It was only going to be a matter of time before a lockdown love story was written. This one was cute with two likeable main characters. I did find it a bit ironic that they both suffered from health conditions and had similar situations with their exes. It was pushing the mark a bit much that they were meant to be. But as the author's note states at the back, it was a story written to give people hope in the tough time of lockdown and for this, I admire her getting pen to paper. ⁣
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I read this book quite quickly and would recommend it to anyone looking for something light to put a smile on your face.⁣

Disclaimer: Got this as an ARC from @NetGalley!

I ADORE THIS BOOK! It's perfect for quarantined life and I have been wondering when someone was finally going to write about it.

This was your typical boy meets girl cliché book but definitely just what I needed to read. I was a bit hesitant about reading a book about COVID-19 when Scotland is currently in a lockdown again but this was so light-hearted I just couldn’t not continue!

The story is told from two POV’s: Jack and Sophia. I could totally relate to everything in the book from the clapping for our heroes (NHS workers) and all the panic buying.

You could guess where the story was going and Jack and Sophia didn’t have any twists and turns throughout before getting their happy ending. It was simply beautiful.

Thank you to Chloe James and NetGalley for this ARC. It was a very enjoyable read.

Love loved this book! It was so cute and I absolutely couldn’t put it down! I highly recommend it! Every time I was going to stop for the night I would put it down only to pick it right back up and say one more chapter!

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon Books, and the author for allowing me access to this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

After reading quite a few heavy books, I was looking for something light, short, and sweet to read to cleanse my palette. Chole James's "Love in Lockdown" was able to provide that in spades. The story of Sophia and Jack, two neighbors who never spoke before the lockdown began is told in alternating chapters, and we are given ample time to get to know both of our main characters well. Both chronic illness sufferers (one has had lifelong kidney issues, while the other fairly recently started suffering seizures) and relatively recently out of love, the two strike up a friendship via their respective balconies.

This is a quick read with two very likable leads. At times it could feel like there was one mishap after the other occurring to the point where it hits hyperbole, but it is 2020, right? One of my only true annoyances with this book was the fact that there was so much focus on how they could be falling for each other without having actually seen each other...yet they're both part of a WhatsApp group where people have been actively sending pictures....? But if you're wanting a cute romcom, this one will do the trick.

I selected Love In Lockdown by Chloe James on a whim, in part because I thought I’d probably be in the mood for a light romance by the end of Nonfiction November, and also because I was curious about how an author might integrate the lockdown into a novel.

Set in the UK, Love In Lockdown begins in March 2020, shortly after the British government mandates a stay at home order, where all but ‘essential’ workers are required to remain at home, except to participate in a limited period of socially distanced exercise, or purchase groceries in an effort to slow the spread of the pandemic.

As the cheers and applause for the weekly ‘Clap for NHS’, honouring the sacrifices of the doctors and nurses dealing with the pandemic, die down, Jack hears the sobs of a woman on the balcony beneath him. Sophia, moved by the chorus, and emotional thinking about the risks coronavirus poses to her loved ones, is startled by a stranger’s inquiry about her well-being from the flat above her, but enjoys the ensuing chat. Told in chapters that alternate between the first person perspectives of Sophia and Jack, thus begins a slow, sweet development of a friendship leading to a romantic relationship, despite the two being unable to meet face to face.

Sophia, a teacher, is required to continue working, as is her roommate, a NHS midwife, while Jack, a bartender, is confined to his flat 24/7 due to a kidney condition which places him in a high risk category. Their evening chats, sharing snacks and drink via an improvised dumbwaiter, quickly become a regular highlight of their day, and their discussions prompt them to reach out to others in their immediate area who may be lonely, or in need of help.

The romance between Sophia and Jack is the driving element of the novel, but Love In Lockdown is also a story about family and community. James features the ways people find to connect despite the necessity of physical distance during the lockdown, shown by the regular FaceTime calls between Jack and his brother, Sophia’s sister’s Zoom wedding, and the use of WhatsApp to link the people in Sophia and Jack’s neighbourhood and set up an informal care network.

The author also explores the impact of the lockdown on diverse groups of people outside the immediate locale, like Sophia's students and their parents, the autistic residents of a nearby boarding home, and members of Jack and Sophia’s extended family.

While the story isn’t without its flaws, Love In Lockdown is a light, escapist read that as the author hoped, reflects the positive spirit, courage, hope and love that came out of the lockdown, despite its dire circumstances.

