30 dates in 30 days. Seems like fun right? Yeah, not so much… Montgomery.
Nolan had always treated me as his little sister’s annoying best friend and I couldn’t stand his bossy ways. The last thing I needed was him following me around with a video camera and lecturing me on all the things I was doing wrong. I certainly didn’t need him showing me how I could improve; even if his lips and hands were recurring images in my dreams. He may have been my first kiss, but there was no way I was going to let him get his hands on me again.
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4 Star review of Queen of First Dates by Jamie Case
Audio Review:
Jamie Case is a new author to me as is narrator Bethanie Good and I have no idea why that is. Queen of First Dates is a quick, fun, romantic story which I enjoyed.
Nolan gave Jules her first kiss and she has always been in love with him. Unbeknownst to her Nolan has always had feelings for Jules too and even went so far as trying to tell her. However fate works in mysterious ways and she never found out.
When her boss puts forward an idea for an article Jules, a reporter is teamed up with Nolan as her videographer/photographer; the idea 30 dates in 30 days. The dates are a comedy of errors and nothing like what one would hope for. Nolan is there at every turn and it is obvious to everyone but the woman in question that there is more to Nolan’s feelings than meets the eye.
I loved the story and Bethanie Good has a pleasant voice to listen too but I do feel that her male voices let her down with the narration which impacted on the story.
Nolan Comes Across As A Jerk, But By The End He Is Adorable! Jules Is A Big Mess, But Blossoms When She Finally Finds Love. Nolan And Jules’s Story Is A Light And Playful Small Town Slow Burn Romance.
This is book one of The Love Plan series by J.S. Cooper, previously released as Queen of First Dates. The series is set in Canyon Beach, a small beach town in which everyone knows one another and gossip travels fast. For the last two years, though, newcomers have been moving into the area, attracted by the beach. This is Nolan and Julia’s story.
Julia Garwood, twenty-six, is focused on her career in journalism. She had expected to find herself writing serious stories by now. She has worked at the Canyon Beach Chronicle since college. Dissatisfied, she asks her editor, Malcolm, to be assigned a serious story, but soon comes to regret it. Thirty dates in thirty days. She is to write about her online dating experience and gin up online clicks for the Chronicle, which is struggling in a changing industry. Moreover, her best friend’s brother will be the photographer on the assignment. He will accompany her on all her dates, filming and taking pictures to accompany the article online.
Jules and Betsy have been best friends since childhood, and she has consequently spent a great deal of time around Betsy’s older brother, Nolan. Nolan brings out the worst in Jules. They argue like siblings, and he criticizes her incessantly. He was her first kiss ten years ago. But she was three years younger than him and he was graduating. Nothing ever became of it, but the kiss meant everything because Nolan was her first crush. She hasn’t had a great kiss since, and her dating life has been rather non-existent for some time. She decides it is time for her to finally move on. Her current assignment, as much as she would rather pass on it, presents a perfect opportunity to get out of her comfort zone and find true love, but with Nolan watching every minute of her dates and criticizing her every move, it promises to be the worst assignment ever.
Nolan Montgomery, twenty-nine, is a photographer with a budding career as a filmmaker, too. He could move to Hollywood, but chooses to stay in Canyon Beach, his small hometown. He declared he wouldn’t marry when he was young, and today his relationships never last more than a month or two. But he enjoys hanging out his with his best friend, Officer Jefferson Evian, and occasional meals with his family. He often sees his sister and her best friend at those meals. He can’t help himself when he gets near Jules. She complains he is mean, but she is so immature that she is asking to be put in her place.
Nolan and Jules have a very complicated relationship. They share a strong bond due to their shared history. Jules has spent much time in the Montgomery household over the years, so the two are practically like siblings. They have a unique level of comfort with one another, but they also share a few secrets. As obvious as it is to close observers that Nolan and Jules have chemistry underneath the jabs, neither of them is proactive. Left to their own devices, they might never find one another. The dating assignment, though, brings them in close contact and provides an opportunity so that the conversations that need to happen can finally take place. Nolan comes across as a jerk, but by the end he is adorable. Jules is a big mess, but taking the next step with Nolan should allow her to move beyond her defensive stance when around him and help her shed some of her immaturity. The couple gets their brief happy ending.
The next book is Betsy Montgomery and Jefferson Evian’s story – Nolan’s sister and his best friend. They begin flirting in this book, and the story ends with Betsy in crisis.
Nolan and Jules’s story is a light and playful small town romance. Drama is kept to a minimum in this slow burn. Seeing the couple finally open up after so many years of misunderstanding is very rewarding. The story is nicely written. The plot is fairly simple; the history is slowly revealed. The characters are nicely developed. The story is written in first person from Julia’s POV. I rate this book four stars.
I received a free advance copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Queen of First Dates by Jaimie Case has just the right amount of drama, suspense, mystery, jealousy, a touch of heartbreak, witty banter, humor, and it all wraps up with a great happily ever after.
I volunteered to review an advance reader copy of this book.
WOW… Incredible is what I would use for this book!! Jaimie is an amazing author who brings her characters to life and makes you feel like you are right there with them!! Queen of first dates is about a woman Julia who has been secretly in love with her best friends brother Nolan. From the time she was in high school she would get letters from a secret admirer!! She always wished it was from Nolan… now that she is an adult she started to get them again. While working with Nolan on a work project sparks start to fly… will Nolan end up being her dream guy?? Read to find out!!!
