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High Tea #1
No More Bad Dates
Three friends form the No More Bad Dates Pact: stop dating the wrong guys and start dating the right ones - weirdos and jerks need not apply.
Twenty-five-year-old Sophie McCarthy's career is virtually nonexistent, her family expects her to "do something important" with her life, and she's totally sick of dating the wrong guys: the self-absorbed, the arrogant, the borderline criminally insane.
After she's unceremoniously dumped during the vows at her boss's wedding, she and her two equally disappointed-in-love best friends agree to help each other find decent guys to date. Together, they form the No More Bad Dates Pact: stop dating the wrong guys and start dating the right ones--weirdos and jerks need not apply.
When Sophie's roommate Jason Christie--a.k.a. doctor-in-training and serial nurse-dater--joins the pact, he vows to weed out the bad ones for her. But with his rejection of every guy Sophie meets, she begins to wonder if he's got an ulterior motive. And anyway, why does she always have so much more fun with Jason than with the guys she's actually trying to date?
While desperately seeking her "happy for now," could Sophie stumble into her "happily ever after?"
No More Bad Dates is a fun, heart-warming enemies to lovers rom com for fans of Sophie Kinsella, Helen Fielding, Lindsey Kelk, and TV shows like Jane the Virgin. High Tea is a spin-off of Kate O'Keeffe's bestselling Cozy Cottage Café series. Escape to New Zealand in this fun, feel-good chick lit series!
Twenty-five-year-old Sophie McCarthy's career is virtually nonexistent, her family expects her to "do something important" with her life, and she's totally sick of dating the wrong guys: the self-absorbed, the arrogant, the borderline criminally insane.
After she's unceremoniously dumped during the vows at her boss's wedding, she and her two equally disappointed-in-love best friends agree to help each other find decent guys to date. Together, they form the No More Bad Dates Pact: stop dating the wrong guys and start dating the right ones--weirdos and jerks need not apply.
When Sophie's roommate Jason Christie--a.k.a. doctor-in-training and serial nurse-dater--joins the pact, he vows to weed out the bad ones for her. But with his rejection of every guy Sophie meets, she begins to wonder if he's got an ulterior motive. And anyway, why does she always have so much more fun with Jason than with the guys she's actually trying to date?
While desperately seeking her "happy for now," could Sophie stumble into her "happily ever after?"
No More Bad Dates is a fun, heart-warming enemies to lovers rom com for fans of Sophie Kinsella, Helen Fielding, Lindsey Kelk, and TV shows like Jane the Virgin. High Tea is a spin-off of Kate O'Keeffe's bestselling Cozy Cottage Café series. Escape to New Zealand in this fun, feel-good chick lit series!
248 pages, ebook
First published September 5, 2019
1386 people are currently reading
1816 people want to read
About the author
Kate O'Keeffe
57 books834 followersKate O'Keeffe is a USA TODAY bestselling and award-winning author who writes exactly what she loves to read: laugh-out-loud romantic comedies with swoon-worthy heroes and gorgeous feel-good happily ever afters. She lives and loves in beautiful Hawke's Bay, New Zealand with her family and two scruffy but loveable dogs.
When she's not penning her latest story, Kate can be found hiking up hills (slowly), traveling to different countries around the globe (back when we used to be able to do that), and eating chocolate. A lot of it.
Get a free book when you sign up to Kate's newsletter at kateokeeffe.com.
When she's not penning her latest story, Kate can be found hiking up hills (slowly), traveling to different countries around the globe (back when we used to be able to do that), and eating chocolate. A lot of it.
Get a free book when you sign up to Kate's newsletter at kateokeeffe.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 257 reviews
June 10, 2020
This is a very cute first book in the series! I'll be checking out the rest!
I absolutely adore reading books about women who are trying to find the love of their lives and are going on absolutely terrible dates. And let me tell you, Sophie goes on some pretty bad dates, even considering the vetting process she puts these men through.
