Favorite Quotes:

…she looks like the poster child for corporate office perfection, whereas I’m sure I left the office looking like the love child of Beetlejuice and Alice Cooper.

‘Go easy on the old boy… He thought Kit would be right up your alley.’ ‘Let me be very clear... He’s not going anywhere near my alley.’

… there’s a teensy bit of smug satisfaction that comes from knowing he’s stuffed up so badly. Who am I kidding? The schadenfreude is a strawberry milkshake, and I’m so very thirsty.

‘Can I tell you a secret?’ He leans in and fixes me with such a look I’m certain he’s about to unload nuclear codes on me.

Everyone has those mornings where something simply doesn’t feel right… It’s more a charge in the air. That’s how I feel right now, life slipping off-kilter as I step into the bridal shop. A bell above the door tingles to alert the God of mischief that it’s time to suit up.

My Review:

I always enjoy delving into Belinda Missen's books as every one of them that I’ve had the pleasure of perusing as been lively, fun, cleverly amusing, and delightfully irreverent, and this one was no exception. And in addition to all that, it was also highly entertaining and thoughtfully perceptive. There was a brilliant and well-honed balance of humor, interpersonal conflict, family issues, witty banter, romance, personal loss, deep friendship, angst, and unabiding familial supportiveness. The storylines were teeming with uniquely flawed and oddly compelling characters full of unusual quirks that provided unexpected levity as well as additional creative story elements.

I smirked and snickered my way through this engaging tale and picked up a bit of artsy knowledge along the way as well as a new addition to my Brit Wordlist with lurgy, which Mr. Google told me is British slang for ‘A fictitious, highly infectious disease; often used in the phrase "the dreaded lurgi", sometimes as a reference to flu-like symptoms.’ I recall suffering several reoccurring bouts of lurgy in high school – an excellent cover story for my perpetual truancy.

This was a fairly pleasant read. It was predominantly about a woman at a cross roads with a little bit of romance of the chick-lit variety thrown in.

The majority of this book is Katharine changing priorities, jobs, residence and ditching one guy who can’t commit for another that has his own hangups. I found both relationships had a place in this book. It wasn’t as much of a hate to love as I expected, and as mentioned it wasn’t a true romance if that’s what you’re looking for. Nothing major happens till towards the end, and it’s quite minimal at that. The whole journey of it is why I can understand Mhairi’s name mentioned in the synopsis, but the similarities in the impact of it stop there.

Katharine has a great relationship with her family and brother, I found I wanted way more information about Adam and I can’t deny I felt a random spark between Adam and Lainey.

There was drama between Katharine and her best friend, which I felt was out of the blue for me and unnecessary. There was a miscommunication with Katharine and guy #2 that felt wrong, I would have preferred guy #1 to create jealousy or something before the point that they got together.

The writing was quite good, some great one liners, but the book felt all over the place at times and was hard to connect fully to. I would checkout this author again though.

(ARC kindly provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review).

Accidentally In Love by Belinda Missen is an adult contemporary romance where we see Katharine Patterson, who has recently quit her job and also broke up with her boyfriend. She decides to take a break and goes back to her home and stays with her father. She is an artist and wishes to open an Art Gallery in her own town. She meet Kit, who is an amazing artist and finds herself very intrigued by him as he is stubborn and not so caring person.
The story is quite good, but I felt there was a lot of unnecessary explanation in the story, which made the book very slow and boring. Overall it was an okay read for me and nothing quite exclusive.

Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous! Perfect book if you’re in need of a good read and a laugh! Thoroughly enjoyed it and loved the story, exactly the ending I would have chosen.

Katharine gets passed over in her fabulous art museum for a promotion....again. Spurt of the moment, she quits her fancy job, leaves her hum drum boyfriend and decides to open her own art gallery...at home.
When her dad intervenes and introduces her to the rudest artist- she is immediately put off. Until she realizes how talented Kit is.... If only he wasn’t such a ridiculous jerk!
Can she survive a gallery opening, be across the country from her best friend, lost her boyfriend and find romance in the midst of chaos?

This book ANNOYED me.

It had so many repetitive things which felt like parts taken from other books.

First of all, I HATED THE LOVE INTEREST. It brought in the "bad boy" thing who is soft on the inside and has a tragedy... ugh. Over it. And all the characters actually push her towards him even though HE'S AN ASS. The "if boys are rude to you, they like you" thing is BAD and needs to END.

