TW : anxiety, mental health, lockdown related to COVID-19, isolation

Genre : contemporary, romance, new adult, LGBTQ+

So there were a LOT of characters in this book, with a LOT of alternating POVs. And somehow everyone new everyone, even the best friend who didn't live in the building but was related to someone else in the building? Or something like that 😂

I did enjoy this book, but it dragged ooooon and fell short for me. I liked how well the author illustrated the pressure of lockdown, as well as how all the POVs wrapped up at the end. It was nice and tidy.

I wasn't sure what I was expecting when I read this. I think that if you have had a fine time with the lockdown stuff this is totally the read for you. If not maybe this is one to skip.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this advance reader copy.


Description from NetGalley:
For the inhabitants of London Lane, a simple slip of paper underneath each of their doors is about to change their lives in a hundred different ways.
URGENT!!! Due to the current situation, building management has decided to impose a seven-day quarantine on all apartment buildings on London Lane.
With nowhere else to go…
Ethan and Charlotte wonder whether absence really does make the heart grow fonder when they end up on either side of a locked door.
A fierce debate over pineapple on pizza ignites a series of revelations about Zach and Serena’s four-year relationship.
Liv realizes rolling with the punches is sometimes much harder than it looks after her bridesmaids’ party goes off the rails, leaving the group at each other’s throats.
Isla and Danny’s new romance is put to the test as they jump ten steps ahead on the relationship timeline.
And Imogen and Nate’s one-night stand is about to get six do-overs they never really asked for—not awkward at all.
Through make ups, breakups, love-ins, and blowouts, friendships are tested as everyone scrambles to make it through the week unscathed. Amidst all the drama, one thing remains constant: life is full of surprises.
This book is well done and kept me entertained. It just doesn’t wow me. The relationships are definitely put to the test as the lockdown keeps people apart and forced together and are what kept me reading.
Overall: 3/5

Even though we'd all like to forget the years of dealing with COVID and quarantining, this book gives you hope for a happy ending.

I'm not sure if it's just because I wasn't ready to read a book about lockdown, but this one wasn't for me. It was cute and the characters were well written and I do understand the appeal . That being said, I did read it in one sitting

I had high expectations for this book as i LOVE the "Kissing Booth" books. However, I disappointed. It felt like there were just too many stories and too many characters and spending brief amounts of time with each made it hard to keep track. By the end, I didn't really care what happened to anyone and I was not at all invested in their well being.

It might seem too early to appreciate a book set during Covid lockdown on London, but this book was most entertaining. When a building is locked down after one resident tests positive, the stories of some of the apartments’ residents makes for a fun read. The best example is that of Imogen, in Nate’s apartment for a one night stand, she becomes stuck for a week after trying to quietly sneak out with Nate’s favorite shirt. Or there is Isla, who has been with Danny for just one month when he becomes locked in with her, and they are forced to get to know each other better. Each story has its unique blend of laughs amongst the crazy circumstances. I recommend this book and thank NetGalley for the ARC.

When your apartment building is quarantined and no one can come in or out, how do you cope with:
A new relationship that hasn't gotten to see the "real you" yet?
A one night stand that lasts a week?
A long term relationship with someone you aren't sure you really know?
A gaggle of house guests (including your bridezilla of a best friend) who were only supposed to be spending the weekend?
Being separated from your partner, the one who keeps you grounded?
Each of these stories is realistically told in revolving chapters, occasionally overlapping each other. Reekle's does a good job of showing that being unexpectedly forced to spend prolonged time with others can be a true test of yourself and your relationships.

In the first place I wasn't sure if it was the right time to read this type of book. The pandemic still touches us closely, it's a wound still open that it will not close easily. But after many moments of reflection, I requested it.
I just finished it, and I can say it's a very cute book. I can describe it as "a Lockdown Rom Com?" ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The first part it's very slow because the couples and the apartments where they lives are described singularly. I would have appreciate an age differentiation between the couples, but it's my personal opinion. I really liked the description of the various moods of the characters, as well as the various issues that a Lockdown, even if of "small" size, has caused.
Nate and Imogen are my favourites ✨
So in conclusion I appreciate this book and I rate it 3 stars!