I'm amazed that Love in Lockdown got published as quickly as it did. I would say that a subject like this could easily become dated, but...it looks like lockdown, social distancing, masks, and COVID are here to stay for a bit. It's timely, and, while I get tired of hearing about all things COVID in real life, it was still nice to read and feel less alone.

I was hesitant about this book since we are still in a pandemic and it felt like it was too soon to read about romance in lockdown. I was wrong. This book was adorable and it had me smiling and it probably gave me cavities with all the gooey sweet moments. I adored how they had never met even while being literal neighbors since it is so on brand for their age group. The book made me wish for my own balcony and cute neighbor that would keep me company during these times by sending down drinks. It was such a cute read when the world seems to be falling apart at its seams.

I rather enjoyed that Sophia is a teacher but it was sus that she was still doing in person teaching during lockdown but I can overlook it.. I really liked Jack! His health issues kept him inside and it was really cool to read about him. I loved that the book was more than just their romance since it was also about community. They helped elderly and vulnerable populations who tend to slip through the gaps left behind even in countries with nationalized health care. I think the book was more of a 3 stars for me but giving it 4 stars since it made me forget and smile during the time I spent reading it.

When lockdown started I thought that the last thing I would want to read would be a novel set during lockdown. Bizarrely in the two or so weeks I was suffering with Covid I opened and read two books relating to life and scenarios not so dissimilar to what we were going through!

The second of these was Love in Lockdown. I really enjoyed this slow burning romance novel of two people who meet on their balconies. I love the way it vividly described those early days of the first lockdown and the sense of community that thrived during that time. This book was charming, heartwarming and uplifting, a lovely read at a time when everything seems so bleak.

Jack and Sophia are neighbours, only they don't know it yet. It's only when Lockdown entraps them in their homes, that they discover each other, when after the evening clap, Jack hears Sophia crying on the balcony below.

This is a sweet story with some funny moments and an interesting take on life and love in lockdown. I found it a little long winded in places, but other than that it was well written and a pleasant read.

Thanks to NetGalley, Chloe James and her publisher for allowing me to read and advance copy for free in exchange for an honest review.

I picked up this book to get an uplifting cute story about love in lockdown. But I got more than that. It is not just a “cute story about love in lockdown”. It is also a story about human resilience, about community, and about helping others. I enjoyed reading about how life has been just a couple of months ago, remembering how I felt back then.

The best thing to come out of the lockdown! Sophia and Jack are neighbours in an apartment building who get to know each other on their balconies during the lockdown. They work together to help other people face the loneliness and difficulties of surviving the lockdown and fall in love along the way. They both have medical issues that have changed their lives and have affected relationships in the past. However, they have never seen each other face to face…..

This is the second book I have read bout the COVID lockdown whilst we are still going through the lockdown - it’s amazed me that these authors have managed to write a publish a book during this time.
Love in Lockdown for me epitomises lockdown. It’s the story of two single people living in the same block of apartments who whilst outside on their balconies clapping for careers they start speaking without actually being able to see each other.
This then becomes the highlight of their day and Sophia finds herself falling in love with someone she has never seen.
It’s a lovely, lighthearted rom com and I really enjoyed it.
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This story was great fun. It shows the sprit of communities when difficulties arise. and peoples coping strategies when under pressure. I am sure it will resonate with a lot of readers..

A world of thanks to Avon Books UK and NetGalley for supplying me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

3/5 stars

I just finished and I'm still suffering from the overload of the warm-and-fuzzies and cuteness! This was exactly everything I wanted out of a cutesy romance.

Life in the COVID-19 lockdown is rough on anyone's mental sanity, but when Sophia's apartment complex rang with applause for the essential workers, she broke down and cried. In concern, the man on the apartment balcony above hers strikes up a conversation with her and puts a smile back on her face. Eventually, Sophia's nightly balcony talks with Jack, the man from the apartment above hers, are the highlight of her day. But can you really fall in love with someone you've never actually met face to face?

This was such a fun new spin on a romance! I wish someone had given a copy to me while I was still in quarantine, just to show me that there can always be light and love even in these strange times. I know that there's an inflation of quarantine stories recently, but this one is probably my favorite to date.

But of course, when you have a book that's mildly rom-com-ish like this one, there's always that little touch of unrealisticness that kind of tasks away from the story as a whole. Sophia and Jack's balconies appear to be far enough apart that they have to use a pulley system to send each other stuff. Wouldn't they have to shout at each other? And then wouldn't the neighbors hear it all? It just doesn't make sense. Maybe Sophia and Jack are just more patient than I am, but I couldn't imagine not even attempting to see the other person's face. Jack tries half-heartedly, but he enjoyed the mystery of it all. I guess I get that, I could just never imagine doing it myself!

