Thank you to @wednesdaybooks and @netgalley for my ARC of Never Saw You Coming!!!

⛸ Mini Review 🥁
I have been a fan of Erin Hahns since her first book, You’d Be Mine. It was one of my first ARCs from NetGalley and I loved it.

I was super excited for Never Saw You Coming because I loved Meg's character in More Than Maybe. I couldn’t wait to get to know her more.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked Megs POV but I also really liked Micah’s POV as well, maybe even more. They were both super interesting characters that had tons of issues to work through, and I love stories like that. I also loved getting to see some of our past lovable characters. 😍

In the acknowledgments, Erin does say this books’ genre is alternative Christian. From other reviews I’ve seen, not everyone enjoyed that, so I wanted to mention it in case you were interested in reading it. 🥰

This one is difficult to review as the subject matter is very personal including church trauma with the main characters really questioning their religious beliefs throughout the story. That being said I think Erin Hahn tackles this subject in a caring and positive way.

Meg learns a shocking truth about her parents and family and decides to change her gap year plans to meet some family she never knew she had. While in town, she meets Micah who is battling his own family issues. These two characters grew up in the church and know that their beliefs are important but they also need to figure out what they look like as an adult, not something their parents push on them.

Meg and Micah lean on each together to grow. It is definitely a YA novel and in this case I don't think I'm the intended audience but it was still interesting to read and think about my own upbringing.

This story won't be for everyone but for the people who need it, it could be very important.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the author's previous novel but this one missed the mark for me. That's most likely due to me not being the target audience for this book. I'm an adult woman who didn't have a religious upbringing at all. I couldn't relate to either of the characters and found Meg's behavior extreme at times. The romance aspect is sweet but not as swoony as More Than Maybe. I didn't find the writing in this one as strong either. This was a miss for me, but not a bad book. I'd tell anyone who finds the synopsis interesting to give it a go, just keep it mind it is heavy on the Christianity.

Oh, this is a complicated one - I love Erin Hahn and have enjoyed her past books. This book wasn't a great fit for me though - it was too religious for me personally. Just ok.

Despite that, I can absolutely see resonating with many other people who are searching for themselves within the strict confines of their religion while keeping space for what they believe is right societally. Those issues were really handled well. I think many people will get an immensely important message from reading this book, but I was not the right target audience.

Thanks to Wednesday Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

’ve read a lot of Christian themed fiction in my time. Sometimes the religion is very heavy handed. Most is uplifting. Erin Hahn has achieved something I didn’t think was possible. She has created a novel based in Christianity that shows Christians as human. Fallible. Real. Struggling with choices and the legalism that can be present in churches. It is a true display of what it is to be a Christian teenage girl today. And it’s wonderful.

Meg’s world has pretty much fallen down all around her. Her good Christian family is separating. Her father isn’t really her father. Her mother, who has always devoted herself to the church and purity, is kind of a hypocrite. Everything Meg had placed her beliefs in, isn’t what she thought it was. She’s kind of lost. Meg will try to figure out what is biblical truth and what is the church’s own interpretation.

So out go her original plans go for her gap year. Her plans to be a counselor at a Christian girl’s dude ranch. Now that she knows the truth, she’s going to go find it. Her real family. Perhaps along the way she might find out who Meg really is.

Meg will challenge those rules in Marquette, Michigan in the U.P. What starts out as a whim to find her true paternal family leads her to so much more. Micah, who is as lost and disillusioned with the church as Meg is. Duke, who is questioning his own sexuality. Her grandmother, Betty and uncle James. Being on her own along with her new friends will lead her to find some truths about her upbringing and the hypocrisy of the church she always believed so wholly in.

Some might call this YA novel heresy, but I think it’s the best kind. It’s biblical. It shows Christianity in a light that proves it’s imperfect, just as we all are. What Meg finds out is what we all need to realize, that church rules are not necessarily based on biblical truths. This is real life is messy and will challenge you. It’s what is in your heart that matters.

Bravo Ms. Hahn for writing the kind of YA Christian novel that shows us imperfect human beings just doing the best they can.

Hahn has yet again done it again. I absolutely loved this book. A great summer/end of summer read. I recommend this book to anyone that has been a fan of Hahn in the past and anyone that is looking for a beautiful story.

Sweet, heart wrenching, healing, and insightful, this one was difficult to review, but so worth the read…

My basic thoughts: I absolutely LOVE Meg and Micah and their beautifully sweet, caring, earnest relationship. Their friendship and romance was based out of a deep, mutual understanding of each other’s difficult upbringing and the pain that came from it and they truly help each other grow and become the people they were meant to be from these struggles. I also absolutely adored Duke and Betty, and the cameos we got of Vada and Luke made my heart so happy!

