‘Oh, hasn’t he grown?’ – legit the most funniest sentence ever….in context though, clearly! That line had me proper laughing out loud, the timing could not have been better if it tried. Out of context though, that sentence is pretty meh – just trust me on this, ok?!

It’s been a while since I last settled down with a Mary Jayne Baker book, and I have to say that I had really missed reading this authors books. MJB has a mind like a sailor and the humour of Rik Mayall and Michael McIntyre, entwined with her own uniqueness, how could I NOT miss that?!

Now, MJB has a brilliant sense of humour, however after i had read multiple chapters of this book, it dawned on me that MJB’s usual persona wasnt shining through. It felt like she had been told off, put on the naughty step, coming back as good as gold without her usual ‘I’m gonna break out my inner Xtina and get Dirrrrrty’. For me, it felt as though something was holding her back and that’s not the style of MJB I adore.

That said, once the storyline hit the whole love triangle with Robyn, Will and Ash, as well as the Never Have I Ever Club, MJB’s on point, laugh out loud, innuendo filled, sarcastic humour came shining through! I’m sure I even saw little cherubs fly through the air singing ‘Hallelujah’!

Robyn is definitely a marmite character….marmite in the sense that you’re undecided whether you are going to through the jar at her or not. It was abundantly clear that she adored Fliss. It was also abundantly clear that she had no idea what she wanted. Robyn had a nice enough personality, yet her self centred personality really irked me. Will, on the other hand, was an absolute gentleman and so funny! Okay, his martyr moments gave my eyes a bit of excercise, and I wished he would just deck his brother already, but, apart from that, hes a good egg.

The Eurovision element to the storyline was brilliant. It actually made the song contest seem quite fun! Definitely something different to come across, but it really enjoyed it as it just fit with all of the colourful personalities of the characters. I say colourful……rainbows and fireworks. Together. At the same time….

‘The Never Have I Ever Club’ is a humbling, laugh out loud read which, despite starting off on the wrong foot, ended on douze points. With serious and lighthearted situations blending well together, it was the strength of belief and hope which gave this storyline its shining glory. Oh….and the wonder of twins having the same size package or not….

This was a fun read , great characters, funny and romantic story, lots of angst. It’s such a great distraction at the moment when we need some light relief and this book definitely delivers. I absolutely adored Robyn, she was fantastic, a great summer read.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

This story is full of charm and humour, which engages you from the first page. Robyn and Will are both likeable protagonists, and you want their attraction to mean something good. Ash is harder to empathise his callous treatment of Robyn is hard to forget. Freya and Eliot are notable characters too.

The story's multigenerational aspect provides lots of laughs and some poignant moments. It adds authenticity, depth and variety to the story, which is much more than a romance.

I received a copy of this book from Aria via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC of this LOVELY story. Not only was it just what I was in the mood to read right now, but the story completely sucked me in and I enjoyed every moment. First off, as an American, I really had a good smile with some of the British colloquialisms throughout the story. Secondly, I just really loved the premise.

Here’s the cliff notes (without spoilers). Robyn Bloom recently had her heart broken when her boyfriend decided to fly to Australia and start dating a much younger girlfriend. While she has found herself in somewhat of a rut, she has the idea to start a club in her village: The Never Have I Ever Club. Ultimately the point is to make it so the members complete the bucket list items they’ve always put off with the support of the club and its other members. Additionally, Robyn has to work through her changing romantic feelings and determining how she wants to spend her life. It was sweet and fun and I enjoyed it from the first page to the last. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This lovely book releases TOMORROW. Add it to your TBR list now so you don’t forget to read it! :)

Robyn Bloom thought Ash Barnes was the love of her life – until one day he announced he was leaving her to fly halfway across the world.

Months later, Robyn is struggling to move on – but then she has a brainwave: The Never Have I Ever Club. Her handsome next-door neighbour Will helps her bring their fellow Yorkshire villagers together for some carpe-diem-inspired fun.

From burlesque dancing to Swedish massages, everyone has plenty of bucket-list activities to try, but it doesn't take long for Robyn to realise what – or who – her heart truly desires: Will.

There's just one problem: he's Ash's twin brother.

Make that two problems: Ash is moving home... and he wants Robyn back.

A fun easy read with a great story and likeable characters.

This book was an entertaining read from start to finish, and gave me so many laughs that I appreciated and enjoyed. I would say this was a really solid rom-com, and although it wasn't necessarily anything new, I still really enjoyed it and it felt fresh all the same. The character growth felt realistic, and although I'm not a huge fan of the date my ex's brother trope, I still found myself rooting for the couple! All in all, a really fun, great read!

