This book is a beautiful web of stories within stories, a network of people connected a visit to a 24 hour cafe. It is so simple but yet so complex all at the same time.

The main story is of the the two waitress who work in the 24 hours, their dreams, their past and their friendship but then there is also mini stories of the customers who come into the cafe, glimpses at people during their best and worst times and how just having a quiet place to go can make all the difference.

Page just has an absolute way with works and I can now see why so many people rave about her work. I will definitely be moving The Lido to the top of my TBR pile.

This book made me cry with the truths captured in its pages, the heart break written so beautifully. This book really will stay with me for a long, long time. I will be sending a copy to all those friends I have lost touch with who have left a hole in my soul and I urge you to read it.

I really enjoyed The Lido, which I was lucky enough to read and review on #NetGalley prior to publication a couple of years ago. I have since bought it for friends and recommended it to others. I was very excited for the opportunity to read and review Libby Page's second novel, the 24-Hour Cafe. I was not disappointed. I actually think I enjoyed it more than the Lido! I know from author friends that writing your second book is a big challenge, especially when the first book has been a success. So I am really delighted that #The24-HourCafe is so good.
The cafe in question is near to a busy London mainline and Tube station and is an oasis for those who need a coffee and a rest at anytime of the day and night. Those who work there are the main characters , but the customers provide us with cameos and short stories within the novel. I thought this worked really well and I could envisage every one of them.
A story of friendship, kindness and London. I loved it and highly recommend it.
Thank you so much to Libby Page, her publishers and #NetGalley for the opportunity to read this lovely book.

Libby Page is not a great writer, having now read both of her books I can comfortably say that. For me, she is the literary equivalent of Cath Kidston - twee, safe and predictable.

Perhaps it’s a case of this book just not being for me, although I enjoy a cosy read, it’s certainly not my regular fare, but this just did not engage me, in any way, at any stage.

A café open 24hrs a day provides a good setting to introduce a number of characters and to investigate the relationships that develop in a confined environment. The main protagonists Mona and Hannah have managed to maintain their friendship despite working opposite shifts. But as this starts to unravel we can see the contributing factors.
There are also vignettes of the customers that visit the café, both the regulars and passing trade.
It does end up feeling like a collection of observations rather than a complete novel.

A 24/7 cafe who has various people going through its doors day and night. Opposite Liverpool Street station the cafe story is that of 2 waitresses and various customers. I like the style. Each chapter tells the story from a customer point of view and then one of the waitresses Hannah or Mona. As in all relationships there are highs and lows and the author keeps us guessing until the final page the final outcome Thanks Libby Page and NetGalley

Thanks to netgalley for a chance to read this book.

This book follows the story of a 24 hour cafe in London. The two main characters are Mona and Hannah who work at the cafe, sharing the 24 hour shift. It tells their story and the customers stories.

Brilliant book, easy read.

The 24 Hour Cafe, known as Stella's is a window to another world, another world where everyone is going about their own business, with their own past, their own present and their own decisions to their own future.

Libby Page, lets us as readers, drop into the cafe to see exactly the people that might cross the cafe doors in 24 hours and what their stories might be. 

We need a vehicle for all these people and their stories - Mona and Hannah, waitresses who work double shifts, would be dancer and singer respectively, housemates and best friends. Stella's Cafe is simply where they fill their time whilst waiting for that once in a lifetime opportunity. It seems to be taking a long time to arrive. 

As we learn more about Mona and Hannah and how they came together, we also see into the lives of the young student with nowhere to live, the honeymooners in later life, the relationships blossoming and breaking, the lonely, the workers, the parent escaping the child, the random acts of kindness, the future, the past and everything in between.

These little scenes of life show you how so much is going on around you and that all that you are really interested in and aware of is your own little world. Reflected in Mona who was aware of Hannah, but Hannah's actions shrink her world and it ends up testing their friendship.  

How often do you stop and wonder about those around you - what their story is and whether it is happier or more troubled than your own? Whether there are people looking at you thinking the same, just for 24 hours Libby Page gives us that insight and as you finish the book, you go back to your own life and carry on. 