Jason is the cutest love interest. I love books where roommates fall in love, and this book does not disappoint in that regard. I do wish there had been a few more awkward scenes between them, however. Sophie and Jason have such sweet banter, and I really do think that their dialogue is a highlight of this book.
This is a perfect book to devour in a single night during quarantine.
I absolutely adore reading books about women who are trying to find the love of their lives and are going on absolutely terrible dates. And let me tell you, Sophie goes on some pretty bad dates, even considering the vetting process she puts these men through.
Jason is the cutest love interest. I love books where roommates fall in love, and this book does not disappoint in that regard. I do wish there had been a few more awkward scenes between them, however. Sophie and Jason have such sweet banter, and I really do think that their dialogue is a highlight of this book.
This is a perfect book to devour in a single night during quarantine.
May 25, 2020
i hate it! what a terrible bad book! I read to 20%. I couldn't stand it anymore! I have had enough of immature and weak women for now! 🤮
May 12, 2020
I CANNOT STRESS HOW GOOD THIS BOOK IS. The characters are so funny and relatable, the writing style is so engaging, inspirational and full of that warm fuzzy feeling. It's probably one of my favourite contemporary romances. The banter between Sophie & Jason is so cute and they have such a good chemistry together. I absolutely loved it! Definitely will be reading more from this series!
April 30, 2025
First time reading this author and I found this story to be completely charming with relatable characters. This story is a spin-off of the author’s Cozy Cottage Café series so characters from that series are present but I didn’t feel lost or that I needed to read that series first.
I really liked Sophie and her friends and empathized with her frustration with bad dates. I am probably in the minority here, but I didn’t see how a pact and the vetting process would ensure that Sophie dates only good guys. Even after passing the approval process, Sophie found that the guys weren’t that great, at least not for her. To each his own, I guess, but I have to side with Sophie that living the mermaid lifestyle or being hand-fed like a baby is just too twisted and bizarre.
In the end, Sophie finds herself having feelings for her roommate, Jason, so no vetting or approval really needed to be done, obviously. I can only wonder if either of them had the courage to confess their feelings sooner if it would have worked out as well as it did. Though I was totally rooting for Jason, I was intrigued about the Clark Kent lookalike.
I paired my reading of this book with the audio format narrated by Tialhi Martin. Her performance brought the characters personalities to life without making them sound or feel like cardboard. I enjoyed meeting all of the secondary characters, Sophie’s family and prospective dates and though I liked some more than others, I could see myself enjoying spending time with them. I also shared Sophie’s frustration and irritation with her siblings getting on her case about her career choices.
My Final Verdict: Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would like to read the rest of the series to see how Darcy and Erin do with the no more bad dates pact. I highly recommend this book to readers of contemporary romance, chick-lit and women’s fiction.
Thank you to the author, Kate O’Keeffe who provided an advance reader copy of this book via NetGalley.
I really liked Sophie and her friends and empathized with her frustration with bad dates. I am probably in the minority here, but I didn’t see how a pact and the vetting process would ensure that Sophie dates only good guys. Even after passing the approval process, Sophie found that the guys weren’t that great, at least not for her. To each his own, I guess, but I have to side with Sophie that living the mermaid lifestyle or being hand-fed like a baby is just too twisted and bizarre.
In the end, Sophie finds herself having feelings for her roommate, Jason, so no vetting or approval really needed to be done, obviously. I can only wonder if either of them had the courage to confess their feelings sooner if it would have worked out as well as it did. Though I was totally rooting for Jason, I was intrigued about the Clark Kent lookalike.
I paired my reading of this book with the audio format narrated by Tialhi Martin. Her performance brought the characters personalities to life without making them sound or feel like cardboard. I enjoyed meeting all of the secondary characters, Sophie’s family and prospective dates and though I liked some more than others, I could see myself enjoying spending time with them. I also shared Sophie’s frustration and irritation with her siblings getting on her case about her career choices.
