Reviewed by Ro
TITLE: The App Trap
AUTHOR: Dal Calley
PUBLISHER: PP3 Publishing
LENGTH: 212 pages
RELEASE DATE: September 29, 2025
BLURB:
When Danny’s mother is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, he finds himself in a race against time to fulfil her wish for him… to find a soul mate.
Danny’s quest for love soon steers him into unfamiliar territory, and before long he’s introduced to a powerful new
Online dating.
But has he taken a wrong turn? Because neither serial dater Harry, nor fetish scene enthusiast Ben, seem like the type one brings home to mother, and time is quickly running out.
Will Danny find the love of his life, or is his chance of meeting the perfect man slipping away one date at a time?
The App Trap is a bittersweet journey into the world of the London dating circuit. You will laugh, you will cry, and you may never swipe again.
REVIEW:
Danny is a 29-year-old man who lives with his mother, mainly because renting by yourself in London is nearly impossible, and he doesn’t “…want to move in with five strangers from the opposite hemisphere…” just to be able to say he doesn’t live with his mom. Plus, he really likes his mom. Also, he isn’t the only son living with mom at 31 Mimosa Street. His older brother, Finn, is getting divorced so is also moving back. Luckily, for them and for us, Finn and Danny have a great relationship with their mom, and with each other.
Danny is a technophobe and doesn’t even have a smartphone. Finn, on the other hand, is a techie and immediately upgrades the internet and then is caught by Danny with his pants down and chat sites open. It’s a funny scene! So is the realtor scene (I won’t spoil it, but it made me laugh).
Amidst this, however, is the reason for the story – their mom has cancer. “I’ve only gone and got myself a touch of the old cancer, haven’t I?” And having a husband who went through cancer and treatment (successfully, I’m grateful to say), I totally got Danny’s attitude. “This was my mother’s life being threatened by an absolute arse-crack of a disease that had no business poking around in my mother’s breast…”. That is such an on-point description of cancer. So be aware, even as it’s mentioned in the blurb, that this is a really funny comedy with a serious, difficult understory. Mom wants Danny to find someone, a real someone he can spend a life with. This is where the dating apps, and the ridiculousness, come in. He wants to make his mama happy, so he’s going to make a serious effort to find a man.
I don’t want to spoil the dates because there are some supremely funny moments (Ben describing his dating strategy: “look, I triple up my with my dates sometimes.” His record? Eight. And his description of how it’s done made me laugh.
There is a warning in the beginning, there isn’t just the Danny and the love of his life for much of the book. There are scenes with others, so if that’s a deal breaker, know in advance. Also, you can’t forget that cancer is a character here, and among the sweet and the funny, there is bittersweet and heartbreaking. Harry meeting Danny’s mom nearly undid me.
RATING: 
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