Our Stop

Okay, I know there are mixed reviews on the internet about this book. Some people hate it, most people thought it was average. Yes there are some plot holes. Yes there are some typos. But I rate books based on how they made me FEEL. Not on perfection. That being said...Chapter 1 Page 1: I fell in love with Nadia. She is late, she is clumsy, she has a plan that this Monday will be a fresh start for her to BE BETTER. She is determined to do better from here on out, she even has a plan: The New Routine to Change Her Life! You guys, SHE IS ME!!! I was flabbergasted at how strongly I related to her. It was as if the author plucked my 20-something brain and put it into this adorable British character.Chapter 2: I fell in love with Daniel. Sweet sweet Daniel. Watching from a distance, a little insecure, and terrible unsure of how to approach the girl on the train that he is utterly smitten with.Is this a slow burn? Yes.Was I on the edge of my seat wondering when they would finally meet? Yes!Did I skim to get to said meeting? Surprisingly, NO. I LOVED each person’s journey along the way. I loved the friends and the side plots (This was the biggest complaint from other reviews) There was personal growth that had to happen. And I felt like each little side plot made them richer and deeper characters! Also, because they had to go through all that to be ready for each other at the right time!Overall, I fell in love with these two characters separately which is why I enjoyed the journey so much of them getting together. And what a journey it is!!!But the book did highly remind me of a Norah Ephron movie. (Who is referenced a few times) It has elements of You’ve Got Mail & Sleepless in Seattle with a Serendipity vibe. AND I ABSOLUTELY FREAKIN LOVED EACH MINUTE OF IT.

I enjoyed the light touch the author had with the “meet cute” near-misses of the main characters. Nadia and Daniel were complex enough to be interesting, and I liked the sparks between them that occurred even before they met. She did a nice job fleshing out the peripheral characters to make their world real (well, real with a healthy dollop of suspension of disbelief... it’s a rom-com, after all).

This was a bit like reading Sleepless In Seattle in book form. Which is fine, but the leads don't actually meet or connect until the final chapter. Yes, their back stories and repeated almost-meetings are interesting and fun, but I was longing for more of the two of them together. It feels like a romance and yet kind of not. They never even communicate over email or text, like other similar romances.The premise is super sweet. Daniel keeps spotting Nadia in his neighborhood and on the Tube. He can't get up the nerve to approach her since it seems creepy. So, instead, he puts an ad in the Missed Connections section of the newspaper, hoping she will see it. She does and the rest of the story is their attempts to connect with each other while never knowing the other's full name or personal details.Daniel is the ultimate good-guy hero. He is sweet and caring (if a little too shy for my liking). While Nadia is a funny and completely relatable female lead who you absolutely adore as the book goes on.In the end it was just too little CONNECTION for me. We know who they are so well by book's end, but we don't know who they are TOGETHER. The book is well written and engaging, but ultimately fell short on the romance for me.

As I was reading this, I was picturing it as a movie with Anna Kendrick and Zac Efron. Yes, it's a bit cliche and certainly more than a little unrealistic, but what a fun read! This is a book of near misses with a lot of hilarious moments along the way; I really enjoyed how likeable most of the characters were--it really made me root for all of them along the way!

"She once heard that love shouldn’t be called ‘falling’, because the best love roots you, and makes you grow upwards, taller and stronger."Nadia is always running late and Daniel is organized but in this case, opposites really do attract.Nadia and Daniel are both professionals in London. One morning Daniel sees a frazzled Nadia across a crowded tube (subway) car and is instantly attracted to her. But she gets off the car before he has the nerve to approach her.What follows are romantic letters to each other in the "Missed Connections" section of the newspaper and a series of almost-meetings continue for months.This was a rom-com told in alternating chapters by Nadia and Daniel. It was great fun watching the romance bloom between the two.

The premise for this was cute, but it just went on too long. Spoiler... The H and H didn't even meet face to face until the 81% mark. So no time to really develop a relationship or establish physical chemistry.

First time reading this Author & it was a great book. Nadia & Daniel are the main characters who both take the same train to work in London. Their relationship starts as a series of messages via a newspaper section titled "Missed Connections". How clever of the Author to use this title because unbeknownst to Nadia & Daniel they go through a bunch of mishaps before finally connecting. Along the way we get to meet their friends & Family. Nadia even starts dating someone she meets at a bar after being stood up by Daniel. But he isn't the one for her. Hope that the Author writes a sequel!

Very enjoyable. I liked both lead characters and the plot is a fun rom con I could easily see as a movie. I did think two of the supporting characters acted out of character for a long period of time. Given the established relationships, prolonged silence and distance felt plot-driven, not character-driven. Another supporting character I would have liked to see get their own story in a spin-off rather than a very quick resolution at the end. But those are minor quibbles.

Proprio quello che volevo

I really enjoyed this fast-paced addictive rom-com and although this isn’t really my ‘go to’ genre of choice, it provided fabulous escapism and after the first 100 pages, I couldn’t put it down as I felt desperate to find out if Daniel and Nadia would finally meet.I felt that the story was really well written and though it did have its predictable, cheesy, cringe moments, I still really enjoyed the story.

