I really enjoyed getting to know Meg and Micah. The growth of the characters was well done. Nothing within their growth seemed forced or false. I loved the way religion was presented as it opens the door for conversation with friends or family about what faith and church mean to each of us individually. Overall a great read and I can't wait to read more by Hahn.

Micha and Meg were two characters you could really root for. They both had difficult experiences with the church which helped shape them. I'm not very religious and at times I thought there was a bit too much, but I like how they were able to stay rooted in their faith and also break away. It was good to see them believe in something, but most of all themselves and each other.

I think the writing was really well done and I liked going on the adventure of their love story. Micha was the sweetest and I think a great first boyfriend for a fairly sheltered Meg. The dad twist (Micha's) was a bit out of left field and I was shocked at how long her mom stayed away, but it all came together in the end.

I'm also ashamed that it took me so long to realize that Erin Hahn included Vada and Luke from More Than Maybe. It was a fun little nod to a great book.

So as someone who isn't really religious at all I found Never Saw You Coming a wonderful book on what it's like to question your faith the church and everything you know.

Meg has just found out her entire childhood was a lie. She was homeschooled and raised by strict religious parents but when she finds out her father really isn't her father she decides to meet the family she never knew she had. She heads to the UP in Michigan where she meets Micah. A former pastors kid whose dad is in prison and has a complicated relationship with the church. As they grow closer they both realize the complexity that first love brings as they navigate their relationship.

I loved the author's note at the end about her why on this book and that she has had these same thoughts and feelings about the church. This was a wonderful YA/New Adult book about the pressure of judgement, shame and purity often associated with the church especially for teenage girls.

While this isn't my usual go-to I loved the writing and the realness of these characters.
=

4.5 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

I didn’t really look into what Never Saw You Coming was about…I just saw the cute cover and the name Erin Hahn, and I’d recently read one of her short stories and liked what I read, so figured, “why not?” Given the issue with branding expectations, I appreciate that Hahn provided context both in a content warning in the intro to the book and on Goodreads to help prepare me for the serious topics the book would grapple with along with the cute romance (as well as further going into her own experiences in the author’s note at the end). It helped me to be prepared.

I feel like this book is very much needed in its criticism of evangelical Christianity, with its “purity” culture and hypocrisy. I appreciate how Hahn digs into the way so-called “Christians” direct shame toward women for the way they dress and for sexual behavior, and to LGBTQ+ people for simply existing, while (mostly cishet male) authorities within the church are the ones with the skeletons in their closets. And while not immediately relevant to the text itself, I was moved by Hahn’s description of her experience querying Christian agents and publishers, who would tell her that she was “not a good fit,” because her characters weren’t “pious enough,” with further remarks about how Christian fiction publishers submission guidelines can be a “great” way to make you feel bad about yourself. And while I have a complicated love for some Christian fiction, I couldn’t help but see the truth in that; I mean, look at what won the RWA Vivian Religious and Spiritual Elements category.

I wasn’t sure how to feel about Meg or Micah at first, but as I got deeper into the book, I got the sense it was somewhat by design, due to the intense things both are dealing with. I really liked seeing how their shared membership of the church brought them together, but their feelings as the story went on led to them challenging the church and religious doctrine through their alternate perspectives influencing each other. It was great seeing them evolve from their prior beliefs, including that regarding premarital sex, and that religious faith can be so much more complex than extreme modesty to the point of objectification and restricting one’s normal human desires.

This book is really beautiful and unexpected, and I love that the focus is on how the man-made institutions of religion are the problem, and not on religious/spiritual belief in itself, although I can certainly see some less spiritually inclined readers not appreciating this book for that reason. However, this is definitely a book I’d recommend to everyone, due to the continued relevance of the topic and the beautiful way Hahn conveys her message.

This book was not for me. I wasn't raised religious but I am now a religious Jewish person and I didn't have much of a reference for evangelical Christians. This was very heavy on the Jesus love as well as critical towards the church in general, which did not leave me with a good feeling as to having learned anything about a culture I don't belong to. Also, the relationship between Meg and Micah was very instalove, which I am not a fan of.

I don't really know how to explain how much I loved Never Saw You Coming. I don't usually reach for books tha make me feel all the things, but after the first 25 pages or so, I sent a friend a message that said that I am pretty sure this book is going to gut me but also I love it. That's what happened.

This is the story of Meg and Micah. They both have been raised in strong faith and in pretty conservative homes. But situations in their parents lives have changed the course of theirs forever. Their internal struggles with faith, the church, family and how to do life are SO incredibly honest and relatable. Their questions and conversations are all part of a journey that anyone who has grown up in a conservative Christian space has had and likely still asks. I loved the faith part of the story, but I also loved Micah and Meg's relationship and love.

