First dates can be hard. We all know that. The awkwardness; not knowing anything about the other person; trying to make a good first impression. It has angst written all over it.

Rosie's a first date virgin. When she reluctantly agrees to match on Tinder, she makes a date with a guy to meet in bar. He no shows, so she starts to drown her sorrows. Into her life walks Noah, a serial first dater. They meet, she is not into him, but proposes she take dating lessons from him. She does. What ensues is a series of "dates" that have her wondering if this is real or just a teaching moment.

I have to say the premise of this book was good. But I didn't really life either Rosie or her BFF Bea. Both seemed vapid and not too smart. Rosie has a sever case of daddy-issue-itis, too and it get's talked about incessantly.

Thanks for the sneak peek, but this wasn't one of my favorite for 2020 and it certainly wasn't "laugh out loud" like the promo suggests. Not for me anyway.

This is the novel equivalent of binge watching a tv series..."just one more chapter, who cares if it's 2am!"

I thoroughly enjoyed it, it's exactly the sort of novel you need with so much chaos in the world. A strong and lovable female lead, Rosie, a male lead with an attractive personality and wit, Noah, a few twists, turns and lots of emotion along the way.

Rosie has been with the same guy since she 15. She finds herself suddenly single in her twenties and this is the story of how she gets back into the big bad world of dating with a little help from Noah. If you like Bridget Jones, this is a great book for you. I love that it feels like we are part of Rosie's internal monologue...very comical at times!

I like that this story shows that relationships come about when you least expect them and most of the time, they are never what you planned for. Sometimes going out of your comfort zone leads to exactly what you needed!

Heart-warming and entertaining, another great book by @zarastoneley!

Released on 24th April 2020.

Thank you to @netgalley, @zarastonely and @onemorechapterhc for the opportunity to review.

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Rosie, the poor gal, gets dumped by her long time boyfriend and turns to Tinder to find a date, only to get stood up. Noah, charismatic and cocky, comes to her rescue after seeing her sitting alone, and comes up with a plan to teach her how to date.

In premise, this could be a really great little rom-com. It had all of the makings for it; the hysterical dog walking adventure, wall climbing, and running into the Tinder date with it’s whole backstory. Sadly, it just fell flat for me due to the amount of time spent on Rosie’s father. It’s still a good story, but just not for me.

I’ve not found a book by this author that I haven’t enjoyed. I particularly enjoy her writing style and characterisation.

This book sounded great in the description, but unfortunately failed to deliver. I found it very slow to begin with, the middle picked up a bit, but it was just too predictable.
I felt Rosie was extremely immature, and she had some serious issues with her Dad that seemed a little unjust.
I struggled to find my place in the book sometimes, and make sense of what was going on. Such as when Rosie and Noah stop talking for weeks, then all of a sudden they are having coffee together and having a deep and meaningful. It was like part of the book was missing almost.

Thank you to the publisher for providing an ARC through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

I thought the set-up to this book sounded super cute - girl meets wrong boy at the bar and he agrees to "coach" her back into the dating game. Easy to see where it was going and the end won't come as a big surprise. But, the middle was just a disaster - Rosie has some serious (and justified) gripes about her dad and just never stops bringing him up, especially by comparing him to Noah, the man she is so clearly falling for. It honestly got really old and boring and I probably would have DNFed if I wasn't terrible at stopping. The beginning and end are fun, but the middle leaves a lot to be desired.

Thank you to the publisher for providing an ARC through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to love this book, but unfortunately it just wasn't for me. There was just so much unnecessary repetition,, especially within her inner dialog. about her father. While I quite liked the hero, Noah, the heroine Rosie was whiny and weak. After a rocky start, Rosie's mother turned out to be a bright spot. I liked the storyline, which was predictable (and fine for this kind of book) but it just went on... and on... and on.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for proving an ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

This is exactly the kind of great contemporary romance I’ve come to expect from Zara. If you’ve been a fan of her other works, you should love this! Rosie is a great character and I loved the portrayal of the various dates. A really fun read!

This is a fun, entertaining, light rom-com that will perfectly warm your heart!

Rosie accepts a crash course from Noah, a stranger she meets at a bar, to help her find dates easily but where will it lead with these two enjoying their time together? Noah is absolutely adorable and their witty banter is so cute. The only issue I had was with Rosie’s daddy issues that felt repeated throughout the book. It was predictable but it was definitely engaging for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy.

I’m a Zara Stoneley fan. The first book of hers I read was “Bridesmaids”. Here’s how I started my 5-star review- “I will do my best to stop laughing and sputtering at you as I write this review. That’s how funny and adorable is this book is. Applause and lots of love to author Zara Stoneley for creating a warm and witty story.” So, 5 stars for “Bridesmaids”.

Then I read and liked her Christmas story, “Four Christmases and a Secret”. Daisy was the heroine of this holiday book; Daisy is not the shining star she had hoped to be. She is lost and subdued until she learns that it’s up to her to seize life’s opportunities.

So how did I like Ms. Stoneley’s latest book, “The First Date”? This book is billed as a “hilarious, heartwarming romantic comedy about what happens when the wrong guy turns up at the right time…” Rosie is the gal we are rooting for and she has given up on romance after her long-time relationship failed. Her ex moved to Wales to be a sheep farmer and then he remarried. Rosie, who works in a bookshop, wants to dip her toe into the dating world, but when Tindr fails her and she’s stranded at a local pub, she meets an intriguing guy who claims he can teach her to be a successful dater.

