I have to admit I felt a little skeptical about this one. But it surprised me! A heartwarming story with a good sprinkle of humour

Unfortunately this was absolutely not for me; this was honestly painful to finish and had this not been a review copy I'd have DNF before 20%. I must admit, romance is not my genre, and I only requested this novel because I like the author, having followed her on Instagram since her Made in Chelsea times - Georgia 'Toff' Toffolo comes across as intelligent, hilarious and endearing so I thought her novel would be far better than your average romance, but alas, it wasn't. I found this incredibly hard to get into and never truly felt like I was engaged in this read, only wanting to get to the end of it; I simply didn't care either way how this ended. None of the characters pulled me in and I thought they all fell a bit flat: Oliver was boring and felt fake; his actions and responses too stiff to be a real person. Victoria was a little better, with brief interludes of relatability, but I still didn't feel invested in her. I liked Victoria's friendship group and felt that was one of the only things that was quite real but the romance to me was stilted, forced and tedious. I suspect romance fans will have a better time with this, but even so think it is average at best even for someone that loves this genre. I, however, will stick with more thrilling reads, and remember not to request books that I'm not particularly interested in.

A lovely read. A heartbreaking story with a a happy ending, lovely characters and enough twists in the plot to stop you from putting the book down. I will definitely be interested in seeing what else this author comes up with.

Thank you to Mills and Boom for my copy of this book via Netgalley. I saw Toff on I'm a Celeb a few years ago and when I saw this book on netgalley the cover and the blurb drew me in. 

Meet Me in London is a cute emotional romance. Our main character is Victoria. She is a small-time designer who manages a bar to help pay the bills. She also teaches a small class on clothes designing. Victoria is haunted by her past. I really liked Victoria. She's one of those people that really cares. She wants to help people. the way she is with the girls in her class is just so sweet. 

Oliver is gorgeous. He's also a workaholic. I feel like Victoria really opens his eyes to the person he could be. He's quite closed off at the beginning of the book but the more time he spends with Victoria the more he opens up and becomes the man he wants to be. Also, the chemistry between those two is off the charts!

This is one of the books that is set near to Christmas but it's not Christmas with all the bells and whistles. It sort of runs in the background. The story could have been set at any time really. It is an uplifting light-hearted romance. 

I love Victoria's 'squad' as she calls them. They have been through so much and only they will understand. I'm so glad they managed to stay friends after what they went through. I am very excited to see where this series goes. I can't wait to see the other girls books.

I ploughed through this book, quicker than I have read any other book in 2020 and it was joyous. This book is the festive, feel-good romance that 2020 desperately needs. The plot and characters were fun and it was nice to read a romance novel where there was so much sexual tension, but it wasn't driven by that.  The main driver of this story is the budding romance between Victoria and Oliver, but for me, it is also a story about the love you have for your friends and the importance of friendship and family.

I really enjoyed this easy-read romance and was fully invested in the characters and the plot. I found myself celebrating all the little wins for each of the characters and really wanting them to succeed. The character development is also fantastic, with both characters going from being withheld when it came to romantic relationships and developing into people that understood the importance of communication and being there for each other.

Although this was a lovely, sometimes steamy, romance, Georgia did also tackle some really important topics, like infertility ("Victoria didn't measure her worth bu whether or not she could have kids. Shame that someone else did."), societal expectations, loss, the pressure's to 'settle down' ("By happy, she meant married. As if you couldn't be otherwise. Although he knew just as many people who were married and miserable as married and happy."), to name a few. With the more serious elements of this story there was some sage advice in the musings of Victoria and Oliver ("So many people thinking The One was the be all and end all of their lives, Victoria thought, with a little pang in her chest. As if being single was such a problem. She liked it. She liked the freedom, liked not having to compromise or worry about what the other person was thinking.".

I did only gave the writing style four stars as there was a lot of repetition of words and phrases that grated on me a little bit (but having said this, that does seem to be the case with a lot of steamy romances). This is a matter of personal preference and definitely doesn't detract from the novel, so don't let that sway you. 

This debut novel was a fantastic form of festive escapism for me and even though it was a romance novel, it also completely captures the magic of the count-down to christmas and the childhood memories it brings with it (both good and bad) and the wonder you tend to feel at this time of year ("When did we lose that innocence and pure joy of just being?").

