I'm amazed that Love in Lockdown got published as quickly as it did. I would say that a subject like this could easily become dated, but...it looks like lockdown, social distancing, masks, and COVID are here to stay for a bit. It's timely, and, while I get tired of hearing about all things COVID in real life, it was still nice to read and feel less alone.

I was hesitant about this book since we are still in a pandemic and it felt like it was too soon to read about romance in lockdown. I was wrong. This book was adorable and it had me smiling and it probably gave me cavities with all the gooey sweet moments. I adored how they had never met even while being literal neighbors since it is so on brand for their age group. The book made me wish for my own balcony and cute neighbor that would keep me company during these times by sending down drinks. It was such a cute read when the world seems to be falling apart at its seams.

I rather enjoyed that Sophia is a teacher but it was sus that she was still doing in person teaching during lockdown but I can overlook it.. I really liked Jack! His health issues kept him inside and it was really cool to read about him. I loved that the book was more than just their romance since it was also about community. They helped elderly and vulnerable populations who tend to slip through the gaps left behind even in countries with nationalized health care. I think the book was more of a 3 stars for me but giving it 4 stars since it made me forget and smile during the time I spent reading it.

When lockdown started I thought that the last thing I would want to read would be a novel set during lockdown. Bizarrely in the two or so weeks I was suffering with Covid I opened and read two books relating to life and scenarios not so dissimilar to what we were going through!

The second of these was Love in Lockdown. I really enjoyed this slow burning romance novel of two people who meet on their balconies. I love the way it vividly described those early days of the first lockdown and the sense of community that thrived during that time. This book was charming, heartwarming and uplifting, a lovely read at a time when everything seems so bleak.

Jack and Sophia are neighbours, only they don't know it yet. It's only when Lockdown entraps them in their homes, that they discover each other, when after the evening clap, Jack hears Sophia crying on the balcony below.

This is a sweet story with some funny moments and an interesting take on life and love in lockdown. I found it a little long winded in places, but other than that it was well written and a pleasant read.

Thanks to NetGalley, Chloe James and her publisher for allowing me to read and advance copy for free in exchange for an honest review.

I picked up this book to get an uplifting cute story about love in lockdown. But I got more than that. It is not just a “cute story about love in lockdown”. It is also a story about human resilience, about community, and about helping others. I enjoyed reading about how life has been just a couple of months ago, remembering how I felt back then.

The best thing to come out of the lockdown! Sophia and Jack are neighbours in an apartment building who get to know each other on their balconies during the lockdown. They work together to help other people face the loneliness and difficulties of surviving the lockdown and fall in love along the way. They both have medical issues that have changed their lives and have affected relationships in the past. However, they have never seen each other face to face…..

This is the second book I have read bout the COVID lockdown whilst we are still going through the lockdown - it’s amazed me that these authors have managed to write a publish a book during this time.
Love in Lockdown for me epitomises lockdown. It’s the story of two single people living in the same block of apartments who whilst outside on their balconies clapping for careers they start speaking without actually being able to see each other.
This then becomes the highlight of their day and Sophia finds herself falling in love with someone she has never seen.
It’s a lovely, lighthearted rom com and I really enjoyed it.
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This story was great fun. It shows the sprit of communities when difficulties arise. and peoples coping strategies when under pressure. I am sure it will resonate with a lot of readers..

A world of thanks to Avon Books UK and NetGalley for supplying me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

3/5 stars

I just finished and I'm still suffering from the overload of the warm-and-fuzzies and cuteness! This was exactly everything I wanted out of a cutesy romance.

Life in the COVID-19 lockdown is rough on anyone's mental sanity, but when Sophia's apartment complex rang with applause for the essential workers, she broke down and cried. In concern, the man on the apartment balcony above hers strikes up a conversation with her and puts a smile back on her face. Eventually, Sophia's nightly balcony talks with Jack, the man from the apartment above hers, are the highlight of her day. But can you really fall in love with someone you've never actually met face to face?

This was such a fun new spin on a romance! I wish someone had given a copy to me while I was still in quarantine, just to show me that there can always be light and love even in these strange times. I know that there's an inflation of quarantine stories recently, but this one is probably my favorite to date.

