I picked up The 24 Hour Café based on all the excitement around Libby Page's debut, The Lido, which I haven't read. It took me a little while to get into the book as I felt that we had only just started to scratch the surface of a story before the clock chimed the next hour and new customers entered the shop, but the long-running thread of Hannah and Mona's friendship kept me interested.

Hannah and Mona are flatmates who work in Stella's Café which is situated opposite Liverpool Street Station in London. It is open 24 hours so attracts a myriad clientele throughout the day and night. The main story is around Hannah and Mona's friendship which is put to the test during the 24 hours we observe the cafe, but there are lots of little stories based on the lives of customers in the café.

Hannah has recently broken up with her boyfriend and I could tell he was a bad 'un from the start; preferring Star Trek to Star Wars is not a good sign! I enjoyed this part of the story though, showing how Hannah's relationship with Jaheim not only changed her but consumed her and left Mona well outside Hannah and Jaheim's bubble. I wondered how much of this was Hannah's own doing, but I suspected Jaheim liked that level of control over her. Mona is a very good best friend to Hannah; she keeps quiet and bides her time knowing that boyfriends come and go but friends remain.

If you've ever people-watched and wondered what their story was, this book is for you! Libby Page has put people watching into print and it did feel like I was there in the corner of the café, sipping my cuppa and observing the goings on myself. Maybe I'm just nosy but I would have liked to delve a bit more into the lives of the customers, however, for Libby Page to have done so she would have ended up with several volumes of The 24 Hour Café.

Libby Page's writes in such vivid colour that The 24 Hour Café brings London to life in front of your very eyes; the hustle and bustle is evident but also a more humane side. Whereas a visitor to London might find it impersonal and inhospitable at first, Libby Page shows that there's more to Londoners than might first meet the eye. I think you could call The 24 Hour Café a love letter to London, as Libby Page paints our capital city in such glorious light.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

Having absolutely loved Libby Page’s The Lido, I was extremely excited to get my hands on The 24-Hour Cafe, which has just published this month. Page’s next novel takes place over the course of 24 hours, in a cafe near Liverpool Street station. Stella’s is open all hours of the day and night, for weary travelers on their way to and from London, lively revelers after a night out, and anyone who needs the comforting warmth of a safe place.

The novel is centered around two of the cafe’s employees, Hannah and Mona – who are also friends and housemates. They have both been drawn to London to follow their dreams: Hannah as a musician and Mona as a dancer. As they tried to find their way in this welcoming but sometimes overwhelming city, they gravitated towards each other and became firm friends. Although, now, as they get older and the pressures of being a 30 something in this city of possibilities begin to grow, we see their relationship come under threat.

Their friendship for me was the heart of the whole novel, and it was a breath of fresh air to see this type of relationship treated with such sincerity and tenderness. We experience many different types of love in our lifetime, and it was a joy to read about friendship rather than the more usual obsession with romantic relationships. Interestingly, although it is a novel very much about their friendship, we get to know Hannah and Mona separately, as the novel follows them working shifts in the cafe, one after the other. They only cross paths between their shifts, in a heated and pivotal exchange in the middle of the book.

While Hannah and Mona work, customers come and go, and the novel replicates that intriguing glimpse into people’s lives we get people watching in public spaces. There are several stories within the story, as we segway into short passages following different customers: student Dan seeking somewhere warm to spend the evening; Martha and Harry who are about to embark on the holiday of a lifetime; Joe and Haziq who have to go separate ways when they leave the cafe. Just as with short stories, some of these scenarios are resolved, some are left as unanswered questions.

I found this really captured the spirit of a space like this in a busy city, and made for an original format. My favourite thing about the novel was definitely Hannah and Mona’s relationship – a celebration and examination of friendship, which I found very heartening. The 24-Hour Cafe is out now, with Orion – if you loved The Lido, like me, you’re going to need to give this one a read too!

I did worry the book was going to center entirely on Hannah and Mona over the 24 hour period but we do transition seamlessly between them and the customers of the café, which is nice. This is an emotional read at times, especially when exploring the friendship between Hannah and Mona, and the sometimes tragic stories of the customers. The book is comforting and every time I thought about opening it up to read it gave me a warm feeling.

