Married at First Swipe by Claire Frost

 

The fabulous Claire Frost is back with a new modern light read this year that is shouting out to fans of the well known T.V show Married at First Sight.

It is my stop on her blog tour for Married at First Swipe so let me share with you my thoughts on Claire's second novel to see if it is one that you will be adding to your shopping basket.

Hannah lives life on the edge. Never one to pass up on a new adventure, she has truly been living her best life. But once the adrenaline wears off, she wishes she had someone to spend the quieter moments with too. Learning that her best friend’s online dating business has taken a hit, she comes up with an idea that just might solve both of their problems...
 
Jess has been with her husband for twenty years. They have a stable marriage, great kids and run their own businesses. But what looks like a perfect life from the outside has its own problems within, and with her business on the brink Jess can’t help but wonder where the spark has gone in her life, and whether settling down is all it’s cracked up to be.
 
When Hannah embarks upon her latest scheme: finding a man using Jess’s dating app and meeting him for the first time at the altar, both women start to realise the grass isn't always greener. Can Hannah help her friend save her failing business or will Jess stop her from making what could be the biggest mistake of her life?
 
In the modern tech-fuelled world of dating, is it possible to find true love? 

I only become introduced to the T.V series Married at First Sight this year and I have been amazed that these people have chosen this route to finding their life partner and I have become addicted to the series so when author Claire Frost’s second novel was announced with the title Married at First Swipe I was excited to see how she was going to take this bizarre way of uniting characters into her storyline.

Hannah has always looked at both her G-ma and Grandad’s relationship and her best friends Jess and Tom as the ultimate romance goal but with all her constant itchy feet taking her on numerous travels around the world, she is yet to find love.

Deciding it is time to put down roots at home now Hannah begins working with her best friend Jess on her dating app but the business is struggling and putting unbelievable pressure on Jess and her relationship. Hannah is keen to help her best friend and prompts Jess to find her a husband who she will marry on her first date!

This is a pacy light read to kick off the new year. Hannah and Jess are the best of friends and this comes across well with both of the characters being there for each other in times of need. The author shines the light on the real struggles that couples face within their relationships and the importance of communication and compromise to make a marriage work.

I was absorbed into the build up of the selection process of picking the right man for Hannah and I enjoyed reading the couple of letters that they exchanged on the blog in their first communication between each other it gave us a small insight into Toby’s character but I do wish that we could have actually seen the “interviews” that Jess held with her family looming in the back ground.

 I also feel that after the build up to the big day the excitement blooming and the moment of finally meeting in touching distance that the wedding and first introduction of each other was skimmed over and I would have loved to have known more about the thoughts and feelings at that moment when they first set eyes on each other and been a part of the actual wedding and to be with them on the honeymoon as they begin to get to know each other.

I think I found myself more invested in Jess’s story, an entrepreneur, wife and mother of twins trying to light the candle at both ends. I loved her husband Tom and although at times I wanted to shake him and get him to pull his weight he was forgiven when he offloaded his feelings later in the novel.

I loved the way the chapters alternated between both Jess and Hannah it allowed us to get to know each of the women on a better level and where Hannah saw everything rose tinted Jess revealed that things are never as rosy as they seem. I also appreciate that the author chose to make the start of Hannah and Toby’s marriage more realistic rather than glitter and rainbows showing the awkwardness of being thrown close to someone you know absolutely nothing about and figuring out the logistics of how this new relationship will work.

This was a modern, light, easy read that many will enjoy.

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