But of course, when you have a book that's mildly rom-com-ish like this one, there's always that little touch of unrealisticness that kind of tasks away from the story as a whole. Sophia and Jack's balconies appear to be far enough apart that they have to use a pulley system to send each other stuff. Wouldn't they have to shout at each other? And then wouldn't the neighbors hear it all? It just doesn't make sense. Maybe Sophia and Jack are just more patient than I am, but I couldn't imagine not even attempting to see the other person's face. Jack tries half-heartedly, but he enjoyed the mystery of it all. I guess I get that, I could just never imagine doing it myself!

Though there really wasn't much of a plot, one thing this book excelled at was simply making me happy. Cutesy romance just tends to do that to me! I really should put more into my rotation. Everyone needs some fluff now and then to break up whatever you're reading, whether it is dark gory fantasy, nerve-wracking thrillers, or one of those sad contemporaries that aim (and normally succeed) in making you cry.

I just have one small note: what happened to Anna? This one little subplot appeared where this other girl in the apartment complex started paying attention to Jack, but it completely faded away. I think I would have enjoyed the drama, it's a bummer we didn't get to see more.

This was such a fun book! I'm glad quarantine gave someone some inspiration while I admittedly did nothing but lounge around in my pajamas reading. I would definitely recommend it to all looking for a cute lockdown romance!

This book had a cute premise. Unfortunately, it didn't read like an uncorrected proof but like a rough draft. Also,
I also question the need for so much world building regarding a pandemic that we're all currently living through. That unnecessary exposition slowed the pace and made the book feel mundane. The comparison to THE FLATSHARE is embarrassing. THE FLATSHARE is a masterpiece. This book is Not Ready for Prime Time.

This was for sure a very hard book to get through in this current climate. For many a chapter I felt too much anxiety to get through the next page, having to continually stop before moving onto the next chapter. It was a very nice idea, a good romance wherein the characters made do with an impossible situation that as readers we are all currently living in. I know that for years to come this kinda storyline will be retold in one form or another but when you’re in the same boat as the main characters, with the same fears of whether or not friends or family will be okay, not knowing just when this pandemic will end.. imagining not being able to find love because we’re meant to be locked away.. feeling alone.. it’s just too real for comfort at the moment.

First of all, I want to thank NetGalley for the digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

To borrow the sentiments of another reviewer...this story was so sweet it made my teeth hurt. So much more than a romantic comedy, this story serves as a reminder of what can be accomplished when people come together for the good of others.

When I started reading this book, I was looking forward to a light-hearted romcom set within current events. In the Prologue we are introduced to Jack, an average man going about his business in a busy English town, too absorbed in his own troubles to notice much of what's going on around him. Basically, a typical day we could all relate to prior to 2020.

When lockdown is implemented in an effort to slow the spread of Covid-19, the world slows down and narrows in on a small community of flats where we are introduced to a variety of characters, each of whom could be your own next door neighbor. There is the neighborhood busy-body, the elderly widower, the quirky musician, and the story's heroine, Sophia. Sophia is an elementary school teacher suffering from a broken heart and a recent diagnosis of epilepsy. When the fear and stress culminate in a moment of emotional release on her balcony, her upstairs neighbor, Jack, calls down to ask if she's ok. This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Jack has been instructed not to leave his flat during lockdown due to a chronic illness that puts him at high risk if he catches the virus. Sophia offers to drop groceries off for him and soon sets up a neighborhood support group in which she can offer help to others who need groceries or dog walkers, or simple human connection through regular phone calls.

As lockdown continues, Sophia and Jack continue their daily balcony discussions, sharing intimate secrets and opening up with each other in ways they hadn't been able to with anyone else. And, without having ever met face to face, they form a deep connection.

This story was so inspiring. The characters so sweet and kind. Sophia is so altruistic and a shining example of how everyday people can be heroes. It's funny how this story is set in our current circumstances, and yet far enough removed that it feels like a separate world that I never wanted to leave. I left this world with a desire to do more and spread more kindness. And it's a world I will return to whenever I need a reminder of what can be accomplished when we take our minds off ourselves and focus on how we can help others.

