Member Reviews
Thanks to netgalley for the e-arc !! I really wanted to love this book as it sounded totally like my type of book but it just fell slightly flat for me. But also I didn’t totally hate it just not a book I would re read.
One of my favorite things about good books is seeing the growth and development of the main characters. We're all human and flawed and will never be 100% but just seeing people trying makes me feel a connection to a book. I really struggled with connecting and relating to the main characters in this book. I couldn't understand her choices or her actions and why she did them. My favorite part of the story was Ish, because he felt like he had a likeable personality.
Book review :
The book is an enjoyable, lighthearted and cute romance that keeps you engrossed throughout. An utterly hilarious laugh-out-loud romance that will have you grinning from ear to ear from the first page to the last!
The book centers around 31 year old Helen Pines, whose last boyfriend broke up with her a year ago, and is now engaged. Helen thought he was the one even though none of her friends and family ever thought so.
On a trip home to visit her parents and her nan, Helen signs up for an online dating app. Her Nan G convinced her that she needs to do this. Helen meets Brody in the app and agrees to meet him for lunch the next day. They have a wonderful first date and he says he'll be in touch to plan their second date. In Brody's profile on the dating app he said he was looking for his last first date.
Helen is confused as she never hears back from Brody. It turns out the dating app crashed and all contacts and info was lost. The app started up again, but nothing was left from before the crash. Helen and Brody had never swapped contact info as they communicated through the app. Now Helen has no way to contact Brody and vice versa. Helen fantasizes about Brody and their date and truly believes he is the one. She is convinced she must find him and with help from her friends sets out to do just that. Through some crazy adventures to find Brody life still happens and she meets new friends along the way.
The characters were well developed, witty banter, chemistry, and creatively written. The supporting characters were fantastic and such diversity. The author’s writing style was complex, emotional, and kept me engaged.
Overall, The book is a heart touching romcom story that makes you laugh , cry and feel so many emotions. Do grab this book for easy going romance book.
A brilliant light-hearted page turner, with highly relatable characters that will keep you interested. I really resonated with Helen, the main character and connected with her thoughts and experiences on love. I will try to take her lessons with me into the real world! I really enjoyed the additional friends, boys and Nanny G characters who added so much to the realism. A great rom com for all to read.
Oh dear. I'm not sure where to start with this review.
First off, I think this should have been run by a second editor. The dialogue was stilted and it was hard to read with all of the ellipses. Yes, I suffer from this affliction as well, but I am not a novelist. But I wonder if it makes my words sound as stutter-y and disjointed as Quinn made her characters sound.
Second, I really hated how the author stereotyped the Latin population, women in general. Not all Latin women are born with dance moves. Not all Latin women start their sentences with "Amiga". How weird is that? "Friend, let me tell you a story." "Friend, listen here." "Friend, you are an idiot." Yeah, no. That is just strange. And completely inappropriate.
Third, the desperation that wafts off of Helen in waves is such a deterrent that I can't believe people on the streets weren't plugging their noses and walking the other way. Her desperation stench would have been THAT BAD. How could she have possibly been in LOVE with someone after talking with them for less than an hour?! It is so cringe-worthy! Buy a cat, get a hobby, find a life, become at peace with yourself, and then maybe decide if a partner is right for you. Don't go looking for a partner to make you whole. This entire book is anti-feminist, and it rubs me the wrong way...
Fourth, the entire time I was wondering where the chemistry was. But of course there wouldn't be any when you basically have a person stalking another. It isn't attractive, it doesn't scream true love! I didn't feel it, and I didn't feel their connection. The whole story was choppy and disjointed and the love wasn't there.
I want a good romance story to make me laugh and smile, not bore me to tears and make me cry.
📱 BOOK REVIEW 📱
Synopsis: Determined to give online dating a go, she matches with drop-dead gorgeous Brody… One date later, Helen’s heart is still singing. Brody’s sexy, charismatic, and the perfect gentleman. But then she receives an error message on the app… all her contacts have been deleted.
With nothing but Brody’s name and job title to go on, Helen is determined to track him down.
But despite thknows surprisingly little about her mystery man… Was it really love-at-first like, or will she find a new love along the way?
Review: What a delightful, fluffy rom-com! I didn’t know it when I started reading but this is exactly what I needed. Super fast paced and took me less than a day to read, with lots of unpredictable plot points that I didn’t see coming. Characters were loveable and diverse. Please note a major trigger warning for drugs and drug use. Highly recommend if you’re looking for something fluffy!
My sincerest thanks to @netgalley and @harpercollinsaustralia for a copy in exchange for my review
4/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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sadly I didn't get what she saw in the lead and the action that happened because of that initial connection didn't ring true to me
I highly enjoyed this book. it's a sweet and short rom com. I think this story will resonate with a lot of readers. Great character development and it's really well written. first book from Hayley, but I will check her other books out.
I had high hopes for this one, but, unfortunately, they were not met. Helen was frustrating and wholly unlikable, and there were so many cringe-worthy moments throughout the story that made me wince. I just couldn't bring myself to care or be invested in her story. The writing was also rather cliched and childish, so it felt kind of immature.
The premise of this book started great, a first date with potential may now be lost when the dating app information dissapears, all this has lots of potential to go in many interesting directions, but the main character acts and make choices that seem out of place for someone her age so the storyline felt off.
Loved this book. My first book from this author. Made me a total fan with this book. would read this again and again.
As someone who feels like I’m never going to meet my person, this book was a cute and refreshing read. I devoured this book and am so thankful for the advanced copy
I have to say it took me a while to get into this book, and the reading style was something to get used too. I can’t elaborate too much without giving spoilers, but it was entertaining and I liked the focus on the importance of good friends and family, along side the romance. I absolutely adored Ish and Elle.
Really struggled with this one and just didn’t connect with the characters. Unfortunately couldnt quite finish this one to the end like I had hoped.
Sadly this didn't land for me. The writing was stereotypical and often quite childish. The story had many cringe-worthy moments and the main character Helen was just....frustrating. I did enjoy her relationship with her Grandma, but everything else just fell flat. Thank you HarperCollins UK Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC.
I loved this book so much! Her writing is always spot on and this was no different! Such a great story and strong characters
Really want to love this one based on the premise, but...it was very unrealistic and Helen made me sad.
I did not finish this book. Nothing against the book itself, I think it was just not a good personality fit for me. I'm a 32 year old female who is thankfully confident in who she is as a person and where I'm at in life and at least the first 4 chapters of this book, which is where I got to, the premise was the main character feeling like there was something wrong with her because she didn't have a man and spending all her energy examining her ex-boyfriend's new life with his now fiance on social media.
I think that if I had read this book a few years ago it would have probably been very intriguing but I'm just at a different stage in my life where I'm looking for a little more confidence in the characters I read. I think that if I had been the right audience for this book it would have been somewhere around 3 stars for me, though my rating isn't truly fair because I did not finish the book.
The Last First Date has a cute story line about a hopeless romantic, yet to find her true love. Unfortunately, even though the storyline interested me, I could not get into the book. I had a very hard time connecting with Helen the main character. She seemed so ‘blah’ and boring. This boom fell extremely flat for me and I had a very hard time finishing it
Sadly, I struggled with this book. There were a few errors there that even for a proof copy I felt out of place and should have been corrected.