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Married at First Swipe
The brand new novel from the author of acclaimed debut Living My Best Life. Perfect for fans of Helly Acton, Mhairi McFarlane and Laura Jane Williams.
Hannah lives life on the edge. Never one to pass up on a new adventure, she has truly been living her best life. But once the adrenaline wears off, she wishes she had someone to spend the quieter moments with too. Learning that her best friend’s online dating business has taken a hit, she comes up with an idea that just might solve both of their problems...
Jess has been with her husband for twenty years. They have a stable marriage, great kids and run their own businesses. But what looks like a perfect life from the outside has its own problems within, and with her business on the brink Jess can’t help but wonder where the spark has gone in her life, and whether settling down is all it’s cracked up to be.
When Hannah embarks upon her latest scheme: finding a man using Jess’s dating app and meeting him for the first time at the altar, both women start to realise the grass isn't always greener. Can Hannah help her friend save her failing business or will Jess stop her from making what could be the biggest mistake of her life?
In the modern tech-fuelled world of dating, is it possible to find true love?
Hannah lives life on the edge. Never one to pass up on a new adventure, she has truly been living her best life. But once the adrenaline wears off, she wishes she had someone to spend the quieter moments with too. Learning that her best friend’s online dating business has taken a hit, she comes up with an idea that just might solve both of their problems...
Jess has been with her husband for twenty years. They have a stable marriage, great kids and run their own businesses. But what looks like a perfect life from the outside has its own problems within, and with her business on the brink Jess can’t help but wonder where the spark has gone in her life, and whether settling down is all it’s cracked up to be.
When Hannah embarks upon her latest scheme: finding a man using Jess’s dating app and meeting him for the first time at the altar, both women start to realise the grass isn't always greener. Can Hannah help her friend save her failing business or will Jess stop her from making what could be the biggest mistake of her life?
In the modern tech-fuelled world of dating, is it possible to find true love?
368 pages, Paperback
First published February 4, 2021
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721 people want to read
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May 20, 2022I read this as part of a pact I made with Alexis (and Kathleen joined us later) to read our oldest ARCs. Since I have titles sitting around since 2013/4 and was not willing to go back that far, I decided to go with my oldest ARC of 2021.
And very much like Alexis and Kathleen this was not a good read for me. I had to DNF at 15%
I am starting to think there is a reason these books were at the bottom of the pile,
Honestly, I can't remember why I requested this book. I thought the cover is cute, wanted to read a romance by a British author, thought the premise was fun - why past-me, why?
Anyway, this was not working for me at all. The writing didn't flow for me, I felt no emotional connection with either of the characters. I found the whole focus of finding The One True Love really annoying. I don't mind in principle the idea of using a dating app to find your future spouse but the way it was done here, nope, it's not for me. I was willing to give it some more time but when the heroine's best friend and owner of the dating app started looking for the best match for her and went to talk to her mother first, I threw in the towel.
I'm off to pick something from the top of my want-to-read list next :)
And very much like Alexis and Kathleen this was not a good read for me. I had to DNF at 15%
I am starting to think there is a reason these books were at the bottom of the pile,
Honestly, I can't remember why I requested this book. I thought the cover is cute, wanted to read a romance by a British author, thought the premise was fun - why past-me, why?
Anyway, this was not working for me at all. The writing didn't flow for me, I felt no emotional connection with either of the characters. I found the whole focus of finding The One True Love really annoying. I don't mind in principle the idea of using a dating app to find your future spouse but the way it was done here, nope, it's not for me. I was willing to give it some more time but when the heroine's best friend and owner of the dating app started looking for the best match for her and went to talk to her mother first, I threw in the towel.
I'm off to pick something from the top of my want-to-read list next :)
March 13, 2021
DNF @ 30%
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the review copy. All opinions are my own.
I really wanted to like this book. The cover and the premise made me think this was going to be a fun rom-com. I've since discovered that I was way off. Instead of a rom-com with a "Married at First Sight" premise we actually got literary fiction about communication in romantic relationships.
Now I have no problems with literary fiction, it just was not what I was expecting from the synopsis, premise and cover.
My main gripe is that the marriage doesn't take place until 56% in and we don't meet the love interest until the 50% mark. And then all of the important events, such as the marriage, the wedding night etc happen OFF PAGE.
And here comes my second gripe. There's just dialogue. There are minimal descriptions, we don't see any of the important events happening, the dialogue is super clunky and sounds like all of the characters word-vomit all of the time. We're told about all of the important events through dialogue later, which really detached me from the book.
I don't know if this was intentional or not, but this book tells, it doesn't show. And because of the telling and not showing, I could not connect to the characters or care about the plot.
This one just was not for me.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the review copy. All opinions are my own.
I really wanted to like this book. The cover and the premise made me think this was going to be a fun rom-com. I've since discovered that I was way off. Instead of a rom-com with a "Married at First Sight" premise we actually got literary fiction about communication in romantic relationships.
Now I have no problems with literary fiction, it just was not what I was expecting from the synopsis, premise and cover.
My main gripe is that the marriage doesn't take place until 56% in and we don't meet the love interest until the 50% mark. And then all of the important events, such as the marriage, the wedding night etc happen OFF PAGE.
And here comes my second gripe. There's just dialogue. There are minimal descriptions, we don't see any of the important events happening, the dialogue is super clunky and sounds like all of the characters word-vomit all of the time. We're told about all of the important events through dialogue later, which really detached me from the book.
