This is a lovely, well written romance novel that’s a little different to all the others. I enjoyed the book and found the characters interesting and well crafted. Relatable and warm

I love Brotosh women's fiction. This one is funny, tender, emotive and gloriously written. Witty and moving..

Thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

This was a super quick read which I really appreciated! I loved the ages of the protagonists, as it was rather enjoyable to read about people in their 40's/50's and I just find myself really loving books with more maturity. The magical realism is also really well done and fun - especially since it was used in part of a dream prophecy which was just amazing! This one is all about the importance of stepping out of your comfort zone and for taking chances and it was just all around a really good story!

Clare Swatman's Five Things I Love About You is a charming and heartfelt story about a woman daring to embrace destiny for a much-needed fresh start. For Miranda, life has become a bit too predictable. Her children are grown, her divorce is amicable, and her career needs a spark. She's ready for a change, and the universe seems to agree.

After a bicycle accident lands her in the hospital, Miranda begins to have recurring dreams of a mysterious, featureless man. These dreams provide five distinct clues to his identity, convincing her that this is a sign—a path to the future she's been longing for. With nothing to lose, Miranda embarks on a journey guided by these clues, searching for the life and love that awaits her. Swatman beautifully crafts a narrative about taking a leap of faith and trusting that the right path will reveal itself. Will Miranda seize the opportunity when destiny finally comes knocking? Fans of heartwarming fiction and those who enjoy a touch of serendipity in their romance will find much to love in this delightful tale.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. It's always nice to see romance novels that have an older main character, so I was really excited about this one. And it lived up to my expectations!

I was given this ARC for an honest review from NetGalley. Almost 50 year old Miranda is divorced, kids are grown and she recently lost her job. After a tarot card reading from her best friend, she decided to move to another country, searching for a man who is possible love of her life, from clues received from her dreams. The title threw me off and was left stumped, trying to figure out what those 5 things were that she loved about this man... well, they are the actual clues that lead her to this mystery man.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this gorgeous little rom com, an easy to read ( I consumed it in an afternoon) tale of love, with lots of laughs along the way.

📚 ARC BOOK REVIEW 📚

Five Things I Love About You
By Clare Swatman
Publication Date: April 24, 2025
Publisher: Boldwood Books

📚MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
(Rounded Up To 5⭐)

Thank you so much to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for this #gifted e-ARC of the book in exchange for my honest review!

📚MY REVIEW:

I needed a palate cleanser from all the thrillers I've been reading lately, so to change it up I grabbed a rom-com from my NetGalley shelf. I'm shocked to see it's been more than 3 months since I've read and reviewed one -- and I'm so happy that I chose Five Things I Love About You. This heartwarming read about taking chances to find the love of your life was such an enjoyable and hopeful book!

49-year-old Miranda is biking to work in London when she swerves to avoid a pedestrian who unknowingly steps into her path, and as she's laying injured on the sidewalk and awaiting the ambulance, she catches a brief glimpse of the handsome dark-haired pedestrian and hears him spell only the J and the A of his name for the police before he says he needs to leave. However, Miranda keeps having dreams about this mysterious stranger for months afterward, so much so that she wonders if he might be her soulmate. When she loses her job and learns her boyfriend is cheating on her, she decides it's time for a change, so she takes a chance and temporarily moves to Newcastle in Northeast England to try and find her soulmate Jay. From there, Miranda goes all in on her decision to change her life and her path is a lovely adventure of unexpected happenstance.

This book was absolutely adorable! I loved Miranda's close friendships with her best friends and I loved all the big chances Miranda took to find what (and who) she was looking for in her life. The book's lessons on feeling the fear and saying yes anyway, were good reminders to me. And I really appreciated the reminder not to miss what's right in front of you while you're searching for what you believe your life is supposed to look like. And that ending?! Swoon. I wanted to keep reading more about what happened next in Miranda's life!

Clare Swatman is quickly becoming a must-read rom-com author for me, as her books always feature characters with moxie and love stories with heart! If you're a fan of second chances at love, happily ever after, and rom-coms that are so much more than just a love story, Five Things I Love About You is one you simply must add to your TBR. Out now!

#FiveThingILoveAboutYou #ClareSwatman #BoldwoodBooks #boldwoodbookclub #NetGalley #NetGalleyReviews #ARC #romcomreads #romcoms #secondchances #booklover #bookaddict #bookreviews #bookrecs

I would firstly just like to say a big thank you to Rachel’s Random Resources who very kindly forwarded me an arc copy of this book, for my kindle, in return for my honest review.

One fate, five clues, and a love story waiting to be told…

An uplifting, magical story about fresh starts, best friends and soulmates…

I thoroughly enjoyed this wonderful book and it ticked all the boxes with what i love from a book. There was a great, addictive storyline and it was wonderfully written and I honestly couldn’t put it down.

It was definitely a warm & cosy cuddle of a book and has feel-good reading and was one to curl up with on a chilly day. It was such an easy story to read and was so heartwarming and emotional and certainly left me with a warm & fuzzy feeling and i was instantly sad when it was all over…..

Another great novel by Clare Swatman. I had a great time reading this. The storyline was unique and thr characters were relatable. Although I wanted to shake sense into Miranda a few times times. I also enjoyed her journey. I would definitely recommend it.

