This is going to be too long, sorry. I doubt I have taken this much time to mull over the review of any book. There are some points that really spoke to my heart, and some that turned me off. But the mulling was necessitated by the fact that the book appealed to me in two distinct ways:
1. The cover, which promises a liberating and relaxing novel.
2. The blurb, which mentions a connection to the church (via a misbehaving pastor).
The first point appealed to the reader in me while the second called out to the believer in me. As a practising Christian, I wanted to see how the book tackles this controversial topic of misbehaviour by a church insider. Both these subparts of myself are now clamouring to give a feedback for this book. I’ll succumb to the demands of this momentary split personality and allow both of them a voice. But first, let me say thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. It turned out to be a though-provoking experience, as is evident in this long rambling review.

Story:
Meg Hennessey is an eighteen year old who has lived her life as per the demands of her strict conservative Christian family. But now, she has discovered that her entire childhood has been a fabrication. Shattered by the extent of the deceit, she ends up travelling to the north to reconnect with the part of her family she had never known earlier. Will she ever reconcile herself to the past and allow herself the dream of a better future within the realms of her faith?
Micah Allen is a nineteen year old who is struggling to escape the skeletons in his closet. As the son of a pastor who has been imprisoned for his misdemeanours, Micah has lost his connect with the church, though he still hasn’t lost faith in God. Micah knows he is expected to forgive his father to prove that he is a true Christian, but is it ever that easy?
While struggling through their familial issues, Meg and Micah discover each other. But their budding romance creates new hurdles along the way of their faith and their togetherness. How will their relationship survive under the intense scrutiny of the “godly” people around them?
The story comes to us in alternating perspectives of Meg and Micah, with all chapters written in first person.

What the bibliophile in me enjoyed:
I liked (liked, not loved) many of the characters in the book. Micah and Meg are pretty well-written and you will love them both. Their best friends Duke and Vada respectively are also adorable. Cash the dog and Micah’s parents and siblings are also loevable characters.
The book is aimed at teenagers and I think it does pretty well for its target audience as it raises many issues that teens, especially those coming from such families, go through.
I loved the audacity of the book in putting forth many issues that are hardly ever found in Christian fiction. This novelty factor worked very well in making me complete the story faster.

What the bibliophile in me didn’t enjoy:
As a contrast to the first point above, some of the characters were too good to be true. There needed to be a bit more spice in them to make them realistic. I can’t believe anyone in the real world will be sooooo goody-goody.
Some of the character sketching and their appearances in the plot needed work. <spoiler> Meg moves to the north mainly for her grandma Betty so it’s quite surprising to see that Betty is hardly present in the rest of the story. Meg’s mom and dad also come in minor appearances, which is unbelievable to be honest. What overprotective mother would allow a daughter to go off and live in a stranger’s house for months on end without checking in personally? Meg’s uncle James is in a relationship with a divorcee, a strict no-no for traditional believers. His going against Meg’s relations with Micah was at odds with the rest of his character portrayal. Dani’s daughter Noel is mentioned in a couple of scenes but conveniently disappears when Dani is with James. Micah’s dad’s appearance in the story is really badly sketched. So there is a lot of convenience-based character plotting in the book. </spoiler>
Sometimes, the content dragged because it became too preachy. (More on this below.) This killed the pace of the book.
The cover makes you feel that this will be a light-hearted romance. It is not. The religious content takes centre stage, though there are many moments of humour. So the cover creates very wrong expectations about the story.

The bibliophile’s rating: 2.5 stars.