I don't know if this was intentional or not, but this book tells, it doesn't show. And because of the telling and not showing, I could not connect to the characters or care about the plot.
This one just was not for me.
September 23, 2020
Right. I want to get this over with so I never have to think about this book again. Thank you to Netgalley for approving me for this book. I kind of wish you didn't now!
Firstly, this isn't a romance. This isn't cute. This isn't fun. There's no drama. To be honest, nothing much at all happens except what you expect i.e. they get married having never seen each other before. That's basically it. I can't spoil anything about this book because NOTHING ELSE HAPPENS.
Secondly, this book is written like a script. It's full of dialogue. Events and things that happen are glazed over and just referred to 'omg I can't believe you did that on your honeymoon'. Did WHAT? Cos we didn't get to see SHIT. We didn't get to see ANYTHING happen, we were only told it happened after the fact and that is frustrating as hell. When they first saw each other at the church? I was looking forward to hearing their thoughts about each other etc. I thought maybe there'd be some friction, maybe they'd hate each other and it'll be an enemies to lovers situation but NO we glaze over it to the next morning. WHAT?????? Why on God's green earth would you do that?
Thirdly, Hannah (one of the main characters) is a spoiled little brat and I hate her. She jumps down everyone's throat, she sulks and whines when she doesn't get her way (which is never cos she's a brat and always gets her way). She's just annoying and I didn't like her. She also felt like a cardboard cut out.
Nothing about this book was fleshed out, it didn't make me feel anything, I didn't care for the characters at all.
The first 50% of the book was unnecessary and boring. This book SHOULD have started from the wedding and we should have seen things develop from there. But what we got was 200 pages of organising a wedding and having wine and the next 200 pages of just conversations about basically nothing.
Also, what was the point of Jess having chapters? I would've preferred to see Toby's POV.
I can't get the time I've wasted back but I sure as hell can make sure no one else wastes their time with this book.
Firstly, this isn't a romance. This isn't cute. This isn't fun. There's no drama. To be honest, nothing much at all happens except what you expect i.e. they get married having never seen each other before. That's basically it. I can't spoil anything about this book because NOTHING ELSE HAPPENS.
Secondly, this book is written like a script. It's full of dialogue. Events and things that happen are glazed over and just referred to 'omg I can't believe you did that on your honeymoon'. Did WHAT? Cos we didn't get to see SHIT. We didn't get to see ANYTHING happen, we were only told it happened after the fact and that is frustrating as hell. When they first saw each other at the church? I was looking forward to hearing their thoughts about each other etc. I thought maybe there'd be some friction, maybe they'd hate each other and it'll be an enemies to lovers situation but NO we glaze over it to the next morning. WHAT?????? Why on God's green earth would you do that?
Thirdly, Hannah (one of the main characters) is a spoiled little brat and I hate her. She jumps down everyone's throat, she sulks and whines when she doesn't get her way (which is never cos she's a brat and always gets her way). She's just annoying and I didn't like her. She also felt like a cardboard cut out.
Nothing about this book was fleshed out, it didn't make me feel anything, I didn't care for the characters at all.
The first 50% of the book was unnecessary and boring. This book SHOULD have started from the wedding and we should have seen things develop from there. But what we got was 200 pages of organising a wedding and having wine and the next 200 pages of just conversations about basically nothing.
Also, what was the point of Jess having chapters? I would've preferred to see Toby's POV.
I can't get the time I've wasted back but I sure as hell can make sure no one else wastes their time with this book.
December 19, 2021
2.5 stars
I was really excited for this book but it just wasn't for me cause it was really boring 🤷🏻♀️
I was really excited for this book but it just wasn't for me cause it was really boring 🤷🏻♀️
August 24, 2021
Nie chce nawet mi się szukać pozytywów.
Nudna, nieśmieszna, przegadana, irytujący bohaterowie, irytujące relacje, ogrom alkoholu i traktowanie go jako dobrą zabawę i nagrodę za przeżycie kolejnego, tak ciężkiego dnia.
Koncept może fajny, ale zrealizowany koszmarnie. Ostatnie 30% wertowałam i gdy okazało się, że postać nieznajomego męża jest napisana tak jak wszystkie pozostałe - odpuściłam sobie. Wypowiedzi bohaterów pisane na jedno kopyto, drewniane dialogi, żadna z postaci nie miała w nich osobowości, indywidualnego sposobu mówienia.
Błędy w szczegółach, np. jedna z bohaterek idzie do kuchni, bo ma ochotę na kawę a nagle siada z kubkiem herbaty. Przeskoki czasowe tak gwałtowne, że w jednym akapicie nagle mijało parę dni albo bohaterka siadała na łóżku, rozmyślając przed snem, a w drugim zdaniu już pędziła do pracy. Autorka nie miała czasu opisać ładnie przebiegu czasu, za to nie spieszyła się, racząc czytelnika 15 stronami żenującego dialogu o przekomarzankach alkoholowych.
Dawno żadna książka nie wywołała we mnie takiej frustracji.
Nudna, nieśmieszna, przegadana, irytujący bohaterowie, irytujące relacje, ogrom alkoholu i traktowanie go jako dobrą zabawę i nagrodę za przeżycie kolejnego, tak ciężkiego dnia.
Koncept może fajny, ale zrealizowany koszmarnie. Ostatnie 30% wertowałam i gdy okazało się, że postać nieznajomego męża jest napisana tak jak wszystkie pozostałe - odpuściłam sobie. Wypowiedzi bohaterów pisane na jedno kopyto, drewniane dialogi, żadna z postaci nie miała w nich osobowości, indywidualnego sposobu mówienia.
