Member Reviews
This book was a fun read and I enjoyed it alot thanks for letting me read the book the story was pretty good alot of the vow vibes
This book had a really cute concept but poor execution. I was so excited when I read the Netgalley blurb, but I was let down. The writing felt lackluster and boring. Fortunately, it was a very quick read, and I was able to power through and finish. The book drops you into the middle of the story with Alice and Callum, so you don't feel any connection to them. You don't have any prerequisite knowledge of their relationship pre-coma, so you don't have any reason to root for them to stay together. I wish there was just a brief prologue of their relationship before all of this. This book had high potential, but failed in my opinion.
It was sweet. Basically just The Vow but in the UK. Because of the structure of the story, some of the character background felt shallow and not fully drawn out.
Thank you to Net Galley, the publisher and the author for the ARC.
Oh this book, this absolutely gorgeously sweet and wonderful book. I adored every single moment of it. It had me smiling and crying and speed reading it all in one greedy gulp. Adorable.
Well this book was a refreshing surprise and a complete joy to read! So much so that I read it in one day.
This book has Enemies to friends to lovers and its a slow burn so it was the perfect story for me!
Highly recommend
Oh my goodness this book was absolutely amazing! I love a good redemption arc and it was beautifully done. The characters were so relatable.
I wasn't sure about requesting this at first, because I feel the coma-followed-by-amnesia storyline is overdone in books. That said, the success of the novel depends on the author's writing style and plot development.
I have to say, I was hooked by the atmospheric start of the book. I was holding my breath in anticipation as to whether Alice would wake up or not. I have had a lot of hospital stays myself, and the hospital atmosphere, the doctors' words and reactions were incredibly realistic.
Of the main characters, I warmed more to Callum than Alice. Callum did everything he could to show Alice she was his world. and I loved his nickname for her, Sparrow, as I thought it was original.
Callum's idea to have ten dates was a good one, and each date was imaginatively recreated.
Rachel Dove is a new-to-me author, and I enjoyed her writing style. I'll be checking out more of her books.
Thanks to Rachel Dove, Boldwood Books and Rachel's Random Resources for my eARC in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.
3.5 stars
I enjoyed this book from start to finish, I was hooked as soon as it started, there was just the right amount of information and it wasn't long a drawn out, it kept my interest. I liked that the chapters switch between the two main characters, give yourself a treat and pick up this book
Think of this as 50 First Dates, except we are seeing it through the eyes of Alice, our FMC who just came out of a coma resulting in long-term memory loss. In reality, it's only been a few months since her accident, to her mind it's been a whole 2 years! She missed so much; her brother's marriage, job changes, even the "loving" relationship she was with her brother's best friend aka her childhood nemesis, Callhum! There is no way that can be right, right? Maybe recreating their first 10 dates will change her mind! 😅
Read for the following tropes:
-childhood enemies to friends to lovers
-2nd chance romance
-Slow-burn romance
My true rating of this book is between a 3.5 and 3.75 stars but I'll be rounding up to 4 stars!
I truly enjoyed this book! It's such an interesting tale, plus I love the movie 50 First Dates and it reminded me so much of it. I'll start with things I loved about this book and parts where I wish there was more clarity and development.
I adored Callhum! You can see how much he loves and cares for Alice. He totally gets her personality, even when she's so stubborn at times he still has patience for her. He is recreating their first 10 dates in the hopes she will accept his love and the validity of their relationship, he is a true ride-or-die! I enjoyed seeing each date, it kept the writing consistently flowing, at a point I wanted to keep reading just so I could see the next date! I sorta enjoyed Alice too, she was a tough one for me to fully enjoy but I do appreciate her independence.
Now, one thing that I sorta disliked was Alice. 😅She could be stubborn at times, I deff had an eye roll here or there targeted toward her. I also felt like our ending was pretty rushed. I really wished we had an epilogue or an extra chapter expanding more on their relationship. I also feel like the book is so focused on Callhum, we didn't seem to explore much more that she missed in her life. This part didn't bug me too much but if I lost 2 years of memories, I think I would want to explore everything.
Overall, I did enjoy Ten Dates! I think it was a good read and I would be interested in reading more from Rachel Dove!
Thank you, NetGalley, Rachel Dove, and Boldwood Books for this ARC in return for my honest review.
I really enjoyed the premise of this book. A very untraditional love story that reminded me of 50 First Dates in some ways. I always love a good romance that goes beyond boy meets girl and this one hit the mark!
This book kept me hooked and I would definitely come back for more.
Thanks a ton to the publishers and Netgalley!
Read this in one sitting and really enjoyed it. It's very similar to something like The Vow but I'll go in for that trope every time. My only gripe was the ending, it felt a rushed and shaky way to tie it up. But otherwise thoroughly enjoyed it.
I was so excited to read this book because I always enjoy the amnesia trope but unfortunately this one just didn’t work for me. I wasn’t invested in Alice and Callum’s love story and really had to push to get through it. I also didn’t like the way Alice left Callum the morning after they slept together. I think if I had been sold on the romance, that would’ve changed things for me. I know third act breakups and common for romance books but I wish that the author would’ve gone for something different at the end.
I REALLY enjoyed this book! 10 Dates is a dual narrative novel that looks at what happens when one half of a couple can't remember falling in love. The concept is an interesting one - Alice wakes up from what feels like the worst hangover of her life to discover she's spent the last few months in a coma after being hit by a drunk driver. Her partner Callum has been by her side and is devastated that the last thing Alice can remember is two years before the accident. Their relationship has been effectively wiped out of her memory.
