Such a beautiful love story about fate and falling for the one by chance. I loved that it was based on a true story as it gives people hope that even on your daily commute you can find love. Definitely a winner for me being a romantic at heart. Perfect.

A wonderful, endearing story. The fact that it’s based on true events just added to the romance of it all.

This is a sweet story for fans of the rom com. It's a good read for a lazy day. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

It was a fun read. The narratives not my cup of tea. But I enjoyed reading it. Will I read it again most likely no. But it was a fun lovely Quick read to enjoy

Really enjoyable read. Good characters and a Good story. Well worth a read. Think others will enjoy.

I had a hard time getting into this. I knew what it was about and I was intrigued but it just didn't grab me.

I really wanted to love this book but it just didn't grab my attention and suck me in the way I had hoped it would. It may just be a matter of taste, but for me this was a miss.

What a great opportunity for a fabulous story..... too bad it wasn’t.
This was such a struggle from the beginning. Way too much detail- I don’t need to know every single item in a room or every single tiny thought, etc.- it was overwhelming sometimes. Also, Maya was just not someone I ever connected with (which is important for me).

Thank you for the opportunity to review this title. Unfortunately in this case I found it difficult to connect to the story. As I didn't completely finish this book I will not be publishing a review. We do not review uncompleted books on the blog, and again, thank you for sending through a review copy. Although this title didn't work for me, I do look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

Review: This is Zoe Folbigg's debut book and what a debut. I really enjoyed this. Life is full of missed opportunities and chance encounters and this story is all about that. This is a romantic comedy. I couldn't stop reading this book and it was laugh out loud funny in places. The plot is fantastic and so well written. The characters are great and you are rooting for them throughout. This is a book not to miss.

I really loved this story. I had read an article about the couple in real life so was really looking forward to giving this a read. The story is so hopeful, the characters are great and you really feel yourself rooting for Maya.
The only thing i would say is that at times, i felt the language was a bit too flowery. There were lots of descriptive words that i didn't feel were needed, in a way that it made the story a little harder to follow. It dint really take anything from the story, and i did thoroughly enjoy it, I just often found it a little distracting.

Two and a half stars: A book that lacked focus and had a plodding plot.

Maya Flowers is on cloud nine. Today is the day that she finally worked up the courage to hand Train Man a note. Train Man is the mysterious man she has been obsessing over for the last year. It was love at first sight. The moment Maya saw him standing on the platform, she just knew that he was the one for her. Why is that after all this time, she can’t even work up to the courage to speak to him? Finally, thanks to the prodding of a new friend, Maya dares to give him a note asking him to meet her for a drink. Will Train Man accept?
What I Liked:
*This is a hard book for me to review. I liked it, but I didn’t love it. This is a book that follows two people, Maya and James, as they encounter troubles in their work and personal lives, find new beginnings, new friends, make changes and ultimately fall in love. It was an interesting story, and I liked the characters.
*Maya was a fun main character. At first, she is just an average girl, happy in her work, but not striving for more. Once she sees Train Man, she begins to change. I liked watching her work through adversity at her job that she once loved. I also enjoyed watching her branch out, make new friends, take some chances, and ultimately turn her life in a new direction. She is plucky, funny, a bit daring, and kind.
*James is much quieter than Maya. He is calm, considerate, and patient. Yet he finds himself stuck in a relationship that lost its fire months and months ago. His work isn’t appealing to him anymore. Instead of miring in his misery when everything comes to a head, he too, decides to take some chances and make some changes. I loved seeing his evolution.
*I appreciated that Maya stood up to the bullying by the mean girl in the office. The new boss is all kinds of cruel. She picks on people, makes condescending remarks, and is just plain awful. I liked that Maya had pluck and that she found a way to dish it back to her.
*Velma was one of my favorite characters. She is an adorable older woman with a huge heart and lots of wisdom. I loved watching the friendship form between Maya and Velma, it was one of the highlights of the story.
*The ending is sweet and lovely. The moment that I was waiting for finally arrives. It was satisfying, even though I wanted more.
And The Not So Much:
*The writing was not easy to read. The book lacks direction and focus. There is this wispy, flitting style that isn’t easy to follow. There are a lot of frills and unnecessary detail that took away from the story. I wished that it wasn’t all over the place.
*There are way too many characters and details to keep track of. All of sudden you get these snippets between Catherine and Simon, two people who meet on the train and start having an affair. I didn’t like them, nor did I care to read about two people who were cheating on their significant others. I couldn’t figure out why they were suddenly in the story, it finally did make sense after awhile. Again, this is a case of the book needing better focus.
*Kitty was the most nasty and exasperating character. I kept thinking there would be this revelation, and that I would finally learn why she was so downright ugly to her boyfriend. That never comes. I wanted to punch her.
*I was expecting this to be a sweet, romantic love story. It really isn’t. Instead it is more a book about growth and change for both the main characters. You finally get that dose of romance right at the end. I hated that I had to wait the entire book for that tiny bit of romance.

