Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

3 Dates

Rate this book
Archibald Henry Zhang is my best friend. He’s funny, feisty, and loving. He’s also the only person I’ve ever trusted and the only one who has never let me down. So why, after finding my current boyfriend cheating, am I taking my best friend out on a series of Valentine’s Day dates all over London?
Even more importantly, why am I noticing things about him that I’ve never seen in the ten years of our friendship? Like the fullness of his lips, how gorgeous his eyes are, and – maybe most importantly – the way he’s looking back at me?
Because Archibald Henry Zhang can never be anything other than my best friend. Can he?
From bestselling author Lily Morton comes a romantic comedy about how one wild day and night on the town can change two best friends’ lives forever.

78 pages, ebook

First published February 8, 2019

9 people are currently reading
618 people want to read

About the author

Lily Morton

74 books3,274 followers
Lily is a bestselling gay romance author.

She lives in sunny England with her husband and two children, all of whom claim that they haven't had a proper conversation with her since she got her Kindle.

She has spent her life with her head full of daydreams, and decided one day to just sit down and start writing about them. In the process she discovered that she actually loved writing because how else would she get to spend her time with hot and funny men?

Her latest release is Pretty Mess - a contemporary romance about an escort who falls for his first client. .

Lily is a bestselling gay romance author.

She lives in sunny England with her husband and two children, all of whom claim that they haven't had a proper conversation with her since she got her Kindle.

She has spent her life with her head full of daydreams, and decided one day to just sit down and start writing about them. In the process she discovered that she actually loved writing because how else would she get to spend her time with hot and funny men?

Her latest release is Pretty Mess - a contemporary romance about an escort who falls for his first client.

https://getbook.at/PaperRoses

You can keep up with Lily's latest releases and read the exclusive short stories '3 Dates' and ‘Best Love’ by subscribing to her newsletter: https://bit.ly/LilyMorton-Newsletter

Facebook Group: www.facebook.com/groups/SnarkSquad

Facebook: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=10000...

TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@lilymortonauthor

Instagram: www.instagram.com/lilymortonauthor

Pinterest: www.pinterest.co.uk/LilyAuthor

Bookbub: www.bookbub.com/profile/lily-morton

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
251 (26%)
4 stars
428 (45%)
3 stars
222 (23%)
2 stars
29 (3%)
1 star
9 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 180 reviews
Profile Image for ~✡~Dαni(ela) ♥ ♂♂ love & semi-colons~✡~.
3,525 reviews1,074 followers
February 10, 2019
~4.5~

I loved the hell out of this story!

3 Dates is best-friends-to-lovers at its finest: no angst, lots of sweetness, glowing HEA, oodles of UST, plus a very hot first-time-together scene.

Michael (Mick only to his best friend Archie) plans an extended Valentine's Day date for his boyfriend, but when he returns early from a work trip, he finds his boyfriend going at it with a bloke from the office.

What's a boy to do? Take his best friend of course!

What Mick doesn't know, but what's obvious to the reader immediately, is that Archie has been in love with Mick for ages and waiting on Mick to see what was right in front of him. Indeed, Mick planned the entire date with Archie in mind.

So much romantic goodness in a small package! Lily Morton proves it's possible to write a complete story in 80 pages.

P.S. As a bonus, Gabe and Dylan make an appearance, but 3 Dates is a standalone.
Profile Image for ☆ Todd.
1,436 reviews1,577 followers
February 11, 2019

Damn. Precious story was just precious.



I loved Mick and Archie as best friends, then seeing Mick finally start to feel what Archie had felt for the last decade. Swoon.

While Archie grew up in a loving family, until Mick met Archie and became an honorary member of the Zhang family, he was well and truly alone, growing up in foster care.



Toward the end of the story, I think Archie, during his only narration of the story, said it best:
His early years were spent being tossed aside by everyone, so he needs to know on a cellular level that someone has chosen him.

When we met as kids I’d thought he was like Peter Pan because no one was bothered if he stayed out late or didn’t do his homework. He had no rules and no ties. Now, I know he was just a Lost Boy.
When the story began, with Mick catching his cheating, asshole boyfriend having public sex with another man, I was slightly taken back at how bitter and verbally mean-spirited that Mick was.



But after the scene at the office, throwing Mick under the bus? Sweet Lord, nope, that dickhead deserved every single harsh word. And more.



But, OMMFG, the chapter with Gabe and Dylan? YES, PLEASE!



The story had some funny moments, along with a feel or two, so I'd rate it at around 4.25 stars and recommend it to any fans of Morton's "Mixed Messages" series, of which this is a short spinoff.

-----------------------------------------------

This novella is available for *FREE*.

See All My Latest Reads (Review Quick-Links)

-----------------------------------------------
Profile Image for Susan.
2,327 reviews455 followers
June 25, 2020
While I really loved this, I was also a little bit disappointed at the big moment when Mick finally realizes he is in love with Archie. Or perhaps I just wanted a bit more BAM, instead of the gradual realization Mick had.

