The premise of this book was timely and could have been really good, but unfortunately the writing style just didn’t do it for me. I found it to be very choppy, lots of single sentence dialogue and few paragraphs.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, but my opinions are my own.

I was worried that with the pandemic and lockdown still upon us, I wouldn't enjoy reading about it, but I was surprised with how much I enjoyed this book. I thought the characters were relatable and it showcased many of the problems facing individuals during this unique time period. However, I found it hard to follow who was speaking at times with so much dialogue and so many characters. I'm hopeful that was just a problem with the ARC and will be fixed by the final publication.

This was an easy read romance that you can fly through. The story between Sophia and Jack was heart warming but the lockdown setting felt a bit close to home in the current circumstance. I think I'd have enjoyed this a lot more if lockdown was a thing of the past...

DNF at 10%.
Wow, where to begin?
-The writing style is choppy and erratic. This causes the conversations between the characters to seem stilted, random and incoherent.

-We get it! The book is based during the pandemic. In the little that I read, the sheer amount of times sentences ended with "we're in a pandemic" was overkill. The title says it all, no need to keep reminding us every 15 seconds.

-Characters would enter the story but as as readers, we are not introduced to the characters. So we have no cooking clue how they relate to the protagonist of the story. For example, I only found out 6% in that Jess is is Sophie's sister even though she features in the story from the prologue onwards.

-The prologue? Very unnecessary. If it is referenced later on in the story fine, but up until where I ended, it served no purpose.

-Quite a bit of references are made that aren't explained so for example, for someone who doesn't live in the UK they probably won't understand the significance of the rainbow pictures because this is never explained to us. I only know what the author is referring to because I live in the UK.

This book has such a cute premise but I can't continue.

Immediately intrigued by the title and the pretty cover I had to check out the synopsis and I was sold. I like that the author had no means of trying to romanticize this awful new normal we're living in and this book kind of takes a spin on it while being light-hearted and refreshing. Which is definitely what I did get from this book. In this book we have Sophia who is a teacher and is still working with children of keyworkers throughout the lockdown, we have Jack who is a barman stuck at home isolating since he's one of the many who are vulnerable and should be staying in to protect themselves. I appreciated how realistic it stayed in terms of how some people have been taking the lockdown. It also encouraged some good practices that I would expect people to be already taking.

However, I did assume from the title, that this would touch on romance and love a lot more than it did. I do feel like it fell short in terms of romance. I feel like we didn't really get a big reveal of when they finally met or more scenes of them actually physically being together and the conclusion wasn't as satisfying after the slow burn of them getting to know each other. Although, the ending was quite cute.

REVIEW 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Wow... Firstly the title of the book and blurb is what captured my attention.
From the first page the author explained our new life to detail, from our supermarkets running out of toilet roll, our keyworker kids in school, people making scrubs for our frontline staff, our wildlife being brave and coming into towns, even how it was so hard for our shielded people to gain supermarket slots and having to go without.

The book features Sophie and Jack. Sophie is a teacher, she's working through lockdown, Jack's shielded and lives in the flat above, they 'met' through clapping for the NHS and then their relationship grew , when Sophie explained the nightly clap, I cried. It brought back memories for me too out with my family clapping.
Jack opening his cupboards and they were bare, shows what our shielded families struggled with and how they didn't know if they would have the food they needed for themselves and their families.
I could go into detail about this book, I laughed at parts, I aww'd at parts and I even cried at parts, especially the baby being born and a wedding during lockdown...my heart!!

But I don't want to ruin it for anyone, but what I will say if you want to read a book focuses on our positive points then this is the one.
Two strangers meet, fall in love at a distance.
A community comes together and helps one another in times of need.
People slow down and create new ways to communicate and new ways to live this life while staying safe.
We can adjust, we can survive this, we just need to be kind, be in it together and support each other through this new way of life.

Thankyou Netgalley and Avon Books for my ARC of Love In Lockdown, release day is 23rs November and it's only 99p to pre order now on Kindle.

A book set in the first lockdown of 2020. So apt and topical. How building a social distance community, teachers looking after key workers children, medical conditions and age affect all around us. Looking out for the older generations and trying to teach the technology challenged how to use it at a distance.
It will make you smile, recognise situations that either yourself or someone you know of can relate to.
Enjoy as we go back into lockdown again.

Jack and Sophia ‘meet’ as neighbours in an apartment block during lockdown. They both have health issues, Jack has to shield and Sophia offers help ... and this is how their story starts!!

