It's a rom-com, you know what's going to happen, you know how it will all turn out. There'll be banter, there'll be flirting, there'll be a Tragic Misunderstanding in the 3rd Act. But a good writer makes you want to stay for the journey, and boy was this journey worth staying for. Ada is deeply relatable and a hot mess. She struggles, and she messes up, but she owns her messes ~eventually~ and makes amends. Fraser is just so lovely and Myster-E so interesting. It was a great ride.

I found this book to be an easy fun read. Even better for me personally as it was set in Edinburgh where I have just moved to! It was a little bit obvious but the little adventures and fun that Ada and Fraser get up to did give me a good laugh. Would recommend!

I loved this story of second chances - the main character made this story believable and this is something which drew me in. I read this in about 36 hours and could only put down for short periods as I needed to get back to it. The writing style was just my thing and even with it being predictable that you could work out which characters were going to get together it was really enjoyable.

We meet Ada as she moves back home to her mum in Edinburgh following a bad break-up. Starting a new job, she rents office space in a coffee shop where she meets Fraser, with whom she becomes great friends. At the same time, her best friend also sets her up with a good-looking guy with whom she doesn’t have much in common.

Ada finds herself torn between her relationships, while also clinging onto a job made extremely difficult by her client, and while feeling increasingly distant from her best friend. She finds herself increasingly seeking advice and friendship from a man she meets online, in a very “You’ve Got Mail / Shop Around the Corner” kind of way. The relationships between the characters are very sweet, and Edinburgh is portrayed beautifully by the author.

While the plot doesn’t offer much in the way of surprises, it is well written and diverting, and I would read more by this author.

My thanks to the author, NetGalley, and the publisher for the arc to review.

Great read. Didn't want to put this down. Brilliantly written from beginning to end. I really enjoyed this and found myself absorbed in reading.

Really pacy, fun concept and great humour with a light touch. Thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish.

After finding out, from her boss (cringe), that the man she she was seeing is infact married with a child on the way, Ada moves to Edinburgh to live with her mum.
Ada starts up her own PR business, her client Steve is an absolute nightmare to work with.
Meanwhile she begins chatting to someone on an Agatha Christie fan fiction site. They seem to form a good friendship.
One day she arrives at her favourite cafe where she likes to use as her office, only to find someone is sat in her spot...this is where we meet Fraser. They didn't get off on a great start, but soon form a friendship.
Ada's friend Amal has been desperate to set Ada up with someone new. After going on a couple of dates, Ada find she's unsure what she really wants..... I can say I'm very pleased with her decision.

I really enjoyed this book. I sort of wish there had been a bit more about the Agatha Christie fan fiction writing, which I thought was a nice premiss but then just used a means for the characters to communicate. But I enjoyed the voice of the characters and the humour. I wish I could have heard the Edinburgh accents in my head as I read it. And I was sad when it ended.

I loved this ❤️ if you love Mhari Mcfarlene you will love this story. So unique and such a warm style of writing. I couldn't stop reading it especially loved the fan fic forum. Highly recommend.

This is a cute romance - somewhat predictable (and since I rarely see the upcoming surprise, that means glaringly obvious what the reveal will be!). I can't say Ada is particularly likeable, although I did love Fraser, and I liked the times when they were together. The story did touch on some serious issues, eg, post natal depression, but on the whole, this is a light-hearted, enjoyable read, which may be ideal to take to the beach this summer. Many thanks to NetGallery and Bonnier Books UK for allowing me to get a copy of the book - it was a worthy read.

Sometimes its nice to read a book where you know exactly what is going to happen and to whom and that is exactly how I felt about Virtual Strangers by Sam Canning.

Ada has moved back to Edinburgh and started her own PR firm from a coffee shop. There is a quirky little group of regulars using the "coffice" in a similar way and before too long, Ada finds herself getting along particularly well with Fraser although their original meeting didn't bode well, when Ada discovered a newbie sat in her spot.

Read and reviewed in exchange for a free copy from NetGalley. Although predictable in part, I really loved this. It was laugh out loud funny, with an engaging storyline and likeable characters. I was invested in Ada and Fraser's blossoming relationship, and the side characters like Amal and Ada's mum were great too. An excellent book of the genre, and the Edinburgh setting was beautiful too.

I knew this would be a five star read for me within the first few chapters, as I simply adored main character Ada in a somewhat obsessive, want to be her/her best friend kind of way!

I also loved the side characters, who were full of character and verve, including Ada’s mum, Fraser, Amal and Aidan, Myster-E and even bloody Steve! (I read the bit about him and the puppy more than once because it made me smile in a warm, glow-y way).

The plot, too, was great fun to read – romantic, funny and sadly touching, all in the right places. There is a bit of a trigger warning around struggling in the post-natal period, which forms an important part of the side plot but is mostly touched on ‘off-page’ through discussions, rather than seen directly by the reader.

As is always the way with romantic drama novels, there is a point in the story where the main character loses everything and everyone and hits rock bottom, so for those that get anxiety acid like me, I just want to reassure you that you do get a HEA eventually, and it is a lovely, satisfying one (more warm, glowing smiles).