But this was still a very sweet friends-to-lovers story which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Profile Image for Gabi.
703 reviews112 followers
dnf
February 9, 2019
DNF around @60% I don't even know, I stopped several times.

Gabe and Dylan fans (Rule Breaker), you guys need to read this, if only because of them. They were the highlight of this book.

So I have a big dilemma. Lately I'm not enjoying contemporary books as much as I would like. I'm bored, that's why I didn't finish it.

But I wanna give 1 star for the way how the ex-boyfriend was treated. And I realize, it's probably me and not the book. I know the ex has to be the bad guy in this story, but couldn't it have been done in a non-degrading way? Mick was with the guy for a whole year, and he only realized after Patrick cheated on him, that he does not even like him. After he caught him with another guy (calmly observed it), he went home, to break up with him officially. He outright called him stupid and selfish, superficial and materialistic...

You’re frequently unkind, obsessed with surface appearances, and have a brain that’s emptier than the Sahara Desert.”

“You’re also messier and more careless with possessions than a small toddler and just as fond of destruction.”

“You’re an idiot. You should read more than your weekly copy of Hello.”

...and those things might be true (albeit unrealistic, I think this character was a bit overdone), but why the hell was he with him in the first place, if he thought those things about him. I get it, it's better to be with someone, than alone. But... anyway..... he might've deserved to be kicked out, but I just didn't like the things that were said about him.

I also realize that it should've been funny, humor a la Lily Morton, but.. ugh! No!
Profile Image for Bev .
2,203 reviews480 followers
February 15, 2019
This is my first Lily Morton book and it most definitely won't be my last. For a shortie this packed a wallop, not once did it feel rushed or skimped on.

I loved it and off to check out her other books.
Profile Image for Mirjana **DTR - Down to Read**.
1,476 reviews805 followers
February 27, 2019

***4 Stars***

"Thank you," I say hoarsely.

He blinks. "What for?"

"For waiting. For being my person even when I didn't know you were."


This was the sweetest friends-to-lovers short story! It gave me all the ooey-gooey goodness that I love about this trope! Especially those little nuggets of moments that slowly build to the inevitable OMG, IT'S ALWAYS BEEN YOU!!! ♥ ♥ ♥

HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

"Because you need to realise that even though we're together now, we're still the same people. I'm still the Archie who's your best friend, who loves you madly and will never leave you. The Archie who thinks the sun shines out of your arse and who will take care of you until the end. And you're still Mick. Serious and goofy and quirky. Clever and tender, who will look after me right back. Being together has taken our frienship and made it a billion times better, but at the heart we're still those best friends.

Profile Image for Ele.
1,319 reviews40 followers
March 29, 2019
*4.5 stars*

Absolutely amazing! That is how you write a short story. I loved seeing Gabe and Dylan again!
Profile Image for .Lili. .
1,275 reviews275 followers
February 19, 2019
-Best friends to lovers

-Low angst

-Full story delivered in a short number of pages.

-Loveable characters

-Chemistry

-Lovely HEA

My greedy heart wanted more.

4 Stars
Profile Image for Mir.
4,961 reviews5,323 followers
March 4, 2019
Mick plans a Valentine's Day surprise for his boyfriend and instead catches him cheating. Peeved rather than heartbroken (there clearly wasn't a lot of heart between these two, or anything else perceptibly in common) he decides to take his gorgeous bff out instead. You can fill in the rest for yourselves unless you haven't hit puberty yet, in which case don't read this.

Fun idea, nice read.
Profile Image for Zuzu.
1,061 reviews34 followers
August 3, 2019
Lily Morton has done it again.

“Thank you,” I say hoarsely. He blinks. “What for?” “For waiting. For being my person even when I didn’t know you were.”
Profile Image for Cadiva.
3,962 reviews433 followers
February 11, 2019
Quintessential Lily Morton - just in a smaller package! 3 Dates is a wonderful snippet into the lives of best friends Archie and Mick as the later realises what's been under his nose all the time.

This was everything you'd expect with a book from this author - biting wit, British snark, romance and family and a seriously hot pairing.

I loved the appearance of Gabe and Dylan from her Mixed Messages opener Rule Breaker and to see that they're still sparking off each other like crazy and I liked the little nod to her wider universe by having Mick work for Gabe.

Never mind three dates, there were three times when I almost choked myself laughing that much at the visuals Lily creates with her words, I'd have happily read a full length book with these two happily living ever after together.

This book is currently available for a short time only (up to February 15h) as part of the massive Valentine's Day giveaway organised by Pandora Pine on Prolific Works. Get your copy and 42 other fantastic free stories from some of the best names in the MM genre here: https://claims.prolificworks.com/gg/1...
Profile Image for Linda ~ they got the mustard out! ~.
1,874 reviews139 followers
March 28, 2019
3.5 stars

All together now:

😍😍😍AWWWWWWWW!!!!😍😍😍

This was fluff up the wazoo and a very sweet friends-to-lovers romance. Archie and Mick are easily likeable MCs, and Mick's obliviousness for his feelings for Archie (and vice versa) made sense given the circumstances of how he was raised, bouncing around from one foster home to another. I could've done without the later confrontation with Mick's ex, though at least it bordered more on humor than melodrama. I felt a little cheated with the sex scene. But it was sweet to see Mick realize that he can trust Archie with his heart along with everything else.
Profile Image for Snjez.
998 reviews997 followers
February 9, 2019
Unfortunately, I didn't like this.