My Final Verdict: Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would like to read the rest of the series to see how Darcy and Erin do with the no more bad dates pact. I highly recommend this book to readers of contemporary romance, chick-lit and women’s fiction.
Thank you to the author, Kate O’Keeffe who provided an advance reader copy of this book via NetGalley.
July 11, 2023
Very cute and quick read! I've been loving roommates-to-lovers lately and this fully delivered on that. It was fun to see Sophie and Jason finally realise their feelings while trying to set Sophie up with other men and Jason slowly becoming too jealous to help her any more. Of course, those two get their HEA (or HFN 😉) but as someone who's currently struggling through the disaster that is dating cis-men, I loved seeing some rep for the weird men we have to put up with sometimes lol. I would've wished for Sophie's job plotline to be resolved in the book itself, not just in the epilogue, it felt a tad rushed, but other than that it was great!
April 24, 2021
A fuss-free chick-lit all around. Mind you, I could have told you the ending a quarter of the way through but hey, it’s comforting, Sophie is a sarcastic narrator, and there are lots of references to tasty food so what’s not to enjoy? A comforting read when you want to loosen up at the end of a stressful work day!
February 2, 2024
If you’re a fan of a more Hallmark-like, clean romance, this is the book for you! A trio of friends make a pact to never go on another bad date. Told from Sophie’s point of view, she gets a taste of how hard it is to actually avoid a bad date. Very cute! I found it humorous in places (mainly their dialogue). I will pick up the second book just to see if the stories get a bit stronger.
October 31, 2020
I liked it a lot!
This is not one of my favourites, when it comes to rom-coms, but it was pretty close. It was a pretty good feel-good book, that improved my mood heavily when I was reading Blood & Honey. That book is depressing. Honestly. *shakes head*
Anyway, that book will be dealt with in it's own review, so let's get back to the book in question.
So, I loved the waitressing, barista-ing (I have no idea what the actual word for that will be), managing part of this. It shows you the struggles of keeping open a small business that has a lot of competition. It's not easy, and sometimes you have to make sacrifices. I'm glad everything worked out in the end though!
The roommate trope is one of my favourites (you might have guessed, I love BBC Sherlock fanfiction). The best book I've read in this trope is The Flatshare (I just loved that book). And this book didn't disappoint a lot on that front.
The friends-to-lovers transition doesn't happen till the very end, so it requires quite a bit of patience. Especially since Sophie is horrible at realising feelings. That part dragged on for a lot, and I was running out of patience with her.
The friends were awesome, but I don't think I'm interested enough to continue with their books. Or the prequels.
The dating pact was really good, and the constant bad dates reminded me a lot of Would Like to Meet, though that had had a lot more dates. There were like only 3? or maybe 4, in this book.
I liked it, and I recommend it to anyone who likes romance, pining, seemingly unrequited feelings, protagonists who don't know what feelings they're feeling, waitressing & barista-ing & managing, slight roommate trope, and stories with bad dates.
This is not one of my favourites, when it comes to rom-coms, but it was pretty close. It was a pretty good feel-good book, that improved my mood heavily when I was reading Blood & Honey. That book is depressing. Honestly. *shakes head*
Anyway, that book will be dealt with in it's own review, so let's get back to the book in question.
So, I loved the waitressing, barista-ing (I have no idea what the actual word for that will be), managing part of this. It shows you the struggles of keeping open a small business that has a lot of competition. It's not easy, and sometimes you have to make sacrifices. I'm glad everything worked out in the end though!
The roommate trope is one of my favourites (you might have guessed, I love BBC Sherlock fanfiction). The best book I've read in this trope is The Flatshare (I just loved that book). And this book didn't disappoint a lot on that front.
The friends-to-lovers transition doesn't happen till the very end, so it requires quite a bit of patience. Especially since Sophie is horrible at realising feelings. That part dragged on for a lot, and I was running out of patience with her.
The friends were awesome, but I don't think I'm interested enough to continue with their books. Or the prequels.
