Thank you to Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter (via NetGalley) for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Dating Game is about our main character Abby, a writer who is currently writing recaps of reality tv under an alias. A recap of The Stag goes viral and Abby is called to be on set not only to write her recaps but also to be on the show while undercover.

I was unfortunately disappointed by this book. I was hooked on the description but the story, characters, flow of events all fell flat. I felt no connection to any of the characters and the events of the story just didn't flow well for me, it felt like some scenes were cut sooner and rushed into something else making it very confusing. The romance between the characters felt very bland and it didn't feel like I was reading a romance book anymore.

The premise of the book is definitely interesting but the execution was not what I was looking for. But it could be that the book does differently with other readers, so please do check it out if it's something you might enjoy!

I was so disappointed... You know this feeling when you going out of town and take a book - this one, this seems to be perfect for some time off, and then you realized that you are bored as hell? Yeah, me too.

I expected some nice love stories, especially after reading a description. Of course, it was about love, finding it, discover it day by day, but the background was annoying. We all know how reality tv shows work and I'm not naive to think that there is anything more than fame, popularity, and competition about almost every single detail. And here? You can see it clearly.

For me, it is so much in one book. Many ideas, but the author does not really follow one lead, it's multiple and sometimes it is confusing. I like to know what exactly is this book about - daily catch-up what happened in the major is not really my cup of tea.

No deeper emotions, no deeper bond, relations - not when the main character is a liar. And the fact that the ending seems to be... just unfinished. That was strange, weird and in fact, hard to say if the story is a "happy ending" one or "then the reality came" one.

Not the best holiday book that I have read and hope to find other authors' books much better than this one.

Fun easy read you can get done in one day. The Dating Game is a good escape from your day to day. Fun characters, fun storyline great book club read.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion - thanks for letting me read this book by Sandy Barker.

This is a fun, fast-paced romp jetting from England to Sydney, Australia with a dating show as the backdrop.

Our heroine, poor Abby/Abs/Abigail/Anastasia is spinning from one snarky personality to another humorous one as she tries to keep up with her own lies and storylines as a journalist and participant on the dating show. She is full of wit and insight, but can she figure out what she wants?

My favorite part of the book is Abby's relationship with the other women on the dating show. Not everyone is who they appear to be - not even when you've read their secret dossier. These relationships are tested through the course of "dating" the same man on the reality TV show. Abby is the glue for these women, helping them stick together and to stick up for each other. Way to go for girl power!

My next favorite part is Abby's relationship with Jack. They are unsure of each other, they don't always get along, and they keep coming back for more clandestine meetings. He is charming, maybe a little nerdy, and has a large collection of memorable t-shirts. Jack also seems to really want what's best for Abby, but he's not sure what that is going to be.

I wasn't sure what to think about Daniel, the "stag", on the dating show. Sometimes, most times, he's a twat. But then there are a few real moments with him where he is more than a cardboard character. In the end, I feel a little sorry for him.

There are some fun kissing scenes, but no sex on the page.
Overall, this is hilarious and a great light-hearted read. I recommend it.

This was a fun, easy read for an afternoon! I enjoyed the Australian setting and the cast of characters. The storyline was a bit far fetched but enjoyable with plenty of plot twists along the way to keep you interested. Thank you for the opportunity to read this book!

The Dating Game is a fun and lighthearted book about journalist Abby and her assignment undercover behind the scenes of a reality dating show. With a good storyline and great characters, this is an easy and entertaining read.

I’d give this book 3.5 ⭐️. It was a fun and funny read. I loved the witty descriptions and details. I laughed out loud on more than one occasion. The bachelor storyline was definitely entertaining. Even though there were lots of characters I felt they were easy to keep up with. I wish the relationship had developed more between Jack and Abby. Although I liked their characters I wasn’t really convinced. I also felt the story seemed to drag on and then ended quickly. Not necessarily a bad thing it just made it harder to keep my interest. I found myself starting and stopping a lot. Overall I think this one is worth a read. You’ll definitely be entertained.