Also, I really want to know if the author even researched into painting and spoke to actual painters. Painters don't simply whip up 5 paintings over a few weeks when asked for their work to showcase in an exhibition. Creative art doesn't work that way! You have to be inspired and in the mood. In the end, you may not like the result which is supposed to be showcased. This book had artists randomly whip up "gorgeous" paintings and... no.

The rivalry between the two leads was dragged on for way too long and ended abruptly. After they decided on a truce, they got close and spoke about tragic pasts IMMEDIATELY???? Like. IN A DAY. That relationship development was very weird and the pacing was totally off.

Also, both the characters were so bland and I didn't like them at all.

Let's not even talk about the issue with the best friend, OMG. I thought it would be to showcase how people grow apart and stuff but it was blown way out of proportion and ended well which I do not support.

Overall, not good.

Thank you Net Galley for a copy of this book. Wow! I adore this book and Belinda Missen is an author I will be reading more from. This is a hate to love romance that knocked my socks off. The banter, arguments, and dialog was beautiful. Love, love, love!

After quitting her job in a fit of righteous rage when an unqualified man is promoted instead of her to the position she’d earned, art curator Kate Patterson is in no mood to be set up with a grumpy artist who apparently is only interested in using her for her gallery connections. Especially since she’s pretty sure her sort-of-not-really-relationship with lawyer John has absolutely no future in it.

While there’s a solid romance in here, this honestly reads more like a coming-of-age story, except Kate is most definitely already of age at 35. What she’s doing is finally stepping up to exert control over her own life, rather than passively drifting along. She takes the bull by the horns not only with her career, but in her love life and with her family and even her friends… one of the most true-to-life parts of the book which really hit me hard was Kate’s realisation that friendships evolve and change with time and people who have been huge parts of our lives for a long time might not have the same role going forward. The hard truth which Kate has to accept is that despite thinking of herself as a thoroughly modern woman, she has in fact been something of a doormat, and it’s past time she got mad at the people who’ve been only too happy to wipe their feet on her.

Christopher was charming (once he got over his initial grumpiness) and some of the banter between him and Kate was genuinely hilarious. I did feel that the romance could have used a little more focus, particularly at the end of the story which felt a bit rushed. Four stars for an enjoyable read.

This was such a light and easy cute read!! Read this over a few days and it was a great escape! Following Kate taking a leap of faith and starting all over again to make a better life for herself was inspiring! I loved how witty moments were and how close she is to her family. Overall a perfect light read!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

I thought Accidentally in Love was overall very very cute. I love books set in the UK and I loved the duality of London and Sheffield. Kate is such a sweet character and I found myself rooting for her constantly. She felt incredibly relatable to me and I really liked her narrative.

I found myself a bit perplexed at her quickly forming relationship with Kit because from where I was sitting, there was no chemistry at all until the very end but I was nevertheless very pleased for her. I was also a bit confused when people would just... accuse her of being selfish etc. when I thought she cared quite a lot about other people, she just also cared about herself. Which was a huge plus point in my book.

Besides the romance, the family dynamics and Kate's passion for art made this book very enjoyable for me. And the way she took a leap with her life and escaped some toxic situations was honestly amazingly done.

Definitely recommend this book!

This book was a super cute read. I love how the MC really just took a leap of faith and risked a whole new beginning to create herself a better life. There was also lots of witty banter, lovely moments of family closeness and truth being spoken.

Katherine Patterson is in a tough spot. Not only has she quit her job, but she also broke up with a boyfriend she had hoped to have a future with and moved back home with her dad.

But Katherine is not to be deterred. As an art curator by profession, she has decided she wants to start a gallery in her home town. It seems like a great idea until reality hits and bills start coming in, her ex won't leave her alone, her best friend is acting selfishly, and her dad has tried to set her up with a rather rude art teacher/friend.

Overall a really cute story. As with many romance novels, I feel that there's a lot of trash that can be left out and it would end up leaving us with a much more enjoyable story. Language, steamy scenes. One of my biggest complaints though- I wanted more of the ultimate love connection at the end. I feel like we were left without the best bits!

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Title: Great story about someone independent and strong!

Content:
This novel was slow but picked up speed in the second half. It is a funny novel with witty remarks from both parties. A great fun novel to read.

I wrote this voluntary review in exchange for an ARC copy.

-- Read this review, and others, on my blog at www.hookedbythatbook.com --

Katherine is excellent at her job, but she works for a male-dominated art gallery, and when she is overlooked for a promotion, she decides to quit instead. She moves back home, where her family is only too happy to welcome her back. In a very spontaneous move, she rents a building, starts renovations, and commences the process of opening her very own art gallery. Wooing the local famous artist to headline her opening turned out to be not quite such an easy feat. Kit is hiding from the world, and his prickly side was on display when he met Katherine for the first time.

