The 24 Hour Cafe by Libby Page is a beautiful, heartfelt and uplifting book that embraces the themes of love, female friendship and belonging. I couldn’t help but fall in love with this magical book and the characters who inhabit it from the outset. The many and varied stories so beautifully told within its pages captured my imagination, tugging at my heartstrings and making me feel a myriad of emotions as I allowed myself to be swept along by the gorgeous storytelling.

Hannah and Mona are best friends, work colleagues and housemates. They love working at Stella’s Café, a place where people from all walks of life can meet and connect, secure in the knowledge that they’re always welcome no matter what’s happening in their everyday lives. This book not only tells Hannah and Mona’s story, but also the stories of the many different people who walk through the doors of Stella’s 24 hour cafe every day.

Oh, how I loved this book! The 24 Hour Café is warm and welcoming, like being enveloped in a comforting hug as you begin to lose yourself in its pages. We see only glimpses of the lives of the people who walk through the door, but each one leaves an impact, their brief stay making us feel so many emotions, their stories real, raw and brutally honest at times. But above all I was left with a feeling of hope as I turned the final page, bereft that the journey with these characters was finally over.

But Hannah and Mona are at the heart of this story, their friendship reaching a crossroads as they must decide which path their lives are going to take them down next. Is it time to make some changes?

Libby Page has written a gloriously uplifting book that I absolutely adored! This is the first book I’ve read by this author, but it definitely won’t be the last! A heartwarming read I would highly recommend.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. If I had been asked at the beginning I would have said I wasn't really enjoying this book BUT it is the sort of narrative that penetrates your bones, spreads fingers into your mind and leaves you unable to put it down. Now tired, sleepless, I have reached the end of an ultimately beautiful novel about love and loss, of the fine between being alright and not being alright. I didn't much bone with either Hannah or Mona but the remaining cast of characters pulled at my heart strings to a greater or Lesser extent. 

Libby Page is an author i Have read before and certainly one I would read again. This book is more than the sum of its parts

I was worried this book wouldn't live up to The Lido which was one of my favourite reads last year. But my fear was unfounded as this was another gem of a story from Libby Page. It was happy. It was sad. It was poignant. It was beautiful. Could not put it down.

Hannah and Mona work as waitresses at Stella’s Café, a diner opposite Liverpool Street station, which is open 24 hours a day. The pair met at a party and became housemates in a house share then quickly became best friends and now share a small flat. They’re each waiting for their big break – Mona aspires to be a famous dancer while Hannah is a singer looking for gigs – and they attend regular auditions and castings and wait for callbacks but, more often than not, are faced with disappointment.

The book is set over a period of 24 hours in the café and each chapter is an hour from 12.00 am round to 11.00 pm. As the hours pass, we learn more about Hannah and Mona, with flashbacks to key moments in their lives, and are introduced to various characters who visit the café for different reasons: to pass the time, meet friends, escape from life, etc. There’s also John the Big Issue seller who works outside the café in all weathers and has been there a few years.

Hannah is 30 and from a small village in south Wales originally and she studied for a performing arts degree in Cardiff. After graduating, she moved to London and has now lived there nine years. Her parents are recently retired. Mona is nearly 30 and grew up in Singapore and attended an international school. Her mother is German and her father is Argentinian but they divorced when she was 14 and her father returned to Argentina and remarried and, three years later, had a son called Matiás. Mona left Singapore for London when she was 18 and studied for a degree in dance.

I loved the descriptions of the diner in the book with its retro, worn decor, 1950s Kellogg’s advert clock, a huge, painted Union Jack and gaudy pictures on the walls, and a rather random and large stuffed bear on a mount called Ernest! I could really envisage how everything looked and smell the greasy fried food aromas. I’d love to try the tasty sounding pancakes made by chefs Aleksander and Pablo.

Hannah, Mona and the other waitresses, Eleanor and Sofia, have a great rapport with the customers and they keep an eye on people and know when to talk to them and when to leave them alone, especially if they’re distressed. It was fascinating to hear everyone’s stories, both cheerful and sad, and get to know Hannah and Mona and their hopes, dreams, ambitions and aspirations, and learn about their pasts and how they ended up where they are now.

We learn that Hannah has recently split up from her boyfriend, Jaheim, and this has really affected her relationship with Mona, who feels lonely and is disappointed by how Hannah treated her when she was seeing him. She was rather selfish and excluded her and didn’t think about Mona’s feelings, and they’re now struggling to get their friendship back on track.

