I really wanted to like this book as I love these new looks on social media and relationships. But I did not like the main character so it was a hard read, I did finish it but I just wasn’t that invested in the outcome. A real shame.

Sweet, funny and very moreish. Rom com that is current and characters that are likeable and develop well.

First of all a big thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for sending me a copy of this book to read and review.

This was a cute Rom-com that deals with deeper issues. I loved the romance between Raj and Eliza. Tbh I loved all of the characters in this one. This was definitely an easy read and I raced through it in a couple of days.

So this book was a little predictable, but it was a fairly enjoyable read nonetheless

We follow Eliza, a jewelry shop owner, who drunkenly (and accidentally) uploads a photo of herself with one of the most expensive engagement rings in her store, announcing her imaginary engagement. Scared to come clean as she doesn’t want to lose the income they’ve made, she books a wedding, and then looks to find the man who will be at the altar waiting for her.

The positives: It was a quick read, engaging, and kept my attention for the whole book. I wanted to keep reading on to see what was going to happen, and who she was going to wake up to.

The negatives: the characters. To me, the characters and their decisions all felt a bit predictable, and I spotted what was going to happen a mile off.

That’s not to say that this is a bad book. It was entertaining, and provided the light relief that I needed when I picked this book up. I think if you’re a fan of the genre, you will like this book.

From the opening scene with a disaster of an online date, I really enjoyed this read. This ticked many boxes for me – smart but relatable female protagonists, a sticky dilemma for Eliza leads to some morally grey situations, so that I wondered how she could be redeemed by the end . Closed door romance, not especially steamy but its nice to see a strong female lead with opinions and a focus on her career. Thanks to NetGalley for this free review copy.

I read Hannah Orenstein's latest novel, Head Over Heels, a couple of months ago and I really enjoyed it so I was thrilled to read her previous novel, Love at First Like, but I was highly disappointed. The story is highly unlikely and I found the protagonist selfish, shallow, and annoying. She lies a lot and she is so interested in her social media engagement that she pretends to be in love with a man, not caring if she is hurting his feelings. I kept reading hoping to see if there was going to be a development or improvement in this character, but, alas, it wasn't so.

When you see the cover and read the blurb, you expect to like the story and characters. The main character has to "grow up" within the pages and learn from her mistakes as well as change into a better person.
None of these things happened here unfortunately. I kept reading because i never dnf a book and still hoped for a better ending but , i just couldn't get over so many errors and scenes that seemed so everywhere over the place. No chemistry, no redemption, just a very unlikable heroine that goes from mistake to more mistakes in a blink of the eye.


Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my review copy

A fabulously enjoyable summer read.

I'll admit it took me a few chapters to engage with this novel. I found Eliza, as bubbly and engaging as she is a little overplayed, part of the first few chapters felt too forced and unbelievable.

However with the introduction of Raj and Eliza's other friends she started to grow on me as a character and by the end of the book I really wished there was a book 2 so that I could read more about her hilarious exploits.

All in all a fun feel good read and I would certainly read more by this author.

I'm a huge fan of the fake date trope,and anything featuring social media, so was excited to see what Love at First Like would have in store.

I'm delighted to say it's nothing like the typical fake date books I've read before, for the man has absolutely no clue that none of it is real, while you have to wonder how on earth Eliza is going to pull off a fake wedding too, much less keep the identity of her "fiancee" hidden until then.

There is a very early in the story message that you cant take from this book, be careful of what you post to instagram, or you may find yourself in a ridiculous situation like Eliza is now in.

I loved seeing how things developed, but despite looking good I wasn't that keen on Blake, but rather a character that kept popping up and had me wonder what if...

Eliza although being wonderfully entertaining and determined to be a great sister to Sophie, also has a worrying ability to lie continually. she finds herself in the biggest web of deceit that has you scratching your head as to how it will all resolve itself.

