The Hallmark Channel is great at creating quaint little worlds where truly decent people end up finding love together, and Blind Date Book Club is no exception. The film is hygge come to life thanks to it’s setting, an independent bookstore in Nantucket (can you even think of anything more cozy?), and even though you know how this story will end, it’s still a delightful way to spend two hours.
Opening Shot: A bookstore owner named Meg (Erin Krakow) wraps books in brown paper, getting ready to drop them off at the bookstore she owns on Nantucket. The books are part of the “Blind Date With A Book Club” she’s created, where readers buy the books Meg has wrapped without the shoppers knowing what they are, and come together to discuss them each week.
The Gist: Meg’s book club has become such a success that when she’s interviewed about it on NPR, an author named Graham Sterling (Robert Buckley) hears her speak and is intrigued by the concept. Graham is a successful young adult novelist yearning to write the Great American Novel. He thinks he has, but his publisher is hesitant to publish a book that’s not part of his successful teen franchise.
Graham travels to Nantucket to try and get Meg to make his new novel a part of her book club, doing so under a fake name, Dylan Turner, so she won’t know he’s THE famous and successful author Graham Sterling. She charitably reads his book, not knowing his real identity, and gives him harsh notes on it. He comes clean and reveals his actual identity, and she suggests that she include his book in the book club so the club members can give him their own notes on whether the book needs work, without anyone knowing that he’s actually the real author.
Unlike most Hallmark movies, Graham and Meg get together before the end (spoiler!), because why not? They’re good looking and make a good couple. But conflict arises for a couple reasons. One, Meg’s Aunt Renee, who invests in the bookstore, is pulling away from the business, and Meg is stressed about whether or not she wants to keep the full responsibility of the shop on herself, or if she wants to sell it. The second is that, at the book club meeting where the members are discussing Graham, a.k.a. Dylan’s book, the NPR interviewer, Raina, shows up somewhat unexpectedly. Over the course of the night, thanks to Raina’s probing, it’s revealed that Graham is the true author, and Meg gets called out for promoting the book because of her relationship with Graham, leading Raina and the club members disappointed and questioning her integrity. Meg impulsively tells them all she’s selling the bookstore, and kicks Graham out.
The separation doesn’t last long, and by the end, they’ve reunited, with both Graham and Meg realizing that their destiny was right in front of them all along. She gets joy from running the shop, while he needed to hear the harsh criticism of his new book to get the creative spark he was missing in order to finish the latest book in his teen series, which is his real pride and joy. The answers were right there in front of them this whole time.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? The film is reminiscent of Hallmark’s A Taste of Love, which also features a woman torn between her successful job in the city, or the cute family business she’s inheriting (and who happens to find love along the way).
Our Take: In my opinion, there are three kinds of Hallmark movies: the truly terrible ones that you can’t believe no one took a second script pass on, the ones that are the equivalent of comfort food on a screen which feature affable characters falling in love (usually under twinkle lights in a quaint little town), and the select few that are genuinely really well-written and exceed expectations thanks to a great script and at at least a couple breakout performances. Blind Date Book Club falls in the middle category, providing cozy comfort in a charming seaside setting, all while our two very nice protagonists slowly fall for each other.
This film is not reinventing the rom-com wheel, but it’s doing everything you want it to. The film’s actual plot is actually kind of like a meta commentary on Hallmark romances, if you think of it: a writer realizes he does his best work when he leans into the genre that made him so successful, and the end result is his best work yet. I wouldn’t say this is Hallmark’s best film, but they’re definitely leaning into their strengths, and the result is a movie that definitely exemplifies their brand of innocent, uplifting romance.
Parting Shot: “Maybe there’s something to this blind date book club after all,” Meg tells Graham after he unexpectedly shows up to her bookstore and professes his love for her. Then, of course, they kiss.
Performance Worth Watching: In some cases, movies like this have at least one breakout supporting actor with some great quips or who provide comic relief, but here, every character is simply just a nice, pleasant person. The chemistry between Meg and Graham though is definitely there, and the two likeable leads are the reason to watch.
Memorable Dialogue: “I always wanted to do something that mattered, I just didn’t realize I was already doing it,” Meg tells Graham after deciding to keep the bookstore.
Our Call: Blind Date Book Club is pleasantly pretty, sweetly optimistic, and generically romantic. Basically, the very epitome of why you watch a Hallmark movie. STREAM IT!