This is a really simple concept but works very well and is a lovely idea for a book. There were some sad moments though as Mona and Hannah struggle to work out where they’re heading in life. They love working in the café but are struggling for money and finding the regular singing/dancing rejections tough to take and are wondering if their lucky breaks will ever come, especially as they’re getting older and are up against much younger performers in auditions. What happens if they give up on their dreams?

I really enjoyed this insightful, thought-provoking book and it was lovely to read about all the unique and different characters who visited Stella’s Café throughout the day and night. It was intriguing to read the descriptions of people and then learn why they were there, and see the range of emotions they were experiencing. Overall, a well-written and entertaining read with relatable characters and I was really invested in their heartwarming stories and was hoping that everyone would have a happy ending.

I’m looking forward to reading the author’s other book, The Lido, now as I’ve had it on my Kindle for a while but haven’t got round to it yet.

What a wonderful story ! 
Or in reality a collection of interwoven stories. Based around the two waitresses in a 24 hour cafe, and the peo0le they meet. Well worth reading I would recommend it to anyone 
Thank you to Netgalley, Orion publishing and Libby Page for letting me read this book, in exchange for an honest review

The 24-Hour Café, or as it's officially known, Stella's Café literally never sleeps. It's home to waitress friends and flat mates, Hannah and Mona who both harbour dreams of being on stage in the West End.

Hannah as a singer, Mona as a dancer.

Now I am a huge fan of people watching at the best of times, I could literally sit in my local coffee shop all day doing it, but if I lived anywhere near Stella's I would probably be in there for days.

Maybe weeks, maybe permanently as it never closes (and the choice of food and drinks sound divine!).

We meet Hannah and Mona in the middle of the night as Mona finishes her shift, and Hannah is about to begin hers. Hannah has had some bad news, which she is reluctant to share with her friend, as she doesn't want to bring either of them down.

These are tough times for the pair, as their friends are getting married, having children, successful careers, and Hannah and Mona are still waitressing, dreaming of a better life - is it time to move on?

Then Mona receives some news that will test their friendship to it's limits, as there are things that she has been hiding from Hannah in order to protect her.

The 24-Hour Café will always be there through the most challenging of times, but will Hannah and Mona's friendship survive the same?

Rating 3.5 stars

Spend 24 hours at Stella's and follow the lives of the staff and patrons in the cafe near Liverpool Street Station in London.

The main people the book follows are two of the waitress staff Mona and Hannah who both are performers, Mona a dancer and Hannah a singer. We look at their friendship, their past and to their future.  We also follow a number of others including Dan an engineering student who recently lost his mum and has nowhere to sleep, Monique a first time mum who is struggling and Harry and his wife Martha who are off on their honeymoon.

The book then wraps up one year later seeing what happens to each character.

It's a nice enough book, split into the separate chapters by character.  However, at 45% I wondered where the story was going or even if it had one.  It is one of those books that unfortunately does not show you what is going on but tells you, especially describing heavily what people look like.  It also at times repeats itself, be it an incident in that persons life or again what someone is wearing when seen from another persons point of view.

I received this book from netgalley in return for a honest review.

24 hours in a cafe and the coming and goings. A bit like being in a cafe, a community with a feeling you're part of something and you're not. The friendship of the waitresses Hannah and Mona. The hopes, dreams, aspirations of life and the reality of life juxtaposed. Great storytelling. The Lido edged it for me but still a beautiful story. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me review this book.

Libby Page’s The Lido has remained on my TBR pile, but I have read many great reviews so I grabbed the chance to read The 24-Hour Café. 

Spend 24 hours in Stella’s Café with Hannah and Mona, friends and waitresses at the café, where their friendship is unraveled and we delve into their pasts as well as being introduced to a variety of customers. 

What I enjoyed most about this book was the style in which it was written. The story takes places over 24 hours and over that time we swap between the narratives of Hannah and Mona, as well as some of the customers of the café. The narrative of the story allows you to delve into Hannah and Mona’s stories, their past that has lead them to this point. You also get an insight into a variety of the different customers, learning their individual stories. Reading this book I felt like I was sat in Stella’s Café people watching. 

What Libby does well is tell the story of the people, written in such a way and in detail that you feel you are there in the café watching it all unfold right in front of you. She shows you that you never quite know what is going on underneath the surface of those around you. 

I really enjoyed this book and I can’t wait to finally get stuck into The Lido.