The dating pact was really good, and the constant bad dates reminded me a lot of Would Like to Meet, though that had had a lot more dates. There were like only 3? or maybe 4, in this book.
I liked it, and I recommend it to anyone who likes romance, pining, seemingly unrequited feelings, protagonists who don't know what feelings they're feeling, waitressing & barista-ing & managing, slight roommate trope, and stories with bad dates.
Want to read
May 22, 2020🎁 FREE on Amazon today (5/22/2020)! 🎁
August 9, 2019
Sophie has a bad history with boyfriends and the last one broke up with her in a friend's wedding and hook up with another girl minutes later so she decided that she had enough selfish men in her life and together with her friends created the No More Bad Dates Pact: they, along with her roomate Jason, will give their aproval to all her dates before she is allowed to go on with improving the relationships.
But every time she thinks she found the right guy something bad happens and she starts to get discouraged and wonder if she will ever find love, when she finds out that it had already happened: she was already in love with her friend Jason, and now she has to try to hide her feelings because she thinks he will never correspond them. A very sweet romance and I look forward to reading Darcy love story next.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
But every time she thinks she found the right guy something bad happens and she starts to get discouraged and wonder if she will ever find love, when she finds out that it had already happened: she was already in love with her friend Jason, and now she has to try to hide her feelings because she thinks he will never correspond them. A very sweet romance and I look forward to reading Darcy love story next.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
June 28, 2020
Not much content
This entire book could have been conveyed in a short story. Repeating content and predictable. I would skip this book.
This entire book could have been conveyed in a short story. Repeating content and predictable. I would skip this book.
January 25, 2021
Good writer, but another "she pines, he has sex within hearing of her" situations.
When are these authors going to wake up?
When are these authors going to wake up?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 2, 2023
הספר הראשון בסדרת High Tea, שהיא סדרת הספין-אוף של סדרת Cozy Cottage Cafe'.
הסדרה הזו מתמקדת בסופי, הבריסטה של הקוזי קוטג' קפה, ובחברותיה דארסי וארין. לשלושתן היסטוריית דייטים מאוד גרועה, כשרוב הגברים שהן יצאו איתם בעבר התגלו כדושבאגים מגעילים (החבר האחרון של סופי זרק אותה במעמד החתונה של ביילי, הבוסית שלה ומבעלות בית הקפה).
סופי, דארסי וארין מחליטות לעשות ביניהן הסכם למתווה חדש לדייטים - קודם כל הן פוגשות את הבחור הפוטנציאלי לפגישה לא מחייבת על כוס קפה, אחר כך עליו לעבור סוג של חקירה בפני החברות, ורק אח"כ, אם החברות מאשרות, ניתן לצאת איתו לדייט ממש. ג'ייסון, הידיד הטוב והשותף לדירה החתיך של סופי (שאותו הכרנו כבר בסדרה הקודמת) מצטרף לחבורה כדי לתת את נקודת המבט הגברית לתהליך החקירה והאישור.
בנוסף לכך, המשפחה של סופי לוחצת עליה להתבגר ולהחליט לאן פניה מועדות בחייה ומבחינת הקריירה שלה, על מנת שלא תהיה בריסטה לנצח. סופי מנסה לצאת עם גברים שונים, וגם לפתח קריירה, ותוך כדי היא מתחילה לפתח גם רגשות כלפי ג'ייסון ומנסה להתעלם מהם... עד הסוף הטוב והמובן מאליו :-)
ספר ממש ממש חמוד, משעשע וכיפי. חלק מהדמויות מהסדרה הקודמת מופיעות גם פה והיה נחמד לגלות מה קרה איתן. אני ממשיכה ישר לספר השני בסדרה.
הסדרה הזו מתמקדת בסופי, הבריסטה של הקוזי קוטג' קפה, ובחברותיה דארסי וארין. לשלושתן היסטוריית דייטים מאוד גרועה, כשרוב הגברים שהן יצאו איתם בעבר התגלו כדושבאגים מגעילים (החבר האחרון של סופי זרק אותה במעמד החתונה של ביילי, הבוסית שלה ומבעלות בית הקפה).
