The Launch Date: A Novel

· HarperCollins
4.5
2 reviews
Ebook
416
Pages
Eligible
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About this ebook

What if the secret to finding true love on a dating app was meeting them IRL first?

In this witty and fun rom-com debut from Annabelle Slator, rival coworkers become reluctant daters after they're forced to work together on a brand-new dating app in hopes of winning a promotion—perfect for fans of Sally Thorne’s The Hating Game.

Grace Hastings’s dream job at the popular “true love” dating app, Fate, has turned into a nightmare. Her boss is a leech, her career is stagnating, and her fiancé has just brutally dumped her. Her hope for finding her own love story is waning, and she feels like a fraud for promoting a concept she no longer believes in. When the company’s CEO offers her an opportunity to earn a big promotion, she resolves to fight her imposter syndrome to show she deserves a seat at the table.

The opportunity? To launch a brand-new app focusing on IRL dating and genuine connection.

The problem? She must develop and test-drive a series of “first dates” with the other person gunning for the job: notorious socialite playboy and Grace’s biggest work rival, Eric Bancroft.

During their disastrous hikes, dangerous cooking classes, and steamy yoga sessions, they begin to realize their stark differences may just be surface level and Eric might just be the perfect person to challenge Grace’s perceptions of love, dating culture, and self-worth.

Ratings and reviews

4.5
2 reviews
Max Hauger
February 25, 2025
Very enjoyable story that's about Grace whose personal life is in shambles after her fiancé dumped her who must launch and test a dating site to win a promotion. Her rival Eric a playboy coworker is also gunning for the same promotion. To test the app they go on dates. What occurs is an entertaining story by a new author, it made me chuckle and swoon in this well written story. Our characters were likable, and their banter, chemistry and romantic encounters were a delight to read. ARC
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About the author

Annabelle Slator grew up writing stories in the depths of the British countryside. After achieving a degree in creative writing, she spent most of her late teens and early twenties writing social media and blog posts for start-ups and tech companies in London. Nowadays, if she isn’t spending time writing, you can almost always find her obsessing over niche internet drama, practicing her fencing parry or mooching around vintage fairs and flea markets with her husband and two mini dachshunds, Gruffalo and Gryffin.

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