I really enjoyed this funny, witty book about the perils of online dating. It's a fun quick read. Perfect for the beach.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

A light hearted and fun read as we follow Izzy through the month of May and her 31 dates. With the dates as the focal point, we as the reader accompany Izzy as she meets an assortment of men in a range of places. Through her column Izzy then reflects on her dates and her month of dating and develops a 'shopping list' of dos and don'ts for online dating - hence the title of the book. Within the context of writing her column we get to meet Izzy's best work friend - Donna a lively character and her boss William as well as observing the general office dynamics.
Written entirely in the first person I enjoyed this book a lot, while I struggled to hold in mind the 31 men as individuals this didn't matter although there were many funny moments along the way. I particularly enjoyed the newspaper column entries where Izzy reflected on how the date had gone and what she had learnt from the experience. These articles bought to mind Carrie Bradshaw (who I love) and I could almost hear the voice of Sarah Jessica Parker as she 'couldn't help to wonder'. Make no mistake though, this isn't Sex and the City - it's a great story in it's own right.
Izzy as a character was likeable - as a professional journalist she was strong and confident, she took the task in her stride and although some of the men she met can only be described as fools, she was unaffected by knock backs and refused to let the words or behaviours of some of her dates affect her confidence. I found this stance admirable as she engaged in the task assigned to her in a pragmatic manner, committed to enjoy the experience as well as creating a terrific column for the newspaper.
Overall a very enjoyable read - short chapters, generally broken down into sections detailing the date, the office and the article, maintained my engagement as a reader. Despite being a 'light' read Izzy's reflections carried words of wisdom as did her attitude as a strong female character. Recommended reading by me!

If, like me, you've forgotten what it's like to be in the dating game, this will bring back memories - but most of all it will make you laugh!

Izzy has her own column in the local newspaper; she is the tech-geek and loves her job as she gets to try out all the new tech toys. When her boss, William, gives her the new assignment of joining an online dating site, meeting up with a man each day for a month and writing about it she thinks 'why not?'. It's not as if her love life is bursting at the seams and it may be fun - right?

Izzy begins by making a list of what she is - and isn't - looking for in a boyfriend. As the days progress the list gets longer and even if some of the items seem obvious judging by some of the men she meets they are necessary! As well as the month's dates, we get to meet Izzy's colleagues, including her best friend Donna and the rest of the varied bunch. To say the dates are a motley crew is no exaggeration; I suspect her experiences are more true to life than we normally get to hear about and boy, did this author give me the giggles. I thank my lucky stars I met my 'the one' years ago!

This is a very easy read; split into a chapter for each date I raced through it, eager to find out what happened on the next outing. The characters are wonderfully created; Morgen Bailey obviously has a real eye for people watching and it's paid off in this novel. Fresh and funny, the clever writing kept my full attention from beginning to end and left me with laughter in my heart and a warm, fuzzy feeling. What more could I ask? A fantastic summer read and one to pack for your holidays!

My thanks to Bombshell Books for providing my copy via NetGalley. This is my honest, original and unbiased review.

This was a fast and fun read! The author's writing style of making each chapter a different date made it easy to leave and come back to without feeling lost.

I found this book to be enjoyable, as well as happily married.

Izzy has an undercover assignment. 31 dates in one month. The book is told date by date.

It is a laugh out loud comedy that in actuality could be non-fiction.

I recommend this book. It was a fun read.

My review is written with thanks to Sarah Hardy and Bombshell Books, an imprint of Bloodhound Books, for inviting me to participate in the tour and providing my copy of the book through Netgalley.
Izzy is a journalist for her local newspaper in Northampton. Usually a technology expert, her boss, William, assigns her a rather different task: to write a report on the online dating scene. To do so, Izzy goes on 31 dates in 31 days, and writes a column about each one, in which we see the ups and downs of her dating experience. But will Izzy find the man of her dreams?
The Serial Dater's Shopping List is different to the books I would normally read, but given my own turbulent experience with online dating in the past, I thought there may be parts of it that would resonate with me, and I was not wrong. Izzy is a lady after my own heart: independent with a tendency to speak her mind and a good sense of humour, and not afraid to turn to "Mr Ben and Mr Jerry" when the going gets tough. As such, I enjoyed taking this journey with her, and was able to cringe, laugh, feel angry and feel sympathetic (both for her, and in some cases, her dates) as her project progressed, and this made the novel very easy to read. Over the course of the novel, Izzy meets men who are often from different backgrounds, who have encountered a range of different struggles in their lives, from weight loss to medical conditions to finding independence. I found it interesting to see how these issues affected them and their ability to date successfully, and I felt that Izzy became more open minded as a result of the project, and enjoyed this aspect of her journey.
I have family and friends who live in Northamptonshire, so I recognised some of the venues Izzy visited for her dates. Bailey creates a really strong sense of place in The Serial Dater's Shopping List and I found that this really helped to provide me with an idea of the mood and style of each date, bringing me further into Izzy's story.

I really wanted to like this title based on the description, but I just couldn't even make it to the half-way point. It just left me flat, and scenarios that could have been funny were either uninteresting or came off as mean.