Overall, this chick-lit novel is fair enough. But, I didn't click with the plot and I wasn't that into the style. I was a bit annoyed by the first-person narrative (too limiting), I would've enjoyed a broader point of view. In the end, I see that other readers liked it, so I'm confident it will find its public! ;)

Miranda is looking for the man of her dreams; the literal man of her dreams.

Miranda is riding her bike to work one morning when a man steps off the curb with no time for her to stop. The two collide and she ends up on the ground with a man hovering over her, asking if she’s okay.

As she’s in and out of consciousness, she hears the man talking to a police officer. Next thing she knows, she’s waking up in the hospital after having the most delightful dream of the man she collided with. But she can’t see his face - all she remembers is that the man’s name starts with a “J,” he has a Geordie accent, a dog named Collin, and is wearing a pink tie.

As the months pass, she continues to dream about this mystery man and strangely begins to fall in love with him and learn things about him such as he’s a fan of a blue sports team and he’s been skydiving.

Her friends decide she needs to go look for this man in her dreams. With nothing tying her down, she rents out her home and begins her journey.

Will she find the mystery man? Or is he a figment of her imagination?

I’ve read several other books by Clare Swatman and I always enjoy them! This four-star book is about chasing your dreams, friendship, not giving up on yourself, and giving love a second, third, and fourth chance regardless your age.

I would definitely check this out and it’s available now! If you have Kindle Unlimited, it’s currently free!

Thank you NetGalley, Clare Swatman, and Boldwood Books for the opportunity to read this delightful romcom in exchange for a review.

This is the perfect read if you're looking for a more mature romantic lead as our heroine is a middle-aged school teacher. Miranda is cycling to work one morning when she is knocked off her bike, this leads her to have a series of dreams about the mysterious man who she crashed into but all she can remember is his name! She is convinced it's a sign that he is her one true love so egged on by her friends she choses to leave London and head to Newcastle to find her soulmate as she knows he has a geordie accent.

It was so refreshing to read a romantic novel about a woman who is ready for change as her children are grown and her husband has moved on. It avoids the usual cliches of a beautiful young woman looking for love and shows us that you can find love at any age if fates intervenes. With thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this book.

Thanks to Netgalley and Boldwood books for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. This was a bit of a slow burn contemporary romance read for me. Whilst the characters are more in line with my own age rang, I just didn't warm to them in the way I hoped I would. I found the premise of the main character's search for the mystery man from her accident to be a bit frustrating when she already had a perfectly great guy for her that she seemed to push aside to chase "her dream man". What I did enjoy was one of the relationship one of the characters had with his dog- that was what made the book for me. It had some sweet and heartfelt moments and the ending was satisfying, if a bit abrupt after all of the lead up. #clareswatman #fivethingsiloveaboutyou #boldwoodbooks #netgalley #tea_sipping_bookworm #goodreads #getlitsy #thestorygraph #fable #bookqueen #bookstagram

After a bike accident, all she remembers is a faceless man and his voice. Convinced there’s a real connection, she leaves London for Newcastle to find him—armed with only a few clues, including the fact that he has a dog. At a local dog park, she meets Matt, who offers to help with the search. As they spend time together, a connection grows… even though he doesn’t match her mystery man.

When she finally finds the guy from her dreams, things don’t go quite as expected—and she can’t stop thinking about Matt.

A sweet, feel-good read with a fun premise and just the right touch of romance.

Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the ARC.

A grown up fairytale.

Miranda is 49, divorced with two grown children on the other side of the world. After a bike crash and the visions that follow it she follows her wobbly instinct to go to Newcastle and find the man who keeps appear in her dreams.

Almost immediately, she meets Matt, attractive and with a dog like the man in her dreams but this one's called Gladys not Colin. Despite the obvious attraction between them, Miranda is determined to find Colin's owner and start her new life.

Ups and downs follow on Miranda's quest for the man of her dreams but ultimately true love wins out.

Miranda is a divorcee with grown kids who are off pursuing their education on the other side of the world. Her current relationship abruptly ends, and she feels lost. After an accident, she begins having intense dreams about the man who came to her rescue. She leaves London for a new city in order to find her mystery love.

Overall I enjoyed a love story with slightly older characters with a little touch of magic. There were some aspects of the story that could be more developed, and I felt like I learned more about Miranda's relationships that didn't work out than the one she ended up in at the end. It's an easy, enjoyable read if you are looking for a bit of escape!

Mirandas life is going in a downhill spiral, having been let go from her job she is cycling home when she causes an accident, she hears someone talking to the police but can't quite recall his face.

Miranda starts having dreams of the faceless man, she knows he's from Newcastle and his name is Jay, and in her dreams she thinks shenis find things out about him and he is her soul mate.

To dig herself out of the rut she moves to Newcastle with the dream to try and find him, but when she meets Matt and sparks fly can she let go of the the man in her dreams.

I loved this book, the characters were good but loved the twist at the end. Well worth a read

A feel good read! Liked that the characters were well developed as was the story. Easy to follow along to and enjoyable to read- especially as a palette cleanser between thriller reads. I wished there was a bit more to the story- it felt like it was lacking something but liked it a lot nonetheless!

This was a ‘nice’ book - easy reading on your sun lounger, not challenging, just a relaxing light hearted romance.

The title didn’t exactly reflect the book for me - but I don’t want to spoil anyone’s enjoyment by saying why.

The end felt a bit rushed and conveniently ‘sewn up’’ too - but it was ok.