The First Date

by Zara Stoneley

Right place. Right time. Wrong guy …

‘The novel equivalent of binge watching a tv series…"just one more chapter, who cares if it's 2am!" It's exactly the sort of novel you need with so much chaos in the world’ Sarah, Reader review

After breaking up with her childhood sweetheart, clueless dater Rosie has found herself in a boyfriend-drought. So when she finally swipes right on a guy who seems interested, she can’t wait to meet up in person.

Until she’s left standing alone. In a bar. Stood up.

Enter Noah. Confident, funny … and a serial first dater. Offering to give Rosie a crash course in seduction, this could be just what she needs. Until her matchmaker turns out to be the best date she’s ever had – and Rosie wonders if she wants the fake dates to be the real ones after all …

A hilarious, heartwarming romantic comedy about what happens when the wrong guy turns up at the right time, perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella and Mhairi McFarlane.

From the USA Today bestselling author of The Wedding Date!

Readers are loving The First Date:

‘Exactly the kind of great contemporary romance I’ve come to expect …A really fun read!’ Sinead

‘If you're looking for a cute romantic comedy, look no further!’ MIchelle

‘A lovely and romantic novel that drew me in and never let go…couldn’t stop reading!’ Julia

‘Loved this book!’ Rachel

• ISBN13: 9780008363185
• Publish Date: 25 June 2020 (first published 24 April 2020)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: One More Chapter
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 384
• Language: English
• URL: http://harpercollins.co.uk

Reviews

[zooloo1983]

Whenever I see Zara Stoneley I know I have to read the book without reading the blurb and just say yes. This is what I have done here, Rosie recently dumped is made to feel she has to date again to move on with her life. After a disastrous date, she meets Noah. Noah is going to coach her on how to date and how to get her confidence back. We all know where this will go, but as I say I love the journey we go on with the characters that’s where the real fun happens.

The twist with this is the baggage for these two. Rosie has a lot of issues and they all stem from her dad. He is a jerk and he has way too much power over her and how she feels. This affected how she treats Noah, to an extent I got it, but like I said too much power and it made it hard for me to connect sometimes. She was a bit needy at times, a lot of does he like me, why doesn’t he like me. Don’t get me wrong, we can all be like that, I think she just annoyed me because it reminded me of me!

Noah, his baggage caused a lump in my throat, not willing to take that risk on love and his reasons why, well they made me want to just give him a huge cuddle but we couldn’t intrude on Rosie. He is you most typical tall handsome stranger that I would love to meet

[Lynn]

It's another winning novel from Zara Stoneley!

Rosie Brown wants to start dating again after her long term boyfriend Robbie left her and moved to Wales. After plucking up courage, she arranges to meet Gabe Stevenson who she met on Tinder only….he stands her up! Sat alone at a bar, she's approached by Noah Adams. He's good looking, flirting up a charm but not her type. Besides he's a self-confessed expert at first dates and someone she needs to avoid. Somehow though as they get chatting, he's keen to assist in helping her improve her first date chances, but why?

Noah Adams sees a woman sat at a bar. Sat alone, he goes across to talk to her and for some reason, she's not reacting to his chat-up lines; it's a blow to his ego. As they talk, she tells him the first date after her long-term boyfriend left her has stood her up. Eager to pass on his dating wisdom, he hatches a plan to teach Rosie dating techniques but is there more to his desire to just help her?

Firstly, I really liked Rosie and Noah together as they work through the first-date lessons he's put together for her. It's clear they both like each other as they form a friendship based on trust. There's lots of fun banter flying between and it's easy to see they are comfortable with each other. It can be argued Noah is conscientiously moulding Rosie into a stereotypical male object of desire. However, I interpreted his lessons as a way of lifting Rosie's confidence and self-esteem, all the while, there's an undercurrent of combustible chemistry sparking between them. So it's only a matter of time before they react to their attraction to each other only, all roads to a "Happily Ever After" tend to be bumpy and theirs is covered in rocks!

Rosie has "daddy issues". Thankfully our heroine eventually finds closure to this unfortunate issue which has held her back for far too long. Interestingly, it comes from an unexpected source and I liked this little twist of fate. Noah too has to face up to his serial one-date-only issues, which he does and it's Rosie's action which triggers him to face up to what has been holding him back. It proves they are meant to be together and leads to a more than satisfying ending.

The author has successfully written another hilarious and heart-warming romantic comedy filled with adorable characters and entertaining dialogue and it's my favourite Zara Stoneley novel!

Lastly and not least, an honourable mention to Hugo; for simply just been himself!

4.5 stars

***arc generously received courtesy of One More Chapter via NetGalley***