This story slightly parallels Lindsay Kelk’s “A Single Girl’s
To-Do List” in that it follows a break up of a relationship and the main
character’s journey into transforming themselves to be a different and stronger
person. Instead, it follows a man’s journey, Edward, who has been “dumped” by
his girlfriend, Jane. His womanising minor-celebrity friend, Dan, takes it upon
himself to produce an Excel spreadsheet listing the changes that Edward must go
through in order to become more attractive and win Jane back, and agrees to
help him personally to achieve this. Dan is a horrible character in terms of
his attitude towards women, but at times, his stupidity can be endearing, and
it is shown that he really values Edward as a friend, despite his clumsy attempts
to help him. Dan’s interaction with the barmaid Wendy, who is angry with Dan
for the way he mistreated her flatmate, is spiky and punchy, and did lead me to
wonder whether the two would get together at the end of the book. What eventually
happens to Dan and who he ends up with at the end is a surprise.
Edward is a character you can sympathise with, and as the
story goes on, and more about his relationship with Jane is revealed, you do
start to wonder whether Edward should be concentrating on winning her back, and
it is a question that Edward does come to ask himself. Dunn has managed to
craft a great story and good characters who gel really well together. The
different things Edward does as part of the Excel spreadsheet are hilarious and
the dialogue is well written. By the time Edward sees Jane again, what happens
is quite a poignant moment. This book is a great read, I couldn’t put it down
and managed to finish it in a day! It is interesting to see how a failed
relationship plays out from a male perspective. 4 stars
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