What the Christian in me loved:
Yay for its stinging censure of the fire-and-brimstone approach and finger-pointing tactics of conservative evangelical Christian practices. I loved all the points of criticism directed at the duplicitous behaviour of so-called practising Christians who forget that the basic principle of the religion is based on forgiveness and acceptance. When asked the greatest commandments of all, Jesus had said, “Love God with all your heart. And love your neighbour as yourself.” Most practising Christians forget this and jump to judge others.
When Micah says he loves God and the church but hates the people comprising it, I totally get what he's saying. As a practising Christian, and being active in the church choir and children’s ministries, I have seen first-hand how people proclaiming themselves as devout Christians are quite the opposite of Christian values when it comes to their work. One line in the book says, “Church folk aren’t any purer than the rest of the world; they just hide it better.” 100% true! There are many hypocrites in the church. Another line says, “The only time churches are worried about modesty and purity is when it comes to their teenage girls.” Again, absolutely true. (Though I think this is applicable to all faiths. Everyone wants to make rules only for girls.)
The Author’s note at the end of the book is a revelation. If you are in the habit of skipping this section in a book, don’t do so at least for this book. She says that she has opened a can of worms with this book, and I absolutely agree with her. But this was a can that needed to be opened. This book is going to ruffle conservative Christians a lot. And I want to applaud her for her bravery. To confront religious bigots without giving up on your faith is a big task.


What the Christian in me didn’t enjoy:
This is going to sound ironic. But there was too much of religious stuff in this book for me. I feel that the overload of biblical fervour and repeated espousals of God’s eternal love and mercies work counterproductively as it drives progressive believers away from the book. Conservative Christians will anyway shun this book for heresy.
Furthermore, the book represents only a specific subset of believers. To elaborate on why this is a problem, let me give an example. When I read a book on Indian religious mythology (which I rarely pick up due to my lack of familiarity with the content), I feel confused about the accuracy of the book and tend to take whatever is written to be true. Similarly, those who don’t have any clue about Christian mythology might take whatever is written in this book as representative of all Christian beliefs. But it is not. To highlight just one such discrepancy, the book mentions that James is the brother of Jesus. But this isn’t the accepted doctrine in all churches, and the word ‘brother’ is still being debated as to whether it indicates sibling or cousin. The extreme conservative beliefs as highlighted in the book are also only in some Christian denominations, usually in the evangelical ministries. So I hate the fact that outsiders to the faith might take this book as indicative of the entire Christian faithful.
The Christian’s rating: 4.25 stars.

Whom do I recommend this book to? I honestly don’t know. Conservative Christians, if you have the courage to accept the errors of indoctrination, please read this book. Progressive Christians, you might enjoy this book, if only to know that your being a liberal believer is a Godsend. Those outside the Christian faith, you might not be able to connect with many of the points in this book. Having some know-how about traditional (or should I say, conservative) Christian beliefs would help if you are picking it up. But if you can skip over the religious content and focus on the people, you will find an interesting story of a young girl and a young boy learning to accept themselves outside of religious and societal shackles. Remember though that it is a teen/YA book. Don’t expect a lot of maturity in the writing.

Overall rating: 3.4 stars, the average of above two ratings.

**Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Wednesday Books for the advanced copy for review. All opinions are my own.**

Meg just found out that her whole life was a lie. Micah is struggling with the upcoming parole hearing for his dad. These two meet and the tension they're both dealing with in their personal lives causes a not-so-meet-cute.

I wasn't prepared for the level of faith and religion in this book even though it's mentioned in the synopsis. It did not detract from the story at all though. It definitely made it better. I must warn that if church or religion is not your jam then you may want to skip this one.

I really liked the book regardless of the characters and plot being so Christian and faith driven. Typically, it can be off-putting because it can seem "preachy," but it was done very well in this book. The main and side characters showed a lot of growth and I loved seeing that. I also liked that the author showed all the sides of Christians: the over-the-top, those who've lost their faith, the judgmental, the redemption, etc. She also delivered some truth bombs regarding how the church views girls and their behavior versus the boys. I'm glad someone said it!

All in all, I really liked the story, the characters, and where it all ended. I would definitely recommend reading Never Saw You Coming.

Erin Hahn was a new-to-me author with You’d Be Mine, the first book of hers I read, and I loved it so much that I’ve been hooked ever since. So, reading Never Saw You Coming was a given. Just like her other two books, I couldn’t put this one down. I immediately connected with both Meg and Micah. Coming from a similar church background (without all the hurt from church family or my own family), it was easy to see why they struggled to figure out who they were and even if their relationship was the right move for them. But I was 100% in their corner and loved their HEA.