I loved the plot of the café work as a small, restrictive window into other people's stories, and the fact that none of the customers truly see into the waitresses lives either.

A beautiful book about friendship and platonic love and how it's just as potent and affecting as romantic love.

I found myself totally captivated by the goings on of the staff and customers of Stella's, a 24 hour cafe by Liverpool Street Station, that becomes a 'family' to those who frequent it, however briefly! There's a story behind everyone and it was so fascinating to be a 'people watcher' with each chapter, while the main story revolves around the 2 waitresses - Hannah and Mona. Best friends and flat mates, who both moved to London with different artistic dreams but their career paths haven't quite gone to plan, but they still live in hope despite constant disappointment!

They work long shifts so there's a lot of time for them to reflect on their pasts and to look forward to what they hope, as well as connect with the different characters that they see come into the cafe. There's Dan who is a student and still coming to terms with the death of his mother, and finding it difficult to ask for help financially. A chance chat with an insomniac writer also in the cafe brings him some hope, and it's the coming together of people who would never normally meet up that really made this book for me. Everyone is equal in the cafe and it gives people a time to sit, take time out from the world outside and to feel safe over a cuppa or breakfast! There's also John, the Big Issue seller, a stressed out new mum, an older couple looking forward to a new life together, the city worker losing his job and more - all really different kinds of people who have an interesting story to tell.

It also brilliantly explores the role of female friendships. Mona and Hannah were brought together when sharing a house with other friends, and they instantly hit it off and got a flat together and it is fascinating to see how their friendship evolves over the years, especially with new career opportunities and boyfriends on the scene - how sometimes the things you find most stable and comforting can quickly change in the blink of an eye.

I adored The Lido, and feel just as warmly about The 24 Hour Cafe! The author has a brilliant way of inventing characters and making them so appealing to read about - their different approaches to life and all the problems thrown in their way - and it's a book I highly recommend!!

The story revolves Stella’s Cafe which is open 24 hours to its customers with waiters and chefs working round the clock to serve everyone at any part of the day. Situated in the busy street of London, the ambiance of the Cafe is dreamy with yummy food on the menu and comfortable furnitures to feel like home away from home!

Hannah and Mona are the two waitresses who work on shifts and also best friends and roomies. Both of them are artistic and have different dreams to achieve in their lives and their job as waitresses is just temporary. As the story progresses, we get to befriend several other customers who visit the Cafe, their lives and culture. My favorite character was Dan, a uni student who is currently homeless after crashing at his friend’s place for so long. At the Cafe, he meets an older friend who loves doing crossword puzzles and quickly a bond forms between them.

I loved Libby Page’s description about Stella’s Cafe giving us detour of the tiniest details on the walls, tables, chairs, kitchen and even the aprons of the staff who works there. So much life and passion in the words of the author that feels so good to read. Also, there’s something SO raw and real about the friendships and relationships portrayed in this novel and its very heartfelt that you’d actually feel for the characters. The ups and downs that occur even in the most honest of friendships! Both of them are artistic and their dreams of becoming better in their field and the struggle to achieve makes our heart ache for them.

The 24 Hour Cafe is a slow catch, not a pacy one. You’ll have to get to know each characters to enjoy the book. Although, if you’re someone like me who enjoys more conversations than narration then this novel might not be for you. I took my time with the book, snuggled up with it and easily became my bedside favorite. Many thanks to Compulsive Readers for having me on the #BlogTour and the publisher for my digital copy. All opinions are solely mine and no way biased.

I liked this book and the stories it tells. It's well written, enjoyable and it kept my attention till the end.
It's the first I read by this author and won't be the last.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

About the lives of two young women working in a 24 hour cafe whilst trying to make a career on the stage in London. Pleasant characters who have the usual trials of being young in London struggling to make a life in dancing and acting with their many setbacks laid bare.
Characters from the cafe are introduced but I feel little is done with them apart from perhaps Dan (my favourite character), The overriding message that came through for me was that you never really know what other people are going through so be kind to people (very sweet Libby Page style).
Much as I love the idea of this book I feel nothing really happens and opportunities to expand on stories and characters are missed and for me, although it has some heart, it feels slow and void of grit.

