This book had a bit of a slow beginning but I have been in a bit of a reading slump so that could have just been a me problem. Helen should be super relatable to me as a 32 year old single gal but I was having a hard time connecting to the characters. Helen was obsessed with her ex. Once she learns he’s engaged, she tries to move on and starts online dating where she meets Brody. She goes on one date with him and he seems like the answer to her prayers. Skip to the next day, she learns that the dating app deleted all of her data and POOF Brody is gone. She then becomes obsessed with finding him and the idea that he’s the perfect guy for her. Along the way she meets Ish. He comes to her rescue and they begin to form a genuine friendship. Will she remain stuck on a fantasy or will what she’s looking for already be right in front of her? Overall this was a very cute story and I would definitely recommend if you love romcoms. Although be warned, if you’re looking for spice, this book is not for you.

Thank you NetGalley and HQ for sending me this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback!!

Thank you netgalley for ARC of this book for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
When I first saw this book I was excited to read it because of the cute cover. Than the description pulled me in completely, who doesn't want to read about finding your last first date.
As I started to read the book, it was hard for me to really get into it. The main character I felt was very immature for being in her 30s. Going on and on about her last ex really irritated me. Sometimes I felt like the focus of the writing went on to long to get to the point.
It was a cute story and cute cover, but with the writing and getting irritated with the character I wasn't drawn to the book enough to rate It more than 3/5.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book! All opinions are my own.

I gave this book 3.5 stars (rounded up to 4). I devoured this book as quickly as I could in between work and classes, and highly enjoyed it!

This book follows Helen, a 30-something-year-old who is chronically dating the wrong men. She decides to join a dating app and ends up meeting a seemingly perfect man. After their date, the dating app server loses all of its data, leaving her to have no way to get in contact with him. This book follows Helen’s journey to reconnect with her perfect date.

The plot of this book went in a completely different direction than I expected and I loved it! I think this book would have been cute had it been the straightforward plot I expected, but the unexpected plotline kept me on my toes, leading me to enjoy it even more.

I think the way Helen views dating and her singleness is probably relatable for many (myself included). I think Helen’s personal growth and relationship with herself were refreshing and lovely to read.

Nanny G was an incredible addition to this story, especially after reading the acknowledgments and finding out that she was based on the author’s actual grandma! She was funny and sweet and I enjoyed her very much. I loved seeing Helen’s relationships with her friends Sophie and Elle, although I will admit I didn’t like Elle’s character at all when I first started this book. She grew on me with her ride or die attitude towards Helen as the plot progressed, but I found her to be rude and unsupportive at the beginning.

The dialogue sometimes felt forced and awkward in this book, but not enough so that it took the enjoyment out of it for me. I also noticed a handful of grammatical errors, but that can all be looked past considering this is an ARC.

Overall, this book was lovely. It was a super quick and easy read that made me smile. I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a short and sweet rom-com with minimal spice.

The Last First Date started off somewhat slow and cliche, but grew to be everything I love about British Chick Lit. Helen is a loveable main, who might make many questionable choices about love, you have to be on her side and rooting for her!

An ideal beach read!

The story is that of Helen, a recently single woman searching for a new love. As the usual story goes, there's a frog and a prince, she just has to work out which are which!

I enjoyed the developing relationships and really loved the comradeship between girlfriends within the story, the use of social media was really great and helped date the story.

The setting of both Cornwall and London kept it interesting and the pace moving well.

Overall an enjoyable read.

I’ve rated this book 4.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

With a title like The Last First Date, I began reading with the idea that I knew how this story was going to go. I felt a connection to the main character and her friends straight away. Helen is in her early 30s, suffering from severe confidence issues brought on by a disappointing former relationship and never really feeling good enough. As she navigates a new prospective relationship with Brody, who is the opposite of her in almost every way, she struggles to be authentic because her desire for a relationship is prioritized over being herself. Her insecurities are obvious but not grating, and exacerbated by the world online: a blogging career, a tendency to stalk social medias to the detriment of her mental health, and online dating. The author did a great job of capturing all of the anxiety that exists for a millennial in this arena.

Without spoiling it, I’ll say I enjoyed and appreciated the conflict in this story because it felt genuine. It wasn’t just Helen’s struggle to fall into a relationship, but her maturation and realization that values and authenticity are priorities above burning passion/head games/thrill and adventure, which is often not reciprocated.

