Published By: Hodder
Pages: 320
Released On: 22/01/2026
Amy Elman’s To Do List:
– Start wedding planning
– Buy lingerie
– Have sex again
Amy has her entire life planned out: marry her fiancé Josh, move out of their London flat and live happily ever after in the countryside.
There’s just one problem – Amy and Josh haven’t had sex in 180 days. She’s counted.
So when Josh’s family decide to throw them a surprise wedding, Amy scrambles to cross everything off her to-do list… including Josh.
With the help of a glass of red wine (or two), Amy steps out of her star-patterned pyjamas and into a world of too-tight lingerie and sex-positive affirmations.
As the big day approaches, will Amy’s luck finally turn around? Will her and Josh be one of those couples who just never have sex? Or will she start to realise that love isn’t something that can be checked off a list so easily?
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and Hodder for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
This isn’t the kind of book I usually go for. I love thrillers and fantasy and historical books; I do also like an uplifting happily-ever-after romance to. This is a rom-com but it’s heavier on the -com side than I’m used to.
I struggle with books that are meant to be funny, because humour is so subjective, but this was definitely funny. I mean, I wasn’t rolling about laughing but I definitely could appreciate the humour. I think Mary’s done that well.
I would also question whether it is a romance. Which sounds odd but go with it. Yes there’s romance, a wedding to plan etc. But it’s actually quite light on romance, it’s more about how Amy balances her professional and personal life, her sex life, and having to plan a wedding in just seven weeks. The romance side is almost inconsequential.
Going on the title and premise you might assume this is going to be quite smutty, but it’s not. Sex is referred to, obviously, but it’s almost the background for the rest of the story.
My opinions on Amy flitted about. I liked her at times and disliked her at others. She’s a bit of a wet weekend, a bit of a doormat, letting others take over. But she got better as the book went on as she started to become the main character in her own story. Her fiancé Josh is…not a bad person, but I didn’t like him. He was selfish and stuck-up and just wouldn’t listen and I don’t think he deserved Amy. She wasn’t the easiest person to love but she deserved more than him.
I wasn’t a fan of the comments on Amy’s age. She is 29 and they keep mentioning how she’s the wrong side of 20, or she’s getting older, got to start living her life etc. It’s not a huge issue but it went on too long. If it was a couple of mentions then fine. But it was again and again and it started to annoy me.
I did enjoy this; there are bits that felt a bit OTT, a bit unrealistic, but I didn’t mind too much. The majority of it felt familiar and recognisable.
I really liked the ending. I’ve read so many books recently that have an ambiguous or open-ended ending and whilst that can be fine, I really wanted a clear-cut ending, which this had, so I’m happy with that.
It’s got its flaws, but it’s a strong debut, and offers great promise to what comes next.
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