I thought the premise of this book had promise but I just could not get into this author's writing style. This book just wasn't for me.

The idea of this book is one that I thought was really interesting, so I requested it. However, it wasn't what I wanted it to be. It also wasn't really a romance novel - it was more like women's fiction, which is fine but it wasn't what I wanted it to be, nor really what it was marketed as.

This was 100% not the book for me… which really sucks because the premise of the book had promise.

I did not love a single character. Helen came off as desperate. Sophie was a pushover. Elle was so stinkin’ selfish. Brody was clueless. Ish was boring. Not a single character to love.

I felt like the story went nowhere. It just went around and around in circles and never really got to a stopping point.

Major thumbs down for me.

Was not a fan of the writing style nor the plot. I do like this author and would try another book down the line...

This was trying to hard to be funny, to be romantic and adorable...and fell flat. It ended up just being meh.

Unfortunately, I had a little trouble getting into the book at first, but around 100 pages in, the story started to unravel, and it's unique and left guessing who she might end up with in the end.

What I did not like, at times, was the writing, it seemed to be jumping around from topic to topic, and I had a hard time connecting with the characters.

Still, it was a fun read.

Helen, a lovely but quirky baking blogger is finally getting back into the dating world at the prodding of her friends and family after being gaslighted by her former "boyfriend." Who is apparently now engaged per his Instagram. Helen has what she hopes is her last first date but then loses all contact with Brody when the dating app's server crashes. A delightful cast of characters teach her to believe in herself again, her true self, and regrow her self-esteem while she falls in love 💕

This was such a sweet read! A few typos here and there but the bad Spanish translations really made my eye twitch! Otherwise, I really enjoyed and finished with a big smile on my face.

I received this ebook in exchange for my honest review. This does not affect my views and all thoughts are my own

This was my first Hayley Quinn book. It was a nice light hearted romance read. I enjoyed the storyline of this book. I found my connection with the main female hard to maintain at times. However I still enjoyed this book and loved how easy of a read it was.

Thank you to victory HQ Digital & Netgalley for the opportunity to review this ARC.

As romances go, this one is pretty standard. I enjoyed the themes presented (the importance of friends/family & a boyfriend not the “be-all & end-all”, especially once you reach a certain age), however I really struggled with the writing style/internal dialogue & I couldn’t connect with Helen, so a bit of a miss for me unfortunately!

I really wanted to like this book but I was unable. I couldn't get behind our main character and the writing was a little choppy to me.

Thank you NetGalley for providing an eARC copy of this book

Really wanted to like this book because they concept seems interesting. But, unfortunately I just couldn't get into it. Helen just seemed immature and stuck on her ex.

Once again, I am struck down by the appearance of a cute, pastel-filled book cover! The warmer weather always triggers my romance craving and what else could I possibly have expected from this adorable book?

Helen’s ex has just got engaged but her life is nowhere near that stage. She splits her time between her family home in Cornwall and a London apartment, where she spends her days as a baking blogger. With the encouragement of her best friends and beloved Nanny G, Helen enters the world of online dating. That’s where she meets Brody, who is looking for his last first date. After a wonderful date, the app goes down but when it returns, Brody is gone. Helen is determined to track him down but will it really be love at first like?

Helen feels that she is falling behind in life and I think a lot of 30-somethings feel that way about at least one area of their lives. The casual nature of modern dating makes it a lot harder to find someone who wants to be serious and that’s especially hard for women who want families. Helen is definitely a very likeable, believable heroine and I wanted good things for her.

Nanny G was one of my favourite characters. She has a brilliant sense of humour but also manages to maintain her status as a sage old lady, full of excellent advice. I think I’d happily read a spin-off novel from Nanny G’s point of view, as she recounts all the adventures of her life.

Helen meets a lovely guy called Ish, while walking home alone one night. He is a history nerd, who uses social media to make history fun and relatable. I loved when he and Helen decided to collaborate and they make an excellent team. He is such a loyal, unassuming character but he has a certain charm too, which makes him a lot of fun to be around. What a cutie!