I love character-driven novels and this book was exactly it. Both Hannah and Mona were very realistic women, driven by their dreams but starting to recognise the struggles and realities of life. It focuses on a 24-hour period in Stella’s cafe, but there are flashbacks to the past as both girls remember and reminisce about key moments, both happy and sad. It becomes quite emotional at times, but also interesting to see both sides of the same events.

The book is not totally focused just on the two women however, as there are other characters who come in to the cafe throughout the novel. The reader gets to see glimpses of their lives as well, from the poverty-stricken student, the elderly couple, or the magazine seller outside. It’s fascinating and wonderful to see the thoughts and lives of so many different kinds of people. Some are extremely touching, but throughout there is a sense of realness to the people. There are also some beautifully written sections about dreams, the future and in these sections there is some truly emotive and gorgeous writing. It evokes a sense of passion in the reader as well, making them want to achieve their own goals and dreams as well. I loved these parts of the book and they also managed to break up the heavy emotions of each person as well.

The ending is simply beautiful. It brings back some wonderful links to the characters we see throughout the book, in a genuine and touching way. Within just a few pages, the last chapter manages to highlights the ups and downs that life can bring and it’s honestly just brilliant writing. It left me feeling satisfied and happy after a book that had brought me such a range of emotions.

The stand-out for me from this novel is simply the writing itself. It’s emotive, realistic, touching and truly genuine. I loved this and would recommend this to anyone who enjoys character-focused writing.

The bestselling author of The Lido has written a new novel, The 24-Hour Cafe. Even though I have yet to read Libby Page's début, The Lido, I was still expecting great things from this book and I was not disappointed.

Stella’s, a London café, has a style all of its own and is the place to go for customers wanting a coffee, a pancake or a bite to eat, shelter from the weather, or for some comfort. In this novel the author provides the reader with glimpses into the lives of some of the customers, however the main focus is on two of the waitresses working there. Hannah is a singer and Mona, a dancer, and over the course of a twenty-four hour period the reader is privy to their lives, histories, hopes and aspirations. 

Libby Page's first-class writing cleverly picks up the customers' separate stories, too - many are snippets and observations, but in some, their exposés reveal greater detail, achieved by shifting the points of view, allowing them to tell their own stories. This could easily have resulted in a disjointed narrative, and for the book to become a succession of fragmented, rather disenchanting short stories, but the flow of the story is firmly rooted by the contributions from Hannah and Mona, and by the cafe itself, which is a character in its own right. There was abundant examples of some stunning characterisation by Libby Page throughout The 24-Hour Cafe and my favourite of these, apart from obviously, Hannah and Mona, was probably Dan, a homeless student struggling with life after the loss of his mother, experiencing the kindness of a stranger.

The 24-Hour Cafe is a magnificent tale about all different walks of life with friendship at its heart. Hannah and Mona are soulmates who understand each other but sometimes they make mistakes and the things that are stable and comforting can swiftly change. The book is powerful, heartbreaking and uplifting, and a perfect reading experience – I absolutely adored every moment of it.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel at my request, from Orion via NetGalley, and this review is my own unbiased opinion.

Hannah and Mona are best friends, living and working together; both part time waitresses in Stella’s Café, a 24 hour café opposite London’s Liverpool Street station. An area I know well as I commuted in and out of that station for over 15 years. Stella’s café is well described with its eclectic style of decoration and I got a real sense of place for both the cafe and the location. Both women have ambitions of a different life – Hannah wants to be a professional singer, whilst Mona dreams of a life on the stage as a dancer – they are just waiting for their big break but in the meantime, waitressing pays the bills.

Over a 24 hour period, with both of them doing a double shift, the story shifts firstly from Hannah’s perspective and then from Mona’s; we discover how they first met and what their friendship means to both of them and how it can be tested, their backgrounds, their dreams and aspirations, whilst all the time the café welcomes a myriad of customers; some are mentioned in passing, others in more detail – such as Dan the young homeless student, grieving after the loss of his mother, the elderly couple about to go on their honeymoon and the couple whose relationship is about to ripped apart by immigration laws. I really enjoyed these glimpses into other people’s lives and could happily have read more about each of them. There are those who don’t even come inside Stella’s, such as John, the Big Issue seller, who stands outside in all weathers treating everyone with respect, even when he is shoved out of the way and ignored or even shouted at by passing pedestrians.

This isn’t a short read but never did it feel too long or padded, the author pitched the pace just perfectly with characters that seem so authentic.  Stella’s is not just somewhere to grab a coffee or a sandwich, for some it’s a refuge from the stresses of life, and both staff and customers see it as a welcoming space. 

