I am a sucker for this book. I loved it. Highly recommend it to anyone who loved British humor and the joy that a rom-com can bring to your life.

Loved this book! This is the first book I've read by Georgia Toffolo, and I truly enjoyed it. For fans of romantic comedies and British women's fiction, Meet Me in London is a great find!

Oliver Russell is in need of a wife. Enter Vicki, the bartender he proposes to one night after wallowing in his sorrows. No, he isn't drunk, he is just really in a bind. Vicki just got out of a bad relationship and has sworn that she won't get that close to anyone ever again. She isn't the marrying type because of scars she carries from an accident when she was younger.
After (literally) running into Oliver again, she agrees to hear him out. He needs a pretend fiance for his store's opening. In turn, he will help her with her fashion design and set her up in the store. After her breakup and losing all she worked for, it is an offer she can't refuse.
As she gets to know Oliver, and more importantly, his family, the charade becomes real and she falls in love with everyone. Vicki can't have the happily ever after that he is dreaming about, though.
This book is about second chances, opening up and feeling vulnerable and being with someone who loves you for you and wants to be with you no matter your flaws. It was a great read that was on the lighter side even though the subject matter was a little sad.
Thank you to Netgalley, Georgia Toffolo and Harlequin for an early copy.

Victoria and Oliver meet cute (sort of) and then they make a deal- she'll be his fiance for a day and he'll make room for her designs in his family's new department store. And of course, the fake part doesn't last long. Yes it's trope-y but it's also cute and sprightly and fun. Victoria works in a bar while designing (and yes, it seems quite unlikely that she's able to afford that flat on her salary). She's got good friends and is committed to helping kids (especially important to her because she's infertile). Oliver is trying to fix a mess caused by his cousin and cope with his parents, who are pesky. You know how this is going to end but Toffolo has a nice storytelling style and the characters are ones you'll root for. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. A good read for a lazy day.

This is a fun, easy contemporary Christmas romance .I liked Victoria and Oliver and their backstories, and enjoyed watching as they each very slowly came to the realization that their fake relationship was changing to the real thing. I am assuming Victoria's three best friends will each be featured in their own romances in the future and will look forward to that.

I wanted to like this book, but just didn't. Perhaps it has potential as a Hallmark movie - there are some good ideas in there for an easy Christmas rom-com - but as it is, I struggled to get through it.

One sentence summary: Oliver needs a pretend girlfriend to make his parents happy, Victoria has sworn off love, and they pretend to be together while actually falling for each other.

My main problem with this book was the characterization. Oliver and Victoria are too cliche, and they fall in love way too quickly. The whole thing just felt unrealistic, and the prose felt a little over-the-top. I want to emphasize, though, that that could be a me-problem, not a book-problem. The story has potential, but as-is it reads way too much like an unpolished first novel. It kept me from getting engrossed in the story.

Sometimes perfectly good books don't connect with some readers, and for me, this is one of those times. My thanks to NetGalley and the author for an ARC in exchange for an unbiased, honest review.

Fake engagements to lovers is like one of my favorite tropes right now! Toffolo did it so well and I love that this is a series! This was a light and fun little read that made me smile!

I received and ARC from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for providing me with a copy.

So I like the premise of the book. I like fake dating tropes when they're executed well. I just felt like this one missed the mark a bit.

Victoria and Oliver are adorable together and apart. My issue isn't really with them as it is with the trajectory of their relationship. It went from barely knowing each other to "I love you" within the span of a handful of weeks. It didn't make much sense for two commitment phobic people to fall that deep with each other that quickly, and completely ignore all the problems that came with that.

Another thing ws Oliver's cousin Andrew, who was painted as somewhat villainous, who had a complete 180 at the end of the book. It felt like all of that characterization slammed into a brick wall and the author needed him to be something else. It was very disjointed and felt completely out of left field.

Overall, it was a cute book, and I love Victoria and Oliver. I just wanted the pacing and the flow to be a bit stronger and for the side characters to make sense.

Thankyou Netgalley for the advanced copy of Meet me in London. I loved this adorable novel by Georgia Toffolo. Aspiring clothes designer Victoria Scott spends her days working in a bar in Chelsea and her evenings designing vintage clothes, dreaming of one day opening her own boutique. But these aspirations are under threat from the new department store opening at the end of her road. She needs a Christmas miracle, but one is not forthcoming.

Oliver Russell’s Christmas is not looking very festive right now. His family’s new London department store opening is behind schedule, and on top of that his interfering, if well-meaning, mother is pressing him to introduce his girlfriend to her over the holidays—a girlfriend who does not exist. He needs a diversion…something to keep his mother from meddling while he focuses on the business.