In the full version of this story, I hope the reader gets maybe a little more steam, or at least some expanded scenes with dialogue on what makes Helen feel most comfortable, secure, and loved in her new relationship. The pace of the story was great in the beginning but fell off a bit towards the end for me. I was hooked though, and read almost in one sitting, less than a day!

Thank you to HQ Digital and NetGalley for giving me this eARC in exchange for an honest review. As requested, I will post this review on Amazon on publication day.

***Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins UK and Hayley Quinn. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own.***

This was a quick, cute read that I wished had slightly more depth. There were parts of Helen’s character that I could relate to and others I couldn’t, parts where I felt bad for her and others where I was proud of her. My problem with her is that she was very hard to get a read on. She seemed so desperate and almost stalkerish at times. I liked her best friends and thought the story could have used more of them. I liked Ish and loved that he wore his heart on his sleeve. Nanny G was a hoot. Brody was kind of a smoke show that distracted far too much from much more worthy parts of the story, though I understood why the author chose to use him and thoughts of him as much as she did. This is a story of growth more than a last first date. It’s just too bad it really did seem like Helen’s growth required a partner. There were lots of cute touches and scenes, including the ending, but it did make for a slightly choppy storyline.

Unfortunately this book was not for me. The writing was choppy and often jumped from topic to topic. This made it hard to follow what was happening in the story. When Helen finally connected with the love interest I did not feel any chemistry between them, and I was not invested in their storyline.

The language used to refer to Helen's best friend Elle was stereotypical and unnecessary. Elle is Lantina and is referred to as "spicy" and "fiery" repeatedly throughout the book. She says she can dance because it's in her blood, and people who she's just met call her Amiga. Stereotypes like this are harmful, and I can't support a book that perpetuate them. I am hopeful the author will change these in the final version.

Thank you to NetGalley, HQ Digital, and Hayley Quinn for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book is so good!!!! I was hooked from the start. I love coming across new authors to me as it gets me excited about what’s to come!!

Helen feels like an old spinster after her ex-boyfriend gets engaged and she sees the post on instagram. She decides to try online dating and has an amazing first date with Brody while visiting her hometown. After that first date, the dating app has a data issue and all matches/information is gone. At this point in the book, Helen becomes very obsessive with trying to find Brody again. Along the way, she meets Ish, who protects her while she's walking home alone one night and they start a friendship. Ish helps Helen track down her grandma's past love. Is the last first date the amazing one with Brody or what is standing in front of Helen with Ish? I did like the overall story, but the neediness and the way Helen obsessed over a guy she went on one date with was a bit much for me. Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Last First Date

Sweet, funny and extremely heartwarming, this book is sure to capture all the romantics at heart.

This book didn't go in the direction I thought it would, and I was totally ok with that!
I would have liked alittle more detail in the opening chapters regarding Helen and Brody as we had alot more telling of their connection than actually seeing, so it was alittle hard to feel it. They had this great first date but it was slightly brushed over!

I found Ish to be super adorable and I was secretly rooting for him as the book went on!
There was also some great female friendships in this book, and who can forget Nanny G?! Helen also goes through alot of personal growth which I always like to see in my stories!

This was an easy read that is perfect for them days you just want to relax and get lost in the story.
I really enjoyed it!

The Last First Date

Another ARC courtesy of NetGalley and HQ 💛

The Last First Date follows the life of Helen, a woman on a mission to find the love of her life and her last first date.

This book was a really sweet and easy read that was both endearing and fun at the same time. It had a real sense of a typical rom com to it and all the characters had a very cosy comforting vibe to them. I really enjoyed Helen’s relationship to her friends and family and found this book a very wholesome read.

The only issue I had was that I found myself cringing at many points in this book. I found Helen’s character to be quite immature at many points and I found it quite difficult to like her. I also felt she was a very needy person and that she used and relied very heavily on her friends.

As you probably know by now - I love a bit of angst and tension and that was somewhat lacking in this book. I wanted there to be a bit more drama and excitement so that I became fully invested in the characters and plot.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 from me! Def one to try if you want a quick easy fun rom com 💛

https://www.instagram.com/p/CcijzsGLzZ6/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Mein Leseerlebnis

Das Buchcover sah einladend und süß aus, dazu sprach mich der Klappentext direkt an, da habe ich mit Vorfreude zugegriffen.