Love in Lockdown is the first book that I've read (not science fiction/fantasy) that delves into the subject of relationships during the pandemic! Meeting while maintaining social distancing, wearing masks, and dating? Jack and Sophia meet during the pandemic. They talk to each other from their socially distant balconies. They talk and encourage each other. This book does reflect the current circumstances of the pandemic, so there is not a lot of excitement happening in their day to day lives. However it does help us realize that we have neighbors and potential friends right under our noses. These are two people who probably barely glanced at each other before the pandemic, but now there is nothing but time to learn about yourself and others.

This is a fantastic book and just right for us all this year. Based on our first lockdown due to Covid 19 this tells of the lives of people living in a block of flats and several local homes. It sheds light on peoples lives and what can and should happen in our everyday lives. The community feeling has all but disappeared these days and it is such a shame. I think everyone should read this very well written book and it is down to all concerned that it made it to the shelves so quickly and in time for our second lockdown. This is a 5 star book and I recommend everyone to read and enjoy this. Well done to all the team and author.

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for this ARC in return for an honest review.

Sophia is afraid lockdown will put her life on pause – just as she was she was going to put herself out there and meet someone. Jack is used to living life to the fullest, and is going stir-crazy after just days isolating. Until that night he hears a woman crying from the balcony beneath his.

Soon their balcony meetings are the highlight of Jack and Sophia’s days. But even as they grow closer together, they’re always kept apart.

It’s your typical love story - ups and downs and ends happily (sorry, spoiler alert). But I loved every second of it. This is one of those lighthearted reads that you can’t help but devour. I also kind of loved reading something about COVID and being in lockdown - with a light at the end of the tunnel. Short and sweet review for you, but I loved it.

Hmmm I'm rather undecided about Love in Lockdown. Honestly I think it's a bit too soon for me to have read any books set in the (yet) unresolved world of the covid pandemic, and I found myself at one point wondering if I should even finish because it was making me anxious. I'm glad I did finish, because ultimately Love In Lockdown was a sweet book... but maybe just not for me.

Overall the story was solid, but it just felt unrealistic in certain details such as, how, in 2020, could two people who live above-and-below each other never have seen each other OR figure out how to look each other up online to see what the other looks like. Also I kept wanting to shake-up the characters a bit, with some doom-and-gloom "IT"S NEVER GOING TO END!!!!" type speech.

So, yeah, It might be too soon.

Overall well written, if a little too simplistic. I might check out Chloe James' future books after she gets a few done, this one just felt like something was missing.

I suppose this is an instance of Its me not the book...

I love stories about how people fall in love under unusual circumstances.. especially when you can’t physically be together.

While this story was unique and sweet and relatable it wasn’t the escape that I love books for. The pandemic is so real and in our faces and every day lives constantly that it’s impossible to find escape and joy in a book where it plays a central part as well. I would love to go back and re-read this book when my state no longer has 8,000 cases a day and running out of hospital beds. I’m sure it will be a better read then. Again it’s a me thing not a book thing.

I ended up having to put this book down because when requesting this book I thought I would be okay reading all about the pandemic but I've found that I"m really not and it's somewhat messing with my mental health.

I'll pick this one up again later on down the line because I've heard good things about it!

I also found myself struggling with the format of this book as there were no clear breaks for chapters!

Was this the best book I’ve ever read? No. Was it an original and sweet read? Yes!

During these testing times, I’ve enjoyed reading so much more because it transports you to a different world - so for people who want to read for escapism, this probably isn’t the best choice for you because as you may have guessed from the title, it’s about love in lockdown!

Sophia Trent and Jack Stanton meet on their respective balconies and start a friendship (that begins to develop) without ever having seen each other in real life.

It was a nice, charming read and I liked all of the characters. Personally I would’ve like a little extra from the plot, although I really enjoyed reading all of the children’s parts.

All in all, it was a comforting read but I wouldn’t read it again.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

I received this from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't really like this at all. The writing wasn't great, it felt very stale and the storyline didn't help. Nothing really happened until the last 25% of the book and I didn't feel invested in the characters.