I enjoyed The 24-Hour Cafe by Libby Page. It’s a quirky concept where the whole book is set inside Stella’s Cafe over the course of one day.

Mona and Hannah are best friends. They live together and also work at Stella’s often working opposing 12 hour shifts. Mona aspires tone a dancer and Stella a singer. Join them over the course of a day as their friendship will be tested.

An enjoyable read that I would rate 3.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Orion Publishing Group and the author for the chance to review.

I absolutely loved this book! Libby Page has written another marvellous, heartwarming story, this time set in a 24 hour café in London. The main characters are two waitresses, singer Hannah and dancer Mona, working at the café but hoping to make it in their chosen careers. Their friendship and their hopes and dreams are easy to relate to and we also enjoy mini stories of other characters too, as customers drift in and out during the 24 hour period in which the novel set. I felt enchanted by their stories and shed a few tears towards the end but ultimately this is another fantastic, uplifting read by Libby Page. Five stars!

This book focussed on two friends, Hannah and Mona, both at a turning point in their lives and friendship. We also meet a variety of characters who come to spend time in the sanctuary of the 24 hour cafe where they work. The best part of the book, for me, was our little glimpses into the lives of those customers and the life experiences that they each represent. They felt very real and their rawness and vulnerability was compelling.
This book had charm, which I expected from Libby Page however, the central characters did not capture me as wholly as those in her previous book, 'The Lido.' I found myself wanting more of the visiting characters and Stella, the cafe's owner rather than Hannah and Mona.

Set predominantly within a 24 hour shift at Stella's cafe this novel is about the friendship between Hannah and Mona. Hannah is a singer/waitress and Mona is a dancer/waitress. They share a tiny flat,are best friends and work alternating shifts at the café. As Hannah begins her shift she reflects on a terrible year - a bad relationship,her singing isn't really going well and she feels lost. Her only positive is Mona, but she knows deep down that she has neglected her recently. When Mona's shift begins she has some news that will change both their lives dramatically. Her shift is spent reflecting on all the little ways her life has changed with Hannah.

I loved this book,neither Hannah or Mona are perfect but their friendship is portrayed brilliantly. Close friends who rely on each other and how that changes over time. The surrounding characters in the cafe are really well written - little vignettes of life: the sofa surfing student whose mom has died, the gay couple facing deportation for one of them, the new mom struggling to cope. They drift in and out within the 24 hours adding to the story.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Libby Page writes about ordinary people who we can easily relate to. I loved The Lido and The 24hour Cafe is every bit as good. Made a nice change from crime books!

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read this book.

Unfortunately, not for me. This is less of a novel, more of a collection of flashbacks strung together with a simple through narrative and whilst this might work for some people, I actually want stuff to happen in the books that I read. I really enjoyed 'The Lido' and I don't think I've given up on Libby Page just yet, but I think this novel is suffering from the sophomore slump. Her brand of light-hearted contemporary fiction is very nice, but generally fits better in certain contexts.

Having enjoyed The Lido very much, I was looking forward to this novel. It revolves around the cafe and the staff and the various regulars and diners. Hannah and Mona are working shifts whilst living as housemates/best mates. They both have aspirations to make it in the entertainment industry but have found themselves here to tide them over.
In parts, the story is a little slow but I liked the flashbacks to the past, similar to the Lido. The characters are not as memorable but you still find yourself drawn into the story.
I enjoyed this book and would recommend it as an easy read with a good story.

Felt as though I was people watching throughout the book. So many people went to the cafe and I was the onlooker participating in their stories. Very thoughtful writing about personalities and their problems, passions or day to day life - an enjoyable story

As the title suggests, this is a book set in a 24-hour cafe in London. Part American diner, part traditional caff, the place is the setting for many life stories.
The book is written over a 24 hour period, detailing the lives of two of the workers there, Hannah and Mona, flatmates and friends for the last few years.
Interspersed with micro-stories of some of the customers, we also learn stories of Hannah and Mona's past and how they met,
Interestingly written, with a great underlying story about friendship, and living in modern-day London.
Many Thanks to NetGalley and Orion Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very sad story for most of the time but very real. Some lovely characters who all have very human traits. Kept me absorbed the whole way through. Brilliant conclusion.

The ultimate people watching book based around a complete 24 hours in a 24 hour cafe, with background stories of a diverse selection of customers who visit it, especially at odd hours during the night. Brilliantly told and linked together through the eyes of two waitresses, Mona and Hannah, who are the main characters with their own stories to tell. A brilliant second novel after The Lido by Libby Page and just as compelling as it's just about ordinary folk with ordinary life situations that we all come across and can relate to. Well worth a read and highly recommended.

An enjoyable and engrossing read that made me think about the power of friendship in my life. The characters were not always sympathetic but they nevertheless remained engaging. The balance between focus on the lives of the two waitresses and the vignettes of the customers they served was well handled.

I'm afraid this book wasn't one that I enjoyed. I only managed to ready the first few pages and found it very annoying. But worse was to come, Belinda buys a rescue dog and then realises that this is a bad idea as her accomodation is too small.. So she dunps it onto a young neightbour. A short time later she sees is covered in blood by the roadside. This was usetting and totally irresponsible, a death that could have been avoided. It's as though no one has ever lost a partner, soul mate, husband, wife, child, pet except her and felt as bad as she does. I didn't want to continue after that. Maybe she redeems herself or finds something positive about her bereavement.

