I would've enjoyed this book more if not for... well, Tom. This book would've been so great because I was thrilled with the premise, I liked getting to know Nadia and I liked Bea, Ruth and Carole as side characters, but Tom's emotional immaturity when it came to him and Nadia was just frustrating. And I'm not saying Nadia was perfect, she made her own frustrating choices too. I really liked the friendship that this book portrayed, but I didn't like the romance.

This uplifting romance is a warm and heartfelt story about friendship, fate, and unexpected love. When Nadia and Tom are both stood up at Waterloo Station, a chance meeting sparks a connection that quickly turns into a deep friendship. As they fake-date for convenience, their bond grows, and they begin to wonder if their relationship could be more than they initially thought. A beautiful, tender tale about love appearing when least expected.

I used to live in Sutton, which meant that I could often get trains from Waterloo Station (you just had to change at Clapham Junction.). The clock is such an iconic place to meet that it was even memorialised in a romcom, the classic Man Up. So I love that our main characters meet there at a time of transition. Nadia is sick of being set up on awful first dates, while Tom is obsessed with a woman he met ten years ago. But there is something incredibly sweet about the romance that develops. Now that I think of it, not a lot of romances have the leads realising that they're each others best friends - but these two do, and they quietly and sweetly support each other.

This is really a cozy romance - even the eventual angst was of the light variety and when I finished reading this book, I just felt so soothed. This is a lovely coy escape for romance lovers. I'd recommend to fans of Sarah Adams or Lynn Painter.

I haven't read a book from Lovett in a while now and I'd forgotten how enjoyable her books actually are.

Meet Me Under the Clock is a slow burning romance replete with my favourite 'fake dating' trope.

I loved Nadia and Tom. Why did it take them so long? We could see it, why couldn't they? They were so perfect together! I'd love to catch up with them in a later book...hint, hint!

It's quite a short read, but the charm of the characters, their antics and the fact that it made me smile more than made up for that!

Absolutely loved it!

I was really looking forward to reading Jo's latest book, but this one fell flat for me. There was too much telling, rather than showing. The long sections of dialogue were so polite and quite boring at times. I didn't feel there was much in the way of chemistry between Nadia and Tom, and Tom was just ridiculous for being so hung up on some woman who he barely knew and hadn't seen for 10 years. The premise is good, the five strangers meeting at Waterloo Station, but there was little humour and I never really felt like the other characters were brought to life. Such a shame that the idea wasn't better executed. I did however, really like Nadia. With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When Nadia and Tom are both unceremoniously stood up by their dates under the clock at Waterloo Station, fate throws them together in the most unusual of circumstances. Tired of dating but always needing a plus one for weddings, parties, and the like, they agree to fake date each other. But as their pretend relationship starts to feel more real, Nadia and Tom begin to wonder if there’s more to their connection than convenience.

I loved how random this group of strangers met and formed a connection. It wasn't just Tom and Nadia. There was Ruth, Bea and Carole. Altogether they became the Waterloo Five. Naturally, Nadia and Tom formed their own connection.

I could feel the awkwardness bleed from the pages as their mutual attraction grew and they kept it hidden from each other. Understandably, unfinished business kept them apart but I loved how they bridged the gap in the end.

Thank you to Netgalley and Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Meet Me Under the Clock by Jo Lovett is a heartwarming and funny story romance story.
As with all her books I couldn’t put this down and read it in one sitting. An emotional roller coaster of a novel that gives you all the feels.
This story is easy to read and may appeal to fans of lighthearted romance, it fails to leave a lasting impression. It’s a missed opportunity to turn a unique premise into something memorable.
The perfect summer romance, filled with warmth and laughter. If you enjoy feel-good stories, this book is an absolute must-read! I can’t recommend it enough.

This was my favourite read of 2025 so far - heartwarming, humorous and at times heartbreaking with a loveable group of main characters and a good, steady plot.

