Book Review: Meet Me Under the Clock by Jo Lovett

I’m happy to be welcoming Jo Lovett to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her latest book, Meet Me Under the Clock.

Sometimes love happens when you least expect it…

When Nadia and Tom are both unceremoniously stood up by their dates under the clock at Waterloo Station, fate throws them together in the most unusual of circumstances.

What starts as a brilliant story for future dinner parties soon turns into a wonderful friendship, and both Tom and Nadia realise they’ve found the perfect partner in crime.

Tired of dating but always needing a plus one for weddings, parties, and the like, they agree to fake date each other. But as their pretend relationship starts to feel more real, Nadia and Tom begin to wonder if there’s more to their connection than convenience.

Could the relationship they’ve been faking be the one they’ve been waiting for all along?

A heartwarming fake dating rom com, perfect for fans of Beth O’Leary and Sophie Kinsella.

*****

Nadia arrives at Waterloo station for a blind date. At the same time, Tom is there to meet a woman he made a pact with. As a security alert brings these two together, they decide to help each other out with the dating thing by pretending to be an item. This surely can’t backfire… right? 

Although i have had the opportunity to host Jo Lovett before on this blog, this is the first time I’ve had the chance to review one of her novels. The idea of this book sounded great and so I was pleased to be invited onto the blog tour for Meet Me Under The Clock. 

This story is just wonderful. I adore the idea of the Waterloo five and it’s a testament that fate can sometimes lend a hand and that strangers can change your life in positive ways. 

Nadia has suffered heartbreak where romantic relationships are concerned and I really wanted things to work out for her. She’s quite an understated and humble character who doesn’t actually give a lot of herself away. She felt relatable. This was also the case with Tom. Like Nadia, he’s likeable if maybe a little bit frustrating, especially when it comes to a previous relationship. Talk about getting in your own way. That’s all I will say about him. As usual, I’m trying to review without spoilers as much as I can. 

Bea, Ruth and Carole bring their own wonderful personalities to the narrative and I loved them. 

The story unfolds well with lots of emotional, funny and heartwarming moments, as well as having its fair share of conflict – the path to love isn’t always smooth and all that. I experienced laughter, love and a feeling of family with these characters and I hope you choose to do so too. 

Meet Me Under The Clock is a romantic tale full of friendship, love and humour. It’s a perfect escape from a world that feels very sharp around the edges right now. 

About Jo Lovett –

Jo Lovett writes heart-warming, feel-good romcoms. Her latest book, We Were On a Break, published by Boldwood, will be released on 29 July 2024.

Jo lives in London with her family. She started writing romantic comedy when she realised that she was regularly begging her oldest son to let her do his English homework but she wasn’t actually that interested in haunted houses or Macbeth. When she can escape her laundry mountain, she enjoys reading, tennis and wine.

Say hello to Jo on Facebook and Twitter. Click here to sign up to her newsletter. 

Meet Me Under The Clock was released by Boldwood Books on 11th April 2025. Click to buy on Amazon and Waterstones. 

by

Laura

I'm Laura. I started Novel Kicks back in 2009 as I wanted a place to discuss books and writing - two loves of my life. As someone who has anxiety, these two things give me, and I am sure countless others, a much needed escape.
There is a monthly book club, writing exercises, prompts, reviews, author interviews, competitions and guest posts. I cover many genres and I hope there is something for everyone.
I grew up by the sea in Dorset and currently live in Poole with my husband, Chris and three cats. I love writing and have a BA (Hons) in Creative Writing from Falmouth University. I am writing my first book. If only I could stop pressing delete. Chris has threatened to stop it from working. Haha.
I have always loved creative writing since I was in first school and would very much like to meet my teacher, Miss Sayers, to say thank you for all the encouragement she gave me then.
When not writing, I love reading, cats, Disney, singing (I can't sing but this doesn't stop me,) and falling into a good TV show or film. If I could step into any fictional world, it would be amongst the characters in ABC's Once Upon a Time.
I love reading many genres and discovering new authors.