HOW NOT TO GET THE GIRL…
Meet Mikey, every girl’s best friend – he bakes the creamiest cheesecake, loves movie nights and is a great dance partner.
For Jasmine, Mikey is the perfect flatmate – he owns a 50s diner that turns out the best food around, gives the best bear hugs and amazing romance advice – after all they’re scoping out the same hot guys! So when her boyfriend proposes in the worst possible way, Jazz knows her best friend will be there to pick up the pieces with gourmet popcorn, Pinot sleepovers and a shoulder to lean on.
But Mikey isn’t about to let Jasmine give up on love, and he’s ready to do whatever it takes to mend her broken heart – even if it means helping the one person who sees him as the enemy…
Because at the end of the day, all’s fair in the pursuit of true love… right?
When I found out Samantha Tonge was releasing a short story, I was thrilled. I fell for her writing style when I read Game of Scones (read my review here) and so was really looking forward to seeing what she'd do next.
How to Get Hitched in Ten Days follows best friends Jasmine and Mikey. Jasmine is reeling after the terrible proposal from her long-term boyfriend Dave, and so Mikey starts to pick up the pieces. But, when he's asked by Dave for help to propose to her properly, they set aside their differences and embark on making a swoon-worthy proposal happen.
I have to say this is where my only slight niggle with the story is, as Dave sounds like a brilliant boyfriend and, sure it's not wise or romantic to propose when you're very,very drunk but it's not like he's done anything terrible. Jasmine is offended by the proposal as it reminds her of her alcoholic, waste-of-space father which I kind of get, but I do think she should have cut him a bit of slack and remembered that she loves him. And why wouldn't she? He's fab and the character I warmed to most.
Jasmine and Mikey's friendship is great - they're so close and comfortable around one another. Mikey is super-sensitive and a great listener, the perfect companion for Jasmine. It becomes clear that this could be Dave's problem - that her and Mikey are so close he feels like a spare part. Aside from the fact that Mikey is gay and so has no interest in Jasmine whatsoever. Their friendship was heart-warming and I really loved seeing the two of them interact and be so happy around each other.
Seeing Dave and Mikey interact was also interesting and at times really funny. They clearly have their differences - Mikey thinks Dave has a problem with him being gay - so the mission to create a perfect proposal doesn't exactly run smoothly. This was my favourite part of the story, the two men getting to know each other better and understand why they don't get on.
That leads me nicely on to explain why I really love Samantha Tonge stories. It's never just about romance with her. There's always an underlying, more serious issue going on. In Game of Scones it was about refugees and the crisis happening there, in How to Get Hitched in Ten Days it's about homophobia and Mikey still finding it hard to be himself around people. I found that really interesting as, in this day and age, I certainly forget that there are still people that find homosexuality a difficult thing to understand... it's an issue that's well identified and tackled by Samantha and really shows off her writing talent.
How to Get Hitched in Ten Days is a brilliant short story that you should definitely read! It's heart-warming, funny and romantic- filled with great friendships, more complex relationships and topped off with Mikey's wonderful diner that I'd quite like to visit please, as it sounds delicious! A perfect story for Valentine's Day.... or any other day in fact!
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