I’m back with another blog tour today with Rachel’s Random Resources for Love Offline by Olivia Spring. Thanks to Rachel for organising this tour, and to the author for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Be sure to click on the banner above to check out the other bloggers on tour!

Goodreads: Love Offline
Release Date: 01 November 2019
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Panda Rating:

Emily’s Struggling To Find Romance Online. Will Ditching The Dating Apps Lead To True Love?

Online dating isn’t working for introvert Emily. Although she’s comfortable swiping right at home in her PJs, the idea of going out to meet a guy in person fills her with dread. So when her best friend challenges her to ditch the apps, attend a load of awkward singles’ events and find love in real life, Emily wants to run for the hills.

Then she meets Josh. He’s handsome, kind and funny, but Emily’s had her heart crushed before and knows he’s hiding something… Is Josh too good to be true? Can Emily learn to trust again and if she does, will it lead to love or more heartache?

Love Offline is a fun, sexy, entertaining story about friendship, stepping outside of your comfort zone and falling in love the old-fashioned way. Ideal for fans of Sophie Kinsella, Lindsey Kelk and Beth O’Leary’s The Flatshare.

BUY NOW: Amazon (US) | Amazon (UK)

Olivia Spring is a British, London-based writer of contemporary women’s fiction, sexy chick lit and romantic comedy. Her uplifting debut novel ‘The Middle-Aged Virgin’, which was released in July 2018, deals with being newly single in your thirties and beyond, dating, relationships, love, sex and living life to the full.

Olivia published three novels in 2019: ‘Only When It’s Love’, ‘Losing My Inhibitions’ and ‘Love Offline’. ‘The Middle-Aged Virgin in Italy’, the hotly anticipated sequel to ‘The Middle-Aged Virgin’ and Olivia’s fifth novel, was published in July 2020.

When she’s not writing, Olivia can be found making regular trips to Italy to indulge in pasta, pizza and gelato and of course, seeking inspiration for her next book!

Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Website | Bookbub

Love Offline was a funny, charming and entertaining romance with realistic characters, a little bit of insane relationship drama, and a great reminder that social media and life on the internet is not always the glitz and glamour that people portray it to be. The story quickly reeled me in and I sped through it in one day as I needed to know what more could happen. While the dramatics were honestly a bit OTT and angsty for my usual tastes, I can’t deny that it was a whole lot of fun–especially when you have an amazing BFF like Chloe, who in my opinion, was the real show-stealer in this story!

The story is told from Emily’s POV. I don’t doubt that so many people will be able to relate to not just her character, but also her story. Who hasn’t spent more time than is healthy on social media, scrolling through endless feeds on too many platforms, or wasting your waking hours on curating your online presence? As a socially anxious introvert who rarely steps out of my social comfort zone, and as someone who has experienced the same cheating heartbreak, I saw a lot of my experiences and lifestyle habits in Emily. But I also struggled with her character. She comes across as judgemental, irrational and very quick to jump to conclusions, and she makes any excuse (and I mean, any) to justify her worldview even if in her heart she knows she’s wrong. It was understandable at first, but I found myself growing weary as the cycle persisted. That being said, she’s absolutely 100% realistic. While her flaws and reactions were frustrating and repetitive, there’s no denying that they were so very real. In the end, I was quite happy with how her story developed and how she grew from her experiences and that it didn’t just happen miraculously overnight.

Josh was a wonderful love interest in every respect and um… can I has one please? 😂 Seriously, he was such a sweet, thoughtful, and considerate partner and I never doubted him for a moment. He’d never even be in the same stratosphere as Emily’s ex-scum, Eric, who was an epic dillweed and deserves no further mention than that. But as I said before, the star of the story for me was Chloe. Not only was she an incredibly supportive friend, but she also had the most amazing and hilarious personality! She was of the old school mentality and I loved the use of old-fashioned words in her vernacular. Every time she said ‘poppycock’, ‘flimflam’, ‘tallywag’, and ‘zounder-kite’ amongst other words, I found myself cracking up (honestly, I’m just too easily entertained) because it was just so appropriate to her dialogue.

TL;DR: This was a really fun story full of realistic characters and relatable experiences. Living life online has become such the norm that we don’t even know what it’s like to disconnect from our phones without feeling panicky. I’m glad I’m not at that level (anymore) and can happily disconnect every day, but this book was such a good reminder that there’s more to living than the life you project online. The romance was heartwarming and the chemistry between our characters was undeniable, with some steaminess on the side. Definitely recommended for those who love a contemporary romance that’s sure to make you laugh and is full of quirky charm!

Have you read Love Offline or is it on your TBR?