Błędy w szczegółach, np. jedna z bohaterek idzie do kuchni, bo ma ochotę na kawę a nagle siada z kubkiem herbaty. Przeskoki czasowe tak gwałtowne, że w jednym akapicie nagle mijało parę dni albo bohaterka siadała na łóżku, rozmyślając przed snem, a w drugim zdaniu już pędziła do pracy. Autorka nie miała czasu opisać ładnie przebiegu czasu, za to nie spieszyła się, racząc czytelnika 15 stronami żenującego dialogu o przekomarzankach alkoholowych.
Dawno żadna książka nie wywołała we mnie takiej frustracji.
October 25, 2021
This was really awful.
August 22, 2021
Książka ta chodziła za mną tak długo, że postanowiłam rzucić wszystko i się do niej zabrać. Prolog przypomniał mi ten idiotyczny program "Ślub od pierwszego wejrzenia", ale nie umiem stwierdzić, na ile jest to do siebie podobne, bo nigdy tego nie widziałam. Zapowiadało się nieźle, skończyło się... no trochę się rozczarowałam.
Hannah żyje w pędzie i większość życia spędziła podróżując po całym świecie. Wróciła do rodzinnego miasta i pracuje raz z najlepszą przyjaciółką, Jess, która założyła aplikację randkową dla osób, które szukają drugiej połowy na całe życie. jednak nic nie jest idealne, bo aplikacja podupada, firmie grozi bankructwo, a w małżeństwie Jess pojawiają się problemy. Hannah wpada na genialny pomysł - zostanie twarzą aplikacji i pozwala, aby najlepsza przyjaciółka za jej pomocą znalazła jej męża, którego zobaczy i pozna... dopiero na ślubnym kobiercu.
Brzmi to... śmiesznie, ale początkowo jest zabawne, bohaterki są dobrze napisane, a poszukiwanie idealnego partnera wyszło naprawdę fajnie! Pióro Frost jest lekkie i książkę bardzo szybko się czyta, a do tego jest zabawna. Ogromny plus za to, że bohaterki nie są nastolatkami, tylko dorosłymi, dojrzałymi, bo 35-letnimi kobietami, a to wiek, na który rzadko trafiam w literaturze.
Problemy zaczęły się później, kiedy partner został wybrany, ślub wzięty i... no właśnie. Zabrakło mi relacji między Hannah i jej mężem, mam wrażenie, że została potraktowana po macoszemu, a autorce skończyły się pomysły na historię, bo poza kilkoma rozmowami tej relacji... nie ma! Są dla siebie obcymi ludźmi, a mi zabrakło opisu, jak ich relacja się rozwija, jak poznają siebie nawzajem i pogłębiają relację. Niby była, ale jakby jej nie było. Dodatkowo zakończenie, którego... dla mnie tu zakończenia nie było. Mam wrażenie, że książka urwała się nagle i zabrakło porządnego podsumowania historii.
Generalnie - fajny potencjał na ciekawą historię do łyknięcia w jeden wieczór, ale czegoś tutaj zdecydowanie zabrakło i pozostał smak goryczy.
Hannah żyje w pędzie i większość życia spędziła podróżując po całym świecie. Wróciła do rodzinnego miasta i pracuje raz z najlepszą przyjaciółką, Jess, która założyła aplikację randkową dla osób, które szukają drugiej połowy na całe życie. jednak nic nie jest idealne, bo aplikacja podupada, firmie grozi bankructwo, a w małżeństwie Jess pojawiają się problemy. Hannah wpada na genialny pomysł - zostanie twarzą aplikacji i pozwala, aby najlepsza przyjaciółka za jej pomocą znalazła jej męża, którego zobaczy i pozna... dopiero na ślubnym kobiercu.
Brzmi to... śmiesznie, ale początkowo jest zabawne, bohaterki są dobrze napisane, a poszukiwanie idealnego partnera wyszło naprawdę fajnie! Pióro Frost jest lekkie i książkę bardzo szybko się czyta, a do tego jest zabawna. Ogromny plus za to, że bohaterki nie są nastolatkami, tylko dorosłymi, dojrzałymi, bo 35-letnimi kobietami, a to wiek, na który rzadko trafiam w literaturze.
Problemy zaczęły się później, kiedy partner został wybrany, ślub wzięty i... no właśnie. Zabrakło mi relacji między Hannah i jej mężem, mam wrażenie, że została potraktowana po macoszemu, a autorce skończyły się pomysły na historię, bo poza kilkoma rozmowami tej relacji... nie ma! Są dla siebie obcymi ludźmi, a mi zabrakło opisu, jak ich relacja się rozwija, jak poznają siebie nawzajem i pogłębiają relację. Niby była, ale jakby jej nie było. Dodatkowo zakończenie, którego... dla mnie tu zakończenia nie było. Mam wrażenie, że książka urwała się nagle i zabrakło porządnego podsumowania historii.
Generalnie - fajny potencjał na ciekawą historię do łyknięcia w jeden wieczór, ale czegoś tutaj zdecydowanie zabrakło i pozostał smak goryczy.
June 1, 2021
The plot didn't move very fast for a book about a quickie blind date marriage. The wedding itself is hardly a thing and then suddenly it's here and gone. The pacing was just plain off throughout.