This book is most likely a wonderful book; however, I feel now that I have finished it that maybe I should have waited. This book is about a few people that live in a building during the pandemic lockdown. The characters, plot, and writing is all there but really I just did not feel into it but that could just have been me.

To be honest, I wasn’t sure I’d want to read a book about lockdowns this soon after lockdowns. However, after I read the first 30 or so pages on bookish first for a first impressions review, I was hooked. I quickly hopped on NetGalley to request a digital arc because I was already so invested in all these stories.

The author, Beth Reekles, went about writing about the “virus” and lockdown in such a way that it was lighthearted and more eye opening than anything else. Being in the states, I know things were different than in other parts of the world, so that aspect intrigued me. The premise of following 5 different apartments and the lives of those locked down in those apartments, was so clever! It’s also a fantastic reminder that we don’t know what others are going through. I quickly found myself invested in each person’s story and I loved the well written and well-developed characters.

The one thing I feel that could’ve elevated this story to 5 stars for me, would be to have a bit more diversity in regards to the ages of the characters.

Thank you NetGalley and Wattpad books for the e-galley!

The cover drew me in, and it doesn’t hurt that I’m a sucker for England based stories. Interesting take on an experience that’s plaguing the world, pun intended. Looking forward to more from this author.

I really enjoyed this book. The interactions between the characters were great and it was a fun read for me.

This was a cute rom-com. It had me laughing out loud many times. Although I don’t know if I’m ready to actually read anything else about covid or lockdowns due to covid right now, maybe too soon? But this was a fun book and I enjoyed it.

It was admittedly quite hard for me to get over the premise of this book. One resident in an apartment complex gets Covid and management quarantines the entire complex? Not very plausible and realistic, but I quickly worked past this by telling myself that a) it was the start of the pandemic, so not much was known about transmission, and b) the book is set in England, so maybe their protocols were different than those I’m used to. Regardless, a cute book and I enjoyed how all of the residents had some way they all related to at least one other resident or character in the story.

This book was classic Beth Reekles! It was interesting to read the lockdown take after being in own lockdowns for so long. I would definitely read again!

Thankyou Netgalley for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange of a honest review.

I am really sorry for writing this review this late .

This book is apt in the world surrounded by COVID where people have literally been in lockdown since past 2-3 years.
This book really highlights the experiences witnessed by people in different parts of the world.
Pandemic has hit the entire world in such a way that it would be really hard to start it all over again.

Kudos to the author for writing such a brilliant story with impressive characters

I really, really wanted to like this book. I loved The Kissing Booth and I had high expectations for this one.
But I just couldn't get into it. I did like how it started, I thought it was really funny. She wakes up from a one-night stand to find she can't leave the building. And she doesn't remember his name (poor guy). But again, I couldn't get into it by the second chapter. I think I will try to read it again and hopefully, I'll have a better review.

This story is so adorable! It’s Love Actually, Quarantine edition. It’s not a scary pandemic read AT ALL. Instead, it’s an interwoven tale of various couples stuck together for a week-long lockdown.

There is a group of bachelorettes, a new couple who have only shown their good sides to each other, an established couple struggling, a man separated from his girlfriend, and my personal favorite – a one-night stand turned week-long visit.

Charming and hysterical, this book lifted my spirits and had me laughing out loud.

This was just so confusing to me. We start off with a girl sneaking out of the apartment of someone who happens to be a one night stand (kinda). However, just as she is about to escape the building, it goes into lockdown because of the pandemic (apparently someone in the apartment is positive). At this point she has to go back to the guy's apartment and I was beginning to love it but then we immediately switch to another couple. There is so much going on without any solid Segway (really) driving the stories today. I had to DNF this one after so many attempts, unfortunately this one does not seem to be for me.