Erin Hahn is an auto-buy author for me. She weaves music so effortlessly in her stories and does great work with dual perspectives. Never Saw You Coming, is no different. Taking a side character from her sophomore novel More Than Maybe, Hahn shines a light on homeschooled, religious, and extremely sheltered Meg as her life implodes.

Whenever you have a book looking at religion, good or bad, it definitely alienates readers. Most YA stories I've read centered on religion look at the negative connotations—show the kids all the bad to make them want to rebel. This book is all about questioning. When Meg learns the man who raised her is not her biological father and that her real dad died before she was born, she feels as if her whole life is a lie. She flees to north to meet her paternal grandmother, uncle, and truly find herself now that she is out from under her ultra conservative parents. She also meets Micah—the local boy going through his own identity crisis after being shunned by his church when his pastor father is sent to jail. They both feel betrayed by the beliefs they were raised with and now, with help from each other, must discover what it is they actually believe—something that will evolve and change throughout their life.

Meg and Micah as a couple were such a delight. They were incredibly supportive, sweet, and patient with one another. While the religious aspects—love, forgiveness, hypocrisy, faith— won't be for everyone, I do think this is an important read that will incite great conversations

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Meg is 18 years old and grew up having her life carefully planned under the eyes of her church, until her life combusted and she feels her whole life has been a lie. She decides to head up to meet the family she never knew existed. She is a good girl to the point when she runs away she lets her mom know where she’s going so she doesn’t worry.
.
One of the first people she meets is 19 year old Micah who is also battling with his demons over the Church. His dad is in jail, but also the former pastor.
.
This book is…complicated. It deals with the complicated relationships they felt with their church, their religion, following church rule to a T and what happens when they felt the church turned against them. One thing that remained true is their love for each other, their families and God. This is a true coming of age story as they find themselves as individuals, a couple, their place in their families and their place in the church. All it takes is a leap of faith.

Never Saw You Coming by Erin Hahn is a YA novel following Meg, an 18-year girl who discovers her life isn't what she thinks. She discovers her father is not her biological father and soon he leaves their family, leaving their family in pieces with divorce papers. Even more heartbreaking is her biological father tragically died in a car accident. However her biological grandmother and uncle are still alive, which leads to Meg reaching out and discovering the other side of her family. Along the way she meets Micah, a boy struggling after his father's scandalous behavior breaks his family and the betrayal from one of his mentors. Micah and Meg grow closer, bonding through their difficult situations and creating a friendship in the process.

First off, this cover is absolutely adorable! However behind the sweet cover is a much deeper novel with some heartbreaking backstories. Meg is intelligent, sweet, but sheltered in the beginning of the novel. It is fantastic to see her grow in her journey and start taking some risks to enjoy her life. Micah was just as sweet, supporting Meg through her difficulties and listening to her throughout. It was lovely to see their friendship develop that eventually grew to romance filled with heart and compassion.

The book tackled a variety of topics including religion, bad actors in the church, homophobia, and how that intersects with coming of age. At times it became very religious including some aspects of theology which may be distracting or interesting depending on the audience.

Overall I recommend this book for those looking for a sweet YA novel with a friends to "lovers" romance with some conversation on Christianity.

Many thanks to the publisher St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books and Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

Eein Hahn has a way with words and in this third book of hers, she captured another amazing experience of a ten church girl growing up.

Love all the Vada and Luke cameos.

I need a finished copy of this in my life.

I was hesitant to start my ARC of Never Saw You Coming by Erin Hahn after hearing a few not-outstanding reviews from other early readers. Once I started the book, though, I couldn't put it down! This YA story starts with Meg, the main character, leaving home after she finds out, at age eighteen, that the man who raised her was not her biological father. She questions her entire upbringing, including her faith, the core of her identity. Her path toward self-discovery is bumpy, and my heart felt each of her ups and downs as if it were my own journey. As someone who didn't grow up with a church-based faith, I learned a lot through Meg's growth over the course of the book. I especially loved the small details, like the music that's referenced, just like in the author's previous book, More Than Maybe. Meg was a side character in that book, and it's not necessary to read it before this one but I listened to it last week. If you're a music fan, that one is also recommended - and the narration of the audiobook is fantastic.

Thanks to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion, and thanks to @lovearctually for the group chat, even if it made me nervous to start it! The book is available as of today

Never Saw You Coming provides a real look at the hypocrisy of religion especially towards women and LBGTQA community. It is heavily landled with the words of the church and their beliefs to a righteous life. I would not typically pick-up a novel with such heavy religious themes, but the leap of faith this book took was so profound I could not stop reading.

