I would like to thank NetGalley and HarperCollins for the e-arc.

This book was ok… it was fun, light hearted and easy enough to read. I almost got a modern day Bridget Jones vibes from the initial onset of reading.

I love the cover on this one - eye catching and vibrant.

Unfortunately I didn’t connect as much with this book as I would have liked. I can’t quite put my finger on it but something just didn’t click.

I wouldn’t say avoid this, if you want an easy read that you don’t need to think much about, this may be for you.

The Last First Date
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Genre: Romance
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 5/20/22
Author: Hayley Quinn
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
Pages: 352
Goodreads Rating: 3.03

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and HarperCollins UK and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: At 31-years-old, Helen Pines is determined to give online dating a go, she matches with drop-dead-gorgeous Brody, and they hit it off immediately. One date later, Helen’s heart is still singing. Brody’s everything she’s looking for in a man. 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 the initial chemistry, Helen realises she knows surprisingly little about her mystery man… Was it really love-at-first like, or will she find a new love along the way?

An utterly hilarious laugh-out-loud romance that will have you grinning from ear to ear from the first page to the last!

My Thoughts: This was a cute, laugh out loud, fun romantic read that I devoured pretty quickly. A perfect end of summer read (or beginning of summer). At first, I could not connect with Helen, while she is flawed and at times unreliable, what bothered me the most was how she judged her friends; then after the Brody obsession lifted, I felt like she grew as a character, became more likable and relatable. My most favorite character was Ish, he was adorable, kind, and charming, I connected immediately. 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, this was a great read that I enjoyed. This book released in May and I would recommend as a good end of summer read.

*2.75 stars

To start, I'd like to say that I do not consider this to be a romance novel. This is more of a chick lit than a romance. The book's premise is about how challenging it is for single women, especially those in their 30s, to find love, but it is poorly executed. Helen, the main character, was unlikable to me because for a 31-year-old woman, she was immature and as a main character she's uninteresting. She's desperate for a man yet ignores the guy who's actually interested in her. Even when she finally started dating him, I didn't sense any chemistry.

It was hard for me to adapt to the writing style. The internal monologues and description were overly long, and the conversation felt unnatural (many cringe lines were also spotted), making the pacing slow, but I was able to speed-read it. I get the message that this book was trying to show, but it didn't utilize the story's full potential.

Thank you to NetGalley, HQ Digital, and Hayley Quinn for the ARC of in exchange for my honest review.

Helen meets Brody on a dating app. She thinks he could be the one, but then the app crashes and she has no way of contacting him. She decides to track him down, but will be all the remembers him being. A fun read.

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. I experienced a proper sense of deja-vu with this book: the story did not feel original and the characters were bland and uninteresting. I like a good romance story and always enjoy them when they make me laugh. Instead, this book from Quinn bored me close to tears and it felt like a copy of so many other books I have read recently.

Single Helen is the typical lonely woman, having returned home to live with her parents, mourning her previous relationship. Her ex, Jonathan, sounds like he was leading her on and it isn’t too surprising that this relationship never went anywhere. Except Helen cannot see this and wallows in Cornwall with her blogging and Instagram page stalling for lack of creativity. Finally turning to dating apps to move on from Jonathan, Helen has a magical first date with handsome Brody. But losing his details on the app encourages Helen to return to London and try and find this dream man. Sound familiar?

What follows is Helen stalking Instagram and anywhere she can remember that Brody might be. It is supposed to be funny but I found it tedious because it felt so reminiscent of similar stories. Although some of the character developments were surprising, it still wasn’t enough to keep me entertained and invested in the story. Despite loving Brody’s plea for a final first date in a hope to settle down, I don’t think the plot delivered that cutesy romance that is also implied by the cover. There was a lot of chat and not much else happening, when I think I would have preferred Brody to be less of an enigma and maybe even switching to his narrative perspective to add more depth to the story.

