Thank you @netgalley for this approval.

I needed something light and uplifting to read and this checked all the boxes.

Initially I thought it would be a typical boy meets girl fall in love romance, but it's much more than that.

If you can't guess from the title, the book takes place during the first lockdown of 2020. Sophia and Jack strike up a conversation over their balconies, but they've never met. Stuck in lockdown their conversation quickly become the highlights of each others day... but not only is it about falling in love when the world stops still, but a story about how two people come together and also help to bring other people together, to help combat the loneliness that has impacted everyone during the lockdown. The sense of community and togetherness without actually being able to be together is what I really found an uplifting part of the book that I really enjoyed.

First I love this cover! Second I love how relatable this book is (minus me falling in love haha). I have definitely experienced some of the same emotions that Chloe did. The characters were relatable and realistic
I would definitely recommend to a friend!
Thank you netgalley for the ARC

Such a timely book and even though I would usually avoid anything that reminded me of the pandemic at this point a sweet, relatable romance in this context is just right.

A great easy read set in the original lockdown of 2020. Chloe has described some of the feelings that people had; anxiety, loneliness, thinking time, the community spirit and the world got used to zoom!
The characters were believable and I particularly loved the classroom scenes
A light and enjoyable read.

I loved this beautiful love story and it so very relatable. The characters were all simply wonderful.
I recommend this book so much! This was my first time reading this author, but it won't be my last.

Love in Lockdown is such a brilliant book for the times we are currently in, as I am sure there are many people who can relate.
This is a truly modern take on the all time favourite 'met-cute' scenario, which I have to say is a firm favourite of mine!.
Sophie and Jack are neighbours in the same apartment block, however they have never met one another before...but when Covid strikes and people are forced in to lockdown/quarantine, a relationship begins to blossom between them.
This book is such a fun, endearing read that I read in one day as I simply could not put this book down. The characters were so well developed and realistic, it was practically impossible to not feel connected to them as their story played out.
I really did adore the way in which the author also included the less appealing sides of covid - for example, the health battles the characters faced, alongside the effects it had on their mental wellbeing as they were seperated from people for so long.
This is a truly enjoyable, fun and romantic read which I would certainly recommend to others!.

Such an easy story to related to given what we’re all going through. It was charming, sweet, inspiring, and funny. It was also easy to get through which I super appreciated given that it’s hard to focus on much right now.

it was an emotional romance novel that I enjoyed until the last minute. Lovers of the genre are going to enjoy it a lot

I think Love in Lockdown was really sweet, almost sickeningly so. It seemed unmarred by the realities of the pandemic (other than a few moments lamenting toilet paper shortages, and Sophia's mother's risk as a doctor). As a piece of escapism which is still set in present times, it was good.

I think Sophia was annoyingly helpful to those around her, to the point of being incredibly intrusive. And her previous romance and work life did not feel all that well-fleshed out, but the romance with Jack was certainly fun to read. I guess I don't enjoy stories where characters spend years or even decades working toward something before they realize it's not what they want.

There were enough complications in the story to make it engaging, especially all the neighbours. The cute cocktail hour conversations were certainly lovely.

I'm grateful to the publishers for providing an ARC via NetGalley.

Love in Lockdown by Chloe James did the impossible and made wish I was in lockdown with a cute neighbor on the balcony above mine. James wrote about this trying time period in a sweet, funny and relatable way. I loved protagonist Sophie with her instinct to help and reach out to those who might be having a rough time in the pandemic. Her love interest was fun to get to know as well.

A cute, heartwarming, relevant romance set in the middle of this pandemic about human connection during isolation. Although it may not be the most realistic, it makes you want to believe that somewhere this story is happening.

Sophia and Jack live in the same building but have never met until they start speaking to each other from their balcony following the nightly clap for healthcare workers. Despite never actually seeing each other, the two get to know each other and become each other's company. Jack is immune-compromised and cannot leave his house; Sophia is a teacher whose students' parents are essential workers. They soon realize that many people are struggling in different ways and set out to cheer people up - but how when the city is in lockdown. Through their creativity neighbours are brought together, but is there something more between Jack and Sophia? Or is it simply a result of the strange predicament.

It is a story of courage, love, and hope - one that I think is all too necessary for so many of us right now. It was just the lighthearted read that I didn't know I needed.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are all my own.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a cute, heart warming romance. It was a fun quick read.


