I am SO glad this one was a win for me. Workplace romance can be so hit or miss— but something about this just worked. Our heroine, Grace, was so relatable, and I found the love interest to be so fresh despite the well-worn tropes. It was also a SLOOOW burn, but I felt the chemistry (and the characters on their own) was worth it.

Thank you to Net Galley & Avon and Harper Voyager for providing me this ARC for my honest review.

4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I am a sucker for workplace rivals to lovers trope so I was really excited to read this one. I really enjoyed reading this book and the two main characters. This definitely reminded me of The Hating Game, which I loved as well.

Love how Grace's character developed throughout the book, her feelings were very realistic which made her character feel really relatable. Eric was so supportive and overall an amazing guy!

I will say even though this was sort of a predictable trope, I really enjoyed that it wasn't a 'hate each other even though we have never interacted with one another situation'. (Hopefully that makes sense). I loved how the author set it up to be that they were good friends before.

I would personally recommend this as a fun workplace read and will be checking out the author's future projects.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for providing this book, with my honest review below.

The Launch Date had a great (misunderstood) enemies to lovers storyline. Grace and Eric, our enemies in question, used to be good friends on female and male focused dating apps. The pair has a mystery hanging over why they got to be enemies which is revealed over time with flashbacks, which I enjoyed. When they are presented with a promotion opportunity both desperately want (due to their bosses) they are forced to try out some real dates.

I enjoyed both Grace and Eric as main characters, both brought personalities that I had fun getting to know. The plot was a little expected until we got to the end, but as mentioned the characters were a lot of fun and made the whole book entertaining.

ARC provided to me by Avon in exchange for an honest review. Thank you very much!

The Launch Date checked most of my books when it comes to a workplace rivals to lovers romance. I appreciated how realistic the author made both Grace and Eric — Grace's imposter syndrome at work and her drive to be the best resonated with me.

The banter between these two was off the charts, I especially loved seeing how their relationship progressed with each "date" they went on for their new potential app concept.

The only caveat to this was the misconceptions Grace held towards Eric, I know miscommunication happens in the real-world and often in books within this genre but I still wish they talked it out.

I really enjoyed this book! Grace and Eric are so lovable, they’ll have you screaming “just kiss already!!” The book wouldn’t be complete without an awful ex-boyfriend, who will also have you screaming phrases as your book that I can’t type here. Everyone is so tastefully placed into this book, it really submerges you into their world. It’s a fun workplace rivalry/forced proximity read. Imagine my surprise when I realized at the end of the book that this is a debut novel!

Grace y Eric eran amigos hasta que un incidente ocurrió hace seis meses, y ahora solo son rivales en el trabajo.

Ambos competirán por un ascenso, y aunque cada uno debe presentar sus propias ideas, tendrán que pasar tiempo juntos para desarrollar conceptos para una aplicación de citas.

La historia se narra desde el punto de vista de Grace, lo que hace que Eric se sienta más como un personaje secundario que como un protagonista.



Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Enjoyable romp about a pair of dating app employees competing for a promotion and (of course) falling in love. Tropes: workplace romance, friends to enemies to lovers.

I liked this enemies to lovers in the workplace. They are both up for the promotion for both working on dating app and they finally figure things out between them. I loved his sister and hope to see something about her and I loved her friends and that ending ...what was the last surprise ?? I figured out two but not the last one lol

Thank you so much to Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for the advance reader copy of The Launch Date by Annabelle Slator!

Now that we’re really getting into 2025 ARC reads, I’m so so excited for all the books that are upcoming and this is one I'm adding to my list.

The Launch Date follows Grace and Eric, both working for a dating app company, and both pursuing the same promotion. These two are workplace rivals who are now forced to work together as part of the interview process for the promotion, which includes going on different dates.

Grace and Eric. I love them. I also love when a book is considered a slow burn but when I get to the end I didn't even notice. I think this speaks to how well the chemistry and story development is for these two. There is so much more to this story than work rivals getting paired up for an assignment. I was overjoyed when I realized the depth of history we were going to get between these two which the book summary didn’t hint to. I loved loved loved the dates that these two went on. I would have undoubtedly had the same reaction to the hiking date that Grace does.

I can see where The Hating Game would be a comparable book but I really enjoyed this one more than The Hating Game.

I’m so excited to read future releases from Annabelle Slator!!

In this novel we follow Grace, an underpaid and overworked Fate employee, and her mortal enemy, Eric, as they compete for a promotion. Eric’s boss has deemed it necessary the pair work as a team and go on dates to prove the company’s business plan works for customers! Old memories come back as Eric and Grace go on this journey together, is their past friendship able to be rekindled? Can Yemi and Alice help Grace get back her confidence in her profession and personal life? Or, will William be the one that sweeps her off her feet?

