Review: Dating-ish by Penny Reid

Dating-ish by Penny Reid
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was so nerdy and funny. I loved Marie. I loved all of the science and robot stuff. I loved and hated how long it took Matt and Marie to get together. They were both so awkward, but their relationship really touched on friendship and companionship. In the beginning I wasn't even sure they were going to have a relationship because it started out so badly. But enter the knitters to push Matt and Marie together in an unforeseen way. 

Penny did such a great job touching on human need and with Matt's research trying to replace human companionship with artificial intelligence the characters had some really thought provoking and intelligent conversations. I also found Marie's research for her writing assignment very eye opening. And finally it is filled with Penny's usually brand of humor, funny lines, quirky characters, and excellent banter between the characters. I think this may be my favorite in the series.

On to the review...Dating-ish follows Marie, a member of our favorite Tuesday night knitting club, a journalist, and a single lady who has had no luck with online dating. Marie has one final date lined up with someone who seems to be her perfect match. Enter Matt, he is not her perfect match and their date does not go well. She escapes the date and of course recounts the horrors of her date to the knitting ladies, who are of course present throughout the book. Marie discovers that Matt is Greg and Fiona's neighbor, and a frequent guest at their home as Fiona used to babysit Matt when he was a child. Marie discovers that Matt is working on artificial intelligence, specifically in the form of companionship robots. This sparks an idea for a story and she begins researching alternate forms of companionship outside of traditional relationships. Who knew all that stuff existed?  She also interviews Matt about his research on the robots and the two slowly become friends. They both know what they want or don't want from a relationship and resolve to being friends, but you know there is more between them. Things build up and pretty much explode after an agonizing wait, but it was well worth it.

This can be read as a stand alone, but I highly recommend reading the rest of the series.  Oh and read the Winston Brothers too, they are equally as good.



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