There’s a lot to unpack between the pages of this book, and I thought the author did a great job presenting different sides and ideas into the themes. As much as we want the world and issues to be black and white, the reality is there are better ways to approach complicated life situations than judgment and harsh words and actions. The best part of the book to me was the grace and compassion Meg and Micah showed those who were important to them. If you’re looking for a new adult, sweet-ish romance with complicated family relationships, young and promising new love, and honest talk about religion and spirituality, this story is one you don’t want to miss. I can honestly say it’s a book I’ll reread often.

NICUnurse’s Rating: I give Never Saw You Coming 5 out of 5 stars!

Meg and Micah meet unexpectedly when Meg decides to go on a life detour to meet some family she never knew existed. She has always been a good Christian girl, never doing anything that could put her on the wrong path… but when she learns some earth shattering news about her real father, she is understandably confused and upset, believing her whole life has been a lie. So she goes to meet some of the family she never knew she had and meets someone who will change everything.

Micah is dealing with a lot of his own turmoils. He is the son of a pastor who has recently been imprisoned and he is really just trying to deal with life at the moment. Meeting Meg was a godsend that he wasn’t even aware he needed.

The two then help one another mend their cracks and strengthen their faith together.

This was a really cute story. But, I honestly did NOT know that it was about faith and religion when I signed up for it. I know I wouldn’t have had I known. But, I am glad I read it because it was a really sweet story filled with heartache, personal growth, forgiveness and love.

What do you do when your faith is tested? Erin Hahn explores how two teenagers deal with this in her upcoming book, Never Saw You Coming.

Meg has always done what was expected of her. She sings in her church’s praise band, gets homeschooled, dresses modestly, and never really interacts with guys beyond a strictly platonic level. But when she finds out that her whole childhood has been a lie, her world is shaken.

Micah’s father was a preacher who is now in jail, found guilty of embezzlement as well as numerous infidelities. His father was his best friend, and his betrayal shattered their family. Six years later, his father is scheduled for parole and Micah isn’t sure if he wants anything to do with him, much less be drawn back into the scandal surrounding his crimes.

When Meg takes her planned gap year before college and travels to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to meet family she never knew she had, she starts to challenge some of the strict rules she lived under. And when she meets Micah, they bond quickly over their shared struggles with their faith and family, and when friendship starts to turn into attraction and love, things get even more complicated.

This book was beautiful and so thought-provoking, an exploration of faith and how it means different things to different people, and it was also a look at the hypocrisy that exists in religion, particularly in its treatment of women and girls and LGBTQIA+ people. But at its heart, this is a story about friendship, family, love, and finding your own path.

It’s funny, as a gay Jewish guy of a certain age I’m probably the furthest from Hahn’s “audience,” but I’ve loved every single one of her books. They just grab me from the start and touch my emotions in so many ways.

NetGalley and Wednesday Books provided me with a complimentary advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making it available!!

Never Saw You Coming publishes 9/7.

Never Saw You Coming by Erin Hahn is a sweet story about Meg Hennessey. Meg just found out that her parents had been hiding secrets from her, and so she leaves home to find the rest of her family that she never knew about. While there, she meets Micah, who has his own family issues. They become quick friends, bonding over their questions about religion and family, and they end up falling in love. This book was very well-done, and I found it quite applicable. Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

Meg's been raised to be a modest and good Christian girl. After she learns some shocking truths about her childhood, she travels to meet part of her family she never knew existed. There, she meets Micah who is a former pastor's son - whose dad is now in prison. The two both have mixed feelings about the church but are sure that their meeting was part of a bigger plan.

This book reminded me a lot of one of my favorite YouTubers, God is Grey. Brenda talks a lot about how the culture of the evangelical church can be harmful, and I think she would appreciate this book. I think this book is an important story and I hope a lot of young girls growing up in that culture get a chance to read it.