1.5/5

I disliked this book. It was boring, nothing interesting really happened, and the characters were dull. MMC was hung up on his crush and never saw FMC and only when she decided to move on he was suddenly in love with her? And when she explicitly told him she doesn't want to see him, he made their mutual friend to trick her into meeting him?: Fuck that shit.

And FMC caving in after he manipulated her was so stupid, I hated that behaviour. Just stand your ground and move on, girl!

The dialogue was cringe and unnatural and very very awkward throughout the book. The inner dialogue was too.

The premise of Meet Me Under the Clock seemed really sweet. Nadia and Tom are meeting their respective dates under the clock at Waterloo Station and they both get stood up. Due to a potential terrorist attack (really?) the station goes into lockdown and Nadia, Tom along with three other ladies - Carole, Bea and Ruth all have to stay put under the clock. Carole has just found out that her husband has been cheating on her and elderly couple Bea and Ruth have just gotten engaged. They all strike up a friendship, go out for tapas and call themselves The Waterloo Five. I absolutely loved this little group and their camaraderie.

However, the book fell flat for me mainly due to the lack of chemistry between Nadia and Tom. Nadia was fun and vibrant and I loved how she had many hidden talents. But Tom, can we all agree that Tom was very bland and just seemed to have no personality? He moped for Lola until almost the very end and it was infuriating.

This could have been a really cute read had there been some chemistry and sans Tom's doormat personality.

I LOVE Jo Lovett's books. Some books are a bit slow to start, or they take me a while to get into them, for whatever reason. Jo's books are simply not like that.

Within the first couple of pages, I was hooked. The chance meeting under the clock at Waterloo station evoked an initial strong sense of place, one which stays throughout the book to the various different events and adventures that the newly formed 'couple' experience.

There is a wonderful depth to the characters, where we find out so much about Nadia and Tom as they find out so much about each other. Some people might argue that you don't need to know which football team they support or their least favourite food, but I definitely felt like these little details give characters a three dimensional quality that helps to totally sweep you into the story.

This is a beautifully written, unputdownable love story. It's quite clear, though not guaranteed, where this one is going but it really doesn't matter because Jo's writing brings you so much comfort, joy and entertainment. I loved it!

🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

Dear Jo Lovett,

Nadia plans to meet her blind date (a friend of a co-worker) under the clock at Waterloo Station. Tom is also meeting someone there – the “one who got away” ten years earlier. Lola and Tom shared an evening of connection a decade earlier but she was pregnant and with someone else so it wasn’t meant to be. But they made a kind of pact to meet up again if they were both available. Tom was delighted when Lola reached out recently, reminding him of their agreement. Neither Dougie (the blind date) nor Lola shows up however. Nadia and Tom do meet each other, as well as Roger and Carole – in the midst of the breakdown of their marriage because Roger is a cheating cheater who cheats and Bea and Ruth – 70-somethings who have realised they’re meant to be together and have just got engaged. When a terrorist threat closes down the station, Nadia, Tom, Carole (Roger is NOT welcome), Ruth and Bea hang out together and get to know one another.

This group of five become firm if somewhat unlikely friends as a result of that evening. Throughout the book, the group celebrate Bea and Ruth’s wedding (no time to waste at their age!) and Carole’s divorce.

Both Nadia and Tom are feeling under pressure from their peers and relatives about being single. Nadia has had a pretty disastrous dating life and she’s over people looking at her pityingly. The reason for Dougie’s no-show is humiliating while at the same time being evidence of a dodged bullet. Tom, for his part, pines over Lola for a lot of the book. Exactly why was a bit of a mystery to me. She didn’t sound all that wonderful to me and the more I learned about her the more that opinion solidified.

Nadia and Tom agree to be each other’s plus one at events and family gatherings to take the spotlight away from their singledom. Yes it’s fake dating but also kind of not? They tell everyone that they met under the clock at Waterloo Station and that it’s all “pretty new” and they’re seeing how things are going. It didn’t feel like all that much of a lie to me to be honest. But, both are racked by guilt about the deception. Ironically, in order to extract themselves from it, they end up telling quite a few more lies.