I also felt confused by Helen’s supposed career. Whilst Quinn describes how Helen writes articles for a living, alongside her Instagram page, I was bemused by how this would provide an actual income to live off, especially considering she rents in London. Coupled with her friend, Ish, who also is an Instagrammer, I could not understand how they could make a living whilst apparently not doing very much. It felt very unrealistic; I wish I could have the same magic money pot these characters appear to have!

To be honest, this was just about ok for a romance read but it was not very interesting. I thought so much more could have been done with the plot to make it entertaining. I enjoyed the different direction that Quinn eventually took the plot but, in my opinion, this was far too late coming and made for a slow and predictable narrative.

With thanks to HQ Digital and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

‘The Last First Date’ is the latest book by Hayley Quinn.

At 31-years-old, Helen Pines is far from where she thought she would be. Whilst her ex-boyfriend is now engaged, Helen’s ordering Deliveroo for one, wistfully dreaming of her last first date. Determined to give online dating a go, she matches with drop-dead-gorgeous Brody, and they hit it off immediately. One date later, Helen’s heart is still singing. Brody’s everything she’s looking for in a man – 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 the initial chemistry, Helen realises she knows surprisingly little about her mystery man… Was it really love-at-first like, or will she find a new love along the way?

If you’re looking for a warmhearted love story then look no further, as ‘The First Late Date’ is the perfect love story to get lost in.

The story is seen from the perspective from Helen, heartbroken after finding out that her ex was newly engaged and she was alone. After some gentle engagement from her granny, Nanny B, she joins an online dating app where to meets Brody. After the perfect first date, she’s convinced she’s found the one until the app crashes and all the data is lost including Helen’s connection with Brody. Helen is determined to find Brody and have the second date. During this quest, Helen finds herself, looking up her grandmother’s long lost lover whilst meeting a historian blogger called Ish.

I loved this story and I adored Helen. She’s a romantic and wants to find the one. A bakery blogger, she’s trying to build her platform and audience but it’s taking longer than she hope on She’s kind and thinks that after finding Brody and his sweet words that he could be her forever. But, when she doesn’t hear from him with the help of her two best friend Sophie and Elle and then Ish, a quirky historian befriends her and joins her on her quest.

This story is a fantastic love story that drifts between the bustling streets of London and the beaches of Cornwall. The cast of characters are a great mix of personalities, the fieriness of Elle, the sharp wit of Nanny G, along with the quirky kindness of Ish. Sweetly written, ‘The First Last Date’ is a story of hope, adventure and new beginnings.

You can pre-order ‘The Last First Date’ from Amazon and is available to buy from good bookshops from 12th August 2022.

The Last First Date was a lighthearted, fun read that I enjoyed very much. I had never read anything from Hayley Quinn, but will look for books by her now. 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, quite the character, has 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.

This book has a lot of scenes that will make you laugh out loud as the search for Brody goes on and it also has some poignant moments about love, dating, and who the right one is for each of us. I can't say much more without giving the story away, but do yourself a favor and get this book as soon as it's available!

I wanted to like this book because the premise sounded good. I couldn’t get into it though, the writing was all over the place and I didn’t like the main character, Helen.

I guess it wasn’t the book for me.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed as in this review are completely my own.

Honestly, this book wasn't for me. I was really enthralled by the concept and that's why I requested the arc, but I just couldn't get in to it. I felt the characters and the story were a little bland for my liking, but that's not to say that others would not enjoy it, or that it didn't get better, as I never finished.
Maybe I'll try again one day.

The Last First Date is a lighthearted romantic comedy which follows the story of 31 year old Helen Pines, who hasn't been lucky in the dating department for a while now, and spends an inordinate amount of time scrolling on Instagram and looking at pictures of her happily-engaged ex. She finally decides to try finding a date online, and to her surprise, actually makes a connection with someone. Unfortunately, all her data in the app disappears after a sitewide error the next day. How is Helen supposed to find her last first date?

This book was reminiscent of Sophie Kinsella's standalone novels back in the early days. We have a heroine with potential who somehow gets wrapped up around the idea of happily ever after too much, and almost misses out on the good things in life, which she already has.

