Title: The Last Romeo

Author: Justin Myers

Genre: Fiction, Romance

Publisher: Piatkus, Little Brown.

Summary: from Goodreads

James is 34 and fed up. His six-year relationship with Adam has imploded, he hates his job making up celebrity gossip, and his best friend Bella has just announced she’s moving to Russia.

Adrift and single in loved-up London, James needs to break out of his lonely, drunken comfort zone. Encouraged by Bella, he throws himself headlong into online dating, blogging each encounter anonymously as the mysterious Romeo.

After meeting a succession of hot/weird/gross men, James has fans and the validation he’s always craved. But when his wild night with a closeted Olympian goes viral and sends his Twitter-fame through the roof, James realises maybe, in the search for happy-ever-after, some things are better left un-shared. Seriously, wherefore art thou Romeo . . .

From Justin Myers, author of sensational blog The Guyliner, this razor-sharp and cringingly candid account of one man’s quest for The One is as sad, fearless and funny as dating itself.

Review:

I read a lot of dark, gritty thrillers and a lot of sad and/or serious books so sometimes it’s really nice to read something a little lighter in nature. I immediately liked the idea of The Last Romeo and although the blog or diary being used as a plot device is not a new idea I though this story still felt quite original and fun.

I liked James, our main character, a lot and I enjoyed rooting for him throughout the story. His voice is really witty and normal enough that he felt easy to relate to. It was entertaining reading about the varied and often quite strange men that James goes on dates with and who provide fodder for his blog, they made for amusing anecdotes. However, I found his relationships with his friends and the people in his life even more interesting. I found them funny and the friendships felt realistic and full of shared history. The fact that despite living in a huge, fast moving city like London and having his close friendships, James does often feel lonely or slightly overlooked throughout the book rang really true. I definitely think that people do often feel most alone when surrounded by other people and this idea of how hard it sometimes is to be alone brought a real sense of emotion and depth to the story. There was also some really fascinating questions raised about the validity and merit of online relationships when compared to real life ones which feels like a very current and compelling issue.

Overall I really enjoyed The Last Romeo, it was an easy read in the best way possible. If you’re looking for a fun and witty read with a heart then The Last Romeo is an excellent choice.

The Last Romeo is out 31st May 2018

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I received an e-arc of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.