The 24 Hour Dating Agency is a story about three friends who tried all dating options (apps, speed dating, etc.), and sign up with an unconventional dating agency, that promises to set you up on a 24 hour date with your soulmate. That’s pretty much the plot, but there is so, so much more to this story.

We follow Tamara, a single mom dealing with her ex-husband and father of their three children. We get to know Saffie, who’s figuring out what to do next with her life, and we meet Milo, Saffie’s best friend and Tamara’s brother, whose dating life has been a series of disasters.

So we are not getting one, but several storylines interwined with each other. And the author’s choice to tell three separate love stories in one was such a bold move! I mean, three meet-cutes, three relationships to progress, three (mini) third acts to go through, three happy ever after to achieve, AND an overarching plot line to keep it all together - The 24 Hour Dating Agency has all that. Despite the set up and a LOT of (side) characters and stories, it was never confusing and everything came together in the end.

That being said, I could have lived with a stronger/sole focus on Tamara’s story. Her relationship with her ex-husband and their children was complex and really interesting, while the other storylines were a bit compromised (especially Milo’s).

Still, considering all tropes and themes used, combined, and delivered, The 24 hour Dating Agency was really ambitious in its set up and well constructed.

All in all, an enjoyable, fun, and non-typical romcom.

I enjoyed the concept of this book. The friendships were definitely the highlight. It did feel like there was a bit too much going on at times, however, and I wish I could have gotten more depth on each character.

Not gonna lie, I didn’t love it. I’m ultimately glad I stuck it out to see everyone’s happy endings, but I’m not sure I would revisit this one.

I loved all three of the main characters, and really appreciate that they were all mid-thirties or older. But I feel like they all suffered from sharing the spotlight. Milo, especially. You can tell that the narrative leans more toward Tamara’s story, so I think it would have made more sense to just stick with her.

It’s a decent novel and I had no major complaints with it. But it wasn’t really a standout for me.

3.5 Stars

Not you're usual romance. Much of this is more family and friend focused. It follows three single friends/work colleagues in their 30's/40's looking for love and they all end up signing up for a 24 hour dating agency which guarentees to find your soulmate.

Because this basically follows three love stories, I never felt like it was a well balanced or paced book. Tamara, the oldest and single mum of three, got the most time and so her story did feel the most fleshed out. Saffie and Milo's stories, however, didn't feel developed enough, and I didn't end up caring about their romances.

I also didn't like Baker's dialogue. It felt clumsy and unnatural, and there's a big information dump at the beginning where you could tell this conversation between two characters was for the readers benefit more than the characters. It was just a bit obvious.

It's pace is also very slow. But despite all that I did find myself enjoying the story, especially the non-romance bits between Tamara and her family.

Perfect holiday read, I read this by pool. It's fun and light hearted. Really enjoyable easy to read and great characters, very likable. Fun times !

Another lovely book from one of my favourite romcom authors. I enjoyed watching these three close friends battle their problems and fall for very unexpected partners, thanks to the mysterious 24 hour dating agency and its promise to match them with their true loves. I loved the relationship between Tamara and Natalie, and how close Tamara was to her kids. Of them all, she really deserved her happy ending.

This book was fun & lighthearted. It was amazing. The characters were super relatable & were also very entertaining. I liked that the romance wasn't over powering, that there was the perfect amount & the book wasn't based around romance. I loved the storyline & I highly recommend this book. The emotion through the characters was well written. I didn't see the plot twists coming & it helped the story proceed at a good pace. This book exceeded any & all expectations I had for it.

First off i would like to that NetGalley and Head of Zeus for providing me with this ARC. I was expecting your typical rom-com book. But instead I got the chance to read a very unique and eccentric book. This story is about 3 friends that work for a newspaper. They decide to sign up for a 24 hour dating that PROMISES that you’ll find your soulmate after your 24 hour date. I found the characters because like me (unfortunately lol) they have exhausted all means of finding love. Each of the characters are completely different which gives the novel a completely different dynamic from other rom-com books. Milo is a homosexual who thinks he has dating every eligible man in town. Tamara is a divorced mother of 3 kids. Saffie has just never been in love…ever. Will they find their soulmate? I loved how all 3 of the characters were different in their own ways, besides not being in love, but yet the author was able to create 3 different stories twine together in a creative way. It was also a fun take on tropes and using many of them. Ultimately, this book has some hilarious moments and sometimes pulls at your heart strings.

This book was super cute! I enjoyed getting to see each persons POV and individual love story. I also enjoy that romance wasn’t the only plot, each character had other things going on. I’m glad that each character got their happy ending and found myself smiling throughout!

This was a fun, fast paced read but unfortunately, I don’t think it was for me.

First of all, I actually liked the characters; especially Milo, and the found family aspect is always a win for me.

The first chapter, even the first line, of a book should be engaging and make the reader want to continue. I started this book and was hit with lacklustre dialogue and talk about aliens for a newspaper interview that I wasn’t interested in at all, even after reading the next few chapters.

In my opinion, there was too much being squeezed into one book, with the three different stories and especially the amount of newspaper info dump (that I really think could’ve been skipped).

I think in general, the writing just didn’t hit the mark for me, making it a struggle to continue reading. The idea behind the book is extremely promising, but I think the execution could’ve been more refined.

Overall, a light hearted and quick read, but not for me!

Thank you Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

While I can see the appeal of this book, it was just not for me. There were certainly parts I enjoyed about it and found cute as a whole i just didn’t connect enough with the relationships to care about the book altogether. The writing was good with an unconventional plot and genuinely good twists, to me it felt like it dragged on a bit too much. I definitely enjoyed the friendships more than the romances, but out of the three povs, only one really had me invested in the character which made the other two thirds of the book feel too long.