I also loved the insight into a jewellery story, and generally found this to be a light hearted feel good read that I really enjoyed. I'm also really happy that I read Hannah Orenstein's latest book Head Over Heels before this one, as I know how much she is growing as an author and I'm excited to see what her next book will be.

Thank you to Headline Eternal and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily

Thank you to NetGalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review!

This was a cute romance featuring a indie jeweller who is “insta famous”, Eliza, who accidentally posts an “engagement” photo. Eliza tries to find a man to marry her as her business soars off the back of her mistake.

I enjoyed this book, although there were parts that were predictable. It disappointed me that 75% of the book was somewhat wasted on a romance that I never felt was going to go anywhere. Because of this I struggle to give this above 3 stars.

Loved this novel, really witty and well paced. The romantic storyline was moderately predictable but still a super enjoyable story with well formed characters. Some of the plot lines of going to such elaborate lengths to save a business were not exactly realistic but made for good humour and a timely conversation around authenticity online. Would recommend for a summer beach read.

Wow this book was incredible.

I loved every minute of it . I loved Eliza but Sophie was my favourite character. I loved Liv too and they made a super cute couple.

It read like a hallmark movie but was so much more real. The Instagram mistake post was such a good idea for a book .

Blake was so gullible , I felt sorry for him and though Eliza was cruel for keeping him in the dark .

I now have a new favourite author .

I believed I would fall into the camp that liked this book as I’m quite easy to please when it comes to romance and the premise seemed quite cute. A story about a woman, Eliza, whose post about her wearing an engagement ring (she’s very single) goes viral and now she needs to find a man. A man who will go along with this charade of hers as this one post has done wonders for her struggling jewellery business. Sounds cute, a little mental but that’s where the comedy comes in, right?

WRONG. So very wrong. I dnf’d this at the halfway mark because I just could not take it anymore.

Writing

Even though the writing is decent, the flow was stilted and awkward. There is also so much telling and very little showing. There are pages and pages and pages of descriptions and of Eliza’s innermost thoughts. If there were two full lines of dialogue on a page, then that was a lot. Due to this, I did not feel the connection between her and her so-called love interest, Blake. I, as a reader, felt quite distanced from the relationship between her and Blake. The incessant inner monologues that Eliza had made her come across as narcistic, materialistic, superficial, ungrateful and obnoxious. I had absolutely no love for her character. She says, or rather thinks, things like, “I don’t want to dwell on whether or not this is fair to Blake…” Wow, are you feeling the romance yet?
Due to the minimal dialogue, it was hard to like the other characters because this whole book is told from Eliza’s point of view.

Story

This is not a romance. How can this be considered a romance when Eliza thinks things like, “As much as I see him as a prize…” or “He’s a solution.” Oh yes, I am melting at all the romance and feels that Eliza is catching for Blake. I assume that this relationship is meant to be a relationship of convenience but it definitely isn’t if the guy is not made aware of the convenience aspect! Blake doesn’t know about Eliza’s faux pax. He doesn’t know why she is doing what she’s doing. He is IN THE DARK! That is NOT romance. Making someone fall in love with you because you want to make money for your business but not tell them that you’re using them as the “solution” is not funny. Making him believe that you’re falling in love with him is deranged. All this woman cares about is free stuff, the publicity, the number of likes and growing her customer base and even that is not good enough for her as made known when she gets offered a free wedding dress. She actually comments on the styles of the wedding dresses when she is asked if she would like to come try some on and says, “People seem to like that, but I don’t. I write back immediately to say, thank you, yes.”

Also, the biggest elephant in the room and something that NO ONE in her inner circle seems to take note of: What happens after the wedding? You know, the marriage bit. Where you spend the rest of your lives together as promised in the vows. I don’t know if this is brought up in the last 50% of the book but how is it that you have three good friends and not one of them shines light on this little snag especially since the poor schmuck believes you love him and actually wants to spend the rest of your life with him.

So, I don’t know how it ends and I also don’t care. This book is not good and I don’t recommend it.

