A heartwarming romantic comedy. This isn’t’t my usual style of reading but this one really appealed to me and I am glad it did. I couldn’t put it down and read it in a day. Everyone needs their happy ever after

I know people have their favourite romance tropes, I have a favourite setting trope. I love a big city to small town move. I love books set in smaller towns, the feeling of community, local shops and beautiful scenery and peace, this is what this book provides. Fans of enemies to lovers, will love this story. I really loved that this story revolved around the art world, the more flashy parts of it and the sweet intimate, personal parts in the art world. I loved how the main character, Katherine had a goal that she was passionate about and that she went for it, I love how Kit runs a lovely causal art class from his home and cares about the success of his students. At times you want to shake both of these characters to see past their silly perspectives and stubbornness. But that is true human nature, we're constantly self-sabotaging our happiness. I really enjoyed this light, funny, warm story.

Accidentally In Love was heart-warming romcom that revolved around Katharine’s idea of her own art gallery and how her life changed in space of a week. It was about dream, life, struggle, friendship, family, love, and drama.

Writing was flowless, emotive and gripping from the beginning. It was written in first narrative from Katharine’s perspective in her fun and refreshing voice. Plot was interesting with real life situations and relatable characters. There were lot of emotions in the book. I laughed, worried, felt angry, smug, and sad along with characters.

It started with, Katharine’s life going downhill and fast. After quitting job when she didn’t got promotion she deserved, heartbroken on finding out she was not important to man she was with for 9 months, she left London and returns to her hometown, Sheffield, with a dream of opening her own art gallery. Last thing she needed was another man in her life. But then her dad set up surprise meeting with Kit- the famous, handsome and amazing local artist. Well, that didn’t turn out as good as any of them thought. Her father put two same kind of person in the same room, of course, it was going to push other away. It was interesting to see how their hate was going to turn into love and how Katharine’s idea of her own gallery was going to take shape.

Characters were great. I liked all side characters. Family dynamic was amazing. Adam was lovely, caring, wise, and supportive big brother. I loved how he helped Katharine even though his life was not smooth and shiny. I loved conversations between him and Katharine. Katharine’s dad was cool. I like how he set up her and Kit’s meeting and it was great to read his relationship with Fiona and his children. Fiona was quirky, fun, logical, and the best step-mom I read in books. Lainey, Katherine’s best friend, was great and supportive most of the time but I didn’t like how things changed with her upcoming wedding and Katharine’s move out of city and specially what happened between them just before climax.

Katharine was great throughout the book. She was 35 yrs old curator at art gallery. She was career oriented, passionate, caring, and compassionate person. I liked the way she quit her job and how she started working on opening her own art gallery within a week. She was more than capable but needed a boost from her friends and relatives and once she started working on it, she knew what she was doing and how she wanted it. Kit accused her of going after famous artists and big things but I don’t agree with him and I don’t think she needed to apologise for it. I agree she needed to give a chance to new artist but the way Kit was saying was wrong. What I loved more about her was she saw her faults, accepted it, and tried to make it right.

Kit was famous and talented local artist but he was rude. He had air of mystery and I was curious to know his story and why he stopped exhibiting his art in gallery but I didn’t like how he treated Katharine and making her feel less and low even after what had gone through. I’m glad he came around after some time and treated her right once they cleared their differences.

Romance was lovely. At first both couldn’t stand each other’s presence. They argued and fought, Kit belittling Katherine every time they met (I easily sided with Katharine), they didn’t see eye to eye and it created lot of drama and banter which was fun to read. Once they got over their differences and chatted without trying to prove something to other, things became sweet and lovely. Some scenes were adorable. It was sad to see how quickly things fell apart but I liked how Katharine handled things after that.

Climax was dramatic. I was expecting this surprising entry just when everything was going nice and smooth but not in such big way. Characters’ actions and reactions were dramatic but I liked how Katharine’s family supported her and how things turned out at the end.

Why 4 stars-

My small complaint is the actual romance started at around 60% of the book. The end was good but it felt rushed, so much was wrapped in last 5% of the book, I felt there should be more. One more chapter or an epilogue would have done the trick.

Overall, Accidentally In Love was lovely and emotive romance with hate-to-love arc, interesting characters, and entertaining banter.

Katharine loves photography. It never really took off enough to make it as a living so she settles on being a curate in an art gallery. It is her dream to one day own her own gallery but for now she will work for someone else rather than herself.

She is in an on/off relationship with a man who she hoped one day would be 'the one' and his feelings are made clear at a recent award ceremony.

She makes a massive life changing decision to move up north back home to follow her dreams.
We follow the ups and downs of her new adventure and the will they wont they of her new love interest.

The best line in the book is 'Pivot, Pivot, Pivot' which is from the best ever episode of friends and when I read it, I burst into laughter.

I loved this book, well deserved ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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