Thank you Harper Collins UK for the ARC

The Dating Game is the perfect pick-me-up for anyone who's having a bad day. It's funny, light, and packs a serious punch in its 290 pages. What I love most about this novel is that it doesn't take itself too seriously—unlike the real show it's based upon. Barker crafts a lovely protagonist in Abby, who is not only a heroine every reader will root for but also an incredibly genuine person.

Despite the humor included throughout the novel, I found that I didn't truly enjoy it until well into the third act, once I was well and truly into the swing of things. The writing in this novel can also be a little too much—OTT, as Abby herself would say—but it adds to the story's irreverence. My biggest issue with The Dating Game is its secondary cast of characters, especially Abby's love interest. I found him to be quite static and sometimes even infantile compared to Abby. I was constantly frustrated and mystified by her insistence on being with him. Abby's close friend—one of the Does—at the end of the novel also had a character arc that I wasn't completely convinced by.

Nevertheless, The Dating Game is a solid read, perfect for both fans of The Bachelor and those who are always looking for the good in reality TV show contestants behind all of the post-production editing.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. I will post this review to my Goodreads and my blog shortly.

The dating game by Sandy Barker was a delightful story of two very likable main characters. I download this book before I went to the beach and enjoyed every minute of it. As I’m not a viewer of the bachelor I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the TV show setting. I found the main character very funny especially in her role as critic. But it was the Australian background characters that really brought levity to the story. It was a bit longer than I thought necessary but that did not detract from my Enjoyment of this book. #Netgalley

This is a DNF for me. The main character is far too manic for my tastes and I am not connecting with the book.

SO FUN! As an avid Bachelor watcher, I freaking LOVED reading this book! I rooted for these characters in this slow burn romance and Barker made me fall in love more than once with the story. I cannot WAIT to read more from this author!

The only thing better than reality tv is books that are set in reality tv, honestly! This was so good, SO GOOD!

In the same vein as "One to Watch" by Kate Stayman-London (fans of that book would love this book!), The Dating Game is set, literally, in a dating game a la The Bachelor/Bachelorette. I really like that our main character, Abby/Abigail/Anastasia(!) was a contestant instead of the main bachelorette. It allowed for more female characters, and although it wouldn't necessarily pass the literary Bechdel Test, these characters were mostly likable and built solid friendships that felt true to the story and surpassed the 'fight for a guy' reality tv setting.

This was a really enjoyable read, and really hit the spot for that light summer romance read that I'm always looking for this time of year.

I thought this book was so much fun! Abby writes recaps of a popular dating show (think Bachelor/Bachelorette) and she is hilarious! Her reviews are beloved by many as they're full of snark, sass, and humor. So much so that that the producers of the show decide they want her to be an undercover contestant on the show which would help boost their ratings as well as gain exposure for her writing. The catch: Abby writes her recaps under an alias and doesn't want to give away her true identity. She also doesn't want to go on the show as her true self because she has no interest in doing anything but promoting her writing.

And then she meets the executive producer, Jack. At that point she wants to commit completely to finding true love, only not with the chosen bachelor for the show. She weaves a tangled web of lies as she tries to keep her identity a secret from the other female contestants, win the heart of the "stag" (even though she has no interest in him whatsoever), keep her anonymous column front and center, and somehow form and keep relationships.

It's an interesting story for many reasons - it's very original in it's concept. The characters are funny. The dialogue is great. And as a fan of "those" kind of shows, I could see the humor and possibly the reality in a little bit of the storyline. It's a great look into the behind the scenes truth of reality shows - even though it's exaggerated a bit.

My only complaint was the confusion in the dialogue and recaps (and this could very well be because I was,
1. reading on an e-reader and 2. not reading the final copy). There were times I wasn't sure if Abby was giving a firsthand account or if she was recalling something as her alter ego for the column. She switched back and forth often so it could be hard to decipher at times...