When Oliver meets Victoria, he offers a proposition: pretend to be his girlfriend at the opening of his store and he will provide an opportunity for Victoria to showcase her designs. But what starts as a business arrangement soon becomes something more tempting as the fake relationship starts to feel very real. But when secrets in Victoria’s past are exposed, will Oliver walk away, or will they both follow their hearts and find what neither knew they were looking for…?

Meet Me in London could easily be adapted for a Lifetime holiday movie. It's got a festive setting and all of the rom com tropes that you look for in a cozy winter movie. This book hits all of the beats that anyone could want: it's well paced, has some nice side characters, and I will always love a London setting. Some of the plot points are pretty far fetched and there's some repetitive thoughts that might be a little too much but it's definitely got great holiday rom com vibes.

This is a book that reminds any reader that despite any hardships that love truly conquers all and is certainly worth fighting for like Oliver and Victoria. Victoria had wonderful friends and family that supported her all the way but true love is true love. Yes, she and her friends had a terrible accident but they all became stronger and further cemented their relationship because of it as The Lost Hours. Victoria found her passion in design but most importantly, her kindness and devotion to helping others truly showed her character. Like Christmas, there is a magic to their relationship. A fun read.

Meet Me In London follows the typical tropes of the romance genre. Girl and boy from different backgrounds meet in a silly and random way. There is instant attraction. Then comes obstacles in their path to happiness. Will they or won't they overcome them?

This novel has all of that as it tells us the story of Oliver and Victoria and the romance the develops between them. Victoria is a down on her luck fashion designer while Oliver is a the head of billion dollar department store business who's parents won't get off his back about his personal life. The two strike a bargain to have Victoria pose as Oliver's fiancee to ease the mind of his parents over the holidays.

This is the perfect setup for the typical holiday romance. The problem is, as it plays out on the page, it becomes a little boring. I found myself skimming large portions of the prose to try to find some more action in the story.

If you are looking for a fun, fluffy, romance, there are other authors who are doing the genre much better.

Sweet simple romance. Victoria is a fashion designer working at a bar in Chelsea (a section of London). She meets Oliver Russel, who is opening one of his families department stores in her neighborhood. She encourages him to be friendly and inviting to the neighborhood businesses that fear being overshadowed. He in turn asks her to fake an engagement his parents sake just until the store opens.

This is escapism not reality romance. I like that Victoria is all for giving back but you wonder how she can afford to live on her own in London and help the kids in the neighborhood. I'm not a big fan of dating a billionaire romances but Oliver is sweet and a dream BF. I wish there was more of a comeuppance for the meddling cousin. This is pitched as a holiday romance and while it does take place in days leading up to Christmas there is nothing Christmas themed in the story. Also the title is a little misleading. I love London but the city isn't featured. If you didn't know Chelsea is a London neighborhood this could have been anywhere in England. There is good use of some British slang. This evidently is the first in a series that will include Victoria's three best friends. Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This is such a cute book. It’s a fun little romance set at Christmas time.

V and Oliver are perfect for each other but have to work through some baggage they both carry from the past. Loved how caring and supportive of each other they are.

Thanks for the early access!

Unfortunately I wanted to like this title more than I actually did. I am normally super into Christmas romances but this just didn't do it for me. First, it isn't very Christmassy-yes it is set during Christmas time and it references Christmas, but the storyline could have taken place at any other time of year and it wouldn't have mattered. I also just didn't find myself engaged with the story and the characters. That being said, I am certain the title will still do well at the library, and others will likely enjoy it.

Perfect Christmas rom-com that will certainly be loved by our library visitors. Thank you for the ARC!

I wanted to love this book and I’ll admit, I went in with high expectations. I’ve seen rave reviews, and I’m always drawn to romances set in London, especially ones set around Christmastime. Unfortunately, despite an interesting beginning and one of my favourite tropes - fake dating - this book fell flat for me. I couldn’t get interested in the characters or connect to them in any way, and I found the writing clunky and awkward and the story repetitive. I was also disappointed in the setting of this book; when I see a book with ‘London’ in the title and the city depicted on the cover, I expect the book to at least partly be about London. I want to see the city as its own character, not just where the book happens to be set. I also expected this to be Christmassy, which it really wasn’t.

A cute holiday read that felt like the Christmas version of a beach read. I breezed through it and wished it were already December. This is sweet and well written- will be excited for more from this author.

Victoria has dreams of being a fashion designer and has the talent to do so. Oliver has dreams, but they don't include the family obligation he has been given. These two come together as a means of helping each other. Oliver will help Vicki put on a fashion show for her students and herself while Vicki will pretend to be Oliver's fiancée for 2 weeks. The question is will this become more than a deal? Will their pasts allow them to move forward to a hopeful future? Georgia Toffolo creates a sweet, romantic story of two lost souls who have the potential to not only help one another, but find love in the process.

Sheer holiday fun - a Hallmark movie set in London by a British celebrity. Will be fun to highlight and share to readers looking for feel good.