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.

I struggled to get into this book. I found it took too long to get to the main premise of the book. I understand there needed to be set-up but I felt like it took too long.

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

Three best friends (Milo, Saffie and Tamara) are all in different stages of life… one of them running from the altar, one desperate for love and one raising their kids solo after their ex husband just up and ran for the hills.

All of them work together for a small family run magazine when they all discussed one commonality that all of them had which was feeling the need for a change. They discover the 24 hour dating agency.. which all of them think at first is a scam and a last plead for help in the dating world, but it actually turns out to be what they least expected.

24 Hour Dating Agency brings a reader through a look at three very different relationships and proves that even when you “think” you know your type you may end up realizing what you “need” is entirely unexpected. All three relationships show how being true to yourself and allowing yourself to be loved for you wins all.

This was a first Mary Jayne Baker read for me, but it definitely won’t be my last. I thought the entire book was a unique idea and not your typical love story. Real life events, real feelings and real inner turmoil all presented in this book. The relationship between the three friends had me laughing and truly feeling for all three of them. Baker did an amazing job at truly making each character unique, but extremely raw and vulnerable.

The beginning of the book felt a little slow to me, but once each relationship developed I flew through it wanting more. If you want a feel good book with great character development than this is your book. Bravo Mary Jayne Baker and someone please create a real 24 Hour Dating Agency because it really seems to work ;).

Is a matchmaking service that guarantees you’ll meet the love of your life too good to be true? Saffie thinks so, but she soon finds herself signing up, along with her hopeless romantic best friend. Milo, and her boss.

This story is a lot of fun, mostly because it follows three characters and their love stories. Saffie, Milo, and Tamara work at The Throstler, a regional magazine publication that covers the weird, odd, and sometimes supernatural. Saffie is the main journalist at the magazine. While she enjoys her work at The Throstler, she’s waiting for her chance to be a real journalist. Tamara is the magazine’s editor, and not-so-recently divorced. Milo, Tamara’s brother, does the graphic design and s the group’s resident hopeless romantic. After getting dumped by his egotistical boyfriend, Milo stumbles upon an ad for The 24 Hour Dating Agency and convinces Saffie and Tamara to test it out with him.

This story oscillates well between being lots of fun and dealing with real feelings and emotions that the characters have to experience. Their situations (and subsequent reactions) seem realistic. It can be difficult to write three different main characters and make their personalities different enough from each other, and Mary Jayne Baker does a great job at it. While reading, I found myself relating to different characters at different times, and I’m not sure if I had a stand out favorite. Tamara’s story can be a little tough for some readers as it deals with divorce and her children are in the Bad Dads Club, but it’s still awesome to see Tamara get the things she deserves and works hard for in life.

This book is a fun, and sometimes silly, read for the hopeless romantic in all of us.

I usually enjoy Mary Jayne's books but something was off here. The story just didn't flow as well as others, and it actually dragged quite a lot.

As well as this, the characters were rather annoying to me and not a pleasure to read and follow. Hopefully this is only a blip as I've enjoyed so many of Mary Jayne's other books so much.

The premise was interesting but the book is definitely niche. It isn’t likely to go over well with our usual visitors. It didn’t feel like a romance as much as an amalgamation of random events. Everything was contrived and overly convenient.

Thank you to NetGalley and Aria for the ARC.

Thank you to Head of Zeus, Aria, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this digital ARC of The 24 Hour Dating Agency.

The title definitely peaked my interested especially since I met my husband through a dating site. This is a light hearted easy read; 3 MCs that meld well together without one overshadowing the next. They decide to go on a date through the 24 hour date agency to get away from dating apps. The dates are person specific - nothing was perfect and the book takes you through each of their challenges in order to have a successful relationship. Cute summer read

Something about this book just didn't hit right for me. I think the writing was good but I did not connect with the characters that much. Their romances didn't effect me. The plot dragged a bit. Not the one for me but I think other people would love it.

The 24 Hour Dating Agency adds a fun twists to the traditional romantic comedy. Three colleagues at a struggling magazine in northern England set out to rectify their dating wrongs. After a few false starts, they enlist the help of the 24 hour dating agency, which sends each of them on a 24 hour date with a person they would have never chosen for themselves.

Baker takes the reader on a fun journey, and she's a great writer. I blazed through this one!

What's better than a romance? Three romances! I thought the author weaving in three separate stories into this witty feel-good story was clever and I really enjoyed reading.

Milo, Saffie, and Tamara all have one thing in common besides being coworkers- they have all been unlucky in love. After online and speed dating have failed them numerous times, it feels like fate when they find an advertisement for an unconventional dating service. This agency guarantees that you will fall in love after a 24 hour long date with the person you are matched with. Will the three find love or has the dating agency finally met its match?