First of all, I think Chloe James does capture the spirit of the first lockdown extremely well. The ‘Dunkirk’ spirit, backs to the wall, we’re all in this together, the willingness and kindness of people offered help especially to the vulnerable, the Thursday night clap for key workers, it’s all here in this heartwarming, lovely, gentle story. I like how the characters reflect on how things have changed and assess what’s important in life. The characters are all lovely and make you want to move in close by!!! I love how teacher Sophia uses Charlie Mackesy’s drawings as inspiration and her class of very different children are so sweet! I love the message about community bonding with some of the different and thoughtful things they do for each other. It would be good to think that friendships forged in dark times will continue, as well as the desire to help as we yet again face dark times.

Overall, yes, I dare say it’s unrealistic but hey, it makes you feel good. It’s sweet, easy to read and fills you with positive thoughts and oh boy, do we ever need optimism in these dystopian times. Thank you to the author for this feel good read, it was wonderful to spend a few hours in such pleasant company and it was just what I needed!

With thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books for a much appreciated arc for an honest review.

Relationships need working on in lockdown!

Initially I wasn't at all sure I was going to enjoy Love in Lockdown. I found a little too much direct speech for my reader taste and Chloe James' writing was a bit too close to the real experience of lockdown. However, suddenly I clicked into the rhythm of the narrative and found I actually rather enjoyed the story. Of course there was a lot of direct speech. Chloe James was illustrating the reality of human contact in lockdown. We all had to rely on phones and online chat. Her portrayal of the pandemic situation was so well written that it placed me back into the early weeks of the first full national lockdown incredibly effectively. This is very clever writing. I could identify with, and remember, so many of the references that I felt I was part of the narrative too. I think this is a real strength. Those living alone, in anonymous flats or who are feeling disconnected from society because of Covid 19 might well find considerable solace in Love in Lockdown as it has the potential to make them feel part of the world, albeit vicariously.

Essentially Love in Lockdown is an unusual love story for unusual times. I very much appreciated that Jack and Sophie's relationship is not based on appearance, but that they gradually get to know one another through interaction and not immediate physical attraction. There's a charm to this that is quite heart warming and by the end of the Love in Lockdown I wanted them to have a happy ever after ending - although you'll have to read it for yourself to see if that happens! I enjoyed the secondary characters too, especially because they represent the full range of society from children to the elderly because it made the story feel more inclusive.

However, what I most enjoyed about Love in Lockdown was the overarching message that, although we may have a 'new normal', life does go on; birth, marriage, death, love, friendship and community are all still there for us. We may need to reach out for them differently, but with sensitivity towards others and a small amount of effort, life is till there. If there are those, like me initially, who felt reading a book set during the pandemic might be a bit too much, I'd say give Love in Lockdown a try. You might find that you really enjoy it. I did.

NOTE: I received an advanced reader's copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first book I've read that actually takes place during the COVID-19 pandemic, and kudos to the author because it does not feel sloppy or rushed, but like a fully thought-out and well-written book. Jack and Sophia live in the same apartment complex but never met until they start chatting while on their balconies. You do need to suspend some disbelief that in the months of getting to know each other they never once exchange photos or say hello from a social distance. But watching their relationship develop, and watching how they work together to help their neighborhood community, is very sweet. I'd say this is good escapist reading for these times, but since it takes place during lockdown it doesn't feel so escapist. That said, it will give people in lockdown hope that they too can still develop relationships and friendship and connect with others even while social distancing during these crazy times.

Well, we have just entered lock da own number 2 and so this is timely. A lovely romance which takes place during the sunny (Weather wise) days of lockdown. The keyworkers clap, the toilet roll shortage, the school bubbles, the sense of community etc all feature. The book also touches on more serious issue such as long term medical conditions, broken marriages and loneliness. Well worth a read and has a feel good factor not to be missed.

I really wanted to love this book. I have been curious to see how authors would handle the lockdown. However, I thought there was too much dialogue in this book. Also, in this day and age of technology, it was especially improbable that Jack and Sophia never exchanged photos or Zoomed or Facetimed each other. . It was a cute story and overall I enjoyed it, but I had to push through to finish.

There were a few laugh-out-loud scenes, like the Zoom wedding.

As an American, the English slang also made it a little harder to read. I knew most of it, but some terms were unfamiliar.

The idea was cute, but the execution needed improvement.

Thank you to NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

BOY MEETS GIRL , THE CUPID STRIKES IN ROMANTIC SLOW MOTION
But Billy, guess what?