My more difficult thoughts: As someone who did not grow up in any form of a religious family, I had a very difficult time reading some of the scenes that showed the “traditional” conservative Christian beliefs. I do not pretend to know anything about Christian beliefs, so seeing how believers are treated for “sinning”, not only by other members of their church, but by their own families, made me sick to my stomach. This story was very enlightening to the fact that these beliefs are still prominent today and just goes to show how damaging they can be and therefore may be difficult for some readers who may have grown up in similar backgrounds.

Overall: I loved More Than Maybe and when I found out Meg was getting her own book, I knew I just HAD to read it and honestly it did not disappoint. While I wish it had expanded on a couple areas, it provided eye opening insight into religious upbringing experiences — the good and the bad. It shows the many different ways to have faith and is a beautiful example of how strong a person is for holding onto their faith while healing from the pain of questioning everything they were taught to believe.

I highly recommend it if you enjoyed More Than Maybe because of the characters but also keep in mind that they are incredibly different stories. The religious aspect of Meg’s life was touched upon in More Than Maybe but it’s the main theme of this story and that’s just something you need to be aware of in case that could be a TW/CW for you. Otherwise, Erin’s writing is just as lyrical and heartwarming and you can’t help but love the characters in a way I don’t get very often. It’s just very special.

I think a lot of other reviews have echoed the same two ideas, either this book isn't for you or they relate completely to everything in the book. And I agree. I hope this book gets into the right hands for those who need it, to see that they are not alone, and that a lot of people have gone through the same process, extricating themselves from what churches preach and what God actually asks of us. This book is probably only for young adults who have a strained relationship with their church. I wish I had this book ten years ago, or even longer. This whole book made me the reader examine my beliefs, just as Meg questions everything she has been told by her parents. I think the self-examination is a good thing to do, and I like that we are with Meg on her journey of questioning everything she thinks she knows. I also like that she doesn't have all the answers at the end of the book but she learns about herself and knows herself better. I would love to read this in a book club, the discussion would be great. I am curious to see what the feedback is when this book is available to everyone. I'll be posting to my instagram to get feedback from my bookstagram friends!

This is an interesting and powerful book. Meg comes from a conservative family in Ann Arbor. As she is leaving high school, she learns her parents had been concealing a huge secret about her and their past -- and that she has family that she never knew about in another part of the state. Meg, shattered by these revelations, decides to abandon her plans for a gap year working at a camp to instead go north and meet her family members.

While there, she meets Micah, the child of a disgraced local pastor, who is also struggling with issues related to his parents and their expectations. The two feel drawn to each other. As their relationship deepens, each has to confront the ongoing impacts of their childhood trauma, decide what relationship they want with their family, and figure out what future they want to pursue.

This book explores many interesting and challenging issues, in a sensitive and nuanced way, all in the context of a compelling story. Highly recommended!

Content warnings (as listed in the book): discussions of self-harm and suicide

Erin Hahn has become one of my favorite contemporary YA authors. I enjoyed You'd Be Mine but absolutely fell in love with More Than Maybe, so reading Never Saw You Coming was basically a no-brainer, and I was especially intrigued by the synopsis alone as I spent a great deal of my teen years in church and am slowly deconstructing my way out of it (which I think is a very apt term that Micah and Meg are doing).

This book packs a mean punch, but in like...a good way? I have a feeling if 18-year-old Me had read this I would have scoffed and rolled my eyes and I thought, "How can they think this?" and then probably would have thought it was shameful to begin with to read this book. But Current Me is glad this book exists and that the Me I am now is reading it because... Well, I just need it. I just need to see that someone else out there is questioning and pointing out the horrible things people in the church do and how it gets looked over. Can I hug Micah and Meg and tell them that what they're feeling internally and around each other is fine? That they will be fine and all the better for it? Because they will and it is okay.

I feel like everything that could have happened in this hypocritical church world happened to Meg and Micah. I cannot even begin to imagine how they had to process those events and come to the conclusions they did about themselves and their family. But knowing they met each other at the exact right moment makes them all the sweeter together. The story of Meg's parents is really heart-breaking because stories like this happen, and the church would rather lie to themselves than show how harmful they can be, which leaves vulnerable people left to pick up the pieces and think they did something wrong. (Also, I think Meg's mom could use some therapy.)

I loved the atmosphere of this book, how Hahn wrote and built her characters, and just how authentic and real this story is and these characters are. I also like how Meg's story sheds a light of how purity culture and "modesty" creates such conflicting feelings in young women, feelings that I felt growing up as well. Her confrontation with her uncle (yay for found families!) also caused him to examine his own spiritual life and how misogynistic and patriarchal the church is and how James may have been as well without realizing it. Yay for growth!

Also, I'm wishing Duke all the best!

I thought this was a cute, clean YA romance. I loved the two main characters, and I really found their individual stories, as well as their path together, quite captivating! I loved how their journey together helped to shape and heal them.

