What a dazzling debut!! THE LAUNCH DATE is one of those tastefully written rivals-to-lovers story filled with witty banter and delicious tension that made me never want to put the book down. Grace and Eric quickly became work friends and so close to becoming a thing before becoming enemies. And if being enemies wasn't enough, they then also become rivals as they are both being considered for the same promotion, Only problem is that to help develop the dating app their company is launching, Grace and Eric have to learn how to work together... and that work involves going to "dates" to test out for their future users.

I really loved and admired Grace and Eric's senses of humor and the emotional depth to them. Even though in the press Eric is known to be a playboy, I liked how we went along with it, so Grace wouldn't realize just so much of a sweet softie he is. It was so enjoyable to see their relationship evolve and I found myself deeply invested and caring for the two of them from the very beginning. I'm so happy for the privilege to have read their story and witness their love. Looking forward to reading (more like devouring) whatever the author decides to grant us with next!!

Many thanks to Avon Harper and Voyager and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Grace Hastings thought landing a job at Fate, the popular dating app, would be her happily-ever-after. Instead, her boss is a nightmare, her career is stuck in neutral, and her fiancé just dumped her in the worst way possible.

The CEO offers her a shot at a huge promotion. The catch? She has to design a new app focused on real-life dating and test it out by going on first dates. The bigger catch? She’s paired with her work nemesis, Eric Bancroft.

I loved this book!

Grace and Eric’s relationship had all the tension and sparks I could’ve asked for.

The banter was sharp, the chemistry was amazing, and the workplace rivals-to-lovers trope was done so well. I flew through it.

Such an amazing debut!

Thank you NetGalley and Avon for this free ARC!

4.25 ⭐️

I really enjoyed this! The tension was top tier and the conflict was realistic. Often times romance books will throw something big and a bit too dramatic to bump up the third act “break up” but this was so real and didn’t make me wanna pull my hair out from frustration :’) My only real “complaint” is that I wish the book were a little bit longer! I wanted some more time with them - showing their happy moments in their friendship from before + showing more time with their current tension before the inevitable ending.

I’m really impressed with this being a debut! Will definitely be purchasing this when it officially releases. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC <3

I had high expectations for this one after reading the synopsis, but unfortunately it fell a little short for me. I love a good enemies to lovers trope, and banter, but i don’t know.. I felt something was lacking with this one. Possibly the chemistry between the characters? The beginning was very slow making it hard for me to connect with the characters. Although I didn’t love this one, I’ll for sure check out more of the authors work.

Grace, true-love daydreamer and marketing manager at "Fate" is up against Eric, her polished and frustratingly confident counterpart at their company's rival hook-up app "Ignite" as they battle it out for a career-defining opportunity. Which, for ~plot reasons~, requires them to go on multiple "test dates" around London. Beneath their biting banter and professional facades lies a tangled history neither is ready to confront—until they’re forced to face their unresolved feelings.

I went into this book expecting a basic knockoff of The Hating Game, but it completely blew me away. This story nailed the workplace rivals-to-lovers trope with so much depth, which is rare since most books struggle to make the hatred logical. The gradual reveal of Grace and Eric’s backstory was so well done and gave their dynamic real substance.

The tone was spot-on: British, clever, funny, and still totally accessible for American readers. I laughed, I swooned, and I had the urge to call my therapist.

Grace was super relatable, and Eric wasn’t just another cookie-cutter wealthy male lead—he had a rich backstory that made him feel real. The chemistry between these two was off the charts, and I was practically begging for them to just get together already.

I adored Eric’s sister, who added a great layer of charm to the story. That said, I wasn’t a huge fan of how Susie treated Grace—the dialogue felt a bit over-the-top and unbelievable at times. But really, the work that Grace and Eric were doing on Ditto wasn't really marketing at all, so I'm willing to suspend some disbelief around their job functions because of how much I loved Slator's writing.

The central conflict in their relationship was believable and compelling, and the mix of humor, heartfelt moments, and slow-burn tension had me sneakily reading this on my Kindle app on my phone at work. If you’re into contemporary romance with sharp banter, real stakes, and a lot of heart, this one is for you. Highly recommend!

I really enjoyed this and thought it was well written, especially for a debut author! It kinda has The Hating Game vibes with the workplace rivals/enemies to lovers trope, but it’s a trope that I always love. I loved the chemistry between Grace and Eric, and my only wish was that we could have seen more of their happily ever after!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for this earc

This book was soooo much fun. I love me a good office romance when to kind of enemies need to work together. *heart eyes*

But seriously, I read this in one sitting. It’s cute, it’s full of heart, have great friendships and main character standing up for herself and finding her voice.

There is also some AMAZING chemistry (reminded me of Tangled. If you know, you know).

Eric also has quite a few fantastic lines that made me go “awwwww”

My point. Listen to me and for read this.

If you took everything I love about The Hating Game and tossed in a boss reminiscent of The Devil Wears Prada, you would only slightly scratch the surface of how much I adored this amazing debut novel! Enemies/rivals-to-lovers and workplace romance are two of my favorite tropes, and Annabelle Slator managed to take both of them and make an entirely fresh and exciting story. I was drawn in right from the start, and fell in love with both main characters.

Grace and Eric need to work together on a project, and their performances will determine which of them is given a promotion. It would be a lot easier if these ex-friends turned enemies could stand to be in the same room together, especially because they work for a dating app and their project entails going on dates together to test run a new version. It doesn't help that Grace is still reeling from a break up 6 months ago and Eric is a known play-boy, out with different woman every night of the week. Somehow they have to work together if they have any chance of success.