Thank you Georgia Toffolo for writing such a lovely book, that provided me with an alternate reality to what is going on at the moment. I loved it. Can we have a follow up on Victoria and Oliver to see what's in their future, please?

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this eARC of Meet me in London, in exchange for an honest review

This was a lovely Christmas book with a believable and slow burning romance. I loved both of the main characters, I really connected with Victoria and loved that Oliver wasn’t stuck up despite being a billionaire. He was very down to earth. The storyline was interesting and unique with the fake engagement and I fell in love with Oliver’s lovely parents too. Gorgeous book with a gorgeous setting.

What do you do when your fake engagement starts to feel too real…

Aspiring clothes designer Victoria Scott spends her days working in a bar in Chelsea, and her evenings designing vintage clothes, dreaming of one day opening her own boutique. But these aspirations are under threat from the new department store opening at the end of her road. She needs a Christmas miracle, but one is not forthcoming.

Oliver Russell’s Christmas is not looking very festive right now. His family’s new London department store opening is behind schedule, and on top of that his interfering, if well meaning, mother is pressing him to introduce his girlfriend to her. A girlfriend who does not exist. He needs a diversion. Something to keep his mother from interfering while he focuses on the business.

When Oliver meets Victoria, he offers a proposition: pretend to be his girlfriend at the opening of his store and he will provide an opportunity for Victoria to showcase her designs. But what starts as a business arrangement soon becomes something more tempting, as the fake relationship starts to feel very real. But when secrets in Victoria’s past are exposed will Oliver walk away, or will they both follow their hearts and find what neither knew they were looking for…

I really liked Toff in the jungle and Made in Chelsea and thought her book would be fab! 

However, I was quite disappointed in this book. 

I felt that it had such a potential to be a great festive read, but it lacked the festive spirit and the cheer. I found it quite boring and repetitive in places. I found myself skim reading towards the end, which I hate doing, but this one just wasn’t for me.

Sorry, just couldn’t get into it.  Writing was dull and didn’t keep me entertained.  I’m always wary  when “celebs” write books and I could see from the pre-lim pages that Toff wrote this with someone else.  Like Katie Price’s “novels” it really annoys me when exceptionally good writers don’t get the recognition they deserve and instead the celeb does.  Have up after a chapter as not for me.

The two main characters in the books are Victoria and Oliver. After a chance meeting their worlds collide but this isn’t your normal romance novel. It has varying levels of emotions and readers should be prepared to laugh out loud and then cry at the turn of a page. If you have been following my reviews you will know that I need a book to have depth and not just the back and forth of a relationship. This book has important painful topics that are handled with relatability and realness. I really respected that the issues were in the book to start with. It made Victoria extremely real and I feel a connection to her.

A huge part of the book is community spirit and making sure the small business doesn’t get squashed by the bigger department stores. Right now with the limited means of going shopping out in the world. It’s a great time to remember all the small business online and on Amazon who would love to indulge your retail therapy needs. By supporting them you are putting food on their tables and keeping a roof over their heads.

I recommend this book to fans of Sarah Morgan. You will click instantly with Georgia Toffolo’s writing style. It’s superb and I was really impressed. This is book one in a series and I simply cannot wait for the next instalment.

Five stars!

What a great Christmas read! Made me feel full of seasonal spirit by the end. The book is a very well written romance with some serious undertones and complex relationships and friendships. 

I can't wait to read more from Georgia, she's a natural writer! 

One criticism I would give is that there were a few steamy romance scenes which were great and lots of build up but then the book cut away from the real action! A bit disappointing as I felt had some serious adult themes in the book so why stop there! Haha!

I flew through this and loved it! This centres around the characters of Victoria who is a fashion designer desperate to make it big, and Oliver who owns a department store. No spoilers as this is in the blurb... a chance meeting of the two leads to Oliver making a proposition to Victoria, will she pretend to be his girlfriend to keep his interfering family happy? 

I absolutely loved these two characters and the relationship between them, they are both really likeable and very well written characters. I also loved the fierce friendship Victoria has with her girls, and it reminded me of my own amazing girls 💕

This was a light hearted, fun and and enjoyable read with a great romance. I would recommend this to everyone! Will be snapping up the next one ‘meet me in Hawaii’ when it comes out!

