The First Date Prophecy is a fun, nostalgic rom com. When I saw Danny Tamberelli's name, I was immediately intrigued. I had adored him on The Adventures of Pete & Pete in the 90s on Nickelodeon. I haven't really kept up with him, but this novel seems thinly veiled to be about him with some changes. It has a dual perspective of Rudy and Lucy, both young 30-somethings in Brooklyn, New York. They are struggling with their careers and end up matching on a dating app. They're both unique and quirky and I enjoyed their rapport and the silly things that happen to them in a few situations. I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Danny Tamberelli and Mara Wilson (Matilda!!!). I didn't love Tamberelli's narration, but Wilson's was on point. Overall, an enjoyable read, especially for those who loved Nickelodeon in the 90s and are looking for something light.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing this ebook / audiobook ARC. All thoughts are my own.

⭐⭐⭐.5 rounded to 4

I received an audiobook of The First Date Prophecy from Netgalley. I have to say, I had no idea who Danny Tamberelli was (his fame was a bit before my time), but I was intrigued that he both helped write the book and narrated it.

My thoughts about the narration: While I don't like Danny Tamberelli's voice, his experience in acting was apparent in the way he played the part of Rudy. He read fairly well and it felt more like listening to a TV show than the reading of a book. Mara Wilson did okay reading Lucy; she has a more typical reading style that leaned a bit toward boring.

My thoughts about the story: It's a really interesting concept of 'later in life' (adults in their late 30s) dating between a struggling writer and a grown up child star. It seems like Danny Tamberelli incorporated his experiences into his character; they do say to write what you know! Rudy's character was pretty interesting, but Lucy was just kind of... sad. Overall it wasn't my favorite story but was interesting to listen to.

This book started out promising, with a few funny bad dates. It quickly became very boring, however. The male narrator was really hard to listen too. He kind of mumbled, had no inflection, and had weird pauses between each sentence. The female narrator was better, and honestly, this book might have been better if we only had her side of the story. It was just so, so long. After getting the prophecy, the characters just kind of, I don't know, piddle around for a good 50% of the book? Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the audio ARC.

Former child star Rudy and aspiring writer Lucy find each other via online dating and it’s…. like?…. at first sight in this delightful beach read loosely inspired by the real-life love story of the husband/ wife coauthors.

Rudy and Lucy bond over their shared histories of dating misadventures/ horror stories, and this leads to growth for both, romantically AND in their stalled careers.

This was a light summertime read that I flew through in a single afternoon, happily immersed in the story.

Danny Tamberelli and Mara Wilson did a nice job narrating the audiobook.

Thank you Kate Tamberelli, Danny Tamberelli, HighBridge Audio, and NetGalley for providing this ALC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

cute romcom, lots of first date anecdotes. The beginning was a bit of a downer but as it went on turn a bit more lively.
The audiobook book was well done.

When I heard that Danny Tamberelli - star of one of my all time favorite childhood shows (The Adventures of Pete & Pete) co-wrote with his wife a romantic comedy jam packed full of '90s nostalgia I was instantly sold!

Disastrous first dates, hilarious mishaps and a little bit of destiny being two lost souls together in this romantic comedy that’s jam packed with comedy, personal growth, love and friendship.

Thank you to HighBridge Audio for the advanced copy.

This had a lot of potential! Two NYC millennials tired of online dating take a prophecy from a dying psychic on their first date as a sign that they were meant to be together. What follows is the two of them going on a series of dates trying to force a relationship. This book felt like it was trying too hard to be funny and just fell flat for me. There was zero chemistry between the MCs and honestly there felt like there wasn't much of a plot either. Sadly a miss for me on this one. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for early digital and audio copies in exchange for my honest review.