There was a disclaimer at the beginning of the book about the amount of characters to keep up with, but I honestly didn't have a problem with it. Once I got into the dynamics of the "show" it was easy to keep up with who was who and I felt like I was watching a reality show in real time. Overall, a fun (and funny!) read!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really wanted to like this book but unfortunately
- it was very slow, nothing really happened.
-there wasn’t enough drama. Scrap that. There wasn’t any drama.

To recap I was bored 80% of the time

Plus I don’t know if it was because I read it on ebook but when a chapter started with a recap it was confusing. I could not tell what was part of the recap and what was the narrator’s POV

I would like to thank Harper Collins UK and NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC of this book.

This book had me laughing out loud and cheering Abby/Abigail on. It is a sweet romance that leaves you feeling happy and content. The characters are wonderful and quirky with some you will love to hate.

If you hate Reality TV than this is a must read for you. Those that like Reality TV may be a bit put out. A woman is sent undercover on to a tv show where one man will pick a potential bride. It’s the last place in the world she wants to be but what ensues is a mixture of humour, friendship and love with a dash of mean girl thrown in.

A perfect beach read or for whenever you want to read something fun.

"The Dating Game", by Sandy Barker, has a familiar premise: a woman joins the popular dating show undercover. While I feel like I've read books like this before, there were a few differences. First, Abby is a reporter who writes very popular articles about "The Stag" game show in Australia. Second, Abby begins to fall in love with one of the show producers, Jack (in stead of the lead of the show like other books have done). Finally, no one in the cast really wants to "win" because the bachelor is a jerk.

I really enjoyed the friendships between the women and the developing relationship between Abby and Jack, but overall, this book didn't feel original enough. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

I have never watched those reality dating shows but this book actually made me want to. I just enjoyed this story so much and the romance between Abby and Jack is lovely but also the friends Abby makes along the way are fun to see too. The book almost makes me want to watch The Bachelor …. ALMOST.

3.5 stars

I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, I absolutely loved Abby's character and really enjoyed the story. At the same time, I kind of stopped caring about the romance element of it by the end. I liked it at the start but I was never really rooting for Abby and her love interest and I really wish that we'd gotten an epilogue or something to end with because I found Abby's friendships and career more interesting than her love life.

Why the romance element didn't work for me?
Honestly, the love interest wasn't that interesting by the end. And we got some nice interactions but there was never anything that made me invested in him as a character and without me interested in him as a character, it was really difficult to care about him when it came to Abby and his relationship. (I won't name who the love interest is because I can't remember if he's mentioned in the blurb or not but it's pretty predictable.)

But the friendships and female characters! Those were fun to read about! About Becca...she was nice and all but Barker spent so much time focusing on her friendship with Abby that wasn't quite necessary. There were more interesting characters in my opinion.

Overall, while I did enjoy this, I think my problem is that with the expectation of Abby, most of the secondary characters were more interesting than characters Barker liked to focus on. I did enjoy this and I would recommend it as long as you're okay with not rooting for the romance because everything else is far more interesting in my opinion!

This book is a satire on a certain type of reality TV show - a modern phenomenon which I have never been tempted to watch. That being said, I can imagine that the whole manipulation of the "contestants" and the "storyline" is true to life as TV companies strive to maximise their viewing figures.

Many parts of the writing are very witty and amusing although some incidents and events are a bit cliched. An amusing holiday read.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this book.

What a fun book! Abby is an undercover journalist who writes snarky recaps of the reality tv dating show The Stag (The Bachelor to US fans). She thinks the show is totally fake and literally has the best snarky recaps which she publishes under a pen name. Only problem is one of those recaps goes viral, and now production and her boss want her to go on the show undercover as a contestant. She is a firm believer that nobody can actually fall in love on one of these shows… or can they? What I loved most about this book, besides the belly laughs and incredible scenes, was experiencing Abby’s date in first person and then reading her hilarious recap of that episode, which shows the duality. This book reminded me of Miss Congeniality in a way with all those women and Abby, our heroine as the undercover doe. If you are looking for a laugh out loud romcom this is for you.