The Lonely Hearts Trivia Night is best described as a story about relationships. All relationships- romance, parent/child, friend, employer, etc. While this is shelved as a romance I would say romantic relationships aren't the most important here. I liked that we followed each of the characters on their journeys and self discovery. All of our character develop new relationships including the ones with their selves. There is also important mental health representation. The trivia tournament and the trivia tidbits at the beginning of each chapter really hold the story together.

I listened to the audio, which really helped me get through it. The pace is slow and I think it would have taken me a lot longer to read. The narrator does an excellent job on the audio. Her accent is lovely and she conveyed the right emotion to carry the story.

Thank you Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for this audio ARC!

The “red hot quizzy peppers”, a trivia team competing for a cash price, is formed out of five lonely strangers that each have their own issues and secrets. Topics such as marriage, cheating, one-night stands, young parenthood, loneliness, drinking and mental health are explored.

I liked the trivia in the beginning of each chapter that is somehow connected to what happens in that chapter, as well as the trivia that is contained within the story. I also enjoyed the journey the team undertook in their quest for the title.

Likewise, I appreciated that there were switches in the POV so that we could get to know (almost) all the team members individually while they simultaneously get to know each other. This is a book full of very real characters, so it felt very organic to me how they started off as strangers and eventually became friends and a team. I especially felt that Donna’s and Harry’s dynamic was very relatable in the way that it showed that people that don’t seem to fit together initially can grow closer together during their journey trough life. The characters are not always likable, sometimes even irritating, but they are real and relatable because of it.

For my part, the book was almost too real to be enjoyable. If you look closely at the problems each of the characters is facing, they are all very tied to what society and/or the people closest to them expect them to do. The process of detangling yourself from those expectations and deciding if they actually are in your best interest is tedious and therefore not very fun to read about.
Especially Donna’s POV was aggravating, because instead of helping her in her mental health journey and supporting her in getting a diagnosis, her relatives constantly berate her about how she is feeling or how she is acting like her ‘crazy’ dad that she wants nothing to do with. Harry’s journey was similar, although not as severe, in that he put unnecessary pressure on himself and put himself in a toxic workplace environment to the detriment of his own wellbeing in order to be deemed “less of a failure”. This whole thing is framed a bit like a mindset thing. Some of the characters have it in their head that others will think badly of them if they don’t live up to the expectations (concerning jobs, their love live etc.) that they or others have set for themselves and look down on themselves because of it. Then they face others with this attitude and it becomes a downward spiral.

I am glad how everything was resolved in the end, but if you do pick this book up, be advised that it could be triggering to someone with mental health issues. The blurb described this book as uplifting, and although I would say that this book has a happy ending, I do think this book is a lot heavier than what was advertised. I personally found this book thought-provoking, but not as enjoyable and easy-going as I thought, so you should match your expectations and read this book if you are in the right frame of mind.

The narrator did a wonderful job, especially considering that she was voicing so many characters. I do think it would have helped the listening experience even more, though, if there was a full cast.
Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for gifting me this ALC of the audiobook to review. All opinions are my own. I was not paid to leave this review.

The narration was good.

I found this book very confusing. It kind of throws you into the characters and story and gets pretty confusing between characters and stories really fast.

This was categorized under romance, and it is definitely more fiction/women's fiction.

Love the trivia questions!

3.5

Thanks NetGalley for the copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved the premise of this book. It’s definitely harder to make friends as an adult and the trivia night seemed like a fun and exciting way for these characters to meet. The trivia questions were probably my favorite part as the characters were decent, but there were too many and they were a bit similar so I couldn’t quite follow some of them. I do also wish there was more of a plot to the book as well as I struggled listening to the book. The narrator was great-she was animated and funny so it was well-performed, just not quite strong enough for me.

The Lonely Hearts Trivia Night has a fun premise, but was overall just ok for me. I had a difficult time connecting with any of the characters, and the book seemed long considering how little there is in terms of plot. I did enjoy the actual trivia included in the book, though, and while I wasn’t immersed into the story, it did keep my attention.

