24 Hour Dating Agency
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Romance
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 11/1/22
Author: Mary Jayne Baker
Publisher: Head of Zeus
Pages: 336
Goodreads Rating: 3.70

Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for providing a digital copy of the book for me to read in exchange for my honest opinion.

Synopsis: Tamara wants to meet someone but self-employed with kids makes it difficult. Milo just had his heart broken, still a hopeless romantic. Then there is Saffie who has not been in love. Step forward The 24-hour Dating Agency, a match-making service with a difference. Instead of wasting months on casual dates they promise to find you the one through an intense twenty-four hours date – speed-dating but in reverse and even better, the agency boasts a 100% success rate. Figuring they have nothing to lose, the three friends decide to sign up. But when one of their dates turns out to be an undercover journalist researching the dating agency's unique approach for a feature, it looks as though one of them, at least, is headed for heartbreak. Or are they?

My Thoughts: This is marketed as a Romance but I think it is more Contemporary Fiction as the focus is on the friendship of the three co-workers and how it blossoms throughout the story while they are trying their chance at love through this dating app. While I did enjoy this book, I thought it would have been better to introduce their friendship in this book with the same premise, but then focus on one character’s love life and then spin off two more books with the other two characters love life’s. It just felt like there was a lot impacted into this one book and would have worked better as 3 separate books. However, in the end, I still enjoyed the book. It was emotional, complex, and the characters did have some depth, but not enough time was spent individually on the romances. All in all, I would read other books by this author as I did enjoy the writing style and the character development.

I loved loved loved this book. I am usually not a chick lit genre type of person, but this book was great. The characters were lovable, loyal and relatable. The whole concept of a 24 hour date is such unique idea. It’s something I would absolutely do. I appreciate how the author was never repetitive in regards to the storyline. I find a lot of romance books say the same thing over and over with the author only changing how the it’s being said. This is a lighthearted feel-good book. This is also my first read by this author. I will be reading more. Mild sexual content (not much at all). Mild swearing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Zeus/Aria for the ARC of this book!

Saffie, Milo, and Tamara are all friends that work together a magazine called The Throstler and all have had their own issues in the dating department. They decided to sign up for a 24 Hour Dating Agency, where you go on a 24 hour date and are guaranteed to find the love of your life. Is it true love or another flop?

I enjoyed this book, I was hoping for more with the 24 hour dates, but got more with the magazine. I enjoyed reading about their friendship and learning about each person through their point of view. This was a cute, fun, and flirty read!

𝗧𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀: strangers to lovers, slow burn, single mom

Thank you NetGalley, Head of Zeus and Mary Jayne Baker for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a story about three friends who work together for a newspaper. Saffie, Milo and Tam are in their mid-late 30s and 40s, and they all have different love story.

Saffie is very smart and I really liked her. She didn't believe at first about love at the first sight, and after she found the truth about Richard, she definitely refuse to have any conversation with him.

Milo is gay and very funny. I really didn't expect him to end up with someone who he already knew.

Tamara has 3 children and is divorced from a husband that wanted nothing to do with his children. For 4 years he was not present in his children's lives, until his fiancée tells him they will have a baby.

The start is quite slow, but after they sign for the 24 hour dating agency everything gets interesting.

What it was a small problem, it was that the book has 3 povs, which can sometimes get very frustrating. I mean, there was a scene between Tamara and Harry and I have to wait so much until I got back to their story.

But overall I really like the book in the end.

First of all I would love to say a big thankyou to netgalley and head of zeus for this arc in exchange for a honest review. I really enjoyed this book and am giving it 5 stars all round as it was such a page turner.

This book is about 3 singletons (Saffie, Milo and tamara) who are all working for the same magazine company and looking for love. They all decide to sign up for a 24 hour dating agency which guarantees a soul mate.

This book was exceptional. I really liked seeing Tamaras story and how much she developed. I’m so glad that Andy never got a redemption arc and I think that Harry is one of the best book men to exist. I really enjoyed his character.

I do wish that Milo had more of a part in this story as I really did find him a funny character. It kind of disappointed me that his love story happened so quickly in the book but I really did enjoy his character a lot.
Overall I think that Mary Jane Baker is an exceptional writer and is very underrated. I cant wait to see what she comes out with in the future and I will definitely be purchasing this book when published.

I enjoyed the 24 Hour Dating Agency by Mary Jayne Baker - I recieved an ARC through Net Galley.

This book centers around the journey to finding love for 3 connected characters, after ghey sign up with the mysterious Dr. Sheldrake's 24 Hour Dating Agency. The premise is rather straightforward - instead of a blind date that lasts an hour, the "matchmaker," Dr. Sheldrake, sets the couples she pairs up on a 24 hour date. Overall, I thought the book was great. I was invested in Saffie, Tamara, and Milo's stories and was rooting for them along the way. Overall, a quick, frothy, good beach read.

This was a very lighthearted read.

My usual genre but I didn’t love this book, it was a nice fun read though.

I think it’s because I struggled with the split stories between all the characters.

I would recommend this book to others though.

The 24 Hour Dating Agency is such a refreshing, real story. From the start, Mary Jayne Baker lets you into Saffie, Milo, and Tamara's lives and gives you a front row seat to their individual loves stories. Nothing feels rushed, and the story unfolds at a relaxing pace with gentle twists and turns. The book's like a dip into a pool on a hot summer day.

Our three main characters are genuine, interesting, and nuanced. Their individual struggles are believable and each character is easy to root for. And each character's romance has delightful surprises along the way. The family themes throughout the novel are refreshing.