I would recommend this book to someone looking for a cute, and quirky romance with your non typical romcom main characters and a stronger emphasis on the platonic relationships than the romantic.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and honestly i'm so glad I did. It's not a book a would normally go for, based on the description, but it sounded cute and quirky with a good amount of romance so I was excited to read!

The book intertwines our three main characters: Saffie, Milo, and Tamara. I noticed the ARC I was given doesn't match up with the Goodreads description but i'm going based off what I read! They're friends who work at the same quirky, family-run mag in small town England. Each with their own reasons for searching for love and each with their own negative experiences with love.

I loved the themes of friendship, family, and community throughout. The characters were quirky and used a lot of British slang (as a non-Brit this was tricky at times but mostly just really fun to read). The book tackles more than just the romance side of things, as we dive deeper into each of the friends' lives and personal struggles.

What I didn't love about the book:
- It took almost the entire first half to actually get to the 24 hour dating bit and romantic relationships
- The pacing was all over the pace, going from incredibly slow to quite fast, back to slow-moving
- Only one of the three love stories felt deeper + believable, the other two were quite surface-level for me
- Saffie's ex was problematic, without giving away spoilers, I just felt like that subplot should have been written differently

Overall this was what I would describe as a cozy read. I wouldn't necessarily classify it as a romance but for those of you who enjoy a heartwarming plot about friendship and family alongside some romance, this is the book for you!

This books was such a cute and a fast read, it’s perfect for summer days when escapism in on your mind. It’s my first book by the author and I will say that it’s very very well written, with great character development and you get so easily engulfed in the story. I LOVED the friendship between Saffie, Tamara and Milo,
The concept of this story is so unique and I would not say no to try a 24 hour dating agency.

If you want to read a real, cute and fun story with realistic friendships and character development, this is the book for you!

This was a fun story, pretty lightweight overall. It follows three friends and coworkers (and family) as they struggle with love enough that they all give the dubious 24 Hour Dating Agency a shot.

Saffie, Milo, and Tamara are all at different places romantically, and I liked how we got to dive into each situation and see what they needed. It was interesting to see them in their individual lives and also how they are with one another. They're all likeable and good friends, and it was impossible not to root for them all.

Each was a different kind of heroine/hero looking for a specific kind of partner (and, of course, needing someone completely different than what they expected).

There were some very funny moments, and some touching moments. I'd rate the conflict level at medium. This isn't a stressful story, but it still grabs you and takes you on a journey.

The 24 Hour Dating Agency was a cute story. Three friends sign up for a new type of dating service. The founder of the agency is a psychologist and she matches people based on personality questionnaires. They can't say anything about their looks or employment on the forms. The two people meet for the first time and then spend the next 24 hours doing activities that the agency signed them up for. It's a bunch of shorter dates that make up one long date. Because this is a romance, we get 3 happily ever afters! There is a rollercoaster of emotions along the way, and the whole book is sprinkled with witty dialogue.

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

Thank you to NetGalley, the Publisher and Mary Jayne Baker for providing me an ARC of this novel.
I thought this book was super sweet and fun 💜

Starting this, I was really confused. My thought process was "I requested a contemporary romance why do we have aliens?" The actual plot took a long time to pick up speed. I didn’t really like the book until they went to the agency. At the end of the book, the epilogue felt rushed and, although it was cute, I wanted something else.
It was also predictable, though most romances are predictable, so it isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it still peeves me. Although, Saffie's plot twist did shock me.
The three main characters were fun. However, my favourite character/plot line was Tamara's. There were points in the story where I could have cried if I were having a bad day. <spoiler> Andy can fucking choke. He does not deserve Tamara's forgiveness nor Nat's love. </spoiler>
Although I enjoyed the 3 characters, having three main characters was a little too much. Sometimes I just wanted to get back to another's perspective and Milo's story was less developed than Saffie and Tamara's. I think them having a book each and making it a series would've allowed for more development of each character.
Overall, a fun and fast read.

The 24 Hour Dating Agency by Mary Jayne Baker was not the rom-com I expected. Two siblings and their friend are disappointed by their experiences and failures on dating apps. They’re also pretty focused on saving their unconventional newspaper from takeover by a lifestyle magazine conglomerate that wants to increase circulation by changing things.

The friends sign up for the 24-hour dating agency on a whim – well, one of them wants to write a story but the other two are desperate for validation and, maybe, love.

It works better as women’s fiction than as a romcom. As a romcom, the pacing is off. The author has to write three HEAs but she uses the first half of the book to talk about the protagonists’ failed relationships, the newspaper challenges, and the ex-husband of one of the siblings. It’s all well done and interesting but still difficult to squeeze three HEAs into the back half of the story.

Honestly, we just don’t get to see enough of the love interests/HEAs for them to be meaningful or for us to even connect with the characters. This would have been great, though, as a three story series, which would have allowed a lot more space for character development.

I received a digital ARC through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, the Publisher and Mary Jayne Baker for providing me an ARC of this novel.
I found this to be a really enjoyable storyline, I was invested in the characters and their outcomes and I would definitely recommend it to a friend!

To be honest, I DNF'd this one at about 30%. While I didn't feel like the multi-perspective was hard to follow, I found myself just not loving it. And totally a me thing - but the British lingo / phrases / words just kept throwing me off. I love found family & solid friendships, but I think I wanted more romance with the whole plot being the dating agency thing and the book just started slow.

Thank you to Head of Zeus, Aria, & Netgalley for an ARC in exchange or an honest review.