I think that this book might not be for everyone. There is a lot of religious discussion and themes, and while I really enjoyed it, I know that not every reader will. I found the entire story to be quite heartwarming and enjoyable. I thought the writing was great, and the characters were lovable!

I was provided a gifted copy of this book for free. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

this was so cute. i wish i came out in june cause it would be such a cute and fun summer read!!!! will definitely be recommending it

I don't know how she does it, but Erin Hahn writes some of the most authentic young adult characters. She's not afraid to tackle tough subjects, and I think she handled this particular subject (Christianity and Purity Culture) extremely well. The book didn't shy away from the real issues teens struggle with, especially as it relates to religion. It was also a great story, one that I couldn't put down once I got started.

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

Publish Date: September 7, 2021

NEVER SAW YOU COMING is an intriguing YA contemporary romance about religion, love, and finding yourself. Meg has learned a seemingly impossible truth about herself and her parents that has sent her reeling. The man she always thought was her father was not - her biological father died before he even knew her mother was pregnant. Now, she is taking some time to head to her biological father's hometown and meet the family she never knew she had.

Not long after arrival, she meets Micah, a very cute boy who she has a clash with but who later asks for a favor to be his fake date, which leads to a real date. Micah is troubled by the past that seems to be following him - when he was 13, it was revealed that his father, a pastor, was involved in some heavy and terrible crimes, landing him in prison. The probation hearing is coming up, and so are all the feelings Micah has about it.

As Meg and Micah get to know each other, they are also grappling with church, their faith in the face of the church, and how they want to define their own lives.

There is a lot about this book that is really powerful for children who grew up in the church. As a PK, there was a lot that felt uncomfortably familiar about the story, and I appreciated the book as a lens to further examine it all. For teens who may not have yet confronted some of these similar realities, it may be startling (I can imagine being quite startled by some of these ideas when I was a teen) but also rewarding. The book includes as key themes the hypocrisy of churches and the leaders within it as well as how the standards around modesty and purity are imposed on girls (and that it is their job to protect the purity of the boys around them too). Importantly, it separates out God from the church - something that can seem really hard to do.

The beauty of the romance is sometimes overshadowed by the things they have been taught, where Meg's clothing choices she fears are leading others astray and chaste kisses are construed as something sinful. These feelings can be so real, especially when taught things about oreos (I think many will have heard a similar story, such as unwrapping a gift) and that the onus is on the girl to prevent others' impure thoughts and the like. This discussion is really important and hits pretty close to home for children raised in the church. Although the book does not discuss cases of abuse and the metoo movement, this would also have some bearing on these discussions, as they are a particularly dissonant problem with this messaging. I think, particularly in light of Micah's father, that it could also have been helpful to discuss these issues, but I do understand the importance of also emphasizing problematic issues around consensual encounters and the notion of purity.

The book is told from the perspectives of both Micah and Meg, and I appreciated seeing the events unfold from both of their sides. They each have important themes and so much character growth during the story. I found them to both be compelling characters, and their relationship was really beautiful. I also appreciated what we saw of their families, who are imperfect but hold a lot of love in their hearts, making them ultimately something special.

Other themes around abuse of power, Christian judgment, problems of jumping to assumptions, depression, LGBTQ issues with regards to the church, and teen pregnancy made this a book that needs discussion. This would be great for a book club or even an online discussion group, as many of these themes will resonate with young readers and are handled in a thoughtful way.

Final verdict: A compelling and thought-provoking read, NEVER SAW YOU COMING is a strong YA contemporary book about church, faith, and falling in love that I recommend picking up and discussing.

Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

I loved this book so much! More Than Maybe was one of my favorite books of 2020, so I was so excited to read this, as it was about Meg, Vada’s best friend, and I was sure to adore her and her story. Well, I loved it even more than More Than Maybe, if it was even possible! It has the most adorable characters, the sweetest love story and one of the most beautiful messages I’ve ever come across in young adult novels. I have so much admiration for how the role of the church, especially in young girls’ lives, is treated here. So so important and special. The hypocrisy of the community and the double standard made me furious, I was bristling the whole time, but I loved how Erin Hahn and her amazing characters were able to address its injustice without condemning religion too, but instead highlighting how faith is a completely different thing, and the bigotry and sexism of certain religious communities shouldn’t be allowed to ruin faith. Definitely one of my favorite books of the year, which I highly recommend to everyone. I can’t wait to see what other masterpiece Erin will put out next! I’ll be reading everything she writes, that’s for sure,

Grace. Forgiveness. Heavy topics for any book…but even heavier when said book is geared towards YA and is taking on the faith deconstruction and reconciliation of the main characters. As an exvangelical myself (albeit a bit older than the main characters), I felt this book and felt it hard. It went a long, long way to remind me that we’re all human, all struggling, and all deserving of all the forgiveness and grace coming to us, because that’s what Jesus would do.

