Hannah's best friend has a great married life and family but her business of a dating app that potentially allows people to right swipe on who they would want to marry and consequently blind date a fiancé. Like a good buddy, Hannah decides to marry the 'right guy' according to her best friend's app and help save this business through such publicity.

Sure, the concept is intriguing but the expectations set up were unfortunately not met. Predictability took over the exciting premise it could've faired well on, and the main characters were always overshadowed by the merely more relatability of one side character - Hannah's best friend, Jess, who was the most authentic. Furthermore, the arranged marriage trope wasn't backed with enough grit to make one feel the need for it; the underdeveloped romance only made it more disappointing.

Though, the one-dimensional personalities of the characters do allow one to read through this story quickly and the lack of enough substance to keep one hooked makes it a good beach read but only when there's no other book you can fit in your beach bag.

I would like to add that a large part of this reaction to the story is slightly influenced by my personal annoyance at the casual undertaking of a marriage where one doesn't know the other person enough or at all. While the blurb does exactly promise that, I did expect some sort of realistic observations, if not conclusions, around blindly marrying someone. Especially when scenes that could've perpetuated the idea of romantically belonging to each other or being intimately inclined towards each other were not painted with clarity. I would've appreciated this story way more if Hannah's childhood with divorced parents had faintly affected her decision to do what she surprisingly did with way more enthusiasm.

Basically, this might be a great read for some but it clearly wasn't for me. And it could've been the next most fun romantic-comedy premise with a reality TV show undertone but the romance, comedy, and reality was lacking.

➞ full review shall be posted on goodreads + blog in february 'twenty-one ←

Hannah is a free spirit, steeped in wanderlust. When she finally comes home and starts working with her best friend, Jess on her dating app. Jess is very much grounded with her husband of twenty years, a set of energetic twins and running a small business keeping her busy. But when Jess’ app isn’t as profitable as she’d hoped, Hannah comes up with the perfect plan to get things back on track: use Save the Date to set Hannah up with the perfect guy who she won’t meet until the day of the wedding and broadcast it for the world to see. But as tensions rise and the nerves set in – can you swipe your way to true love?

As a secret fan of the TV show Married at First Swipe, I was immediately drawn to this book. It’s a warm, light-hearted read and fun to curl up with at the weekend. I did like how the book focused on Jess and Hannah’s friendship and family dynamics as opposed to the relationship itself. I really liked Jess’ character – she’s a mother, a businesswoman, a wife, a friend, I can see how she must have struggled juggling so many roles and expectations from people. I also really valued how she took that time for herself when she went away, it’s important to remember that sometimes you do need a break and you shouldn’t feel guilty about taking it.

I’ll admit that I didn’t connect to Hannah’s character as much, I feel like we didn’t get to know her ‘on the inside’ as much; with Jess, we found out a lot about her emotions, how she feels about her business, her husband, her children and their relationship, but with Hannah I feel like we didn’t get to explore her motivations enough, other than the pressure she feels from those around her to stay in one place. Also, I feel like we didn’t really get to fully address why she feels the need to ‘run away’ and travel so often anyway, I feel like it should have had a root somewhere.

I thought the story was cute, and Toby seemed nice. I think overall it hugely didn’t stand out as a story for me, in that I didn’t connect with many of the characters and the plot could have been a bit more dramatic at time to really push the characters into action. I could recommend it as a nice holiday read, but I probably won’t read it again.

A special thanks to the team at Simon & Schuster for making this available as a digital ARC on NetGalley.

Married at First Swipe is a timely, enjoyable read which fits perfectly with the abundance of reality shows that have taken over our screens with a similar concept.

Blind date at the altar and saying I do. Not just your future but your best friends company. Set up by her oldest friend to boost the profile of her dating app. Idolising her best friends marriage and not being able to see any cracks and resentment emerging. Doesn't sound like a good read but oh yes if definitely is. You will recognise a bit of yourself or a friend in all the characters. Follow the story and keep your fingers crossed for the ending. Loved it. Looking forward to reading more by the author.

