This was such a cute and heartwarming romcom! Definitely a great palate cleanser of a book to read when you need a break from serious, dark thrillers. This book was easy to read and it started off really strong. At times some things were predictable but nothing overly outrageous or dramatic and I appreciated that the characters were believable. I laughed out loud during some moments and overall I really enjoyed this book!
Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review and feedback.

2.5🌟

The premise? Gold. Two strangers are stood up at Waterloo Station, commiserate over shared humiliation, and agree to pretend-date to spare themselves further romantic disasters. Cue meet-cute potential! And I was on board for the first few chapters—Nadia and Tom had that fumbling, awkward charm that made me smile. Their internal monologues were a mess (like, "Did I just think that?!" levels of relatable), and the supporting characters (hats off to Carole, the divorced queen we all deserve) were a joy.

But... let’s talk about Tom. I don’t want to be mean but—he made it so hard to root for the romance. The man was emotionally constipated, clinging onto a girl he talked to once a decade ago like it was some life-altering love story. I kept waiting for him to grow, or apologize, or at least show he was emotionally present... and he kinda just didn’t? He fumbled the bag so hard and got away with it way too easily. Nadia should’ve made him grovel. Minimum of one handwritten apology letter and three cupcakes.

Nadia, though? Loved her. She had this soft strength to her that made her feel grounded and real. She deserved a slow-burn romance with depth and yearning—and I feel like we only got halfway there.

And their chemistry? Where was it? They spent half the book reminding us they had "nothing in common" (thank you, we had not forgotten) and engaging in the driest small talk in the history of mankind. At one point, I was even wondering if they were secretly robots who were programmed to never, ever fight. "Would you like tea?" "Oh, only if you're having some!" GIRL, JUST SAY WHAT YOU WANT.

The plot moved at a rapid pace (I read through it in an instant), and the Waterloo Five side team injected some much-needed humor, but as a whole? This novel was like an excellent first date that ended with "So. wanna split the bill?"

Final opinion? Adorable idea, adorable supporting characters, but the central romance left me colder than English tea that's been left out too long. If you're in the mood for something light and don't care about yelling at fictional men, go for it. Just. perhaps have a stress ball handy for Tom's scenes.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC! I wished I could love this one, but unfortunately… not every book is the one.

A light hearted ro.ance that was perfect to escape with pn a lazy Sunday afternoon. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book.

Thank you NetGalley & Boldwood books for the opportunity to read this arc. It was my first read by Jo Lovett and certainly won’t be my last!

I knew from the beginning that this was going to be a book I enjoyed!

The book is packed with fun, sweetness and humour, it had me laughing out loud at times and if a book can make me do that I am
HOOKED!

It was so cute, super easy to follow and read and the characters literally had BAGS of character. I loved the plot, the meetcute under the station clock and the Waterloo 5 were absolutely hilarious!

The only thing that annoyed me slightly was how hung up Tom was on his ex Lola! But that’s all part of the book, it made me feel so so sorry for Nadia!

The book is giving
Friends to lovers
Slow burn
Fake dating

DNF at 25%

After enjoying The Mistletoe Pact by this same author, this one was SUCH a disappointment. The premise sounded like a fun rom-com but the book read more like a cozy romance in my opinion. For me, what humor there was fell very flat and the characters all seemed to have the same one-dimensional personality. This is only my fourth DNF since joining Goodreads in January 2021, so it takes a lot for me to give up on a book, but I knew very quickly this one wasn’t for me. I gave it 25% in the hopes it would get better, but no such luck. 😒 With that said, I’m in the minority for now, so if you like sweet romances with simple writing and plot points, this still might be for you.

My thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for a complimentary advance copy of this eBook, out 4/11/2025.

Can fate throw you a life line when you need it?
When Nadia and Tom are stood up by their dates….will fate help them see what they need to see?
With their accidentally meeting under the Waterloo Station Clock, is this fate trying to tell them something?
Reading Meet Me Under the Clock will answer the above questions and much more.
A light-hearted story with laugh out loud moments.
Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

A cute, romantic read that started off really strong but sort of petered out in the middle. It was a bit predictable, but sometimes that’s what you want from a book. All of the characters are believable (no one is outrageous just because) but I found myself a bit bored towards the end.

Lovely, easy read. Singles get stood up, but due to circumstances, get thrown together with others. Decide fake dating is their plan. We know they end up together but how they get there is well told and the secondary characters are also a joy.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC in return for my honest review

Perfect summer read. Fake dating trope with believable (albeit boring!) characters! Lots of funny little moments.

Meet Me Under the Clock by Jo Lovett is a sweet and easy read.

After being stood up at Waterloo Station, Nadia and Tom meet by chance and form a close friendship - along with Carole, Bea and Ruth (The Waterloo Five). I loved this meet cute!

Tired of attending events alone and being nagged about their relationship status, Nadia and Tom agree to fake date as each other's plus-one. However, as their pretend relationship deepens, they begin to question if their connection is more than just convenient.

The story is told from both Nadia and Tom's perspective which works well. It's very simplistically written which makes it a quick and easy read. However it is quite repetitive throughout. And Tom and Nadia's dialogue is so polite, it almost feels like how you would write speech opposed to sounding like natural dialogue between two friends.

I like both the MCs however I wanted to bash their heads together - Tom especially! But that's a sign of a good will they/won't they.

I do wish their was more showing us and allowing us to feel their connection instead of just telling us. But that's just my preference.

I love the supporting characters and let me tell you I'd love to be invited to one of Carole's parties!

The book is available from Aprill 11th 2025.

Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a really cute book, strangers meet under the clock tower while going about their lives. It’s unexpected as they all get on so well. All from different backgrounds with their own problems they manage to keep the friendships alive. A lovely feel good read, a 4 star read. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy.

📚 3.5 stars – A charming, slightly chaotic romcom that’s equal parts heartwarming and mildly frustrating! 💘💭

Okay, so Meet Me Under the Clock had big potential, and honestly? I was fully on board for the premise. Like yes please, two people getting stood up under the Waterloo clock and ending up in a fake dating situation?? Iconic setup. Very Richard Curtis, very You’ve Got Mail meets fake dating tropes and I was HERE for it. 🙌

Let’s start with the good stuff, yeah?

💫 Nadia and Tom? Adorable. They’ve got this really sweet, awkward chemistry that almost gave me butterflies. And their banter? Kinda cracked me up. It’s got that very British, dry humour that just hits right.
Also the internal monologues??? Unhinged in the best way – like someone let a squirrel loose in their brains 🐿️💭 but honestly, same. If you’ve got a bit of a chaotic brain that jumps from one idea to another like it's a trampoline park, you’ll probably relate 😂

✨ The Waterloo Five = found family vibes. Were they a tad insta-friends? Yeah. Did I care? Not really. It was giving slightly unrealistic but very wholesome energy and sometimes, you just want a group of randoms who bond over being stood up and make a group chat about it. Would die for Carole btw – divorced queen living her absolute best life, sipping cocktails and serving wisdom 🍸👑

BUT... (and it’s kind of a big but 👀)

💔 Tom. Mate. What are you doing?!
The whole still hung up on Lola from TEN years ago after literally one convo thing?? Unhinged. Like, be so serious. This man had the emotional depth of a puddle when it came to her and I was just sitting there like why are we pretending this is romantic? Bro, you were like 25. Get a grip 😅

Then THAT SCENE. You know the one. No spoilers, but I honestly couldn’t look at Tom the same after that. Nadia deserved better and I wanted her to make him grovel, write a 5-page essay, AND show up with at least two apology cakes. Instead, she just kind of... let it go? And I’m sorry but no. Even Elsa wouldn’t have let it slide that easily ❄️🚫

💖 Nadia, though, was a gem. Soft girl energy with a backbone. I loved how honest and emotionally available she was – even while fake dating someone and having feelings she didn’t want to admit. Felt very real and relatable.

So overall?

👉 Cute concept
👉 Loveable supporting cast
👉 Great pacing – flew through it
👉 But Tom really tested my patience 😤 and the romance didn’t fully hit like I wanted it to.

Would I recommend it? Yeah – if you’re after something light, a bit silly, and full of heart. Just be warned that you may want to throw something at Tom at some point...

Thank you so much to the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I received a complimentary copy of this book "Meet Me Under the Clock" and all opinions expressed are my own. A fun romcom that I enjoyed reading. I love how the strangers got together - waterloo five. It was a bit hard because I didn't understand some of the British terms. Overall I liked it.

This was a sweet, enjoyable read. Nothing too serious but sometimes you just need a fun, easy book. I liked the premise of this one and that the Waterloo Five stayed in touch after the start of the book that brought them together.

This is a cute story about a man and a woman who don’t quite know what they want. Fortunately, they meet and figure things out! Fans of romantic comedies will love this one!

Serendipitously, Nadia and Tom meet under the clock at the train station after being stood up by their dates, along with 3 other strangers in a strange situation. It leads to a very enduring friendship amongst 5 unlikely people. Tom and Nadia genuinely enjoy one another’s company and spend more time together. However, during this time in their lives they are preoccupied with different situations, Nadia going through a “boyfriend detox” and Tom is hung up with a girl from his past. So, the timing is off and they keep pushing the narrative that they’re not right for each other but can’t help but get involved.

I found the characters enduring and I felt like some of these scenes were familiar but in a good way. I found some humor throughout the chapters and I enjoyed some of the straightforwardness that came from certain characters and the admission when they weren’t. However, I felt like things didn’t move along until past the halfway point. I felt like the characters lacked some depth and the time jumps were a bit fast at times.

Overall, I enjoyed it 3.75

My favorite one so far from this author. Love the unique story and cast of characters. Definitely a feel good read! Keep em coming Jo Lovett!

Enjoyed this book but I did want to batter the main characters heads together. It was a cute, romantic read. Worth a read.

This is one of those books where you want to knock the two main character's heads together, in this case Nadia and Tom, refusing to acknowledge their feelings for each other. I enjoyed the opening scene with five strangers meeting under the clock at Waterloo Station and their subsequent friendships and interactions. It is slow paced, which won't appeal to some readers, but does allow the relationship to grow naturally. They are totally opposite characters, with very little in common, for example pie and chips versus Italian cuisine and football versus tennis,but despite this their friendship grows and you really hope that they will end up together. I would score this at 4.5* due to the slow nature of the story, but,rounded up to 5*as I did enjoy the book.
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley, however this did not influence my review of the book.

It pains me to say this because I usually see books through to the end, even when I’m not vibing with them, but I had to DNF this one. Unfortunately, the characters felt flat, and there was little to no chemistry between the two main leads.

Meet Me Under the Clock follows Tom and Nadia, who are both stood up by their respective dates under the same clock. To avoid the pressure from family and friends about being single, they agree to be each other’s plus-ones for events.

The premise sounded great, but at 40% in, I still wasn’t seeing any emotional connection or romantic development between them. Without that spark, the story just didn’t hold my interest.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the opportunity to read and review this title.