This one really surprised me with how much I enjoyed it! It was so cute and quirky. Seeing the three characters grow and develop relationships was lovely. I also thought that the platonic relationships were so well written. Tamara’s relationship with her family was utterly heartwarming.

I do wish that this had been spread out across several books so we could get more details about the relationships.

All in all, this was such an enjoyable and unconventional romance read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for the advanced reading copy.

This story is about three friends who are tired of all the regular dating apps so they try a agency that is supposed to match you up with your soulmate in 25hrs. This eas a very cute story and I loved reading about each of these women journey

The 24 Hour Dating Agency is a story about three friends who tried all dating options (apps, speed dating, etc.), and sign up with an unconventional dating agency, that promises to set you up on a 24 hour date with your soulmate. That’s pretty much the plot, but there is so, so much more to this story.

We follow Tamara, a single mom dealing with her ex-husband and father of their three children. We get to know Saffie, who’s figuring out what to do next with her life, and we meet Milo, Saffie’s best friend and Tamara’s brother, whose dating life has been a series of disasters.

So we are not getting one, but several storylines interwined with each other. And the author’s choice to tell three separate love stories in one was such a bold move! I mean, three meet-cutes, three relationships to progress, three (mini) third acts to go through, three happy ever after to achieve, AND an overarching plot line to keep it all together - The 24 Hour Dating Agency has all that. Despite the set up and a LOT of (side) characters and stories, it was never confusing and everything came together in the end.

That being said, I could have lived with a stronger/sole focus on Tamara’s story. Her relationship with her ex-husband and their children was complex and really interesting, while the other storylines were a bit compromised (especially Milo’s).

Still, considering all tropes and themes used, combined, and delivered, The 24 hour Dating Agency was really ambitious in its set up and well constructed.

All in all, an enjoyable, fun, and non-typical romcom.

I enjoyed the concept of this book. The friendships were definitely the highlight. It did feel like there was a bit too much going on at times, however, and I wish I could have gotten more depth on each character.

Not gonna lie, I didn’t love it. I’m ultimately glad I stuck it out to see everyone’s happy endings, but I’m not sure I would revisit this one.

I loved all three of the main characters, and really appreciate that they were all mid-thirties or older. But I feel like they all suffered from sharing the spotlight. Milo, especially. You can tell that the narrative leans more toward Tamara’s story, so I think it would have made more sense to just stick with her.

It’s a decent novel and I had no major complaints with it. But it wasn’t really a standout for me.

3.5 Stars

Not you're usual romance. Much of this is more family and friend focused. It follows three single friends/work colleagues in their 30's/40's looking for love and they all end up signing up for a 24 hour dating agency which guarentees to find your soulmate.

Because this basically follows three love stories, I never felt like it was a well balanced or paced book. Tamara, the oldest and single mum of three, got the most time and so her story did feel the most fleshed out. Saffie and Milo's stories, however, didn't feel developed enough, and I didn't end up caring about their romances.

I also didn't like Baker's dialogue. It felt clumsy and unnatural, and there's a big information dump at the beginning where you could tell this conversation between two characters was for the readers benefit more than the characters. It was just a bit obvious.

It's pace is also very slow. But despite all that I did find myself enjoying the story, especially the non-romance bits between Tamara and her family.

Perfect holiday read, I read this by pool. It's fun and light hearted. Really enjoyable easy to read and great characters, very likable. Fun times !

Another lovely book from one of my favourite romcom authors. I enjoyed watching these three close friends battle their problems and fall for very unexpected partners, thanks to the mysterious 24 hour dating agency and its promise to match them with their true loves. I loved the relationship between Tamara and Natalie, and how close Tamara was to her kids. Of them all, she really deserved her happy ending.

This book was fun & lighthearted. It was amazing. The characters were super relatable & were also very entertaining. I liked that the romance wasn't over powering, that there was the perfect amount & the book wasn't based around romance. I loved the storyline & I highly recommend this book. The emotion through the characters was well written. I didn't see the plot twists coming & it helped the story proceed at a good pace. This book exceeded any & all expectations I had for it.

First off i would like to that NetGalley and Head of Zeus for providing me with this ARC. I was expecting your typical rom-com book. But instead I got the chance to read a very unique and eccentric book. This story is about 3 friends that work for a newspaper. They decide to sign up for a 24 hour dating that PROMISES that you’ll find your soulmate after your 24 hour date. I found the characters because like me (unfortunately lol) they have exhausted all means of finding love. Each of the characters are completely different which gives the novel a completely different dynamic from other rom-com books. Milo is a homosexual who thinks he has dating every eligible man in town. Tamara is a divorced mother of 3 kids. Saffie has just never been in love…ever. Will they find their soulmate? I loved how all 3 of the characters were different in their own ways, besides not being in love, but yet the author was able to create 3 different stories twine together in a creative way. It was also a fun take on tropes and using many of them. Ultimately, this book has some hilarious moments and sometimes pulls at your heart strings.