I was thrilled to be offered to chance to read and review this book as I loved The Lido by Libby.
Again Libby has mastered the art of watching people and writing it down so well that you can so easily visualise the scene. It was as though I was in the cafe with them.
There were several points of the story that were heartening and also a few that brought a lump to my throat.

All in all a good read that you could dip in and out of, one I would recommend.

I absolutely adored this book. Mainly set in a 24hr cafe with a few flashbacks it tells the story of a day in the life of the cafe and it’s workers. Seemingly nothing much happens and yet EVERYTHING happens. The story will make you laugh and break your heart. I’m so glad the final part was 1 year later to catch up with the characters a bit further on in their lives.

A heartwarming story set in a cafe which never sleeps near Liverpool Street Station in London. It’s told by way of ittle glimpses into the lives of various people, those of the waitresses and customers who frequent the cafe, a little like a ‘fly on the wall’ documentary.

I thought this was cleverly written with the relatable snapshots gelling together beautifully. The observations were spot on. It’s a tale about relationships, particularly the importance of friends, with themes such as loneliness, homelessness, mental abuse and post natal depression. The cafe sounded fantastic - I’d love to drop in and treat myself to a slice of cake and a café latte whilst discreetly tuning into the assorted conversations around me, the ‘ships that pass in the night’. It’s all very realistic.

An absorbing and hugely enjoyable story. If you like people watching, you’ll love The 24 Hour Cafe! I shall miss the fun, even Ernest the Bear! 🐻

4☆ A Heart Warming and Uplifting Must Read!

I really enjoyed reading The 24-Hour Café
It's a slower paced read but flowed along perfectly. Definitely a book you can get lost in for several hours.

The 24-Hour Café is about Stella's based in London, the café that serves fish and chips, bangers and mash and American pancakes to Londoners and visitors at any time of day or night.

It's about two waitresses Mona and Hannah who work, live together and are best of friends. Working at the Café whilst still chasing their dreams to become a great musician and dancer, they need the Café job to help pay the bills.

But this is a Story that follows their shift at Stella's as they prepare to work a 24hour shift.
It's a wonderful insight into just how much people become to rely on the café for many different reasons. It really opens your eyes, that no matter your situation a warm place, a friendly face and a hot drink can make a difference to so many and often a refuge to those in need.

The 24-Hour Café is a heart warming and uplifting story ultimately about Friendship, being kind, supporting each other, community spirit, belonging and never giving up on your hopes and dreams.
I really loved the idea that you get 1 hour segments of the shift. It was relatable and really gives you an insight into what it's like to work 24hours with people from all walks of life and all kinds of needs.
The Characters are quirky and endearing, the plot relatable. I highly recommend reading this Gorgeous Book!

Thank you to Compulsive Readers Tours and Orion Publishers for this copy which I reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

If you're looking for a sweet, heartfelt novel that really captures a broad range of London life, and human life, The 24-Hour Café is the novel for you.

In reading this book, you spend 24 hours inside Stella's Cafe in London. Throughout the course of a day, you experience the 12 hour shifts of two waitresses, Mona and Hannah, and snippets from the lives of various characters that come through the doors.

Most of the novel focuses on Mona and Hannah, their friendship and their goals and dreams. This means a number of flashbacks, as each character reflects on how she got to where she is now, and what that means for her future.

The setting of the book, the characters that walk in through the doors, their stories and the people around them are all super. I used to spend a lot of time working long shifts in cafés, and it's lovely to read a novel that encompasses so many parts of the diverse lives that walk through it.

In particular, Libby Page obviously has a passion for writing about London and capturing the variety of highs and lows experienced in the city every day. I enjoyed her previous book, The Lido, and the community feel that it gave. The 24-Hour Café is obviously aiming for something similar, but doesn't quite hit the mark as precisely.