I think Eric Bancroft may be my new favorite MMC. He had so much depth, and Annabelle did an amazing job peeling back his layers and letting us see the man he really is and why he puts on the persona that defines him. Grace is delightfully messy and she allows people to walk all over her, but the extent of her growth during the course of the book was inspiring, and I felt such an overwhelming sense of protectiveness for her. The timeline of this book jumped around just enough to slowly reveal Eric and Grace's initial friendship and everything that caused it to derail. I was so invested in these characters, and the way their story wrapped up had me in tears. Trust me, you won't want to miss this delightful, fun and heart-felt rom-com, full of witty banter and off-the-charts chemistry!

Thank you Netgalley and Avon for the e-arc of this book in exchange for my honest opinions!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. This was SO FUN. My favorite tropes, and very happy to report she pulled them off brilliantly. I was invested right away. Super cute.

I am not always the biggest fan of the friends to enemies to lovers trope, but this book was so amazing! Just checked all the right boxes. It even had the one bed trope, which is normally so cheesy, and yet made it seem totally plausible? I don't think I have ever seen an author take the one bed scenario and make me believe it could actually happen in real life before. Maybe not the actual outcome, obviously. . .

Grace and Eric used to be good (just lol) friends before having a major falling out a little over a year ago. Two pages in, and I already hated Eric, although everything I knew was skewed based on Grace's internal monologuing. I think the only thing that would have made the book better is if it some of the chapters were written from Eric's point of view. I would have loved reading about it from his perspective.

I have absolutely no criticisms of the book. So many authors write horrible love interests; men who are the worst. Eric is amazing. They are a great couple who compliment each other. Especially love the contrast shown with her previous relationship with William.

Thanks to NetGalley for the free kindle book! My opinions are my own and are freely given.

Such a cute, fun rom com. This had me kicking my feet and giggling and for once was an “enemies to lovers” that wasn’t cringy. So sweet and looking forward to more from this author!

The Launch Date was such a cute and quick read, I loved it! This book is about Grace who works on a dating app called Fate and Eric who works on a dating app called Ignite. Both of these co-workers are working for the same company called Catch Group. A promotion is up for grabs and in order to share their own presentation they have to go on dates together and share their experience for a new dating app called Ditto. Even though they are enemies they put aside their differences to work together and in the process maybe hopefully admit they have feelings for each other and fall in love? Very cute enemies to lovers novel and definitely a 5 star review! Thank You NetGalley, Avon Books, and Harper Voyager for this early copy of The Launce Date by Annabelle Slator! Publishing date of February 11, 2025.

What a fantastic debut! Heartwarming and driven by a strong plot, this novel seamlessly blends favorite tropes with the electric chemistry between Eric and Grace. I loved the author's writing style and how she portrayed the workplace environment and Grace's personal growth. Perfect for fans of The Spanish Love Deception and The Hating Game. There are a few parts where I wish we could have spent more time or had more context as events unfolded, but overall, I really enjoyed it! I’d love a bonus chapter from Eric's POV. Can't wait for everyone to fall in love with Eric and Grace in 2025. Huge thanks to Avon/Harper Voyager for the ARC via NetGalley.

I loved it!!!! Love how Grace was still a badass even though she was working through some things. And Eric was a great MMC. Love the enemies to lovers workplace situation and how they opened up to each other complemented each other so well. Super cute and fun!

I completely devoured this book OMG. Enemies to lovers, workplace romance, oooooozing sexual tension, giddy humor, banter, sarcastic quips, grand romance — this had everything! It’s also sort of fake dating/forced proximity.

Eric and Grace have so much chemistry right from the start, even as rivals, and the tension is palpable. It’s definitely a slow burn but man it was so fantastic to read. There’s background and intrigue, lovable and well placed side characters like Iris, serious moments, swoony moments, smiley sweet giggling moments, sexy badass girlboss moments. I just couldn’t put it down!

Two points of weakness on my end:

— Grace’s was a little insufferable but even she realized it and amended that.

— I feel like there’s one plot thread in the book that was kind of weak and very ‘C’-tier that it seems throwaway since it was brought up so late in the game. It made it intriguing but fizzled out very quickly into nothing.



All in all though, it gives off Hating Game vibes but in my opinion this is written way better. This is Annabelle Slator’s debut romcom and she hit it out of the freaking park 😍 I truly couldn’t stop reading and binged it in less than a day today. 10/10!

Thanks for the early copy to this sweet story. I enjoyed the dynamic between the love interests and thought this was overall a cute story.

Fans of The Hating Game will like this. I don't think Grace and Eric have the chemistry and banter that Josh and Lucy had, but there was definitely heart! I giggled a little and shed a few tears along the way.

**Thanks to Avon & Harper Voyager via NetGalley for the e-arc!

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This was an enjoyable read. I couldn’t stop reading. The end was cute.

Who doesn't love the enemies to lovers trope? Mixed in with a cute little workplace romance, this is an incredible debut

Woooo!

This book had it all. A couple of tropes that I'm a big fan of - enemies to lovers and workplace romance, some witty back and forth banter and miscommunication, and allllll the spice! You can't help but root for Grace and Eric separately and together, because it becomes so clear that they really are perfect for each other.

Will preface this with - this is a SLOW burn. If that's not your thing this could make you mad, but I think it was all worth the wait! If you're a big dan of 'The Hating Game' I don't think there's anyway you won't devour it. Thank you to Netgalley & Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC of this novel!