I thought the cover/title combo was cute and the blurb sounded promising, but the writing really did not live up to the hype. Maybe it's a "me" thing, but the style of writing that The Last First Date is written in is so hard to read. I kept finding myself either confused or spacing off and not actually absorbing the plot. I gave it a few hours and then decided around to 30% that it just wasn't going to happen for me. I think this book falls into the Try It Out For Yourself & See kind of book! Who knows, you may love it!
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BLURB:
One date. One missed chance. One mission to find love.

At 31-years-old, Helen Pines is far from where she thought she would be. Whilst her ex-boyfriend is now engaged, Helen’s still eating ready meals for one, wistfully dreaming of her last first date. Determined to give online dating a go, she matches with drop-dead-gorgeous Brody, and they hit it off immediately.

One date later, Helen’s heart is still singing. Brody’s everything she’s looking for in a man – sexy, charismatic, and the perfect gentleman. But then she receives an error message on the app… all her contacts have been deleted.

With nothing but Brody’s name and job title to go on, Helen is determined to track him down. But despite the initial chemistry, Helen realises she knows surprisingly little about her mystery man… Was it really love-at-first like, or will she find a new love along the way?

This book took me a little by surprise. I thought I had the plot figured out early on (and wasn’t too interested in it as I assumed it would carry out a very predictable/overdone storyline), however I was happily mistaken. I found the storyline to be very creative, as an avid contemporary romance reader it can get quite boring reading about the same tropes repeatedly. Hayley Quinn was able to create a unique storyline that remained very relatable (in the best way possible) all the while keeping me on my toes throughout the entire read.
Overall, it was a very fun, quick read. 4/5⭐️

Thank you to netgalley and Hq for allowing to read this book.

It tells the story of Helen and her journey about herself and her dating lifestyle.
It’s a wonderful read I really enjoyed it, easy to read and what I would call a cosy read.
The characters all complemented each other, I really enjoyed Nanny G’s character.

There were a few twists and turns and how she such ages your opinion on the characters was great.

Never heard of this author before, but would definitely recommend this book to friends and family.

The author was pretty new to me and I couldn't adjust with the writing style. The first few chapters were so slow and because of that I couldn't connect with Helen at all. The pacing was really slow and I kept being bored by the long internal monologues. The whole plot about meeting Brody through a dating app was so interesting and the cover caught my attention but sadly I struggled to feel the chemistry between Helen & Brody (I loved Ish & Elle though). I do appreciate the positive message that this book tries to portray by exploring the feelings of a single thirty year old woman but I feel that it didn't utilise the story's full potential tbh.

Thank you Netgalley & HarperCollins for the ARC

Thank you to both Netgalley and HQ for the ARC of The Last First Date by Hayley Quinn.

Helen (the main character) finds herself as a single 31 year old stuck on her ex boyfriend who is now recently engaged. She decides to go on a dating app and meets Brody.

Brody and Helen have what they established as a last first date. While on the date she misses meeting her brothers serious girlfriend (sort of immature I thought) and becomes head over heels for Brody.

They decide to meet up for a second date, however they never exchange numbers and during this time the app crashes and erases all the matches/conversations prior to. Helen becomes obsessed with finding Brody and cyber stalks him just to see him again. During this time she meets Ish who ends up liking Helen for Helen and who she is. Brody ended up being just the guy who says what he needs to say…

The Last First Date is about finding yourself and the partner that you deserve not the partner you think you need. The love story between Ish and Helen was actually really sweet and realistic since they had more of a friendship first.

What I didn’t love about this book is the writing felt off to me it was written in third person and so many text messages between the characters. It made each character lack depth and none of the characters felt developed. I think if Hayley wrote it in first person from Helens point of view it would have created more passion amongst the characters.

What I did like was that it wasn’t predictable. I sort of thought Helen would find Brody and they would live happily ever after, but instead Helen found herself and her own voice. I also loved her Grandmas character and thought she was a great addition.

The end was a little off to me and it sort of ended in a instagram update? Not really sure what the author was going for in the end. It also took a little bit for me to want to continue reading (about 50% and then it went by fast). At the end I thought it was cute and an enjoyable read, but I wasn’t necessarily wanting more. 3.5 stars.

Thank you Netgalley and HQ Digital for the advance copy of The Last First Date by Hayley Quinn.
One date. One missed chance. One mission to find love. Can Helen Pines find her last first date?

At 31-years-old, Helen Pines is far from where she thought she would be. Whilst her ex-boyfriend is now engaged, Helen’s still eating ready meals for one, wistfully dreaming of her last first date.