I admired Helen’s optimism throughout the book and I don’t know whether many people would have maintained her level of hope after certain events of the book. However, her positivity reassured me that there was a happy ending waiting for her and I was able to hold on to the idea that true love really does always win.

The Last First Date is a cute, uplifting romance with an accurate portrayal of the frustrations of modern dating and a very relatable heroine. It has all the ingredients of a good chick flick as well as some darker scenes that prompt reflection. A light-hearted, sweet treat for the summer!

Although I truly wanted to enjoy this book, I was unable to. The idea behind the story—to lose touch with a valuable initial connection and then try to track them down—seemed to me to be really intriguing. Her friends were two characters that readers enjoyed reading about, yet not much time was spent on them. But I thought the other characters were too corny, and I thought the scenarios were very predictable. Instead then discussing Helen's baking business and then doing nothing with it, I wish there had been more time spent on it.

I really liked the Last First Date by Hayley Quinn! I can so relate to Helen who just wants to find a special someone. She goes on a great first date from an app but then the app crashes looses her match. She goes on a wild search to find him again. I especially loved the friends and family she had in this book.

I really wanted to like this book, the description sounded so interesting to me. Unfortunately I couldn't get through it and this story wasn't for me.

Helen has a lot going for her but she’s just not great at seeing it. Especially after seeing her ex just got engaged. She’s got great friends. A persistent, saucy grandmother but she’s not happy.

Wallowing and hiding out at her parents house, her grandmother mentions wanting to start online dating and this pushes Helen to take a chance.

Overall I liked the supportive friendships that help her in her self- discovery journey and pursuit of love.

- Solid friendships
- Sweet, friend to more relationship
- Complex family dynamics

If you are looking for a sweet romantic read (without spice) be sure to check this one out.

Thank you Hayley Quinn, HQ Digital, and Netgalley for the gifted e-book.

Helen Pines is 31 years old and isn't exactly where she expected to be in life. She just found out that her ex-boyfriend is engaged while she was spending the last year hoping he would get back together with her.

So now Helen is giving online dating a try. She ends up going on a date with Brody who ends up being the perfect man for her. Then when she opens the dating app all of her contacts have been deleted.

Helen is determined to find Brody. Using only his name and job location she starts searching for him. Is Brody truly her last first date or will she find another love on her search for Brody?

This is marketed as a romantic comedy novel, but to me it read more as a women's fiction novel. The first part of the novel felt very stalkerish. That sounds horrible to say, but Helen spends the entire first 2/3 of the novel basically obsessing over a guy she met once and running all over London and Cornwall trying to find him again. Her friends tell her it's not healthy, but try to help her find him anyway. She's so afraid of being single because of society standards, she doesn't think rationally. Her character is very unlikable and makes choices that a mature 30 year old really shouldn't be making. I just didn't like her character at all in the beginning. Thankfully, Helen does make personal growth during this book. By the end of the book Helen is much more likeable and the tone of the book is competely different. I think the messy, unhinged Helen at the beginning of the novel paired with the personal growth she made makes this an entertaining and fulfilling read.

3 1/2 stars. A sweet book with a good story and good character development with some of the characters. Others I felt were lacking - Ish in particular. Main character Helen's whiny negative self-talk also was grating at times. I just wanted to grab her my the shoulders and shake her. But that was generally in the minority. I'll definitely give the author another try!

Thank you to the author and publisher for the eARC through NetGalley.

Answer these questions: What makes this book different from all others? And why should anyone care?
Give enough info about the plot of a novel or the facts in a nonfiction book that they have a context for your opinions. Don’t give so much that your post turns into a book report instead of a review. And no spoilers! Be fair to your fellow readers.
Whenever possible, put the good things about a book or author upfront.
Criticize the book, not the author, if you don’t like what you’ve read. Explain why.

What distinguishes this book for me was how light-hearted the book was as well as the small comedic moments. It was a great balance and made the romance feel less nauseating. The author's writing style is the best one I've seen in the romance genre in a long time as the author didn't make the romance between characters drown out the plot. Overall I'd give it four stars I do think that some things could be changed but overall I loved the story.

i really wanted to like this one!! i found that the writing style of this author just wasn't for me! the concept was realy solid though but couldn't bing myself to finish this one sorry!