I found the book to be just ok. It was so predictable and you could pretty much see the ending coming a mile off. I wouldn't call it funny or laugh out loud and found it quite cringeworthy in places. I really struggled to find any of the characters believable and some of the dialogue was so perfect that you know it would never happen that way in real life. I was a bit disappointed after all the hype.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster for letting me read Married at First Swipe in advance! After looking at Goodreads reviews, I kind of knew that this wasn't going to be a favourite - I'm not a fan of commercial fiction that isn't rom-com, and I knew that Married at First Swipe was going to be less focused on romance than I'd originally hoped. I flew through this, but I did think it was a shame that the whole 'married at first sight' angle wasn't explored more, and some parts (like the wedding and the honeymoon) were skipped over. Sadly it just wasn't for me!

This book must have had something because it did hold my interest for the most part, but oh, it could have been so much better. There was a lot of telling (rather than showing) and it was done through the dialogue. The long conversations between Hannah and Jess were boring.

I think the author made a big error beginning the book with Hannah walking up the aisle. Perhaps the story would have been better starting with the wedding but then dealing with the aftermath, rather than going back to how the arranged marriage came about.

I'm not sure why Jess was given chapters of her own. I found her story boring and a tad irritating. Why not just communicate with her husband?

Perhaps Toby, Hanna's new husband should have been given chapters instead. I didn't buy into their relationship, and the ending was a surprise to me and not altogether believable.

With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In this book we follow Jess who owns an online dating app called Save The Date and her best friend Hannah who decides to find herself a husband using Jess' app but with a bit of a spin to it.... The first time she meets him will be at the altar.

Married at first swipe is the perfect light hearted read and in a world where online dating is so huge I loved that this was the centre of the book. I also really enjoyed seeing the book from the perspectives of both Jess and Hannah. Jess has been married for 20 years to her childhood sweetheart but what looks like a perfect and happy marriage from the outside was actually greatly suffering and Hannah who had just gotten married to a man she had never even met! Whilst in very different situations both were navigating their way through marriage and finding the perfect balance between everything. It was nice to see views from both of them. This book was a fun, light hearted and quick read. Especially if you're a fan of the hit reality show married at first sight then I'd definitely reccomend this book.

A light hearted read which i devoured pretty quickly. Imagine never meeting your fiance until your at the altar?! I was really rooting for Hannah and Toby, the bride and groom, and I was pleased with how the story ended.

This book took me ages to read and get into. The last third was really good, the character Jess was very relatable. I wish we had had more time with Hannah and her husband. It seemed there was this huge build up to the wedding that went on and on and then we didn’t get to see much of them together. I’m glad there was an Epilogue to show us a little more about what happened in their future but maybe that could ha e been in the main body if the book and the epilogue show what happened 5-10 years down the track. Anyway once I got into it it was a good read

In order to save her best friend's dating website, Hannah agrees to a "blind date " wedding. She marries Toby after only receiving a few messages from him. Will this marriage work? Written well, without the expected sudden fall in love that the reader might expect. Hard to put down because the reader gets no clue whether it will work out or not....

A fantastic book that is so relatable to life with social media. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Witty and engaging. I really couldn’t put it down

Seems to be the way that modern day relationships are going, our first meeting of our partner will be at the alter! This was a very funny, cute read.

Thanks Claire and Netgalley for allowing me to read this! I loved it!

Married At First Swipe - Claire Frost - Release date Feb 2021. **contains spoilers**

The concept of this story - marrying a man you’ve never seen but a dating app algorithm says you’re perfect for each other - was really good.
Personally I just didn’t think the story was up to it. I think the focus was too much on the build up to Hannah and Toby’s wedding, it would have been nice to see the characters develop together and fall in love organically after the wedding. Maybe explore their growth that way but instead you see them struggle, have one conversation and then flash forward to everything being fine.
I found the writing style to be more tell than show which didn’t suck me in and encourage my imagination.
I also felt that there was no consistent flow. It was either sped up or dragged out.
I did like the story from Jess’ side, I found her and her husband Tom really relatable and was rooting for them from the start.