This is a story of love and betrayal, of friendship and disappointment, of never giving up on your dreams and the kindness of strangers, I very much enjoyed it and it has made me even more keen to read the author’s debut ‘The Lido’ – (I know, I must be the last person in the world who hasn’t read it!) Also it made me cry which I really wasn’t expecting.

My thanks to Tracy Fenton for the invitation to take part in the tour and to the publisher for the Netgalley copy to review.

I've always been intrigued by the night and especially by those who are awake through it. I love the idea that while I doze in my warm bed, there are people in neon lit spaces working; travellers making their way by bus or train to who knows where; restless people sitting in airports surrounded by their luggage; a pack of Nighthawks out of Edward Hopper's dreams propping up a bleak bar. Recently I read about a woman living on the edge of London who, when she can't sleep, gets the Nightbus into town and visits a particular Soho cafe. Respect to her for that - I'm not THAT much of a night owl myself. Though I will stay up reading (as I did last night, when I just HAD to finish this book) I don't go out into it a lot, I'm more fascinated by the idea of the night. It's just fuel for the imagination and positively drips with atmosphere, glamour, sentiment and anticipation.

Of course, that attitude may reflect a degree of privilege on my part, as a man with a secure home who lives in a safe and sleepy English village (even if we do sometimes appear in Midsomer Murders). Other perspectives are available and often, of course, the night can be threatening, especially for women.

Both sides of that vibe feature in this new book by Libby Page. Hannah and Mona are waitresses, doing twelve hour shifts at Stella's café opposite Liverpool Street Station in the heart of London. The book takes us through Hannah's stint (midnight to noon) and then Mona's (round to midnight again). In the course of those 24 hours we are privy to their thoughts and memories, as well as the experiences of customers who come and go at Stella's, and some who return. Gradually, the picture fills out, telling Hannah's and Mona's story - the story of two friends who've drifted apart and which stands I think for so many trying to make a life in London.

Opening with the midnight handoff between their shifts (dancing to "Tutti Frutti" - 'it reminds them both of what it felt like to be is full of hope and ambition') we learn how Hannah came, barely in her 20s, to make it big as a singer, taking temporary jobs in the meantime. Similarly Mona, who has a passion for dancing. Approaching 30, still struggling, both women are aware that they don't have many more chances ('each year a new swathe of eager, bouncy, fame-hungry young performers heads for London') and other distractions threaten: living from one payday to the next, problems with housemates, illness and injury, all conspire againts the dedication and focus that's required for success - the need for practice, practice, practice, the dispiriting round of auditions leading nowhere, the effort necessary to canvass venues and network and follow up possibilities.

And in Hannah's case, her bad luck with men has also set her back, landing her with what seem to have been two superficial charmers only interested in themselves - something that has driven a wedge between her and Mona, who seems the more dedicated of the pair. This book is really a paean to friendship, to the support these women have shown each other over the years, from always showing up for the other's performances to tending for each other in periods of illness (Page makes a point in this book of showing where her protagonists have done this - for example Dan with his dying mother or Sonja and Timur who have waited so long, saving painstakingly for their wedding: 'At work she takes pride in being confident... behind the door of their flat she clings to him at night and asks him to brush her hair when she is unwell...') to simply offer support and a hug.

As we follow Hannah and Mona through the night, it becomes clear that the book is hinged around the future of their relationship, and that it is very much in doubt: grief, loss and anger come between them and may erase what they have been to each other. Page makes both women (as well as the other characters here!) very real, and one comes to understand what has happened and to ache for both of them (perhaps more for Mona, admittedly) and wish they could make up.

Coming and going through that long night and day (12 hours! I couldn't be on my feet working for 12 hours...) are many others: the student who finds himself homeless and shelters all night in the café, the gay couple who face separation due to immigration rules, the man and woman in their 60s who have found love late and are off on honeymoon, the woman who flees her home because she can't bond with her newborn baby. There are also less sympathetic people here - the couple who list what's wrong with London, the woman who stands in the café and screams. There are abusive customers and those who are merely rude. As I said, there are dangers in the night as well as glories.

All these stories and parts of stories - we don't get told everything - seem peculiarly fitting to a café where people kill time waiting for a train or a bus. Stella's is full of people on the cusp of things - waxing, waning; losing, gaining; never at rest (like Dan, some have nowhere to rest), but appraising their past and their future. A daytime customer has lost his job in the City but not told his wife. he come sin every day and sits with his laptop. The Big Issue seller outside has lost one life and is trying to build another. It's a fascinating patchwork of people, of love and friendship, loss and loneliness.