You’re fully immersed and invested in this comedic exchange from flatmates to siblings, there’s always something dramatic occurring. This is a fast paced novel that gives you some feet kicking, giggles and toe wiggling moments. And… send you spiraling and wanting to throw your book at the wall!

This is a modern love story that left me giddy and overjoyed with the way friends can help someone fix the pieces of their lives.

I really enjoyed this book! I didn’t have super high expectations because I thought the premise was somewhat gimmicky, but was very pleasantly surprised! Both Grace and Eric ended up being very lovable, relatable characters. The plot was paced well and broken up by the fake dates in a smart way. The side characters were really well-written (loved Iris, Yemi, Alice, etc).

I truly inhaled this book and flew through it pretty quickly. It was very engaging and hard not to be invested in the tension. The way in which the author chose to reveal major backstory came at the right times, I feel like.

My one qualm is that I feel like we got a lot of context on Susie, but not enough on Dharmash. I never really understood enough about his intentions/personality. For being the (for lack of a better term) villain, he was an incredibly minor character.

Overall, loooooved this book and wish I could read it for the first time again! Thank you for the opportunity to review it.

i’m obsessed, this was so fucking cute!!! I love an enemies-to-lovers workplace romance 😍 and this was no exception

Honestly I was hesitant to read this one if only because the romances that I’ve read with somewhat similar premises (workplace rivals-to-lovers) did not end well for me…But thankfully that was not the case here! The Launch Date was a refreshing and bright workplace romance with off-the-charts chemistry and tension that’ll have you begging for more.

Grace Hastings finds herself in an impossible situation; she’s still not back in the dating scene after breaking up with her long-term boyfriend, her boss expects her to drop everything at her command, and now she’s found out she’ll have to compete for the promotion of her dreams. The only issue? Eric Bancroft, her work rival who brutally turned her down a year ago, is the other person up for the position. They’re going to have to get over their differences as they work together to test-drive dates for the new app one of them will be in charge of…and maybe finally give into the tension that’s between them.

Again, I didn’t have super high expectations for this book because the other workplace romances that I’ve read tend to be super trope-y and are clearly geared toward a certain audience with the references. The Launch Date certainly made its way past my prejudices and thank god for that honestly. I had so much fun with this book and can’t wait to reread it! I’m very excited to read more from this author as well.

I loved the characters. Grace was a great character to follow, and her voice is very sincere. She enjoys her work at Fate, a dating app that’s geared toward people looking for long-term relationships, even if she’s not sure she’ll ever find love again. Meanwhile, Eric works in the same position but at different app aimed at people looking for a quick hook-up. They used to be work besties until Eric turned down her proposition last year; now, they can’t help but fight as their apps are constantly in competition with each other.

The promotion exacerbates this situation even more. Both Grace and Eric have their own reasons for wanting the position: she wants to step out of her boss’s demanding shadow and he wants to make a name for himself outside of his socialite family. They only begrudgingly agree to help each other with the pilot dates for their company’s new app because they do understand that they bring different strengths to the table.

Their chemistry was so, so good; you could cut the tension with a knife. I was genuinely screaming at some points because you get to the point where you need something to happen between them! I really loved their banter and how much they support each other. This book was also so funny. The test dates are fairly standard ones but something always happens that turns into a comedic series of events. I never knew what was going to happen in this book and I really loved that.

Overall, The Launch Date was such a fun and lovable rom-com that I absolutely could not put down. As I’m writing this review, it’s been only a couple days since I finished the book and yet I’m already thinking of rereading. It’s honestly been a while since I’ve found a new romance that I’ve had so much fun with, and I can’t recommend The Launch Date enough, especially if you’re a fan of rivals-to-lovers romances with tons of chemistry!

When two coworkers are forced to compete for the same new position at a dating app company, their complicated history gets in the way in this debut from Annabelle Slator. Eric and Grace have competing ideas about the best way to find love, as shown in the very differently-styled dating apps they currently promote at the Chase Company, an umbrella company for such apps. Eric's app is for casual hook-ups, while Grace's is for finding fairytale-style longterm romance. When their boss decides a new app needs the perfect format and launch, he sets them up to work together to develop the app, then compete to run it. However, past undisclosed-until-later conflicts and events keep rearing their ugly heads to make these two not only uncomfortable with, but downright mean-spirited to, one another. Add in Grace's recently broken off kinda-engagement to William and over-the-top nightmare of a boss Susie (a trope I've had a bit too much of lately), and Eric's batchelor-around-town reputation and dismissive rich parents, and you've got yourself one fine set up for a hodge podge of averted glances, wealth-difference jabs, misunderstandings, and smirks galore. Yet, try as they might, Eric and Grace can't fight the friendship they feel growing, much less the deeper feelings they realize as they FINALLY clear the air and move forward in their work. This slow-burn romance, though a bit frustrating at times with Grace's low self-esteem and the couple's refusal to just talk it out, still drew me in with its fun premise and ultimate hope for Grace and Eric's connection. I loved the ending and look forward to seeing Slator's next rom-com.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a preview of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Launch Date by Annabelle Slator is a debut rom-com about two rival co-workers who find themselves forced to work together to test a new dating app. They are pitted against each other for a promotion and have to go on couples-dates to test the efficacy of the app. To be honest, it took me a few chapters to truly get into the story. I felt like there were a lot of characters introduced in the beginning without enough of an introduction to who they were or their role in the book. The FMC is very high-strung from page one and it took some getting used to, for me.