Reading this in this day and age, it might seem almost commonplace to have heroines who scroll non-stop on social media apps, and who are not out of place in the world of online dating. But it's scary at the same time to see how accurately this reflects the real world, and makes you think about what you're really doing with your life.

I give this book 3 stars. It was fun, but it could have been so much more.

Thank you to Netgalley and HQ for the e-arc!

I give this book 3 stars.

Synopsis: Helen wants to find love. In fact, Helen wants to find swoonworthy, head over heels romantic love, kind of like her grandmother had as a little girl. After an amazing first date, Helen thinks she's found it. That is, until her dating app crashes and she loses his information. On a hunt to find her true love, Helen ends up finding herself.

I give this book three stars. I feel like the third act was a bit rushed and I wish that more time was spent getting to know the love interest. As always, my two stars and a wish...


Star: I really enjoyed the antics that Helen went on to find her love. It was fun punctuated with seriousness.

Star: I loved her relationship with her grandma. Grandparents are actually the best and don't get enough attention for it.

Wish: I wish that Helen hadn't spent so much time obsessing over Brody. It got a bit past the point of fun for me and even though her actions were later justified, it still didn't seem good enough. I feel like therapy would be a good idea for Helen.

Overall, a book that tackles ideas of love, life, and expectation vs reality.

when Helen Pines decides to download a dating app to help get over her ex once & for all, she comes across Brody, who’s gorgeous, charming, and hardworking. they agree to meet, and Brody declares his desire to go on his “last first date”. the rest of the evening goes perfectly, and Helen finds herself already dreaming of their second date: until the dating app crashes and everyone’s data vanishes, leaving Helen with no way to get in contact with Brody.

Helen spends the rest of the story searching for her ‘one that got away’. she uses the help of technology and social media, along with the support of her friends, to find Brody. throughout this journey, Helen takes the time to reflect on her future and what she hopes it will entail, whether it be with this mystery man or somebody else entirely.

this book was cute, but it wasn’t anything super noteworthy. it was heartwarming in the sense that our main character really ends up finding herself while on this hunt for a man whom she thought would fulfill all her needs. she learns a lot about herself in the process, which was great, but it was just so incredibly predictable…like 1000% could be a hallmark movie (and I love me some hallmark movies so this isn’t a bad thing by any means)!

the other thing that bothered me was the logistics with the date itself. I was in the dating app world once, and I never went on a date with someone without exchanging numbers first??? that was so off to me!! also, my friends could’ve probably found this man in 5 minutes honestly 😂 but I understand the conflict for the sake of the story.

overall, not my fave, but a cute feel-good read! thanks to @netgalley for my advanced reader’s copy!

Hayley Quinn knocked it out of the park with this book! It gives you all the butterflies and second hand embarrassment that will have you cheesy smiling behind the cover! Great summer read!

When Helen our FMC finds herself single after her ex boyfriend cheats on her, she downloads a dating app to see what her options are (Hands up if you agree dating apps can be the WORST). A match and first date with MMC Brody seems too good to be true! What happens when the app loses their profiles and conversation? Helen is determined to try and find him and see if they can get their happy ending.

This was your typical romance book - the right amount of cheese and drama. It can be a bit difficult to adapt to the writing styles at times but overall I did enjoy this book! The storyline and characters were believable and likable and you find yourselves rooting for them!

When I first saw the title I was excited to see and what the book would be about and having got the e-ARC of the book here is my review of it.

The book revolves around Helen, a single Cornish women in London who is a blogger. She is in her late twenties and early thirties (honestly that is a period of panic for anyone I guess I wouldn't know in still 21 but hey I am guessing). All her friends have great careers, are getting engaged or married and moving while she is still there. Her ex whom she dated for a while and pulls her down, which leads to self esteem issues and questioning if she was not worth it or if she was the problem. Finally she creates a dating profile and his on a date with a guy who she feels is the kind of person she wants to be with but then life takes a turn. The dating website crashes, she loses contact and our girl here goes stalkerish...

