Love love love this book. Clare Pooley writes a great story of strangers meeting on a train and their developing friendship. Strangers from a wide range of backgrounds and ages come to care for each other and help each other with their lives. Iona is a gem. I’ve read The Authenticity Project previously and thoroughly enjoyed that as well. Can’t wait for future heart warming stories like this one.

Becoming a massive fan of Clare Pooley! This book did not disappoint. Even better than The Authenticity Project. While I've never been a commuter, I'm a fan of people's stories and this book developed a number of fabulous tales with rich characters. Pooley captures the magic and depth of personal connection alongside the dark and light of real life. I found myself laughing, crying and my only disappointment was when it was over. That said - loved the author's acknowledgement section too which explains the name of the main character. Thank you Clare for such an enjoyable read and I can't wait for your next one!

The premise of this book caught my eye; who hasn’t endured the social pressure that comes from riding public transit? Although this book is not my preferred genre I decided to take a chance and request it from NetGalley. I’m glad I did - it was a thoroughly enjoyable character study of some very likeable people.

What a beautiful novel about an eclectic group of individuals. I didn't want to put this one down, and admittedly, I was a little saddened when I turned the page and realized it had ended. The small snippets of each person's day, mostly just the span of the commute was more than enough to let me get to know each character. Will be seeking out Pooley's past and future works if this is an indication of what to expect.

Such a lovely cozy read. I was looking forward to this after finishing The Authenticity Project and was not disappointed. The author has such a wonderful ability to create sympathetic characters that propel the story forward which she demonstrated again in this book.

I am grateful to Penguin Random House Canada and NetGalley for access to this eARC prior to publication in exchange for this honest review.

A lovely read, all the characters were believable, a great network established of friends across generations and classes, it was nice that as much as Iona was the head of the group, she didn't solve everything. Rate this 4.5 but will find up to 5 here.

I must start by thanking NetGalley as well as the publisher for my eARC in exchange for my honest review. Looking for a unique, quirky, life lesson read, while you enjoy a heart tug story? I stumbled upon this and am so grateful. A wonderful story full of so many life lessons, but all wrapped up in the most delightful novel. There really does seem to be this unspoken rule that you do not speak to strangers while taking public transportation, but just maybe if you did, you too could find the solutions to your life problems?

This book was just an absolute joy to read!
With a story centred around Iona - a late middle age writer - we meet a group of commuters and their stories and how a dramatic incident brings them all together in an unlikely, multi-generational mishmash of friends.
I loved how each character brings their own unique selves and perspectives into the story and makes you wish you could be a commuter on platform 5 right along with them.
This is a feel good book that I just couldn’t put down! An easy and enjoyable read, I highly recommend this to be bumped up to the top of your TBR list.

I received a copy of this ARC eBook from NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada in exchange for my honest review. Thank you again for this opportunity!

This book will fill you with so many emotions.

I was ready to give it a 5 stars from the first few chapters, each character had thier quirks and I loved how Clare Pooley described the differences each one had and how they all worked together as the story unfolds.

This feel good read is such a great reminder to not judge someone based one thier stereotypes.  Happy tears will commence at the ending.

Tropes: unlikely friendships

Such a charming and quirky story of friendship - loved all the multi-faceted characters and how they came together! Many lessons learned! Highly recommend !!

I absolutely loved this book and did not want to put it down! It was so easy to devour the short chapters with alternating points of view, and I was kept intrigued wanting to know what would happen next the whole way through. Personally, this has become a new favourite book of mine!

In Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting, complete strangers become intertwined with the lives of the people they commute with on a regular basis but never speak to. It takes something unexpected to happen to force them to actually get to know each other. This book has a very similar premise to Clare Pooley's debut novel, The Authenticity Project, where strangers are brought together by a solitary green notebook left in a coffee shop.

I loved pretty much everything about this book! The interconnectedness that evolves with the character development. I think it's very clever to have a variety of each character's experience as they range from ages 16 to 60-ish. I think this book will appeal to a huge demographic of readers from young adult into adult fiction and will have the younger readers at present circling back later in life to read from a new perspective. I loved seeing how these once complete strangers on the train start to influence each other, and start to genuinely care for one another all while dealing with very authentic real life issues outside of their commute.