This book focusses on two best friends, Jess and Hannah who are chalk and cheese. Jess is married to her childhood sweetheart and has two children as well as a dating business and Hannah is single, spending most of her twenties travelling. The plot begins where Jess's business, a dating app for those wanting to find someone to marry, is failing and Hannah decides she will have a 'blind wedding' arranged through the business to find love and also save the business.

I enjoyed reading this book and liked the premise of the plot as this is different and original to other romantic comedies I've read. I liked both main characters and found them both relatable, Frost did a good job at making both down to earth, also adding a number of everyday problems readers can connect with. Chapters were also told by both characters points of view which I feel always helps a reader understand a characters actions.

At times, I did find it difficult to follow the plot, particularly when time had passed as I didn't feel this was always made clear. In addition, although I liked how Frost touched on some difficult topics I do feel these didn't have that much depth but I appreciate that this would have made the plot heavier.

This book is a fun, light-hearted and original read that I enjoyed and managed to read quickly. I would definitely recommend this for fans of Mhairi McFarlane and Laura-Jane Williams.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster UK for a copy of this book in exchange for my review!

The blurb of this book made me think that I'd really enjoy it. Unfortunately, I didn't because while the idea was great the execution just wasn't. Spoilers ahead.

I didn't believe in the premise. There was no real romance and the eventual coming together and probably staying together of Hannah and Toby didn't feel real or even right. Given the way they didn't bond at all I was hoping that the "lesson of the story"would be that these things are difficult and it's unlikely that you'll want to stay married to someone you know so little about and who turns out to be a bit controlling and unwilling to speak about their past and what's brought them to where they are now. I didn't believe in Hannah and Tony's future and was surprised that they weren't heading toward divorce. That would have made sense. The sudden coming together of two such different people made no sense at all.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this book, I generally like the majority of books I get through you and can at least find something to like about them. Unfortunately, this one fell flat in every way.

A novel that follows the lives of two best friends Jess and Hannah. Jess has been happily married for 10 years been with Tom her husband for 20 years. Hannah has never settled down she has travelled the world an only returned home when her nephew was born
Jess has set up an app to help people meet the one! And Hannah has started working for her but the app isn’t bringing in the money and Jess is stressing so they decide to find a husband for a Hannah
So Hannah is banned from all social media and told to deal with emails and new members whilst Jess and her hubby search through all the men who had volunteered to marry Hannah on first sight
It took awhile but they found the perfect man Toby Hannah was constantly pressing Jess for info but Jess was throwing herself into this wedding
Then the day arrived with Jess having her own problems she pushed them away to bring joy to Hannah
But would it be the perfect matching and would they fall instantly in love? Would Jess sort her and toms problems out?
A lovely warm hearted novel that was a pleasure to read

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster UK for giving access to this E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Married at First Swipe is a timely, enjoyable read which fits perfectly with the abundance of reality shows that have taken over our screens with a similar concept.

Hannah, working for her best friend's dating app Save The Date, decides that to save the business, she will allow it (or rather her friend) to match her with someone through the app. The only difference will be that their first date will be their wedding day.

The novel does play on a lot of tropes within contemporary romance, but it does done well and results in a unique tale which is equally about friendship as it is about love. Think a modern day Bridget Jones, with less whining and more relatability.

Hannah's character can be grating at times, though this adds to what makes her realistic - she is messy, she blames others for her problems and sometimes she runs away from said problems. Yet all of this works together to create a well rounded character who the reader is rooting for from the beginning. Both she and Jess, the best friend with the perfect marriage, are enjoyable to read as the narrative switches between their chapters and provides a fun background for the upcoming nuptials.

The ending is understandable and, some would say, written like a scene straight from a movie - and, perhaps, that is Frost's goal - but for myself it lacked finality, and as a result was one of the weaker aspects of the novel. Nevertheless, this was still a fun read and one which may inspire another attempt to read contemporary romance.

This story was really different and not what i would normally read - i really enjoyed it and laughed lots while reading it - i could also imagine it being made into a movie.

This is such a topical book because of the nations love of spectator dating. The main characters were fun and mainly faultless making it an easy read and the storyline easy to follow.
A lovely lifting book