Review: Meet Delaney

Summary: After being suddenly dumped by her husband of eight and a half years, Delaney Moore is thrown into the world of being single. Follow Delaney as she experiences the grief of her divorce- followed by her initial rebound relationship and a multitude of dating scenarios. From dating men much younger than herself- (boy toys), to attempting to find love on the internet, Delaney’s experiences are so real and hit so close to home that they are making readers laugh and cry. Read along as she and her friends try to find happiness, have fun, and make sense out of a wildly entertaining single scene. -- Peppertree Press

When I finished reading MEETING DELANEY by Jackie Mahaney, I wasn't quite sure what to think. I know that I liked the book, but I can't go so far as to say that I loved it. I'm afraid that I couldn't really relate to this book. I am now 39 years old, have been married to my husband for 15 years (we've been together for 19 years,) and am a mother of two children. I definitely am not the target audience for this book; and since I met my husband when I was a sophomore in college, I have never really experienced the singles' scene. I know that I'm not going to identify with every book that I read, and I certainly can enjoy books that I don't relate to; however, I think women who have experienced some of the dating scenarios similar to Delaney will appreciate this book more than I did. Having said all that, I still liked Delaney's character and thought her dating adventures were entertaining.

What I really enjoyed about this book was the character of Delaney. Even though I never experienced dating like she did, I still thought she was a very honest and fun woman -- I actually thought she'd make a really great friend. I liked how she was able to stay relatively positive no matter what life brought her way, and I really think she was able to appreciate and love herself. Delaney was a very strong woman who discovered that she didn't need a man to be whole. While Delaney did make some mistakes, it seemed like she had a wonderful perspective on her life and learned from her errors. I especially loved Delaney's sense of humor; and many of the descriptions of her dates were hilarious!

Ms. Mahaney is a dating and relationship journalist, and she has articles which are published on various internet sites. In addition, she is the host of "Everyday Woman." Her bio says that she was single for nine years before meeting a guy and getting remarried. I would imagine that this books is somewhat autobiographical and that Ms. Mahaney is pretty familiar with many of the situations that Delaney experienced. I really enjoyed how she developed the character of Delaney and kept the book light and entertaining.

I think single women everywhere should read MEET DELANEY (that's not to say that dating and married women won't enjoy it too!) This dating stories in this book are very funny, and I imagine that many women will recognize some of their dates in Delaney's experiences. I like that women can also learn from Delaney's positive outlook on life as well as her amazing sense of humor.