Love In Lockdown is a perfect romance for our times.
Jack lives in the flat above Sophia. He is a bartender who is furloughed during lockdown and isolating due to health issues. Sophia is a teacher who remains working for a small group of children of key workers.
Jack and Sophia become firm friends when they both start using their respective balconies and begin chatting; but do not meet face to face! They try to make the most of their time and start helping others in their community. Can their love for helping others bring them closer together? Will their romance blossom or will their past bad experiences in the love department stop them finding true love together?
Jack and Sophia are both excellent, well developed and likeable characters. They are supported by a number of other people in the community who all make Love In Lockdown a perfect read for this time. I highly recommend this book.
Thanks to NetGalley for a Kindle copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Highly enjoyed this book which is a definite sign of the times. Love during the pandemic is like a minefield and this book brings it to life.

Love in Lockdown by Chloe James a five-star read that will capture you. This was easily one of my favourite reads this year, and I will be honest with you, I almost didn’t read it as I was kinda fed up with lockdown, but I am so glad I did, this had me laughing it had me crying, and I mean ugly crying with raking sobs that had my dog coming over to check on me. I don’t know why I identified with this story as much as I did, but my goodness it got me right in the feels, this dealt with so many different things and it dealt with them so well. I adored how this story brought the realities of being part of the young shielding group, my husband was told to shield, and I am a key worker so we have had to get creative, I lost my stepbrother to Epilepsy so I know how it can change lives in the blink of an eye, this story will touch so many lives and I really hope that everyone reads it, it deserves to bring a positive light to lockdown. Jack and Sophia are great characters, but they are only two there are so many others that will captivate you and have you looking back at lockdown with rose tinted glasses, remembering the good moments, the moments that matter.

I read Love In Lockdown over the weekend and really enjoyed it. It was written during the first lockdown in England, an unprecedented time when everyone was wondering how the world would cope with this global pandemic. This book follows Sophia, a teacher and Jack, a barman who has been furloughed. Jack lives in the flat above Sophia and over the course of the lockdown they develop a firm friendship. They become closer but due to the lockdown they are still kept apart. I felt this book was very well written, it was sympathetic to the cause but also captured the resilience and community spirit of the public. I can highly recommend this book. Thank you to NetGalley, Avon Books and the author for the chance to review.

I wish my lockdown was filled with as much love, romance, heart and community spirit as this gorgeous story. Watching Sophie and Jack’s love blossom made me cry tears of pure joy - and the bouquet? SOBBING! This book is essential 2020 self-care.

Charming and sweet is the best way to describe this book.

Nothing better than a nice story to lift your spirits and I believe Chloe James achieved this with Love in Lockdown.

Sophia Trent and Jack Stanton are living in the same building without ever meeting in person. Jack has some health issues and he’s unable to leave his apartment during the pandemic lockdown. Sophia, on the other hand, is able to continue with her job as a teacher. She studied law but after developing epilepsy she gave up her career and now works with kids. Due to her illness, her boyfriend of five years didn’t want to stay with her.

One day after that NHS clapping, she becomes emotional and starts crying. Jack who lives above Sophia can hear her and they strike a conversation. Soon this becomes the norm. Sophia sends treats his way, while he sends special cocktails using a box and rope to her apartment balcony. Together, this duo and with the help of WhatsApp start helping their courtyard community.

Love in Lockdown brings some solid points about the pandemic including mental health issues that can arise from isolation, the need to help the elderly and other vulnerable populations, the importance of telemedicine and exhaustion of the healthcare workers, the need for teachers to help kids during these dire times.

My one complaint about the book would be the ending, I felt it needed more. Something was missing in the romance department.

3.5/5 fangs

Cliffhanger: No

A complimentary copy was provided by Avon UK via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Omg this book came too early for me if you know what I mean? I mean we Are still under a serious pandemic and some of us Are still under lockdown.. the book felt rushed and for me it did not have depth. . Thank you to netgalley for letting me read this e arc in exchange for an honest opinion

Love in Lockdown almost felt too soon like I was still living what I was reading! The characters all had a wide range of experiences and occupations which led to more storylines of how every person has been affected by this virus. The book was bit slow at the beginning and I was eager to return to the parts where Sophia and Jack relationship continued to develop. It was hard to believe that it took so long for them to actually meet one another in person! Overall, Love in Lockdown was a cute and hopeful romance story set against difficult times.