סופי, דארסי וארין מחליטות לעשות ביניהן הסכם למתווה חדש לדייטים - קודם כל הן פוגשות את הבחור הפוטנציאלי לפגישה לא מחייבת על כוס קפה, אחר כך עליו לעבור סוג של חקירה בפני החברות, ורק אח"כ, אם החברות מאשרות, ניתן לצאת איתו לדייט ממש. ג'ייסון, הידיד הטוב והשותף לדירה החתיך של סופי (שאותו הכרנו כבר בסדרה הקודמת) מצטרף לחבורה כדי לתת את נקודת המבט הגברית לתהליך החקירה והאישור.
בנוסף לכך, המשפחה של סופי לוחצת עליה להתבגר ולהחליט לאן פניה מועדות בחייה ומבחינת הקריירה שלה, על מנת שלא תהיה בריסטה לנצח. סופי מנסה לצאת עם גברים שונים, וגם לפתח קריירה, ותוך כדי היא מתחילה לפתח גם רגשות כלפי ג'ייסון ומנסה להתעלם מהם... עד הסוף הטוב והמובן מאליו :-)
ספר ממש ממש חמוד, משעשע וכיפי. חלק מהדמויות מהסדרה הקודמת מופיעות גם פה והיה נחמד לגלות מה קרה איתן. אני ממשיכה ישר לספר השני בסדרה.
June 14, 2022
Contemporary romance
Amusing. Mostly clean with a little language.
Very fluffy but also kind of sweet.
Adorable happy ending.
No violence. No sex. A little language.
Amusing. Mostly clean with a little language.
Very fluffy but also kind of sweet.
Adorable happy ending.
No violence. No sex. A little language.
August 31, 2019
I write this review taking into account the spirit in which the book was written: this is a rom-com, not meant to be serious, intended to provide lighthearted fluff and giggles to the readers. This book succeeds in that endeavor. This book is a light, quick romp into the world of chicklit. Similar to Sophie's goals of a Mr. Right for Now, this book is simply a "right for now" read. It's not literature; it's a fun ladies read.
There was a lot to giggle at with this book: the vetting process yielded some laughs; Sophie's relationship her roommate, Jason, was hysterical; the dates were both cringe- and laugh-worthy; and Sophie's father was a cute gem.
There were some misses with this book, though. For example, the whole premise of the No More Bad Dates pact. If the ladies simply wanted a Mr. Right for Now, why even bother vetting? Who gives a crap if a guy has weird habits if he's just a present-day distraction. I didn't understand that at all. Also, the weird habits that were disclosed during the vetting process were entirely unrealistic. I understand that this is part of the book's charm: it's not meant to be taken seriously or literally. It still annoyed me the teensiest bit, though.
My favorite theme of this book is the "career" theme. I relate to Sophie in so many ways. I'm doing a job well below my training and skill set, and for far less money than I've ever made in my life. But I prefer it. It keeps me sane, happy, comfortable, and stress-free. I appreciated this aspect of the book.
Overall, I give this book a 3 star review. It succeeds at its goal, and it provided me a nice, mindless couple of hours. It's an average chick lit read, and I would recommend it to anyone who'd like to cleanse their palate in between more serious reads.
From a scale of 1 to 10 (this is a rating of how present these components were, NOT how good or bad they were):
Romance - 5 (the book didn't set up a lot of big, sweeping romantic gestures)
Smut - 0 (this is sweet chick lit, not smut)
Humor - 8 (very cute, flirty, witty, and silly)
Cat and Mouse - 2 (not much chase)
Rich man / Poor woman theme - 3
Sexy setting - 0 (this is sweet chick lit , not sexy)
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher and author for this advanced copy.
