This is a really cute book, strangers meet under the clock tower while going about their lives. It’s unexpected as they all get on so well. All from different backgrounds with their own problems they manage to keep the friendships alive. A lovely feel good read, a 4 star read. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy.

📚 3.5 stars – A charming, slightly chaotic romcom that’s equal parts heartwarming and mildly frustrating! 💘💭

Okay, so Meet Me Under the Clock had big potential, and honestly? I was fully on board for the premise. Like yes please, two people getting stood up under the Waterloo clock and ending up in a fake dating situation?? Iconic setup. Very Richard Curtis, very You’ve Got Mail meets fake dating tropes and I was HERE for it. 🙌

Let’s start with the good stuff, yeah?

💫 Nadia and Tom? Adorable. They’ve got this really sweet, awkward chemistry that almost gave me butterflies. And their banter? Kinda cracked me up. It’s got that very British, dry humour that just hits right.
Also the internal monologues??? Unhinged in the best way – like someone let a squirrel loose in their brains 🐿️💭 but honestly, same. If you’ve got a bit of a chaotic brain that jumps from one idea to another like it's a trampoline park, you’ll probably relate 😂

✨ The Waterloo Five = found family vibes. Were they a tad insta-friends? Yeah. Did I care? Not really. It was giving slightly unrealistic but very wholesome energy and sometimes, you just want a group of randoms who bond over being stood up and make a group chat about it. Would die for Carole btw – divorced queen living her absolute best life, sipping cocktails and serving wisdom 🍸👑

BUT... (and it’s kind of a big but 👀)

💔 Tom. Mate. What are you doing?!
The whole still hung up on Lola from TEN years ago after literally one convo thing?? Unhinged. Like, be so serious. This man had the emotional depth of a puddle when it came to her and I was just sitting there like why are we pretending this is romantic? Bro, you were like 25. Get a grip 😅

Then THAT SCENE. You know the one. No spoilers, but I honestly couldn’t look at Tom the same after that. Nadia deserved better and I wanted her to make him grovel, write a 5-page essay, AND show up with at least two apology cakes. Instead, she just kind of... let it go? And I’m sorry but no. Even Elsa wouldn’t have let it slide that easily ❄️🚫

💖 Nadia, though, was a gem. Soft girl energy with a backbone. I loved how honest and emotionally available she was – even while fake dating someone and having feelings she didn’t want to admit. Felt very real and relatable.

So overall?

👉 Cute concept
👉 Loveable supporting cast
👉 Great pacing – flew through it
👉 But Tom really tested my patience 😤 and the romance didn’t fully hit like I wanted it to.

Would I recommend it? Yeah – if you’re after something light, a bit silly, and full of heart. Just be warned that you may want to throw something at Tom at some point...

Thank you so much to the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I received a complimentary copy of this book "Meet Me Under the Clock" and all opinions expressed are my own. A fun romcom that I enjoyed reading. I love how the strangers got together - waterloo five. It was a bit hard because I didn't understand some of the British terms. Overall I liked it.

This was a sweet, enjoyable read. Nothing too serious but sometimes you just need a fun, easy book. I liked the premise of this one and that the Waterloo Five stayed in touch after the start of the book that brought them together.

This is a cute story about a man and a woman who don’t quite know what they want. Fortunately, they meet and figure things out! Fans of romantic comedies will love this one!

Serendipitously, Nadia and Tom meet under the clock at the train station after being stood up by their dates, along with 3 other strangers in a strange situation. It leads to a very enduring friendship amongst 5 unlikely people. Tom and Nadia genuinely enjoy one another’s company and spend more time together. However, during this time in their lives they are preoccupied with different situations, Nadia going through a “boyfriend detox” and Tom is hung up with a girl from his past. So, the timing is off and they keep pushing the narrative that they’re not right for each other but can’t help but get involved.

I found the characters enduring and I felt like some of these scenes were familiar but in a good way. I found some humor throughout the chapters and I enjoyed some of the straightforwardness that came from certain characters and the admission when they weren’t. However, I felt like things didn’t move along until past the halfway point. I felt like the characters lacked some depth and the time jumps were a bit fast at times.

Overall, I enjoyed it 3.75

My favorite one so far from this author. Love the unique story and cast of characters. Definitely a feel good read! Keep em coming Jo Lovett!

Enjoyed this book but I did want to batter the main characters heads together. It was a cute, romantic read. Worth a read.

This is one of those books where you want to knock the two main character's heads together, in this case Nadia and Tom, refusing to acknowledge their feelings for each other. I enjoyed the opening scene with five strangers meeting under the clock at Waterloo Station and their subsequent friendships and interactions. It is slow paced, which won't appeal to some readers, but does allow the relationship to grow naturally. They are totally opposite characters, with very little in common, for example pie and chips versus Italian cuisine and football versus tennis,but despite this their friendship grows and you really hope that they will end up together. I would score this at 4.5* due to the slow nature of the story, but,rounded up to 5*as I did enjoy the book.
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley, however this did not influence my review of the book.

It pains me to say this because I usually see books through to the end, even when I’m not vibing with them, but I had to DNF this one. Unfortunately, the characters felt flat, and there was little to no chemistry between the two main leads.

Meet Me Under the Clock follows Tom and Nadia, who are both stood up by their respective dates under the same clock. To avoid the pressure from family and friends about being single, they agree to be each other’s plus-ones for events.