It was just a very bland book. Trite is the word I would use to describe this book on a whole, especially the dialogue of which there was an overabundance. It felt like try-hard conversation where the outcome was determined before the dialogue was written, meaning it didn't feel natural and just did not flow. Exposition was also shoved awkwardly into dialogue, which made the conversations stilted between all characters. This was especially obnoxious between our two main characters who'd supposedly been friends for 20 years but acted like this was the first time they'd ever spoken to each other. It didn't convince me in any way that these characters are real humans or even that the author has ever met any real humans, or even read a book before.
And there was so so much dialogue. Not much describing at all otherwise. Constant exposition and moving the plot forward through dialogue. Also, there was so many exclamation marks! All the time! Everyone was constantly having entire conversations by exclaiming at each other!
Plot points just appeared. When we suddenly need to remind Hannah that marriage is hard work, her mum gives her some of her old school books where she interviewed her grandmother about her marriage. When we need strife between Jess and her husband, we make their child have a sick-day from school that we casually bring up mid-conversation and the husband falls asleep instead of looking after the kid. It was just constant stuff like this, where things weren't a big deal and then suddenly were because they needed to be.
I wasn't entirely enamoured with the dual protagonists in this. Maybe it's because the title had me thinking the book would be more romance-y. And it's not like we got an insight into anything relating to Hannah's plot from Jess or vice-versa: Jess picked Toby for Hannah and I had no idea of the motivations involved, and Hannah had literally no idea that Jess's relationship with her husband was on the rocks. It was a story about two separate, selfish people, too self-involved to see past the ends of their noses.
Jess saying she created the app because there was a "gap in the market" and being entirely willing to sell the app regardless of what it would do to Hannah just straight-up proved it. You cannot convince me these two people had actually known each other for 20 years, or that they cared about each other one iota.
I received this ARC through Netgalley.
It was just a very bland book. Trite is the word I would use to describe this book on a whole, especially the dialogue of which there was an overabundance. It felt like try-hard conversation where the outcome was determined before the dialogue was written, meaning it didn't feel natural and just did not flow. Exposition was also shoved awkwardly into dialogue, which made the conversations stilted between all characters. This was especially obnoxious between our two main characters who'd supposedly been friends for 20 years but acted like this was the first time they'd ever spoken to each other. It didn't convince me in any way that these characters are real humans or even that the author has ever met any real humans, or even read a book before.
And there was so so much dialogue. Not much describing at all otherwise. Constant exposition and moving the plot forward through dialogue. Also, there was so many exclamation marks! All the time! Everyone was constantly having entire conversations by exclaiming at each other!
Plot points just appeared. When we suddenly need to remind Hannah that marriage is hard work, her mum gives her some of her old school books where she interviewed her grandmother about her marriage. When we need strife between Jess and her husband, we make their child have a sick-day from school that we casually bring up mid-conversation and the husband falls asleep instead of looking after the kid. It was just constant stuff like this, where things weren't a big deal and then suddenly were because they needed to be.
I wasn't entirely enamoured with the dual protagonists in this. Maybe it's because the title had me thinking the book would be more romance-y. And it's not like we got an insight into anything relating to Hannah's plot from Jess or vice-versa: Jess picked Toby for Hannah and I had no idea of the motivations involved, and Hannah had literally no idea that Jess's relationship with her husband was on the rocks. It was a story about two separate, selfish people, too self-involved to see past the ends of their noses.
Jess saying she created the app because there was a "gap in the market" and being entirely willing to sell the app regardless of what it would do to Hannah just straight-up proved it. You cannot convince me these two people had actually known each other for 20 years, or that they cared about each other one iota.
I received this ARC through Netgalley.
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December 24, 2022I'm sad to report that I tried to read this book and it didn't work for me. I struggled a lot with the writing. It wasn't as captivating as I hoped it to be and didn't capture my attention. Plus it was all over the place. I hope others will enjoy it more than me, but sadly we didn't hit it off.
January 23, 2022
Light, funny and generally a lovely quick read.
January 19, 2021
1.5
It's a no from me.
I'll stop myself going into a rant and a rave by explaining my two main points for such a low rating.
Firstly one of the principal characters - Jess - was incredibly insufferable. She was mean to her husband and just whined all the time. I really couldn't understand why she didn't just tell the person she had been married to for 10 years what she wanted instead of bullying him. It felt like she purposely put all this pressure on herself - in one breath saying society expected it from her, in the other breath calling herself a '#feminist' I literally could not.
Secondly, there were just chunks and chunks of dialogue between characters. The sat with a coffee or tea or glass of rosé and talked at one another spewing all their feelings and leaving little room for subtext.
The novel felt very little about being "married at first swipe" and more about two friends who were as clueless as each other muddling their way through life then instantly regretting their hard-pressed for decisions.
It was painful and would be more aptly named "Irritated at First Sip"
It's a no from me.
I'll stop myself going into a rant and a rave by explaining my two main points for such a low rating.
Firstly one of the principal characters - Jess - was incredibly insufferable. She was mean to her husband and just whined all the time. I really couldn't understand why she didn't just tell the person she had been married to for 10 years what she wanted instead of bullying him. It felt like she purposely put all this pressure on herself - in one breath saying society expected it from her, in the other breath calling herself a '#feminist' I literally could not.
Secondly, there were just chunks and chunks of dialogue between characters. The sat with a coffee or tea or glass of rosé and talked at one another spewing all their feelings and leaving little room for subtext.
The novel felt very little about being "married at first swipe" and more about two friends who were as clueless as each other muddling their way through life then instantly regretting their hard-pressed for decisions.
