I found “When Polly Met Olly” to be the a cute book. To me, this book was what you’d think of when you thought rom com. Polly has been down on her luck with dating for quite sometime. Taking a job as a matchmaker is surprising to not only her friend, Gabe but to Polly herself. The book was lacking in a few things: the ending with Alicia was a little bit of a cop out and I left that Gabe and Scarleet just kinda fell off the face of earth. But all in all, it’s a book that I would recommend.

*This book was sent in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley*

Parts of this book I really enjoyed, and then other parts just seemed a bit pointless and unbelievable.

Love love love

Polly is a photographer who dreams of hitting it big. Things aren’t working out at the moment though so she applies for a job at a high class New York dating agency and starts to work with Oreo addict Derek, her new boss

Derek sends Polly undercover as a mystery shopper to a rival agency to see what they have and he doesn’t. Polly gets interviewed by Olly, the owner of the dating agency and a cool fashionable guy, adored by those around him (think half a million Instagram followers)

They have an instant connection but can’t admit it to themselves, they are business rivals! 

They end up messaging each other on behalf of their clients, neither realising who they are messaging and form a strong bond which makes them want to meet the client who they are messaging. When they find out can they form a relationship? Can they trust each other and open up? 

I really enjoyed this book and found myself really routing for Polly to realise her dreams and becoming the person she could be instead of just being

I think I would have liked to see more from Olly's point of view as that would have been really interesting and I really really want to know what happens next!

I would recommend this book to those who dream of love and enjoy the twists of a good story with people trying to follow their dreams and be who they can be

This book was very cute and adorable :)

It was beautifully written, heart-warming story, perfect to take with you on a vacation or snuggle with it in cosy blanket in your bed.

I immediately fell in love with the characters and the writing and reading this book made my day brighter and better.

Polly and Olly were never supposed to meet…
Polly might spend her days searching for eligible matches for her elite list of clients at her New York dating agency, but her own love life is starting to go up in smoke.

Even worse, she can’t stop thinking about the very person she’s meant to be setting her latest client up with… surely it can’t get any worse!

But then Polly bumps into oh-so-handsome Olly, who heads up a rival agency, and realizes that perhaps all really is fair in love and dating war…

I really wanted to love this book, but I couldn't. It was lacking substance and the actual main characters had so few interactions that it seems to defeat the purpose of the book, which was Polly and Olly meeting/getting together. They didn't even meet until half-way through the book!
The romance itself was pretty dead. There was no spark, no 'ooh!' moment, nothing that made this say romance like I wanted it to.

A decent contemporary story. A good relationship plot with good character dynamics but not quite enough growth/development. Would recommend.

When Polly met Olly, a quick read about a girl, trying to make her way in NYC as a photographer, To pay the bills she gets a job at a dating agency. Her new boss sends her over to the rival agency to spy- enter Olly.


I enjoyed the light-hearted-ness of this book. Nothing too crazy, little silly mishaps, but not too many dramatics.
I thought Polly's boss seemed very sweet, her BFF a little bit of a cheek, and that social influencer? Huge cow.
There are only two things that bothered me in this novel. The names Polly and Olly. On their own, completely fine. When a pair? It sounds like they are little blonde 4 year old twins in matching overalls. Not adults with a potential love match.

Was it predictable? Yes, but why else would we read these rom-com novels? It was exactly as it should have been.

2.5 stars. This story was just okay, honestly. Polly starts working for To the Moon and Back so she can have a steady paycheck while trying to get her photography business up and running. She almost immediately goes undercover to check out the competition, Elite Love Match.
While I liked the premise about two competing matchmaker agencies, it didn't turn out as expected. Something was missing from this story as a whole. This lacked passion and intensity. It was cute but that's all it was. I wanted to read more about the clients of To the Moon and Back and how they were doing with their matches. I would have read an entire book on her friend and roommate, Gabe. There were some plot lines that seemed shoe-horned in and a little clunky. Olly seemed like an okay character but I wasn't necessarily rooting for them to get together. The spark that they talked about at one point wasn't there for me either. Basically, this is a cute book that could have been done better. The execution is lacking and so are the characters.

This book had so much potential, but it fell flat. I didn't think the characters were people worth rooting for, they were just bland. I feel like there was more focus on the relationships between Polly and the other men in her orbit than there was with her and Olly. I did like the little twist with the matchmaking profiles.

I was completely lost in this book and read it in just under 2 days. It's a little different to my usual reads but I kept it to read on holiday and would recommend!

Catching melodious title ,got me interested and while the story didn't start out with a bang, the tapes kept rolling and the big picture became clear.Polly inadvertently gets a job she is not well suited for but grows into it and finds that she is loving it.She meets a handsome gentleman and begins having naughty thoughts about him only for her heart to take a sharp detour towards another less likely candidate for her affections.I liked the depth of character development as well as their idiosyncrasies that come to light.Loved that the main characters could acknowledge their flaws but didn't allow it to stagnate their life and their happiness.Book was well done with some lighthearted moments thrown in for balance.

3.5 stars
A refreshing story about a woman who wants to start a photography Career but she needs to get a job before setting up her dreams. Polly starts working at To the Moon and Back, a matchmaker company, and without wanting she gets herself in spying on the competition which is Elite Love Match owned by Olly, a divorcee man twenty years older than her.
While the settings, the story itself was quite interesting and the secondary characters are that great that maybe deserves their own story/book, the couple didn't scream a perfect match for me, they are great people with insecurities and everything you expect but their chemistry felt a bit forced and has nothing to do with their age difference.
#WhenPollyMetOlly #NetGalley

It’s an okay book. The outline was good but then the actual story isn’t. It kind of loop around every action of Polly. It’s dragging and dull. The romance between the MCs are not that good also. I didn’t feel the spark or chemistry or something. I’m sorry it didn’t met my expectation from the great synopsis provided.

