This book wasn’t what I was expecting.
It was a carefree story with some romance.
The writing style was ok but never special
An average read

Disclaimer: I was provided with a Digital ARC for an honest review by Netgalley

Then I Met You by Matt Dunn was somewhat unexpected. I went in expecting a long love story that spans across years and talks about relationships at large but here we have a book that lasts a little over 24 hrs and wraps up the beautiful story that is literally described by the title. To be able to read the title as a dialogue in the book never gets old. Just love it.

Simon Martin hasn't dated in two years and isn't eager on finding his 'the one' because he already had her and lost her, Lisa Harrod, on the other hand after a serious of bad relationships and an awful breakup two months ago is willing to do to any lengths to find her 'the one' which includes going on a blind date so that her friend could amp her up in the local paper to get more dates.

What happens when they are forced together for two hours date which turns into a twenty-four-hour date, that's the story. Reading how Simon turns from 'I don't want to look at another women' to being influenced by Lisa into moving on is rollercoaster (pun intended). The two people perspective with a lot of internal monologues were not easy to get through however they don't at all feel out of place they actually add character.

There have been times where I though that the characters don't just seem right because Lisa at times just comes off and dumb and well men's idea of a girl who is complicated because she just doesn't get it as she is stupid and Simon as the gentleman who could do nothing wrong because she is so sweet and bruiting over his dead ex. But then I decided to look at them just as characters and not a stereotype written by a man.

Reading a book which is based out of US is usual for me and Then I Met You at even corner gave me the impression without screaming that it was based in the UK which was a very fresh experience. Matt Dunn brings a fresh take to something disastrous that makes you life trait and the humor that make along with it made me laugh out in public even in the most awkward situations.

This is a carefree story with love and a change that will make anyone feel refreshed. I would definitely recommend it and the bright cover is not the only reason for it.

The book tells us about two people, with their own baggages, meet for the first time, and proceed to walk on the fine thin line from being strangers to friend and to a lover in a relatively short time.

Well, the book perfectly captured the awkwardness and super cringe dialogue at the beginning. It sail smoothly into the background story of our two main characters. Author also describe the scene beautifully.

What I dislike is how Simon p.o.v felt too feminine. Even at first I think the author is female.

All in all, this is a quite good novel, and I would recommend it for a romance-junkie reader.

I really wanted to love this book. It had a lot going for it. I love a good rom-com and this had a lot of potential.

Wish List Items I Didn't Get:
- A story that takes places over a period of time long enough for character development to be believable. No one dramatically changes in 24 hours outside of extreme trauma. PLUS, if they'd had a disaster of a first encounter, then been tricked into a blind date a week later, then forced on a second date a week after that, etc., events would played more into the author's ham-fisted "fate" theory.
- Less Tell and more Show, which would have required item A as well. Simon tells us (ad freaking nauseum) how Not Over Alice he is, but we never see evidence of that except for how often he tells us.
- Less clichéd "Over-reacting Woman Syndrome" from Lisa. The author has this chick jumping to conclusions like it's an Olympic sport and she's training for gold.
- In a copy editorial note, less parenthetical asides (especially those with dashed asides - especially especially those with nested asides).

I romped through this book in a day, it was so entertaining.

Simon is on his way to meet his best friend, or so he thinks, in fact he has been set up on a blind date. Lisa always seems to pick the bad guys, but will her blind date turn out to be THE ONE!

Their date will be paid for courtesy of the Gazette and their Blind Date feature. Will their story join the long line of failed romances?

The scene where they first meet is so unexpected, but meant that straight away I got a feel for the characters’ personalities. Matt Dunn bought the cool place they were eating and drinking to life by his wonderful descriptive prose and it was the little events happening on the side-lines that brought this story to life.

This book had me cringing, howling with laughter and weeping into my coffee, but most of it crept into my heart and no one was cheering this couple on more than me.

I’m a big fan of Matt Dunn so was very excited to read his next offering.

Simon has been single for 2 years much to the frustration of his best friend Will. Lisa has been unlucky in love and her best friend Jess is wanting to help. Jess and Will are dating and work for the local paper so what better way to help their friends than to set them up on a blind date for the purpose of writing an article about it.

This was a funny story that had me laughing out loud but was also quite poignant too. I was cheering Simon on and hoping for a happy ending for him. Not Matt Dunn’s best book but a good read none the less.

Simon lost Alice 2 years ago and hasn't considered "getting back in the saddle" since. Lisa has dated wrong guy after wrong guy, always having to bend over backwards to impress them and losing herself in the process. Their best friends set them up on a blind date that goes on to last over 24 hours. They go from hating each other to pretty alright within the 24+ hours.

Whilst there were a few funny moments that I chuckled out loud about, this was just okay for me. I didn't find Lisa particularly likeable. She needed to figure herself out before trying to date again so that fact that she was (pretty desperately) hoping to meet her true love on a blind date while she was still fresh from her therapy holiday where she discovered she needed to sort out her own priorities just really felt like it was poor timing and much too soon. I can jump to conclusions with the best of people, but Lisa just took that too far. Honestly, she was not ready to be in a relationship if she can't control her behaviour. When something had literally nothing to do with her she was spastic about it being about her and when she had done something wrong how could Simon possibly consider this her fault? It was too much for me.