It was painful and would be more aptly named "Irritated at First Sip"
November 1, 2022
this book reminded me of a stale crisp. ‘married at first swipe’ yet we didn’t even get to read about them meeting for the first time, the wedding, the honeymoon or any important events that were actually relevant to the plot. all we got was way too much dialogue, about a billion exclamation marks that made it all sound fake with annoying characters. where was the romance?? where was the humour?? i got my glasses on and still can’t see it.
July 7, 2025
This book was garbage. It was almost entirely dialogue and the dialogue was poorly written, the characters were not believable, the plot was terrible. The author didn’t include what would seem to be important scenes, such as the wedding the entire book is based around among others. The two main characters spoke as though they’d never met each other despite supposedly being friends for more than 20 years, and they also spoke as though it was their first days on Earth. I hate finished this book.
December 30, 2020
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FR REVIEW :
DISCLAIMER : Thank you, Netgalley, Simon and Schuster UK for providing me with an ARC of this book. I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Married At First Swipe by Claire Frost is contemporary fiction. I saw the title and thought to myself, hmm.., that sounds very similar to the show Married At First Sight. While the concept is the same, and the plot is designed around the idea, I would recommend not going into the book expecting a romance or a love story between two people. This is more of a women's fiction kind of a story than a straight-up romance.
The Story follows Jess and Hannah through their tumultuous lives. Jess is the owner of the dating app Save The Date, which focuses on people wanting to settle down quickly. When the app and the business takes a hit, Hannah Jess's best friend and employee at Save The Date decides to offer herself as an experiment to bring the company back to success. Hannah's idea is for Jess to find a guy for her to marry. The only problem is, Hannah will get to see her groom only on the day of the wedding. As Jess continues to work hard, trying to bring her business around - her relationship starts to crack. Can the two women find their happily ever after? Can the free-spirited settle down with a man she has never met??
Overall, I would say the story was good. I did like it, but sadly, I didn't love it as much as I thought I would. If you are looking for a story that focuses on women's journey through life, then this book will work for you. But if you are looking for an epic romance, this is not the one for you. I gave the book 3 stars, and I recommend checking it out to see if it fits your reading tastes.
SUBSCRIBE TO MY CHANNEL : YOUTUBE
FOLLOW ME ON : TWITTER INSTAGRAM
FR REVIEW :
DISCLAIMER : Thank you, Netgalley, Simon and Schuster UK for providing me with an ARC of this book. I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Married At First Swipe by Claire Frost is contemporary fiction. I saw the title and thought to myself, hmm.., that sounds very similar to the show Married At First Sight. While the concept is the same, and the plot is designed around the idea, I would recommend not going into the book expecting a romance or a love story between two people. This is more of a women's fiction kind of a story than a straight-up romance.
The Story follows Jess and Hannah through their tumultuous lives. Jess is the owner of the dating app Save The Date, which focuses on people wanting to settle down quickly. When the app and the business takes a hit, Hannah Jess's best friend and employee at Save The Date decides to offer herself as an experiment to bring the company back to success. Hannah's idea is for Jess to find a guy for her to marry. The only problem is, Hannah will get to see her groom only on the day of the wedding. As Jess continues to work hard, trying to bring her business around - her relationship starts to crack. Can the two women find their happily ever after? Can the free-spirited settle down with a man she has never met??
Overall, I would say the story was good. I did like it, but sadly, I didn't love it as much as I thought I would. If you are looking for a story that focuses on women's journey through life, then this book will work for you. But if you are looking for an epic romance, this is not the one for you. I gave the book 3 stars, and I recommend checking it out to see if it fits your reading tastes.
September 12, 2020
This is absolutely perfect for those who - like me - are currently obsessed with the TV series Married at First Sight. Who knew that meeting your bride / groom at the altar would make for such compelling narrative? Add in an entrepreneurial Mum trying to do it all, a judgey M and S Mother and a couple of boisterous twins and you’ve got yourself an awesome read.
February 16, 2021
Jess is married to her long – time boyfriend and they have twins. She is the owner of the dating app with difference, Save the Date, that promises to match people who are interested in long term relationships. But it doesn’t run as good as Jess thought it’s going to and she’s in desperate need to increase the membership numbers. Jess’s best friend Hannah, a free spirit travelling the world, is now home and working together with Jess. She’s permanently single and maybe it’s time for her to find her second half? So to increase the publicity and maybe to help herself, Hannah offers herself in a kind od experiment – Jess should find her a husband through Save the Date, whom she’s going to meet on their wedding day. Nothing can go wrong, it’s a win – win situation: they are going to marry then and live happily ever after and Jess will keep her business. Right?
So I requested this book because a) I love this title, it’s brilliant and eye – catching and you simply can’t wait for the great story inside and b) I just wanted to see if perhaps it’s going to be better than Claire Frost’s debut novel that, sadly, didn’t work for me so well and I thought, well, what can go wrong, let’s try. I loved the concept in „Married at First Swipe“, it’s brilliant and with the right development it could be a great read. Sadly, it didn’t deliver. It was slow – paced and sometimes I had a feeling that nothing happens, and sometimes that other things happen that bring nothing to the plot. I couldn’t warm to the characters, couldn’t relate with them, they had everything and still they were all so unhappy and it didn’t sit with me.
