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A review by beate251
One Day to Fall in Love by Molly James
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus Books for this ARC.
Rena is fed up with her love life. She is in unrequited love with someone who only sees her as a friend and so she follows an advert for an online dating site that promises her she will find love within 24 hours. She signs up her best friend Nat as well who to her chagrin and against all better knowledge clings to cheating boyfriend Mark. There is just one problem with the small print - they now have to relive the same 24 hours over and over until they both find love. Yep, it's Groundhog Day Revisited.
"I had no idea how many men weren’t my type until I signed up for online dating."
Magical realism seems to be popping up everywhere at the moment, to varying success - mermaids, time travel, afterlife shenanigans, towns from novels coming to life and now a time loop of the same 24 hours.
However, I'm happy to report, the concept really works here. After the initial shock, Rena actually uses the time to fix some bad dating habits, find love then try to get that person to fall in love with her time and time again until the loop resolves, and when there is a lull with that, she reconnects and spends time with her fickle Dad, tries to prevent a broken leg, takes revenge on Mark or just has a good time with Nat.
This is such a breath of fresh air. The characters are fantastic and the story well-rounded and interesting, bringing Rena's work in a cinema into it as well. I never lost interest, in fact I couldn't put it down. It highlighted how difficult it is to sort the wheat from the chaff when looking for love and how much of it is pure chance. It deals with all the motivations for and pitfalls of going online dating, and also why some people can't break up with people that aren't good for them or accept someone isn't for them because they have invested so much time already and simply don't want to be alone.
I loved how Rena repaired the relationship with her old rocker Dad, once she got over the thought he'd abandoned her again when her day reset. Jamie is a great love interest and I loved Nat's journey of self-discovery. Sometimes a broken leg turns out to be a good thing!
So many romances try so hard to have believable love stories, and this one manages it effortlessly. A fabulous, fun summer read.
Rena is fed up with her love life. She is in unrequited love with someone who only sees her as a friend and so she follows an advert for an online dating site that promises her she will find love within 24 hours. She signs up her best friend Nat as well who to her chagrin and against all better knowledge clings to cheating boyfriend Mark. There is just one problem with the small print - they now have to relive the same 24 hours over and over until they both find love. Yep, it's Groundhog Day Revisited.
"I had no idea how many men weren’t my type until I signed up for online dating."
Magical realism seems to be popping up everywhere at the moment, to varying success - mermaids, time travel, afterlife shenanigans, towns from novels coming to life and now a time loop of the same 24 hours.
However, I'm happy to report, the concept really works here. After the initial shock, Rena actually uses the time to fix some bad dating habits, find love then try to get that person to fall in love with her time and time again until the loop resolves, and when there is a lull with that, she reconnects and spends time with her fickle Dad, tries to prevent a broken leg, takes revenge on Mark or just has a good time with Nat.
This is such a breath of fresh air. The characters are fantastic and the story well-rounded and interesting, bringing Rena's work in a cinema into it as well. I never lost interest, in fact I couldn't put it down. It highlighted how difficult it is to sort the wheat from the chaff when looking for love and how much of it is pure chance. It deals with all the motivations for and pitfalls of going online dating, and also why some people can't break up with people that aren't good for them or accept someone isn't for them because they have invested so much time already and simply don't want to be alone.
I loved how Rena repaired the relationship with her old rocker Dad, once she got over the thought he'd abandoned her again when her day reset. Jamie is a great love interest and I loved Nat's journey of self-discovery. Sometimes a broken leg turns out to be a good thing!
So many romances try so hard to have believable love stories, and this one manages it effortlessly. A fabulous, fun summer read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Infidelity