Blurb
The Special Relationship describes how one American woman fell in love with a British man and learned the rules of engagement in order to make her life in England successful.
Are you thinking about dating (or marrying) a British man and heading off to the United Kingdom to be with him? Have you found your Mr. Darcy? This book offers insider tips and advice from an American who found her Prince Charming. Her beguiling “prince” affectionately refers to her as the “original Meghan Markle”. This practical, easy-to-read, and sometimes humorous guidebook will help modern women better understand British men, English culture, and how to create their own special relationship
Review
Although the book title (and the blurb) describes this as a guide for a Modern American Girl to find love with a British man, I'd still say it's more than that. The Special Relationship is a self-help guide for a newbie to survive in Britain. All the data is nicely represented with colored Maps, flags, pictures, etc. You could belong to any nationality, any gender, and this book can be a helpful quick guide. I am from India and have been living in the UK for 3 years now. Although I do know a lot of things mentioned in the book now, there's still a lot I learned after reading the book. Frederica does mention how she connected with her husband and her challenges when she moved to the U.K, but it's still comparatively less talked about than the actual information (which I enjoyed).
I loved the chapters describing how the U.K is divided into England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, and what's the difference and link between English, United Kingdom, British, Britain, etc. Trust me, it was confusing for me too when I first came here.
There's also a chapter that provides a very compact guide to all the places to visit in the U.K. Although there are soo soooo many more that can be included (there's a lot to see throughout the U.K), but there were a few that caught my attention.
Frederica also talks about the events that happen throughout the U.K like Queen's birthday parade, Christmas events, etc. But what I didn't know (like a lot many things that I still need to explore) is the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. And thank god I read the book just in time, as the Festival starts in August and I might plan to go this year (If it didn't cancel because of Covid).
There's a big chapter on games including Football (of course.!), cricket, golf, etc. Here Frederica describes how you can easily connect with a British guy by talking about football. And I wouldn't disagree.! I have seen the craze during the European Football championship (Okay, we aren't talking about that.! ). Cricket is of course another popular sport here as it was introduced to the world by the British. I am from India, so I am definitely a fan. I have seen cricket grounds in London and academy in Bath. So I can confirm that as well.
Then there are chapters on Food, Music, and even driving. If you are from America, you'd be weirded out by the right-hand side driving. I didn't find that difficult as we have the same in India.
Overall, I find the book good. It's a self-help guide to surviving in the U.K. It's not extremely informative and kept concise so you can further research on stuff if you want. If you have moved to the U.K recently or planning to do so, you can definitely pick up the book and be prepared for what's to come.