REVIEW: "Sorry Not Sorry" by Sophie Ranald
When I was a new adult, Bridget Jones was my role model. This is surprising for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that, at her core, Bridget is a bumbling, neurotic woman with a deficit of self-confidence and an abundance of clumsiness.
Another reason that this admiration was odd pertains purely to the timing. The first movie in what would, at this point, be a trio of films, came out when I was a senior in high school. I shouldn’t have yet been old enough or world-worn enough to empathize with Bridget’s disillusionment and despair.
At the time, I was terribly inexperienced in the world of dating and had no real love life of which to speak. This makes it even more surprising that, without really sampling the merchandise, I had already decided that men sucked and weren’t even worth your time.
Despite my admiration for her, Bridget Jones and I have (almost) nothing in common. She's more bumbling and foolish, she smokes like a chimney, and she is way more likely to drop her knickers and shag her boss. Also, she drinks like a fish (in this way we are the same).
But now, 20 years later, I better understand what I loved about her: her willingness to be herself and her unwillingness to transform into who she thinks someone else wants her to be. Sure, she starts out trying to compromise to please others — to tone down her flaws and amplify her strengths as to make herself more palatable to those around her. But she ultimately, and truly very quickly, comes to realize the trying to be anyone but her true self simply isn't sustainable.
So, why am I talking about this? Because it is my continued appreciation — nay, undying love — for Bridget Jones that made Sorry Not Sorry by Sophie Renald — which is freshly out in paperback from Forever Books — the perfect novel for me.
Though the protagonist of this novel, Charlotte, a very capable assistant at a lucrative financial company, is considerably more competent than Bridget, she is pretty much equally as unlucky in love.
Making her inability to find a man to settle down with even more frustrating is that those around her seem to be having no trouble finding love.
As the book opens, Maddy and Henry, her housemates who have fallen in love with each other and stand poised to enjoy their coupled-up happily ever after, are moving out. This means change will be coming, whether Charlotte likes it or not. But instead of fighting against change as she so long has, she decides to embrace it, setting off on a journey of self-improvement.
Given that she’s been generally unsuccessful in solo-navigating her self-improvement attempts in the past, Charlotte seeks out a guide. And she finds one in the host of the podcast Sorry Not Sorry. While the series itself may be several years old, Charlotte latches onto, and acts upon, the advice, striving to get herself out of her comfort zone — because, obviously, there are no shag-worthy men in there.
Guided by the gutsy and wise host of Sorry Not Sorry, Charlotte starts crossing the self-imposed boundaries that she has always allowed to guide her actions.
Much to Charlotte’s delight and surprise, it seems to be working as, quite quickly, she finds an impossibly irresistible man to snuggle up with. But is he all he seems to be or will putting herself out there just result in the heartache she had so-long tried to avoid?
At the core of any good romance is a heroine that you can’t help but fall in love with. And Charlotte absolutely is this heroine. She is the type of woman most aspire to be. Beautiful in a realistic way. Successful, but not intimidatingly so. Self-confident on the surface, despite being a bundle of insecurities.
Because she is so real, readers will quickly become enamored with her and, by connection, invested in her success.
Adding to the appeal of this novel was the robust cast of secondary characters.
Ranald took time in this novel to develop these side characters, transforming them from forgettable accessories in the life of the main character into real, robust people in their own right — which is likely why this novel, at 350+ pages, was slightly lengthy by romance novel standards.
With Charlotte at the center and these secondary characters revolving around her, Renald built an engaging and exciting world into which readers will love to lose themselves.
Though there were a few twists and turns peppered throughout the novel, there was nothing groundbreaking. Ultimately, it was predictable, but there was a certain pleasure in its predictability. It was easy and light in a way that real-life so rarely is.
During my reading of this novel, I genuinely looked forward to each occasion on which I could set aside my real life and jump into Charlotte’s.
By the end, 37-year-old me felt much the same way about Charlotte as 18-year-old me did about Bridget Jones. I was obsessed with her.
An awesomely engaging read that will provide the escape you seek, Sorry Not Sorry earns 4 out of 5 cocktails.
So, I kind of feel like I’m missing the podcast boat. I hear people raving about them all the time, but I’ve never once listened to one. Are you a podcast devotee? If so, which ones do you love? Tell me about it in the comments, below.
I’m going to change directions with my next read. Want to see what I pick? Subscribe to updates in the sidebar on the right and follow me on Goodreads.
* Drink. Read. Repeat. is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. As an associate, we may earn commissions, at no cost to you, from qualifying purchases on Amazon.com