3.5/5

If you are looking for a relatable story for this time in history this would be the right one! Obviously the author pulled it together pretty quick and I think that was evident. Lacked some depth that I wish was there but overall a cute romance to read in lockdown and some extra hope for those still looking for that someone! hank you NetGalley for the advanced copy!

5 Stars

I received a copy of "Love in Lockdown" from Avon Books UK and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and I am so glad I had the opportunity to read it. I absolutely loved it. It was adorable, funny, and a really nice light-hearted story that many can relate to during these unprecedented times.

"Love in Lockdown" made me laugh out loud which was truly wonderful as I haven't read a book yet this year that has made me laugh so much. As a result I felt this book deserved a full five star review.

The book takes a look at isolation, how to remain safe, and helps us see how everything has changed for everyone globally. Life has changed significantly for everyone and this book captures the effect of isolation perfectly. The book focuses on the process of being on lockdown as opposed to the actual virus itself. The message to readers is simply be kind to others, help those who are in need, and above all love your neighbors.

The characters were very well written with Sophia and Jack at the forefront. Jack lives above Sophia and one night they start talking to one another outside from their balconies and within a few days they find themselves excited being unable to wait until their next balcony "meetup". As their relationship begins to develop they also start to form friendships with others from their neighborhood all from a distance.

For those who have felt the loneliness of isolation and missed social interaction, "Love in Lockdown" is a must read. I can't wait until publication date so I can purchase a physical copy of the book as it has earned a place on my to be kept forever bookshelf.

Love in Lockdown! After all of the world has experienced some kind of lockdown during 2020 due to Covid-19 I enjoyed reading this wonderful rom-com that felt so close to my heart, and I’m sure to most readers out there it will be the same.
The lockdown due to this pandemic posed so many challenges and the author portrays them with their characters in a very nice way. We have a neighbor love story of two persons that have never seen each other, Sophie, a teacher with epilepsy, and Jack, a bartender that suffers from kidney disease and therefore is totally isolated. The book explores the impacts on mental health, anxiety, and depression, the challenges for medical workers and their families, the challenges kids and elderly had and also the impact on those once in a lifetime events such as weddings!
This is a wonderful read, in which you get to love the characters, however it does not shy out of all those complicated topics I mention above. This is book about love and community even through trying times! 🥰

Thank you to #netgalley and the author for an ARC!

This contemporary romance in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic follows Sophia and Jack who are neighbours in the same block of flats, one level apart. They “meet” by chance when Jack hears Sophia crying below on her balcony, and due to the lockdown soon become friends. The story focuses firmly on the community spirit that we all adopted during the first national lockdown in the UK and reminded me of the community spirit that my own neighbourhood adopted, helping each other out as we could to ensure we were all safe.

This book was the first time I’ve read something that is based solidly in the time that we are currently experiencing and was made more poignant and real for me by the introduction of the second national lockdown in England which began as I was reading it. At times I did struggle to maintain my interest, however I think that that was more due to my own personal preference as I don’t usually read contemporary romance.

Overall, I found this book to be well written and charming, I loved the inclusion of the quirky neighbours that Jack and Sophia have, the developing romance between Jack and Sophia, and the positivity surrounding the lockdown situation which made me think about how I too could see the lockdown with more positivity. I therefore give this book 3 stars and look forward to reading more of Chloe James’ work in the future.

Love in Lockdown is the first novel I've seen about COVID-19. I'm sure there will be many more. For it to be published in November 2020, it must have been written both quickly and as events unfolded, although there is an epilogue which feels as tough it were added later. I'm not sure how much staying power Sophia and Jack's story will have but it was a pleasant way to pass a few hours, and it was an interesting look at lockdown in England, particularly for someone like me who lives elsewhere in the UK.

What a cute story! Perhaps I enjoyed this story even more as we all still right in the middle of this pandemic and it makes you think about what really matters.

Sophia is a teacher and during lockdown she gets to talking with her upstairs neighbor Jack... a man she has never met. Due to health reasons he is shielding and never leaves his home. Throughout this story their friendship grows to something more even though they have never even seen each other. It’s so cute and touching and all the smaller characters in this book also play a role in making the story extra special and making you think of how important friends are when you are going through hard times or unknown times like a pandemic.

As the global pandemic strikes, the country is put into lockdown. Jack is self isolating in his flat alone and one evening he hears crying from the balcony below his. Sophie had her world turned upside down and is trying to put the pieces back together when lockdown strikes. Soon they are regularly chatting on the balcony and a firm feature in each other’s lives. But will all that change when lockdown ends? Can you really fall in love with someone you have never seen?