The dating agency premise is new, exciting, and hopeful. The book truly delivers on the ideas of how one finds love, what loves means, and the various types of love that make life so wonderful.

Thank you to NetGalley and Aria for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book follows 3 coworkers, who are friends, that decide to use a 24-hour dating agency because they dislike dating apps, and let's be honest, 99% of the time they are fails. Each of their dates is specific to what they wanted. So they are all different.

While I liked this aspect, I felt like there was a lot we were missing out on by having all 3 characters in one book. I wish that this was a 3 book series. That way we could get to know each character even more. I felt like I was missing something the entire time I was reading. This book was good, but I just wanted more.

This book was quite fun even though I'm not a big fan of having a story split between a few main characters. It was a pleasant bit of escapism, an enjoyable read, but not one that grabbed me and made me want more.

DNF This book is to strange for me.


*************************I received an ARC for my honest opinion from NetGalley.******************

This was a fun read! The book follows Milo, Saffie and Tamara, as they struggle to find 'The One'.

The characters and their progression is very enjoyable to read about. I particularly liked Tamara's story, and Harry was my favourite character in the book.

The concept of a 24 hour date was interesting, and while I can't imagine such a thing would really take off, I enjoyed reading about it in a fictional setting.

The Throstler tied all three stories together, and I loved that this was something that they all had in common, and we saw their stories intertwine through this.

Overall, I thought this was a good read, filled with fun, love and humour.

When I first started reading this book I thought it was going to be DNF for me. It started slow and I didn’t see it picking up, but surprisingly it did. This quirky, rom com really won me over. And also has me trying to search out a 24hr dating service.

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Everybody has problems trying to find someone to love in this smart and engaging novel. The premise is that a 24 hour dating agency can match you with The One and all it takes is 24 hours of connection. The devotee’ of the idea is Miles, gay and tired of failure in dating. The “I’ll try it” is Tamara, divorced and raising twin teens and a five year old. The skeptic is Saffie, a journalist who intends to write an article about the experience. The results? You will have to read it to find out.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A book with great friendship, romance, and a fresh perspective on the meaning of family. I really enjoyed reading this book! The characters felt relatable and fresh. The premise of the 24-hour date from the matchmaker was fun and I appreciated that it didn’t take over the entire move, but instead was used to make the other story lines shine!
I was provided this title for free via NetGalley for an honest review.

To be honest, I felt this book was a bit difficult to get into at first. I’m not sure if it was just me being a mood reader or if I was just finding the British slang a bit confusing.

I did really enjoy this book once I got into it! It made me smile, laugh and even get choked up at times. I loved all three relationships that you get to watch play out. This is a book of found family, second chances and forgiveness.

Another thank you to @Netgallery and @headofzeus for giving me this ARC! I was in such a reading slump so initially I struggled to get this off the ground and get into it.

However I’m so glad I was determined to carry on reading! I loved the way this story pieces together. Sadie, Tamara and Milo are such a close knit group of friends who live so much life through each other, however they were each missing a special someone. Each of them had a disastrous background of love and ex’s hiding in the closest and were determined to try something new as a way of finding their special someone.

I thought the concept behind the idea was really cool and not something I have come across with any book I’ve read before. The 24 hour dating part of it is not actually a huge amount of the book. However, I loved the way that the 24 hour dates set up the rest of the book.

The three main characters each had a story to be told and I think the book was written well enough that it shared their story, keeping it fun and enjoyable without dragging it out.

Tamara was such a relatable character and throughout I was rooting for her to get her happy ended because she really had been through a rubbish time with her ex husband! Who was still causing her heartache! Sadie was a little rough around the edges, strong minded and fun! I loved how she spoke her mind and was so true to herself.

I would definitely recommend this book. The further into the book I got the more I didn’t want to put it down!

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the chance to read “The 24 Hour Dating Agency.” Not every book is for every reader and I do not think this one was the right book for me. I struggled to connect with the characters and the language (felt very British to me). However, the premise is interesting and the cover is adorable - maybe a better fit for those who enjoy British rom-coms or womens fiction, rather than readers of contemporary romance.

This book turned out to be like nothing I had expected; I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed it, especially since it took me a while to get into it. The concept of this story is unlike anything I read before. First of all, it is set around three main characters (all of them in their mid-thirties and forties); each one of them is different and complex and comes with their struggles. I loved how none of them overshadowed the other, and you could actually tell the characters apart. Tamara, Saffie, and Milo's stories were realistic but interesting and enjoyable to read at the same time.

Even though the book is advertised as a romance, it didn't read like one (in a good way, I think it worked really well with the concept of the story and having not one but three MC). As the story progressed, I found myself way more invested in the friendship between the three main characters and their individual development. The romance itself didn't really do it for me.

Overall it was well written with a lot of dialogue, so it was super quick and fun to read.

4.25/5 – Out June 30th!
This book was the type of good that sneaks up on you. The name is not a good representation of what the book is about – it's not what the characters do, but what they sign up for. I almost quit after the very first bit of the beginning of the book because the *thing* that they talk about is so out of the blue – but please trust me when I say it doesn’t take long for the book to get really good after that.
I loved the different POVs of the three main characters – Baker made me care about every single one of them in their own way. The story is very Love-Actually-Valentine’s-Day-esque and gave me all the feels. My jaw literally dropped with all the reveals that had just the right amount of real and ridiculous. And on top of everything, the British banter is top quality as always.