Determined to give online dating a go, she matches with drop-dead-gorgeous Brody, and they hit it off immediately.

One date later, Helen’s heart is still singing. Brody’s everything she’s looking for in a man – sexy, charismatic, and the perfect gentleman. But then she receives an error message on the app… all her contacts have been deleted.
With nothing but Brody’s name and job title to go on, Helen is determined to track him down.

But despite the initial chemistry, Helen realizes she knows surprisingly little about her mystery man… Was it really love-at-first like, or will she find a new love along the way?

The Last First Date was a fun book in concept. I loved the idea of Helen trying to find her love after the dating app error. But The Last First Date did not live up to the concept.

Helen Pines’ character was childish. At gasp over age 30, she wanted to find love, but she was so childish in the way she went about it. She basically stalks Brody to try to find him after the app failed. I may have put that aside if during their date I felt a connection between the two of them. But there was very little conversation, and I could not understand why Helen felt she found her true love. Helen also was childish because she couldn’t say the word drugs or sex (she had to whisper them).

The supporting cast was also lacking. We saw Helen’s friends through mostly text exchanges, and I couldn’t figure out why these girls were friends. As I mentioned before Brody was a terrible character, but we didn’t really learn anything about him. The one highlight of the book was Helen’s grandma. I enjoyed her character and wanted more for her.

The book was also very slow. The plot twist did not happen until 60/70% of the way and when it did, I didn’t see the romance blossom. I also felt the ending was strange.

Overall, I was not a fan of this book. I felt the characters needed more development and the story needed cleaned up.

Have you read The Last First Date? Get your copy for a May 20th release.

As someone who also isn’t having the most luck with online dating i related to this book and to the hope of finding the one. The plot line was unique and constantly had me guessing what was gonna happen next. The writing did feel a bit out of place but it has great potential!

The Last First Date follows Helen, a single 30 something year old, who is finally ready to move on from her recently engaged ex-boyfriend. She signs up for a dating app and matches with a guy named Brody. They go on a date, all seems fine and dandy, then the app crashes and she loses all contact information with him.

After this, this is when I started to get annoyed. It began to get repetitive with her inner monologues and her obsession over finding Brody. Like girl, you went on one date. Because of this ,I found Helen so unlikable and annoying. Granted, towards the end of the story she had character growth but I checked out on her after her basically stalking Brody to find him again.

I will say that I really enjoyed the WhatsApp banter between Helen, Sophie and Elle. Reading their "texting" threads was the most entertaining thing to me. Also liked Nanny G. With all of this said, I didn't dislike this book but I didn't love it. It was a quick read at least. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 stars mostly because I liked Helen's friend Elle, even though they mentioned about a billion times that she was a 'hot Latina.' (This was also annoying! I get it. She's hot and she's Latina.)

Thanks to HQ and NetGalley for this ARC!

I was a bit disappointed with this book, I felt it dragged on and on and I found the main character quite unlikeable. Nanny G however was fab and I wish she’d played a bigger part! As the book got into the last quarter I felt it improved and I enjoyed the ending - it just took a long time to get there!
Thanks to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book x

Seriously, I actually enjoyed reading this book--not sure why this book has a low rating but for some reason, I thought this book was funny and cute.

Helen's ex boyfriend is engaged and Helen wanted to move on. She uses a dating online site where she meets a man named Brody. The two instantly hit off each other. But neither Helen nor Brody exchanged numbers or addresses. Now the dating app is no more and Helen couldn't get in touch with Brody and she and her friends must find this Brody. Meanwhile, while trying to find Brody, she meets a man named Ish. Now who will she choose?

I just like the multicultural background in this book--Ish is Indian (I think), Elle is Latina and Sophie is Chinese (I think). There were some funny parts in the book that will make you laugh out loud. The plot and the concept of the story is also great and unique and overall, I actually enjoyed reading this romance book. However, I felt there were some unnecessary part that kind of ruined the story but nonethless is was a good one. The ending was predictable but I actually enjoyed the reading.

If you like a cheesy romantic story with a happy ending and believe in online dating, this book is one for you--worth four stars!

Many thanks to Netgalley and HQ for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

Thanks to NetGalley & HQ for the e-ARC.
Well, I'm not sure I have anything good to say about this book. Oh yes, I did like Nanny G, even though she wasn't a big part of the story. Other than her, I didn't like any character. Helen was incredibly immature and basically a stalker whose woe-is-me can't live without a boyfriend attitude was extremely annoying. And the Latina stereotyping of her supposedly best friend was disturbing. Would have DNF'd this at many points in the story if not for leaving a NetGalley review.