The story of Meg and Micah, one who has lived the ways of the lord and the other who's world was destroyed in the church, intersect at time when both need each other to move forward. Together, we witness their growth into adulthood and love for one another.

The author's note is poignant, as Hahn describes her own feelings and upbringing in the church. Her description suits this book - alternative christian fiction.

Thank you Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy.

I thought this was a great YA story and an important read. Seeing Meg and Micah struggling not so much with their faith but with the church felt a lot more honest than most Christian fiction, which I liked. I really loved Meg and Micah, their romance was cute, and I read the book in less than 24 hours. There were two things that kept this from being a 5 star read for me: 1. Although the perspective changed from chapter to chapter, I didn't think the narrative voice really changed accordingly. 2. At times, it felt like I was missing some backstory, especially with respect to Meg.

While I enjoyed this book, I don't think it's being marketed correctly. I'm already seeing reviews from readers being turned off by the church talk, which is fair, because the synopsis doesn't make it clear that faith is a big part of this story. I also would recommend parents read this before giving it to their teen, because the profanity and sexual content were more than I'm used to with YA and might not be appropriate for younger readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book!

A heartfelt and unique coming of age story about a sheltered Christian girl and a struggling preacher’s kid finding comfort in each other after the fallout of tragedy and the disillusionment of both their faiths. As a fellow church kid myself, this book resonated with me on a very personal level. A powerful story of forgiveness, overcoming judgment, and finding yourself.

After discovering the truth about her father, Meg travels across the country to meet her long lost family, while dealing with her parents divorce and the questions she now faces with her faith. In the midst of so much change, Meg meets the grumpy and genuine Micah, who might be able to empathize with her struggles.

I love that, not only did a traditional publishing company take a chance by printing a piece of alternative Christian YA fiction, but Erin Hahn put herself out there by speaking freely through her words about the judgment and condemnation that comes from fellow believers. We live in a complicated world and I give Hahn props for having the courage to address the topics of hypocrisy, sexuality, and the love of God in one book. This is such a beautiful and endearing romance and has one of the cutest book couples ever! A challenging, refreshing, and candid look at struggling faith and young love!

This YA novel is a thought provoking read about faith, religion, and first love. As someone who grew up in a church, I found this book powerful and if I’m honest, a bit triggering.

This book highlights how church, if not careful, can be judgemental, legalistic, and riddled with double standards. How it can forget who God is: love. that we are called to love Him and love people. It brought up a lot of memories from the past, both good and bad.

here are some brief thoughts…
- I love how Hahn uses music throughout her books; it evokes specific emotions, memories. As a reader, It creates a unique bond to the character and their journey
- I think this story really benefited from dual POV, seeing both Meg’s and Micah’s perspectives as they find themselves and fall in love.
- Please read the author’s note at the end of the book; it gives great insight on why this book needed to be written.

AT A GLANCE…
steam: 🔥/5
genre: YA contemporary romance

Would recommend for fans of You Have A Match, The Names They Gave Us, and Saved!

Thank you to Wednesday Books for a gifted copy of this ARC.

3.5 stars.

I love Erin Hahn's YA novels. This one was a bit different. While I appreciate the message and understand the importance of it, it was too religion heavy for me. I think that overshadowed the romance aspect of the storyline. Definitely recommend reading the author's note and applaud Erin Hahn for tackling this sensitive topic. Overall, it's a fine read, just not what I was looking for.

Erin Hahn's new book, Never Saw You Coming, is the story of a devout Christian girl named Meg Hennessey who thought she knew where her life was headed. But when a big secret comes out, instead of the gap year she'd planned, she heads north to meet her birth father's family.

In addition to meeting (and falling in love with) her great-grandma Betty and her uncle James, Meg also meets Micah Allen, a former pastor's son who has had his own crisis of faith when his father went to prison.

Though mired in the spiritual paths of two young people, Hahn never lets the book become too preachy or Godly. The manner in which Meg and Micah deal with not only falling in love but with the baggage each brings to the table in relation to their faith is handled very well. The growth of both characters is beautiful to see and a joy to read.

The characters are well developed and I really enjoyed spending time with them on the voyage of self-discovery and blossoming into adulthood. This is a high YA - Meg has graduated high school and is on a gap year; Micah is nineteen.

A very worthy read.

