This book wasn't requested by me, but Netgalley was kind enough to provide it, so I gave it a shot.

The Launch Date was a sharp, fun workplace romance that gave major The Hating Game vibes but still carved out its own space. Bitter rivals working at competing dating apps, stuck in a high-stakes race for a promotion, with serious chemistry brewing underneath? Oh yeah, I was into it.

The banter was great, the tension slow and satisfying, and the whole dating-app war backdrop was refreshing and fun to read. What really stood out to me, though, was Grace. Her journey from being a worn-down, overlooked people-pleaser to a confident, no-nonsense powerhouse was the highlight for me. I loved watching her find her voice and stop shrinking herself for others.

The book lightly touches on how women—especially older women—get treated unfairly at work, and while it could’ve gone deeper, I appreciated the attempt. As for the romance? It was a solid slow burn with some spice, though I did wish the payoff at the end packed a bit more heat.

Still, for a debut, this was witty, charming, and surprisingly empowering

This was an easy to read Rom com very reminiscent of the hating game but better. I found both characters to be more likeable and actually enjoyable in this book. This is a really well done rivals to lovers and it had the perfect amount of hateful banter. I didn’t love the fact that Grace was such a pushover because it’s just funny that it’s always women in books portrayed as submissive. Other than that really good book

Liked it . Due to health issues cannot not but will write a proper review at a later time
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I really enjoyed this book. My favourite trope is friends - enemies - lovers so this definitely ticked the box there. I was most impressed with the quality of the writing - the story flowed, the characters leapt off the page, the pacing was spot on and it was intelligent and witty.

Decided to give this book another go and I’m actually so glad I did! I loved the forced proximity and enemies / rivals to lovers. I really enjoyed the writing and felt the pace of the book was good and realistic and therefore it only took me a couple days to read!

The chemistry and tension is so so good and overall it made me want to read more romance which is GREAT.

Fun debut!

What to expect: Workplace rivals, fake dating, slowburn... all tropes I LOVE!

There was great banter and spice between the MCs and don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the book.
It was sadly though a little predictable and similar to others so I found myself comparing it to others.

Still, a fun rom-com and I'm looking forward to more from the author!

3.5 stars.

This is a light-hearted rom-com with great banter and a charming lead. Some plot points feel a little predictable, but the humour and romance is very fun and more than makes up for the predictability.. If you’re looking for a sweet, feel-good pick me up, this book is a great choice!

Enemy’s to lovers, workplace romance, hate you love you kinda vibes.

Was a good story , easy to get through however it’s very similar to other books of the same nature so it gets a little samey / repetitive which isn’t so much the authors fault but more so the tropes in general.

Enjoyable, just … similar. Would defo check this authors future books out though for sure !

a great debut novel from this author, a girl hates boy falls in love kind of book.
perfect to lose yourself in, with a hint of spice included with some great writing

I DNFd this and I’m still upset that I just didn’t vibe with it. I loved The Hating Game and went in expecting to feel that kind of energy again, instead I found myself comparing this book and it not quite living up to the mark for me.

I’ve seen so many great reviews for this and I can see why people have loved it, sadly it just wasn’t for me right now.

That being said I’ll definitely pick up Annabelle’s books in the future.

Thank you for the chance to read 💕

A fun, witty and sharp workplace romcom. I ate this up. The 10/10 smut is the result of a delicious slowburn. Will recommend to everyone who will listen 🙌

This novel reminded me very much of The Hating Game and I read it in two sittings. It probably has its faults but I enjoyed it so much that I can’t tell you which faults there are. I love the enemies-to-lovers trope and the concept of the fake dates is just delightful. A great and fun romance novel, definitely a recommendation!

Firstly thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"The Launch Date" has great plot potential, but for me, it fell a bit flat. The story felt too long, and the excitement was lacking. I didn’t feel very connected to the characters, and it was a bit too focused on the workplace setting.

Unfortunately. I dnf'd this book at about 33%. There was just too many things that didn't work for me. Grace was frankly a mess, I'm still not sure what Eric did to earn her dislike to me it felt he didn't do anything. The book is reminiscent of the Hating Game or the Spanish Love Deception where a misunderstanding is blown out of proportion. Like just talk to one another. Also, they're competing for the same role so this is more rivals to lovers than enemies to lovers. I'm tired of this, you can't have proper enemies to lovers in a contemporary romance so why call it something it's not.

Thank you to Transworld for the eARC for my honest opinion.

Thank you Netgalley and Bantam Books for this DRC -

Grace Hastings and Eric Bancroft both work on dating apps, but they couldn’t be more different. Grace is tired of love and hasn’t been on a date in months, while Eric is renowned for having a new girlfriend every week. When they have to work together to develop a new dating app and compete for a promotion, they find out that they may not be so incompatible after all…

I was so intrigued by this premise and the tropes in this book - a workplace romance with fake dating and rivals to lovers? Perfection. This book scratched all the itches that The Hating Game didn’t for me. I loved the writing style and how natural everything felt - the pacing for spot on. I’d love to see what else Annabelle Slator comes out with!

An enemies to lovers workplace romance, the story of Grace and Eric. Going on fake dates with Eric to keep her job puts Grace out of her comfort zone, but when she gets to know him will she change her opinion of him? A fun read.

I really enjoyed this fun workplace rivals book. It’s been a while since I read a workplace romance and I always find it so hard not to compare to The Hating Game. I was really pleased that the story felt very different and in fact they had this element of previous friendship which made the rivals element less severe which I also preferred.
I found this such a fun read and Eric is a very likeable MMC. It was a real sloooow burn but the wait was so worth it. I found the end third was a little rushed and would have liked to see some of those scenes around them choosing each other to be fleshed out more.
Overall a really great read and I’ll definitely be keeping my eye on this author in the future.

Grace and Eric have now become my favourite enemies to lovers couple! The banter and the chemistry between them is top notch. Definitely filled a gap for me left by The hating game

a must read!

** Attention, minor spoilers**

I have to thank @BantamBooksUK for the invite to read this book in advance.
The Launch Date has all the classical elements someone who reads romance knows too well. And that's the good and bad aspect of this book.
I loved the message this story gives the reader: do not let anyone crush you under their feet, no matter how love or gratitude you feel for them. Anyone has a value and no one should diminish us. At the same time I loved the general idea of those dates (and it's clear Annabelle used to work for a dating app, because every dialogue was so detailed and clear in my mind), and the fact they were always different from one another. Not to mention that Eric is a really cutie-pie. I adored him so much and he didn't deserve all the harsh words Grace told him, not to mention how he has been treated for the majority of the time! That part was a little bit exaggerated and annoying, because he was always so nice I couldn't understand (even after the "explanation") why she had to treat him like that. So, I'm Eric team, yes.
At the same time, I think this book pays the price to have been published after a good amount of books with similar situations and plot points, and unfortunately I didn't find much memorable scenes to be sure I'll remember it in the future, even if I really appreciated some passages. In some moments I read faster because I was bored.
In addition to that, we brush the theme of toxic relationships without really deepening it. And it could be an option if done with more attention, but we go from seeing through flashbacks that adorable moment when Grace met William, and then we find him depicted as an aggressive and possessive man. Of course people change or show us their real self after some time, but it was too sudden and not well played to give a relatable result, so I'm afraid he resulted being a two-dimensional character.

Anyway, this was an enjoyable reading and I think that, if this is a debut, Annabelle Slator has the potential for a brilliant growth in the future.

I really enjoyed reading this. It is super cute enemies to lovers work romance. Loved it. Thanks for this arc