Erin Hahn's books have made my "favourites of the year" list for the past 2 years and 2021 will be no different because once again she has blown me away with her third release. There's something just so addictive about her plots, her characters and especially her writing.
What I loved about her previous works was the focus on music and that wasn't any where near as present in this book so I was worried about that at first. Instead this has a heavy focus on religion. I am not religious in the slightest so this was yet another thing I was wary of but I really had no need to worry. I'm realising now I'd read a whole book about Erin Hahn's favourite crisp flavour as long as she was passionate about it because her passion and love, whether it be for music or her faith, is so prevalent in her stories and her writing.
Like I said, I'm not a religious person and it makes me sad to think that, had I not already loved Hahn's other works so much, I probably wouldn't have picked this up which is a shame because it was great. Aside from the romance which was so well paced with Meg and Micha having instant chemistry, it tackled a lot of important topics regarding religion with the two main character questioning their faith, questioning how they want to show their faith and the teachings that've been drilled into them.
This was a really beautiful and poignant story with a great and important message that also managed to keep the balance with being romantic and fun. Like I have done with all of Hahn's books before this one, I will recommend this book until I'm blue in the face.

I didn't know what to expect when I went into this book except knowing I was wholeheartedly love it because it was written by Erin Hahn.

Erin Hahn quickly stole my heart with her debut You'd Be Mine, and then shortly soared to one of my favorite authors after More Than Maybe. Never Saw You Coming is so different from her previous books, and yet I could absolutely, 100% know I was reading an Erin Hahn book.

Erin Hahn never fails to impress me with not only the development of her main characters, but the development of her side characters as well. This book is told in two points of view: Micah and Meg. As always, Hahn was able to differentiate the voices of these two characters so I didn't need to reference the chapter heading in order to know whose point of view I was reading. The reason this book worked so well in my opinion is because of the unique and careful development given to each character. I not only knew which character was speaking whether it was Meg, Micah, Duke, or James, but I also knew how each person would react to any given situation. These characters are so well developed, it honestly felt like we could pluck any one of them off the page and go shopping, to the movies, or just hang out with them in real life.

Hahn also has this uncanny ability to write complex family relationships that feel real. They aren't dramatic or horrible for the sake of being horrible. These relationships are never black and white, good and bad, which makes them so believable. Meg and Micah are both dealing with two different familial problems, but so different and yet the same, they aren't comparable. It only brings them closer and more connected because each one knows what the other is experiencing. And it was absolutely beautiful to read about.

Micah and Meg are both grappling with their faith and what it means to them. Meg was a blind follower until just recently when a life-changing secret came to light whereas Micah was a blind follower but had his world and faith shook when he was 13-years-old. Both Micah and Meg had different reactions to their faith and coming back around to understanding how it shapes them as people as well as what it means to them moving forward. I absolutely loved this plot line. I am personally not religious, but after growing up in a very religious community and having a really religious friend (much the same as Meg), many of these topics felt very close to home. The way Hahn handled this topic was not delicate at all nor should it have been. It hit home and was extremely emotional. This is most definitely going to be a tough book for people to read whether they are religious or have a deep aversion to religion. But I think it is a very necessary and important book to read.

Finally, Meg and Micah's relationship was perfection. I honestly thought no couple could ever be better than Annie and Clay. Then Vada and Luke came around, and I was blown away. No Meg and Micah. These couples aren't even comparable because of how different and yet perfect for each other they are. Meg and Micah were such a perfect compliment to each other, and in my opinion, would convince anyone that true, real love is possible.

I love this book so much. I knew I would love this book, but being able to read it, I just want to hold it close to my heart and never let go. I simultaneously want to shove it into other people's hands so they'll read this amazing story as well. Erin Hahn has done it again. She's written a story that worms it's way into my heart and lives rent free in my head.

This was a really sweet and earnest story. I loved both Meg and Micah, separately and together. they both had some real hardships in their upbringing, so watching them find each other felt very rewarding. I really enjoyed the story overall, but won't lie that the religious aspect was a bit difficult for me. Overall though, this was a really great read and Erin's writing is absolutely fantastic. Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for this ARC!
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As someone who isn't religious, I wasn't sure how this book would feel for me, but I knew I had to read it, because I love Erin Hahn, and I was so happy that my request was accepted.

Following Erin on Instagram, I've seen a lot of things she's posted about the book, and it made it more enjoyable. My favorite thing about this book was that it didn't shy away from topics that are considered taboo, especially in YA literature. This book is a lot of things. It's controversial, it's painful, but above all, it was a fantastic book. The characters were real, and had flaws, but those flaws were what made them human and relatable.