An excellent observational read that makes you stop and think - no doubt a book that will much talked about during 2020.

Have you ever had that feeling where you just want to climb inside a book and live there? That's how I felt about The 24-Hour Café, a delightful, heartwarming story that warmed my insides like hot chocolate on a cold day.

The story takes place over twenty-four hours at Stella’s, a London café that has a style all of its own, sharing glimpses of the lives of two of its waitresses, best friends Hannah and Mona, and some of its customers. Over the course of the day we get to know these people, see what they’re going through, what matters to them and how their interactions with each other affect their lives, some in ways they don’t expect. It is a story about life, love, friendships, dreams and heartache. We see people at their best and their worst, when they are at their happiest and when their life is falling apart.

At the centre of the story is Hannah and Mona. The friends both live and work together, the café providing them with flexible conditions perfect for continuing to chase their dream careers - Hannah of being a singer, Mona of being a dancer. They’ve always been more like sisters than friends but this past year, things have changed and they’ve grown apart. Can they fix their problems or are things broken forever? That question is underlying over the course of the book and I was so invested in these characters that I was rooting for things to be fixed.

I devoured this book in under twenty-four hours and just couldn’t put it down. It was an easy but immersive read, with interesting characters that felt real and relatable. I immediately cared about Hannah, our first narrator, and felt the same about each character as they were introduced. I loved the different stories the author created for each narrator and how she made me genuinely care about them individually. The writing was uplifting and alluring, transporting me to this world that felt real, the vivid descriptions of Stella’s making me want to hop on a train to London and go there.

The 24-Hour Café snuck in at the very end of the year to take a place in my top books of 2019. It is a book that manages to be quietly understated and dazzling at the same time and I predict this will be on everyone’s must-read list in 2020. If you’re looking for a delicious, captivating and touching read, this is the book for you.

Thank you to Orion books and Netgalley for my copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved The Lido, and Libby Page’s follow up is an equally lovely read. It follows 24 hours in the life of the eponymous 24-hour cafe - Stella’s, opposite London’s busy Liverpool Street station - and two of its waitresses, best friends Mona and Hannah. Over one day the cafe witnesses large and small events in the lives of its patrons - a proposal, a newly wed couple, a woman struggling with motherhood, a young man grieving a profound loss - as well as changes and challenges in the lives of its staff, reflecting the diverse tapestry of life in the city.

A delightful read, well worth your time.

As part of a reading challenge I had to read a book written by someone with the same name as me – and I LOVED The Lido by Libby Page. So when I saw her next book was out – I asked for an advanced review copy from Netgalley and was granted my wish, in exchange for a review – so here is my review!

First of all, the blurb:
“Welcome to the café that never sleeps. Day and night Stella’s Café opens its doors for the lonely and the lost, the morning people and the night owls. It is many things to many people but most of all it is a place where life can wait at the door. A place of small kindnesses. A place where anyone can be whoever they want, where everyone is always welcome.
Meet Hannah and Mona: best friends, waitresses, dreamers. They work at Stella’s but they dream of more, of leaving the café behind and making their own way in life.
Come inside and spend twenty-four hours at Stella’s Café; a day when Hannah and Mona’s futures will be changed and their friendship tested. Today is just the start, but it is also marks a conclusion. Because all beginnings are also endings. And all endings can also be beginnings…”