I have read and liked Erin Hahn's previous books, but this one is going to hold a special place in my heart.

If I pushed Amelia Unabridged into your hands this year, this gave me all the same heart feels, but in a completely different context.

Never Saw You Coming is an earnest and heartfelt recounting of Meg's journey to finding faith in herself and keeping her beliefs through a challenging time of transition. I haven't read a lot of novels where religion and the church are major themes, and I feel there's a slight bias against books that have religious characters. I appreciated Hahn's deconstruction of purity culture and how Meg was exposed to new people and environments that led her to challenge the beliefs she'd grown up with.

I'm not Christian. I feel like I should throw that out there. However I love reading books about characters from different backgrounds and as a reader, I have the ability to empathize with them and understand that an author isn't moralizing at me just because their characters have beliefs that I don't share. Some people are of different opinions. I've seen a few critiques of NSYC that discuss how Meg's faith in God and Jesus made them feel, and that's totally valid! If you don't think this is your thing, please pass. However, I'd encourage you to take a chance on this book. Hahn offers a well-rounded discussion on the Church, and it's a great novel to read if you'd like to challenge your perspective.

The romance was sweet--Meg and Micah clearly had chemistry, and they worked hard to be together in ways that felt comfortable to them, especially given each of their different perspectives on what a relationship should look like. Their relationship is so considerate and communicative, and I was totally swooning by the end.

Hahn isn't afraid to jump into difficult discussions, like the Church's treatment of queer individuals and body-shaming young women, and the narrative is very streamlined throughout. Never Saw You Coming is an inherently readable novel--I didn't want to put it down for a second.

Overall, I'm giving Never Saw You Coming 4/5 stars, and I think it's set up to be one of the fall season's most acclaimed novels. I'd highly encourage you to preorder your copy or to reserve at a local library!

The story of Meg and Micah hit close to home for me. Erin hit the nail on the head with the topic in this book. Although I can relate to Vada’s cameo character more, a lot of what’s written between the two characters is insanely accurate! I found myself pulling old memories from middle school when I would sometimes attend my friends youth group with her and one embarrassing moment that kept me from going back. The issues regarding Meg’s “witness,” her alternative style, Micah’s issues with his father, having to stand up and apologize to the congregation, the judgmental parents, is sadly very true. Although this is a book about a very touchy subject, I felt Erin had written this very well and young adult readers will find this relatable for years to come. I’m a huge fan of Erin Hahn and can’t wait to see what she comes out with next!

Oh hello Mixed Feelings, I see we meet again. This is a tough one for me to rate and a lot of it is because I have my own trauma to work out with regards to the subject matter. But... let's dive right in shall we?

First, let me say this, I have never read an Erin Hahn book before and now I am eager to read her other books. I love her writing style and the way she writes characters. I have a feeling her other titles are going to be just the right books for me. I don't think this one was quite it, but the taste I got of her writing style has me kind of a low-key fan or a potential fan of her books.

It is the plot of this one that made for a bumpy reading ride for me. If you come from a conservative Christian background and have trauma related to it, this may slightly re-traumatize you. I say this because I felt my heartrate increase and my anxiety bloom right back up while reading this. While this book's intention is by no means to support this culture, just being back in this world was enough for me to want to "NOPE!" right out of there. It made it hard for me to get involved with the characters because the setting made me itchy and anxious. I don't want to revisit this world. At least, not without a therapist.

I think if it came down a bit harder on that world (and did not use so much niche Church culture language), I might have come out okay by the end of this. It doesn't though. So it just kind of made me miserable as much as I loved the characters.

I think this book will work for those who do not have associated traumas with that world or are in maybe a healthier space to receive this book. It is an incredibly sweet story and the romance is A+. I just think it might be a tough place to revisit for some of us former Church kids.

Meg Hennessey was just your typical teen until one day- when she wasn’t. Raised in a Conservative Christian upbringing, Meg’s world is shattered when she finds out some jarring truth about her true father’s identity.

So Meg sets out on a quest to find the family she never knew she was missing. It’s there that she meets Micah Allen, a former pastor’s son who has his own cross to bear (no pun intended) after a scandal landed his father in jail years ago. Now Micah’s father is up for parole and as a result, old feelings are surfacing.

As if coming of age and coming to terms with such delicate issues weren’t hard enough, Micah and Meg also find themselves increasingly drawn to each other, connecting over their conflicting feelings about the church, their upbringings, and themselves.