There was a lot to giggle at with this book: the vetting process yielded some laughs; Sophie's relationship her roommate, Jason, was hysterical; the dates were both cringe- and laugh-worthy; and Sophie's father was a cute gem.
There were some misses with this book, though. For example, the whole premise of the No More Bad Dates pact. If the ladies simply wanted a Mr. Right for Now, why even bother vetting? Who gives a crap if a guy has weird habits if he's just a present-day distraction. I didn't understand that at all. Also, the weird habits that were disclosed during the vetting process were entirely unrealistic. I understand that this is part of the book's charm: it's not meant to be taken seriously or literally. It still annoyed me the teensiest bit, though.
My favorite theme of this book is the "career" theme. I relate to Sophie in so many ways. I'm doing a job well below my training and skill set, and for far less money than I've ever made in my life. But I prefer it. It keeps me sane, happy, comfortable, and stress-free. I appreciated this aspect of the book.
Overall, I give this book a 3 star review. It succeeds at its goal, and it provided me a nice, mindless couple of hours. It's an average chick lit read, and I would recommend it to anyone who'd like to cleanse their palate in between more serious reads.
From a scale of 1 to 10 (this is a rating of how present these components were, NOT how good or bad they were):
Romance - 5 (the book didn't set up a lot of big, sweeping romantic gestures)
Smut - 0 (this is sweet chick lit, not smut)
Humor - 8 (very cute, flirty, witty, and silly)
Cat and Mouse - 2 (not much chase)
Rich man / Poor woman theme - 3
Sexy setting - 0 (this is sweet chick lit , not sexy)
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher and author for this advanced copy.
September 11, 2019
**You can see this full review and more at Book Briefs: https://bookbriefs.net**No More Bad Dates is an adult contemporary romantic comedy by Kate O’Keeffe. It is the first book in the high tea series, which is taglined as a cozy cottage cafe story. I am unsure at the moment if all of the books in the series will be standalones or if you will need to read them in order. If I had to guess, I would think they are will be set in the same world, but will all act as standalone cozy romances. I have to say I don't love the cover because it reminds me too much of Barbie, but I do love the story setup.
In No More Bad Dates we meet our main character Sophie, who gets dumped at a wedding by a royal jerk. Because, seriously...who does that??! Oh don't worry, he had a great reason. Because Sophie has been burned one too many times, she decides to have her friends help her pick out guys to date before she dates them. This is an adorable setup, and screams cozy romantic comedy. Great for a day curled up with a blanket. I really enjoyed Sophie, her friends and her roommate Jason as they tried to find Sophie the perfect guy.
Bottom line: If you are a fan of friends to more tropes and you like adorably cute, light-hearted reads, then No More Bad Dates is the perfect thing for the pool, or a lazy Sunday afternoon, or even a rainy day. I really enjoyed this cute story. It was exactly what I expect, which is exactly what I wanted.
This review was originally posted on Book Briefs
In No More Bad Dates we meet our main character Sophie, who gets dumped at a wedding by a royal jerk. Because, seriously...who does that??! Oh don't worry, he had a great reason. Because Sophie has been burned one too many times, she decides to have her friends help her pick out guys to date before she dates them. This is an adorable setup, and screams cozy romantic comedy. Great for a day curled up with a blanket. I really enjoyed Sophie, her friends and her roommate Jason as they tried to find Sophie the perfect guy.
Bottom line: If you are a fan of friends to more tropes and you like adorably cute, light-hearted reads, then No More Bad Dates is the perfect thing for the pool, or a lazy Sunday afternoon, or even a rainy day. I really enjoyed this cute story. It was exactly what I expect, which is exactly what I wanted.
