What would you do if you woke up from a coma and were told you've been seriously dating your brother's best friend? Or better yet, what would you do if the person you've been planning on spending your life with wakes up from a coma and the entirety of your relationship is wiped from their memory?

As soon as I read the book blurb for Ten Dates, I knew that was the story ride I wanted to go on with Alice and Callum. We get the confusion, frustration, curiosity, and heartbreak from each character's perspective as they try to relive their first ten dates to try and spark memories and fall in love again.

While I loved the story overall, connecting with Alice and Callum was hard initially. It was frustrating that Alice couldn't wrap her head around being with Callum even when tension was building between them pre-coma, throughout the years of knowing each other. We don't get Callum's perspective until Chapter 6, so I wonder whether getting his perspective sooner would have helped.

Callum was a perfect gentleman and quickly became a favorite of mine, but of course, he did. Who wouldn't swoon over someone helping you relive a part of your life you can't remember? But it was more so his patience and kindness with Alice that did it for me. 😍

This book gave off strong The Vow meets 50 First Dates vibes and hit just the right spot in between. 🥰

This book is recommended for anyone who enjoys:
💫 Friend to Lovers
💫 Brother's Best Friend
💫 Second Chance Romance
💫 Slow Burns

Alice is in a car crash, but when she wakes up, after three months, she doesn’t remember Callum.

This is a beautiful novel to touch every raw emotion; looking at themes of memory loss, grief, healing, recovery and love. This novel is written from a dual point of view with flashbacks showing the history, which compliments the narrative.

Dove writes likeable characters which had me engaged in the novel and I read this in one sitting.
A lovely and moving read for anyone.

This really was the most gorgeous read – two lead characters, very real people, who I entirely believed in and a love story that really put my heart through the wringer, made me laugh and cry and hurt inside, and that left me with an enormous smile on my face. You really can’t ask for more than that, can you?

After a serious accident, Alice wakes up in hospital after three months in a coma – to find her brother’s annoying best friend Callum sitting by her bed. At first, she thinks he’s there in place of her brother – until she slowly discovers that the accident has wiped out two years of her memory. Alice and Callum shared a home, and their relationship was something particularly special – she can’t believe they ever got together. So, with Alice’s agreement, Callum sets about making Alice fall in love with him all over again, by recreating the ten dates where it all started – with the ever present possibility that, if it doesn’t work and she can’t recover her feelings for him, they will go their separate ways.

I loved this couple beyond measure – Alice needing to rebuild her trust, Callum putting his life on hold while he does everything he can to return their very special relationship to its former footing, one small step at a time. At first the perspective is all Alice’s – but then we see things from Callum’s point of view too, and I became totally caught up in his desperate efforts to get Alice to fall in love with him again. Emotionally, this book is just perfect – and the whole story of the relationship between these two loveable individuals and their hearts that never forget is beautifully told. There are setbacks – and surprises – as the make or break moment of the tenth date draws closer, and I desperately hoped that they wouldn’t walk away from something so very special. But the whole book certainly isn’t all high emotion and the possibility of further heartbreak – there’s plenty of humour too, perfectly judged, much of it from the family relationships.

When this book ended – and I read it in a wonderful single sitting, while the world disappeared – I really didn’t want to leave Alice and Callum behind. And the ending? No spoilers, but I thought it was simply perfect. And so will you – this is a book I’d recommend really highly, a glorious love story that just gets everything absolutely right, and I can’t wait to see what this gifted author does next.

A beautiful contemporary romance that had me teary eyed, smiling and laughing the whole way through. The vivid, wonderful writing swept me up into Callum and Alice’s story from the get go and I couldn’t stop reading.

We meet Alice who’s confused and trying to get her bearings after a serious accident. Her eyes are drawn to Callum and she wonders why he’s there – he’s her brother’s annoying best friend who relishes in winding her up. She’s lost time and can’t remember their happy life together as a couple. She finds it difficult to believe given she’s fiercely independent with no inclination of settling down.

Callum is the perfect leading man – his love and devotion for Alice shine through the pages and he’s nothing but supportive and understanding despite all he’s been through and the rejection that he’s feeling.

Dove creates such amazing characters who evoke all the emotions – through their dual perspectives we can feel their raw emotions brought to life. I loved their history and the flashbacks were such a treat to read. Their deep bond and connection is palpable and they feel so real, I was completely absorbed as we follow their journey of healing, coping and trying to rediscover the love they so clearly shared. Is the memory loss too difficult a hurdle to overcome? I had no idea how it would end and was fully invested in their outcome.

I adored the dynamic and closeness with Lewis and Migs and how all four grew up together. They brought additional humour and insight and were great side characters to bring into the mix.

