Love at First Like is a fun follow up to Orenstein's first novel, Playing With Matches. Also centered around love and romance, this book plays off of the ridiculousness of Instagram and our desire to match up to the ideals we try to share on the channel. Eliza gets caught up in the moment with a photo post of an engagement ring and that leads a fake wedding, fake fiance and a bundle of nutty mishaps along the way. This is an easy, breezy millenial/gen Y beach read for the hopeless/hapless romantic in you.

Love at First Like is a cute book even though I felt it wasn't very realistic. Thankfully, I was able to look past this though and enjoyed the story. If you are a fan of fake relationships and can get over a few white lies than I recommend this one to you!

A really cute and unique take on the fake fiance trope. While it was a little bit long at times and the heroine got away with a bit too much, I really enjoyed this story and cast of characters.

Hannah Orenstein follow up to Playing with Matches is the perfect summer read. It's a fun and light story that will have you groaning along with the main character Eliza, and also rooting for her along the way.

The premise of the book makes you laugh right away. Eliza, a jewelry store owner accidentally uploads a photo to her Instagram of herself with an engagement ring one night. The next morning the sales at her store skyrocket and she realizes she can use this fake engagement to her advantage. She sets out to find a fake groom and meets Blake, a fellow businessman who doesn't have an Instagram account so he has no idea Eliza is engaged. Keeping her "engagement" under wraps, she begins a relationship with Blake thinking he could be her perfect groom. But along the way her lies catch up to her and her fake wedding and business begin to spiral out of control.

While I did find Eliza to be a little too self-absorbed at times, she wasn't unlikeable and has her redeeming moments that make her a character to root. Its the perfect book for the world today, when we compare everything we do to what we see others do on social media.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for a digital ARC.

I has a hard time with this book. I know it was supposed to be a light, fun romance, which I seem to be reading a lot of this summer. However, maybe I'm just too old for this one. I just couldn't wrap my head around the choices that the main character made and that all of her friends and family didn't say anything either. I just didn't get it.

I was really excited to read this book because I loved the author's first book, Playing With Matches. Like her debut novel, this novel does a great job of painting a picture of a life of a twenty-something in present-day New York City/Brooklyn - obsession with social media, modern dating, importance of friendship. The author's writing style is easy breezy and a joy to read. The main character made some questionable choices and right to the end I was unsure how it would all play out. It was definitely an unpredictable ride!

Laughed like crazy at the Union Pool comment. Downing espresso to stay awake for a midnight gig in Bushwick--too real. Getting an UES guy to come to Greenpoint--too real. There were some excellent moments in here that I think only New Yorkers would understand that do wonders for premise setting...but then, it actually takes away credence from a major plot point, which is that the landlord is boosting rent and notifies the girls six months out. Sure, maybe this happens with businesses, but NYC is notorious for having people figuring out their housing the week before they move. So without further explanation, this annoyed me--normally I'd happily suspend my disbelief, but when the author has gone to all the effort of creating a believable world just to have a major plot point hinge on thus...

Through most of this I had to remind myself that I read to experience different perspectives, which can include city girls trying to convince people to marry them. But as this went on I really struggled to relate as I felt so darn bad for the men involved. This at times felt rushed and was kind of lacking on the cute and gooey stuff, especially at the resolution. I wanted more to the eventual relationship.

<spoiler>But I guess the major reason I'm not 4-starring this for being a fun read is how disappointed I was that the ultimate ending involves a marriage! There's a point in there where we hear all about how silly it is that women are judged based on their relationship status, which gave me hope that we'd have the two sisters pull off an excellent business move and show us that women can run small businesses and get through financial hardships to achieve their dreams without needing a romantic partner. (Shoutout to Liv for being my favourite character.) But alas, no, the ultimate ending relies on our main character stubbornly not cancelling the wedding that she stupidly booked (and could have just postponed! She didn't even try to coerce another venue into comping her!) and then having the wedding. This just felt like such a missed opportunity.</spoiler>

But it was a fun and cheery read. Too bad the patriarchy sucks!

I love fake relationship tropes. I was excited to read this story because it sounded so fun. But I couldn't get into the story and quickly disliked the story. The characters were flat and annoying. Eliza was ridiculous. The set-up for a fake relationship is so important and her reasons were didn't bring me to her side. It was a mistake to begin with but she used it to improve her business and wouldn't let go of it. When it was clear she needed to end the confusion, she kept hold. I didn't cheer for her. I didn't even know the guys that well. They were flat and I just didn't care about them. The cuteness of the story line was overshadowed by the stupidity of Eliza's actions.

I really wanted to like it but I just didn't. Sad but true.

I inhaled this book. I enjoyed Orenstein's first book and her follow up was just as good. She has a knack for creating characters who embroil themselves in the mot interesting predictaments. Eliza owns a jewelry store and loves to promote her business on social media. However, after a fake engagement shot accidentally goes viral she's stuck with living the lie. Eliza realizes the financial and marketing potential and goes a little crazy by planning a wedding, sponsored by endorsements, but she lacks a groom. Readers will delight in Eliza's adventures, but also cringe during her more selfish and hasty moments. The author did leave me hanging at the end with do they make it legal?
I knew early on who he groom would be, and it was fun watching the roller coaster ride unfold.

I liked this modern romance involving social media presence and the trouble it can get u into! Eliza and her Instagram fake stories are funny and eye rolling at times. She is a self made success on the hunt for a fake fiance. It was a light hearted summer read and kept me entertained. I like the authors witty writing style and I loved her other book - Playing with matches - too. The ending was a sweet way to round out this romantic read.