Although it isn’t clearly labeled as such, Never Saw You Coming, while a teen novel, is a teen novel with strong religious undertones. This will no doubt polarize some readers. On one hand, some readers, like myself, don’t regard themselves as being particularly religious so they may have trouble connecting. On the other hand, readers that do might take issue with Hahn’s encouragement to question and explore what one’s faith means to them. This is not a preachy novel by any means, but having its roots in religion can’t be ignored.

Technically this is a sequel of sorts, though in don’t read the first book and I followed along just fine. If there’s one thing I wanted more of in this book it would be to learn more about the family Meg initially sets out to find. Once she meets Micah I feel the tone shifted a bit and that part of Meg’s journey took a bit of a backseat at times.

I read this one with @lovearctually thanks to @netgalley and @stmartinspress. If novels about first love and/or religious redemption are you thing, be sure to pick this one up when it comes out next month!

Unfortunately, Never Saw You Coming isn't the right book for me, which I hate because I was really looking forward to it after really enjoying Hahn's book More Than Maybe. I think this is going to be a polarizing, very decisive book depending on what your views and/or religious views or experiences are; I didn't realize when I requested it that it was "alternative Christian" or I likely wouldn't have read it although I am a Christian since I just don't like reading books that are religious. For me, this one is hard to read and review because I have a lot of shared experiences with the MC since I come from a very predominant Evangelical Christian background (my grandad was the founder of a Southern Evangelical Christian church) and I experienced much of the church trauma and struggles that Meg did, which is why I walked away from the church in my twenties--but not my Christian faith. I ended up DNFing it because I just couldn't get past the 62% point...but up to the point and EXCLUDING the whole religious aspect of the book, the writing itself is well-done, the side characters are great, the romance is sweet if not the cutesy romance that you expect from the cover, and I think my review is definitely an outlier based on personal experience.

Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

It took me a really long time to get into the book. I am one of those readers where if I'm not in the mood for a specific genre or theme, then I cannot fully enjoy it. That is what happened with this book.

Usually when I read a book, I will read the description to see if I want to read it, then I dive in at a later date without the memory of what the book is about, so I can appreciate the story as it unfolds. When I read the first few chapters where we are introduced to Meg and Micah, I had an idea of where the book was going, but I wasn't ready ready for the journey. It took me so long to get back to it that I almost DNF'd the book. But I'm glad I didn't. I actually really liked the story and message behind it.

Erin Hahn creates these characters that seem to be like people we would meet in our day to day life, but at the same time are completely different and can sometimes come off as unrealistic. Which admittedly, I didn't mind. I think this will be a great book for young adult readers who are struggling with their faith, and may not be able to express it with the people around them. The story is good, and has some exciting parts to it, but I really enjoyed the progression of Meg and Micah's relationship. With that being said, I think it is worth a read!

Thank you Netgalley and publishers for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

After discovering who her real dad was and that he had passed shortly before she was born, Meg seeks out other family she never knew existed. Getting to know her dad’s brother, grandmother, and other friends who knew him, she finds other pieces of herself… and a boy who just gets her. With similar struggles of his own, Micah couldn’t be anymore of a perfect match. But, with religious backgrounds, navigating through their budding romance gets rather complicated.

I never saw this coming of age story that involved faith coming. I found it relevant for teens who grew up with church, but end up questioning life and their spirituality based on biblical teachings that had been ingrained. All the judgment, the importance of reputation, and understanding the meaning of “good” were intertwined in Meg’s and Micah’s journey as they navigated their own path of love. Ah, I binged this one because I couldn’t put it down. And after reading Hahn’s author’s note in the end, all the more I loved and appreciated this book! Plus, you’ll get some Luke and Vada (from MORE THAN MAYBE) appearances.

2.5/5⭐️

This review was hard to write because this book deals with something very personal to each of us…our spiritual beliefs. The cover is misleading here. It is not your average rom-com, and it will not be for everyone.

Told in alternating voices, Meg (18) and Micah (19) meet after Meg, taking a gap year before college, leaves home when a long-held family secret comes to life leaving her angry and disillusioned. Micah has felt shamed and ridiculed since the age of 13 for things his pastor father perpetrated. Both are Christians and are struggling while experiencing crises of faith in different ways. They are drawn together and fall in love (rather rapidly).

A large part of the book deals with the issue of purity before marriage. Meg has been raised by a strict mother to adhere to this tenet. She begins questioning this standard as her own mom’s past comes to life and as she grows closer to Micah.

The author calls this book alternative Christian fiction. In some ways I felt the book was trying to re-interpret biblical views for the 21st century while striving to stay true to the “essence” of those views. As a Christian, I was sometimes pulled in different directions as some of the points made were valid and hopeful for today’s youth growing up in the church while others caused me some concern. Everyone will have their own thoughts here.