Ten Dates celebrates the power of love and is heart wrenching in the best way! Alice and Callum’s journey is hopeful, honest, and full of romance and I loved every page; these characters and their story will stay with me.

Perfect for fans of Beth O’Leary, Kathryn Freeman, Emily Houghton and Josie Silver!

With thanks to @BoldwoodBooks, @WriterDove and @rararesources for a place on the tour.

Ten Dates by Rachel Dove

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to Rachel's Random Resources and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Blurb

Is it the end of their love story or just the beginning?

Callum Roberts and Alice McClaren have spent two wonderful years building a life and a home and making plans for a future together. But when Alice is involved in a car crash, Callum fears that he has lost her forever. As he sits by her bedside he promises he’ll do anything if only she’ll open her eyes…

But when Alice does finally wake up, she has absolutely no memory of being in love with Callum or the life they once shared. In fact, all she remembers about him is how incredibly annoying he once was! How can she have forgotten him if she really did love him so deeply?

Callum is determined to prove to Alice that what they had was special, so he makes her a deal: he’ll recreate their first ten dates and make her fall in love with him all over again!

Alice isn’t sure Callum can fill in all the gaps in their story. And what if going back to the start only means the end?

My Opinion

Following a car accident Alice has no memory of the previous two years. The relationship between Callum and Alice is lovely to read about - Callum is so patient with Alice. This is a second chance, slow burn romance that reminds me of 50 First Dates. I thought that this was a very interesting read and I had to pace myself to prevent me from finishing this book in one sitting. A real delight to read.

The only disappointing thing about this book was that it ended a bit too quickly - I would have loved to know more about the couple after the ten dates. A great, highly recommended read!

Rating: 4/5

If you loved the movie 50 First Dates, I think this might be something for you. It's very reminiscent of that type of story line. This has you rooting for Callum from moment one.
I do like "second chance romance" tropes, and I am a fan of the "forgetting" trope that is starting to get popular in romance lately. This is not my favorite in those categories, although it is a good read and, again, the male counterpart really drives home the story with his devotion and love. I think I just struggled to connect with Alice, even if you ignore the memory loss: I just don't think you're given the platform, time, or narrative to connect to her as a lead.
Overall a good read, and one I finished and enjoyed, but not one that blew me away.

Ten Dates is a beautiful, heartbreaking story of rediscovering love. An emotional rollercoaster and following what Alice and Callum must have gone through after the accident had me smiling and crying throughout their story.
I loved seeing how Callum with Alice’s family tried to recreate her memories and their love story was a beautiful one. He’s definitely my new book crush ❤️
This is an inspiring story full of love, life and hope.

A great read and it left me wanting more, a refreshing story with lots going on to keep the reader engaged. Loved it. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

I was excited to see this premise and was looking forward to seeing how the concept played out. Unfortunately the book did not live up to the premise for me.

The writing felt flat and repetitive. I did not warm up to either of the MCs. Alice, the main protagonist, came off as very immature and antagonistic. I wanted to feel empathetic for her situation but I just didn’t like her much. And Callum, the love interest, felt very two dimensional—attractive, devoted man who adores Alice. I didn’t get a lot of who was at all, even in his POV chapters. I didn’t feel the chemistry, just kept being told it was there.

The ten date idea is cute but the writing of the dates was uneven and left blanks and I found the narrative kind of choppy.

It’s a quick read, so even though I wanted to DNF more than once, so I pushed myself to finish it.

The book drops you right when Alice is waking up so there is no connection to the characters built up before the event that separates them. No strong feeling evoked of wanting them to be together.

A prologue or a flashback from Callum POV at the beginning may have helped this.

I felt this book had a lot of potential and missed the opportunity completely.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

After Alice wakes up from a car accident-induced coma, she can't remember anything that happened during the past two years, forgetting her entire relationship with Callum, her childhood friend/nemesis. Callum, in turn, tries to rebuild their relationship the way it started: with ten dates, hoping they'll bring back her memory.

I got excited when I saw this book on NetGalley. The premise seemed similar to 50 First Dates which is a movie I really enjoyed. However, it ultimately fell flat.

The plot was, as a whole, ok. It's an easy and quick read, and enjoyable enough. However, it is very basic and predictable, both due to the general predictability of romance books (for me at least) and due to the characters not so subtly hinting at "twists" that happen much later.

I felt like the plot was in general a little rushed. Several moments were skipped and would've been better to have been included, in my opinion. The wedding date was talked about initially, but when that date finally happened the whole wedding was skipped. This also happened with the beach trip. The ending was also very rushed albeit cute. It definitely would've been nice to have an epilogue.

Callum was possibly the best part of this book. A very green flag and I'd do anything to have someone love me like this. Although, I still feel like both the main characters were not that fleshed out. Their romance was ok; cute but nothing special. I'll probably forget about it by the end of the month if I'm honest.

