And another catch-up post – with apologies to everyone I disappointed when I wasn’t able to do what I should have done for the blog tour. Meet Me Under the Clock by Jo Lovett was published on 11th April by Boldwood Books, and is now available as an ebook (free via Kindle Unlimited), in paperback, and as an audiobook. I did share a spotlight post (you’ll find it here) – but as it’s a book I really loved, I’m delighted to be able to share my review today. My thanks to Rachel and Jo for their understanding that life sometimes gets in the way, and to the publishers for my advance reading e-copy (provided via netgalley).
Sometimes love happens when you least expect it…
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.
What starts as a brilliant story for future dinner parties soon turns into a wonderful friendship, and both Tom and Nadia realise they’ve found the perfect partner in crime.
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.
Could the relationship they’ve been faking be the one they’ve been waiting for all along?
A heartwarming fake dating rom com, perfect for fans of Beth O’Leary and Sophie Kinsella.
This was a romance with a real difference, a familiar trope developed in a wholly original way – with superb characters whose individual journeys I very much enjoyed.
Nadia is rather half-heartedly approaching the prospect of yet another first date – but this time it’s with the friend of an acquaintance (with the assurance that he’ll be the perfect match…), rather than the more usual on-line dating disaster. Waiting at their meeting place under the clock on Waterloo Station, it looks like she’s been stood up – but there’s no chance of her giving up and going home when there’s a lockdown, a police incident, and no-one is able to leave. It’s a popular meeting place, and when it happens there are a few people standing under the clock – an older couple celebrating their engagement after many years of separation, a warring couple arguing loudly and in the act of breaking up… plus Tom, who’s also been stood up, having hoped to resume a relationship from many years before. The five who remain – the husband of the fighting couple is soon seen off – head off for a meal together once they’re able to leave and a friendship ensues, the “Waterloo Five” joining together again whenever they find an opportunity.
But Nadia and Tom have a particular affinity because of their less than successful love lives – perhaps even some rather promising chemistry, but Tom is still rather obsessed by no-show Lola, however hopeless their relationship might appear. Becoming friends, they decide to undertake some fake dating – a handy plus one for those social occasions, with none of the pressure. Until that becomes distinctly uncomfortable – it’s all well and good putting on a front for acquaintances and workmates, but less comfortable deceiving family and close friends who are entirely convinced that they’re love’s young dream. The sadness is that it’s quite clear from their first meeting that they’d make the perfect couple – but there might just be too many obstacles for that to ever happen.
There’s nothing that new or different about a fake dating scenario, but I found this one particularly engaging – and there’s a lot of well handled emotional turmoil, especially around the impact their fake relationship has on others. Tom is endlessly frustrating, unable and unwilling to move on – but the kindest and loveliest man. And Nadia really had a place in my heart – and she has a Tom-shaped place in hers, if only he could see it too. Their journey is tremendously engaging, with all the right emotional touches – and it was one I thoroughly enjoyed, even if I sometimes wanted to bang their heads together. But the added extra to this lovely book was the quite wonderful supporting cast – the friends, the family, and the other well-drawn members of the Waterloo Five as their lives moved on.
I just found the whole book a delight – beautifully written, with such well developed characters and relationships, and real emotional depth. But it’s very entertaining too – plenty of humour, lots of delicious awkward moments. And then there’s that gentle tangling with the moral issues, deceiving people as they do – with real uncertainty about there being any possibility of a happy ending. I really loved it – and look forward to reading more from its talented author.
About the author
Jo Lovett writes heart-warming, feel-good romcoms. She started writing romantic comedy when she realised that she was regularly begging her oldest son to let her do his English homework but she wasn’t actually that interested in haunted houses or Macbeth. When she can escape her laundry mountain, she enjoys reading, tennis and wine. Jo lives in London with her family.
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