I loved Meg and her generous spirit. She joked a lot about basically forcing people to be her friend and quite honestly I would be her friend, no hesitation. I loved seeing her grow into her own person throughout the book and have the hard conversations around her feelings and what she thought she was raised to believe.

I will say - I was raised going to church so I understood a lot of the references and conversations and a lot of it sounded like, a lot. I can only imagine that if someone picked up this book who was never around a church would find Meg's issues bizarre and totally unrelatable.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the review copy!

As an ex church kid I was hoping I'd love this but it just missed the mark for me. Unfortunately, I just couldn't get into it and there were some pacing issues that took away from the story for me.

I loved More Than Maybe and was excited to read this. I thought this was such a great YA in dealing with faith, sex and family issues. This book is very religion centered and how Mitch and Meg navigate through the conflict. They were so mature as YA and I love how they developed their friendship. I appreciate how the book address the people of the church and how they treated Meg and Mitch.

This book sadly wasn't for me at this time. I hope to go back to it in the future and give it another try, but it had a bit more focus on faith and religion than I was looking for right now. I have heard amazing things about this book, though – so I hope everyone will give it a chance!

This is a cute read with depth that I think many teens could find relatable. I found it refreshing that Meg and Micah have a solid and healthy relationship and that the major plot points revolve around their individual growth and navigating difficult family situations. While a lot of the story line is centered around evangelical Christianity, which I don’t know much about, I thought the author dealt with the character’s skepticism and criticism with respect and in a way that felt true to a teenager. I liked how these characters all felt very human and that all could recognize their flaws and shortcomings. I think this is a book that more than anything teaches lessons about healthy communication, forging an identity separate from your family’s beliefs, and standing true to your own values.

This was a tough book to get through as a Christian reader. The characters and plot were vaguely interesting but it portrays Christianity in a false and negative way and turned me off to the story.

I’m so glad Never Saw You Coming by Erin Hahn will be available Tuesday for all the teens who need it. The dedication makes it pretty clear who they are: “…to all the church kids. No matter what you might’ve heard…You. Are. Loved. Just as you are.”

I’m not sure this book was a perfect fit for me, but there was a lot I loved about it.
Eighteen-year-old church kid Meg (Vada’s best friend from Hahn’s More Than Maybe) finds out her childhood has been a lie. Unable to face the anger she’s feeling at her mother, she switches course and travels North to the UP for her gap year to meet the family she never knew existed. There she also meets Micah, a former pastor’s kid, still reeling and healing from a childhood betrayal of his own. The two must hold the beliefs they were taught up to the light so they can forge a future and path of their own.

I think this book will resonate with so many teens. I think it’s an important message and one I haven’t seen in fiction much—although to be fair, I haven’t been seeking it out. I loved the beautifully written first-love story and really admired the maturity of the conversations between Micah and Meg. I loved the depictions of friendship. It was great seeing Vada there to support Meg this time around and the relationship between Micah and his best friend Duke was fantastic. And I loved Duke, a loyal, wonderful best friend struggling with his sexuality in a family that was not accepting.

I’ve already said that I’m not the target audience for this one, and the religion in this book made me angry. And some of that was definitely the point (I think). I’m not sure why it still okay to shame women for having bodies. Why an institution where one of its core tenants is not to judge others has so many judgmental voices and rules. And I hated watching LGBTQ+ characters struggle thinking they wouldn’t be loved if they came out. But I am significantly angrier about all of this than Meg ended up being and it was hard for me to be okay with that even in the midst of a pretty lovely book.

Thank you so much to @netgally and @wednesdaybooks for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. I will definitely read whatever Erin Hahn writes next.

This book has me feeling conflicted in all kinds of ways, and I think it has actually been one of the most meaningful and thought-provoking books that I have read in a while. However, this book will not be for everyone.

