48 First Dates: A Friends-to-Lovers, Closed-door Romcom

by Lizzie Bruce

When a girl’s fairytale dreams collide with first-date realities, can she find her happy ending?

Adelaide Ann Monroe lives for fairytale romance, dreaming of a prince straight out of her childhood storybooks. But when her father’s battle with cancer reveals life’s fragility, she steps up her pursuit.

From charming meet-cutes to disastrous dinners—like the one with the barbeque crab-walk—Adelaide’s 48 first dates are anything but ordinary.

All along, the only one who makes her feel like a princess is her best friend, Brenn. His seasonal latte orders and Irish Spring scent spark feelings she can’t ignore. As she rethinks her storybook ideals, Adelaide must decide: keep chasing a fairytale prince or embrace the love waiting in plain sight.

48 First Dates is a heartwarming standalone that serves as the whimsical first book in the Seeking Romance series. Packed with swoony tension, fairytale nods, and laugh-out-loud moments, this page-turning closed-door romance will captivate you date by date. Read 48 First Dates today!

Genres: Friends To Lovers

386 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 1, 2024

Reviews

[Kim Zamolo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this one!! Such a sweet and meaningful coming of age story. It took me until ch 8 to realize there is a haiku in front of each chapter - such a fun detail! I thought the plot devices of the book were charming (pun intended 😉) and I loved how the FMC Adelaide grows as she goes through her dating life. It felt realistic, and even though she went through hard times, her friends stuck by her, helped her, and pushed her to become a better person. I also enjoyed the light faith elements. You will enjoy if you like lots of dating, best friends to lovers, slow burn, and coming of age.

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really absolutely loved this book! It was the most perfect and sweet coming of age story that I just adored. The haiku at the beginning of each chapter was also greatly enjoyed! I received an ARC for free in exchange for my honest review.

[Slynn Bookster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre & Tropes - friends to lovers, coming of age
Setting - college, hometown
Appropriate Age - 13+
POV - FMC

This is the story of girl's pursuit of the perfect prince from the playground to after college adulthood. It is the fun, sweet, gross, and sad stories of the 48 guys until she realized she had already found the one. If you overlook some of the things it was lacking and just enjoy the story it is a great read. The author was talented to be able to help with all the emotions without her being in everyone's bed. There are a lot of lessons about family, friends, and love.

Story ***** World ****
Main Characters **** Side Characters **
Moving **** Reader Frustration **
Slow burn ***** Steam *
Humor ** Ending ****

Cons
- There were a lot of hints about backgrounds and stories with her friends but it also felt like you never knew them except in relation to her
- The utter blindness to his feelings was a little over the top; friends do not act like that
- Her family story was moving but she didn't seem to have much to do with them
- A lot of unanswered questions from partially developed story lines

Pros
- Her friends were loyal
- It was clean and fun
- The speed dating
- The way he let her be her and just stuck by her

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Michelle Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am autistic. For some reason, I started this book and thought it was a true story. It was a few chapters later, when I finally realized it wasnt. Ha! Maybe it was because she was homeschooled and that is so seldom a thing in fictional books.

I enjoyed this book a lot! I think I liked it better once I found out it was fictional.

I enjoyed the flow of the book. It kept my attention and I wanted to know what would happen next. The writing was good. I laughed and CRIED. Did I ever cry!!!

I loved the chaste romances. There was nothing graphic about the book. There were some bad things but they never went into great detail. I think the author must be a Christian, based on these things, and just the overall wholesome tone. (However, this is not a Christian novel.)

I didnt like that the mom/dad and siblings were left out of a lot of the latter part of the book. That didnt really fit with what the character did and cared about the most.

And funny thing! I bought a charm bracelet. Couldnt help myself when I saw it while shopping.

Even though this might be characterized as a romance, I would let a young teen read this with no problem.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Madelyn- The Squeaky Clean Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a rollercoaster!

This contemporary romance takes you on such a roller coaster journey!

We start our with Adelaide at a young age finding her princes and being in many an awkward situation that had me laughing!

Then Adelaide goes off to college and real life sets in.

Tragedy hits and Adelaide struggles to cope, turning to alcohol instead of getting help.

And here's where the story tugs at your heart strings.

Your right there with her as she heals discovers herself again and learns important life lessons.

In this book you're there for every meet-cute and meet-ugly and the slow realization of what a real life fairytale is like.

The happily ever after is hard earned but worth it.

I really enjoyed this journey. It was deep, there were real life highs and lows, and the style of telling the story was very creative and unique.

I won't spoil who the prince is, but I was very very happy with the hard fought happily ever after.

💋Kisses, one kiss mentions tongue but not in a passionate way
⚠️Adelaide loses a parent and turns to alcohol. Her journey to sobriety is depicted with high and lows. I recommend for ages 16+

[Dena · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel follows the dating life of Adelaide, beginning in the schoolyard with her first Prince Charming all the way through finally finding The One. It is an interesting read of misadventures in dating, funny at times with plenty of the typical impulsive choices of youth. It is nice to see the main character mature and finally come to peace with herself over the course of the book.

There was one inconsistency that interrupted my reading, and was frustrating. In more than one chapter, the Prince of Bicycles was mentioned, to the point where I actually went back through the chapter headings because I thought I missed the chapter somehow. I was finally able to read it in the "deleted scenes" extended content, and the absence was explained, but I did not enjoy having to do that.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Annette Megaughin-Helder · Rating 4 out of 5]

3rd time is a charm, they say.

Or in Adelaide’s case, 48 (give or take).

For every first date, she adds a charm to her bracelet. A prince, a knight, a bug, a book, a parrot, a life guard buoy, a timer, and many more. Each time hoping she has found the prince of her favourite fairytale. And each time left disappointed.

But sometimes you cannot see what’s right in front of you. Or maybe you can, but you are just quite dumb (sorry not sorry, but by chapter 21 she seemed to be the only one who hadn’t figured out the blatantly obvious and the book started to drag a bit). Jeez woman, just figure it out already!

The ending was sweet though.

I would love to read the next book in the series.

[Samantha Booth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book begun rather childish but it was nice to grow with her. To see her work through her battles and learn what she really wanted.
I think the book is targeted at a young age group- maybe 13+ not an adult romance.
Was a nice clean read and well written.

I received a free advance copy of this book and this is my honest thoughts about it.

[Ami Jacobs · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was cute, mostly clean (only kisses, but a few swear words and some tentatively compromising situations). The writing flowed well and there was no extra words taking up space. There were some situations that could be triggers : death, substance abuse, and grooming.

[Aksita Sarangi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good book with great story line. Enjoyed reading it. The romance the drama and love between the characters were off the charts. I

received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Sophia Udoye · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️
Fun read