Unfortunately, this book wasn’t for me. I really, really wanted to like this book. I mean, look at the cover art! It’s bright, gorgeous and paired with the premise seems like the perfect rom-com in a book. Sadly, there were just one too many things in this book that didn’t quite gel for me. I’ve read some reviews that are a complete 180 to mine though, so perhaps it was just me who didn’t get the FEELS with this book.

This story follows always-unorganised Nadia and completely organised Daniel in an opposites-attract romance. When Daniel decides that his unrequited love for Nadia, the breath-takingly beautiful woman on the train, has gone on long enough he posts an ad in the local newspaper’s Missed Connections. To his surprise, Nadia replies! What ensues is a slow-burn (emphasis on sloooooow) romance about two people who connect through Missed Connection posts and a sequence of convenient near-misses, before they finally meet.

So what prompted me to give this seemingly delightful rom-com my first 1-Star rating of the year? It was boringly slow. While I adore the idea of writing messages and falling in love without meeting (see my review of The Flat Share and Top Secret), this story just didn’t do it for me. The messages seemed a bit contrite and the chemistry just wasn’t there. Daniel always seemed to be more involved in the relationship (or… their Missed Connection) while Nadia never seemed to make up her mind. Quite frankly, almost nothing had happened at the half-way point in the book and I was sooo close to DNF. If this wasn’t an ARC read I would have quit. As it was an ARC, I felt obliged to finish but certainly didn’t warm up to the book.

While I didn’t feel the chemistry between Nadia and Daniel, I’ve still enjoyed books in the past that had this problem. I’ll admit, I generally Usually an action-driven plot can still make up for this but unfortunately this book was just so slow and hardly got anywhere. Plus, the humour was quite offensive to me and vulgar. I just couldn’t relate and this is what stopped me from rating this book 2-Stars.

“The most memorable bloke was Period Pete, a friend of a friend, who liked performing oral sex on menstruating women, and who the three (of us) collectively decided must have an undiagnosed iron deficiency.”

CHARACTERS

Nadia – A perpetually late, unorganised and intelligent woman. This intelligence is surmised from the fact that she worked in a robotics lab. Her emotional intelligence however was a bit stunted. She got petty and jealous over the smallest things and pined for her ex when she still apparently didn’t care for him. She was still a kind, considerate person though.

Daniel – He was a shy, romantic guy that had a secret level of confidence that was quite contradictory to his shy nature. His initial thought to message in the Missed Connections was sweet and that’s probably the adjective that best describes him. Sweet.

I have to admit, I feel absolutely awful about writing this review and have been putting it off for a while. I’ve genuinely tried to find something to say about what I enjoyed in this book. Lorenzo was the only character that I actually enjoyed reading about. He was straight-forward, snarky and a total junkie. His advice and comments were actually funny though and I enjoyed the chapters that involved him.

While there were issues with pacing and character development during this book, it was still written well in the sense that the sentences flowed easily. I would consider reading another book by this author in future, as It could have just been these particular characters that I didn’t enjoy.

❤️ out of 5
So after complaining yesterday about believability in books and not finishing a book because I couldn’t believe it, today I have DNFd a book because it was too believable (yes I know I feel like I’m sending mixed signals here!) Please tell me I’m not alone here.
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The premise of this book is cute which is why I picked it up in the first place. Guy sees girl on the train and is attracted to her but too shy to say hi! So instead he writes into “Missed Connections” about this girl he sees on the train and long story short said girl sees it (but still doesn’t know if it’s her).
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So where did it become all too real? From page 1! There are so many millenialisms (even though I am firmly a Gen Z) that it feels eerie. From mentions of FB, IG and Twitter, Netflix and the struggle to go to bed on time and get out of bed early. There are social pressures to live and think a certain way and this was all in Chapter 1. My books are my escape from the world and this did not feel like an escape for me. This is ver much a case of “it’s not you, it’s me”.

3.5 stars

Our Stop has such a cute premise and will make a good holiday read for some I’m sure (just check out Goodreads there are 4 & 5 star reviews!), however for me it fell a little bit short. There is makings of a really great romcom here, but my main issue was the first half of the story which I felt was too slow and dragged on a bit that I found myself skipping a few sentences here and there. There is a fair deal of monologue which were quite long, repetitive and could’ve done with some editing without compromising the foundations of getting to know the characters or the issues being raised in this novel. This made it difficult to sustain interest in the beginning but that being said, I stayed along for this (at times frustrating!) ride and the second half was definitely more enjoyable. I was hooked in enough to want to know when and how Nadia and Daniel would finally get together - I just didn’t devour this romcom in the one sitting like I usually would!

I enjoyed the alternating perspectives between Nadia and Daniel and both seemed likeable and relatable enough, particularly Daniel. There is a strong millennial vibe and it was an entertaining glimpse into the struggles of finding love in a modern setting. I appreciated the author’s attempts at raising awareness for several serious issues including mental health, emotional abuse, consent and relationships.

While Our Stop didn’t tick all my boxes I found it to be overall a light and fun read and I'm sure there are plenty of romance and chick-lit readers out there who will enjoy this novel.

Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins Australia for providing a copy for review.

With thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins Australia for the digital arc of Our Stop by Laura Jane Williams. All opinions here are my own.

Our stop sees Daniel develop a crush on Nadia while riding the train and proceed to communicate with her through Missed Connections in the newspaper. Through a series of missed chances it seems Daniel and Nadia will never actually meet.

