Thank you to NetGalley and Hera for this ARC.

Sam Carmichael, 35, has made a written contract with his overbearing mother Gloria 20 years ago - if he hasn't got a boyfriend by 35, she can make the dating rules for him. The time has now come and his mother is overjoyed that she is allowed to interfere officially. She is still grieving for the loss of her sister Shug and this might give her a new impetus.

The way she goes about it is hilarious, plunging poor Sam into the dating pool by all means necessary and shoving him from one horrendous date to the next. Sam isn't really interested anyway - all he wants is his ex Paul back who is making positive noises about getting divorced from his hubby soon. At the same time Sam is growing closer to Finn Montgomery, an artist his company represents.

Sam is a regular at Plant Daddy, a quirky coffee & plant shop owned by grumpy Kai and populated by a diverse clientele, including his best friend Omar. I loved this found family of characters, with his mother eventually starting to work there too, although many of them stay very much in the background.

The LGBTQ+ and diversity representation is exemplary. One character is introduced as a wheelchair user and later as a trans man completely in passing, making it normal and no big deal. 

I have read a lot of books incorporating monster mothers. Gloria is not one of them. She is interfering, yes, and she would be too much for me. But she is not any different from any in your face, meddling but loving and supportive Jewish mother. She loves Sam and Sam loves her and she's also a fierce if sometimes inappropriate ally to the queer community.

Sam loves classic films which others see as outdated regarding queer representation. He's a writer but he doesn't see himself as one as he's "only" written six books for someone else as a ghost writer, and only one short story of his has won him critical acclaim. 

It's a bit perplexing that Sam thinks so little of himself and his talents. Everyone around him can see his worth except himself. It might have to do something with his ex Paul who never supported him the way he should have. Finn basically spends the entire book trying to boost his self-confidence.

However, the story spends more time on the mother/son relationship than on any romance so I felt a little short-changed. I would have liked Sam and Finn to have more scenes together although I loved the character of Glory, as she re-christened herself.

Altogether, this is a fun, warm-hearted if predictable story of finding your self-worth and love in the process, if you believe in yourself and your strong support system.