I recieved a free copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The Never Have I Ever Club is a great book.
Robyn's boyfriend Ash ditched her after dating for nearly a year and having known him most of her life. Then she has a health scare, now she is determined to live her life fully by starting a club that will help check off items on the town's bucket list. Helping her is Will, her next door neighbor, who just happens to be her childhood friend and the twin brother of her ex.
This book was really entertaining. I loved Robyn's carpe diem attitude and her not putting up with Ash's weak attempts at making amends when he returns from Australia. Will was also a fantastic character and so incredible sweet and perfect.
The supporting characters including Robyn's grand aunt, her friends, and the pensioners that joined her club. They story about the pomeranian was wonderful.
Highly recommend this book. 5 stars

I have mixed feelings about this book but overall found it to be a charming romcom. I love cute contemporary romance books that take place in small England towns. It’s definitely a fun read. While Will is definitely swoonworthy, I just had trouble getting over the fact that he is the twin brother of the main character’s ex that she recently had a bad breakup with. It just seemed a little weird and so it made the romance not as good for me. Maybe it’s just me. Nevertheless, overall I enjoyed the book and recommend it if you are looking for a cute romcom.

Oooooof. I requested this book because I really liked the writing style of the last Mary Jane Baker book I read, but I gotta be honest y'all. This book was too long with too little payout. I didn't feel ANY chemistry between Robyn and Will and that made it pretty much impossible to invest myself in the story or care about anything that happened and I just.. did not enjoy this one

I picked up The Never Have I Ever Club because I loved A Question of Us. Unfortunately, for me, it didn’t quite reach the same standards as that.

In this book, we have a love triangle. Namely one in which person A (Ash) has ditched person B (Robyn) to head to Australia where he has hooked up with someone ten years younger. Now person B lives next door to person C (Will), who happens to be person A’s identical twin. In this particular love triangle scenario, person B and C start to form a relationship, but meanwhile, person A has realised that he got it entirely wrong and now he’s coming back home to try win person B back.

Aside from the love triangle, there is also the plot of the eponymous Never Have I Ever club, a village-wide society set up so that every member can do something they have always wanted to. A collective bucket-list, you might say. (It’s also a plotline that doesn’t really go anywhere. You know how you expect an arc to conclude with something? This doesn’t. It sort of gets left behind.)

While I liked the characters and humour of this book, there was one glaring part that frustrated me no end.

There are probably a few aspects to it, really: Ash’s return and refusal to take no for an answer, Will’s sheer bloody-minded devotion to Ash, and Robyn’s passive acceptance of this.

Let’s start with the first. Ash returns home within about a third of the book, but it really doesn’t leave enough time for Will and Robyn to have believably developed something that might become a romance. Not to mention, he returns and almost immediately starts trying to win Robyn back, in a way that could be seen as pressuring her. Most definitely is at some points. Over and over again, she tells him ‘no’, but he just doesn’t accept it. Alright, so his arc takes him to the point where he does accept that ‘no’, but he’s ignored it so many times up until then, that I have no patience for it.

But more inexplicable than expecting me to sympathise with Ash, is the way Will is so insistent on being “loyal” to Ash. He even comments

He’s my brother. And my best mate. That means I have to be in his corner no matter how wrong he was.

Will, your brother unceremoniously dumped Robyn and broke her heart, and then buggered off to Australia to hook up with someone ten years his junior. You absolutely do not have to “be in his corner”. He sees a relationship with Robyn as somehow betraying Ash. He won’t even go out with his friends because Ash is not also invited (because for some reason, since Ash isn’t forgiven, Will is not allowed to spend time with his friends? I didn’t get it). I understand a certain level of loyalty, sure, but the level to which it was taken here was just baffling. There’s even a point where Will and Robyn confess feelings for one another and then both decide they cannot be together because of Ash.

Which brings me neatly to my next, interrelated, point. Robyn just passively accepts all this. Ash has zero claim on Robyn – less than zero, you might argue, given he broke her heart – and yet she never pushes back against the idea that Will would be betraying Ash. She is her own goddamn person! She doesn’t even call Will out on this idea! No, the reason they finally decide they can be together is because Ash gives them his permission.

I don’t even have words for how much all this frustrated me. I had to take multiple breaks just to breathe through the frustration. I wouldn’t have minded if there was some kind of analysis or takedown of the ideas (which, let’s be real, all lead back to the idea that women are somehow men’s property, that men have some sort of ownership over them). But there isn’t! And that’s the most annoying part.

All this aside, though, it was still a pretty cute and funny romance. I only wish I had liked it a lot more.

Robyn loved Ash and liked his twin Will until Ash blew off to Australia, leaving her bewildered. Was Ash the twin for her? Clearly not. But is Will? These two start off as friends, good friends, but as Robyn works though her issues by doing a bucket list with her friends, she realizes that perhaps she was with the wrong one all along. But then, as you might guess, Ash comes back and well, what will Robyn do? I know what I would do and you do too! The plot might seem a bit familiar but Baker has done a nice job with her characters. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is light, it's got some chuckles, and it's the sort of novel that's good for a beach, garden, or evening read.