And I haven't even talked about Iona yet. How can I sum up Iona Iverson? I can't! What an icon. Everything Iona's character stands for is what we need in this world right now. The world needs more Iona! Go read this book, I highly recommend it!

Thank you to Clare Pooley for writing this delightful story & sharing these characters with the world. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the opportunity to read the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

It's well after midnight and I've spent the last few hours reading while alternately laughing and crying. Truth be told, there were times when both afflicted me at the same time. I fell deeply in love with Iona from the first only to find that there were many more characters to cherish. Now, at the end of my reading, I am bereft as though a fabulous party is over and everyone has left for home.

Told through the voices of many narrators, the story follows a group of commuters after an incident requires them to break their self-imposed anonymity. With rich and bold characterization, the author captures her readers, leading them safely to the conclusion of the book.

What an experience! I feel very privileged to have participated ever so slightly in this journey.

Thank you to Netgalley and Clare Pooley for the chance to read this e-Arc. My opinions are mine alone and are honest and true.

I really loved this book. The characters were well thought out and believable, and the story intersections were well timed. This is a lighter read, but it deals with some difficult topics such as psychological manipulation in relationships as well as bullying and addiction as well. I appreciated the nods to Agatha Christie, and the character reveals throughout the book that only made me want to read faster. This won't be the last book I read by Clare Pooley!

I found this book entirely charming. Loved the character development and the revelations and the interconnected and intertwined lives of these commuting strangers. I enjoyed the opportunity to see situations through each individuals perspective - that style of writing fit so perfectly with this book.

This was a mostly cozy read with several serious topics strewn in - but they all seemed like natural parts of the story.

I enjoyed this book so much that I finished it in two days, which is really saying something because I usually don’t make time for reading in my busy life! This book charmed me and enticed me forward, curious to see how each character’s story would progress. I enjoyed the main character, Iona, because she is around my age and is a force to be reckoned with! She feels, as many women do, that she has become “invisible” because of her age - irrelevant, even. I know exactly how this feels, so I could relate to her struggle to maintain the status she had gained during her very interesting and admired life.

Interestingly, each character demonstrated an aspect of the “modern human condition”: the bullied student, the redundant banker, the anxiety ridden healthcare worker, the dull husband…. The anonymity of commuting was contrasted with the revealed humanity of each character’s story. There’s nothing I love more than observing people and wondering what dramas are going on behind their bland facade. This novel delves into that drama, and goes a step further by showing how we can overcome our troubles “with a little help from our friends”.

I have become tired of stories that involve murder, war, torture, inhumane treatment and horrible situations. But neither do I enjoy saccharine sweet romance or predictable drama. This novel was adorable and original. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and highly recommend it!!

A truly refreshing story about found family that had me engaged from start to finish. Iona challenges her fellow commuters in positive ways, and I think we all need an Iona in our lives. The growth that these characters go through by the end was astonishing and inspiring. I will be watching this author with great interest.

Such a refreshing book.
Having strangers become friends..
Meeting because of an accident on the train and going through each of their lives.
Makes you look at people differently and remember we are all dealing with something...whether something good or something that affects us daily.
Thank you to the author do a brilliant book..I look forward to more.

Thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an early release of this book.

A daily commute on public transit is usually spent trying to ignore everyone around you and concentrate on your own well-being. Sure, you see the same people regularly and maybe even have nicknames for them or have created their fantasy lifestyle.

Iona Iverson is no different, but the circumstances that lead a group of regular commuters to become friends was a fun read.

I'm looking forward to more books from this author.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I fell completely into Iona's world and felt like a commuter on her train. Each character is so unique yet they each found something in another to connect. It shows what a wonderful world it can be. Everyone needs an Iona in their life. I was sorry the story ended but it left me feeling hopeful and serene.

Sonder — noun. the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own.

“Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting” by Clare Pooley takes sonder to the next level. A group of strangers on a train are brought together following one person’s near death experience. They move from having their own assumptions and nicknames about one another (e.g., smart-but-sexist-manspreader) to being deeply involved in the joys and sorrows of each person’s life.

I loved the character development that occurred over multiple train trips as the author peeled back the layers on these people all of us commuters have seen on the train at some point. In a time when the world seems more and more divided it was heartwarming to read this story of people coming together despite their differences - the common thread being that we all struggle and need support of a caring community. A feel good book that was the perfect start to summer reading.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.