It Sounded Better in My Head by Nina Kenwood is a relatable and heartfelt coming-of-age story about navigating the messy emotions of adolescence. The protagonist grapples with changes in friendships, family dynamics, and romantic feelings, all while trying to figure out who she really is. Filled with humour and vulnerability, the book captures those awkward, uncertain moments that shape us. It’s a warm and genuine exploration of the ups and downs of growing up.

Loved this coming of age story. I enjoyed the struggles of skin related issues. This heartwarming story is great for teens. I would highly recommend any young females read it!

I know this review is very late but it seemed to have slipped through the cracks. When I read this I enjoyed it. I remember thinking oh how fun being so young and free. But if you were to ask me about it now, I have absolutely no memory. So if you want a fun little book to just read and enjoy in the moment, this one is for you. If you want something life changing that will stick with you forever, uh maybe not this one.

It's a coming of age story that's very real in the way it depicts teenage thoughts and teenage life. However, there were many times where I just felt like I'm too old to read books like this.

The book started off well but lost steam midway. Although I would not be picking it up again, it was a decent read nonetheless.

It started out pretty good and i was enjoying it alot, but after 40% it fell flat... I ended up disliking Natalie and her chemistry with Alex was wierd and awkward. Plus i found the parents akwward and too over the top.

A fun romcom with not much about it to be memorable after finishing it. I liked this book well enough but nothing really stuck out to me when I was finished.

I found this to be an enjoyable read, keeping me on my toes throughout. The storyline was written well and flowed seamlessly. I look forward to reading more by this author!

I thought this was super cute! Natalie was a great main character and I think a lot of people, including myself, would be able to relate to her. It was really sweet, down to earth and funny. The romance between Alex and Natalie was adorable as well as her friendship with Lucy and Zach. I highly recommend checking this one out!

Overall this was a fun listen (and I really enjoyed the narrator!), but there were still a lot of things that didn't fully work for me, so this rating feels fair.

I really liked that this book discussed bad acne and skin problems, and the impact that can have on teenagers as they're growing up, and how it continues to affect them long after. I never struggled with bad acne, just other skin issues, so it was an interesting perspective to read and hear, even though it was heartbreaking to see how much it impacted Natalie, and that she could never really escape it. I can't say anything about the authenticity of this part of the book, but it felt honest and real, and eye-opening in a sense too.

I was on board with Natalie and Alex at first, but then it both felt like it moved too fast and not at all. The build up was real cute, and I could see myself really enjoying the relationship, but at some point I sort of stopped seeing it, and the book never fully brought me back to enjoying it again. I feel like not enough time was really spent fixing the issues they had, since the book was quite short overall and there was a lot of other stuff going on at the same time.

I generally liked Natalie, though sometimes I got really frustrated with some of the things she said to people around her. A lot of it was fair (at least coming from her perspective), even if harsh at times, but it just went too far here and there without ever really backtracking. I wasn't too annoyed with this while listening, but overall I don't know if I actually liked Natalie, and I feel like a stronger resolution could've fixed this a bit more for me.

Overall I enjoyed my time with this book, though it doesn't feel super memorable as a whole. I might still try some more by this author, depending on the premise! The Australian perspective is always fun to see too, and a bit refreshing compared to most US-centric high school books out there.

Awkward like the age of the main characters so if you're into that kind of thing it's good. I have to be into the mood to read YA or the book has to be good enough to drag me in, unfortunately, neither of these things happened but I don't hold it against this book.

I actually couldn’t read this as the format on my kindle was appalling but I have purchased a copy now it’s available

I don't usually read Young Adult, but this one was really good. I enjoyed the adventure and roller coaster that this book took me on.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book! It wasn’t my favorite , and I’d prefer not to leave negative reviews online.

I definitely felt like I could relate to Natalie a lot with her insecurities and tendencies to google everything. It took me a while to warm to the story since it’s very different, I’d say it’s more realistic than romanticised which is I guess kind of refreshing to read but also the reason I didn’t instantly connect to it. I was a bit wary about her relationship with Alex since it seemed very rushed and not as developed as I would’ve liked. But he was a pretty sound love interest although I do really wish there had been more scenes between the two of them.