3.5 stars! Overall, I enjoyed this book. I especially liked the beginning and ending but I thought the middle part was a bit too heavy on the church talk for me personally. I get it, it was a huge part of the story and I appreciated the ending a lot more because of it. I absolutely loved the characters and they made the story so much better.

Thank you to the publisher and @netgalley for providing a free advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

*I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for this ARC!*

After reading and loving Erin Hahn’s first two books, I was so excited for this one! It is a book about one of the side characters from More Than Maybe, Meg, and I was totally here for it!

I love Meg so much. She reminded me of myself at that age so much. She was into music, dressed in a whimsical way (while still being ‘modest’) in order to express herself, and was entirely too in her head about everything. I absolutely loved her character growth throughout the novel. I also really loved Micah. He went through such a beautiful journey in this book, and he complimented Meg so well.

I really enjoyed the story and the journey that both Meg and Micah take in this book. The setting was really fun; going between the beach and the mountains was interesting. I could really picture this little town. Seeing the emotional journey of all of these characters was such a delight.

I grew up as a church kid, so this book really hit close to home for me. Purity culture was a giant part of my teenage years. One thing I really appreciated about this book was that Meg never once questioned her faith, only the culture of the church itself. There is definitely a double standard when it comes to girls and boys in the church, and I thought this was a well done call out of that. There are going to be some people who feel that this book crosses a line, but I think it is a line that needs to be crossed.

I loved this book. It was well done and the characters felt so real I wanted to give them giant bear hugs. I cannot wait to see what Erin Hahn writes next!

My Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

I gave Never Saw You Coming 4.5 Stars!

Title: Never Saw You Coming
Author: Erin Hahn
Pub. Date: September 7, 2021
Rating: 5

This will be a spoiler free review. Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing a free book in exchange for an honest review. I knew going in that I was going to love this book. After Erin’s debut, I knew she was going to be a new favorite author. Never Saw You Coming didn’t disappoint.

Before I dive into just how much I loved Never Saw You Coming and before I tell you to go buy this book and read it when it comes out tomorrow – I’m going to tell you to go read You’d Be Mine. While you can totally read any of these books in any order – they do take place in the same universe, so characters carry over. You may spoil some things from previous books if you don’t start with, You’d Be Mine. But honestly, you do you. I just know what I’d do.

Now, back to Never Saw You Coming.
This book kept me up until 3:30 AM.
I can’t tell you the last book to do that. I’ve definitely stayed up last reading on a work night, but that was more stress related than, I legit can’t put this book down.
This book had me feeling all the feels. All of them.

I know this book will mean a lot to so many people – and while I can’t relate to the church aspect and the stigma and rules surrounding how people are accepted – it’s still a relatable novel.
I don’t have all of the same struggles as Meg, but what she does and goes through and the confusion it wrought in her mind – I think that is relatable to almost every girl and woman.
Same goes with Micah.
Just having to figure out who you are, how you want to live and be perceived. How to reconcile with the world around you and what people want from you. How to become your own person outside of parental influence.
All of those things are important.
Being able to acknowledge when something is bullshit, or condescending, hypocritical and wrong. Being willing to stand up for what you believe in, stand up for yourself and what you want.

This book has it all.
Erin created a story that touches on so many important things, and it draws you in and captures your attention. Captures your heart.
Once again – and I knew she would – she makes you fall so in love with these characters. She pulls you right into their world and their struggles and makes you care so much. I loved Meg and Micah. Their chemistry, the ease they have for each other. The low-pressure fun that they have. They understand each other, and don’t try to fix each other. They’re just there for one another and it’s so pure.

And then there’s Duke and Vada and I just love them. Vada – if you’ve read More Than Maybe – you’ll recognize, and I just love how she’s there for Meg. Always in her corner, has her back. And Duke – he’s such a cinnamon roll. I loved him. And his feelings towards Micah’s father – yeah, I’m right with you buddy. He’s got his own struggles, but I loved that he has Meg and Micah and a handful of others who accept him for who he is, no matter what.

As for Micah’s dad…learning what you do throughout the book, I really didn’t expect to have any reaction to him beyond major dislike, but oh my fucking god. This man had me raging like I only ever get with fantasy villains.
Erin had me ready to jump into this book and throat punch this man. So, kudos for that. But because I had such a visceral strong reaction, I liked his character. ONLY because it means the Erin did her job 100% right. I can appreciate a well written evil character. But omfg he was gross and terrible – and you’ll just have to read the book to meet him and find out why.