The language in this book is arresting, often beautiful ('The sun rises over London, but at the small table in Stella's, it sets on Joe and Haziq') and shows great insight ('It didn't mean I stopped caring about my friend, though; he just made me carrels with them'). Page uses its single location, narrow focus and 24 hour duration to explore universal themes of love, loss and friendship with great delicacy - and to introduce some great characters.

I'd strongly recommend!

Oh how I adored The 24-Hour Cafè; I found myself sneaking off and snuggling down with it at any given opportunity; from only a quarter of the way in I had that ‘feeling’ that this book was going to be one of the very few to impact and stay with me forever. It’s one of the most quietly comforting, wonderfully authentic novels I’ve EVER had the pleasure of reading, and having now read both novels by Page I can honestly say she’s in a little league of her own when it comes to writing about and observing love in it’s friendship form.

The 24-Hour Cafè is about Hannah, Mona, Stella’s (The 24-Hour Cafè) and it’s array of customers coming through it’s door. It’s this what makes the novel so special – that it’s simply set in one 24-hour period in The 24-Hour Cafè. No overly complex plots, flashy words, twists and turns coming at you left, right and centre, Page has just combined a recipe of heart, soul and stories she believe’s in that shine right through in her beautiful writing and characters to the reader.

Like a romantic relationship, Hannah and Mona just ‘clicked’ when they met at a Halloween Party. They just understood each other and became best friends who lived together, worked together and shared the same hopes and dreams together. Yet when we meet them they’re at a critical and momentous time in their relationship and lives. Can their friendship survive? Or is a change of path for one too much for their friendship to survive?

The 24-Hour Cafè is a powerful, heart-warming and beautifully observed story about friendship and life – the highs and lows and the truth and fragility of them. Through Hannah and Mona’s stories it made me hugely reflect on my own friendships over the years; times I’ve been a good friend and time’s, in all honesty, I’ve been a pretty damn rubbish friend.

In this 24-hour period, Hannah and Mona each work a 12-hour long shift in the cafè; there’s this captivating narrative that just continuously and effortlessly flows between them each reflecting and revisiting crucial good and bad moments of their friendship, but alongside the ebb and flow of customers coming through the cafè doors at different hours of the day and night making it feel so unique. There’s a lot of characters – from co-workers to customers of all walks of life and with all needs – sometimes it’s just the briefest observation, sometimes it’s small glimpses of the kind of people they may be or the lives that they may lead, and sometimes it’s a more in depth short story of their lives. What I can tell you though is that I was never lost because each had their own voice, their character came alive – give me a name now and I’ll tell you all about them! I’m not a short story lover but I ADORED this format and it’s a testament to Page’s writing for how invested I became in these lives, esp Dan, and John (the Big Issue seller) was so thoughtfully observed. Happy endings and not so happy endings keep it true to real life, and I thought it was wrapped up and ended so perfectly, even though I could of read another 400 pages!

At the very beginning, there’s only a page or so, but of which introduces you to The 24-Hour Cafè itself – beautifully. I always say when I’m reading that if I can only hear what I’m reading then it’s not going to work out between us; I have to see what I’m reading and I can honestly say, hand on heart, that I could envisage everything in this book so clearly – from the layout of the cafè, hearing the actual hissing of the coffee machine and smelling the freshly brewed coffee, to the hustle and bustle and fast paced life of London and it’s people throughout the daytime hours in and outside the windows of the cafè, and the quieter, time to reflect, yet never completely still hours of nighttime. And the pancakes, oh those pancakes with lashings of maple syrup and fresh berries – I aren’t even a big pancake fan, yet I craved pancakes throughout!!

Stella’s cafè is a hugely special character in itself. I want every city, town and village out there to have a 24-Hour Cafè. It’s not just a cafè to come and go, to eat and drink – it’s a place of respite, a place to think, a place where friendships and relationships grow or fade, a place where hopes and dreams alter their course, it’s just THAT safe haven when you need to escape that darkness we all sometimes feel. I saw some early lukewarm reviews on this novel stating that there was an unbelievability factor in all the characters having walked through the cafè doors having such emotional things going in their lives. For me, this is one of the most important aspects that I think Page has conveyed SO well; EVERYBODY has something going on in their lives, stories and thoughts we most likely aren’t sharing. Who are we to say that it’s not important – however big or small the struggle – The 24-Hour Cafè urges you to pay a little bit more attention to people, those closest to you, but also those you pass on the street everyday, or maybe only see once in your life. Who knows what struggles someone is going through and your little bit of kindness may just be the light-switch they need within the darkness.