Love at First Like follows main character Eliza, a self-made entrepreneur and co-owner of a local jewelry store in Brooklyn. Eliza accidentally posts an engagement picture to her Instagram account and in an effort to increase sales at her store, plows through with planning a wedding. The only catch is, she doesn’t even have a current boyfriend. Love at First Like follows Eliza as she spirals out of control, planning a wedding, trying to find a suitable (or even agreeable) groom and save her store from rent-hikes and sale slumps. Love at First Like offers a lot of fun. Eliza is a relatable character on many levels, she’s a true self-made woman success story, has fierce friendships and true desire to not be lonely. I had a hard time watching as Eliza’s lie grows bigger and bigger and sympathized for those that are damaged in her quest to follow through with a fake wedding. There are a lot of characters in this story and occasionally I struggled to follow all their stories; IVF for her gay sister, business success for her best friend, a budding friendship with a local bartender and a possible romantic relationship with a handsome man. Overall, Love at First Like is light-hearted enjoyable read and perfect for the summer.

A sincere thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Hannah’s debut book Playing With Matches. I was delighted to receive an advanced copy.

Eliza runs a popular jewelry store in NYC and is heavily involved in social media to promote her store.

She inadvertently posts a picture on Instagram and suddenly needs to find a groom..

I really enjoyed this book. It was lighthearted and enjoyable. I really liked Eliza’s character!

Fun entertaining an instagram influencer a fake engagement and this romance takes off, Entertaining charming read,.#netgalley #atriabooks,

DNF at 33%. I really wanted to like this book, but it just wasn't for me. The writing wasn't bad, but the story was far-fetched and the main character was AWFUL. She was so shallow and selfish and she had zero self-awareness. I think that there will probably be a lot of people that can overlook those things and enjoy this, but I'm not one of them.

Man I was excited about the premise of this book but it just didn't live up to my expectations. I felt like the book was really building to a major climax for the character but then it just fizzled. There was no life changing moment, no character development. Just a random wedding and then the end. I reread the last two chapters twice because I was sure I was missing something but nope. That was it.

I normally love stories that feature technology, so this was right up my alley. Unfortunately, the characters just didn't pull me in and felt a little flat and one dimensional. I grew bored with the story and the writing felt amateurish. This is something that I'd expect from a self-published title, not something from a traditional publisher. Bummer!

2.5 to 3 stars. I wanted to like this book more. The description is charming and I think it could've made for a funny read...but Eliza quite unlikeable. I can go for a protagonist that's unlikeable, but only if the story leans into it. Eliza was just unlikeable enough to make me not want happiness or redemption for her at all. She judged her clientsShe didn't deserve Raj, she definitely didn't deserve Blake, and she didn't deserve a happy wedding at the end of this tale.

It wasn't until about 20% into the book that I started to feel the story was off. A sham engagement as a marketing effort - ok, I can get behind it. Carrying that idea out to fruition at the expense of someone else's happiness? Not cool at all. Sure, she felt guilty, but she carried on this plot far too long and strung so many people along on the way. She's sold everyone in her life a fake story and at the end of the day was just cool with it. She didn't seem to learn a lesson, and I have no doubts that her business will continue to come first if this story were to continue. I'm all for ambitious, powerful women, but Eliza hurt and strung along a lot of people for the sake of her "ambition." It wasn't a good look.

On top of all the plot nonsense, none of the characters in this book were well-developed. Blake was sweet and obviously deserved better, but we get practically no other info about him besides that despite the fact that they date for a significant amount of time. Raj was similarly under-developed, making it insane that he would go along with Eliza's plot and still fall for her in the end. At one point Eliza ponders on the "crackling chemistry" between her and Raj....um, what chemistry now? I didn't feel anything. He seemed like a convenient plot point to come along and bail Eliza out. Poor guy.

I wish Love at First Like had panned out because it's an interesting idea and makes for a great blurb to reel you in. I can get behind the "I had to lie and now I'm in too deep to get myself out" trope because I've seen it play out successfully before, but I couldn't suspend my disbelief for this version of it.

REVIEW
Having adored Playing with Matches, I was delighted to have the opportunity to read Love at First Like. I was not disappointed. Hannah Orenstein's sophomore novel introduces readers to sisters Eliza and Sophie. Who among us hasn't committed a social media faux pas? Eliza just happens to commit a major one when she accidentally posts a picture that leads her followers on Instagram to think she's engaged. The problem...she has the ring, just not the groom. What happens from there is a madcap adventure into what happens when she goes looking for Mr. Right (or Mr. Right Now) - who she needs to find in order to save her jewelry business.

With quirky, flawed, and lovable characters, this book is a captivating summer read that debuts on August 6.

PRAISE
Full of charm, whimsy, and giddy romantic tension."
—Buzzfeed

"This glittering gem of a novel is a wise and witty take on family, ambition, and modern love."
—Andrea Dunlop, author of We Came to Forget

"Quick, witty, and compulsively readable . . . an ideal summer read.”
—Kirkus Reviews

AUTHOR
Hannah Orenstein is the author of Playing with Matches and Love at First Like, as well as the senior dating editor at Elite Daily. Previously, she was a writer and editor at Seventeen.com. She lives in Brooklyn.

What a cute little escape from my housework this books was! A rainy day was all I needed to get through this modern day romance novel

I liked this book which makes me sad because I wanted to LOVE it. Really liked the two sisters owning the jewelry shop and doing their thing, THAT I was all about. I was definitely laughing and enjoying Eliza's initial snaps of her being 'engaged.' What started to irk me as the story went on was how badly I felt for Blake and Raj, they didn't deserve to be strung along because this chick couldn't get it together. I did finish it because I wanted to see how it would end. Overall it was an okay, quick read.