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.

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.

A quirky read, set over the course of one weekend.

Lisa and Simon meet when they are et up by friends. Lisa thinks it is a blind date and that Simon wrote in to the newspaper. Simon has been tricked in to turning up, thinking he is going to be meeting his best friend for lunch.

They don't get off to the best of starts, but keep ending up spending more time together.

An entertaining read.

Lisa and Simon meet on a blind date arranged by their best friends under the guise of a newspaper article.
Both of them have major baggage from previous relationships - Lisa is looking for love at all costs; Simon (who didn't know he was going on a blind date) doesn't believe he'll find love again or even if he wants to.
What follows is a 24 hour plus ride-a-long with Lisa and Simon and their date.
A light-hearted read about how a blind date could potentially change your life.
I didn't enjoy it as much as his previous book "At The Wedding" but its good for a lazy day read.

spoiler alert ** Some funny moments,some sweet moments. Mostly an enjoyable read.
It ticked quite a few boxes on the romantic comedy front.... perfect ex girlfriend,fool of ex boyfriend. Meddling friends. Lots of misunderstandings etc etc

Not my normal sort of book but I really enjoyed this. Lisa and Simon have been set up on a blind date by their friends Will and Jess. Jess works for a newspaper who will feature the date in their regular blind date column and really needs the date to be successful in order for her to keep her job. Lisa has just come out of another failed relationship. Simon's girlfriend died 2 years ago but he hasn't dated since. Can the blind date actually work well enough to save Jess's job? Will Simon and Lisa be able to put their pasts behind them and have a good time?

There was a big thing wrong with the initial premise - how come Jess and Will have never mentioned Simon or Lisa to the other person before especially as they are so compatible? However, this is quickly forgotten as the story progresses. A worthwhile read.