This book is about realisation, adult relationships, loneliness, the stigma around it and how people make deadlines according the societal standards. The book had a great potential because it opened a topic which not many times we talk about in the bookish community but I personally found it hard to get myself to read the book because, one, the narrators POV or the 3rd person POV can be difficult if it is not done right. Second, the author makes her look desperate, needy, many, insecure all through out the book while she is not. Third, I felt there was alot of disconnect and jump and too many things happening which just confused me.

I gave this book a two is because it was difficult for me to even get halfway through but somehow I managed to finish it. To be honest, I loved how the book shows a realistic picture of adult life and adult relationships and how lonliness, the fear for lack accomplishments and anxiety in relationships can effect a person and the people around. That being said the character could have had character development which did not happen how expected for it to happen. This book had great potential and could have used all the space available but unfortunately it didn't.

This is my opinion... I will still suggest for people to read and make an opinion of their own!

Helen's ex-boyfriend - who barely committed to her during their two years together - has just gotten engaged and she's in a tailspin of "I'll be alone forever" so her grandmother encourages her to join a dating app.

She matches with the "perfect" guy and after one great date, the app crashes and she loses all contact with Brody. With only his name and the vaguest bits of info to go on, Helen goes on a desperate hunt for a man she barely knows in a novel I wish I DNF'ed.

I really wanted to like this one but it was painfully, painfully bad. Helen's character is shallow as a puddle, the writing is choppy and awkward, the side characters are so cringe! Elle is the typecast Latina, being loud and randomly adding Spanish words into conversations for no reason?! Who actually does that in real life?

Helen's constant self-deprecation and that the entire novel revolves around finding a man bored me to tears.

The author describes Helen - and the entire novel - in one line when she writes: "She was bored with herself. Her neediness. Her desperation". And that pretty much sums it up, tbh.

It's a NOPE from me.

When she sees her ex announcing his engagement on Instagram, Helen is convinced that she has to do something to move her life on. With a bit of a push from her Nan, Helen joins a dating app.
She has what she thinks is a great first date with a local business owner, Brody. They get on well, but the next day the app has lost all contact details and Helen has no way of getting in touch with her date.
From the outset she is prone to overthinking. She doesn’t rate herself highly, and her two best friends try to give a boost - though they are both infuriating. Rather than chalk it up as something tried and not to be, Helen starts trying to track down her mystery guy.
At the same time as doing this, Helen finds herself making friends with YouTube star Ish (who happens to save her one night). While we can see he’s likely to be a good guy, Helen takes longer to recognise what’s staring her in the face!
Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this. It was light and reasonably entertaining, though there were parts that frustrated me no end.

For all the single ladies this is about your dilemmas, fear and manifestations.

A not so famous baking instagrammer on a journey to find her Mr. Perfect guy from her first date falls in love with herself in the end. A journey from singlehood to mingling with the guy friend.

This novel is all about singlehood and it's struggles.

This was not my favorite! I thought the premise was cute, but I didn't feel that there was a lot of character development and/or the characters lacked depth. I had a hard time sticking with this one; It was just ok for me.

Helen Pines is a hopeless romantic, with emphasis on hopeless. Scrolling through social media, she finds out her ex-boyfriend is now engaged and — rather than let herself become a bottomless pit of self-loathing and Ben and Jerry’s — she plots to go on her last first date. She then meets Brody, goes on an unbelievably good date with him and…loses his contact details.

What follows is a wild game of cat-and-mouse as Helen, aided by her well-meaning friend and eccentric but lovely Nan, tries to track down her mystery man…and ends up finding more than she bargained for.

Helen was a bit hit-and-miss as a character for me. I appreciated her growth and journey, but I did spend most of the book frustrated with her and her actions. I think she redeems herself towards the end, though, which I was happy with.

It wasn’t the most groundbreaking romance by any means but it was an easy read.