“Love in lockdown” seemed the perfect book to pick up as the second lockdown started. It’s a light and easy read. The concept of falling in love with someone you never met but who lives above you was fun. I enjoyed the book but the pace of the plot really slowed in the middle of the book and I got impatient to reach the end of Jack and Sophie’s story. The “will they/won’t they” tension was absent for me. The characters in the community around Jack and Sophie were my favourite parts and the were some heartwarming moments that definitely raised a smile.

So I might just be in love with this.

When you see a book involving pandemic, especially given that we’re still living through it, parts of you might not want to read it because...yeah it’s difficult. Even through a book, it’s difficult to keep living the same horror we see on the news, especially if reading is your escape from it all.

But this book, to me, symbolizes hope.

This is the first lockdown book I’ve read, because I’ve studiously been avoiding reading any pandemic fiction, but Sophia and Jack intrigued me and I absolutely had to pick this one up.

Sophia and Jack are neighbors on different floors. They meet by chance, when Sophia’s having an emotional moment on her balcony and Jack hears her from the balcony above. And thus, as simple as that, strikes up a wonderful friendship between the two of them.

Slowly but surely, the other people in their building get drawn into a large group of hope and coping, each of them contributing something to stop each other from going out of their minds during the whole lockdown. Even Jack, who can’t leave the house at all, finds a way with Sophia’s assistance to provide what I call a tele-friend service!

Sophia is so bright and bubbly, full of hope and she’s a character that just goes with the flow and I loved that about her. As problems pop up, she weaves around them in her own optimistic way, and given that it’s become so difficult to see a beacon of light, it was refreshing to read that!

Jack is stuck at home, but he’s fun, easy-going, and even stir-crazy, he’s trying to make his neighbours’ lives a little better. There’s the basket he exchanges with Sophia, and the conversations he has with Greg, Bertie and the rest of them. Then he’s also become an uncle for the first time, and that was wonderful to see too!

Sophia and Jack, through these conversations, began to fall in love with one another and even through the obstacles, they still manage to find time and space for one another. I loved reading this because the book wasn’t completely about the romance, and it sure as hell wasn’t romanticizing the pandemic. They don't even see each other's faces until the absolute end!

I absolutely loved the way the author weaved in all the other neighbours’ experiences from Sophia and Jack’s alternative POVs, and Bertie’s story made me cry a little. All in all, this was a great read for anyone looking for a little hope and simple romance in the time of a pandemic!

[Thank you NetGalley and Avon Books for providing this book to me in exchange for an honest review!]

This book was super cute. I thought it might be too soon to read about a lockdown, but I was wrong. This was surprisingly upbeat about how the neighbors in the building take care of each other in time of need. It all starts when Jack hears Sophia crying on her balcony. They strike up a friendship, share their experiences with illness, families, and their futures and they start to fall for each other. When Jack needs something to take up his time after being furloughed and unable to leave the house, Sophia get's an idea to start a community check in. It starts with simple phone calls and grocery visits to helping each other out further. Overall this is a great light read about how uplifting lockdown could be.

The lockdown of 2020 brought so many changes and uncertainties and this fictional story captures them perfectly.
Jack and Sophia are neighbours in an apartment block but they're unaware of each other until lockdown. During the Thursday night clap for the NHS Jack hears Sophia crying on the balcony below. This is the beginning of a relationship conducted entirely at a distance due to both lockdown restrictions and Jack's medical need to shield. Throughout the story I was reminded of so many aspects I had forgotten about - the toilet roll shortage, the fears, the frustrations along with the new found reliance on zoom! The most importance aspect though is shown through their friendship. That, along with their relationships with family and community are at the heart of the book.
A lovely heartwarming story that is also a perfect time capsule showing our living history.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. I'll be posting my review on Goodreads and Amazon

Chloe James tackles the Covid-19 pandemic with gusto in this novel. We are introduced to the main characters, Sophia and James, in alternating chapters pre-lockdown. There's a prescient shadow over these early moments, as we get to know the characters and settle in for the inevitable and titular lockdown. It's effectively setting up where the story will be going, but things don't fully launch here until they get to meet in their neighboring apartments. It's ironic, given the title and the early chapters, that when the pandemic of it all does start to fade into the background and the focus becomes their relationship that the story sparks.