I grew up in Christian Science, and it was very complicated for me once I hit High School and then college due to some of the doctrines in my community. Likewise, Meg grew up Christian and started struggling with being involved with the church and some of the doctrines that were taught to her when she began her transition out of High School and into her gap year. She very much holds onto her faith, and uses her doubt to explore her emotions and needs in a healthy way. I pushed everything away to distance myself from the policies in my community that hurt me.

Hence the complicated emotions for me. Meg and I have many similarities, yet we choose opposite routes for recovery. Hahn tackles many tough subjects in a very unique way, providing readers with a strong character who is not afraid to go against the grain, but who holds onto her faith and finds ways for Christianity to better support her. Meg is questioning her faith because how could two of her closest friends, who are gay, be wrong? Her stepdad's lying to her about being gay is hurtful and wrong, but his being gay? Couldn't be wrong. Her mom's one-weekend-stand that produced her happened out of love, and while Meg is initially mad about it, she comes back around and finds that she doesn't believe it was all that wrong either.

She worms her way into her new town so easily, which I envied. She makes new friends, leads a church youth group, and develops new bonds with her newfound family members. Everyone seems to love her. And somehow, through it all, she stays so chipper. At times, this feels almost jarring to me, but then Hahn is able to reign it back in and provide something grounding, like self doubt or anxiety. These moments remind us that Meg is, after all, human.

Now, keep in mind, too, that this is a romance book. So although I've spent much of this review exploring how Meg's Christianity affected me as a reader, there is also the added complication of this being a romance book. Hahn very much points out how Christianity talks about relationships, including chastity. This is all new to Meg, as she's never been in a serious relationship before. She's still figuring out how she feels about different parts of being in a relationship. She overcomes shame, and finds new ways to lessen her judgment of others and encourage others to do the shame. She reconciles with her own conception as a result of her mother's one-weekend-stand. Her Christian beliefs are consistently intertwined with her thoughts about her relationship, and because of this, I found it very difficult to fully enjoy and immerse myself in the experience. However, I also found it provided a different perspective.

Meg spends most of the book processing all of this new information and finding her way in her new reality. She tries new things. She makes mistakes. But through all of it, she holds onto her self worth, the beauty of life, and her faith. For this, I think Hahn has created a beautiful and necessary book that I think will help lots of people find their way.

Book Review: Never Saw You Coming by Erin Hahn

I will state right off the bat that some books aren’t written with me in mind and that’s okay. The struggle with reviewing these is that it’s hard to judge the quality of the writing or how engaging the plot is when you are just completely the wrong audience.

Never Saw You Coming intrigued me with its adorable illustrated cover and plot about a pastor’s son with a dad in prison mixed up with a girl on a gap year who didn’t know that the man who raised her wasn’t her biological father. Sounds juicy, right? But it’s also the story of two kids who are true Christians in their hearts but questioning and challenging the current status quo of their church. I appreciated both of their journeys and their love story but found it difficult as a middle-aged agnostic woman to relate to their struggle with sin, sexual thoughts and feelings and keeping up appearances.

I know this book will find itself in the right hands and it will ring true to them on a lot of levels. But for me, it wasn’t quite the right story at the right time and it was missing that darker humor and gritty plot that I usually go for.

3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

. . . ⭑ ⭑ ⭑ ⋆ ⭒
This one was kinda cute! YA is not a genre I gravitate towards at all - in fact, if I’m honest, I probably more often avoid it because I feel like I won’t be able to connect with the characters, but this one pulled me in a bit.

Now, it’s definitely geared towards teens, and I felt it was very “young” in many ways, but not necessarily in content. It discusses some heavier subjects, but only touches gently on them, which I think is appropriate for the genre.

There is a lot (and by a lot I mean pretty well constant) discussions surrounding faith, religion, organized religion, religious indoctrination, progressive Christianity, and God - all of which I hadn’t anticipated being at the forefront of this novel, but I think the author handled tactfully and honestly. As a reader, I could tell many of the conflicted feelings that the characters were experiencing were likely drawn from experience, and so the book definitely felt very “personal”. Certainly some interesting conversations to be had.