This review was originally posted on Book Briefs
August 30, 2019
I am a big fan of this author’s “Last First Dates” series, so I was very excited to see the characters return in this series. In this one, we get Sophie (the barista at the Cozy Cottage Café). Sophie and her friends are tired of horrible boyfriends, so they create a system where the group has to vet potential dates before an actual date occurs (it sounds a little complicated, but it really isn’t). As with previous books, there are several likable (and some not so much) secondary characters (Sophie’s family is a good mixture of both). And her potential “dates” are hysterical; the second one had me laughing out loud! Oh, and any book that has a “Friends” reference in it is a winner for me 😉. The HEA is apparent, but the ride to get there is fun. I enjoyed it from beginning to end and look forward to the rest of the series. This book was written based on a complimentary, pre-release digital ARC of the book.
September 5, 2019
Pleasant read. Sophie’s love-life is in shambles and her newly formed ‘potential boyfriend interrogating system’ by her friends makes an attempt at eliminating the crazies from the potential boyfriend pool. It is a sweet little romance which reaches its resolution only in the last chapter, just before the epilogue. The characters are well described although Sophie is a bit weak, allowing herself to be dictated by her family, even if admittedly she quietly resists. Jason and Sophie’s deep room-mate/ best friend relationship is so precious to them both that neither of them are ready to admit their feelings for each other in fear of losing their strong bond. As Sophie said, girl’s may come and go but she is a permanent fixture in Jason’s life. However, love wins in the end and our pair reach their HEA. This is a very clean romance.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
September 4, 2019
This was a good read. Sophie gets dumped at a wedding. She seems to be having trouble finding a good man. She enlists the help of her friends to vet out the bad dates. Of course the whole time there was a great guy in front of her. Thankfully in the end they both had the courage do go for what/who they wanted.
September 5, 2019
The Cozy Cottage Cafe series tells the tales of four friends looking for love. Kate O'Keefe knows what works and she's sticking with it in this first in the new spin-off series. No More Bad Dates is a fast, fun read about friends swearing off bad dates forever. Now, not only do I want the Cozy Cottage crew as my BFFs, but I want Sophie and her friends as well!
October 6, 2021
I’m not usually a fan of ‘first-person-present-tense’ but I really enjoyed the writing style of this one. It was engaging and had me invested in the story.
I loved Sophie’s family. They annoy her beyond words but I couldn’t help but love them. I especially liked her brother Sean who always spoke in his random Shakespearean language…so funny. Sophie’s friends, Erin & Darcy, were also amazing.
I thought that the transition from platonic to romantic feelings, between Sophie and Jason was abrupt. There were little tidbits that hinted at the very predictable outcome, however, the buildup was lacking. So the strong feelings kinda came out of nowhere...IMO 🤷🏽♀️
Although I liked Jason, my problem with him was, that not only did he date A LOT, but they were all his coworkers. That to me is a big no no because first off, he’s a SERIAL MONOGAMIST. Why? Because he realized he had romantic feelings for Sophie (such a stupid reason). Gee Sherlock, why didn’t you just tell her instead of dating all your coworkers?!
Secondly, since many of his dates were coworkers, I imagine his breakups would result in a very awkward work environment. Definitely not a good idea🤦🏽♀️ Due to his dating history it was hard to believe he actually had feelings for Sophie.
I liked Sophie and Jason as characters and thought they worked better as friends rather than a couple. They had really great banter but I honestly thought Cameron (her last date) was a much better option. All in all, the story was hilariously and entertaining.
Content: Clean, kissing only.
Language: Mild
I loved Sophie’s family. They annoy her beyond words but I couldn’t help but love them. I especially liked her brother Sean who always spoke in his random Shakespearean language…so funny. Sophie’s friends, Erin & Darcy, were also amazing.
I thought that the transition from platonic to romantic feelings, between Sophie and Jason was abrupt. There were little tidbits that hinted at the very predictable outcome, however, the buildup was lacking. So the strong feelings kinda came out of nowhere...IMO 🤷🏽♀️
Although I liked Jason, my problem with him was, that not only did he date A LOT, but they were all his coworkers. That to me is a big no no because first off, he’s a SERIAL MONOGAMIST. Why? Because he realized he had romantic feelings for Sophie (such a stupid reason). Gee Sherlock, why didn’t you just tell her instead of dating all your coworkers?!