Nadia is determined to stick to her new routine after a bad breakup 6 months prior. She narrowly catches the 7:30 train, the doors held open for her by Daniel, a cute guy who is just her type. As she sits down Nadia gets a text from her friend containing the advert that Daniel wrote in the missed connections section of the paper, but it couldn't be about her..could it?I read this in one sitting, it was captivating and had me frustrated in a good way! (A few "noooo" moments) The will they won't they throughout kept me hooked as the main characters Nadia and Daniel continued to have close encounters, narrowly missing each other.The story is told from the different characters perspectives which gives the reader a real immersive experience into their thoughts and draws you in wanting more.A real feel good read with a simple but heart-warming story. Great for hopeless romantics and those who believe in love at first sight.

3.5*Before this book came out I had an emotional attachment to it. The author. The process. The build up. Having followed Laura Jane on social for the best part of a year (and having read both of her non fiction books) I could not wait to get my hands on her first fiction novel. I really enjoyed 'Becoming' which was autobiographical, gritty, raw and real. So my expectations were set high for Our Stop.The story tells of Nadia - a young professional who gets the tube to work in the mornings, who is a little bit of a hot mess and is often late for everything. She has a plan to prioritise her self care after a bad relationship and to create good habits, and so is making an effort to get to bed at a reasonable time and therefore catch her 7.30am tube to work. One Monday morning her attention is brought to the 'missed connections' section in the daily paper where it sounds like the gentleman may be referring to her...This brings us to Daniel - a young professional who also gets the tube to work, is a little more organised, and who sadly lost his Dad a few months ago. He spotted Nadia one day, realised she gets the same tube as him - when she's on time! - and in a moment of wanting to seize the day (with some encouragement from friends) and make good things happen for himself, he posted a message in the daily paper hoping she would read it.And so begins the story of missed moments, personal relationships - of all kinds - and the complexities of romance in our constantly busy modern lives. The blurb promises a 'hilarious, heartwarming romance' and it is both funny and heartwarming at times... and in others it is less so. The missed moments do get frustrating at times and I found the first half quite slow going. In fact I managed to read 2 other books in between starting and finishing Our Stop because I lost interest about a third of the way through. Which I feel bad for saying! (see first sentence re emotional attachment) but ploughed on and the second half - all read in one evening - definitely has more going on. Maybe my mistake was not reading it all at once? I guess my gaps between reading would have made the gaps between their missed connections all the more frustrating!I'm afraid to say that I didn't find Nadia particularly likeable as she seemed to be the only one that didn't develop throughout the story. Her best friends Emma and Gaby had a little more depth to them, but a few of their choices in certain situations did make me question how they prioritised their friendships. Daniel is written as a very amicable and 'woke' character in touch with his emotions, and is one of those people many would like to describe as 'too nice' - a few reviewers have described him as 'too good to be true' but I found his development to be realistic (he will have flaws like everyone else) and would err against the cynics and say no, there are men out there like him!Overall I did enjoy the book in the end. It is well written, there are some witty one liners, some emotional moments which touched me, and also some great characters - oh hi Romeo! I enjoyed the London references (events, locations etc) as a Londoner myself and felt mostly connected to the reality of their lives. I can really see a commuter enjoying reading this on their own tube journeys! There were a few moments throughout the book however where I found the cultural and political references to be a little forced. As if the author wanted to pack in as much relevant and time appropriate subjects in as possible, eg. feminism, consent, sexual orientation, gender appropriation, mental health and more. These are all valid and important points to talk about but I felt a little heavy for what was a lighthearted and fun romance. I did feel towards the end of the book the heartwarming moments of a good romance, and ultimately believe that Our Stop will do great as a quick and easy, summer romance read!

From the moment I saw that beautiful bright yellow cover with the pink tube lines crossing, I knew I was going to want to read this book. Not only were my favourite editors, publishing types and other authors yelling about it, but the premise was a right sort:Two people who start their love story through the Missed Connections bit of the newspaper are destined to be- but will they ever meet?I love Missed Connections, it was the best bit about having to go into work on the tube. And Nadia, our heroine, feels the same. Nadia is always on a Routine to Her Best Life. She tends to keep failing at it. But when Daniel sees Nadia, he knows it’s meant to be. And not in a creepy stalker way. In a romantic way.He sends her the message through Missed Connections, and she sends messages back, but they keep missing each other. The universe is sending them every sort of ‘meant to be’ vibe and yet it seems the universe is waiting for the perfect moment.This was a modern day romance that was woke AF. The men talk about third wave feminism, and expressing their feelings. Toxic masculinity is identified, consent is discussed, there’s all this stuff where I felt like these were the conversations I had with my friends, and it was nice to see people feeling real. Friendships weren’t perfect, relationships were complicated, sometimes there’s no bad guy and sometimes there most certainly is (looking at you, Awful Ben).The whole story is told with this light wittiness and charm. It’s romantic without being sickening, it’s funny without trying too hard, and I super loved that it had a bunch of badass women working in STEM. So often women in romantic comedies only get a choice of certain jobs, so it was really refreshing to step into a world where the women are top of their game, breaking boundaries and totally killing it.