Quinn captures a modern day fairytale of what Helen Pines thinks she wants. With an impactful beginning, Helen finds herself overly fantasizing of "what could be" when matching with Brody from an online dating app. This story goes through Helen's emotional rollercoaster with her head in the clouds until someone comes along for the ride. Quinn reminds her readers that although we may be focused on what's in front of us, don't forget stop and look around. Something or someone could have been there all along.

Looking at the cover, I was certain that it's going to be a feel-good, light and easy read. But I couldn't get into the story at all. I am quite disappointed in the book. I might try other books from the author soon.

This book definitely had some good moments that were sparkled around; however, it did not hook me to keep reading like most books I’ve read. I did take my time reading this one. I really wish I could love this book but it just was not for me. There were moments where it also made me laugh and I liked that, maybe if there were more romance and spice in the middle I would be intrigued with the characters and what happens next, it just felt a bit dry on that part. The main character has her mind set and she goes for it which is something I liked seeing, but she also was a bit annoying & just threw me off. Overall it was sorta a cute read for me I just wish the storyline kept me hooked. The ending did make up for it as I enjoyed the last couple of chapters.

When Helen finds herself single after her ex boyfriend cheats on her, she downloads a dating app to see what her options are. A match and subsequent first date with Brody seems too good to be true but what happens when the app loses their profiles and conversation?

I thought this was a pretty cute book. It was shaping up to be a fairly standard chick flick style but I was really happy and surprised by the way it turned out. I enjoyed all of the characters and I liked how there were storylines other than just Helen's which made it feel more like a complete novel rather than just a flat romance.

4/5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and the author for this copy to review.

This book was a struggle to finish for me. The beginning really caught my attention but it was lost throughout the rest of the book. I really tried hard to enjoy it, but I just couldn’t. I did laugh at a few parts and the storyline was a bit predictable. I think this book wasn’t for me and that’s okay!

I will try another book from this author in the future. I'm not giving up just yet!

Thank you to Harper Collins and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC before publication!

I really enjoyed this story! Watching Helen come into her own and start living in reality was so refreshing. A great reminder of how fantasizing and idealizing situations can really skew one’s perception of a person. Plus, all of the cute little side plots were adorable and added depth to the main arc. Finding Vernon, the festival, the lack of care about what Helen wore, they were all adorable and one could really see the love develop, instead of just appear. This isn’t just a story about love, it’s about acceptance and standing up/respecting onself and it’s inspiring to see stories of women stepping into their own power. Truly a great time.

I had a really hard time connecting with the characters in this book. It was a quick, easy vacation read, though!

I so badly wanted to love The Last First Date, but sadly didn’t enjoy it. I didn’t like the characters, storyline or ending. I will definitely try other books by the author though!

Thank you, NetGalley and Harper Collins, for sending me an eArc of this book!

This book wasn't for me and that's okay.

The story follows Helen, a single woman who learns her ex-boyfriend has been engaged. She signs up for an online dating app and meets Brady. The two meet for a date, and Helen has a wonder time. However, chaos erupts when the app crashes and Helen loses Brady's contact information. Believing he is the "one," Helen embarks on a mission to track Brody down and find the love of her life.

The Last First Date had great potential in the beginning, but simply fell short as the story progressed. I wasn't impressed with any of the characters, and it was a struggle to reach the end. Helen and Brady felt forced, and I didn't feel any real connection between them.

The writing style wasn't for me, and I found it rather distracting. There were also many instances of telling vs. showing throughout the book. I found this evident with character descriptions and actions which made it difficult to visualize the picture the author was painting.

A feel good book that was fun and not hard to read. Predictable, but I actually like this kinds of books.

I struggled to get going with this book, i wasn't keen on the lead character she wasn't very likeable , but there was a few laughs among the pages.

Disappointing. I thought the book had a lot of potential, I loved the premise but it was poorly executed. There was a lot of telling and no showing. The writing style wasn't really my cup of tea. The characters were a bit superficial and weren't really thought out. Even the romance felt a little weird, it was rushed and there was absolutely no chemistry between the characters. Frankly, I'm not even sure this should be categorised as a romance.
Helen, the main character, was incredibly needy and immature for a 31-year-old woman. The first 2/3 of the book were so painful to read about. It was basically all about her desperate search for a man she met once, months ago, and with whom she was already in love. Everything Helen did, she did for that guy or because she was looking for that guy; her entire life choices revolved around him and her fear of being single. She was so unlikeable. I literally can not tell you one single thing about this character because the only thing she did was stalking that Brody guy.
Also, Helen has a friend, called Elle. Elle seemed to be from Spain (?) although the author kept referring to her as Latin (I'm not sure I get it). Elle was a living stereotype. She started every single sentence with the word "amiga" and apparently she was a great dancer BECAUSE she was "Latin". She's described as "spicy" many times in the book and I don't know if that's just me but I find that incredibly inappropriate and harmful.
That cover is pretty great though...