The premise sounded great, but at 40% in, I still wasn’t seeing any emotional connection or romantic development between them. Without that spark, the story just didn’t hold my interest.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the opportunity to read and review this title.

Firstly I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book, I absolutely loved it.
It had a great story and really good characters that I felt I really got to know. I will be recommending this book to everyone I know.

Sweet, swoony, and engaging. A recommended purchase for collections where contemporary romance is popular.

Perfect, short romcom! The book was easy to read and at points made me laugh out loud. While the storyline was predictable, I still immensely enjoyed the book. One of the main parts of this book include the "Waterloo Five" - five random strangers who became friends at the very beginning of this book. I thought this detail was perfect and enjoyed seeing their friendships bloom in addition to Tom and Nadia's budding romance.

Thank you to Jo Lovett, Boldwood Books, and NetGalley for the eARC!

I think the overall premise of the book is very cute but it missed the mark in a lot of places for me.

I felt both Tom and Nadia lacked humor in their personalities and that made it boring for me. And that’s some of my own personal taste that wasn’t satisfied.

There were a lot of British terms that I didn’t know and had to look up and that kinda made me feel disconnected. Idk I think the whole thing for me had a sort of cultural barrier I couldn’t get over.

I enjoyed this one, but oh my goodness…I wanted to give Nadia and especially Tim a shake! Shake some sense into him , lol.

The main characters were interesting- The Waterloo Five were all so different.

Good read, I’d recommend

Really good book that i will recommend to others.

Thanks for the opportunity to read & review it.

Don’t you just want to grab this, switch off the phone and curl up on the sofa
By far one of my favourite books I've read this month… I loved every minute… I laughed out loud so many times!!…

"Meet Me Under the Clock" by Jo Lovett is a sweet romance comedy that charms with the novelty of chance encounters. The premise is about Nadia and Tom, who find themselves stood up by their blind dates under Waterloo Station's iconic clock. This is initially supposed to be an entertaining story to tell at future dinner parties, but it morphs into an intense friendship and a pretend-dating setup. When their make-believe relationship begins to feel real, the story touches on issues of love, friendship, and self-inflicted surprises in the fabric of fate.

At first, Nadia is guarded and standoffish because of previous heartaches in love. Her path is one of recovery from vulnerability and learning to believe in others again. As she moves deeper with her pretend date with Tom into actual feelings for him, she starts to destroy the walls that she has put up, hoping for true love.

Tom begins as being okay with staying within his comfort zones and maintaining emotional distance. He comes to challenge his own fears of emotional intimacy and commitment through his dealings with Nadia. His metamorphosis involves being open to the uncertainties of a relationship, its joys, and challenges.

Their paths are neatly woven together, highlighting how their relationship assists each of them to overcome their nightmares and accept new things. The writing of Jo Lovett has been commended for its warmth, humor, and realistic characters. Readers of slow-burning romances and inspiring stories are bound to appreciate this book. It is the ideal choice for readers who enjoy Beth O'Leary's and Sophie Kinsella's books.

Meet Me Under the Clock follows two strangers, Nadia and Tom, who meet at a train station after both being stood up by their dates. To avoid further romantic disappointments, they agree to a fake dating arrangement. What follows is a slow-burn romance where they spend time getting to know each other.

While the premise is charming, the story leans heavily on dialogue, which may not appeal to all readers. Much of Nadia and Tom’s conversations revolve around small talk and indecisiveness, making their interactions feel somewhat repetitive. Their personalities and perspectives are quite similar, which at times makes it difficult to differentiate between them. Additionally, the overly polite nature of their exchanges, as well as those of the supporting characters, results in conversations that feel a bit restrained.

The writing style focuses more on telling rather than showing, which, combined with the dialogue-heavy approach, may not provide as much immersion as some readers prefer. While the story has a heartfelt and sweet tone, the reserved nature of the characters and their interactions may make it a slower read for those looking for more dynamic exchanges.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this E-Arc in exchange for an honest review.

If you’re looking for a rom-com with heart, humor, and a touch of chaos, Meet Me Under The Clock by Jo Lovett is a solid pick. It all starts with a botched meet-up at a train station—Nadia and Tom both get stood up, and in the middle of the awkwardness, a misunderstanding ropes in three other strangers. From that moment on, their lives are unexpectedly intertwined.

This newly formed crew is a mix of personalities: a woman dealing with the ultimate betrayal (her husband and best friend? Really?!), two incredible ladies in their seventies who just got engaged, and of course, Nadia and Tom, who come up with a brilliant (or maybe ridiculous) plan to fake-date. Their goal? Keep meddling friends and family at bay. The problem? Catching real feelings wasn’t part of the deal.

The book delivers plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, a few well-placed tugs at the heartstrings, and some wonderfully awkward interactions that make everything feel authentic. Sure, the pacing gets a little clunky here and there, but honestly, that just mirrors the reality of dating and making new friends—it’s messy, unpredictable, and sometimes downright weird.

At the end of the day, this is a feel-good read with lovable characters, sharp banter, and a storyline that keeps you hooked. If you love rom-coms with a side of found family, this one’s worth a spot on your TBR list!

4 Stars! #NetGalley, #BoldwoodBooks, #MeetMeUndertheClock, #JoLovett