I honestly didn’t think that this book would You’d Be Mine because I loved that book so damn much. But Never Saw You Coming just resonated and hit something deep within. It had me completely enthralled and enamored and I’m bummed I’ll never be able to read it again for the first time. I highly recommend that you pick this book up and you read it. You definitely need to read it and fall in love with it. You won’t regret it. I promise.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press.

I finished this book a few days ago but I wasn't yet ready to review it. I honestly wasn't sure what I thought of it at first, but after some time, I think I know what I want to say.

I loved the concept behind this book. I know the church hurts people- I've been one, myself. I loved the journeys of Meg and Micah to figure out that the church doesn't always represent God, and that God's love is so much bigger than people can grasp.

That said, I could have done without the language. I felt like that detracted from the story rather than added to the characterization.

I haven't yet decided if I will share this one with my teenage daughter when it releases. I think the content is really important and needs to be discussed with teens, but I'm just not sure I'm comfortable with the message that the language sends.

I remember the first time a teacher made me stand up so that they could measure how long my shorts were.

I remember the first time I had to run back to my locker to grab a sweater because I forgot I was wearing a spaghetti strap tank top at school that day.

I remember sitting in Sunday School and wondering why there seemed to be so many rules (especially in the Bible), and why some of them seemed to be different for the boys than they were for girls.

I remember all of this, and I remember not being able to articulate why I was so frustrated and I remember that eventually, I just gave up and decided maybe church wasn't for me, and maybe I needed to grow up more and that one day I would understand these things.

Never Saw You Coming took all of those memories and jumbled thoughts that I still have today, and tackled them with grace, care, and complete honesty. Meg Hennessy is a character everyone should meet, and I feel privileged that, not only did we get a glimpse of how special she was in More Than Maybe, but that she was able to tell her own story in this one. It's an incredibly important story, and it covers some incredibly important topics that would speak to every person who picks up this book.

This book somehow manages to touch on religion, faith, and love, and how every human on this earth deserves to be loved exactly as they are, and does it in a way that forces you to confront your own personal thoughts and biases and makes you take a step back and reevaluate. Through humor and emotional moments and sweet conversations, Never Saw You Coming weaves you a beautiful tale of self-discovery and growth, and all of those bits and pieces made me fall even more in love with Meg and Micah. Honestly, I'm having trouble putting into words how important this book is to me, but I hope you do pick it up and read it and that, even if you aren't religious, or a former Youth Group kid like some of us, you dive into this story and just know that there's something in here for everyone. Acceptance isn't easy, and self-acceptance may be one of the hardest types of all, but Meg and Micah help you work through those topics that are twisted up in your own brain through their personal journeys, through their conversations with one another, and through their interactions with others, and I'm incredibly grateful I have so many passages to look back on and reread when I need the support.

In true Erin Hahn fashion, this book brought me joy, made me laugh, and even had me sobbing numerous times as I worked my way through, and honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way. We met a whole new cast of wonderful people, and even got to revisit some former friends, and so I had a really good time reuniting with Meg while she broke out on her own to find herself. This book nestled its way right into my heart and I know for a fact it's going to stay there for an incredibly long time.

I do think it wrapped up a little too quickly (there was a lot of heavy stuff in here and it just seemed to kind of ... resolve) but at the same time, this is a YA novel and unfortunately, it couldn't go on forever, so I get it. Regardless, I loved this story, I loved these characters, and I honestly wish I had this book when I was in high school. Better late than never, so thank you Erin Hahn, for somehow reaching into my brain and spilling onto the page what I've been trying to understand for years. I don't know how you did it, but you nailed it.

{Many thanks to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for my review copy of Never Saw You Coming}

In Erin Hahn’s More Than Maybe, we met Vada’s best friend, Meg, a home-schooled, church-going girl. In Never Saw You Coming, we come into Meg’s life as her world has suddenly gone off-kilter. Everything she thought she knew about her life may be wrong and she knows she has to get away, go someplace where she can gather herself and find out maybe who she really is. She goes to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula where she meets Micah. And nothing will ever be the same.

I’m going to shake things up a little with this review due to my initial reaction and the reaction of other reviewers of Erin Hahn’s Never Saw You Coming. First off, this is a YA novel and none of the reviewers who’ve glowered over this novel (me included) are in that age group. As reviewers and readers we’ve come to this novel from whatever our current place is in life: 20’s, 30’s, older and with that our prejudices or sensitivity toward religion or church or even those who we feel talk out of turn regarding the church experience because no one should ever speak badly about the church. But none of us are the audience to whom this novel is directed. Too often, we adults read YA and children’s novels as if we are the audience when we most definitely aren’t. If you’ve even forgotten what it was to be a questioning child or teenager, you’re even further removed from being that audience. I think any adult reader/reviewer of YA books needs to remind themselves over and over again that they are not the intended audience.