Simon was a decent guy making the best of a situation he was forced into and he dealt with a basket case quite well and actually came to like her. I tip my hat to him for pushing through it. I liked that after she kept making a run for things he did finally just let her go. I did not want him to be a pushover chasing after her and he didn't so I'm very happy about that. I think he was actually a great character with real emotions having his previous relationship end quite traumatically. I was happy when his realisation hit that he needed to be wary of trying to compare future relationships to his perfect one with Alice because that relationship was still relatively new and it might not have ended up being the perfect relationship. Good for him. He could actually think and process adult thoughts.

So, this was just okay for me - didn't dislike it but didn't really like it either. Thank you NetGalley and Amazon Publishing for the opportunity to review this book.

This wasn’t quite what I expected. It dragged on a bit and I never got sucked into the story, it was pretty slow.

Such a lovely, cute story, an awkward couple, it’s such a fun read. A wonderful summer read guaranteed to make you smile.


Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Carpet Diem! This was an interesting look at what happens when two broken people get thrown together for a blind date that keeps getting extended for various reasons both of their own choosing and not. Fairly Hallmark Movie-ish, if one of the ones with a bit more drama to it. Funny without necessarily being gut-bustingly so, it works well for a tight yet plausible romantic dramedy. (The entirety of the actual story of the book takes place over just about 27 hrs or so.) A great palate cleanser after a dark book, this one is very much recommended.

Lisa doesn't have the best track record with dating and seems to be attracted to all the wrong guys. Despite her poor luck, she still believes fate has someone wonderful in store for her and maintains hope. Simon has found the love of his life and subsequently lost her. He's just getting by and would prefer his friends didn't meddle in his life. But of course, his friend Will can't help himself and tricks Simon into meeting Lisa for a blind date, courtesy of the local newspaper. Will these two hit it off or be yet another failure in the column's mismatches?

Firstly, I may be a bit biased because I've read nearly everything Matt Dunn has written and always snag his new releases. I adore his wit and humor and he's always been one of my favorite authors. While this is not my favorite of his, mostly because I really didn't care for Lisa, I still really enjoyed it. It was hilarious, awkward and charming, much like life itself. Plus there were some very hopeful and also poignant overtones in this that I vastly appreciated. I'd say Matt hasn't let me down yet and I'll keep dutifully reading his work.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I want to gush about this book to everyone I meet!! This book reminds me of a John Hughes movie with this story taking place in a single weekend. But I guess that’s all it takes. This story and very well written and had me both laughing and crying. You get so gripped by the characters Simon and Lisa and can’t picture them as real people in your love. 4 Star read

Sometimes moving on after the end of a relationship is hard, where do you start? Simon and Lisa are set on a blind date by their best friends. They're writing a piece on blind dates for their newspaper and they need guinea pigs.
A nice easy read about love, moving on and friendships.

Cute, funny but a little bit slow. As a person who experienced some really bad dates I could relate with their situation though it felt they had the longest blind date in history.

I have read some of Matt Dunn's other books and enjoyed them so jumped at the chance of reviewing his latest offering (thank you, NetGalley!). Although I would say that I got more into this story as the book went along, I'm sorry to say that I found it quite slow at the beginning. Good concept for a novel (blind date set up for the local newspaper) and I enjoyed the way that it was put together (some very witty comments and lines), but I would have just liked a bit more to have happened at the start.. Perhaps it was just me!

Lisa has agreed to go on a blind date, arranged by her local paper. Simon agreed to meet his best friend Will for lunch, only to be surprised that he's actually being set up with Lisa.

This book takes place over the course of 24-30 hours, following Lisa and Simon through their date and all its highs and lows.

Cute, fun, fast read. Not sure I've ever read a rom-com book, but this was adorable. I'd totally watch the movie.

Thanks to Lake Union Publishing for the ARC!

I had so much fun reading this book!!! I mean, who doesn't love to see people embarrassing themselves on blind dates? Lisa and Simon don't have much in common at first, except a very bad luck in relationships. She only dated jerks. His ex-girlfriend died. They're both trying to move on with their lives, but that's not an easy thing to do, especially when the people involved don't really know the whole truth.

It's my first book by Matt Dunn and I truly enjoyed his writing.

Ah the blind date! Told from the perspective of both participants- Lisa and Simon- this quick read is really a form of guy-lit. It's more sympathetic to Simon, who is still in the dumps about the failure of his relationship with Alice, than it is to Lisa, who has had a series of bad relationships. Lisa does come off as selfish and self absorbed but there is more to her than it appears initially. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is light, it has some funny spots, and it will remind you that there are two sides to every story.

Thanks to Amazon Publishing UK/Lake Union Publishing for a copy of this book through NetGalley.

Taking place over the course of one blind date, this story was quick-moving and amusing, while still addressing the overthinking and baggage that comes with dating.

The dialogue was rapid and witty (though slightly unrealistic for in its frequency) but the characters waffle back and forth so quickly about if they are/aren’t attracted to each other that it gets a bit repetitive. Overall, a highly entertaining and light summer read!

We meet Simon and Lisa as they both embark on their first ever blind date. Whether this is a date from heaven or hell is not immediately clear! There are many bumps in the road (sometimes literally) of their meeting and we get to know the characters as they get to know one another. The characters are delightfully flawed which results in hilarity and drama whilst still being able to retain a certain amount of poignancy.
This is a humorous read book also pretty cute. It makes a perfect summer read.