<i>Thank you for the free e-copy provided by HQ Digital and the author itself, Zoe May via NetGalley.</i>

First i would like to thank netgalley for providing me this copy of the wonderfull book. I enjoyed it very much. If you like light hearted romantic comedies you would love this book. It was hillarious, romantic and the hero and the heroine was equally funny and lovable characters. I loved their banter and can't get enough of it. Definately recommend you all to try this one if you are a fan of sophia kinsella and jane costello.

This book was predictable and sometimes I had a hard time reading. It’s a great idea and at some points it fell flat. It’s a nice summer fluffy read because you can pick up where you left off. Thanks Netgalley for the advanced read.

When Polly Met Olly was wonderfully written heartwarming and thought-provoking chick- lit and a lovely romance. Book was about not just love, romance but importance of compatibility, having substance in relationship; Following passion and not just following it but enjoying it; Being genuine and compassionate in profession; not letting down your own worth and not to let people disrespect you and your work.

Characters-

This book had wonderful characters and character development.

Polly reminded me what it is like to have dream and putting efforts in achieving them, and how it can be disappointing sometime. She was compassionate, genuine and beautiful soul. She was smart, witty and good as a matchmaker and photographer and yet she learned something new in both of her work. She lacked confidence and she didn’t know her own worth until she met a person she was trying set her client up with. I liked her development, the way she finally achieved her dream. She was overall relatable and lovable person.

Olly was 20 years older than Polly. He and his life appeared all perfect and shiny on outside. He looked haughty, disrespectful and soulless who just understood business. But as I read more I could see how different he was inside. He didn’t know what love was and how phony his agency was until he met Polly. His development was mind-blowing. Not all can accept their fault so smoothly like Olly and I loved him for that.

Gabe, Polly’s roommate, was amazing friend. He worked as HR consultant during week and on Friday night he performed as Gabriella at a gay bar. I liked him from very beginning. He was fun to be around. I liked his views on his job and colleagues and loved what he said about enjoying our dream. Even his development was affecting.

Derek was amazing. I wish we all can get the boss like him- Compassionate, lively, warm and gentle, giving opportunities to staff and giving treats on small and big achievements. He had only Polly as staff but you know it’s just great to have boss like him even though wages are low.

What I liked-

Book started with Polly Wood, being interviewed as matchmaker at ‘To the Moon & Back’ dating agency by the founder of agency, Derek. A dream to be photographer with a degree was not working as she anticipated. And I could see why! Single for 3 years and apparently not good at dating, yet it didn’t affect in getting the job. Texting women on behalf of client and set a date for them was not what you call ‘honest and ethical’ but Polly had to pay bills. And that’s how fates worked on bringing Olly and Polly together. When Polly met Olly, competitor of Derek, the founder of The Elite Love Match agency, she couldn’t get him out of her mind. Everything about him seemed so perfect but was it really? Is this love or just the attraction she had with her previous dates?

Writing was remarkable. The plot was filled with wit, humor, romance and insight. It was narrated from Polly’s POV in her strong voice that touched the heart and made me brood over her experience and what she learned in the story. Setting was also great. I loved to read about dating agency, how it worked and how some can be phony and some real and genuine.

Polly’s dream of New York and photography, her dad and mother’ love story was lovely to read. Her disastrous previous dates were funny. What I loved most was I loved her relation with Derek, Gabe, and her friends.

I also loved the middle 20% of the book about Polly setting her clients up, chatting with them, having fun with friends and working on her photography dream. Another favorite thing was both Polly and Olly’s insightful thoughts, experience and development.

Both Polly and Olly were a matchmaker who were single and didn’t know what love is. As Polly started working as matchmaker she saw how people and love has turned categorical. There was no romance, no fun that she saw between her parents. She learned that two people didn’t have to have similar interest or look good together. They could be starkly opposite and still can be happy as a couple. She met some good and bad people during her job and got to know the real people behind their perfect appearance.

Some were so strict about their checklist that they miss out so many good and compatible match and true love. Olly was among those checklist type who made his own list and followed it as it worked best for him. But on meeting Polly, he realized love doesn’t happen that way. You need just have spark, it need to click right and need to have magical alchemy.

Turns in the story and climax was surprising. I had my suspicion as he looked too perfect to be true but I couldn’t guess Olly’s flaw. I loved the way story took turn that turned out best for everyone. It was lovely happily-ever-after end.

Why 4 Stars-

Thing that made me hesitate from giving full star was, the actual Polly and Olly story or the real conversation between them started almost after 45% of the book. They met early in the book alright but it took time for them to actually come in touch. Oh and I wanted little more story before end or epilogue would have been great. I just didn’t want it to end there.

Overall, it was intriguing, lovely, witty chick-lit and romantic story of Polly and Olly that fan of this genre wouldn’t want to miss. I really enjoyed this and would love to read more books by Zoe May.

Interesting premise, but the execution left a lot to be desired. I just couldn't get into it, unfortunately..

The cover is darling and the main character's names are too cute but this title left a lot to be desired. Polly came off a little extra to say the least and I just couldn't' imagine Olly in my head. Some side characters like Polly's boss were more endearing than our main stars. If you're in the mood for a quick, fun romance that you'll like but not love, than pick up 'When Polly Met Olly'.

I had never heard of Zoe May before I stumbled on this book. I enjoyed this book so much, I have been looking for other books by this author. Such a charming book, a little predictable on occasions but I really enjoyed it.

A cute and funny novel! My first by this author. This was an unforgettable read but was a perfect cute rainy day read.