The Note was a book I picked up expecting a light, breezy romance. I was disappointed in that there was really not much romance expect at the end. I did like watching the main characters grow and evolve, but I struggled with the writing style. This book needed sharper focus, less characters and extraneous detail. It was a tad too frustrating for my preference.


I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for this review.
Posted@Rainy Day Ramblings.

Maya commutes to work everyday on the same train. One day she sees a guy she is instantly attracted to and dubs him Train Guy.

Over the course of a year full of ups and downs she falls in love with him even though they never speak. One day she gets the courage to hand him a note telling him she would like to get to know him better.

I enjoyed the premise and the interweaving stories of different characters. It was fun to see how paths crossed and little moments can make a big difference.

Where I struggled with this book some was the writing style. It seemed a little jumbled and like there could have been better editing. It was written by an author in the UK so it may be that the pacing and writing conventions there are just ones I am not used to.

Overall an interesting story and I really liked watching Maya come into her own over the course of the book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A lovely heartwarming feel good book about the wonderful character that is maya (that I wish was my friend) and her life.....she fell in love with a boy she sees on the train and decides to give him a note....this is a lovely book about what happens before and after this ! Will give you glistening eyes and a smile

The story idea was good but the outcome of the book was not so great.
I love books set in London and a love romance and love stories.
I know this was a debut novel but it felt like something was lacking.
With the overuse of names Maya said this, Maya did that, and so on, it was slightly annoying.
I did like that Maya stepped up and gave James a note. You go, girl!
However, this book was missing that pull me in and keep me reading factor.
I had to drag myself through it.

This was OK, I did persevere as it was a sweet story, but the writing was very laboured and jumped all over the place. I didn't feel any connection with Maya as a main character, and felt we moved too quickly from one scene to another with no explanation of how we got there. There was a bit of intrigue as I had no idea who Simon and Catherine were or how their stories connected. Once this was clarified it made a bit more sense, but I think the reader would have benefited from being made aware of who Catherine was earlier.

I was unable to finish the book. Unfortunately, it never drew me in. The writing was mostly telling me what the character did and thought, interspersed with excessive description of the setting. This kept me at arm's length from the characters and I couldn't get invested in the story.

Stories of missed opportunities are my favorites, and while this book holds a potential (that premise is so cute!), eventually the writing style just doesn't fit. For a book that's supposed to be a romance, in the first 8% we got an awful lot of description. Everytime we meet a new character, we got a tons of description of how do they look, what are they wearing, where do they sit, how do they know the characters, their position, their characters, their history, and so on and so on. When we first get into FASH, we got a layout of who sits where, what the blonde secretary doing and what she's browsing, the layout of the meeting room, where the canteen is, and how the company revolutionize online shopping.

It's just too much description eventually, feels like info dumping and distract me from the story.

I put it down down as found it was dragging, then found out was a true story and changed the way I looked at it. Was such a lovely story with tales of missed opportunities with a happy ending! Really enjoyed it once got into it!

There is a light and sweet feeling to the story that is perfect for if you have had a long day and are looking to unwind. I have to admit it did take me a little longer to get attached to the characters and the story. I think the main reason for this was because of Maya's profession, there is a decent amount of emphasis on fashion within this book. On the whole I didn't mind this but I thought there was quite a bit of detail on this subject. If you are a lover of fashion this would be ideal but I could see how it may put a reader slightly off. This is only a minor thing and once I got to know Maya I did enjoy the story more and more.

I think the premise was great about taking that leap of faith and taking a chance. After all you never know unless you try so this side of the story really appealed to me. This gave the story an uplifting vibe that gives an overall lighthearted feeling. There is the added will they won't they that is weaved into the story creating that little bit of tension. Even though there is a romantic feeling it isn't overpowering. Along with a lovely inspirational feel that will make you want to seize the day. Even if I didn't gel instantly with Maya I could understand her journey but will there be a happy ending?

Three and a half stars rounded up to Four!

With thanks to Melanie at Aria Fiction for my invite to join the tour and a copy of the book. This is my honest and unbiased opinion.