I received an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley in return for my honest review. Thank you for the opportunity.

One night while Sophia quietly cries on her balcony, a mysterious voice calls down to her. Her neighbor above, whom she has never met, offers conversation that makes Sophia feel remarkably better. England is on lockdown and as everyone adjusts to weeks upon weeks of life in isolation, fear of catching the virus and pure loneliness, Sophia realizes her purpose may be to help those in her community who cannot manage on their own. As Jack becomes her confidante and she assists him getting much needed groceries, they form a bond unlike any she has ever experienced. Without ever having met each other this young couple have become dependent on the strength and encouragement provided each and every night on the balcony. This well timed pandemic love story reminds us that giving to others can make people feel less alone in a world that continues to challenge us every day. Spreading the kindness and falling in love go hand in hand in this adorable, uplifting Valentine’s treat.

I had a feeling I wouldn't particularly enjoy this book when the first chapter had what can only be described as a 2-page ad for the dating app Hinge. It then continued to spew basically every single cliché available. The side characters didn't add much to the experience, the main characters were uninteresting, and the dialogue felt extremely stilted. On top of that, the story never really achieved lift-off, which in itself could work as a nice metaphor for life under lockdown. But since the main idea behind the story was to show that nice things can happen during a pandemic, I doubt that's what the author was aiming for.

Love in Lockdown brings some solid points about the pandemic including mental health issues that can arise from isolation, the need to help the elderly and other vulnerable populations, the importance of telemedicine and exhaustion of the healthcare workers, the need for teachers to help kids during these dire times.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for a honest review.

< What's this about? >

Jack and Sophia are in the middle of a lockdown.

One day, Jack hears Sophia crying downstairs. So they start talking and a beautiful relationship begins.

But they're in the middle of a pandemic and Jack can't go out because of an illness, so their first meet face to face has to wait until the end of this nightmare.

< What I think about it? >

Well, I like the way the author wrote about this tough situation we are still living. I liked this new kind of love, the relationship where you cannot see, hug, kiss or even be close of the person you love.

This is our new reality and we are trying to figure out what to do when we cant do what we used to do.

This story is so lovely with a soft romance between two persons who dont know each other and they are figuring out what to do with this new feeling in this bizarre situation.

I do recommend, it was a slow reading for me but the story is very lovely and entertaining.

This book is adorable. Just so heartwarming with goody- goody characters. Charming and sweet are the most perfect words for it. It's a great book to come out of an otherwise negative situtation. It's a very real situation which I love in romance. The one issue I have with this book is the ending. I felt I needed more.

After the craziness of the last year, this book was just what I needed! A cute, engaging lockdown romance novel about a meet cute on a balcony! I loved them sending food and drink backwards and forwards to each other

Love in Lockdown took me a few tries to really get into - it got off to a bit of a slow start and being set in lockdown had me wondering if it might be "too soon" to read such a book since we are STILL in a lockdown of sorts nearly a year later...  For the most part, this book focuses on Sophia and Jack - he lives above her and they "meet" when they go outside to clap outside each evening to support the frontline workers.  There are quite a few sub characters in the book too - many of which they know from the courtyard of the apartments as well as Jack's brother and wife who have a baby during the pandemic and Sophia's parents and sister - who has a pandemic Zoom wedding!  Of course there's your nosy neighbor and your lonely older man neighbor as well who work their way into some of the plot lines.  Since Jack isn't really able to leave the house, Sophia offers to do shopping for him and they end up trying to figure out the best way they can use what they've got and what they know to help our their neighbors as well.  Since Jack is always home, he takes up chatting to some of the neighbors on the phone so they won't feel so lonely.   It's all very sweet - but the title of the book makes you think someone is going to fall in love - and it took quite a bit for anything to really develop on that front.  Things seemed to take off a bit more when I was about halfway through the book - I would have liked it to have picked up a bit sooner - as I said I had started and stopped it a couple of times because it never really "grabbed" me, but in the end it was very sweet.

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

I really enjoyed Sophia and Jacks story. It had a lovely cast of characters and such a strong community spirit. Set in the year the world will always remember, this book included events which were commonplace during the first lockdown . The lack of toilet rolls and empty supermarket shelves and the highlight of the lockdown week , the Thursday clap for the NHS
This was a positive,, uplifting romance which involved the whole community!
I would recommend this book
Thank you to Netgalley, Avon Books and Chloe James for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review