A slow burner but worth it in the end!
It took me a while to get into this book but by part way through I couldn’t put it down! Very funny and true to life! Worth a read!

Funny and entertaining book. I did feel a bit sorry for some of teh guys she dated and wrote about though!

I love a happy ending to a story!! I liked the writing style where each chapter was a different date! Throughout the whole book I was hoping for a certain ending, and it did not disappoint. As someone who has participated in online dating, I felt so much of this book was spot-on to real life, and even though it was just an experiment, you felt her frustration and happiness she experienced throughout! I will say that 31 dates seemed like a lot as I was reading - probably because I was anxious to see how it was going to end up for Izzy, Donna, Duncan, and William! A good read!

The plot of this novel totally drew me in, but the actually meat of the novel wasn't enough to keep me interested. I read the first few chapters, but couldn't get into it. I didn't really like the characters; they didn't jump out as being super likeable or connectable. I skimmed the last couple of chapters, but didn't read the middle. Not sure I missed much of the story, unfortunately.

The Serial Dater's Shopping List by Morgen Bailey is a truly delightful and entertaining read.
I enjoyed immensely reading about Izzy's adventures and misadventures as she walks her path down the dating road.
When Izzy, self proclaimed tech geek and journalist in the local paper gets assignement to write about her dating experience she is not thrilled at all. However, being the geek she takes on the task as a true pro. She joins dating web site and sets herselp up with 31 dates, one for each day in May.
Will Izzy find her perfect match on one of the dates or is the right man already under her nose without her not knowing, you will find out when you read this no conventionaly romance book.
Very modern, without usual romantic sapp this will be a real pleasure to read. Full of laugh out loud moments, it made me cry, made me cringe and root for out girl Izzy.
If you enjoy modern romance stories with a bit of laugh this is the perfect choice.

The shopping list refers to notes Izzy makes regarding do's and don'ts when on a date or looking for a potential partner and the list continues to change as the months go on.

The story is a little unrealistic as who could do 31 dates in 31 days but I laughed out loud from start to finish and honestly couldn't put it down.

This book is highly entertaining and the perfect summer read. I will be recommending it to all of my friends.

4/5 hilarious stars!

This book was such a fun time from beginning to end - full of the type of dating horror stories we all love to share with our girlfriends. Izzy really experiences just about every dating stereotype out there, which makes for great reading - if not great dating for her.

Izzy and her friend Donna were a cute pair, very much like people we all know in real life - maybe a little too picky on one hand, maybe not picky enough on the other. I’ve decided that I want to work at their paper, they sounds do fun and like good girlfriends.

This book was the perfect break from the day’s stresses - just like any good chick flick. It will appeal to anyone who enjoys comedy, a little drama and a whole lot of fun.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bloodhound Books for this early release copy.

Izzy is a journalist who's usual articles are reviewing the latest techy gadgets on the market.
As one of the few single gals in the office she is asked to do an expose of online dating by doing 31 dates in 31 days.
This was kinda like smashing Bridget Jones Diary together with How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and it works well.
Izzy is an accessible character, who had giggling and nodding in agreement with her a lot.
It was funny, interesting and sweet.
From the date descriptions I would believe the author actually completed a few random dates for research since they had a very realistic approach in them.
This is a really great light read that I will totally be referring friends to.

I thought the novel was okay. The dating fiascos were entertaining, but I felt like more dating successes should have been included to keep the reader entertained. Without spoiling it for other readers, I would recommend fleshing out the ending as in writing an additional chapter or an epilogue rather than an abrupt ending. 3/5 stars. Thanks for the opportunity to read it in return of an honest review!

Went on forever, ended suddenly with no real resolution to the story. Felt like I’d got a few chapters missing

I was intrigued by the title and description of this book .Its a great lighthearted read that made me laugh out loud at times. Izzy a journalist on the local paper,is set a task by her boss to set up an online profile on a local dating site and write about her dates for the next month. The shopping list refers to the notes Izzy makes regarding do’s and don’ts when on a date or looking for a potential partner . Needless to say the list changes as the month progresses . Not being single or having tried meeting someone online ( and hoping never to having read this book !)I was intrigued to see how Izzy got on . Blind dates are not for the faint hearted , Izzy however guides her readers , of her column in the paper,through it with some surprising results for both her ,her readers and her colleagues. Turns out that often love is found in the most unexpected places after all. Lovely holiday read or if you want a book that leaves you feeling uplifted .

This was an easy fun read. It is good for a day at the beach. I recommend it if you want something light to read or a laugh or two.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

The premise grabbed me. How would the writer explore this fascinating idea? A few pages in, I stopped reading. I had no idea who the protagonist was -- and no reason to care. Unfortunately, the list of things that I did not know that readers want to know overwhelms the time and energy required to hunt for answers, beginning with what's at stake and why should the reader care? Where and where is the story set--I'd like to highlight the virtual lack of setting -- I can picture an office, a bar/restaurant, but I want the writer to give me something more to go on than my own imagination. Please, work with me on the basics of the story that was promised and was not delivered. I wish that I could have back the time I invested in telling myself a story using this book as a prompt.