Reading this novel on the brink of the two year anniversary of the worldwide lockdown brought to the surface some feelings and memories, let me tell you!⁠
⁠
The novel follows the lives of a handful of residents of a block of flats that goes in quarantine for a week because a resident tested positive. It's a fast read, and it obviously gave me March 2020 flashbacks when the whole world went into lockdown. It was also interesting to read it with the lenses of knowing what was coming and how the world would be affected. ⁠
⁠
The stories are different, but they are all connected by the same theme: romantic love. It's fun to see people fall in love; what should have been a one time thing become something promising for the future; married people dealing with their issues; friendships being tested. It's an enjoyable read, it does read fast, but it's also got substance; it's not just another romance novel. I think it dealing with the early days of the pandemic gave it more weight.

I requested this because I thought reading a lighthearted story dealing with a pandemic might be comforting, and that aspect of it definitely worked for me. Unfortunately the story itself worked less well for me, though. I debated DNF-ing a couple of times because I felt like the book went on forever, and honestly, I might as well have. The characters didn't stand out to me, nor did I find them compelling, and their storylines weren't particularly interesting.

When the apartments on London Lane are suddenly in lockdown for a week, the residents and visitors to London Lane find themselves in a tight spot. Ethan and Charlotte are separated by the lockdown and while she spends the week in her family home that's currently on the market, Ethan is left on his own to ponder the perfect proposal. Isla, still in the honeymoon phase of her relationship with her boyfriend Danny gets a crash course in what it would be like to take their relationship to the next level. Couple Zach and Serena are forced to ask themselves all of the questions that have gone unanswered between them over the years, marriage, baby, a bigger house, with neither one of them completely sure of what they truly want, or if in fact, they should still be together at all. Meanwhile, maid-of-honor Liv is stuck with the entire bridal party including bridezilla and best friend Kim, Lucy, and the only American in the group, Addison, and Imogen finds herself getting to know Nate, the man who was supposed to be her one-night-stand.

Great story that had me laughing out loud! A perfect lockdown read and I loved all the different romances. Was a very quick read and very enjoyable.

I really enjoyed Lockdown on London Lane. I love multi-POV novels and loved that the common thread between all the storylines was being in the same building under quarantine. Reekles did a really great job of giving every character a unique voice and different trials and tribulations that seemed quite authentic. Since this all takes place at the very onset of the pandemic, I would love to read a sequel to this revisiting all the characters one or two years into the pandemic to see how they have fared.

TLDR - Enjoyable read.

Please forgive me for this review: I didn't end up finishing the story. Not due to the cute concept, the colorful cast of characters, or the slowly budding romances, but because I just wasn't interested in knowing what came next. I love the idea and the writing was a cute and refreshing take on what has been a dark two years, but I just couldn't get myself to a place in which I was interested to see how the story continued or resolved. All in all, I got about 30% in before I decided the story just wasn't for me.

If you love a quirky story told from multiple points of view, you might come to love this one. But if you get side-tracked by a large number of smaller plot lines and a large cast of characters, you might stumble your way through like me.

All in all, there are a great number of people who will love this one. Unfortunately, it just wasn't the right fit for me.

In this story we’re following five different apartments as their building goes into lockdown for one week. Told from multiple POVS, the characters are stuck at home at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and are trying to figure out how to adjust.

This is a story everyone can relate to as we’ve all been there. We may not have had the experiences as these people but this is a very relatable story! It brought me back to the early days of the pandemic and how I’m glad we’re past that.
I will say the characters became too similar for me. There are five apartments and four of which are young couples who all end up having relationship problems. The last apartment was a bridal party so that was more interesting at least.

It got to a point where I couldn’t remember who was having what fight or problem. I know there’s only so much that can happen during lockdown but it was too repetitive for me towards the end. Some differences between them would have made it more exciting. That being said I did like the endings and how everything was tied up.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Well this was a cutesy story ☺️ also jammed packed with a range of emotions 🥰😭😍🙃

The characters were great, all interesting in their own way, & getting to check in with them all throughout was fun! I love multi perspective books, & this one was no different 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

I hadn’t yet read a book that used the pandemic, & I was glad that this one took a bit of a light weighted approach. It ventured around the beginning, & even with all the unknowns it was used in a way that worked.

I’d read some of Beth’s books previously (hello @thekissingboothnetflix ), & I’m looking forward to more that she writes 💖💖

Overall verdict: If you’re looking for an easy, fun, entertaining story with some VERY relatable characters, definitely check this one out!

Thank you @netgalley @wbywattpadbooks @wattpadbooks for the copy!

Lockdown On London Lane is OUT NOW!

I really enjoyed this book. It was a feel good romance about being in a lockdown within an apartment building. I loved that we got to follow multiple characters and their relationships. By far my favourite character was Ethan and I loved seeing his story play out. This was a quick but enjoyable read for me!

5 apartment occupants wake up on a sunday morning to find out they're in lockdown for seven days due to the pandemic.
This was such a funny read. I really enjoyed reading through all those point of view. I loved the writing and some scenes were to laugh out loud.