THEY HAVEN'T SEEN EACH OTHER. But a good old school romance is all about the CONNECTION , the vibe and thats what we see in this LOVE STORY, Lockdown edition.

Where the lover boy surreptitiously climbs up to his mon amour's balcony for their clandestine love meetings, in the LOCKDOWN edition, they become balcony neighbours/friends turned to lovers. Please note, the balcony isn't adjacent but an overhead one.

. This premise has so much potential but unfortunately loses some momentum over the lengthiness of the novel. Sophia and Jack’s story, while cute and starry eyed romantic, wasn't enough to hold the undivided attention throughout and I did want to put it aside. It fell flat for me in the second half.

All my stars go for the Premise, buildup and the gorgeous book cover.

Thankyou NetGalley and AvonBooks for giving me the e ARC in exchange of an honest review.

Sophia lives in the apartment underneath Jack and during Covid lockdown they form a friendship that becomes incredibly important for each of them. Each dealing with health issues they keep their spirits up and the community spirit alive with their neighbours and friends.

This was a delightful read, very poignant and relevant.

This book was written in the middle of Lockdown #1. I fell in love with it from page 1.

Sophia is a teacher currently going into school to teach key workers children, Erica is a midwife and Sophia's roommate and Jack, cocktail extraordinaire, lives alone and is shielding due to a kidney disease.

They live in a block of flats and 'meet' doing the Thursday night clap. As time goes on Sophia and Jack build on their friendship from their balconies but they never meet - Jack is in the flat above.

We start to meet other residents of the block of flats and their own stories emerge.

I loved getting to know all the characters of this book. It was just a beautiful read. I loved the whole will they wont they aspect and how it was so relatable to everything that is happening now.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A timely and charming read that really tugs at the heartstrings, I absolutely adored Love In Lockdown - although it was definitely a bit surreal reading a book about lockdown.

Sophia is afraid lockdown will put her life on pause – just as she was she was going to put herself out there and meet someone new. And when the the first clap for the key-workers rings out around her courtyard, she’s moved to tears for all kinds of reasons.

Jack is normally used to living life to the fullest - but because of a health condition, he has to cocoon and is starting to go totally stir-crazy. That is until that night he hears a woman crying from the balcony beneath his. He strikes up a conversation with the stranger and puts a smile back on her face.

Soon their balcony meetings are the highlight of Jack and Sophia’s days - but even as they grow closer together, they’re always kept apart.

While I loved the main romance of the story, I was also really drawn into the stories of their neighbours. I loved the sense of community that developed among the people who were living in the apartment block - like, how they were all checking in on each other and hosting weekly concerts out on their balconies, It kind of felt like I was part of the community as well.

This was such a wonderful, uplifting read! I absolutely devoured it in 2 days. The story follows Jack and Sophia, neighbours who live above and below each other in a block of flats. When the country goes into lockdown, during the first clap for carers, they strike up a conversation on their balconies. I love a cute, fluffy read and this is definitely that, however it was also very emotional and poignant. It’s the perfect book for the current circumstances, especially as England goes into lockdown 2.0. The point of view switches between Jack and Sophia with every chapter, and it’s nice to hear what each of them are going through individually, Sophia as a teacher and Jack shielding with a kidney condition, and then to see what happens when they unite and are able to support each other. The story also has many side characters, like Bertie and Mavis, who all have their own stories that intertwine with each other, and they all work together and get to know each other, and lean on each other in these hard times. It’s a beautiful story about community spirit and falling in love.

Really great book. Captured the whole lockdown situation perfectly. The characters were down to earth people whose lives had to change to survive the pandemic. The relationship between Jack and Sophie was intrigueing. I readvitvat a time we in Ireland were just facing into our second lockdown so very apt. This book should be on a list for teenagers to read in about 30 years time. They will not believe that this lockdown actually happened at call.

At the beginning of quarantine, I saw a TikTok about a guy trying to interact with another girl who was on a roof in NYC. In the TikToks, they started going on dates. When I saw this book, it reminded me of those interactions, which always seemed like a great idea for a book. So of course I wanted to read it.

I think this was a super cute book about the times that we're in. I think it was uplifting when nothing else seems to be over. Overall, I do recommend it!

I LOVE this book!! I love that love doesn’t stop during the worst of times — ie, NOW — and that it turns bad into good.
Also, it made me think of the couple that met across the tops of buildings: she was dancing, he was watching, and they ended up having virtual dates until they actually met!!