Overall it was cute and sweet, just like first love romance books often are, and it felt like it portrayed young love well. I wouldn’t say it’s entirely wholesome, but it’s definitely ‘Steam Lite’ given the intended audience. And as a whole, it does send a positive message to the readers, which is nice to see.

I’m not the intended audience of this one, but I think it would probably hit the mark in the YA demographic, so it’s done it’s job - and, it made me smile a few times, so it’s got that going for it too.

Never Saw You Coming is on shelves September 7th - thank you to @netgalley & @wednesdaybooks / @stmartinspress for this digital advanced readers copy.

~👩🏻‍🦰

As someone who was raised in a conservative Christian household, I felt a lot of connection with Meg, the main character of this book. And while the romance and family relationships in this book were nice, I had a lot of problems with the book.

I understand that we live in a world now where modesty and sexual purity are seen as prudish and unnecessary. But I still believe those things are important and that people who do believe as I do shouldn't be mocked or looked down upon. And having scripture I believe in twisted to fit a narrative that basically gave these kids permission to do things they had been taught not to do really rubbed me the wrong way.

Listen. Do I believe that having sex before marriage makes you a terrible person and ruins you for your future husband? Definitely not. Do I believe that sex is sacred and special and should be treated a lot more seriously than the majority of the world thinks it should be. One hundred percent yes.

So it's definitely a fine line to walk and a tricky situation. And any religious person you talk to is going to have different thoughts and opinions about the various topics touched on in this book.

All I know is that parts of the book really resonated with me while other parts made me really frustrated and uncomfortable.

I don't know. It's hard to put my thoughts into words with something that is so close to my heart and important.

Either way, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Erin Hahn is what I call an insta-buy author. As soon as I hear she has a new book or is in a new anthology, I am mentally adding it to my cart before I even learn anything about the plot. Of course, the lovely magical thing about her books is every time I hear more about any of her upcoming projects, I’m mentally leaning in further in greater anticipation. And with Never Saw You Coming, I’ve been clutching my heart in anticipation for months over this book. I felt something when Erin talked about this book and I knew this was a book I had to read. I knew this was a book that was going to live in my heart so I did something I’ve never done before, I went beyond my usual method of relying on NetGalley or Goodreads giveaways or giveaways in general or trades on Facebook and went straight to the source. I emailed the publisher directly for the first time and humbly requested access to read this book and be part of the early review process to get to help promote this book. I’m pretty sure my actual email included something about “rooftop shouting” and to my great relief and eternal gratitude, they said yes and sent me the egalley that afternoon.
Given the emotional journey I went on reading You’d Be Mine and More Than Maybe and the feelings I got just reading blurbs and quotes from Never Saw You Coming, I thought I had an idea of what I would feel reading this book. Turns out, I was wrong.
I grew up the daughter and granddaughter of southern baptist pastors and then a teenagehood spent in an Assemblies of God Megachurch which, if nothing else, gave me a close and complicated relationship with churches and Christianity. It gave me the type of relationship with sex where I feel deeply uncomfortable discussing it and still struggle with not thinking of it as shameful to think about. Getting to read a book that unpacked all that and still had the core of a relationship and faith in God was all I never knew I wanted. I know so many people who have church trauma and church issues and, unfortunately, most of them now are in the range of agnostic and atheist so it can be a challenge to talk about our shared issues with church culture without them being baffled by my continued faith. But this book, this book got it and understood me and I think that makes this such an important book for teens. Because at its core, the church can be flawed because men can be flawed and this book fully explores that and it’s incredible and I’m so proud of Erin for having the courage to really dive deep into this deeply difficult field and talk about it. The fact that she can explore the fallibility of men and church while still having faith was something I related to deeply and never knew how much I wanted to read.
I’d already loved Meg in More Than Maybe. I honestly adored that book to bits and wasn’t sure how Erin could possibly top herself and yet she did. I always love Erin’s characters but Meg and Micah and DUke are just so special to me. What I loved best about the book was that it wasn’t all about contrived drama and nonsense, it dealt more with deeper emotional journies and healing. That just meant so much to me. This book just means so much to me and this solidifies for me that I will follow Erin anywhere and she basically has me as a fan for life now. I’ve cried cathartic, happy tears reading each of her books, and this time I cried even more. It was so satisfying and wonderful and felt like Erin knew me and was giving me a shout-out. I sometimes worry when I go into books like this with such mountainous expectations like I did with this one but they were more than met. God, what a book. Excuse me I’m going to go hug this book again and cry some more as I stare into the middle distance and think about how wonderful Meg and Micah are together.

