London Calling by Darby Baham: Tired of her bad luck with love after breaking up with her latest 
boyfriend, Robin “Rob” Johnson applies for a promotion when the opportunity comes, and she gets it. That means she has to move from Washington DC to London permanently instead of doing frequent work related visits to UK as she was doing before. Maybe it could be a fresh start for her love life? With the help of her British new friend and coworker Olivia Robinson, Rob is determined to find the man of her dreams before she turns 31.
After a failed first attempt at dating, she started using a dating app to find what she wants in a man. Using the app, there she goes date after date after date, all of them failing in her goal to find her Prince Charming. Then she meets Craig Robinson, Olivia’s brother, and sparks fly instantly between them. Will it last, or it will become another heartbreak for Rob?
Rob wants to have someone in her life who loves her, I get it. But sometimes she looks TOO desperate to be in a relationship. Her clock is ticking or something? It’s like she’s feeling everyone around her were leaving her behind—especially her best friends from DC, all in love and married or soon to be married. That said, and for someone who set her goal to be accomplished in three months (that’s when she turns 31), I found her TOO picky! Thank heavens Rob has her friends—”The Shoe Squad”, as I call them—from DC, to put things in perspective. As for Craig…well, he’s the X factor in this book. Having a huge record of failed dates as Rob, he has his issues but he’s working on them. Also, he’s pretty charming, a nice…hero? Well, he appears in the book after reading 50 percent of it, so I couldn’t call him a “hero” after all. So bad we don’t see more of him as the story is totally focused on Robin’s “adventures” in dating.
I picked up this book because I LOVED book 1 and 2 of The Friendship Chronicles series (did I reviewed book 2? I need to check if I did…). That said, I found this story shallow as it goes from frivolous as fashion—hey, no offense here, I LOVE FASHION, especially shoes!!—and TOO many drink cocktails for my liking (I don’t drink and I can assure you that there are a lot of professional women who doesn’t drink when they’re hanging out with her girlfriends out there), showing Robin as a cliché with legs sometimes. Or that’s how I perceived. On the other hand, did you noticed I didn’t talk about Rob and Craig as a couple or anything related to romance? That’s because I didn’t feel any of that in the whole story. Chemistry? YES, they have a lot of it. Romance? Not so much.
I love Ms. Baham’s writing technique—I really do. The book’s writing format is FAN-TAS-TIC. With that in mind, I expected more from this book since the first two were simply brilliant. And more from her male characters!!
To be fair with the author, the story has a great developing, fabulous scenes and funny moments. At the same time, “The Shoe Squad” and Rob’s interactions and dialogues are a true masterpiece. And ode to friendship and loyalty in its maximum expression.
Book Info:
Publication: September 27, 2022 | Harlequin Special Edition | The Friendship Chronicles #3
An American in London Searching for True Love!
Newly promoted ex-pat Robin Johnson is ready to take London by storm!
Her career blossoming, Rob soon tumbles headlong into the local dating scene…with disastrous results. When she confides her misadventures to her coworker’s understanding brother, Craig, the last thing she expects is to find a lasting spark—with him! After so many false starts, can Rob find it in her heart to give Craig the chance that he deserves?