Beim Lesen habe ich aber leider schnell gemerkt, dass die Geschichte nicht mein Fall ist. Der Humor der Autorin hat meinen zu selten getroffen und Helen fand ich als Heldin der Geschichte eher bemitleidenswert als faszinierend.

Zu Beginn des Romans trauert sie immer noch ihrem Ex hinterher, der vor einem Jahr mit ihr Schluss gemacht hat. Die Beziehung hörte sich alles andere als gut und gesund an, nur Helen kann das nicht sehen.

Darauf aufbauend entwickelt sich die Geschichte. Im Verlauf des Romans kam ich mit Helen zwar etwas besser zurecht, aber so richtig habe ich mich beim Lesen nie für sie interessiert.

Nicht funktioniert haben für mich auch die Passagen mit Textnachrichten oder Instagram-Posts. Beides hat mich eher verwirrt als amüsiert.

Alles in allem hatte ich ein eher mäßiges Leseerlebnis, immerhin gab es hier und da Szenen, die mich leicht lächeln ließen und mich einigermaßen gut unterhalten konnten. 🖤🖤1/2

Für wen?

Schaut euch den Klappentext an und lest bei Interesse unbedingt eine Leseprobe. Findet ihr Helen in dieser interessant und nicht nervig, könnte der Liebesroman etwas für euch sein.

A grand, zippy book that was enjoyable overall but some bits were hard to read – the protagonist's feelings of inadequacy are really strong and was pretty heavy for a zippy book.

This should have been a light, fun, and quick read based on the premise of the book. Unfortunately, I did not connect with or really like the main character. She seemed quite immature and not at all what I think of when I think of a young woman in her 30s. Her chasing after Brody seemed a bit stalker-ish and I just grew tired of that narrative within no time. I rarely give a negative review and will not post this review on social media out of respect for the author. This book just wasn't a win for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advanced reader's copy of this book. This in no way affects my review, all opinions are my own.

The Last First Date, was a fun and light hearted read! It’s hard for me to write a full review without giving away too much. I loved the chase Helen was on to find love and I love how the author took a dive into some pretty emotional and real topics that happen in the world of social media and dating nowadays. I do feel like some of the writing was pretty choppy. There were a few times I had to flip back and forth to make sure I hadn’t previously missed a paragraph, and I hadn’t. I did enjoy the storyline, however I was hoping for a bit more. I loved reading at the end that Nanny was inspired by the authors grandmother! All in all it was a good light hearted fast read!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Wow, does Hayley Quinn have a window into my diary / texts with the girls? She captured all of the anxious thoughts we have as single 30-something women forced to engage in the online dating scene. I can think of multiple texts I have with my bestie building someone up in our heads only to be let down by reality. In the end, I really appreciated the message of the book—we do need to try to find peace in being single and appreciate what we have while we have it. We need to strive to avoid allowing others / society to make us feel like we are doing something wrong. I only give it 3 stars for two main reasons: the pacing and the characters. For a short book,it took me awhile to get through because I kept getting bored with the internal dialogue. Additionally, although the the themes were relatable, the characters were not. So much else about the book felt normal—can we please stop with making characters successful influencers? That’s not the only thing millennials relate to—in fact, most of us don’t relate to them! And if we gave our protagonist a run-of-the-mill job, then her feelings of being average or ordinary would feel like they came straight from my diary that I write after a long day in front of my computer in the office. Which is what she achieves with every other part of the book.

I ended up having to put this book down before finishing, unfortunately. The main character Helen, came across as incredibly desperate and naïve throughout and it made continuing a struggle.

I believe it also only needed to be mentioned once that she had a Latina friend. Maybe not every time she came up in the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ Digital for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars for this romantic comedy!

I was debating the half star because, though I enjoyed the overall story, the writing felt rushed. I didn't connect with the characters that much because of it. I don't mind books being short and sweet, but in this case I felt like I was missing something by the end.

Apart from that, the book is easy to read, sweet and a lot of us can probably relate a bit with Helen (though at times I wanted to scream at her or something).

A cozy Sunday read for sure!

This book is so funny, it is the perfect book for a light read that put you in a good mood. I fell in love with the characters and what they went through to find love. This is a must read especially if you want to laugh! This book is well written. Would definitely recommend to anyone.