This was such a fun read with very likeable main characters. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and look forward to reading more from this author in the future. Highly recommended for lovers of chick-lit. A solid 4 star read.

Our Stop was such a good read! Thank you Harper Collins Australia and Netgalley for the free review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was extremely happy to receive an ARC for Our Stop because it's been on my anticipated list since I read the blurb a few months ago. I'm glad that it certainly did not disappoint, it was fantastic and I loved everything. The premise I found to be really interesting and the relationships in the book feel relevant to today. Williams captures the struggle of finding love in today's social environment. I really enjoyed the multiple perspectives, I thought that Daniel was a particularly good male character. It's nice to read about characters that have emotional maturity and depth. Through his character Williams deals with a lot of important topics which I think is fantastic.

The romance between our two protagonists built up slowly over the course of the book which I think is great because you get to know the characters and anticipate their eventual meeting.

Our Stop is a light hearted romantic comedy from UK columnist and Instagram influencer, Laura Jane Williams.

“To the devastatingly cute blonde girl on the Northern line with the black designer handbag and coffee stains on her dress–you get on at Angel, on the 7.30, always at the end nearest the escalator, and always in a hurry. I’m the guy who’s standing near the doors of your carriage, hoping today’s a day you haven’t overslept. Drink some time?”

Not quite sure how to introduce himself to the ‘devastatingly cute blonde girl’ who regularly shares his train carriage during his morning commute, Daniel Weissman opts to place a message in ‘Missed Connections’. Nadia Fielding is not entirely convinced the message is meant for her but she is willing to take a chance of finding true love, and replies. A flirtation ensues through the column, but when their first planned meeting goes awry it seems it will all come to nothing...unless fate steps in.

Generally the tone of the Our Stop is a light and witty romance with a very millennial vibe, though Williams touches on some serious issues such as emotional abuse, consent, depression, and UK politics.

The story unfolds from the alternating perspectives of Nadia and Daniel as their relationship is impeded by a series of missed opportunities. Nadia is likeable enough, a fairly typical heroine for the genre, except that her work has something to do with artificial intelligence, which does make a nice change from the usual professions (PR/PA) pursued by romcom heroines. Daniel is perhaps a little too perfect - embodying the ideal ‘millennial’ male, but appealing nonetheless, and I particularly liked the portrayal of his relationships with his friends, and parents.

It’s not easy to develop romantic tension over the length of a book between two people who never meet, nor given the need for a string of contrived near-misses, to sustain interest in the potential of the relationship, but I thought Williams did so reasonably well. While I did feel it was all dragged out a bit too long overall, I wanted to see how Williams would finally bring Nadia and Daniel together, and I was satisfied when they finally got their happy ever after.

Ultimately Our Stop was an okay read for me, not quite as engaging as I was hoping for, but not bad either.

Nadia catches the 7.30am train every morning without fail. Except when she sleeps in. Or wakes up hungover at her friend, Emma’s. Or you know...forgets.

Daniel really does get the 7.30am train every morning.

One morning Nadia spies a message in the Missed Connections section of the paper. The message appears to be about her... and it’s actually kind of sweet. And so begins a bunch of missed connections. Is the power of written word enough to spark a romance?

A beautiful little romance story. It’s not your typical boy meets girl, girl falls in love, they have a tiff and then it all ends happily. It takes you back, as if Facebook and Instagram don’t exist, and you get to fall in love with Nadia, with a man you don’t have a face to put to. You get angry when they have near misses, so close yet so far. Will they ever actually meet? You’ll have to read it to find out.

It will fill your heart with warm, tackle some challenging real life issues (#MeToo) and at the end of the day, remind you that there is still enough love in the world, even without technology. Highly recommend checking this one out!!

As a regular public transport commuter myself, the synopsis of the book really appealed to me, it sounded cute, and quirky, and just the sort of book that I thought I would enjoy. Unfortunately though I tried really hard to get into it, I found it hard to like Nadia, and found the story a little slow for my liking. As well, Daniel's actions felt very stalkerish and more obsessive, than romantic..

While this book might not be for me, I'm sure there are plenty out there who will enjoy this novel.

Our Stop was a sweet, heartfelt rom-com that ticked all the boxes for me! Our Stop is the story of perenially-late Nadia, and sweet Daniel, who take the same train (sometimes to work). Rather than approach her, Daniel begins putting notices in a "Missed Connections" part of the newspaper to get Nadia's attention - and hopefully a first date! What ensues is a series of near misses and almosts as these two navigate their lives, and the underground!

There are no real surprises in this book, because you kind of know how it's being set up to end. It's more a matter of when, not if. If you don't like that kind of predictability then this book probably isn't for you, but if you don't mind a sweet drawn out romance, then you'll be satisfied with Our Stop. Personally I enjoyed the ride, despite knowing the ending. I thought the author fleshed out the characters well, and build solid back stories for them. I liked Nadia's posse of friends, and Daniel's relationship with his mum.

There were a few moments that felt like the author was ticking the 'buzz word' boxes around consent, gender equality and political correctness that didn't necessarily add to the story I didn't think.

Not a life changer of a book, but an enjoyable read.

What do you do when you have a crush on someone on your daily commute? Chatting to a random stranger on public transport is a no go so Daniel decides to put an ad into the Missing Connections section of the newspaper in the hope that Nadia, his crush, may see it.

And that she does. What follows is a fun buildup to the two meeting. This was a fantastic read. A happy book that I really think all the romantics will devour eagerly.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my complimentary copy of this book.