The 24-Hour Cafè is a gently paced, beautifully observed, truthfully told and quietly wonderful ode to friendship; it’s one of the most exquisitely written novels I’ve ever read. Page didn’t make me feel that I was just looking in on this story, I was a part of this story the whole way though. There are many books I love, yet there’s only a handful that will truly impact me for the better and forever stay with me and The 24-Hour Cafè is one.

I hope I’m reading novels from this bright and wonderful author for very many years to come, and I cannot wait to see what she brings me next.

Hannah and Mona a singer and dancer, work at the 24 hour cafe in London where the cafe attracts a colourful variety of personalities everyday.





I really enjoyed the Lido however I do feel this book wasn't as good personally as I didn't like Hannah or Mona's characters sadly as much as The Lido's main characters where I could picture it clearly in my mind and I did find the start slow. However Hannah's story kept me wanting to read on as the plot develops more so than Mona's story did.



However if you love people watching when out and about this is the book for you as the café attracts a variety of people with different stories, very true to everyday life at any café and for relatability that way the fun of the storyline kept me intrigued to read on especially Dan the student and John the big issue seller's stories were interesting to me to see their hardship.



There was a variety of issues raised with characters from university, death, love, cheating, work and of course we read the history of how Hannah met Mona and how their friendship becomes strained with new opportunities ahead.



To me I enjoyed the book showing all walks of life people can be in and situations they can be forced to face and for that reason I did enjoy the book as it went on.


Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them and be part of the blog tour!

A really lovely read from the author of The Lido.

Likeable main characters with lovely stories woven in to the main plot.

A 4 star feel good read.

Libby Page burst onto the scene writing one of the most heartwarming stories of 2018, there was a lot of buzz around it and deservedly so. The Lido was a gem of a book and the film rights have already been sold to it. I loved every minute of it so I was very eager to see how her second book would compare. The 24 Hour Cafe is very different especially in the manner in which it is told as it covers the comings and goings over a 24 hour period in Stella's café opposite Liverpool Station in London. Various characters from all walks of life enter and leave over the time and each chapter is dedicated to an hour but also at the same time it covers a 12-hour shift in the lives of our two principal characters Hannah and Mona.

It did take me quite some time to get used to the ebbs and flows in the story,  and I could see what the author was trying to do to develop the story overall, but the first half was a bit of a slog at times for me. But once I reached the halfway point, and Mona steps in to share her viewpoints and opinions from her perspective, I felt the book overall definitely picked up and I really began to enjoy it. It's not the same as The Lido, that bit of magic so evident in book one went slightly amiss here but is still a lovely read and as I neared the end I felt the themes of friendship and the messages the author was trying to portray came across very well.

Hannah begins her double shift of 12 hours at the café which will cover from midnight up until the lunchtime rush. This quiet time in the dead of night allows her thoughts to run riot. She is not in the best of places and it took me some time to realise this and it was only as I neared the end of her section that I could see what was coming and really she had no way of avoiding it. She had to navigate her way through it in the hopes of maybe coming out stronger on the other side. Hannah is trying to get over another failed relationship but in a series of recollections and flashbacks the reader comes to know it's not just another casual dumping and there is a lot more behind it. Hannah is deep and before I understood what was going on with her, I just found her to be all doom and gloom and that she didn't seem happy with anything at all in her life. She complained an awful lot and there didn't seem to be any ray of light about her. Not even the fantastic friendship with flatmate and co-worker Mona, which has almost developed into a sisterhood, seems to be going well for her. Hannah seemed to be constantly moaning that her dreams of making it big and using her performing arts degree have failed to become a reality despite her trying so hard.

But she has been changed by the breakup with Jaheim and, like the customers who frequent the café once or many times, Hannah is hiding secrets. If we had only had Hannah's perspective it would have been very one sided and I would have taken all her opinions, notions and judgements as gospel. But it's when Mona gets her chance to talk to the reader and explain things that you do accept that there are two sides to every story and that both should be listened to. Hannah is hurt and angry for many reasons and as she is someone who avoids conflict at all costs you do wonder did she bring a lot of it on herself? By the conclusion of the book you come to appreciate that Hannah is a very complex character who wants her break in life but maybe needs to be more willing to accept the realities of what life throws at us.