Meet Me In London is a book from a genre I don’t really read and thought I’d made a mistake but I thought it was a really cute read and I did enjoy it.
Victoria Scott is a barmaid and a dress designer in her spare time although her dream is to drop the bar work but it’s hard to make a living being an unknown dress maker. Oliver Russell is openings big department store at the end of Victoria’s road and by chance bumps into Victoria. Fast forward a few weeks and she is pretending to be his fiancée to keep his parents happy. Victoria is a very caring person and I liked how the story unfolded and we got to know more about her and why she was so scared of commitment. Not everybody has a happy ending in life but it’s nice to know there is hope. 
An enjoyable read and liked the majority of the characters and thought it was a perfect Christmassy read.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Mills & Boon for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

Wow what a great romance story. I loved Victoria and her friends and how close they are despite what happened in the past. I really enjoyed reading about Victoria’s fashion and her dress making - I would have loved to have seen a photo of THAT wedding dress. It sounded incredible! 

There’s lots of chemistry between Oliver and Victoria and despite it being a business arrangement to begin with, I loved how the relationship developed. There were lots of cute ‘aww’ moments and I just couldn’t put it down. Can’t wait for the next one!

An entertaining, feel good romance with lots of personality, an engaging plot line and enjoyable characters.

As a debut novel it was ok but didn’t love it. 

The storyline was easy to follow but very predictable. I feel it was longer than it needed to be and some chapters lengthy detailed descriptions were unnecessary. 

Towards the end I scan read and didn’t miss any major plot twists. Nice but no substance.

I enjoyed meet me in London. I really liked how Oliver fell for Victoria practically from the start and how I knew it would be a happy ending but I think I’d have liked more chapters that I cussed Stella & Eric as they were what kept the book going from the middle towards the end. Midway through I was a little bored as it seemed to go in circles but then it picked up again once Stella & Eric came more into play. This was a jolly nice read and that’s all but I reckon that’s enough.

I loved this book, I was completely gripped from the first page. The main characters were warm and loving and I was immediately rooting for them. 
A real feel good book

Thank you to NetGalley and Mills & Boon for providing me with a copy of this book! 

This was my first read by Georgia Toffolo and I was first drawn to this by the cover (it's so pretty!) but the blurb sounding interesting too, plus Christmas! 

The two main characters Victoria and Oliver are hoping for a Christmas miracle in their own way. Victoria, who dreams of opening her own vintage clothing boutique whilst working a bar job in Chelsea; Oliver, who's new department store down the road is not looking good for its planned Christmas opening. Then when Oliver meets Victoria in the bar, he makes her a proposition that she feels she can't refuse... 

I haven't read many "fake relationship" books but this was quite predictable. I don't really have any strong feelings either way about it - I didn't hate it, I didn't love it. The storyline was believable, but the chemistry between the two wasn't explosive, or simmering. I did struggle to read it at points because some of the language used didn't really fit with the feel of the book and it felt like the author was trying too hard to come up with different words. 

The one thing I did feel was empathy towards Victoria and her fertility issues as it's something I can identify with. The introductions to her friends were a good addition and I'd like to read their stories. It did have a festive feel too - I've never been to London at Christmas but I could picture the setting in my head so Toffolo did a good job of that. 

Overall I feel I can only give 3.5* to this one as it didn't quite hit the spot for me.

This is your typical feel good Christmas romance, and it did not disappoint! I easily read this book in one sitting, literally could not put it down! Absolutely fantastic and would love to read more from this author!

Truthfully I put off reading this book but I definitely shouldn't have. What a wonderful lighthearted read. It is a Christmas and a romance in one and I enjoyed it all!
We meet Victoria and Oliver who meet one night in a bar, he is fed up of his mum trying to match make him and she is not wanting a relationship after her ex cheating on her. She is also hiding a secret from the past which puts her off getting into new relationships. We follow their story taking each chapter in turn with them both.
Its a beautiful story and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a lighthearted read. Plus Oliver sounds like the man of dreams too! 
Looking forward to Georgia's next chapter of these books!