The novel was dominated by dialogues. The characters talked a lot, often it took them a page or two to eventually say what they wanted to say. There were many words but not much to see if you know what I mean, Jess and Hannah talked and talked and talked but we have never seen the things they talked about, never experienced them. And no matter how eloquent you are, when you speak with your best friends, you come straight to the point and not exaggerate for hours – and it felt like this when reading their conversations. It felt unrealistic and forced, not real. I had a feeling that the author skipped all the parts that could have made the book outstanding – the interviewing of the candidates, the hen do, the honeymoon, the wedding itself – only to let Hannah and Jess talk about it later! Hello – I wanted to experience those things too! Not only hear about them.
The story – telling felt a bit wooden and without heart, to be honest. The overwhelming feeling was this of negativity, everybody seemed so unhappy and stressed all the time. I also think that not informing us at the very beginning that Hannah made it to her wedding day took us the tension away and only going through the motions of getting to that day was not enough. I was hoping for fun, for two people getting to know each other and the story lacked very much in this dynamics.
I was pretty sure the book is going to focus on Hannah and her shenanigans with her new husband, so the focus on Jess and her problems took me a little by surprise, and I think the author wanted to show here the pressure that women are under, trying to juggle married life with school runs and work. Jess’s marriage was going to the wall and she didn’t feel happy anymore, feeling that she has to do everything, which ended in never – ending stress between her and her husband that also affects the whole tone of her subplot.
Altogether, it was an easy and light read that you may enjoy – perhaps it will work better for you.
Copy provided by the publisher in return for an honest review.
So I requested this book because a) I love this title, it’s brilliant and eye – catching and you simply can’t wait for the great story inside and b) I just wanted to see if perhaps it’s going to be better than Claire Frost’s debut novel that, sadly, didn’t work for me so well and I thought, well, what can go wrong, let’s try. I loved the concept in „Married at First Swipe“, it’s brilliant and with the right development it could be a great read. Sadly, it didn’t deliver. It was slow – paced and sometimes I had a feeling that nothing happens, and sometimes that other things happen that bring nothing to the plot. I couldn’t warm to the characters, couldn’t relate with them, they had everything and still they were all so unhappy and it didn’t sit with me.
The novel was dominated by dialogues. The characters talked a lot, often it took them a page or two to eventually say what they wanted to say. There were many words but not much to see if you know what I mean, Jess and Hannah talked and talked and talked but we have never seen the things they talked about, never experienced them. And no matter how eloquent you are, when you speak with your best friends, you come straight to the point and not exaggerate for hours – and it felt like this when reading their conversations. It felt unrealistic and forced, not real. I had a feeling that the author skipped all the parts that could have made the book outstanding – the interviewing of the candidates, the hen do, the honeymoon, the wedding itself – only to let Hannah and Jess talk about it later! Hello – I wanted to experience those things too! Not only hear about them.
The story – telling felt a bit wooden and without heart, to be honest. The overwhelming feeling was this of negativity, everybody seemed so unhappy and stressed all the time. I also think that not informing us at the very beginning that Hannah made it to her wedding day took us the tension away and only going through the motions of getting to that day was not enough. I was hoping for fun, for two people getting to know each other and the story lacked very much in this dynamics.
I was pretty sure the book is going to focus on Hannah and her shenanigans with her new husband, so the focus on Jess and her problems took me a little by surprise, and I think the author wanted to show here the pressure that women are under, trying to juggle married life with school runs and work. Jess’s marriage was going to the wall and she didn’t feel happy anymore, feeling that she has to do everything, which ended in never – ending stress between her and her husband that also affects the whole tone of her subplot.
Altogether, it was an easy and light read that you may enjoy – perhaps it will work better for you.
Copy provided by the publisher in return for an honest review.
January 16, 2021
Ah another classic romcom with a very modern twist from Claire Frost. This is one of the first times I have seen a modern marriage in today's society portrayed as well as this in a novel and I was here supporting Jess and Tom all the way. I also love the way this writer has taken the popularity of reality dating shows and mixed it into this novel, what happens once the cameras stop though? We get to find out to some extent here.
Jess is a great character and I defy anyone not to instantly get along with her. She has seen a gap in the market and an opportunity and made a successful dating business out of it. She is a mum and a wife at the same time and, like most of us, she feels like she is a failing at all of her roles. Social media and FOMO certainly doesn't help with this feeling but drinking gin with her bestie certainly does. I love how real Jess is, I could totally imagine her being my best friend.
Hannah is a whole different kettle of fish and unfortunately I think the selfish side of her is a product of society and a product of being sold a life style online and through the traditions of a British family that are imposed on us from a very early age. She is definitely harder to like than Jess but I really did warm to her and want her to succeed throughout the novel. It is so hard when you've been living alone and picking up to go and travel whenever you want to then jump into a marriage just because that is what society says is the next step in your life. It's what happens afterwards that matters.
This writer is just brilliant at really understanding social media and how brands operate online and that really shows through her books and the plot lines that she goes down. I really love how something that is a big part of my life gets incorporated into a novel like this. I was so here for reading about how this whole married at first swipe idea took off on all the socials and the fall out from that. Another thing I really loved about this book was it's Manchester setting. It's not another London romcom and that in itself was truly refreshing!
I loved this book and I know you will too. If you want a romcom that is escapist but also reflects real life then you have found it with Married at First Swipe!
Jess is a great character and I defy anyone not to instantly get along with her. She has seen a gap in the market and an opportunity and made a successful dating business out of it. She is a mum and a wife at the same time and, like most of us, she feels like she is a failing at all of her roles. Social media and FOMO certainly doesn't help with this feeling but drinking gin with her bestie certainly does. I love how real Jess is, I could totally imagine her being my best friend.
