FLIP SIDE

“So, you have no job, nowhere to stay, and have come to Germany to find a mysterious girl you don’t know...”

A good indicator of what type of character our hero is. I don’t find that premise romantic in the slightest but I thought the idea of a character flipping a coin to make decisions was interesting so I gave it a shot.

Unfortunately I found the hero somewhat unlikable and, while that could be forgiven, I couldn’t find any reason to root for him. The first 1/3rd of the book is filled with the hero mostly talking negatively about himself and the people around him. I’m not even sure why he feels he’s in a position to be in a relationship when he can hardly take care of himself. His growth through the story is slow and minimal and his thought process, coin aside, is often irrational. I found it difficult to root for him when he showed such little personal growth.

One scene that irked me in particular was the Hero basically negging his date internally while desperately trying to make a voucher work because he couldn’t afford dinner. How he described her teeth and how she’s no “Miss England” as if he’s a catch only to reveal he couldn’t even afford for her to eat the dish she wanted on their date? Awful. Then for us to be taken through multiple seasons and his decision making process hardly improved, there was no logical reason for him to even travel to track down a woman! How could he know she wanted that? Did he do any practical research on social media? Call the bookstores? There were so many *free* options and for someone who is quite poor, I found it hard to see the romance in him not exhausting every other option before going broke yet again.

The writing in particular was fine but maybe just not for me. I found much of the dialogue to be quite flat and cold but I suppose that's the character's personality. I wonder if I would have found the writing better if I liked the characters more.

Spent many hours today reading a cute, light, funny, silly little piece of chick lit...written by a man! James Bailey's first novel, "The Flip Side" was just published and has been well received. Bailey is young, so I do look forward to seeing what he else in writes in years to come.
The novel centers around a young man, Josh, who proposes to long term girlfriend, Jade, on New Year's Eve in a romantic and grand gesture above the city of London, but she turns him down, revealing she has been having an affair. Poor Josh was devastated and lost a lot more than just Jade. He lost a home and job all in one fell swoop, since the flat they shared was painful for by Jade's father, and her father also owned the hotel where they both worked. Josh has great support from his best friends, Jake, Jesse, and Jake's Jake. All the J names got old for me, but author James explained in an afterward that he does have friends all with J names. Josh moved home with his pet rabbit, Jeremy, whom he had bought for Jade, but Jade said her new boyfriend did not want Jeremy around.
Josh and friends go to watch their friend Jesse run a marathon, when, lo and behold, Josh bumps into a girl who sweeps him off his feet. They spend a short time together, plan to continue throughout the evening, but are separated in a huge crowd at the marathon. The only problem is, Josh did not get the woman's name. Her refers to her as Sunflower girl, because she is in love with Van Gogh's painting, Sunflower, and had told Josh she works in an English bookstore, overseas, where a copy of the painting is displayed. The only problem is, without a name, and knowing where overseas Sunflower girl works, it's nearly impossible to imagine ever finding her. Josh is nothing, if not a romantic, and one who has vowed to let a coin decide all his decisions for a full year, with a simple flip, calling heads or tails. As readers, we are treated to a delightful romp to several European cities while Josh searches for Sunflower girl.
Silly, but romantic, clever, with some poignant scenes between Josh and his pap (grandfather) are how I would describe this book. You can't help but root for Josh to accomplish what seems nearly impossible. The love among the friends had lots of feels, and I could not help but smile as the novel approached its end. Memorable? Not really, but "The Flip Side" was a nice little diversion from all that is wrong with the world right now.

I am not used to reading romantic books with a male narrator, so I was excited to try this one. Unfortunately it left a lot to be desired. I found the main character frustrating and i honestly wasn't even rooting for him in the end. He just seemed boring and unrelatable. I did really like his friends Jessie and Jake and wish there had been even more of them involved in the book!

I wanted to like The Flip Side but got 43% through and realized I really disliked the main character. He's whiny, unmotivated, and not very smart. I'm not even sure I care if he finds his Happily Ever After, to be honest.

The book is well-written and has some funny moments, and includes GLBTQ characters (I liked them better than the main character), so it gets 2 stars instead of one. Life is too short to read books you don't like.

I wanted to like this more than I did. In a switch from having the tale of woe of a woman who is dumped and loses her job and apartment all on one day, in this book, it’s the guy. Josh’s girlfriend dumps him right when he had an elaborate marriage proposal planned. So he’s blown a lot of money on a ring and proposal and now lost his job and apartment because he was working for her father and living in her apartment.

So he has to move back home with his parents. He decides that, since he makes bad decisions, he’s going to flip a coin for all future decisions. He then spends almost all of the rest of the book constantly flipping a coin while he remains unemployed and living with his parents. It takes a long time for the love interest to enter the book and by that, I just didn’t care about Josh and his silly coin-flipping. And then she disappears and he has to embark on a search for her across Europe.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

[[VIDEOID:7536f7e88b4d08e6486c9550ca583848]] I haven’t yet read this book, but it was just delivered today and when I went to open the package, the book wasn’t in the bed shape. It has scuff marks all over the cover and the pages are ruffled (looks like water damage). Not impressed. Was very excited to read this book.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for this review.

Josh proposes to his long-time girlfriend on New Year's Eve, and she not only says no - she breaks up with him. No spoilers here - this happens right off. No girlfriend now means no job, cause he worked for her dad. Rejected and mortified, Josh wanders back to the flat he'll have to vacate (yup - it's hers), finds a coin on the ground, and pockets it. Now Josh is single, unemployed, and living with his parents. Ugh. Believing he only makes bad choices, Josh decides that ALL decisions will be made by flipping the coin he found. His friends think he's gone off the deep end, his parents keep interfering, and Josh is running outta money. Will the coin help him find a job? When Josh meets a woman he wants to know better, how will he use the coin? How far will he take this flipping coin flipping? James Bailey has written a warm, funny, fresh story of a man who loses everything - including his self-esteem - and the coin he believes will take the burden of decision making off his shoulders. With quirky characters, dialog that made me laugh often, and a story I HAD to know more of, The Flip Side is a fast-paced, fabulous read!

This was a very cute romance, told in first person by Josh, who is having a bad year and figures it's a result of making bad choices. Therefore, he decides to flip a coin to make his decisions. After a fleeting conversation with someone he thinks may be the girl of his dreams, he goes on a great adventure to try and find her, with only a few details hand not even her name!. His two great friends support him in his search. Very unique plot with likable characters.

The Flip Side was a fun and light-hearted read that gives you a break from reality. The premise is entertaining, Josh, the main character, decides to make all of his decisions for the year by flipping a coin. The subsequent journey he goes on brings him to his ultimate happiness. The book is somewhat predictable but does not make it any less fun. It might be the first rom-com book that I have read by a male author, and from the male perspective, which was also a nice change of pace!

This was a solid debut novel, and I look forward to seeing what else James Bailey writes!

Netgalley Arc read by Wife, Christine Rankins
Josh is having a really rough time. His girlfriend breaks up with him after he proposes to her. He loses his job and moves in with his family. Thankfully he has good friends and a coin that he continues to flip to see his next move. When he meets a pretty girl one day while cheering on a friend, he decides to flip the coin to find her. What will happen when he travels to find this girl that he doesn't know her name! Will it all come together and will his life get any better or keep bringing him down? Was a cute a read that you are rooting for Josh to find what he really wants.