I’d seen so much about this book about and then when I found it in Sainsbury’s for only £2.99 I knew I had to get it, and I finally read it over the August Bank Holiday weekend for my readathon and honestly i’ve found myself disappointed with it. I absolutely loved the first half and there were so many funny moments but then the second half happened and it just felt full of cliches and heavy-handed feminism and preaching lectures.
The story itself is cute; a missed connection on the train is an adorable idea and it’s the sort of thing you hope happens to you, and initially I loved their little messages to one another BUT the book is so slow paced. They send their first connection literally at the start of the book but they don’t meet until the last few pages; there are also so many times in this book where they also meet and then don’t and it just became too many coincidences for me. I think if they’d met earlier on in the book it would have been better but it just felt it took too long for them to actually meet. Their missed opportunities to meet just became frustrating.
The one that irritated me the most was when they were meant to meet up for the drink the first time and he has to go to help his mum; the bartender clearly tells Nadia that Daniel’s mum was on the phone and crying, but Nadia acts like he walked in, took one look at her, and walked out. Like, I completely get that she could be upset, but I honestly felt that she overreacted so much – he left his card and opened a tab, clearly he was intending to meet with her. It just packed in the trope of miss-communication and I couldn’t roll my eyes enough… I just felt Nadia handled it badly; like if I was going to meet someone for a date and my mum/friend phoned me up SOBBING you bet your ass I would go to them. It’s human decency.
I did like the character of Daniel, and especially his interactions with Romeo; I thought he was adorable but there were some moments I was just rolling my eyes at how political this book was – I felt like I was being preached at on almost every page. DON’T GET ME WRONG; the conversations were important but I felt we were being beaten over the head with it and it just lessened the enjoyment of the book for me. It almost felt like we were pausing the story to face the audience and give them a lecture.
I mostly liked Nadia but also found her a bit irritating? Like the missed connection was all about how they got the same train so just… SET YOUR ALARM AND GET TO WORK ON TIME. It baffled me how she was late every damn day; have a regular alarm, it’s not hard – and if you know Daniel is on the same train as you then just put a bit of effort in to get it. I also don’t know how she didn’t lose her job considering she works in a corporate world.
Some of the language was a bit crude at times – and this is coming from someone who regularly swears and who doesn’t find c u next tuesday offensive, but it was just a bit cringe-worthy. Also the “twist” of Emma and Gaby being together was obvious; they were literally both secretive and both busy at the same time…
I did enjoy some bits of the book and found some of it so relatable; it is so hard to date in this day and age, and I loved the moments with Daniel reading the help guide – so funny.
It was a cute and easy read but it felt far too long to actually get to Daniel and Nadia meeting and the constant missed opportunities just felt too far-fetched and OTT.
The story itself is cute; a missed connection on the train is an adorable idea and it’s the sort of thing you hope happens to you, and initially I loved their little messages to one another BUT the book is so slow paced. They send their first connection literally at the start of the book but they don’t meet until the last few pages; there are also so many times in this book where they also meet and then don’t and it just became too many coincidences for me. I think if they’d met earlier on in the book it would have been better but it just felt it took too long for them to actually meet. Their missed opportunities to meet just became frustrating.
The one that irritated me the most was when they were meant to meet up for the drink the first time and he has to go to help his mum; the bartender clearly tells Nadia that Daniel’s mum was on the phone and crying, but Nadia acts like he walked in, took one look at her, and walked out. Like, I completely get that she could be upset, but I honestly felt that she overreacted so much – he left his card and opened a tab, clearly he was intending to meet with her. It just packed in the trope of miss-communication and I couldn’t roll my eyes enough… I just felt Nadia handled it badly; like if I was going to meet someone for a date and my mum/friend phoned me up SOBBING you bet your ass I would go to them. It’s human decency.
I did like the character of Daniel, and especially his interactions with Romeo; I thought he was adorable but there were some moments I was just rolling my eyes at how political this book was – I felt like I was being preached at on almost every page. DON’T GET ME WRONG; the conversations were important but I felt we were being beaten over the head with it and it just lessened the enjoyment of the book for me. It almost felt like we were pausing the story to face the audience and give them a lecture.
I mostly liked Nadia but also found her a bit irritating? Like the missed connection was all about how they got the same train so just… SET YOUR ALARM AND GET TO WORK ON TIME. It baffled me how she was late every damn day; have a regular alarm, it’s not hard – and if you know Daniel is on the same train as you then just put a bit of effort in to get it. I also don’t know how she didn’t lose her job considering she works in a corporate world.
Some of the language was a bit crude at times – and this is coming from someone who regularly swears and who doesn’t find c u next tuesday offensive, but it was just a bit cringe-worthy. Also the “twist” of Emma and Gaby being together was obvious; they were literally both secretive and both busy at the same time…
I did enjoy some bits of the book and found some of it so relatable; it is so hard to date in this day and age, and I loved the moments with Daniel reading the help guide – so funny.
It was a cute and easy read but it felt far too long to actually get to Daniel and Nadia meeting and the constant missed opportunities just felt too far-fetched and OTT.