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A Novel
by Brooke Averick
Meet Phoebe Berman: despite being a hopeless romantic, she's about to be a thirty-year-old virgin. With one month before her milestone birthday, she's determined to finally lose it ... if her own anxiety doesn't slow her down. The can't-miss debut novel from podcaster and comedian Brooke Averick.
Is it possible to find true love when going on a date makes you want to throw up?
Phoebe Berman fears the one thing she wants the most: love. Thanks to an extremely unfortunate first kiss attempt, crippling intimacy anxiety has plagued her since she was a teen.
Phoebe has so much going for her: a dream teaching job, a supportive and hilarious group of best friends, and all the romance novels a girl could want at her fingertips—but she can't help but beat herself up over the one thing she can't quite seem to figure out. Determined to change this, she drafts up the ultimate "Guide to Losing My Virginity" checklist with the hope of finally getting laid.
Suddenly, she goes from a relatively boring (basically non-existent) dating life to juggling three romantic prospects at once. There's the gorgeous new fourth grade teacher at her school, a former high school classmate that resurfaces through Words with Friends, and there will always be her roommate, who might just be the best friends-to-lovers situation of her dreams.
Phoebe Berman's Gonna Lose It is a brutally honest and completely relatable story for anyone who's ever felt stuck between coming of age and coming apart.
"An affirming novel catering to all the anxious romantics out there ... Averick's writing is consistently funny and sharp, balancing comedy with emotional honesty... . the book is an irresistibly fun ride that also delivers a compassionate exploration of anxiety and the courage and self-acceptance needed to move through it." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Averick makes the romantic entanglements fun and surprising, and Phoebe's personality—including her palpable and sensitively handled anxiety—leaps off the page. The result is smart, savvy, and irresistible." —Publishers Weekly
"Anxious, funny, and unexpectedly tender ... the novel balances laugh-out-loud moments with honest portrayals of intimacy, anxiety, and self-doubt. Averick gives Phoebe a full inner life beyond romance, allowing her growth to feel earned ... Phoebe Berman's Gonna Lose It updates the spirit of classic rom-coms while centering vulnerability, mental health, and friendship." —Booklist
"Witty, vulnerable, and emotionally astute, Phoebe Berman's Gonna Lose It had me completely charmed from the first page." —Annabel Monaghan, New York Times bestselling author of It's a Love Story and Nora Goes Off Script
"Phoebe Berman's Gonna Lose It is a ridiculously charming debut filled with humor and sincerity. This one is for all of us overthinkers and hopeless romantics who want relatable characters and grounded storytelling. Readers will be rooting for Phoebe every step of the way." —Hannah Bonam-Young, New York Times bestselling author of People Watching
This information about Phoebe Berman's Gonna Lose It was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Brooke Averick is best known for her podcast, Brooke and Connor Make a Podcast, where she speaks candidly and humorously about her struggles with OCD, anxiety, and depression, as well as her latest celebrity crushes, all while trying to convince her co-host to appreciate the magic of musical theatre. She's amassed a social media following of over 1.5M across numerous platforms. She studied Early Childhood Education at Boston University, and currently lives in Los Angeles with her two cats, Jonathan and Robert. Phoebe Berman's Gonna Lose It is her first novel.
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