This book had some unique ideas for date night that I thought were very good. However, I'm not sure how practical some of them were.

This book has a lot of fun ideas for spending time with your spouse. My spouse and I already spend a good bit of quality time together doing things we enjoy like hiking. I thought "that's a great idea!" as I read throughout the book. However, we have not had a chance to try many of the ideas (figuring out when and which ideas to implement is a whole other thing because they do not feel as "natural" as going for a hike or a meal together).

SO creative! HIghly reccomend for couples of all stages of life! Are you stuck in a rut of watching netlix mindlessly and then going to sleep, here's your chance to be purposeful in your marriage and relationship!

52 Uncommon Ways to Unwind Together: A Couple's Guide to Relaxing, Refreshing, and De-Stressing by Randy Southern is a collection of ideas for couples to spend time together. I love the idea of this book and I was really hoping to find a collection of easy ideas that can be done at home at the end of the day. Instead, this is more of a collection of date night ideas. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

This was a quick little read reminding married couples to focus and give more time to each other. To really pay attention rather than be on our cell phones, etc. It provided some fun ideas but was nothing earth shattering.

Wonderful and creative ideas abound in this book. Some are relaxing and some appear to me to involve a lot of work. There are some which I am absolutely sure my husband would never want to do, but they can all spark ideas as to what we would be happy to do as we spend time together.

Definitely will look into some of the activities that will make us get away from screen time!

I think this will make a great gift for a newly wed couple. It could start a tradition that lasts a lifetime.

Thank you Netgalley and Moody Publishers for the review copy. This is my honest opinion.

I enjoyed another book in this series on ways to connect as a family - but I enjoyed this one and its ideas much less. I felt like the date ideas were cheesy and impractical - maybe it's simply my personality, but most of the activities in here are not ones I would do. One part of the book I did enjoy was the devotionals and discussions for couples that accompanied each idea. These were actually very profound and great conversation starters that I would really use!

This was not good. The book felt purposeless: no real introduction (just an isolated overview of the 5 love languages) and no conclusion. The book has 52 date ideas (none of which implied unwinding, but rather going places and spending money) each followed by a devotion. The devotions felt slapped onto the end, more of an end-of-the-date-debrief than a moment of connection with God. None of the date ideas seemed remotely interesting to me, though your mileage may vary. You’d be better off to read The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman and then come up with your own date ideas tailored for your spouse. #netgalley

This is n unusual book with some bizarre ideas but some amazing ones as well. I loved the presentation of each idea, with so many different ways to achieve and finally to place the thoughts into religious readings
A dip. Into book that should be on all coffee tables to enhance relationships.

Inside this gem are 52 ideas for date night. Some are romantic, some are for fun and some are sentimental. All of them are purposed to build togetherness and intimacy. What I appreciated the most was that each date suggestion is accompanied by Scriptures and questions that build your relationship. It's a wonderful book to add to your shelves for I can be referred to again and again.

I wanted to read this book because I'm the wife of a "million-mile safe driving award" winning truck driver. I'm proud of his work ethics and safety standards, but the downfall of being a truck driver's wife is the number of work hours required. We're thankful he gets home every day, but we both have to be intentional about making quality time together. That's where this book comes in handy. We can spend less time trying to think of new ideas and just go to this book for one we haven't done.

Even if you are already super creative with date nights, 52 Uncommon Ways to Unwind Together has unusual date night ideas and will keep you from being complacent. using date night to stay in touch with one another is very important in busy lives. I highly recommend this book to couples who are serious about the quality of their relationship.highly recommend this book to couples who are serious about the quality of their relationship.

I received this book from Moody Publishers via NetGalley for an honest review.

I really like how these books are set up. Basically, I would look for one of the 52 chapters that jumped out at me... for example Ch 43. "10,000 Steps (x 2)" basically you get out your fitbit or pedometer or whatever to track your steps. Put your walking shoes on and you pick a step count. You can take a walk/hike together or just challenge each other. Then there is a "Weave the Third Strand" which is incorporating God i to your time... scripture, discussion and prayer.
You can take turns picking the Chapter to do. This is great whether you're newly married, celebrating anniversary 10, 20, 30 and beyond...