I loved Katherine and her amazing self-confidence. She displayed an immense amount of courage with all her decisions, and she rarely second-guessed herself. Kit wasn’t easy to warm up to, and I’m not sure that I ever did.

Usually, with books like these, I can’t wait for the two main characters to meet, so the fireworks can begin. But with this book, Katherine was just such a force all by herself, that I didn’t have the same anticipation for the usual meet-cute. I was invested enough in her efforts to start her own gallery. And throughout, it really wouldn’t have bothered me at all if she and Kit never fell in love. Their interactions were interesting, but just not engaging enough for me.

Thank you to HQ Digital and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I am such a fan of Belinda MIssen and her novels never fail to make me feel all cosy and warm inside. Her books are the perfect choice for anyone who loves a good light-hearted romance story with gorgeous characters and a bit of humour.
I’m sure there’s a saying that once you stop looking for love, it finds you. Is this the case for Katharine? She has a new life plan that does not involve love or men, so when she unexpectedly meets the potential love of her life what does she chose?
The whole plot just flowed, and the pages almost turn themselves. Some romance novels always have a slightly unrealistic feel to them but everything in Accidentally in Love is relatable and perfectly believable. Lots of humorous moments and ‘real life’ situations sucked me completely into the story and made me feel like part of Katharine’s journey.
What I loved the most was the banter between Katharine and Kit as they navigated their way through being to stubborn to make the first move. Despite them having an ‘enemies’ thing going on, the chemistry is there immediately, and I spent the whole novel just waiting for the will they/won’t they conclusion and I couldn’t stop until I had an answer.
Spend a few hours with Katharine and Kit and I promise you won’t be disappointed.

I did enjoy this, I loved the characters, very raw and real characters, full of issues and messy problems, they are the thing I enjoyed the most in this story, however I just found it quite slow and unfortunately it got so slow at points I struggled to remain interested. I didn’t like the usual drama cased by no communication between characters, it bugs me in romance when that is used it’s frustrating and irritates me as a reader. Overall it was an ok read, nice but not one I will return to

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

I adored this. It was exactly what I needed in the moment that I read it. Such an easy read with likeable characters. Really made me smile.

I thoroughly enjoyed this humorous novel. It isn't exactly a romantic comedy as there is lots of focus on Katherine taking control of her life. In many ways, the romance takes second billing to the dynamic of family and friends. The dramatic segments of the story portray the difficulties in becoming an adult, no matter your age.

The banter between Katherine, her brother, father, step-mother, and best friend make this book a winner. Several of these conversations are laugh-out-loud funny.

As I said, the romance is there but not my main takeaway from the story. Kit provides the romance, while John becomes the antagonist. However, in my opinion, brother Adam is the real hero in this story. It's rare, but refreshing, to have a brother support his sister to such a degree.

The story build-up was slow to start but picked up nicely in the second half of the book. The characters and situations were completely believable.

I recommend Accidentally in Love to readers of contemporary fiction and happily-ever-after romances with lots of humor.

I received an advance review copy of the book. The above is my honest, unbiased opinion.

Accidentally in Love was a nice break from my usual romance books. If you follow me on Twitter you know that I often joke about the predictability of romance but I actually felt like this book was a breath of fresh air from that. While it did hit some standard plot points that almost all romances follow, the naked realness of the characters was something I wasn’t expecting and it was ultimately my favorite part of this experience.

The people in this book were emotional and messy, but that’s what made them so relatable. I had no trouble putting myself in any/all of the character’s shoes to understand their actions. The plot flowed seamlessly and at no point did I feel like an arc was silly or contrived. I will admit that the ending seemed a bit rushed and unexpected but everything leading up to it was magical.

If you’re looking for a quick, cute, and realistic read, definitely give this book a try. I read it in 24 hours and I’m hoping this turns into a series of interconnected standalone novels because I don’t think I’m quite ready to let these characters go.

Accidentally in Love by Belinda Missen is a a cute and heartwarming story about Katie, a hardworking young woman who has recently quit her job and decided to open a gallery. A large focus of the first half of the story is on Katie developing herself as a person, which allowed me to feel connected with her character. The romantic aspect of this novel developed in the latter half of the book. It was a really slow build for me, though I loved the romance once it began. The ending of the story was a little abrupt, and I would have loved to spend a little more time with the characters. This was the first book I’ve read by Belinda Missen, and I’ll definitely be checking out her other work.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this title in exchange for an honest review.