Pairs with Pinot
RomanceReviewed 06 Jan 2020
Does everyone have a perfect soulmate out there, whom they just need to find? And can a dating app really match you up with the right person, based purely on your answers to a series of personal questions? These are the question explored in Mary Ann Tippet’s latest book, Pairs with Pinot.
We follow the story of a young woman named Faith as she struggles to find a career in the wine industry, with the threat of homelessness hanging over her. The narrative switches between the paths of Faith and Brian, a more reserved and analytical journalist.
Faith is easy for the reader to like and root for, her natural enthusiasm only occasionally dampened by the challenges she faces. Effectively an orphan, she lives with her grandmother, who is somewhat harsh despite her underlying affection for Faith. Faith faces an ultimatum to move out and find her own place – a difficult task unless she first finds a better paid job, ideally working with wine – but is given extra time on condition she tries out a new dating app called SoulMates.
Brian, meanwhile, needs to use the app for different reasons. He is in a relationship, albeit an imperfect one, but is asked to write a story exposing the ineffectiveness of the SoulMates app. At the start of the book his rather taciturn and factual nature (and his near-obsession with Pinot Noir) make him harder for the reader to immediately warm to, and one’s feelings towards him are given the opportunity to evolve over the course of the story.
The SoulMates app brings the two characters together, but the course of true love never did run smooth, and despite initial attraction, several factors result in the couple leaving their first date without any certainty of a lasting relationship. Will their differing feelings about animals and Pinot prove to be a lasting barrier between them? Well, that would be telling ?
For anyone in search of a light-hearted and playful romance, I highly recommend this book. The characters and scenes are sharply drawn and very relatable for almost any reader, and it’s an enjoyable read from start to finish. The style, which weaves in the character’s answers to the SoulMates questionnaire, is a nice innovation, and can be thought-provoking in places too. My only criticism, as with the author’s excellent previous work (Clara and Pig), is that I would have enjoyed even more of it!
We follow the story of a young woman named Faith as she struggles to find a career in the wine industry, with the threat of homelessness hanging over her. The narrative switches between the paths of Faith and Brian, a more reserved and analytical journalist.
Faith is easy for the reader to like and root for, her natural enthusiasm only occasionally dampened by the challenges she faces. Effectively an orphan, she lives with her grandmother, who is somewhat harsh despite her underlying affection for Faith. Faith faces an ultimatum to move out and find her own place – a difficult task unless she first finds a better paid job, ideally working with wine – but is given extra time on condition she tries out a new dating app called SoulMates.
Brian, meanwhile, needs to use the app for different reasons. He is in a relationship, albeit an imperfect one, but is asked to write a story exposing the ineffectiveness of the SoulMates app. At the start of the book his rather taciturn and factual nature (and his near-obsession with Pinot Noir) make him harder for the reader to immediately warm to, and one’s feelings towards him are given the opportunity to evolve over the course of the story.
The SoulMates app brings the two characters together, but the course of true love never did run smooth, and despite initial attraction, several factors result in the couple leaving their first date without any certainty of a lasting relationship. Will their differing feelings about animals and Pinot prove to be a lasting barrier between them? Well, that would be telling ?
For anyone in search of a light-hearted and playful romance, I highly recommend this book. The characters and scenes are sharply drawn and very relatable for almost any reader, and it’s an enjoyable read from start to finish. The style, which weaves in the character’s answers to the SoulMates questionnaire, is a nice innovation, and can be thought-provoking in places too. My only criticism, as with the author’s excellent previous work (Clara and Pig), is that I would have enjoyed even more of it!