Unfortunately, some of that is due to the main characters, Hannah and Mona. Their friendship is a little ... tedious. Which is made even more so by their flashbacks, which take a little too long to tie together. It also means that when their friendship is tested, their fears and worries around this also get a little bit wearing.

The book, however, is a lovely concept and is enjoyable to read. It gives the same vibe as those cosy bookstore style novels, but with a bit more edge, which comes from the clientele of the café and Libby Page's own desire to about London as thought it were a community - just one that doesn't always realise it.

If you, like me, completely adored The Lido then you'll have been equally excited to get your hands on a copy of Libby Page's second novel, The 24-Hour Cafe. And while I found it to be a quite different type of book, it is no less perceptive, warm and beautifully written, and I loved it.


The story is set in Stella's Cafe, where we alternately find waitresses Hannah and Mona, serving all manner of people from different walks of life. As the hours of their shifts tick by we learn more about the two best friends and their personal lives, along with snapshots of stories about their customers.


Through Libby Page's exquisite writing style we follow a story examining life's highs and lows, and female friendship tested to its limits. From the University student grieving his late mother to some middle-aged newlyweds and a young mother struggling to adjust to life with a baby, I found that I cared deeply about each and every character. The author's love of London and its diversity once again shines through and, like the lido in her debut, Stella's Cafe is the glue that holds them all together.


Hannah and Mona struggle with the same issues facing many women in their late twenties and early thirties. The near-impossible balancing act of trying to forge out a career, house-sharing, dating and relationships, maintaining friendships and perhaps living far away from family, creating a sometimes unbearable mental load. Almost inevitably eventually something has to give, and this situation is examined here. This, for me, is what made for a truly immersive and relatable read.


If you enjoy a bit of people watching and you loved The Lido then you're sure to enjoy The 24-Hour Cafe.

12am: I don’t sleep much. I toss and turn and hate losing time trying to get some rest. I have often wondered if I could find a place to breathe, change my mind, and see people. Do such places exist? Well, Libby Page created my perfect little shelter from the rain and life. Stella’s is nestled on Liverpool street, with its lights welcoming everyone and the nice smell of pastries and coffee sending warm even during the coldest nights. The author has given the place a strong identity, letting the reader take in the interior design in a vivid and inviting way. Libby Page’s descriptions conjured not only a visual image of the place, but a picture that requires all the senses. Once in the café, I could taste the food and beverages, smell the yummy calling of food, let my fingers run over the top of a table. It’s a five senses experience, nothing more. And it felt safe. I recently moved to London, and the city can sometimes feel grey, cold, and unfriendly, so I was glad to find this little place on a January night. I felt a little less alone.

12pm: This lonely feeling had a hard time. It fought, it tried to claw its way in forever, but the neon lights were strong. 24 hours, a place, people with a story to tell, and a friendship are at the heart of The 24-Hour Café. Each chapter represents an hour. 60 minutes. 3;600 seconds. How many breaths? How many heartbeats? Every hour has something to offer. We are not served a different slice as the clock ticks. No, the hours go by but there is a thread connecting them all. Faces, feelings, and the good old place. I admire the way the storytelling is not fragmented but enriched by the time passing by. The more hours, the more I was invested in the novel. We meet customers with a story, but we only get to catch a glimpse of it. They come and go, some cliché-ed, like the rush-hour impatient suits in need of a coffee and sandwich fix, some taking you by surprise. They’re only in your life and your reading for a short time, but their imprint stays. I felt they gave me more than they took. Every face I imagined gave me hope. I love observing people. I call it everyday voyeurism. I like to think of what people have in mind, why they are here at the same time I am, what sparks their fire. The café brought me the perfect seat to watch life go by and learn. The sense of belonging gives us the strength to keep going on. This novel is an authentic reminder we all need this at some point.