Overall enjoyable but meh.

I would firstly just like to say a big thank you to Rachel’s Random Resources and NetGalley who very kindly forwarded me an arc copy of this book, for my kindle, in return for my honest review.

Ten Dates is written as a dual point of view and i really enjoyed this style of writing - it is actually my favourite way to read a story as it gives you an insight to both characters and not just one.

There are also parts written as flashback memories and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the characters through these.

Both Callum and Alice were wonderful characters and i loved them both and you could tell that they were made for each other, they were just so cute and adorable together!

Ten Dates is a brilliantly written second chance romance and I couldn’t read it fast enough! It was a wonderful, heartwarming, romantic read and it was all very swoonworthy - i loved it…….

What an absolutely amazing read,
Full of emotion and a love determined to succeed.
Callum is so patient, stubborn, loving and kind,
A partner anyone would be blessed to find.

When Alice is involved in a serious car crash
Off down the roads does Callum dash.
He's by her side for three months whilst she's in asleep
In a coma that's oh so deep.

When she awakes she sees him there
But of their relationship she's totally unaware.
What's happened during the last couple of years
Has been totally wiped, it just disappears.

How can he help her recall their lives?
Can he rekindle their love, help her realise
That together they were working to build a dream
Filled with love that's forgotten now it would seem.

He makes a deal to repeat their dates
Trusting that repeating them will help them relate
And maybe they'll help her remember once more
About their relationship and romance from before.

A heartwarming story, so emotional, too,
A brilliant read I very highly recommend to you!
For my complementary copy, I say thank you,
As I share with you this, my honest review.

Alice has been involved in a car accident and was in a coma for 3 months, when she wakes up she is unable to remember anything about her realtionship with Callum who is also her brother's friend
Callum doesn't want to give up on Alice so suggests that he re creates their first 10 dates to try to bring her memory back
Will Alice remember how much she loves Callum or will they part ways ?

Plot: Alice and Callum are happily in love and building an amazing life together but that's about to change. Alice is involved in a car accident and spends months in a coma, when she awakes she has no memory of the past two years or her relationship with Callum. Alice agrees to go on Ten dates with Callum who hopes that will help Alice fall back in love with him.

Review: This was an enjoyable read and a lovely storyline. It took me a while to warm to Alice but I loved Callum's character from the start. It is well written and I loved the different chapters from both their perspectives. I would definitely recommend it.

I looked forward to reading this book after seeing it on Netgalley. The premise seemed like the perfect setup. However, I felt a little underwhelmed when I finished. I thought the opening of the book was done well as the author described Alice waking up from her coma. The imagery was superb. It took a turn for me though when Alice started remembering her life before the coma. It was confusing to track just how old the characters were. The author talks about Alice's teenage years with Callum, a little of college, and then when the accident happens, Alice and everyone has jobs. I wish I understood the timing more to really keep track of the amount of longing Alice and Callum had for each other.
Additionally, I felt like some parts were rushed and made little sense. How did Alice start walking so soon after waking up from her coma with extensive injuries? From what I could tell, only three days passed in the hospital before she was back to normal. Yes, the author says Alice's running background helps, but I don't think that little time of physical therapy would get you to where Alice was when she left the hospital. Also, the end of the book sped through some plot points that I felt would be integral to the story. The whole book, we are told about how Lewis and Migs' wedding is a date and how Alice is looking forward to it. When that date comes along, we start it after the wedding takes place, and Callum and Alice are back in the room. There was nothing about how the beach trip ended, the time leading up to the wedding, or the wedding itself. For something that was talked about so much in the book, I figured we would be able to see some true character growth or important plot points play out at the wedding rather than skipping over it entirely.
Lastly, there were a few places, especially near the end, where the pronouns shifted randomly. The author would be talking about how Callum felt then use "her" to describe something. This confused me and made me second guess if I missed something. This fact was also expanded upon where one character's chapter POV randomly would change to the other character's POV and back without any breaks or indication that we should be aware of a switch.
In the end, I feel like this book was a hit and miss. It had so much potential, but the editing and expansion of highlighted plot points were just not there. It seemed like the author rushed to come to a conclusion rather than taking the time to make sure the story was done well.

What I liked:
- The premise of recreating their ten first dates after Alice’s accident.
- The friendships.
- The teasing, sweet, humourous relationship between Alice & Callum.

Ten Dates was a heartwarming, sweet read. I love dual POV books, and this one was no different. The accident Alice had was hard for both her and Callum, so I was glad we got both sides of their story. They were very well suited for one another and I loved their relationship, but at times thought Callum could be a bit overbearing (especially the first half of the book) and Alice’s thoughts became a little repetitive. A relationship I really enjoyed was Lewis and Alice’s - the typical sibling bond. I thought the plot was good, however the ending felt very rushed sadly. Despite that, I still enjoyed Ten Dates and would read more of Rachel’s work.