With that being said, once I got into the book, I absolutely could not put it down and finished it in less than a day. I. LOVED. IT. Grace and Eric have history together that gets unpacked piece by piece throughout the story. Misunderstandings, heartache, longing, enemies-to-lovers.. the way their backstories are revealed is truly masterful and was an absolute delight to discover. Instead of everything being revealed in one heart to heart moment, there are twists and turns that truly made me empathize with both characters. I absolutely, whole-heartedly, recommend this book and can’t wait to add it to by bookshelf! Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

this was fun!! one of the slowest slow burn romances I’ve ever read, yet i didn’t feel bored reading it. friends to rivals to lovers, the tropes were all very well done and everything was nuanced. i love how eric turned out to be such a softie and how he was so kind toward grace while still encouraging her to do more. grace’s self-esteem issues were handled really well; throughout the book she’s under a lot of pressure and constantly feels like she can’t do it, but with support and effort she perseveres.

thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing a copy of this book!

The Launch Date: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

This was a really cute book from start to finish. I was impressed with the writing (It can be a gamble reading a debut!) and by the end of it I loved the two characters together.

However, it took me a little while to really see the chemistry between the characters, it just wasn’t there for me in the beginning. I think explaining that past relationship throughout helped to build it there, so even though the flashbacks sometimes felt like they came out of no where; they did help establish that chemistry between them. There were a few times that Grace drove me a little crazy, but that could just be because I would’ve done the same thing she did at times.

I really can’t wait to read more by this author, and I will be absolutely keeping my eye out for more! Thank you so much to Annabelle Slator, Netgalley, and Harpercollins for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC!!

I loved this book - forced proximity and enemies to lovers are becoming some of my favorite things. Add in dating apps which this single book worm hates and has her share of horror stories ans you’ve got me hooked as a reader. You will want to read through this in one sitting as you’ll be hooked.

Read an ARC through NetGalley for my honest review.

Long & Short of It: SLOW burn, but worth it!
Author: Great balance of dialogue and narrative
Romance: Frustrating/tense, then playful and satisfying
Spice Level: 4/5 stars (doesn't really "go there" until the last 1/4 of the book; descriptive, but not icky)

Fair warning... SLOW burn, like really slow. This is an "enemies to lovers" romance based around two characters who work for the same company but for different dating apps. One of the apps is more relationship based, where the other is more casual... sound familiar? *Note: the author of this book, Annabelle Slator, worked at Bumble for a time and used her experience as inspiration.

Grace and Eric's characters were believable, and I was rarely frustrated. I initially had a hard time getting into the story, but I would say about 1/4 of the way in, I was hooked.

The book took me a week to read, much to my chagrin, because once I was hooked it was ALL I COULD THINK ABOUT. Unfortunately my schedule was so busy I didn't have as much time to read as I usually do and it left me ACHING to get back to Grace and Eric and see what would happen next.

Their "prototype" dates for the potential new app concept were really fun to read about, and I enjoyed their banter throughout the book. Because I am someone who prefers communication and sharing over keeping things to myself, I actually struggled with all of the misconceptions they had about each other, specifically Grace's thoughts toward Eric. Like... JUST TALK TO EACH OTHER ABOUT IT AND YOU WILL UNDERSTAND. But I feel that way in every book that does that, so I guess I'll have to learn to cope.

Overall I enjoyed the story a lot, and would recommend it to friends. Once the (very) slow burn came to a head it *burned* (emphasis on burned). The book ended with me feeling warm and fuzzy, and I love that.

*I received an ARC from NetGalley. All opinions are my own*

It's not often I give a full 5 stars but this book hit all of my favorite tropes: coworkers, one bed, haters to lovers (friends to haters to friends to lovers) ha! The one-bed situation was one of the best I've read - all this coming from a debut author. This book gave me all the feels, lots of humor and heart. I will be following Annabelle's career and purchasing this book for the library.