Secondly, since many of his dates were coworkers, I imagine his breakups would result in a very awkward work environment. Definitely not a good idea🤦🏽♀️ Due to his dating history it was hard to believe he actually had feelings for Sophie.
I liked Sophie and Jason as characters and thought they worked better as friends rather than a couple. They had really great banter but I honestly thought Cameron (her last date) was a much better option. All in all, the story was hilariously and entertaining.
Content: Clean, kissing only.
Language: Mild
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 19, 2021
I really wanted to love this one but No More Bad Dates didn't deliver for me. The writing style is very simple. There wasn't any nuance or character building. Ex. "I wish I could meet someone. Oh look, a cute boy just walked in the cafe I work at!" I didn't get to know Jason (the love interest) at all. I literally only know that he's a (trainee) doctor and hot, of course. That was really disappointing because flirty banter is my favorite.
This was an extremely quick read. I do think this book would work for a certain type of reader. One who wants a straight forward, no heavy subjects, cheesy love story. Unfortunately, everything was just really one note for me and I like a little more depth, even in my rom coms.
This was an extremely quick read. I do think this book would work for a certain type of reader. One who wants a straight forward, no heavy subjects, cheesy love story. Unfortunately, everything was just really one note for me and I like a little more depth, even in my rom coms.
March 19, 2023
This book was SO adorable! I loved the friendships and the family dynamics and the sarcastic way of thinking of the main character. Her passion for her job, but still not knowing what she wants to do with her life is somehow very relatable and it was a refreshing thing to see in a book. About 25% in it was already very clear how this was going to end, but still I was hooked and I wanted to know what was going to happen. It's also quite obvious what the next few books will be about and I can't WAIT to read them! Highly enjoyable, just a bit predictable at times, that's why a 4.5 stars from me.
dnf
May 27, 2020Dnf at 26% it’s just not for me
Read
May 28, 2020Only read 1/4 couldn't get into it.
July 2, 2020
Very amusing book! quick and easy read!
September 14, 2021
This was so cute and witty. I adored the main character, Sophie.
The author did a great job with the writing. It felt like I was vibing with my best girlfriend going through these dates and talking about what we want our future partners to be like.
The author did a great job with the writing. It felt like I was vibing with my best girlfriend going through these dates and talking about what we want our future partners to be like.
November 1, 2023
Loved it!
Another fantastic book by the talented Kate O’Keeffe! I’m excited to read the next in series.
A must read for your TBR.
Another fantastic book by the talented Kate O’Keeffe! I’m excited to read the next in series.
A must read for your TBR.
May 28, 2020
Very funny, very cute! I started this book, realized there was a series before, read that series of 4 books, then came back to this one and finished all 5 books in 8 days. I enjoyed this book more than the previous 4. These are a bit lighter, really funny and just have a more breezy air to them. I really enjoyed it.
March 12, 2023
WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU KEEP
DATING THE WRONG GUYS? WOULD A PACT WORK? WELL... SOPHIE, DARCY AND ERIN DO JUST THAT IN HOPES THEY CAN FIND THE ONE AND STOP DATING THE WRONG GUY. DID IT WORK? WELL, ASK JASON, SOPHIE'S GORGEOUS ROOMMATE WHO ALSO WANTS TO BE ON THE VETTING COMMITTEE. GRAB A BREW AND ENJOY THIS FUN BOOK!
DATING THE WRONG GUYS? WOULD A PACT WORK? WELL... SOPHIE, DARCY AND ERIN DO JUST THAT IN HOPES THEY CAN FIND THE ONE AND STOP DATING THE WRONG GUY. DID IT WORK? WELL, ASK JASON, SOPHIE'S GORGEOUS ROOMMATE WHO ALSO WANTS TO BE ON THE VETTING COMMITTEE. GRAB A BREW AND ENJOY THIS FUN BOOK!
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