Thank you Net Galley and Boldwood Books for accepting me as an ARC reader in exchange for an honest review.

A person losing they memory having to rebuild their relationships is not a new idea in novels but this fact does not detract the slightest bit from the success of Ten Dates. Rachel Dove has taken this premise and crafted one of the most enjoyable books I have read so far this year, such is the appeal of her writing and the characters she has created.

The real appeal of this novel is entirely the characters and their relationship. I absolutely loved both of them, but especially Callum and the way they are together. The fact of how they were before their romantic relationship started (I’m trying not to give away any of the plot so please excuse me if some of my phrasing seems clunky) and the point Alice returns to is brilliantly contrived to give them a starting point other than she doesn’t remember him at all and it worked brilliantly for the plot and to give Callum an awkward point to start from. the plot absolutely would not have worked so well if the author had chosen a different starting relationship for them.

The book is pure romance, it is exactly the kind of love story I like to read. It’s hard for me to explain what I mean by ‘pure’ because I’m not talking about it in the sense of sweet or lacking in passion. I mean that the romance of it is central and of the type that just lifts you and warms the cockles of your heart. It isn’t relying on bereavement or some great life disaster, it just lets the love story do its own talking. I’m not sure if I’m making much sense here but I hope you know what I mean!

I’ve read a good amount of crime and thrillers, some horror, some books with ‘Me Too’ or feminist themes recently and, whilst I love this type of book, getting back to some straight-forward, uplifting, joy-inducing romance was just what I needed and my experience of reading this book was pure bliss. Fans of romance are going to love it and I’m sure you will end up closing the book with a big smile on your face, just like I did. Happy reading in every respect.

Ten Dates is out today in all formats, including as part of a Kindle Unlimited subscription, and you can buy a copy here.

🏷"Your mind might have lost me, but your heart didn’t. Give it time."

🎶The Way I Loved You by Taylor Swift

📝The premise of this book was interesting. The first chapters got me hooked and I can't wait to see how Alice and Callum will navigate their unique situation. I love that we got dual POV which is actually perfect for this kind of story. Reading Callum's POV added an emotional heft to an already beautiful plot.

I find Alice and Callum's love story tenderhearted and hopeful. I just can't help but root for them from the start. Although I understand what Alice is going through, there are times I feel that I wanted to knock some sense on her. Callum though is definitely a keeper. He was so patient and loving and I adore how he recreated all their dates. You can feel his love for Alice throughout the book. I also love the secondary characters—they were all supportive! The ending was just a bit rushed for me and I would love to have an epilogue.

This book reminded me of the movies 50 First Dates and The Vow. If you loved those, I'm sure you'll enjoy this one too. Ten Dates is out tomorrow 03/10/2023. Don’t miss out!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Boldwood Books and Rachel Dove for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own

Alice and Callum have known each other since they were very young, as he is her brother's best friend. However, they have dated for two years and they have been as happy as a couple can be. Suddenly, Alice is in a car accident and she is in a coma. When she wakes up, she has forgotten their relationship. And, considering that their whole lives they had a frenemies relationship and were always teasing each other, it's hard for her to understand how their love started. She is also, as far as she knows, an independent workaholic who didn't want to date anyone. Callum, on the other hand, has wonderful memories of them together and is sure that they are soulmates. Is their relationship lost forever? Can someone have something that special twice?

What I liked: I really enjoyed this book, it's so sweet and their love is written in such a wonderful way. First, the chemistry between Callum and Alice was palpable. Their connection was believable, so I wanted them to get together and that kept me hooked. Second, the book has a slow start and begins by exploring the accident and how confusing everything is for the main characters, so it felt more natural. Third, there are many, many happy moments, each date was a nice surprise. This book has every ingredient to be a great RomCom.

What I didn't like: The only reason why I didn't give this book 5 stars is that I am not really into the "maybe I should break their heart and leave them because I'm a burden" thing, which happens a couple of times for obvious reasons.

Thank you Boldwood Books and Netgalley for this arc.

I loved Callum Roberts and Alice McClaren. They were friends and enemies and all beetween in their lives. Family living closed togerher, experiencing many things together but never really together. Well one of them had no idea, one always knew.
After a car accident Alice wake up and has no memories of last 2 years. Hopefully Callum is patient and want to reconquest her by taking her to their first 10 dates. I fell for them and it was really hard let them go. Their dates were reall hilarious and the side characters were so nice. They made me laugh and cry. I was on the fence all the time.