I loved this book covering 24 hours in an "open all hours" cafe. Obviously there are back stories as well, but the main action is during a single day. Libby Page's writing is great, with really sympathetic characters and believable stories. I enjoyed this as much as "The Lido" and would highly recommend it.

3.5 stars.

I really enjoyed The Lido and so looked forward to reading this one. Although I enjoyed aspects of it there are sections that I don’t feel work as well as others. Hannah and Mona are friends. Hannah is a wannabe singer and Mona is a dancer and as both of them struggle to find jobs they both work long hours in the 24 hour cafe. Here their lives briefly touch on their customers, many of who put on a ‘jolly good show’ hiding their problems as many people do and using the cafe as a haven. We get a snapshot of their lives and I really like this part of the book and find this concept intriguing.

The cafe setting in London is very colourful with characterful chefs Pablo and Aleksander overseen by Ernest the large stuffed bear! Great image! The backstories of some of the characters are really interesting such as flat broke student Dan whose life is given a much needed boost via a random act of kindness from another customer, Joe and Haziq whose relationship is threatened by immigration law and Monique who is a struggling first time mum. You could picture the busy cafe really easily as the customers poured in during the day and you get a real feel for cosmopolitan London.

However, these intriguing vignettes are scattered between the storyline of Hannah and Mona’s lives and there is some repetition which seems unnecessary and I didn’t find parts of their stories very interesting. Mona is likeable but Hannah does not come across as well as she acts selfishly at times especially to Mona.

Overall, it’s a really good premise with parts that I enjoyed very much and others that were less appealing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orion for the ARC.

This author is becoming a master story teller - especially of short - micro - stories.
The device used in this book is 24 hours in a cafe open for 24 hours. Within these 24 hours we read about the lives of the people who come to drink and eat there. Each person has story to tell whether it is about friendship, love, loss or even London and what it means to them. Woven through their stories is the major story about friendship and careers and London living for young women.
London is a place where you can wear anything you like, and be whoever you want without judgement. The author says this but I have heard it myself from other young women who have some to London from more restrictive places, places perhaps where what you wear is noted and commented on, and who you are and what your sexuality is is restricted. No-one worries in London. People perhaps are too busy or too self-absorbed or too uncaring some would say. Others would say, London is free and permissive and allows people to expand and become who they were meant to be.
All this is noted in the micro stories told within these 24 hours.
A wonderful and masterful book.

I absolutely loved this - 24 hours of dipping in and out of the lives of the visitors to the cafe; finding out the inner lives, desires, dreams and emotions of those who passed through. I was cheering them on inside - utterly absorbed into their world.

I love how @libbypagewrites captures community spirit so beautifully in her stories, first in The Lido and now in her second novel, The 24 Hour Cafe which is released in the UK on Jan 23rd.

The novel tells the story of 24 hours in a London city cafe with flashbacks weaved throughout, a style I really liked as it moved the story along well.

The cafe is an example of "lives brushing up against each other", a concept I've thought about in London especially, with such a massive population crammed into small spaces, everyone has a story. This book focuses briefly on each of the people coming into the cafe - the City workers (accurately captured, such as the women in trainers and a suit...that's me!), the labourers, the travellers, those who are a bit lost. There is love, loss, new beginnings and important life turning points. All taking place in parallel.

To me, I took away two things from this that were emphasised. The first is people's capacity for kindness, how something so simple and small can make a huge impact on someone's day...and sometimes you dont realise how much.

Secondly, it was the value in different types of friendships. Our main characters are Mona and Hannah, the stories are told from both of their perspectives. We find out about their own dynamic, their love lives, their interactions with those entering the cafe, their parents and ultimately what keeps driving them forward. In the people that come through the cafe, we get a snapshot into their lives at that point. Much like the cafe staff, some we see again, some we never know how things panned out. Some people are destined to cross our paths only once. "She thinks suddenly that this is probably why we need friends - because however self reliant and composed we may seem, none of us are quite strong enough to get through life shouldering these weights on our own"

Overall a great read, I'd definitely recommend it!

Thank you to @netgalley and @orionbooks for the opportunity to review.

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I would rate this one a 3.5. It didn’t quite live up to The Lido in my opinion but I still thoroughly enjoyed it and thought that it was a lovely, thought provoking and relatable story. Libby’s writing style is quirky and evocative and she has a real talent for making her characters likeable and really telling their story. I loved the setting of the story and the concept of not knowing what someone is going through or what their background story is. I did find the main character quite selfish and not entirely likeable in parts and if she had featured a little less than I’d have probably pushed my rating up to a 4. Overall an enjoyable read.

Stella's cafe is open 24 hours a day, manned by a staff who regard themselves as a family. Hannah and Mona are flatmates, the closest of friends, both waitressing in the cafe as they pursue their respective dreams of singing and dancing.

Through 24 hours in the cafe, we see the whole world go by: lovers, honeymooners, homeless, students, the elderly, as we learn the story of Hannah and Mona's lives and watch the changing emotions of their friendship.

A delightful read, heartwarming and cosy.