Initially I wondered how this was going to work – as it appeared to be a chapter per hour that the 24 cafe was open. There was only so much making coffee and wiping tables that would be interesting – but I need not have worried! Although that is the premise of the chapters – there are lots of flashbacks to historical events that help shape the current position of the protagonists.
The main characters narrating the chapters are Hannah and Mona – friends and colleagues – and you learn about how they met and their back story as the 24 hour progresses. This is interwoven with the lives of the customers to the cafe – who are wide ranging.
Just as with The Lido, Ms Page has a brilliant way of writing about normal life and making it interesting and endearing. I found that with most of the characters I was immediately invested in their futures.
I have to say I though Hannah should have had a bit of a slap on numerous occasions by Mona – deffing out your girlfriends for a bloke is such a shortsighted thing to do – but it is incredibly well written and believable.
The descriptions of the café itself are excellent – and you really feel like you’ve been and sat in one of its booths. If I ever walk out of Liverpool St Station I’ll be looking around for Stella’s!
All of the customers are interesting, and the interactions between them and the staff members are written beautifully – and I absolutely LOVED that the final chapter is a year down the road and you find out what has happened / is happening to loads of them. I also love the fact it isn’t all hearts and flowers and happy endings dished out to everyone – it is real, and true, and what actually happens to people IRL.
This is a fabulous, escapist read – with no violence, graphic sex, bad language (I don’t think – although I guess it’s all relative..) – just a really lovely book. I would highly recommend you buy it when it comes out in January 2020.

I really enjoyed The Lido before and this was one of the anticipated releases for me. I love Page's story telling, characters and stories that has some sort of sadness ending up with hope and joy.
Eventually, this was definitely an enjoyable read with good storytelling.

Thanks a lot to Netgalley and the publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

An interesting 24 h spend in a cafe that brings together two friends that are roommates and work colleagues. We found out about their dreams and aspirations, we met interesting people, clients of the said cafe and it’s a very fast paced enjoyable read.

This is the second book from Libby Page, and the structure of this one is very clever. We follow Mona and Hannah as they work subsequent 12 hour shifts at the cafe.

This is a book that will be well liked by those who like a slow moving plot and multiple narrators. Personally, I struggled to engage with the plot or like either of the main characters - to me the more interesting viewpoints were those of the cafe's customers. Ultimately this left me feeling like I'd read the wrong book, but for others who can relate to Mona and Hannah's desire to love on the city and chase creative dreams, I think this would be better appreciated than it was by me.

I really enjoyed this book. It centres around Mona and Hannah who both work at Stellas but have bigger dreams. It also brings in the stories of their customers and the way the cafe and its staff help them.

I was very quickly absorbed by the story and wanted to see a positive outcome for the two friends.

It is a heart warming story - absorbing and lovely.

Like The Lido, The 24 Hour Cafe is also set in London and if anyone deserves a medal for championing London then Libby Page should be at the head of the queue. Her love of the city oozes out of every page with her observations of the sights and sounds and people.
The 24 Hour Cafe centres around Hannah. a singer and Mona, a dancer. As they both struggle to find jobs they work double shifts in the 24 hour cafe to make ends meet. The story revolves around them and the various customers who come to eat and drink there over a 24 hour period.
I enjoyed the format of the book the characters are very well drawn and likeable and the story was well paced. It is a story about friendship, love, loss and life.
I loved it!

A super easy, lighthearted read which rang more than a few bells for this thirty-something London living woman!

My Goodness! Real life seen through 24 hours in a cafe in London. I felt like a fly on the wall, listening to conversations, watching stories unfold and relationships thrive or falter. As the staff and customers interact, we learn their stories and of their backgrounds; dancer, singer, new mum, student, honeymooners, writer, all come together briefly on these pages.
i loved this book, all emotions are there in everyday situations and everyday regrets. Libby captures the essence of her characters and draws the reader into their world.
i recommend this and also Libby's previous book 'The Lido' .

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I really enjoyed this book, not as good as her first book but good storyline, nice characters. An average read.

Stella's cafe is open 24 hours a day. Everyone is welcome.
Hannah and Mona are two of the waitresses: They are best friends and flat mates both dreaming of dancing and singing.
This is the story of 24 hours in the cafe. The customers and staff and how their lives are all touched by the cafe. It is a story of hope, friendship, desperation and survival.

A beautiful look at life from inside a London 24 hour cafe.
Looking at people in love, in despair in need.. All the time sitting in this little care trying to find the answers to their problems
Each story in this book starts at a certain point in people's life's but then also gives you the ending of that story
These stories are seen through the eyes of staff Mona, Hannah, Sofia and the eyes of their customers too
I thoroughly enjoyed every page of this book. Wonderful read