It's Complicated

LoveReading Says

What struck me about reading It’s Complicated too is how this book doesn’t just tread the same kinds of stories we’re used to seeing heroines experience in novels. It doesn’t shy away from the painful realities of life, like Dee’s diagnosis of premature ovarian failure which throws her old dreams of wanting a traditional family with a partner – but even then, it always has the compassionate, light warmth of a friend supporting you through tough times. (An indicative quote: ‘I have failing ovaries, she’d typed into the group chat, and for a mad second she’d felt the urge to add an upside-down smiley emoji at the end’.) 

Dee Jensen immediately gets our sympathy and throughout, we’re all rooting for her to get what she needs. It’s effortlessly, consistently funny, in a way that’s both warm and sharp. I literally LOLed so many times at her off-hand, deadpan observations on dating, work, and living in London. 

Instead of leaning into tropes, it portrays the kind of nuanced (dare I say, complicated?!) dynamics between all kinds of relationships, like those between Dee and her contrasting best friends Minnie and Roo, or Dee and her mother. (My favourite character was Dee’s mother’s partner, Ines – perhaps just because I too want to date a sexy, considerate therapist.) 

Hughes writes the kind of funny, loyal, three-dimensional characters who every reader will want to be their real life best friends – she’s brilliant at creating completely believable text exchanges and by the end I felt sad they weren’t people on my own WhatsApp lists. 

I loved Emma Hughes’ debut novel, No Such Thing as Perfect, about a journalist trying a dating app which promises to make your perfect match – although marketed as a romcom, that novel also complicated (whey) the classic genre – and any fans of that will love this second book too. 

Lily Lindon

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