⚠️ LIGHT SPOILERS
Ramone… come outside. I just want to talk. 😭😂
At 62% I had already reached the point where I had to message D.S. Hudson because I genuinely could not keep my thoughts to myself anymore. I basically told them Ramone was TAPPED for thinking he could move the way he was moving and not take accountability for the destruction he was leaving behind.
Their response?
“Why would he take accountability!?”
PLEASE. 😭
Meanwhile I’m sitting there like, BECAUSE THIS MAN HAS BEEN SLANGING IT EVERYWHERE AND CREATING CHAOS IN EVERY DIRECTION?!
I also told them I was deliberately taking my time because THE DETAILS, BABYYYYY. THE DETAILS. I knew cheating was involved from the cover, but I absolutely did not expect the LEVELS this book went to.
And that’s what surprised me most about Singleish.
This isn’t simply a story about a man who cheats.
It’s about a man who has spent years avoiding vulnerability, chasing validation and creating chaos, then finally being forced to sit down and look at the common denominator in all of it:
himself.
Ramone frustrated the life out of me. He always had a reason for what he did. He felt unwanted. He was lonely. Someone else wanted him. He didn’t want to hurt anyone. He was influenced by the men around him.
And Dr Ferguson kept bringing him right back to accountability.
Because yes, Ramone had reasons for becoming the man he was.
But reasons are not excuses.
One of my favourite parts of the book was seeing how his childhood connected to his adult behaviour. From being a little boy who believed boys shouldn’t cry, to the way he viewed relationships, masculinity and his father, so much of Ramone’s behaviour started making sense the deeper we went.
That doesn’t mean I agreed with him.
AT ALL. 😭
It just made him more layered.
The relationship with Corrine was especially frustrating because I felt for her, but there were also moments where I was like GURLLL STAND UP. Their relationship had clearly been broken for a long time, and instead of dealing with grief, communication problems and resentment properly, Ramone repeatedly went looking elsewhere for what he thought he was missing.
Then the book just kept getting messier.
Mandy.
Chloe.
Sonia.
Ashley.
Naomi.
Aaron.
Every time I thought we had reached the maximum level of foolishness, D.S. Hudson said hold my drink. 😭
There was one particular connection between two characters that genuinely made me stop reading and send the authors reaction pictures because WHAT DO YOU EVEN SAY?!
And somehow, that still wasn’t the biggest reveal.
What I really appreciated was that the book allowed us to understand Ramone without making us forgive him.
He had abandonment issues.
He had unhealthy examples of masculinity.
He struggled with vulnerability.
He craved attention and validation.
But he also hurt people.
A LOT of people.
And at some point, he had to stop acting like life was simply happening to him and recognise that he was actively creating some of the situations he was complaining about.
That’s why “Hurricane Ramone” was such a perfect description.
This man left destruction everywhere. 😭
Then Nicole entered the picture, and I really enjoyed what that relationship brought out of him. She pushed Ramone to look at himself differently, encouraged him to find purpose outside of women, and helped him see that he could actually contribute something positive to other people’s lives.
Watching him find purpose through coaching was one of my favourite parts of his growth because, for once, he was receiving validation from something meaningful.
But of course…
This is Ramone.
Peace could never last THAT long. 😂
By the time we reached the ending, I was sitting there like:
EXCUSE ME?!
Because just when you think Ramone might finally be entering a calmer chapter of his life, his past basically turns around and says:
You thought I was finished with you?
Absolutely not.
By the end, I had such complicated feelings about him.
Did he irritate me?
YES.
Did I agree with most of his decisions?
Absolutely not.
Did I want Dr Ferguson to shake him several times?
100%.
But did I understand him more by the end?
I did.
And that’s what made Singleish work for me.
My biggest takeaway was this:
Healing isn’t only about discovering who hurt you. Sometimes healing means acknowledging who you hurt because you never dealt with what happened to you.
And Ramone had A LOT to acknowledge.
So yes, D.S. Hudson…
you were laughing when I messaged you at 62%.
You were asking what was wrong with Ramone and his lack of accountability.
You told me “variety is the spice of life.” 😂
Meanwhile you KNEW what was still waiting for me.
I SEE YOU.
Because after THAT ending?
I NEED ANSWERS.
Hurricane Ramone might finally be trying to calm down…
but something tells me the real sto...
