Eightysixed: Life Lessons Learned by Emily Belden: A Review

Now that life has gotten a little more organized and less chaotic, I've been able to catch up on some very much needed reading. Back in January, I was asked to review Eightysixed by Emily Belden herself. I feel awful it's taken me this long to actually get to it but some things are worth waiting for. Eightysixed is a tale of love, life and finding your way through it all. Emily's writing style is fun and easy which causes time to fly as you read through her ups and downs dating as a 20-something in Chicago. And believe me, that's not easy. Check out my review and read a little more about what Eightysixed has in store for you below.

image via Goodreads

What Goodreads Says “Eightysixed is like a recipe for life and love and I feel honored to be one of the ingredients.” — Celebrity Chef Floris Versluijs. Chicagoan Emily Belden has no idea what to do with her twenty-something life — particularly as it pertains to love — which is a tough problem for a hopelessly romantic half-Jew who's fresh out of a failed relationship. But if “figuring it all out” and “wanting it all” were Olympic sports, Emily would have been a gold medalist in both categories. Never one to admit defeat in the face of the enemy, Emily gets back in the dating ring again and again. But, the more she tries to make her therapist proud, the deeper down the rabbit hole she goes. While recovering the pieces of her broken heart, straight-A Emily’s dating world morphs into a mad soirée of drug addicts, embezzlers, perverts, and pimps. Just as she begins to believe that a bottle of wine might be her only shot at happiness, a chance encounter with a man she should never should have met resets Emily’s buttons. What she experience next satiates her heart, her soul, and her stomach, as she frees herself from the perils of her mid-twenties and becomes exactly who she is supposed to be.

What I Say Eightysixed is a breath of fresh air to every 20-something girl who's had dating issues. Let's be honest, sometimes it seems impossible, other times it seems like we always get the bad guys, the weird guys, the seriously "what the eff was I thinking" guys but never the "right" guys. Eightysixed is a hilarious tale of one of us girls dealing with the struggles of real-life dating. Emily is a Chicago gal, just like any of us, who can't seem to catch a break. Don't we all feel that way sometimes? Following Emily along her journey reminded me that every person who comes into our life is there for a reason. Whether it's a drug addict that is just as addicting as crack or a hot British guy that disappears and turns out to be an embezzler, they're all there for a reason. We may not realize what it is in that moment but one day all the pieces will fall together.

Eightysixed, and Emily's 20-something dating life have been compared to Carrie Bradshaw from Sex & the City. I have to say it's better. Why? Because how many of us are really going to end up with Big? And who in their right mind would give up a fantastic guy like Aiden? Emily's story is realistic because it was real. The heartbreak, the screw-ups, the terrifying encounters are all things that any of us could experience. Well, maybe not the master chef from Holland that reignites her passion for life. That one seems to be hers for the taking. Eightysixed was a fantastic read and the best part was that it didn't feel like a memoir. It felt like a regular novel you'd pick off the bookshelf instead of someone's diary and I really like that. Emily wrote her story very well, giving us a 1st person perspective while retaining a story-telling voice. This should become a movie. But maybe not because she'd probably end up in Holland with the master chef thanks to Hollywood.

Read Eightysixed. Whether you're currently in the dating world or you haven't been in a long time, I promise you'll enjoy it. You'll relate to Emily and feel like she's been a close friend for years by the time you hit the half-way mark.