A heartwarming and fun read that I found engrossing and enjoyable.
The plot is well crafted, the characters are fleshed out (I loved the aunt) and it made me laugh more than once.
I recommend it.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I love the idea of a “never have I ever club”. Such a fun way for people to get together and try new things. I like MJB”s writing style, which pulls you into the story and makes you feel like you’re hanging out with mates. I did find Will”s selflessness a little hard to take at certain points and wanted him to not be such a pushover when it came it Ash and pursuing his feelings for Robyn. I get that it was tricky because Ash was his brother but I kind of still wanted him to try and actively “win” the girl. I did ultimately root for Will though and thought he and Robyn were sweet and well suited. Lots of humorous situations with the club and a great mix of supporting characters made this a really fun read.

A highly enjoyable chick lit read! Robyn Bloom is still attempting to get over her ex, who left her for Australia...and a woman 1o years her junior. Part of the problem is that her ex's identical twin lives right next door. As Will and her adjust to their new tentative friendship, she recruits him and a few other friends to start a Never Have I Ever club for their community. They'll tackle a variety of bucket list items together with the other members, often older, who sign up.

All is well until Robyn's ex dashes back into their life unexpectedly. He wants to win her back...and is using his brother to help. All would be well and good except Will and Robyn have started to realize they might just see each other as more than just friends.

This is a sweet rom com with one of my favorite tropes - friends to lovers. I thought the added element of identical twins and navigating the brotherly relationship made it stand out! I highly recommend this to anyone who loves this genre!

Absolutely of the moment contemporary romance set in a small rural town, with two main characters you come to care about and want to find the happy ending they have earned.
Witty, humorous and with real challenges.

Double the Eurovision fun in this amazingly funny and heartfelt read. The love stories in this book are glorious and emotional, complicated and beautifully woven together. I loved all of the characters but The Brig and Will stole my little Yorkshire heart. I loved it from start to finish. I really hope there is a sequel, I would love to read more of the characters

Review
“Adventures are for the living”
The Never Have I Ever Club takes place in a beautiful little town in Yorkshire, with twins brothers and a girl who is the perfect girl for both of them.
This story takes place when a girl was dumped for a boy who she taught she will settle down and her wish to get over it.
Robyn Bloom is a girl who lives in a town where everyone knows each other. She is smart, beautiful and works in a museum with her grand auntie.
She has two friends with whom has this great friendship, that no matter what they going to have her back.
When all this happen and Will invited her to a service with some old friends, she realizes that she wants to help and support the wishes of the people.
You know that feeling that you are losing time, and you “wish” to do something, that kind of thing that “If I had done this” , well she decided that nobody in her town will say that.
The good
So, she founded “The never have I ever club” where people will say in public something that they want to accomplish.
For me was something that I want to do every day, why you must wait until was too late to be doing what you really want.
I like the development of Robyn that started out as someone who thought life was leaving her and then she was organizing massages in group, nude drawings, and sailboat.
That get me since the beginning, that and the friendship between her and Freya, Eliot and Will. You will want to be friends of them they are awesome.
Also, the love between brothers was something you do not want to miss, the loyalty and the support between Ash and Will is something that I like a lot in the book.
I fancy the descriptions of the places of the town, Mary Jayne is thorough is meticulous with the details and with the conversations. You will never get lost and she does not contradict in herself in the story.
I something about the complexity of the relationships, it was cool to read something that you would like to have either in you love life and friendships.
Something that was stuck in my mind after the book finish was that you must live your life, seize the day, follow your dreams you never know what is going to happen.
The bad.
The use of a lot of own words of the country, I know that the books is from England, but I did not know the meaning of some words. Or the fact that they cut words and I had to guess which was the meaning.
I am Spanish speaking, so that was the only thing that I did not like. I think that you do not have to cut every word.
Conclusion
You will enjoy this book; I gave it three stars because is a story that you see a lot but with something so sweet as the brotherhood and friendship.
Is a book that you finish in a few days and you want to recommend to your friends.

DNF at 15%. I usually try to make it to at least 20% before I stop, but it has taken me hours to read this much. I'm just so bored. These characters have no personality. There's also one who keep calling another a poor cow.... why!?!?!

This just wasn’t for me. Within the first few chapters I knew that this book wasn’t what I would like to read. I read about 30% before I gave up. I was just so bored, the writing style wasn’t great, and I couldn’t connect to the characters. The pacing was so slow. I don’t plan on ever giving this one another go.

Chick lit at its finest. I thoroughly enjoyed this book! While I love the warm fuzzies that chick lit gives me, I'm often a bit disappointed in the character development or storyline, but this book did not disappoint.

I loved the main character Robyn, she was not the usual damsel in distress that we find in this genre. She was an independent woman and overall quite relatable. Ash and Will were great characters as well, I mean who hasn't dated an Ash, and who hasn't wished for a Will?!

I also enjoyed the British, small town setting. It added a warmth to the characters and made the story a bit more believable. It also gave me the chance to imagine the characters with a British accent.

4.5/5 - I'm minusing half for predictability and the fact that the narration switched between characters a little too seamlessly.

Thank you to Aria and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC free of charge, in exchange for an honest review.