4pm: Friendships. I often complain about how underrated they are. Friendships keep us afloat when the world is ending. Friendships give us a last pint before going home. Friendships make our heart swell or broke as powerfully as a romance. Hannah is a waitress waiting for her big moment as a singer. Mona is a waitress waiting for her break in the dance world. What started as a part-time job to tide them over between gigs ended up being so much more. It brought the women closer together, it provided them with a place to be, a purpose. Only it was meant to be temporary. For how long are we allowed to chase our dreams? With realism and tact, the author transports her two main characters into memories, into their hopes and fears, until only the essential remains. I could relate to every step both women take during the course of this book. The need to keep going, the doubts, the hopes, the disappointments. It changes you. If you let it.

8pm: At the core of everything lies this friendship that began at a party, a trick of fate to reunite two souls with a lot in common. When I think back of ‘that’ moment, the second you realise someone fits perfectly in your tribe, I can’t help but smile. It doesn’t happen so often. We have colleagues, acquaintances, friends, close friends, and of course, if we’re lucky, best friends. Hannah and Mona’s bond is tested by life, not just for twenty-four hours. Libby Page allows the characters to assess their lives, and more importantly, their friendship, by throwing a bomb. Except the bomb only explodes if it’s fired, right? By pulling at events from the past and the present, Mona and Hannah get the chance to bring a wind of change to their routine. They are at a critical point of their relationship and look back at what happened to drive them there. Again, so many things hit me with force as I recognised signs and situations I have found myself into. Even if The 24-Hour Café is set to be up-lifting, it is first and foremost real, in every way.

This is a novel you savour. Libby Page’s second book is a hug in a book.

I think most of us must people-watch at some time or another, especially in cafes. In The 24-Hour Cafe, Libby Page gives us a brief glimpse into the lives of some of the customers of Stella’s Cafe, with stories which range from the sad and poignant to the uplifting and hopeful. These little vignettes are linked by the presence of two of the waitresses, Hannah and Mona; their stories are covered in greater depth as their twelve-hour shifts means readers are able to see various events from both their perspectives.
The first part of the novel is mostly told from Hannah’s viewpoint, from when she begins her shift at midnight taking over from her best friend, Mona. Both women came to London dreaming of success but so far it has eluded them. Nevertheless Hannah still describes herself as a singer/waitress and likewise, Mona as a dancer/waitress. At first Hannah appears to be as vibrant as her red hair but as the book progresses and night becomes day, it soon becomes apparent that like many of the customers she serves, she has her own troubles to bear. As she serves coffee and plates of pancakes, she watches the people who visit Stella’s and as she wonders about their stories, she reminisces about her past - including leaving home to move to London, her various flat-shares, the end of her first real relationship, and her introduction to Mona.
Hannah’s story is interspersed with short scenes that are written from the perspective of some of the customers; the grieving student who has nowhere else to go, the new mother who has left the warmth of her bed, the two young men whose love is threatened by immigration laws, the middle-aged man living a lie. Although it gradually transpires that Hannah hasn’t always made the wisest choices, she does generally come across as an empathetic, thoughtful person who often engages in simple little acts of kindness and I liked her very much.
After Hannah’s twelve-hour shift comes to an end, Mona arrives back at Stella’s, with the second part of the book written from her point of view. As before, customers come and go, taking their stories with them and her thoughts form the majority of the narrative. She has made a big decision, the impact of which means she also looks back on some of the events that Hannah recalled. Far from feeling repetitive, I really enjoyed this opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of their shared history. Mona initially seems to be a more reserved character than Hannah but I really liked her too and grew to understand why she made her choices. She serves some of the same people who visited the cafe during Hannah’s shift and often their return allows us to understand a little more about them.
The 24–Hour Cafe is a wonderfully warm book which perfectly epitomises the saying, “Be kind, for everyone is facing a battle you know nothing about.” One of the characters, Dan takes comfort in the knowledge that other people face the same struggles that he does and Libby Page’s thoughtful, perceptive novel is a touching affirmation of the way in which we are all connected by our shared experiences. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Hannah and Mona live together and are best friends. They both work at ‘Stella’s’ a 24-hour café, opposite Liverpool Street station, London though they seemingly work opposite shifts. The story is cleverly set over 24 hours, in one-hour chapters, from the points of view of the café staff and their customers, whilst focusing mainly on Mona and Hannah.
As the story spans over a full 24-hour period the customers who visit the café have very different stories to each other, from love, friendship, loss and depression. Each story is told in an empathetic way and gives the reader an interesting insight to the reason for visiting the café.
The final chapters of the book are very well constructed and tie up the loose ends nicely, to bring the book to a satisfying conclusion.
I have been looking forward to this book for quite a while, having loved The Lido. This is an enjoyable read on a bad weather day, being snuggled up in front of the fire.

