Daring to Date Again

Daring to Date Again by Ann Anderson Evans   290 pages

Having just turned 60 myself and only married (this time) for almost five years, I was intrigued by the idea of Ann’s memoir. After 12 celibate years, she is ready for anything that will appease the hunger. To put it bluntly, she’s as horny as an 18-year-old boy

How does a woman of our age go about dating in the early years of the 21^st century? It’s a whole different world out there (I knew my newish husband from work). And what about sex? Is it as available as television, movies, etc. make it out to be? Where do women of certain ages go to meet men? Is Internet dating as scary as it seems? Ann’s memoir seems to answer all these questions, but the answers are not rules or guides for single women; the book is Ann telling the reader her experiences. I would never classify this book as self-help (unless it’s to gain confidence that there is sex available.)

Get ready to laugh, cry and enjoy all the emotions in between. Ann’s first adventure to conquer the sexual gnawing is with a guy Larry, who turns out to be a transvestite. Ann doesn’t care about that, but she is looking for a male with male longings.

Ann dates many, many men. So many, by the end of the book, I couldn’t keep them all straight. I’ve been so worried about stalkers I would never allow a virtual stranger into my home, much less my bed. Maybe it’s because Ann is a confident woman. I loved Chapter 13, Strategy. She makes a chart that will help guide her through the e-mails and flirts from the Internet. There are three columns: Indispensable, pro, and con. That list serves her well, until she meets Guy.

I was starting to get a little bored with the whole dating/sleeping around when Ann and Guy connect. I was astounded that Ann went to Zimbabwe to spend some time Guy. But that put the zip back into the story.

I enjoyed Ann’s voice; it was like a best friend/sister talking to me, telling me her adventures. I felt as if I was dating again vicariously through Ann, and all I can say, is please God, never let me single and horny again.

I give Daring to Date Again 5 out of 5 stars.

A Table by the Window

A Table by the Window by Hillary Manton Lodge   320 Pages

I got tired of waiting for this novel from the St. Louis Public Library, so I read Book 2 in the “Two Blue Doors” trilogy, Reservations for Two a while back. I had a love/hate relationship with that one.  I posted reviews for it, so you can go peek at my thought, if you so desire.

Still I was interested in reading Book 1 so I could get the backstory.  Basically it’s the story of Juliette and Neil’s long-distance romance. All the other plot points from Book 2 are here: The passing of Juliette’s beloved grandmother, her mother’s cancer diagnosis, the introduction of Juliette’s family members, and the restaurant world/food writing world that Juliette loves. 

It becomes clear the how and why of Juliette learning that the man she called Grandfather may not be her biological ancestor. Still, I think I’m going to have to wait for Book 3 (Coming May 2016, according to the end of Book 2) to have this issue resolved.

I’m glad I read Book 2 first. Maybe because A Table by the Window didn’t pull me in as much. However, I was familiar with the characters, the plot, and the writing style so that may have had something to do with it. 

I give A Table by the Window  3 out of 5 stars.