Hannah is a whole different kettle of fish and unfortunately I think the selfish side of her is a product of society and a product of being sold a life style online and through the traditions of a British family that are imposed on us from a very early age. She is definitely harder to like than Jess but I really did warm to her and want her to succeed throughout the novel. It is so hard when you've been living alone and picking up to go and travel whenever you want to then jump into a marriage just because that is what society says is the next step in your life. It's what happens afterwards that matters.
This writer is just brilliant at really understanding social media and how brands operate online and that really shows through her books and the plot lines that she goes down. I really love how something that is a big part of my life gets incorporated into a novel like this. I was so here for reading about how this whole married at first swipe idea took off on all the socials and the fall out from that. Another thing I really loved about this book was it's Manchester setting. It's not another London romcom and that in itself was truly refreshing!
I loved this book and I know you will too. If you want a romcom that is escapist but also reflects real life then you have found it with Married at First Swipe!
January 22, 2024
Rating: 3 ⭐
Chapters: 13.8 (felt quite long)
No spice
Written in third person
The story starts with Hannah and Jess who are working for Jess' app Save the Date, and the business isn't doing well. Hannah decides she will let Jess choose her one person and they will get married when they first meet(married at first sight style) and the story takes off from there.
While the main start of the story sets out to be about Hannah and her marrying a stranger, the story then starts to veer and becomes a lot more about Jess and her marriage while being a mum and managing a business.
The only way I can describe this book is it was written in the format of a movie. I could easily see how this adapted to a film would be good and easy as the scenes are already there. To explain this a little, we had very specific scenes and then time breaks of a couple weeks, we don't get to see Hannah and Toby fall in love with each other and their ending felt very rushed. We don't get to see how they feel, it felt like someone was describing the scene and then lots of dialogue.
I think if this was written in first person we could have had a lot more depth to the characters and made them more relatable.
I think if it wasn't for the audiobook version of this I wouldn't have finished this book but the audiobook version of this did feel like a movie and is the reason this is a 3 star rating
Chapters: 13.8 (felt quite long)
No spice
Written in third person
The story starts with Hannah and Jess who are working for Jess' app Save the Date, and the business isn't doing well. Hannah decides she will let Jess choose her one person and they will get married when they first meet(married at first sight style) and the story takes off from there.
While the main start of the story sets out to be about Hannah and her marrying a stranger, the story then starts to veer and becomes a lot more about Jess and her marriage while being a mum and managing a business.
The only way I can describe this book is it was written in the format of a movie. I could easily see how this adapted to a film would be good and easy as the scenes are already there. To explain this a little, we had very specific scenes and then time breaks of a couple weeks, we don't get to see Hannah and Toby fall in love with each other and their ending felt very rushed. We don't get to see how they feel, it felt like someone was describing the scene and then lots of dialogue.
I think if this was written in first person we could have had a lot more depth to the characters and made them more relatable.
I think if it wasn't for the audiobook version of this I wouldn't have finished this book but the audiobook version of this did feel like a movie and is the reason this is a 3 star rating
February 8, 2021
Jess and Hannah have always been best friends but Hannah has been unlucky in love.
When she came home to Manchester after years of travelling abroad she luckily gets a job working for Jess on her dating app ‘save the date’. The take up isn’t as good as Jess had hoped so she decides to run a competition which kills two birds with stone - promoting her business and finding Hannah a husband.
The wedding day comes around - is it love at first swipe?
This book was really easy to read but I found the build up to the wedding day more entertaining than the part of the story after.
The relationship between Jess and her husband Tom, and the dynamic with Hannah being so close to the pair was really well thought and made it feel more real. Jess was so engrossed in helping her friend that her own relationship was neglected.
I did enjoy this but it did leave me wanting more in places.
There wasn’t a character I didn’t really like and the family structure and characterisation really helped to build a full picture of how all three protagonists(including Hannah’s new husband) were as people.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 16, 2023
This is not at all a romance! I think getting this out of the way first then enables you to read the book for what it really is - the tale of two best friends and how they are both affected by this decision to use one's app to find the other's groom whom she'll meet at the altar. As such, it follows upon the lives of Hannah and Jess, and not on the marriage bit, the romance bit, and even the groom is a bit of an afterthought in there.
Still, I did enjoy seeing where this was going and how, despite the slow pace and the almost entirely dialogue pages that make up this book (I guess that's the author's voice?)
Don't go in expecting a romance, or even seeing anything about this marriage mentioned in the title (misleading title, more like clickbait than anything else!), and sit down with a chick-lit about women and their relationships on the backdrop of their BFF friendship
Still, I did enjoy seeing where this was going and how, despite the slow pace and the almost entirely dialogue pages that make up this book (I guess that's the author's voice?)
Don't go in expecting a romance, or even seeing anything about this marriage mentioned in the title (misleading title, more like clickbait than anything else!), and sit down with a chick-lit about women and their relationships on the backdrop of their BFF friendship
October 11, 2021
Hmmmm. Spodziewałam się nieco czegoś innego. Wiedziałam, że będzie to historia infantylna i nieprawdopodobna, bo litości, ale kto w ten sposób postępuje? Jednak mimo wszystko liczyłam na to, że sam akt ślubu i tej całej otoczki przed, będzie bardziej rzeczywisty. Dodatkowo, bardzo słabo rozbudowana część już po ślubie. No i ten cały wątek Jess i Toma. Z jednej strony fajnie, że zostały pokazane dwie zupełnie odrębne strony małżeństwa, ale myślę, że było to zdecydowanie za dużo grzybków w barszczu, przez co autorka niedostatecznie skupiła się na historii Han i Toby’ego. Jak dla mnie zamysł na historię miał znacznie większy potencjał, niż to zostało pokazane.