Thanks NetGalley and HQ HQ Digitals for allowing me to get the e-ARC for an honest review.

This book follows a story of Helen Pines, a Food-blogger entering her 30s and is still recovering from a rough relationship that bummed her life and her confidence. Desperate to find an everlasting love, she finally registered on an online dating app and matched with Brody–a man that might be "The One". After a date in Cornwall that went well, an error occurred on the app server and made them lost a way to contact each other. Helen determined to find him in London to work things out, but will he be her truly first last date or will someone else come along the way on her quest?

When I thought I figured out how the plots would be, I was off-guard to find out that the author has brought a twist which so refreshing and entertaining to read! Though there's a part where I feel like it's dragged for too long, but it's okay after all.

I meet many great characters here, especially the eccentric Nanny G (I love her character so much!) and the girls empowering friendship (I'd love to have these kinds of friendship). Helen as main character is pretty relatable, especially after the rough break up and all the anxiety and insecurities she felt. Don't get me to start talking about how adorable is Ish, his accent, and fun games! (Everyone deserves an Ish in their life!). Though he always looks like a knight in shining armour saving the damsel in distress, but I like how he's not really meddling into Helen's own growth and character development to overcome her issues in the like of know-it-all type–which is very nice. To put it simply, I love their chemistry and banters!

I love how it reminds me to avoid a toxic and insufferable relationship based on the idea of someone we're created in our mind. Overall rate, 4/5! + Another point for some pop culture references!

I really enjoyed this one!
It was quite refreshing to see Helen grow into her own, even at 31 years old. I loved seeing her fall in love with herself and discover she deserves better than the “all talk, no action” men of her past. I also really loved her and Ish’s banter and how their career goals line up with each other. *SPOILER ALERT* Ultimate power couple vibes!
I felt like Sophie and Helen’s relationship could have been developed a little more as I didn’t really get this feeling of closeness between them. Perhaps that’s because Frank is busy stealing Sophie away. I found the first sixty or so pages of the book to be a bit slow and harder to get into, but after that, it was smooth sailing for me!

A light-hearted read, it was cute! But everything seemed to be all over the place, which made me get bored of the story so easily, sadly! The writing felt a little bit off too, but hey, maybe that's me because this is my first book by Hayley Quinn.

Fans of "chick lit" may enjoy, but a bit too formulaic for me. Helen begins as a unsatisfied, anxious, self-deprecating women obsessed with finding the perfect man. I found it really hard to connect with her and her whining. Thankfully, she grows throughout the story, but it was too little too late for me to enjoy her as a character. Not to mention the whole "she don't know she's beautiful" cliche is a bit tired.

I also found most of the characters a bit one-dimensional and boring. Everyone kind of got one personality trait. Elle was the "hot one," Sophie was the "nice one," Helen's mom was the "fussy mom," her dad was the "emotionly-restrained father," Henry was the "emotional-restrained brother," etc. And we didn't get to see enough of Nessy to really assign her any personality trait at all.

My favourite characters were Nanny G and Ish, mostly because I'm a sucker for badass older women and nice, nerdy guys. Although I really didn't need the implications about Ish's dick size. And sex-induced furniture breakage seems like a rich-person privilege. I can't afford to replace a couch!

While I'm glad Helen had some character growth, but I hate how it was all spurred on by meeting the right guy. I know the author tried to imply that Helen realized she should have enjoyed being single, but its so heavily cheapened by the fact that she only realized that *after* meeting the love of her life.

While this was a quick, easy read reminiscent of the Shopaholic series, it wasn't for me unfortunately.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and HQ for allowing me to receive an ARC of Harley Quinn's latest book.
The last first date is a really nice book with funny and cute characters. Overall i really liked the characters, they were all very cute, especially Ish, Helen's friends, Sophie and Elle were so nice to her and really wanted what was best for her. I liked that she went from a cute date with a "perfect" guy to realizing that she indeed did not know him that well. The qest to find her Nana's past lover was so intersting and Ish was so cute for helping her.
This book was really cute and funny, and had me laughing out loud a lot, but i still thought it was a bit long and slow at some points. Though, i look forward to reading more from Harley Quinn and would definitely recommend this little romance for a nice summer read.

This one was a little slow to start but it did pick up a bit and I'm really glad I seen it to the end. Helen to me seemed to lack confidence in herself but seemed to grow into herself towards the end of the book. She was a little to set into finding the man and not so much in what she had to offer. I really loved Ish and what he brought out in her. I loved the strong female friends Helen had and loved their friendship. All in all a good read. Thank you

A very easy going romance story with interacting characters and a story that put a smile on my face. It’s probably a perfect read for the summer and I would recommend it to anyone on the look for a quick and sunny read.

Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy

This was a nice and easy read especially for those that love a good chic lit read. The characters were likeable and the story had a nice ending.