In terms of suspense, the main myster-e is fairly obvious to the canny reader, but I didn’t care that I had sussed what was going on before the big drawing room reveal scene (this is a Christie reference… there is no actual drawing room here), as I enjoyed spending time in Ada’s head and reading about her misadventures anyway.

Speaking of Agatha Christie and mysteries though, I could just see Ada and her Raymond/Hastings equivalent returning for sleuthing adventures in the future now that the romantic outlook has improved… I would definitely be up for reading some investigations from the casebooks of Myster Marpel! 😉

Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog

I loved this book. It drew me in from the start. A lot of romance, set in Edinburgh, but not a cheesy love story. One main character who overcame her hang ups and influences the life of a lot of other people while finding her way

An easy, fun YA romance. This is pretty typical and not amazing, there is quite a lot of filler so I was bored for some of the book. However the characters had a lot of depth and this was really unique with the Agatha Christie fanfic site, it was something I have never read before. Also Ada is a strong female lead who set out to make her own PR company which is admirable and really nice to read. Overall this was nothing special but it does make for a nice read when you want a bit of light-hearted romance.

This was a lighthearted enjoyable easy read. Set in Edinburgh its also a bit of a love letter to the City, I love when an author also makes you fall in love with the location. Is it predictable at times? Yes, but it's okay. Really likeable funny Characters. This would be a perfect beach read.

I’m going to start this by stating I love this book! I was intrigued by the blurb and the reference in it to You’ve Got Mail (in my opinion, a most excellent film!) and I’m glad I was. I loved this from the first few pages. I read the first four or five and had to put it down for something but those pages stayed with me. It’s not often a book I’ve read so little of, sticks in my head that much but this one did. If enjoyed the films referenced above you’ll love this book.

Ok, now for an explanation of the above. I don’t often gush that much about a book in the opening lines of a review but this one deserves it. It’s funny, witty, sarcastic, so accurate about life and dating, has a character with cheekbones that put me in mind of a certain Marvel actor, interestingly a Marvel reference, lots of Agatha Christie/Poirot/Marple references and plenty of coffee and biscuits. Honestly what more does a book need?

I loved the interactions between Ada and Fraser, but also the online conversations between Ada and Myster-E. Sometimes it’s easier to be open and honest with someone when you aren’t talking to them face to face, something about the anonymity of it makes it less awkward to have a really frank and profound conversation. Life is a mystery that we all have to navigate and sometimes it helps to have someone else agree with you on how it can be both strange or magical or, occasionally, both.

I’m someone who reads that a book is funny and usually can’t see why, but this one had me laughing out loud at times. There’s a scene with Ada and her mother one morning and it was both funny and embarrassing at the same time. That scene is a perfect example of why this book is brilliant, it’s got humour, sarcasm and reality all thrown together. It has Ada trying to negotiate an unexpected turn of events while not at her best, and this is exactly what life (and love) are like.

This book is a ray of sunshine. It’s light, fun and exactly what I was needing at the moment. It would be a perfect read for any time of year. There’s plenty of references to coffee and white wine so either would be an ideal accompaniment, not forgetting the biscuits! This is another one for my re-read pile, and I’m beyond excited to see what this author does next.

Ada runs her own PR company from a coffee shop, but when she has to table share, with journalist Fraser, they soon become friends and work closely together. But while Ada is speaking online to another Agatha Christie fan her emotions and feelings toward the online Myster-E and Fraser are growing.

This was a really enjoyable read, told in the first-person narrative through the point of view of the main character, Ada. I loved the interaction through little messages which I found romantic; and was how the two characters got to know one another.

I love the relationship the main character had with her mum, they were so close and it was lovely to see. I loved that this character seemed to be talking to the reader and how we were drawn in to be involved throughout. This novel shows that after a messy relationship, you will heal and also not compromise.

This was a fantastic read that any romance reader will enjoy.

This is a love story but it is also a look in the mirror for protagonist Ada and a wander around the delights that Edinburgh has to offer.

Ada has just moved back home and in with her mum, running away from her previous life. Setting up her own PR company she has one client who is a bit of a disaster to say the least. Using a coffee shop as an office she has her regular table ‘stolen’ by journalist Fraser.

Coming to an agreement to share the table a friendship of sorts happens and she agrees to help him discover the stranger things in Edinburgh. Erottery had me grinning alongside the antics of Ada’s one client Steve but the chemistry between her and Fraser was obvious to all except Ada.

Then there is the question of her online chats with fellow Agatha Christie fanfic guy Myster-E.

While this was a romance it also highlighted the reality of friendships that go off on different trajectories. How postnatal depression can be hidden unless you take the time to really look. Ada’s friendship with Amal was a big strength to the book and only made me like the characters even more for all their wonderful and honest flaws.

A slightly deeper than your average light read that had the funnies while also feeling very real.

A rom-com, set in Edinburgh. This started off to be an enjoyable and promising read but somehow it just didn’t hold my attention. The messages at the beginning of the story between Ada and her Myster-E man were a distraction from the everyday happenings in Ada’s life, a PR agents with one awkward client. The novel added a touch of amusement between Ada and her coffee shop desk-share companion Fraser, balancing her emotions between him, her recently introduced date Neil and Myster-E. A predictable outcome.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Bonnier Books for this book in exchange for an honest review.