August 26, 2021
Ta historia miała ogromny potencjał, który po drodze nieco się wyczerpał... plus ma bardzo niewyrównane tempo akcji. Kilka wydarzeń - na które każdy czeka - były fantastyczne, lecz po nich znów przechodziliśmy w monotonnie i według mnie niepotrzebne 'dramy'. Bohaterowie czasami nie potrafili ze sobą rozmawiać; za to woleli odciąć się, porzucić temat i się kłócić. Hmm, to chyba tak nie działa😥
🙄czego mi brakowało?
Szczegółów XD np. dłuższego poznania i początków naszych nowożeńców
Perspektywy Toby'ego
Może... innego zakończenia? bo te było niestety nijakie🤷♀️
🙄czego mi brakowało?
Szczegółów XD np. dłuższego poznania i początków naszych nowożeńców
Perspektywy Toby'ego
Może... innego zakończenia? bo te było niestety nijakie🤷♀️
January 24, 2021
Hannah and Jess were characters who were so easy to take to heart, they had very different personalities but somehow their friendship was stronger because of those differences. They were a wonderful duo.
Jess’ family life was particularly relatable for me. The difficulties she faced whilst trying to create a balance between being a mother, a wife AND an individual was something that I know many women struggle with, myself included.
Hannah’s idea to boost Jess’ online dating app intrigued me, I wondered how it would actually work and if it would all end in tears. I couldn’t stop reading as the wedding preparations progressed, the whole scenario was fascinating and never stopped surprising me. By the time I got to the big day I was a bundle of nerves as I anticipated a variety of outcomes.
I don’t think I can say any more without giving away what actually happened so I’ll just tell you that I was taken on a bit of an emotional rollercoaster and received an insightful education into marriage from multiple perspectives.
Favourite Moments:
* Family interrogations
* STD questions
* A childhood interview
This was a quirky and intriguing read that gave me all the feels.
Jess’ family life was particularly relatable for me. The difficulties she faced whilst trying to create a balance between being a mother, a wife AND an individual was something that I know many women struggle with, myself included.
Hannah’s idea to boost Jess’ online dating app intrigued me, I wondered how it would actually work and if it would all end in tears. I couldn’t stop reading as the wedding preparations progressed, the whole scenario was fascinating and never stopped surprising me. By the time I got to the big day I was a bundle of nerves as I anticipated a variety of outcomes.
I don’t think I can say any more without giving away what actually happened so I’ll just tell you that I was taken on a bit of an emotional rollercoaster and received an insightful education into marriage from multiple perspectives.
Favourite Moments:
* Family interrogations
* STD questions
* A childhood interview
This was a quirky and intriguing read that gave me all the feels.
August 22, 2021
Takiej marnacji dobrego potencjału dawno nie widziałam. Brak opisu wesela i podróży poślubej to jedne z moich zarzutów. Bo co może być ciekawszego niż przeczytanie o pierwszych dniach małżeństwa dwójki ludzi, którzy znają się z kilku wpisów bloga aplikacji randkowej? Chyba poranek po weselu, gdzie panna młoda mówi, że film jej się urwał🤦🏻♀️
Miałam wrażenie, że wszystkie najciekawsze momenty zostały pominięte przez frazę 'kilka tygodni później'🤷🏻♀️
Miałam wrażenie, że wszystkie najciekawsze momenty zostały pominięte przez frazę 'kilka tygodni później'🤷🏻♀️
November 7, 2020
OMG! I Also want to have such interesting adventures like Hannah had, but agreeing to marry a man she never saw, is another thing! I was blown! I mean, it's good everything turned up ok, but the story line really began normally after the half of the book...The other first half was too boring to read and I had to skip some pages...
Overall, good story but a bit dragging at the beginning.
Overall, good story but a bit dragging at the beginning.
June 10, 2022
dnf p. 162
Aw man...i had hoped this was going to be fun , awkward and interesting...but nope. It was so damn boring! I liked Hannah and Toby`s letter exhanges somewhat...but other than that...it was so...damn boring i could not finish it. Hannah, naive and boring. Jess was alright...but not too interesting. Urgh.
Aw man...i had hoped this was going to be fun , awkward and interesting...but nope. It was so damn boring! I liked Hannah and Toby`s letter exhanges somewhat...but other than that...it was so...damn boring i could not finish it. Hannah, naive and boring. Jess was alright...but not too interesting. Urgh.
August 7, 2023
Did I love it? No!
Did I hate it? Definitely no!
I was soooo invested in Jess’s storyline that I began to resent Hannah’s (for taking the focus off of Jess and Tom and the struggles in their marriage).
It was a pleasant read, and a good way to pass the time but I’m not certain that I’d go out of my way to recommend this book to many people.
Did I hate it? Definitely no!
I was soooo invested in Jess’s storyline that I began to resent Hannah’s (for taking the focus off of Jess and Tom and the struggles in their marriage).
It was a pleasant read, and a good way to pass the time but I’m not certain that I’d go out of my way to recommend this book to many people.
March 29, 2022
Zdecydowanie ta historia nie jest dla mnie. Przez większość czasu się nudziłam i zmuszałam do czytania. Oczekiwałam od niej czegoś lepszego. Pomysł może i był ciekawy, jednak jego wykonanie nie podeszło mi do gustu.
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