This was a good book. I think teens and readers in their 20's will relate to it more than me, but I would still recommend it.

I really truly enjoyed this book. I thought that Natalie was a completely relatable character. I liked how she was 18 but still in high school and waiting to hear back from colleges. Her inner monologue is what made her relatable though. Her best friends were dating each other, she was a late bloomer and she had anxiety and lacked self confidence. But as the reader, we got to see how she handled these and she wasn’t a “woo is me” type of protagonist.

I downloaded this at a time I wanted to read this, however years have passed now and I am not longer interested in reading this.

I had heard a lot of good reviews for this book so I was a bit disappointed with the the way it turned out. While I love the dating your best friends brother trope I felt that there wasn't a lot of time for them to really connect or that they had much in common especially with Natalie going to the party and her never really having a great time at them. Alex and Natalie connected more in the quiet times like when they were sharing a bed when they were staying at a house in the Hamptons for the weekend. I still really liked them as a couple I just they more times where they connected.

It’s hard to review It Sounded Better in My Head, because the reality is that not a lot happens in this book. That being said, I bloody loved it.

Main character Natalie gets a nasty surprise for Christmas when her parents announce that they are getting divorced (and that they’ve actually been separated for almost a year, even though Natalie had no idea).

Natalie isn’t quite sure what’s going to happen next. She’d been planning on living at home with them while attending university in Melbourne, but now her dad is moving out and her mum is planning to sell their childhood home. Natalie doesn’t know where that leaves her.

One thing she does know is that she’s rapidly developing feelings for her best friend Zach’s older brother, Alex. After attending a party with Alex he quickly becomes all she can think about. However, Alex is popular, charismatic and works in a pub. Meanwhile, Natalie’s an introvert who doesn’t drink and suffers with serious self-esteem issues (mainly thanks to the acne she’s been dealing with throughout her teenage years, caused by her polycystic ovarian syndrome).

Their relationship seems doomed before it’s even begun, but will Natalie take a chance on love or avoid the potential for heartbreak?

The main thing I loved about this book was how much I related to Natalie. I never suffered with acne, but I did suffer with constant spots and oily skin. I empathised with how she felt about herself due to her skin condition, and the lengths that she went to to protect herself from judgment.

Teenagers can be horrible – I distinctly remember getting soap thrown at me on my birthday as a ‘present’ – so I believed every moment of agony Natalie had experienced throughout high school, from strangers commenting on her skin to other teenagers screaming obscenities at her on public transport.

Yes, it made me revisit some terrible experiences in my life (a trip down memory lane that I probably could have done without!). But Natalie’s shrewd, hilarious commentary on her life made me find my memories less painful. This book would have helped me a lot if I’d read it as a teenager.

Hilarious really is the best word to describe this book. If a book is described as ‘funny’ I normally end up hating it, but It Sounded Better in My Head was exactly my kind of humour. Natalie quizzing Alex over his past sexual experiences was a particular highlight. I’m embarrassed to say that I did the exact same thing with my partner, but if you can ask the awkward questions at the beginning of your relationship it’s a good sign! I lost count of the amount of times I giggled at this book, and I properly cackled at least twice.

I also really liked the Australian setting, and it was a novelty to read a book set at Christmas which was filled with descriptions of trips to the beach and hot summer days!

The only reason I didn’t give this book five stars is because – as I said at the beginning of the review – not an awful lot happens. It’s extremely short, coming in at under 300 pages, and although I enjoyed the writing style and fell in love with Natalie’s character, I wanted more from it. There’s a lot of potential for a sequel following these characters into the future, and I hope Nina Kenwood decides to write it. Even if she doesn’t directly continue this story, she’s certainly an author that I’m going to be looking out for in the future, as she has a talent for writing authentic YA experiences.