I expected this read to be predictable and cute, but it wasn't overly predictable and it was definitely cute, but also I loved the theme of friendship in this story and the stories women tell themselves about where they should be in life and by when but also the impossible standards society and social media instill in us, making us feel like we aren't enough just the way we are. We all deserve to find someone who sees us for all our beauty. This story of Helen, her friends, family and love was a fun tale of how life has a funny way of working out even when it doesn't seem to be working out the way you think it should. I highly recommend!

**I was provided an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins.

This book has a great title and cover - both really made me want to read! While this was a quick, fun read, ultimately I didn't feel like the story lived up to the expectations at by the cover and description. While I somewhat related to Helen's struggles with online dating and her desire for that last first date, I didn't connect with the characters as much I'd hoped. That being said, I enjoyed parts of the story, and Ish was so sweet! I also thought the approach to the epilogue with life updates through Instagram was perfect!

This book follows Helen, who had finally decided to give love a go after seeing her ex's recent engagement. Upon signing up for a dating app, Helen matches with Brody and proceeds to have the best date with him. So good, in fact, that a second date seems guaranteed... until the app crashes and Helen loses Brody's contact. With the help of her friends, Sophie and Elle, Helen embarks on an adventure to find Brody and have her last first date. This adventure is full of family love, experiences Helen never would have imagined herself in, new friendships, and possible new love (that ISN'T Brody?!).

I received an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for a review!

At first, I found to find Helen rather unlikeable. One of the main reasons I found her to be unlikeable was her blatant judgement of her friends. She thought poorly of Elle for not wanting to settle down with a man, yet judged Sophie for doing just that because she thought Frank (Sophie's partner) was boring. Eventually I realized that Helen looked at her friends in this way because she was clearly envious of their attitudes towards love and dating and wished she had felt the same. Once Helen begin to get over her (somewhat creepy) obsession with Brody, I began liking her MUCH more.

I found her and Ish's friendship/relationship to be absolutely precious. Right off the bat I LOVED Ish. He was funny, charming, and memorable. He truly just seemed liked the guy everybody loves, and for good reason. Right from the moment that Helen met Ish I remember thinking "Helen! Go for Ish! He's the guy!" and found it incredibly frustrating when she didn't just do that. However, I think it was important for Helen to go through the experience with Brody the way in which she did for her to really appreciate Ish.

I won't bother giving Brody an entire section because he was really........... a tool. That's the best way I can describe him!

Overall, I really liked this book. The main character, that being Helen, was flawed and imperfect. She wasn't immediately likeable but I ended up rooting so hardcore for her in the end that I was squealing with joy at her happy ending. The side characters were absolutely AMAZING and I loved seeing the diversity among them - from LGBTQIA+ characters to people of colour. This book was really enjoyable and I thought everything ended on a really nice note.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐💫 (3.5)
Steam Level: 🔥🔥 (2.5- fade to black sex scenes)

Helen is convinced that she's unlucky in love after years of bad luck on dates and now finding out her last boyfriend is engaged. So when she connects with Brody through a dating app and has a memorable first date, she holds tight to the belief that she's found The One. Unfortunately, she wakes up to find that the app has crashed, leaving her with no way to contact Brody. Now she's determined to use what she knows in order to find him again and live happily ever after. Can she find her dream man or is she destined to be alone forever?

This story had an intriguing plot that had some similarities to Just Haven't Met You Yet by Sophie Cousens. Unfortunately Helen's story isn't quite as loveable, but it does have some interesting moments. This would probably fit better in the women's fiction category since the main storyline is focused on Helen accepting herself and changing her outlook on love. There were a few times when her attempts to find Brody came off as a bit desperate, and I think it's obvious early on that Brody might not be the perfect man Helen thinks him to be. My absolute favorite character in the story was Ish! He was so sweet and genuine, and I really wish we got more of him throughout the book. If the author had leaned into his moments with Helen and expanded upon that a bit, then this would definitely have gotten a higher rating from me.

Thank you to Netgalley and HQ Publishing for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

It was a cute plot (although predictable), our leading lady was relatable (sometimes annoying), our two male leads felt real, and I enjoyed the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for the ARC.

I received an ebook of the novel in exchange for an honest review.

The novel is a nice time saver from which I expected a bit more than I got from it. The adventures of the main heroine are engaging, although after the first dozen or so pages the reader starts to feel bored. The story is quite predictable, and I missed a bit more chemistry between the characters here, or even more interesting, funnier dialogues that would make me keep reading just because of the characters themselves. Meanwhile, I kept stopping myself from looking at the last pages to confirm my assumptions and reach for something more engaging.