Callum decides having come close to losing her once he won't let her go without fighting for their love. He decides to recreate their original romance and hope the memories come flooding back...
I thought the storyline was great and couldn't wait to read what would happen next. Would Alice recover her memory? Would it matter if she didn't?
Perfect for fans of the Notebook and PS I love you - Rachel Dove has written a brilliant romantic novel and I will be searching out her other stories. My only slight complaint was that Callum seemed too good to be true!
Many thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I would like to thank Boldwood books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This book follows the story of Alice, who suffered a car accident and forgot her last two years of life. Unfortunately, those were also the years when she fell in love and started living with her brother’s best friend Callum.
What I liked about the book:
- the premise is not new but the the story was really sweet and I was rooting for both characters HEA.
- Callum was the sweetest. It was touching to see his love for Alice and see all his efforts to reenact their ten dates to make Alice fall back in love with him.
- It was interesting to read both perspectives and see how they were both dealing with the loss.
What I think it could have been done better:
- The characters could have been a bit more developed.
- Alice insecurities in the end of the book felt a bit forced. She loved Callum since they were kids, it didn’t make much sense to attribute her feelings and desires to the accident. I also didn’t consider very realistic to just quit if all the pieces didn’t fit together after the dates. Their lives were too e intertwined to do that and just move on.
- This story deserved an epilogue for us to have a glimpse of their life in the future.
Overall a very entertaining and sweet story. Recommend for contemporary romance readers.
I really loved the premise of this book when I read the synopsis! It gave real The Vow movie vibes since Alice is in life threatening car accident, stays in a coma for almost 3 months and when she wakes up she can’t remember the last 2 years or her life and, above all, she can’t remember her boyfriend Callum who she lives with! Callum, of course, is left with all the memories of their relationship and a girlfriend who looks at him without love in her eyes. I really did feel for Callum and what it must feel like to have the most important person in your life not love you anymore. It was gut wrenching to feel the devotion Callum had for Alice in recreating their first ten dates in the hope that she would fall in love with him again. It took a bit more for me to connect with Alice but of course we never know what we would do if we would have been in her position though. However, I did enjoy all the angst and the emotional journey of reconnecting. One thing I missed in this story was an epilogue. Although the story ended on a great note, I think that if we had had an epilogue to bring the story full circle it would have been the icing on the cake!
Suffering the effects of memory loss from a car accident Alice can’t remember the last two years. Callum her boyfriend is missing from these memories. She remembers Callum as her brother’s annoying friend. Callum decides to recreate the ten dates that started off their romantic relationship, to help Alice with her memory and to fall in love again.
The characters in this book were amazing. I loved Callum so much. He was so romantic and so sweet with Alice. His love for Alice (Sparrow) was palpable. I was excited in finding out what each date entailed and hoping Alice would fall in love again.
Overall great story with relatable characters.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆
Alice is waking up from a three month long coma. She’s been in a bad car accident, and while she’s been in hospital, her boyfriend Callum hasn’t left her side. Her memory loss takes her back 18 months, to before she and Callum got together and in her mind, he is her brother’s best friend and her teasing friend. Callum decides to try help her jog her memory with a recreation of their first ten dates, but will it help Alice remember enough to fall in love with him again?
𝗠𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀
Memory loss can be tricky story to write and it’s been done brilliantly by some writers. I enjoyed how this story balanced dwelling on the emotional aspects with the actual dates, and how the chapters are divided between both Alice and Callum’s thoughts. The story doesn’t feel cliched and it really does seem touch and go right until the end whether they can see themselves being together again.
I recieved a free copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
So when I started this book immediately reminded me of the movie the vow with channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams but wasn't as good.
Alice is in a car accident when a drunk driver slams into her taxi. When she wakes up from her coma she can't remember Callum as the man she loves who she lives with. As far as she is concerned it is 2 years earlier in 2020 and Callum is her brothers friend who she fights with (even though she has pretty much had a crush on him forever).
I didn't like Callum, he was just no developed and was honestly boring. I get he was supposed to be the devoted perfect mand but he just was dull. The number of times that he clenched his fists was also annoying.
Alice has gone through a massive trauma and has memory loss but come on she has had a crush on Callum since they were kids, like what was the problem?
This book just didn't work for me.
2.5 stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - Ten Dates by Rachel Dove
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“The opposite of love wasn’t hate. It was indifference. Even being hated by her was preferable than not being anything to her”.
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“The knowledge that she did in fact, get a life and had no recollection of any of it was ironic at best”.
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‘We’re soulmates, sparrow. Your mind might have lost me, but your heart didn’t. Give it time.’
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4.5 Stars - A romantic love story complicated by a car accident, a coma, and memory loss. Callum and Alice grew up together; Callum being Alice’s brothers best friend. He knows her better than she knows herself - after three months in a coma, she wakes up with no memory of the last two, blissful years of their relationship - the entirety of it. She remembers the night that started it all when she turned him down and was angry - and none of the romantic moments that followed. Ten dates to break free the memories stolen by one persons bad decision. If not for the slow beginning and too quick end, Ten Dates would have gotten 5 stars from me. Everything in between was sweet, complicated, and heartbreaking yet so lovely. I would have loved an epilogue - this kind of a story deserves one. A unique plot with great characters, a lot of chemistry and really great writing.
I found this really cheesy. Callum was far too controlling, whilst Alice was irritating at times. I couldn't understand the angst. There was a connection between them from the beginning, so why try to make a drama out of whether she'd fall in love with Callum again by the end of ten dates? Long passages where we just learn Alice's thoughts, and they were repetitive. I was glad to reach the end. With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.