Having read one of Orenstein's more recent books and enjoyed her writing style, this sounded like a fun read - when Eliza, co-owner of a jewelry store in Brooklyn, finds out that her ex-boyfriend is engaged, she "accidentally" posts a picture wearing one of the shop's engagement rings. When she realises how much publicity it brings the shop, she decides to keep up the pretence - all she needs is a fiance.

Whilst I enjoyed the book in many ways - it was a fun, entertaining read that kept me engaged and made me chuckle, the story didn't entirely work for me. Whilst I have no doubt there are people in the world as manipulative as Eliza, it did make her rather unlikeable, and therefore her relationships with two very likeable, seemingly intelligent guys harder to believe. Those reservations aside, I will happily pick up further books by Orenstein if I am looking for a fun read, as I do think she writes well and with a slightly different story this would have been a great, rather than just a good, read for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Headline for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Witty, humourous and full of heartwarming moments. I absolutely adored this book from beginning to end.
The friendships that the characters shared were beautiful, and the ways in which the characters were brought to life by the author was quite simply marvelous and made you truly feel connected to the characters at times.

The perfect rom-com read!

Eliza is living her dream of running her own jewellery store wuth her sister. Managing the instagram for the store she showcases the items they have mixed in with a slice of her own life. After seeing her on-again/off-again ex get engaged she consoles herself in the backroom with a bottle of whiskey. Taking a snapshot of herself wearing an engagement ring, which instead of saving as a draft is posted publicly.

Overnight her life changes. The stores instagram is going crazy, they have online orders coming through and everyone wants to know who the lucky guy is. Except there isn't one. Her friend Carmen arranges for a fun casting call for a potential fake fiancée.

What follows is her attempting to get a new relationship that's not perfect down the aisle in six months after being offered a free wedding. Can you really fake it until you make it?

I didn't really click with Eliza or intentions throughout the book. Whilst she was attempting to save her business, I'm not sure that the process worked for me. Little chemistry between the main characters, all a little forced.

I won't go into the plot of this book as from the many ,many reviews this is detailed greatly!

I will say even though i have finished the book i am still unsure if i liked it or not!😂

In many respects it was a fun, easy read & had several laugh out loud moments. (Particularly, the actual engagement boat scene!) 🤫

The storyline portrayed young business woman eliza as deceitful and driven by her business succeding. However what i believe is, is it actually highlights the danger of modern life for the youngsters of today and how social media can soon send one's life spiralling out of control in an unrealistic, fantasy direction!

However, i do think the story lacked depth and needed more some oomphf! The suitor seemed way too reserved, gullible & laid back. Seemed to be very agreeable to anything in such short timeframe.

I have noted that many reviews suggest how manipulative, far fetched and awful eliza is as a character. These people do actually exist sadly! Haha🤦‍♀️
And it is supposed to be a light hearted romcom styleeee read afterall!

All in all, if you're looking for an easy read by the pool and dont take this character and plot too serious for example, i would recommend you give it a go.

Thanks to netgalley for my copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

🌟📖🎉👍🏻🌟


https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42201658-love-at-first-like

Enjoyable read. Would recommend to friends and family. I could sympathise with characters (important for any fiction novel!) and looked forward to picking it up and reading the next few chapters! Interesting plot line and a good ending. Will look out for more novels by the author. Thank you.

Love at First Like had a very interesting concept and it was a fun, casual read although the whole story line felt quite forced and I didn't like the whole fake marriage trope, it felt like the entire section of the book with the relationship with Blake was an entire waste of time.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this book in exchange for an honest review.

I expected a lot more than I got from this book. It markets itself as a sweet romance, but the main character is insufferable and spends most of the story lying to her partner and half-expecting him to be okay with all of her lies. This, again, is a massive case of miscommunication. I hate this trope, it's getting worn out and the only thing that really saved this book even a little for me was the best friend - who could do so much better than the protagonist. I wish it had ended better, with her ass in the dirt like she deserved.