Nevertheless, it is an undemanding, relaxing read. A novel for an afternoon and for improving your mood.

2.5/5 Stars for me

Absolutely adored this book with everything it entailed. Initially, I had a difficult time connecting (and even liking) the main character but then I realized how relatable she is and her character development was truly so elegant. We all crave human connection and the various relationships in "The Last First Date" meets those needs. Like most rom-com books, you kind of know where the story is going, but the way Quinn presents it leaves the reader nose deep and curious on the route we are taking. Excellent read and I recommend it to all.

I was intrigued by the cute cartoon cover and description for this book: 31-year-old baking vlogger Helen is on the search for her last first date, possibly with entrepreneur Brody. Unfortunately, this book completely missed my expectations.

(There were some things I didn’t like that I won’t hold against “The Last First Date”; I wasn’t a huge fan of the names of the characters in this book (Brody?!), they felt very bland or out of place, and there were some things that went over my head as an American reader reading a British novel, such as lingo and location. These thoughts have no impact on my review.)

Overall, the writing felt very bland and basic in this novel; there was a lot of repetition in Helen’s inner monologue and for a 31 year old she felt very immature and insecure, constantly thinking about her former relationship and comparing herself to other women around her, which is a toxic behavior. The pacing of this book was very slow because of this style and it was hard for me to get through and ultimately I wasn’t able to form a connection with Helen to even care if she got her HEA.

Was there a clear beginning, middle, and end? Yes. From about 30% in I could see the direction the book was going in, if it did take some drastic adventure detours along the way. This made it feel very predictable and diminished the connection between Helen and her beau, which then confused me at the end when she analyzes in a fleeting moment of self-reflection where she is in life and if she is happy. Very odd. The reader is constantly ten steps ahead of Helen and that makes it difficult to get through. There is little to no character development and all of the characters feel very flat. This book does not breathe life off the page.

Here’s what I did like: the setting, occupation, and epilogue. I like that most of the novel took place in London, where most of the characters live, or back in Helen’s family’s hometown in the countryside to provide a breath of fresh air both for Helen and the reader. I liked seeing Helen’s journey as an internet baker and how she tried to reinvent herself/become more comfortable with her work throughout the book. Instead of a chapter, the epilogue was descriptions of Instagram posts of different characters in the book, which I thought was very clever and got the point across for different milestones of the side characters.

I understand the sentimental relevance of including snippets of a World War II romance, but it had no relevance to the plot whatsoever and clearly felt out of place. I encourage Quinn to make that its own novel or novella instead to explore personal history and possible romance there. It does not fit well with Helen’s story, in my opinion.

The glaring red flag for me was the POC side characters steeped in stereotype and serving no real purpose other than being POC for diversity’s sake. It is incredibly harmful to perpetuate stereotype in underdeveloped characters! Side characters in this novel are British-Asian, British-Chinese, and British-Latina, respectively, but fall into many stereotypes. The British-Southasian character, Ish, is constantly described as having “Rolo eyes,” and gains his dance ability from a history in Bollywood-style dance. What is this obsession with describing Black and Brown characters with having edible characteristics? Let’s not do that. (Rich, deep, thoughtful eyes would have been equally effective adjectives without evoking gastronomic undertones.) I did not realize the character Sophie was British-Chinese until deep into the book, which doesn’t really matter, but there is a large section in which a point is made to highlight her heritage and Sophie’s father, who only speaks Mandarin, supposedly tells a story about a phoenix and a dragon that Helen doesn’t understand. This physically made me cringe. Finally, the British-Latina character, Elle, is known for constantly blowing guys off, her amazing dance skills, and calling everyone (and I mean everyone) ‘amiga’. This is a direct quote: “Latins - they basically get dance moves as a birthright”. I can’t begin to explain how problematic this is.

Thank you HarperCollins and NetGalley for offering me an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved how real and honest this book felt! I think so many of Quinn’s readers will really be able to relate to Helen and her dating experience. The pressures to find your person and to settle down ARE REAL and it was nice to have a character who truly represented that side of happily ever after; the jerks, the anxiety, the questions from family, the dreaded internal clock and the crazy lengths people will go to to find love!

I also really enjoyed how this book did not solely focus on Helen’s happily ever after, but also her personal growth - there was a real transformation in her self confidence and her approach to life and love and I think she had her sassy Nan (what a great character) and her fearless friends to to thank for that!

There was something about the timing that felt off while reading this one! There were parts of the story that dragged on a bit but there were also times when I wanted more hilarious adventures with Helen!

Overall, I quite enjoyed this read and think others will as well! A big thank you to HQ and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this fun, quirky love story in exchange for my honest review!