Mona was the opposite to Hannah and for me a complete breath of fresh air. I   liked her much more, and yes she may have been that little bit sneaky in not revealing everything to Hannah, but I didn't hold that against her or feel the need to criticise her for it. For Mona too had been hurt by Hannah's actions, feelings of isolation and of secrecy pervaded. Mona always kept her long terms goals at the forefront of her mind and kept striving to achieve them whereas Hannah became lost and stuck. Their friendship had been altered by an outsider of sorts but you willed the comfort and warmth of the café and its stability and reassuring presence to do something for both of them like it seems to do for so many others. I felt every bit of Mona's excitement, fear and trepidation at what awaited her but I felt she couldn't move forward until the past had been resolved. Her inner turmoil and loneliness felt realistic and were  just like feelings we all experience and she was a character I really identified with and felt for. She was attempting to strive forward but she could feel so many things holding her back.

The fragments of customer stories were fascinating but as I have mentioned I desperately wanted more from the young boy attempting to stay awake all night, not being able to order a decent meal but yet he meets a fellow customer who sees something worthwhile in him. To the young woman staring into space ignoring the phone ringing. Why is she doing this? John, the Big Issue seller who sits outside the café through rain and shine. The young couple who hold hands across the table as one prepares to leave when all he wants to do is stay. The older couple so deeply in love after coming through so much who sit in the café as they await their train. The young bride fearful her day will be ruined and the many office workers that come and go, one in particular who can't keep hiding from the truth. All such varied, impressive and thought provoking people whose stories I was desperate to delve deeper into. But I suppose they flit in and out of the café whereas the café remains solid and staid and maybe it just wasn't the right opportunity for in such in-depth exploration despite me as a reader craving it.

The 24-Hour Cafe has an absolutely stunning last line that was so perfectly composed and very apt considering all the emotions and life changing events the two women had been through. I sat back and contemplated those few simple words that said so much and it made me understand completely the subject matter of the book even further. Yes, this story may not have completely lived up to the very high expectations I had set for it and I am sure many other readers will delve into this book with the same assumptions but on reflection I don't think it is fair to compare the two books and expect to get the same feeling inside.

The writing is elegant and honest but for me, especially in relation to the first half more so than the second, I think there were just too many characters to familiarise myself with and maybe the author felt this too as the number we are introduced to in part two was significantly reduced. I felt I was only getting minute snippets into the lives of people whereas I wanted to know an awful lot more. The reader was given a series of snapshots into their lives as they sat in the café for whatever length of time. I understand the transient nature of a café, and that customers come and go, but it just felt too brief as if I was reading a series of short stories which never actually equalled the length of said short story. Having said all that the second half more than redeemed itself and I found everything becoming more concise instead of too many paragraphs that felt extra to requirements.

The 24-Hour Cafe is a gorgeous read which raised a lot of sentiments and feelings regarding friendship that I could identify with but could never fully form into the correct words. Libby Page managed to do that several times and in doing so helped me come to some important realisations. I thought this quote was excellent 'That however close you think you are to someone, you are still ultimately on your own, You might have been walking comfortably down the same path together but at any point that path can diverge, You won't know who will veer off in what direction, or whether it will be possible to follow.’ This is so true, you can have all the friendships in the world but at times they can alter and change as one person may seek another direction but will people sooner or later come back to each other. Will Hannah and Mona find their way back to the friendship which has sustained them through so many challenging times as they seek to make their dreams a reality? Read The 24-Hour Cafe to discover all the answers, Libby Page is certainly a very good writer and it will be interesting to see what road she will venture down when it comes to book number three.

For anyone that likes people watching this book is an homage to that glorious pastime. Set over 24 hours in a cafe we meet Hanna and Mona, best friends and part time waitresses while chasing their dreams and ambitions and the many customers that pass through the door.

The setting itself is almost like another character and you can tell the author holds London dear to her heart. But it was the customer Dan’s chapters that held me the most and I almost wished this book was just about him. A homeless student whose mum has recently died passes the early morning in the cafe with his textbooks and barely enough money for a coffee.

With keen observational skill the author really delves into many things that go unnoticed and makes you think about things a little differently. From the pigeons watched by John the big issue seller to items stolen from a shared fridge meaning more than meets the eye. This book really hits home how much we never know what’s going on in people lives unless we take the time to care and ask.

It also weighs the pros and cons of being able to lose yourself in the anonymity of a big city. Allowing you to be yourself but maybe not the glory of community and connections in a place that is constantly changing. People leaving, new people arriving. Younger versions of yourself that make life just that little bit more difficult.

This is a story of friendship and how we are all just trying to connect and make our way in the world. Showing the battles and insecurities that people face in their day to day lives and that underneath it all we are all the same.

