eater, and every time I looked in the mirror, I wanted to slap my chubby face. Hard.

Then, once I’d graduated high school and was studying at college, I decided it was time I changed—no one was going to do it for me. I didn’t want to spend my life hating what I saw. So, I got into running and I cleaned up my diet. There was no overnight, miraculous change, no “big reveal.”It was gradual, my mindset about myself changing slowly as my body became stronger, healthier. I began to like what I saw when I looked in the mirror.

But, to this day, I still knew, deep inside of me, that shy, overweight, unhappy girl lay dormant, ready to rear her head.

Rather than delving into my most private of thoughts about myself, in response to Nash’s question about what was stopping me, I simply shrugged and said, “I don’t know.”

“Then there’s nothing standing in your way, right?”

Ah, if only it were that easy.

First thing I will say is that this is the third book in the “Cozy Cottage” Series and I have not read the other two books. Somehow, I don’t think that this would change my rating for this book. But, Marissa’s friends seemed far more likeable and level headed, so I may have enjoyed THOSE two. I will also say that this book has received very good feedback on Goodreads… so, maybe it’s just me! I suppose you’ll have to read it yourself to find out!

I just couldn’t do this book. I finished it, because I can’t review a book that I haven’t finished. But, I didn’t really want to. The main character was SO unlikable! All she does is complain about other people and freak out over everything. Especially as someone who grew up overweight with low self-esteem, she just came off somewhat picky and judgemental.

I understand that she’s supposed to be commitment phobic, and that’s supposed to make her “quirky” but, she breaks up with people because “they have a pimple on their nose”, because “their dog licks their face”, etc. The most ridiculous of reasons. She’s whiny, she doesn’t really think of others, she treats these men who are going on these dates with her like they should know how privileged they are for being the chosen ones to go out on this “Last First Date” with her when all I could think was “… These poor guys. They could run… But, they’re not doing that. I feel sorry for whoever gets stuck with her!”

She also doesn’t seem to have any remorse for leading these guys on. I mean, they take her to nice places and plan this stuff for her and she doesn’t even bother to reach for her wallet or something when she knows she’s going to run off on them! If you’re going to be a jerk, you can at least pay for your meal yourself!

All I could picture is her strapping these guys to a big wheel like “The Price is Right” or “Wheel of Fortune” and spinning them, throwing darts to try to pick which will be “lucky” enough to be with her.

The guys were written pretty well. The attractive, level-headed, but artistic mortician Coleman, the cute, outdoorsy dog rescuer, Nash, and the sexy (but maybe not the brightest) body builder, Blaze. But, I just couldn’t get behind any of it.

Three Last First Dates is Best Served With

A Chilled Glass of Chardonnay

I went with a nice 2011 Chardonnay from one of my local wineries “Ravine Winery” of which I am a wine club member. Their wine’s are fantastic and they have a beautiful rustic restaurant with “Farm to Table” style food made from local products.