Love By the Book - Melissa Pimentel (2015)

aka Age, Sex, Location

Lauren, an American who works as a science museum event coordinator in London, isn't looking for a serious relationship. But after another man flees while she's cooking him breakfast, she decides to turn her dating life into an experiment. She follows the advice of different books each month - from The Rules to Belle De Jour's Guide to Men - testing out their often absurd methods for finding a man. As Lauren alternates between practising abstinence to chatting up anyone within view, she reflects on the lessons she learns. This is a well-written and funny debut with an autobiographical touch. Lauren has a snarky sense of humour and is willing to give anything a go. Many readers will thoroughly enjoy living vicariously through her. Unfortunately her story just didn't strike a chord with me.

Melissa Pimentel's debut novel, Age, Sex, Location (aka Love by the Book in the US), is about love, sex, dating and all the things that go horribly wrong along the way. The summary says: "The last thing 28-year-old Lauren is looking for is love, so why do the men she's dating assume she's searching for The One? With men fleeing from her left and right, Lauren takes drastic action and turns her love life into an experiment, vowing to follow a different dating guide every month. From releasing her inner siren to swearing off sex completely, Lauren will follow The Rules and play The Game all with the help of her disapproving best friend and her newly loved-up housemate. But as she searches for the holy grail of fantastic, no-strings sex minus the heartache, Lauren soon realises that dating is more complicated than just swiping right - and that the things you run from always catch up with you..." Age, Sex, Location is out in January 2015. Pimentel is an American who lives in London and works in publishing.

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