Hannah and Mona are waitresses at a cafe in Liverpool Street.  They are also performers but waitressing is their way of paying the bills until they get their big break.  The pair share a flat and their lives are completely intertwined but as Hannah mourns her lost relationship, something changes for Mona.  Over the course of a 24 hour period the lives of Hannah and Mona are reflected in the lives of the customers of the cafe.
On paper this isn't the sort of book I would normally choose however having loved Libby Page's previous novel (The Lido) I knew that I liked the writer.  This book does not disappoint in the slightest.  Whilst Hannah and Mona re a little irritating at times the sweep of the narrative is a true reflection of what it is like to have loved and lost, both personally and professionally.  The peripheral characters are beautifully imagined and the final section brings a little update to each, both happy and sad.  That's what makes this book stand out, it is not completely sweet and happy but it is life-affirming in many ways

The 24 - Hour Cafe in question is called Stella's and is based opposite Liverpool Street Station in London. It serves fish and chips, and American pancakes, and coffee of course, to all that need it, at any time of the day. Or night.
Hannah and Mona are friends who share a flat and who both work at Stella's. Hannah is a wannabe singer and Mona is a dancer, chasing their dreams of becoming famous and in the meantime sharing their shifts to help pay the bills.
There are also various characters who enter and leave the cafe over the period of a 24 hour shift, and each chapter is dedicated to one hour, covering Hannah's midnight until noon and Mona's noon until midnight. Even if not many realise that, the cafe is a place that brings those people safety, warmth and kindness of strangers.

I adored Libby Page's debut novel "The Lido" and was hoping for another heart - warming and uplifting read from her. And while it was like this, the new release didn't sit with me so well, it was a very different read, which per se is not bad at all, but I had a feeling there is no plan behind the story.

I couldn't immediately get into the plot, to be honest, and I had problems with it till the end actually. The pace was rather slow and I longed for something to happen, for something that will blow me away. Also, and yes, I know, it's like in a real life, but mostly the characters were simply so sad, and this feeling of sadness started to overpower me wholly. Hannah was for a long time so down, instantly unhappy and complaining, and yes, she was trying to come to terms with a broken relationship, actually much more than that, but it was too much for me personally. It really takes time to get into Hannah and her head, and even then it seems as if there was nothing positive about and around her. Not the easiest character, to be honest, yes, deep and complex but because for this whole negativity not one you could immediately warm to. She was even complaining about the brilliant friendship with Mona, who was like a sister for her. Moreover, what also didn't sit with me so well was the fact that Hannah, dreaming of going big, seemed to stop at dreaming and she was doing nothing to fulfil this dream.
Mona was the opposite to Hannah and truly, she felt like a breath of fresh air compared to her, and was for sure easier to like. I'm not sure, maybe it's only my feeling, but Mona looks to be better written than Hannah, there is more life in her and all her emotions and fears were a part of me as well.
There were probably too many characters in this book to let their voices come through, though, and they left me with some questions open. I appreciate how well they were written, sure, however if I already have them in the story, appearing on the pages over and over again, please do let me know them completely. It felt as if I was given a chance to meet and greet them and befriend them a little and then the chance was taken away from me. There were so many of them, including all the more or less random customers, and I simply couldn't seize all of them and their stories. I don't know, the idea was brilliant, but maybe all that the book has needed were really the two main characters, their stories and a few background characters significant to the main ones? Maybe then it would be easier and not so confusing?
However, I really liked the author's insight into the characters' lives, and I liked the idea of the cafe and people relying on it so much - who would have thought it, right, that a simple 24 - Hour Cafe may be so important for human lives? It made me see that, no matter who you are in what situation you find yourself at the moment, there is nothing better than a friendly face, a hot drink and maybe an open ear that is not necessarily your closest one - sometimes it's easier to open up to a stranger.

Libby Page's writing style is extremely elegant, peaceful and warm, almost lyrical, and for sure she has a way with words, writing about feelings and emotions that I had no idea exist. Her writing is evocative and vivid and she has a great talent to bring her characters to life.

So I am a bit in two minds about this book. It was not a bad read, absolutely not, but it also didn't work for me as much as I hoped, with too many parts that I simply found not so appealing. However, I absolutely adored the writing style and the idea for this story was exceptionally brilliant. It was a book about kindness, friendship, understanding and following your dreams, about community spirit, belonging and supporting each other in any situation.
and Libby Pages proves again that she's a lovely storyteller, full of patience, gentleness and understanding - I am curious what she has in store for us next.