For this book, I can almost guarantee who most of us reviewers are not: a teenage church kid.

Older teenage YA readers tend to be more open to subject matter and ideas than us old fogies. That’s one of the glorious things of being an older teenager, being able to explore ideas and thoughts, many of which are not those that have been handed down to us from our parents and whomever. That’s one of the things that makes the college experience so, so wonderful. The expansion of minds. If we are lucky, we take everything we learned prior to college and we add unto it, accepting and rejecting ideas as we realize that they don’t fit for us.

So what does any of this have to do with Never Saw You Coming? Well many of us didn’t expect religion to be as much a part of this novel as it was. The blurb offers a very scant mention of religion while this novel is filled with it. While not mentioning this fact will bring more readers, it may also lead to unhappy reviews. And, because of those initial impressions many readers might not find their way to the rather excellent story that actually exists in these pages.

Meg is almost a complete innocent who suddenly begins experiencing emotions and events that she has always been told are wrong, sinful. But she’s opening up, discovering herself, falling in love, becoming a new, happy person. It’s like watching a butterfly evolve.

Micah is a great guy who’s had to deal with a rough situation: the fallout from his pastor-father’s mistakes. He’s also had to deal with the hypocrisy of a community that should have shown kindness but instead showed judgment.

He and Meg come from a similar background, but while he’s had time to see the Church for what it is, she hasn’t totally.

Hahn’s writing is very good as she tells a story of family and church dynamics, expectation and judgment and hypocrisy, and a world that should be based on love but begins to feel rather cultish the more one delves into it. In one fantastic scene, she also shows us that she could probably be a really good adventure writer if the desire should ever take her.

Because I had a hard time dealing with my own knee-jerk reaction to the level of religion broadcast on the pages, I almost set the book aside. I’m glad that I didn’t since I would have missed this really marvelous story of love and acceptance. I do wish that the publisher had given more indication of what was on the pages, but then, would I have read it? The sad fact, for me, is that I probably wouldn’t have and I would have never experienced a story that is heartfelt and emotionally true.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
I was mentally and emotionally challenged by this one. We met Meg in the second book in this stand alone series. She was the modest "fundamentalist friend" of the Way-Out-There Vada.

<img src="https://kcm-www.s3.amazonaws.com/production/s3fs-public/praying_over_teenagers_spirits_minds_and_bodies.jpg?VersionId=cAYuXhT0hoXN0mouMfAJWZCuX07NzdMy"/>

Meg's life and beliefs are turned upside down when her mother reveals a life-shattering truth. Meg feels betrayed and sets off on a gap year, away from her home and church to try to come to terms with her mother's "secret life" and the hypocrisy of her own very strict upbringing.

<img src="https://media.swncdn.com/via/10388-teen-praying-by-sunny-window-gettyimages-anas.jpg"/>

Many people will object to the constant references to God, the bible (and the constant assertions that while everyone and everything else might let you down, God never will - because it says so in the bible. Yes, I know, very circular thinking...)

Meg also finds the rock bottom source of her beliefs in the Bible - which truly dismayed me because I've never felt that we should look to anyone or anything as a crutch. Too many people refuse to loosen their grip on scripture as their foundation for their beliefs. Why do we need labels? Why do we need to use religion as a tool for self-hatred and conformity? This is partly what the author is trying to get across, but she still clings to her bible as her shield against the vicissitudes of life. Meg often exhorts her young bible class students to study their bibles - she assured them that all of life's answers are in there. Big sigh: to each their own, but many readers will probably spurn this book because of its religious content. I didn't, because I do support freedom of speech and religion, and this is Meg's story. I decided to stick with it and find out where she landed.

<img src="https://cdn.quotesgram.com/img/43/88/1899596400-good_girl_gone_bad_by_hatem_dz-d5nbgrh.jpg"/>

I did groan a bit at all the goody-two-shoes thinking that was often followed by cussing and swearing. What was that all about? I can swear like a sailor myself, but in Meg, this seemed out of character. Meg was a "Believer" - she still believed in God and wanted to conform to her church's "pure standards," but she was completely angry and disillusioned. She wasn't sure exactly what standards she should conform to, and whether they had any real basis in real life.