Nadia and Tom, on the face of it, don’t have a lot in common. But they get along well and, over time, it’s clear that there is more that connects them than what would keep them apart. Of course, Tom (silly goose!) is busy longing for Lola and takes altogether too long to realise what is staring him in the face. Sigh.

I liked Nadia very much. She’s bubbly and friendly and funny and sweet. (Not your stereotypical accountant.) I enjoyed her humour, her pluck and her bravery – but most especially her humour (and her love of Abba).

While I am always happy to join in, I am not a natural singer. It’s only because my voice is low that I don’t make people cry with my singing. I love music but the notes just don’t come out the way I was expecting. Nadia, though, her voice soars in a truly wonderful way.

‘You could have been in Abba yourself,’ I tell her when the song ends.

‘Yeah, kind of gutted not to have been Swedish in the nineteen-seventies. I love the flares and the platforms.’

Also, I liked Nadia’s unashamed love of sweets. I mean, she’s a girl after my own heart.

‘You’re an excellent present buyer.’

‘I will accept that compliment. And I would like to make it very clear that the present was entirely separate from the big favour that I’m about to ask.’

‘Tom.’ I purposely widen my eyes and drop my jaw. ‘Were you trying to buy my help?’

‘I was not. But I would say that if that’s what it takes I’m more than happy to buy as many jelly beans as you can eat.’

I shake my head. ‘I really don’t think any normal person could afford that.’

Tom is nice too. I liked him even when he frustrated me with his gagging over Lola.

What was good for Nadia about all this is that because she wasn’t really dating Tom at the start, she found herself standing up for what she wanted rather than pretending she enjoyed things she didn’t and challenging Tom to challenge his own thinking. I also liked that she was open to new things and between them, they made each other better.

There was something a little… thin (?) about the book. The story was fine – engaging and amusing and entertaining but there wasn’t quite as much …substance to it as I’d hoped. It wasn’t quite funny enough for the humour to carry the whole novel. I had the feeling it wanted to be a little more than what it was. Still, I enjoyed it well enough, even though I don’t think it’s one I’ll re-read.

I’m not really sure actually why I’m so struck by getting to know Nadia better. It isn’t her I’m getting to know better, it’s facts about her. She is the person I met on the Waterloo clock evening and the more I know her, the more she just seems her.

Grade: B-

Regards,
Kaetrin

Tom and Nadia both have time on their hands when they’re both stood up under the clock at Waterloo Station. I liked the group of friends that emerged and the deal brokered between Tom and Nadia to fake date.
Of course you know what ensues, but Tom was a major knucklehead. I thought he needed to be clocked over the head for his stupidity.
Lola was a real prize, not.
The ending is perfectly timed but Tom really did need to up his game.

Five strangers wind up coincidentally under the Waterloo Clock when a critical situation lockdown takes place. Two of them are celebrating an engagement, one is dealing with finding out that her husband has been cheating on her and the other two have each been stood up be their respective dates.
Nadia and Tom are the main characters, and the singles that get stood up. They end up with an interesting friendship that gives them the idea to fake date so that their friends and family will leave them be as they’re both tired of the dating scene. It was clear to the reader that they’d be perfect for each other, but of course, part of the story was the characters finding that out for themselves.
There’s lots of laughter to be had and the lovely supporting chats to round out the story. I adore Jo Lovett’s books and this was no exception.
Thanks to Boldwood books and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

I struggled with this one, if I'm being honest. It took me several days longer than usual to finish, and I could not really connect to the characters whe way I would like.

The premise is good, and I feel like there is huge potential in the fake relationship, slow-burn storyline, but it fell short in emotional growth and drama for me.