Though there really wasn't much of a plot, one thing this book excelled at was simply making me happy. Cutesy romance just tends to do that to me! I really should put more into my rotation. Everyone needs some fluff now and then to break up whatever you're reading, whether it is dark gory fantasy, nerve-wracking thrillers, or one of those sad contemporaries that aim (and normally succeed) in making you cry.

I just have one small note: what happened to Anna? This one little subplot appeared where this other girl in the apartment complex started paying attention to Jack, but it completely faded away. I think I would have enjoyed the drama, it's a bummer we didn't get to see more.

This was such a fun book! I'm glad quarantine gave someone some inspiration while I admittedly did nothing but lounge around in my pajamas reading. I would definitely recommend it to all looking for a cute lockdown romance!

I loved this book will definitely recommend it to my students as a fast and entertaining read. Loved the story and the setting of the pandemic. It does not touch political or stressful themes related to the pandemic wich gives anew sight to our current situation.

This book had a cute premise. Unfortunately, it didn't read like an uncorrected proof but like a rough draft. Also,
I also question the need for so much world building regarding a pandemic that we're all currently living through. That unnecessary exposition slowed the pace and made the book feel mundane. The comparison to THE FLATSHARE is embarrassing. THE FLATSHARE is a masterpiece. This book is Not Ready for Prime Time.

This was for sure a very hard book to get through in this current climate. For many a chapter I felt too much anxiety to get through the next page, having to continually stop before moving onto the next chapter. It was a very nice idea, a good romance wherein the characters made do with an impossible situation that as readers we are all currently living in. I know that for years to come this kinda storyline will be retold in one form or another but when you’re in the same boat as the main characters, with the same fears of whether or not friends or family will be okay, not knowing just when this pandemic will end.. imagining not being able to find love because we’re meant to be locked away.. feeling alone.. it’s just too real for comfort at the moment.

First of all, I want to thank NetGalley for the digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

To borrow the sentiments of another reviewer...this story was so sweet it made my teeth hurt. So much more than a romantic comedy, this story serves as a reminder of what can be accomplished when people come together for the good of others.

When I started reading this book, I was looking forward to a light-hearted romcom set within current events. In the Prologue we are introduced to Jack, an average man going about his business in a busy English town, too absorbed in his own troubles to notice much of what's going on around him. Basically, a typical day we could all relate to prior to 2020.

When lockdown is implemented in an effort to slow the spread of Covid-19, the world slows down and narrows in on a small community of flats where we are introduced to a variety of characters, each of whom could be your own next door neighbor. There is the neighborhood busy-body, the elderly widower, the quirky musician, and the story's heroine, Sophia. Sophia is an elementary school teacher suffering from a broken heart and a recent diagnosis of epilepsy. When the fear and stress culminate in a moment of emotional release on her balcony, her upstairs neighbor, Jack, calls down to ask if she's ok. This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Jack has been instructed not to leave his flat during lockdown due to a chronic illness that puts him at high risk if he catches the virus. Sophia offers to drop groceries off for him and soon sets up a neighborhood support group in which she can offer help to others who need groceries or dog walkers, or simple human connection through regular phone calls.

As lockdown continues, Sophia and Jack continue their daily balcony discussions, sharing intimate secrets and opening up with each other in ways they hadn't been able to with anyone else. And, without having ever met face to face, they form a deep connection.

This story was so inspiring. The characters so sweet and kind. Sophia is so altruistic and a shining example of how everyday people can be heroes. It's funny how this story is set in our current circumstances, and yet far enough removed that it feels like a separate world that I never wanted to leave. I left this world with a desire to do more and spread more kindness. And it's a world I will return to whenever I need a reminder of what can be accomplished when we take our minds off ourselves and focus on how we can help others.

Love in Lockdown is the first book that I've read (not science fiction/fantasy) that delves into the subject of relationships during the pandemic! Meeting while maintaining social distancing, wearing masks, and dating? Jack and Sophia meet during the pandemic. They talk to each other from their socially distant balconies. They talk and encourage each other. This book does reflect the current circumstances of the pandemic, so there is not a lot of excitement happening in their day to day lives. However it does help us realize that we have neighbors and potential friends right under our noses. These are two people who probably barely glanced at each other before the pandemic, but now there is nothing but time to learn about yourself and others.