I did listen to this on audio, and enjoyed the narrator. She has great diction, pacing, and is able to keep listeners engaged.

A huge thanks to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and author Lauren Farnsworth for providing me with a free audio copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I hated too, but I had to DNF this book at the 26% mark. There were too many points of view, and I could not find a plot to save my life., Let alone anything that would lead me to believe this book is supposed to be a romance.

I loved the narrator, but even she couldn’t pull me through to the finish line.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to give this book a shot.

As a lover of bar trivia nights, I was immediately drawn to this title and wanting to read this book! I loved the trivia questions and answers thrown in throughout. Sadly I’m not sure I knew the answers to even half of them 😂. I did struggle a little bit with the amount of characters and story lines to follow. I kept having to question which person was talking and continually got several story lines confused. By the middle of the book I was thinking it was written about the biggest losers in this town and wondered what was wrong with all these people! Shortly after I had this thought the story picked up a bit and peaked my interest again. I enjoyed the ending and I’m glad a stuck it out.

A gang of strangers join a pub quiz team, all for different reasons.

They all need professional help, and I think I need therapy too.
I don’t like any of these people. There were no one I could sympathies with and it was just getting worse and worse for them, all of their own making. Then at the end, despite a pretty bleak situations all scenarios were quickly fixed. It was way too neatly done, not proper setup and payoffs.

This book tickled me in ways I didn't know needed tickling! I found all the characters and their perspectives so deeply human and relatable, even if by the seventy-five percent mark I was aching and wishing they'd all just realize the error of their ways.

Farnsworth does a beautiful job of painting the serendipitously met motley crew in a way that makes you root for all of them and see bits of yourself in them too. Except Luke. Hate that guy.

The Lonely Hearts Trivia Night is really a testament to loose ends. Everyone can have a happy ending without the world shifting on its access. Or, it can shift just enough to take you to the next place you're supposed to go. Adored every second of it. And the narrator was absolutely top notch.

I loved the storyline of this book - some random people coming together to play trivia and they bond and make friendships, they address each main characters story line and wrap them all up with a bow at the end - this book was quirky and fun (a tad long- audio version, great narrator)

4 stars!

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced reader!

Publish date 06/18/2024

I listened to the audio version of this story. This was a very heartwarming read that fans of authors such as Sophie Kinsella and Jennifer Weiner will love. I enjoyed the themes of confidence, fun, and love. This book was a must read! I loved it!

In an effort to meet new people, the five not-yet-friends answer an ad seeking members of a bar trivia team—the Red Hot Quizzy Peppers. As the weeks go on, the disparate band of unhappy strangers becomes swept up in both the buzz of winning and the way quiz nights start to bond them together in friendship . . . to the detriment of other parts of their lives.

An easy and fun read with some GREAT trivia. It has really charming parts to the story. As a quiz goer I did love this flashback to my early twenties.

The Lonely Hearts Trivia Night by Lorna Farnsworth narrated by Ava Feeler, is a book about strangers who join the Quizzy Peppers but most importantly it’s about friendship family finding a place to belong changing and or excepting the life you have in many other Adulting situations. There’s Donna, Brianna, Harry, Jamie and Luke in one way or another all five of these trivia team contestants are pondering where they fit in the world it’s also about the gift a good friendship can bring to someone’s life there’s one woman who wants to go back to school and struggles with being a mom of two married to her high school sweetheart another woman who feels she’s been with her partner long enough to get married something he first doesn’t agree with but mainly the book is about relationships and it mainly focuses on the friendship they gain by being on the Quizzy peppers trivia team this is the true definition of a literary fiction but there’s no real great dilemmas I mean there’s one thing that happens that brings the whole team together especially when there’s a question of whether it happened to them or they wanted it to happen but ultimately it is just a story about people trying to make it through life the way we all do. I would love to say I was riveted by the spot but I was not I wanted so much to care for these characters especially Donna and Harry I don’t know if it was the narration or the story itself but I found myself not paying attention a lot of the time but by the end I can honestly say I was invested in what happened and with the whole thing happened with the cheating I’m not gonna lie I did get excited but I thought the narration was only OK but if you like fiction books and women’s fiction then you will probably enjoy this book I did like the trivia questions at the beginning of the chapter I wish they would’ve shown more of the trivia games itself or at least that atmosphere because I mean that is in the title so don’t get this book thinking you know more about trivia contest because you really won’t. Please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review. #DreamscapeMedia, #NetGalley,#LornaFarnsworth, #TheLonelyHeartsTriviaNight,