It was good but not especially memorable. The author spent a bit setting up the premise of why she had to do on these dates, but after the initial start to it the whole thing fell away. The whole premise was a bit tough to believe in the first place. You are in a small town and everyone would be ok having their first date filmed? It was weird. The boss was just plain out bizarre. I liked Nolan, but even he seemed like he had a maturity issue. It was hard to feel supportive of the heroine when she was surrounded with people who were pushy to put it mildly. The story was ok. I think the story would have done better with some fleshing out.
Looks like I’m in the minority here. And I’m being kind by giving this one 2 stars. I liked the idea of this book. The execution of it? Not so much. I found the writing to be more juvenile than it should have been. Most of the book consisted of a variety of ways that Jules could point out how rude Nolan was. She didn’t find just Nolan rude, either. Nope, she pretty much found everyone, at least of the male variety, either rude or arrogant. This book could have been written in twenty-five pages.
3.5 Stars
This was a fun rom-com style read. I listened to the audiobook for this story. The narrator’s did a great job of adding the feelings and emotions to the story and bringing it to life.
Julia is put on a mission to have 30 first dates and document it for the paper she works for. She is not super excited about the project and a little less excited about having to work with her best friends brother Nolan. Over the years she has had some situation with Nolan that have caused her to shy away from him and hide her feelings.
Nolan is trying very hard to be the professional and do the job he was hired to do. But the more time he spends with Julia listening to all the set up for this date gig. The more he has trouble fighting the feelings he has had for her for many years. Maybe it is time to let the cat out of the box and tell her how he really feels.
Is it time for Julia and Nolan to have a real chance at happiness?
I rarely delete books, but my first thought on finishing the was “WTF was that?” and then I deleted the book from my account. Save yourself a couple dollars and a few wasted hours of your life that you can never get back!
Remember your first kiss?? They say your first love is someone you always remember and have special feelings for…this story would support that thought.
Loved the characters in this book. Very funny and believable plot line. Love books like this!
This was a very sweet, fun and relatively quick romance story containing best friends brothers and secret admirers. Misunderstanding ensues throughout this story as Jules doesn’t seem to have a clue about anything concerning Nolan Montgomery. After being set up to go on 30 dates and 30 days for an article she has to write at the newspaper she works for, her childhood nemesis and best friends brother is assigned to the job to video Jules escapades. It took Jules a long time to figure out what was really going on between her and Nolan, but thankfully it ended with their happily ever after. Looking forward to Betsy’s “I really messed up!” story!
Listened on audible and narrator Bethanie Good was pretty good.
I love a good slow burn, friends-to-lovers, second chance romance and this was all of those! Jules has been in love with Nolan since they were kids and being her best friend’s brother didn’t help much. Nolan is total book boyfriend material. I loved their banter back and forth, the glimpses into moments that could’ve been but ended up missed opportunities. The online dating premise was hilarious in that unfortunately it pretty much sums up the dating world now.
I really enjoyed this book. I look forward to more!
Ok story. However, Jules & Nolan were so ridiculously immature. However, I would like to read Betsy’s story
I absolutely loved this book! Julia and Nolan’s story was equal parts adorable and hilarious!!! This story had me laughing so much at the back and forth banter that I could not smiling while reading it. Can’t wait for more from Jaimie Case!
I voluntarily reviewed a advanced readers copy of this book
this fast quick read is cute and sweet. Julia is writing an article for her news paper 30 dates in 30 days, Nolan is in charge of taking the photos, but isn’t thrilled. when things start to heat up can love find away between the two or will they go their separate ways?
A very well written story that was engaging enough to keep this reader flipping pages over, long after bed time. Badness! What an absolutely delightful romantic yarn. The title is absolutely perfect. The characterizations were good and believable. The camaraderie amongst friends was warm and supportive. As a Jane Austen fan, I really liked the references to her work within this story. I look forward to the next novel in this series.
A solid original romantic tale! Good Stuff!
I voluntarily received an advance review copy of this novel and I am leaving an honest and unbiased review. I have no affiliation to this author.
Loved this quick read! To help the paper Jules works for, her boss ask her to write an article about dating. The camera man for the assignment just so happens to be Nolan, her best friend’s older brother. Nolan was Jules first kiss. This story was sweet, funny, with great characters, chemistry and a few surprises.
This book took me a little longer to get in to mostly because Jules drove me a bit nuts, but she grew on me. Jules has been secretly in love with her best friends older brother, Nolan, who gave her first kiss. I loved Nolan’s character… he was just too sweet!!
Jules is forced by her job to go on 30 dates in 30 days in order to write articles for the paper, and Nolan has to be there to photograph every single one!
This story has a bit of a twist which I loved, and it has a great and super funny story line!!
Julia has been assigned to write about first dates via online dating, 30 dates, 30 days. Living in small town America puts her best friend’s older brother, a successful photographer, has been assigned to video said dates. The problem is that these two fight more than cats and dogs and it may have to do with the fact that Julia has had a secret crush on Nolan since she was a little girl.
Queen of First Dates is a fun and flirty story with lots of teasing innuendos. The story is told with a few twists that make it even more delightful. Grab this quick read today and enjoy getting lost in Julia and Nolan’s story.
Julia and Nolan are both secretly in love with each other, however neither one of them is going to admit it. When Julia is asked by her boss to do a story on dating, she is unwittingly thrown into the first date dating pool. 30 dates in 30 dates can’t be too hard, right?? What will Nolan do as Julia dates all those potential love matches?? I really enjoyed this book, it was light hearted and funny.