As far as the storyline, I felt it could have been reigned in and was full of too many subplots…a search-and-rescue, other romances, etc. There was also a long-lost family connection that I would have loved to see developed. I also felt it would have been better to focus on one dilemma (the crises of faith in their family lives OR the premarital sex issue) rather than splitting the emphasis. And as a personal aside, I could have done without the excessive foul language.

There’s no doubt this book will cause divisiveness among readers based on where they’re coming from.

My thanks to #NetGalley and #WednesdayBooks for providing me the free early arc for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

I have a complicated relationship with Christianity so this wasn't really my type of book. And yes the MCs definitely also had their own complicated relationship with the church, it's still very heavy on the religious aspect. I applaud the author for taking a chance on writing this book ,(the authors note was lovely) and giving a perspective to young adults, particularly young women, who are treated (IMHO) quite poorly. For that, this is a refreshing perspective and progressive folks will love the story. I just had a difficult time relating to it overall but it is an important story for alot of people.

Meg was always faithful and lived by her parents rules, but she uncovered a family secret that shook her foundation to its core. She headed north in an effort to connect with her family and find herself. There she met Micah, who was on his own personal journey, and they decided to tackled it together.

I won’t lie, I was a bit nervous about this book at first. Many of the YA books I have read have been very anti-Christian based religions. However, Hahn did a great job examining both Micah and Meg’s struggle with the church. Though they took issue with some of the man-made rules and beliefs that propagated through their churches, they never wavered in their relationship with God. That was kept separate, and I appreciated Hahn’s approach, as well as the discourse surrounding the issues of purity, sex, homosexuality, and the way most of these rules largely focused on females. The examination was honest and thoughtful.

This was such a different kind of story, and though I am finding it difficult to review, I genuinely enjoyed it. Both Micah and Meg experience tremendous growth, and I was very invested in them. Their emotional journey was compelling, and Hahn did a beautiful job bringing me into their heads and their hearts.

There were obviously some heavy and deep themes explored here, but this was also a story about love. Meg and Micah’s romance was one I really enjoyed. They shared a connection that grew into something so lovely, and I felt the thrill of first love as they embraced that spark and allowed it to grow. Hahn captured the complicated emotions they were experiencing, but also let the joy of it shine through.

Overall: A very emotional and thoughtful coming of age tale.

3.5 stars
When Meg Hennessy finds out, after her high school graduation,that the man she thought was her father is not her biological father, she leaves home to find answers and meet her biological father’s extended family. He died in a car accident before she was born so they are all of his family she has left. This time was meant to be soul searching - discovering what her real faith beliefs are. She never intended to fall in love.

Micah has had a complicated history with faith ever since his father, the pastor of his church, went to jail for embezzlement when Micah was 13. He father also took advantage of many women.

When Meg and Micah meet, they are both trying to work out their feelings on God and the church. The author touches on some very serious issues inside many churches today. While I don’t agree with her theology or some of the conclusions to various questions addressed, I do think she makes some very valid arguments.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I didn't really enjoy this story. There were so many cringy worthy moments and it also felt judgy. My heart broke for the shame and guilt Meg felt for things like kissing a boy, wearing a two piece swim suit, getting a tattoo, wearing a dress, cursing and having a boyfriend. I didn't really enjoy the characters either. The story is told is two different perspectives and sometimes when I was in the middle of a chapter I would forget which perspective I was reading from.

I did enjoy the bits of romance between Meg and Micah and how they leaned on each other during hard times.

Having never read an Erin Hahn book, I wasn't sure what to expect. But now, I'm a fan! In "Never Saw You Coming". Meg Hennessey is an 18-year-old who uncovers a big secret: her dad isn't actually her biological father. This sets her on a journey of finding her biological roots and determining what she really believes spiritually as well. Along the way, she meets Micah Allen, who is dealing with family trauma and church issues of his own. Not only do they grow closer together, but they also come to an understanding about their views on God and the church.

I'm so thankful that Hahn has written this book to show that young girls have taken the brunt of the blame from purity culture and the long-standing effects of those beliefs. I appreciate her note at the end telling her readers that God loves them regardless of their sins and how "egregious" they may or may not be. Hahn has gained a fan in me!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Ohhh boy.... I didn't realize this was Christian Fiction--which is not why I'm DNFing, I actually don't mind *some* Christian books. But this book is so preachy. The MCs of those book are kind of anti Christianity and angry at God for their own reasons, but it still kind of pushes this narrative that eventually they'll get over it and come back to God and that kind of rubbed me the wrong way

That being said, I did enjoy what parts of the romance I did see, and the fact that Hahn isn't afraid to touch on some heavy topics, but still a no go for me.