This book is amazing
Beautifully told over a 24 hour shift in an all night cafe. It is the story of friendship above all but I loved the way it was written.
Different people come into the cafe and we hear their back story as well as the main friends whose relationship is under strain but not quite from where they think it is.
Reminded me of the importance of looking after every relationship in life from family to partner to friends.
Great

I loved this book!
Mainly following the lives of two waitresses who work at a London Cafe over a 24 hour period it also delves into the lives of the customers. It is well written and really had me hooked, I was so pleased that every mini-story had an ending too.
A lovely tale of friendship, love and loss.

Hannah and Mona are best friends, they live together and also both waitress at Stella’s 24 hour café. Their dream is to act, so all their spare time is taken up with attending auditions and hoping that success is just around the corner.

Libby Page gets right to the heart of the matter, be it love, jealousy, hardship or success. I loved the honest interaction that takes place between Hannah and Mona and I my heart went out to them both at different times. Although this is an easy book to pick and put down, I found I was so embroiled in the outcome of the story, that I read it in one sitting.

Every person who visits the café as a story to tell, some happy and some extremely sad, but by the end of the book the author had very nicely tied everything together with a lovely twisty knot.

I think I might pin my colours to the mast at outset on this one, particularly having noticed a few early reviews that surprised me by being a little lukewarm – I thought this book was quite wonderful. As you might guess from the title, the book is set over a 24-hour period, in a cafe – a double shift for two of the waitresses, first Hannah a waitress/singer, then Mona a waitress/dancer, close friends at a critical point in their relationship. The long shifts offer plenty of time for reflection – first for Hannah, then the primary point of view switches to Mona, and we get a rich insight into their pasts, the current state of their friendship, their hopes and dreams.

But cafes also have customers, constantly changing, and the book picks up their separate stories too – some are just glimpses, observation that goes no deeper, but some of their lives are exposed in greater detail by moving to their point of view, enabling them to tell their own stories. All human life is here, and there are some stories that capture your heart more than others. There’s Dan, a homeless student struggling with life after the loss of his mother, experiencing the kindness of a stranger; Harry and Martha, off on their honeymoon having found love in later life; Monique, at her wits’ end with post-natal depression; Joe and Haziq, their new relationship about to be torn apart by the immigration laws. The focus even moves outside the cafe, to John the Big Issue seller, pondering both his past and future.

It would have been easy for the book’s narrative drive to become fragmented, for the book to become a succession of rather dissatisfying short stories, but it’s firmly anchored by the flow of the story of Hannah and Mona, and by the cafe itself which becomes a character in its own right. The book opens with an exceptionally vivid piece of description, the cafe frozen in time, the scene set: it then follows the next 24 hours in its life, its staff and customers, the moments of drama (and boredom), the street outside, the changes in the light and the weather.

This is a substantial book at over 400 pages, but I’d have been happy had it been twice as long. The author’s writing draws you into the story, and you become part of it – and not as a mere people-watcher and observer, although that’s an obvious part of its appeal, but engaging in the main story as you debate whether you can sympathise with one of the friends more than the other (for me, the answer was no… I felt deeply for them both) and entering the hidden lives of the succession of customers.

The book’s themes are too many to list, every one quite beautifully handled, given appropriate weight, allowing you to engage at an emotional level. Some of those themes, and the way the stories expose them, are heart-breaking – and the continuing story of Hannah and Mona really worked to expose the fragility of love and friendship, the importance of emotional support. The book is powerful, heartbreaking and uplifting, one of those perfect reading experiences – and I absolutely loved every moment.

(Review copied to Amazon UK, but link not yet available)