It's a story I'll definitely recommend!

I received an eARC of Lockdown on London Lane by Beth Reekles from Wattpad and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
4 stars for this laugh-out-loud rom-com. It tells the story of the residents of an apartment building during a 7-day lockdown. Fun read!

I really enjoy this cute story. The plot kept me interested and I will definitely recommend to my friends!

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher/author for providing me with an e-copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book was exactly what I wanted it to be! I loved it. I will make sure to check out other books by this author. When I requested this I was just intrigued by the concept of it and I loved how it turned out. This story had a great plot and if you have read this and enjoyed it, This was so much. It was such a great story. I would say give this one a try. I will continue to follow this author. Way to go to this author for not letting me down.

Well, here's a book that represents how life has been for the past two years😂 lives are trying to be lived on London Lane, but what happens when the apartment building is forced to be put on a week-long quarantine thanks to the ever-quick spreading virus? Ethan and Charlotte end up having to separate through a locked door, and Ethan now has to figure out how he can get through the week without her. Meanwhile, Zach and Serena get into a major fight, and quarantine makes them really put their relationship to the test, as they figure out their issues with each other. We've got Isla and Danny's new romance moving faster than normal, when Danny's forced to live with her for a week within a month of dating her. Liv's got crazy bridesmaids and a bridezilla in her home, and is now trying to handle all the chaos and emotions being thrown around. Imogen and Nate? What was supposed to be just a one-night stand is now turning into a seven-night stand....wow, it really is true when they say life is what happens when you're busy making other plans, and this building on London Lane does not fail to prove that. An entertaining book full of chaos and emotions indeed😍 loved it!

Lockdown on London Lane is a cute story set at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, when lockdown and COVID rules are brand new. The mask that fogs up your glasses, not being able to hold the door for the person behind you (keep it 6 feet apart!), finding no available grocery delivery slots, and the possibility of working from home and connecting with friends via Zoom are all just beginning to be the new reality.

When a tenant in the apartment building tests positive for COVID, the building is locked down, with no one allowed in or out. Lockdown on London Lane jumps from one apartment to another, sharing the stories of the residents during the seven-day lockdown. Some residents are locked in with people they never planned to spend a week with; others are locked out of the building and desperate to get back in. Relationships are tested, created, broken, and evaluated. Banana bread is baked; workout routines are modified.

All the residents seem to be 20-somethings (maybe early 30s?) with very little attachments - unmarried, no children, and not a single one even owns a pet. This could make the book more appealing and identifiable to readers of similar ages. It did take me a few rotations through the apartments to learn all the characters' names and who was locked in (or out) with whom. I felt like the stories dragged on a bit and really could have wrapped up sooner, but it was fun to see that many of the residents were somehow connected to each other although they didn't seem to really know each other directly from living in the same building. There is an endearing viral video toward the end that makes the entire read worthwhile.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

cute book! i enjoyed reading it and would recommend to others to read if they do please! plot characters and setting were fun and i enjoyed the whole premise of the book!

TW : anxiety, mental health, lockdown related to COVID-19, isolation

Genre : contemporary, romance, new adult, LGBTQ+

So there were a LOT of characters in this book, with a LOT of alternating POVs. And somehow everyone new everyone, even the best friend who didn't live in the building but was related to someone else in the building? Or something like that 😂

I did enjoy this book, but it dragged ooooon and fell short for me. I liked how well the author illustrated the pressure of lockdown, as well as how all the POVs wrapped up at the end. It was nice and tidy.

I wasn't sure what I was expecting when I read this. I think that if you have had a fine time with the lockdown stuff this is totally the read for you. If not maybe this is one to skip.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this advance reader copy.


Description from NetGalley:
For the inhabitants of London Lane, a simple slip of paper underneath each of their doors is about to change their lives in a hundred different ways.
URGENT!!! Due to the current situation, building management has decided to impose a seven-day quarantine on all apartment buildings on London Lane.
With nowhere else to go…
Ethan and Charlotte wonder whether absence really does make the heart grow fonder when they end up on either side of a locked door.
A fierce debate over pineapple on pizza ignites a series of revelations about Zach and Serena’s four-year relationship.
Liv realizes rolling with the punches is sometimes much harder than it looks after her bridesmaids’ party goes off the rails, leaving the group at each other’s throats.
Isla and Danny’s new romance is put to the test as they jump ten steps ahead on the relationship timeline.
And Imogen and Nate’s one-night stand is about to get six do-overs they never really asked for—not awkward at all.
Through make ups, breakups, love-ins, and blowouts, friendships are tested as everyone scrambles to make it through the week unscathed. Amidst all the drama, one thing remains constant: life is full of surprises.
This book is well done and kept me entertained. It just doesn’t wow me. The relationships are definitely put to the test as the lockdown keeps people apart and forced together and are what kept me reading.
Overall: 3/5

Even though we'd all like to forget the years of dealing with COVID and quarantining, this book gives you hope for a happy ending.