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC audiobook of The Lonely Hearts Trivia Night by Lauren Farnsworth.

Donna creates an ad for people to join her trivia group. This is where the story begins...all five team members meeting up at the bar. The group has a lot of baggage. As the trivia nights go on the more you learn about the cast of characters. This book delves into marriage, one night stands, loneliness, drinking, mental health issues and all sorts of issues. I feel like we got dragged into a foxhole with these characters. I did feel like the it ended well, so that was good!

I enjoyed this story of five strangers who bond over trivia night at the pub. Each character is facing their own trials and struggles outside of their shared love of trivia. It’s not light-hearted as even the title suggests they are “The Lonely Hearts”, but it is heartfelt. I especially liked the little trivia nuggets at the beginning of each chapter.

Thank you Lauren Farnsworth, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy of this audiobook! The sound quality was great. The narrator, Eva Feiler, did an excellent job.

The Lonely Hearts Trivia Night was an excellent audiobook! I loved the found family and how this one changed POV. I love trivia and it was fun playing along with the team!

"The Lonely Hearts Trivia Night" by Lauren Farnsworth is not exactly a rom-com. It's an interpersonal drama, but that's not exactly a genre. 🤣

Four people respond to Donna's ad to participate in a Trivia Night at a local pub. Harry is unemployed and pining over his ex-girlfriend, Vivian. Jamie and Luke are a couple, but Luke is kind of out of it all the time. He just isn't invested in the trivia nor his relationship. Jamie wants to get married. And then there's Bryony. She got married young when she was pregnant at 17. She and Glen have two teenage children. Donna has work trouble and mental health challenges.

So everyone in the group has issues. They come together for trivia, but eventually, they develop strong friendships and work through some interpersonal things together.

The book starts pretty slow but gets more interesting as it goes along. It alternates points of view between four of the characters.

Eva Feiler did a great job with the narration and all the voices!

I recommend this book as a good fiction novel about friendships.

Characters - 5/5
Writing - 4/5
Plot - 4/5
Pacing - 3/5
Unputdownability - 3/5
Enjoyment - 4/5
Narration - 5/5
Cover - 4/5
Overall - 32/8 = 4 stars

Thank you to Netgalley, Dreamscape Media, and Lauren Farnsworth for providing this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

The premise is very promising however I did not feel drawn into the characters as much as I wanted to. Their struggles were so overwhelming for the majority of the book and I felt more sad than uplifted. My attention was just not captured with this story unfortunately.

A group of lonely people join a trivia club and actually do quite well winning. The five people all have very different backgrounds but make friends thru trivia. Outside of quiz night, they were hard to like.

This audio was a lovely little listen. I enjoyed the characters but felt at least for me with this audio that I got a little confused at times on who we were talking about and how they related to everyone. I wish it had almost been separated a little more as I felt there was just a lot going on in the story.

For me the bonus of this was all the trivia it’s a hobby of mine to play and it made this book even more special. The relationships for all of the characters was very touching and I couldn’t wait for everyone to have a happy ending. There was a bit near the end of their tournament that I thought could have been handled so much better but instead almost seemed childish in how it was approached and handled.

The narration and audio were of great quality.