Never Saw You Coming in a way was a book I never saw coming. I will admit that when I first started reading I felt like the religion piece might be a little bit too "in your face", but I very quickly realized that yes, it was part of the story, but that wasn't the driving force.

Meg Hennessey learns that everything she thought she knew about her childhood and family is a lie. She's rocked to her core and isn't sure how she feels about so many things given what she's learned coupled with all of the lessons she's been taught growing up in the church. Meg sets off on an adventure to meet part of her family that she just learned about and also to spread her wings a bit.

Micah Allen is the son of a former pastor who ended up in prison for doing very un-pastorly things. He has suffered tremendously because of his father's actions and it not only drove him from attending church, but it has also left him wondering if he is doomed in his own ways because of the parts of his father that are in him.

When Meg and Micah meet, they connect almost immediately. They both are going through things and need someone to lean on and they seem to be the perfect match in that way. They are able to be vulnerable with one another and really share what they are feeling, which helps set them both on a path to beginning to heal.

Families and relationships played such a large part in this story. Nothing and no one is ever perfect, and there are always things people are going through that others just can't quite understand. I liked how the relationships were handled in this book giving a glimpse into how one person's view can be so different from the reality. I enjoyed this book a lot and I'm going to need to go back and read others by Erin Hahn.

**I voluntarily read an early copy of this title courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review**

I went into this book without knowing exactly what the subject matter would be. Therefore, as the storyline developed, I was equal parts shocked by what Meg and Micah had each experienced at the hands of the adults in their lives. In Meg's situation, secrets had been told and truths were hidden under the guise of "protecting" her - - when in fact it was most likely to protect her mother. Micah's situation was much darker in that his relationship with his father had blinded him to some difficult realities and when they came to light, he was condemned - - even though he was a child.

When these two meet, it's as if the broken places in their souls call out to one another. Being with one another is easy for them and they both benefit from the understanding and support provided by the other. One thing they both shared in common was their distrust of "the church" as an institution. For differing reasons, they had each been on the receiving end of negativity and judgment by church members. It affected them each in different ways - - but yet it impacted their perspective of worship in a way that neither of them had yet to work through.

Ms. Hahn pulled me right into this story with little effort. I felt so protective of both Meg and Micah and wanted only the best for each of them. I thought that the way their situations each evolved throughout the story was well done. Ms. Hahn took some potentially touchy topics and handled them with sensitivity and caring. I thought she blended the side characters into the story well and described them in a way that made them relatable.

I didn't realize that this book would have a different type of Christian tone. I believe it is referred to as "alternative Christian." That said, I thought Ms. Hahn did an outstanding job with it. I know there will probably be some who don't appreciate what she was trying to do with this book. However, I do. In the day and time in which we live, it isn't uncommon for there to sometimes be hypocrisy in the church or other organized institutions. After all, we are all human and as such we are susceptible to human weakness and flaws. I thought it was powerful that Ms. Hahn asserted that her two main characters maintained a strong relationship with God - - they were just in a rocky place with the church. I can completely relate to that and I think many of her readers will be able to as well. Personally, I think this book is a gift. There are very few options like this out there which are written for the young adult market. Books where a belief in God is normalized while still giving the characters room to question the institution of the church. At its heart, this book imparts the message that it is better to err on the side of love and kindness. After all, isn't that what Jesus would do?

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to review it and the opinions contained within are my own.