Great idea for a rom com, isn’t it? Indeed! And parts of this book work so well. Witty dialogue, two lovable characters, a big dog, wayward parents, and bits of sadness and heartbreak. In many ways, Rosie is like Daisy, the rom com lead in “Four Christmases”, they are both so appealing yet a bit lost and sad. Ms. Stoneley tells us in her bio on Goodreads that she writes about “friendships, dreams, love and happy ever after. She hopes her tales make us laugh a lot, cry a little, and occasionally say ‘ahh!’” And she mostly succeeds in this book.

I liked the main characters, Rosie and Noah. I liked Rosie’s mom, and Rosie’s friend Bea. What didn’t work for me? Well, there is too much dialogue, and too much internal dialogue. Also, there is no clear sense of the setting and where this story takes place.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter for a digital review copy. This is my honest review.

I always look for books i can enjoy and this is one of those authors...
Thank you to netgalley and onmorechapter books for this early book for a honest review. Here goes.
We have the main character, Rosie who happens to be single after a long relationship shes running solo and all alone and she just doesnt know what to do with herself. Hence, the name of the book she goes online to meet men like we do today and she sets up a first date.... who didnt even turn up or even tell her he wasnt on his way. Rosie, isnt feeling too good about herself and stays in the pub for a couple of drinks and before you know it, Noah is teaching her dating skills.
Rosie hasnt a difficult relationship with her charming Dad which is brought to light in the book. I liked Rosie and how she got to feel better about herslf with the help of Noah... the Tinder refrences are just that, and very funny scenes too. i laughed alot! There isnt much of a story in it, as its just the name of the book, the first date.
If your looking for a fun comical read, then look no further.

If you're looking for a cute romantic comedy, look no further! "The First Date" is based on the premise of a woman, Rosie, who is re-entering the dating scene and believes she needs help to attract men. Enter Noah, a funny and steamy man who has given up on love. These two have such great chemistry and witty conversations that I was rooting for them from the very beginning!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book. It made me laugh and I enjoyed the relationship between Rosie and Noah.

It was a nice lighthearted read with a lovely storyline. I would recommend this if you’re looking for a pick me up.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 from me

A brilliant read. Fun and engaging from the very beginning.I absolutely loved the banter between the two main characters. I do enjoy a good Romcom and this didn't disappoint.

This was a light, rom-com read from Zara Stoneley.

Firstly, I really liked the cover design!

The book itself was an easy read and Noah is a likeable character. Rosie, however, I found to be not so likeable. Her inner dialogue was a bit too long and repetitive. It was obvious from the start she had issues with her dad which affects her current relationship, but that was repeated constantly throughout.

It was a pretty predictable storyline with no major plot.

I enjoyed reading it and got through it quickly, but would have liked for their to be more of a plot.

I recieved a free digital edition of the book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and given freely.

So going by the description I was incredibly excited to read this one - I read a lot of romances so it'sy kind of book - and sadly I was so disappointed.

Not only was the plot very obvious - which is fine... It was expected that's not the problem - there was no real plot other than that, there was hardly any character development to be honest the characters seemed unbelievable.

I really didn't like Rosie, she was one dimensional and pathetic and far too self loathing. And I hated her inner monologue.

I don't remember if it's ever stated where abouts they lived - which just shows very poor world building - but I live in the north east and the words and terminology they use just isn't something a grown woman uses... It felt like I was reading a 12 year olds point of view. And quite frankly it really put me off the book.

But I pushed through and sadly I loathe Rosie quite a lot. There was so much untapped potential and the actual book could have been a lot shorter.

Rosie, who has just broken up with her childhood sweetheart, hasn’t had a date in years. When she gets stood up on a first date, good looking and flirty Noah offers to help get her ready to date. Rosie’s looking for boring and safe, everything Noah’s not. How will their experiment end and will Rosie find what she is looking for?

A lighthearted book which was an easy and entertaining read.

A great story of Rosie who gets stood up by her date - through Tinder.
In steps Noah to give her education in first dates.

There’s depths to the story that get uncovered as the book progresses and you get to understand the reasons why the characters behave in certain ways.

A heartwarming romantic comedy.

Rosie has broken up with her long-term boring boyfriend and has arranged to meet someone new in a bar via Tinder. This is Rosie's first date and it doesn't go well.
Noah is also in the bar and they start chatting - and drinking. Noah ends up offering to teach Rosie how to flirt/ behave on dates and against her better judgement, the next morning during a hangover brunch with her best friend, Rosie texts Noah and takes him up on his offer.

Both main characters were nice enough although I couldn't possibly be friends with Rosie. Her attitude toward men really was too much. There's a good reason for why Rosie felt the way she did, and we find this out very early in the book - but I didn't like it / couldn't relate and felt that it was just an excuse and someone should have told Rosie that she was being ridiculous a long time ago.

This is of course a very predictable story. We all knew how it was going to end but having said that, the journey was still enjoyable.

First date is a terrific romance novel. I love the characters each is flawed in a what life has made me. But there flaws fit together well to make a whole relationship