When her Uncle James "slut-shamed" her and advised her that she remain abstinent (and stop being seen with her boyfriend Micah in compromising situations) in order to be a better example to the young girls she was mentoring at her uncle's church, Meg had an even greater crisis of faith - this time, in herself.

Did I agree with how everything got resolved? Frankly, those were such baby steps, that I wasn't convinced anything much was going to change for the better. The female evangelical population was still going to have to carry the unfair burden of maintaining "purity" in their fold. This double standard is so glaringly obvious and downright infuriating. I would refuse to be part of any group or religion that held such narrow and sexist views.

<img src="https://www.islam21c.com/wp-content/uploads/crusades-620x330.png"/>

Religious fanaticism has been the cause of so much strife, division and war. In my twenties and thirties, after much reading and investigation, I decided to refuse to jump on any bandwagon or join or identify with any formal religious or spiritual group. No more labels, no more hard and fast rules for salvation or righteous living. It is still hard to shed my early catholic upbringing (and yes, I am deliberately refusing to capitalize the first "c") but like so many things in life, we, as a society, make our own lives miserable by trying to live up to one socially acceptable standard or another.

After all the strife and drama, Meg and Micah decide to forge their own religious path, together. Theirs was a cute story and I loved the banter between them. Erin Hahn always does great dialogue. Many of the side characters did not ring true to me: the various parents, great-grandmother Betty, and Micah's errant father, to name just a few. They were usually one-dimensional, even though the author did try to humanize some of them by their clothing choices or hair colour..

I did like the author's ultimate message. in her world view, God loves everyone just as they are. You will never lose God's love. In her Acknowledgement at the end of this book, she explains the event that got her started on the path to writing YA fiction - and the ultimate reason for this novel about Modest Meg (who turned out not to be so modest whenever Micah was around!!! Go, Meg and Micah!)

<img src="https://c.tenor.com/Oc24n0iPQ7gAAAAC/madonna-virgin.gif"/>

I'm rating this one a 3.7 out of 5 stars because there were times when I thought that the author was backtracking on her stand against body and slut shaming young girls. But maybe that was just Meg, who had drunk the cool aid and was having a hard time flouting religious authority figures and learning to think for herself? (It wasn't clear to me, is what I am saying: at one point she was advocating pre-marital sex, and in the last few chapters, both Micah and Meg indignantly proclaim that they have not had sex and still proper good little evangelists. Not sure what THAT was about, and why they even had to protest their "innocence"..) I did enjoy many parts of this novel and it certainly gave me a lot to think about, but I will always encourage people to QUESTION EVERYTHING and NEVER RELY ON YESTERDAY'S TRUTH BECAUSE TOMORROW MAY REVEAL THAT THE EARTH IS INDEED ROUND - IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!?!?!

<img src="https://www.unlv.edu/sites/default/files/releases/main-images/Flat%20Earth_0.jpg"/>

I’ve been a huge fan of Erin Hahn since her debut book, and I was so excited that we were getting a spin-off from More than Maybe (which you should also check out because it’s excellent). While Never Saw You Coming isn’t going to be the right book for everyone due to the focus on religion, I absolutely loved this coming-of-age tale that challenges the patriarchal and sexist aspects of church doctrine. I think the message in this book is incredibly important, and I’m glad that it’s available for teens (and others!) who are struggling with reconciling their faith with the reality of what the church is these days.

Never Saw You Coming was a lot heavier than I expected, but I thought that Hahn did an excellent job of deconstructing and challenging some of the more pervasive beliefs, while also showing that you can still have faith. I also thought that both Meg and Micah were fantastic main characters, and their romance was A+. As always, the side characters were incredibly well-written. I loved seeing the cameos from Vada and Luke! The plot towards the end took some unexpected turns, but overall, this was a fantastic read.

Although I hesitate to recommend this one broadly because of the subject matter, I would absolutely recommend this one to anyone who is intrigued by the synopsis!

I'll admit, I was a little hesitant when this book started out with an 18 year old that wears fairy wings every day. Surprisingly though, Meg turned out to be super normal and my hesitation was unwarranted. This is a YA book with a lot of heavy topics and is definitely thought provoking. I really liked Meg and Micahs love story, but there was almost too much going in here. I wish this had stuck to just a few of the struggles and really dove into them. I also needed more Miss Betty!  ⭐⭐⭐ I would recommend if you're looking for a YA book that leans more to the adult side.