A brilliant rom com , with so much more !
Five strangers meet at Waterloo station each with their own very original stories. Due to a bomb threat they all get the chance to talk and connect and they become the Waterloo Five !
The two main characters Nadia and Tom bring fake dating into the storyline , both fed up of being the two singles at family gatherings etc
A really enjoyable read with a good storyline, highly recommended
Thank you to Netgalley, Boldwood Books and Jo Lovett for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review

I absolutely LOVED this book. It was cute and quirky. Had great chemistry. It is everything I love about a meet cute. I can't wait to recommend this to my best friend!

Thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the ARC of Meet Me Under the Clock in exchange for an honest review.

Meet Me Under the Clock is the newest closed door romance from Jo Lovett and Boldwood Books. When Nadia and Tom find themselves simultaneously stood up by their dates at Waterloo Station, an unlikely fast friendship develops between themselves and three other strangers. In this slow burn romance, Tom and Nadia hatch a fake dating plan in order to get friends and family off their backs about pursuing a new relationship. As with every fake dating trope to have ever existed, we can all guess exactly where this is headed.

The start of this book held so much promise for me and I loved the group of rag tag characters that made up ‘The Waterloo Five,” but as the story wore on, I could not connect with the characters in any way. I found the connection between characters to be nonexistent and the conversations to be rather dull. While Nadia’s character was so-so for me, Tom’s character drove me absolutely stark raving mad and I found myself just wanting to strangle him most often. I mean, he’s in love with someone he barely knew 10 years ago and is hung up on the idea of her when Nadia is literally right in front of his face. Are you mental? His pining for Lola got to the point where I just wanted to stop reading it n order to reduce my frustration levels.

On top of my annoyance with Tom was the way Nadia and he both handled the morning after situation. It was almost too immature to believe that I was reading about two consenting adults here and how they chose to essentially not deal with any of their feelings or real life in general. I wanted to feel some sort of connection with these characters, but it all just fell horribly flat for me and I wish that hadn’t been the case.

At its core, the book had so much promise and it was poised to be really well done. Sadly, I found the supporting cast of characters exponentially more interesting than our main characters and I wish that there would have been a little more substance to Tom and Nadia’s relationship. So much of the book were these long drawn out conversations between the two that were always just surface level and never really going anywhere. But then all of the sudden they realize they love each other? Rather odd if you ask me, but to each their own. This story may certainly appeal to some audiences, it just wasn’t a book that I could form a connection with, and that’s okay!

3.5 Stars

This starts with a lovely premise—two strangers, both stood up on the same night, meet beneath the clock at a train station and agree to "fake date" in an effort to dodge further heartbreak. It's an idea full of promise and charm, and at first, it really felt like the kind of feel-good story you curl up with on a quiet afternoon.

The book leans heavily into a slow-burn dynamic, as Nadia and Tom spend a lot of time getting to know each other. And by a lot, I mean page after page of dialogue—questions, polite responses, and small talk that often felt more awkward than endearing. Their constant politeness made them feel almost too careful with each other, and unfortunately, it kept me from feeling any real spark between them.

As the story went on, it became harder to connect with either character. Both POVs had such a similar tone and rhythm, it was sometimes difficult to distinguish one from the other. While the writing had a sweet, understated style, the dialogue-heavy approach and lack of emotional depth made the story feel repetitive at times. I found myself wishing for more color—more emotion, more personality, and more natural tension to pull me in.

Still, there’s a lot to appreciate here. The core concept is heartfelt, the idea of kindness in romance is refreshing, and the pacing may work perfectly for readers who enjoy quiet, introspective character-driven novels. While this one didn’t fully click with me, I can absolutely see others enjoying its subtle charm and soft-spoken narrative. A sweet story with a lot of potential—just not quite the spark I was hoping for.

A fake dating romance, what's not to love! I loved this story of Nadia and Tom, who meet by chance under the clock at Waterloo station, starting a friendship with 3 other strangers who then name themselves the Waterloo 5! It's funny, emotional, and hard to put down, even though it's predicatable it's one of those stories that gives you all the warm, fuzzy cosy feels whilst you root for the main characters!

If you love a rom com then you will not be disappointed with this!