Blind Dates

A great fun read and so fun that it comes from a make point of view this time

Is true love just a few dates away...or even closer than you think?

Tom has always been a hopeless romantic: but now he's just hopeless. After lockdown in particular made the millennial a reclusive introvert, it was finally time to get back 'out there' – at least according to his best friends Adam, Allison and sister Sarah.

As the group sets up 10 dates to rejuvenate Tom's love life, he soon realises how difficult the dating scene has become, along with juggling his Shakespearean-themed cafe and a hobby of romantic mixtape making.

As some of the dates turn into disasters, an old flame keeps reappearing in Tom's sight – along with bitter-sweet memories. Fearing it may be too little too late, Tom must decide whether he can date his way to happiness, or find his true match was under his nose the whole time...

Blind Dates
By Gorgon Macmillan

After the lockdown due to the pandemic Tom is a bit of a hermit. He blew it with the girl he likes and other than work he doesn’t really leave his flat.
So his friends and sister decide to stage an intervention and set Tom up on 10 blind dates.
Some of the dates are ok, some not so much, but at least Tom is out of his flat right?!?
The questions is, will one of the ten be ‘the one’?

This book was cute. Tom was likeable and it was interesting to read a romance that is written by a male. Toms love of romcoms and making mixed tapes gave him a slightly awkward, quirky feel which I loved.
The dates were cute and fun but the constant drone about the girl he let get away got kinda annoying. I’m not the biggest fan of the not telling people how you really feel/miscommunication trope. The second half of the book made up for this though!

Overall I enjoyed this book. It was a unique, easy read with a couple of twists that were unexpected!

Well, let me say, that I love Gordon's writing style, Songs for your mother was an absolute heart breaking favourite of mine and a tough act to follow, Luckily he didn't try and this book has a very different feel and direction. We do bump into some ties from his first book in a tasteful and creative way.
We follow Tom on his journey post lockdown back into the dating world after an intervention from his friends. As a single woman I can identify with some of the conundrums presented here. It's nice to know that men also worry about their fertile days coming to an end, as do women.
He has to complete a set number of dates, which take place around London. I really must visit Waterstones on Piccadilly. I giggled when he went speed dating, something I have tried myself and failed at. I loved the reference to the Gilmore Girls. Team Jess and Logan all the way.
Is there music in this book? For sure, in fact our Tom has an old school stereo left behind by his dad on which many a mixed tape is created. Boy, I remember those, I am sure readers of a certain age can all tell a mixed take story, does anyone remember sitting by the deck waiting for a favourite song to play on the radio that we could record? Pat Sharp anyone? He was my Sunday Chart Hero on BFBS Radio.
Running a Coffee shop with Convoluted coffee orders made me laugh, I am definitely one of those people who order an Oat or Coconut Milk Latte with Vanilla or Caramel and cause all kinds of confusions and delays.
There are so many lough out loud moments and many omg what? moments in this book. I fully recommend it t anyone dating, or remembers dating and the drama it can bring. Now, here's waiting for Gordons next book.

This book was such a delight to read! From just the description, I was entirely intrigued. Tom is in his mid-thirties and very single. He hasn’t been on a date since before London’s lockdowns due to Covid, so his friends stage an intervention where they present him with the ultimate dating idea: collectively they’ve planned 10 blind dates for Tom to go on with hopes of finding the one. Throughout the story, Tom navigates not only the blind dates his friends have planned for him, but also lingering feelings from his past relationships/crushes.

I think this is the first romance I’ve read entirely from the male perspective, and I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about it. However, Tom was a pretty likable character and had an awkward charm about him that I loved reading about during his dates. The only thing I didn’t entirely love about this book was the slight miscommunication trope between Tom and his friend Beth, but that’s just a personal preference.

I really enjoyed reading this advanced copy, and I know others will see its charm as well! Thank you so much to NetGalley and Hera Books for an advanced copy of this ebook!

Tom is floundering in his life, especially with relationships, and post pandemic lockdowns he is even more of a recluse. His friends decide to step in and make him undertake 10 blind dates to jump start his life.

At first I thought this was going to go one way, but then slowly you could see why Tom was the way he was. It was touching and heartbreaking when you realise what is going on, or has gone on. He can be utterly frustrating at times, especially when you could easily see "SHES RIGHT THERE DO SOMETHING TOM!' but it was relatable. Blind Dates was surprisingly poignant in bits which I think made this book a wonderful read, and who hasn't floundered in their life paralysed with making decisions out of fear, but that fear causes the very think you don't want to happen, to happen.

I really loved the old school mix tap element of this book. It is fun, funny, fabulous and has a few twists than the normal meet cute book. Which was a very lovely refreshing change.

In this book we meet leading man Tom who is really a little bit in a rut with his love life due to the lockdown thanks to Covid. It has also made him feel really introverted and isn't really sure how to get himself back out there.

His friends and family decide that they are going to help him get back into the dating game and so they decide to se up 10 dates for him to go on. There is a lot that he needs to learn and there is alot of disasterous dates along the way. But is the love of his life been right under his nose all along?

This is the first book that I have read by Gordon Macmillan. But I look forward to reading more in the future.