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley on behalf of the Publisher and was under no obligation to post a favorable review.

Wonderful, creative ideas for nourishing your marriage and relaxing together as a couple. Recommended for married couples who are looking for new ways to enjoy time with one another and refresh their marriage.

A big thank-you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for giving me a copy of this book for an unbiased review.

1.5, rounded up to 2.

Starting with the positives – I truly appreciate what this book is trying to do. The concept of introducing fun, novel ideas into a committed relationship or marriage, while rooting them in one’s faith system, is one I can get behind.

However, very few of these ideas were ones I felt I could apply and the others just didn’t seem that enjoyable. Moreover, it had a strong focus on the 5 Love Languages, which I’ve never been a fan of (again, because they really don’t bring anything new to the table). This book seems to be targeted primarily at couples who are married with kids. My boyfriend and I not married (nor do we have kids), so most of this book really did not fit our relationship. Moreover, we prefer to keep our relationship private, whereas many of the ideas had to do with involving family/friends (one tip even said to remind your partner of an impending date via a work loudspeaker… something that would probably give both my boyfriend and myself trust issues). The other things that were suggested are things we already have a variation of doing (crafting things together, writing music, going dancing, visiting the farmer’s market, etc.). Finally, some tips were completely disconnected from what I imagine most people’s reality might be (using indoor bikes to go on a YouTube biking trip – who has indoor bikes?; borrowing a hammock from a highschooler or college student, because apparently they all have one – what?). In short, I understand that these tips can all be modified to fit distinct personalities and lifestyles, but overall they did not excite or motivate me, which is what I had been hoping for.

On the spiritual side of things, the application of the “Third Strand” felt forced – many of the verses really did not seem to fit with the chapter at all, making the flow clumsy.

I did appreciate a few of the spiritual reminders. Out of the 52 tips, there were maybe 2-3 that I could adopt. I also acknowledge that this book could be beneficial for Christian couples who are married with kids and are on the extroverted side. It really did not fit my lifestyle, but could be beneficial to others. This is the justification for rounding my rating up to two stars.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book for my honest opinion. I enjoyed all of the out of the box ideas that Randy shared. This is not your average date idea book. He also links each date idea back to a love language and back to Christ. Some would be harder to implement than others based on our personality types but they are all interesting and could be great depending how the couple chose to do them.

Looking for a way to deepen your relationship with your spouse while relaxing and unwinding together? Look no further. Randy Southern provides just the thing in 52 Uncommon Ways to Unwind Together. As it says in the title, Southern provides 52 weeks’ worth of ideas for couples to work through together, though couples are free to calendar them as needed—every other week or once a month. But every step is a step in the right direction.

I really like the creativity of Southern’s ideas, things like Riff Your Wedding Video, Plan Your Dream Vacation, Memes for You, Truth or Dare, and Tell Your Story. In addition to the basic idea for unwinding, each activity includes three parts—a quote from Scripture that leads to meaningful conversations, a suggestion for incorporating one of the five love languages, and suggested readings from the Love Languages Devotional Bible. Probably the thing I appreciate most is the depth of the questions to draw couples into meaningful conversations. In today’s fast-paced world, these questions help couples make the most of their time together—relaxing, unwinding, and deepening their relationship. This small volume is a large treasure for those who want to make their marriages a priority by learning how to better relax and unwind together. Grab a copy of Randy Southern’s 52 Uncommon Ways to Unwind Together and start relaxing and enjoying your spouse today!

Note: I received a copy of the the book from the publisher in exchange for this honest review. However, the opinions expressed are my own.

This book is incredible. I started sharing it with my spouse immediately. I was so inspired to invigorate our marriage with these uncommon ways to spend time together. Each section within the idea was useful and I can see using this in many different ways. I also think this would make a great gift book for married couples in that lull stage of marriage, or at any stage really!