There were too many stereotypes here, including an ex who we were all supposed to hate. I really disliked how Patrick's character was treated. The way he behaved wasn't realistic. It was obvious that he was meant to be the bad guy here. Also insulting someone's intelligence and calling them stupid and an idiot is a big NO for me. It actually says something about the person doing it. And it made me wonder what Michael was doing with him in the first place.

Even if I wanted to enjoy Michael and Archie's too fluffy romance, I couldn't, because they would drag Patrick's name in every conversation, just to prove how wrong for Michael he was, and how right Archie is. That was pretty clear right from the start, no need to rub it in.

2 stars for Gabe and Dylan making an appearance.
Profile Image for haletostilinski.
1,505 reviews636 followers
February 10, 2019
I always love and enjoy Lily Morton's work, whether they're short stories or full length. I adored this short story, it was classic Morton. Romantic, funny and sweet with some seriousness sneaking in here and there. But for the most part it is definitely a Rom-Com, with a great main couple who get their HEA.

Michael - or Mick, as only his best friend Archie gets to call him - works for Gabe - MC of book one of the Mixed Messages series - and has been best friends with Archie, a nurse, for ten years since high school.

Archie has known his feelings since basically the first time they met, but it takes until well, present day in this book ten years later for Mick to realize what has been right in front of his face.

After he catches his boyfriend of a year cheating on him and breaks it off, he takes Archie on the Valentine's Day dates he had planned for him and said cheating boyfriend, but only as "friends" of course.

But as they go to the places Mick planned, it comes more and more apparent he planned the dates with Archie in mind, not the ex, and Mick's eyes start to open more and more when it comes to Archie.

This was a sweet, wonderful tale of these two best friends becoming lovers, and their chemistry was really well done. Morton has done this before with short stories, packing in the history and everything so that the love doesn't feel out of left field when they fall into it.

Loved this, definitely recommend!
Profile Image for Sheri.
1,418 reviews194 followers
February 16, 2019
Gahhhhh!
*flails*
Eeeeeeeek!
*happy dance*
Boo-ya!
*giddy grin*
This. This is exactly why I ADORE Lily Morton.
Irresistible charm, sparkling humor, and swoon-worthy romance.
Archie and Mick quickly and easily stole my heart.
SO. Good.
And!! A cameo appearance of Gabe and Dylan?
*ding ding ding*
We have a winner, folks.
Thanks for the amazing V-day treat...definitely my favorite in the bunch.
Profile Image for Ariana  (mostly offline).
1,658 reviews92 followers
February 11, 2019
This is my first Valentine novella this year and it was a cracker!

In true Lily Morton fashion we get two really likeable MCs, a fun plot and plenty of snarky humour!
And I did appreciate the cameo by Gabe and Dylan from 'Rule Breaker'.

Shy, nerdy Mick who has a knack of dating the 'wrong' guys and cute nurse Archie really get the romantic vibes going. If I was to use an old-fashioned term I would call this 'utterly charming'.

Go and get it! It's free!
Profile Image for Ami.
6,211 reviews489 followers
February 10, 2019
What a lovely, darling, little precious of a novella. I LOVE friends-to-lovers trope -- and I think Morton does exceptionally well in this one. When Mick finally realizes what Archie means to him -- those dates he actually plans with Archie in mind -- ah, just put a smile in my face. Yep, loving this. And it's FREE (for now).
Profile Image for Dani.
1,562 reviews283 followers
April 22, 2023
So cute 🥺 plus a Gabe and Dylan cameo never fails to make me happy.
Profile Image for Alisa.
1,892 reviews200 followers
February 16, 2019
This was my first time reading this author so I wasn't sure what to expect (honestly I figured I wouldn't like it because she's super popular and I rarely like the super popular authors). I have to say though that I really enjoyed this. It was a sweet friends to lovers story and the connection between the two mc's was really well done. I'll definitely try this author again.
Profile Image for Leslie.
1,182 reviews303 followers
March 12, 2020
I realized as I started reading this that I had already read it and just never marked it. But I was enjoying it so much that I kept going and loved the reread. Lily Morton does friends to lovers so perfectly. And for such a short story this felt fully developed and worked for me on all levels. Loved the cameos from Dylan and Gabe too. 😍💜🥰
Profile Image for Christine.
1,299 reviews82 followers
August 21, 2024
2.75 maybe? Cute but forgettable, it would’ve been nice to have less telling moments and less time on the ex. Two break up scenes with the same character in a book under 100 pages was quite absurd. The dates were cute but the pacing could’ve been done a bit differently.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 180 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.