Never Saw You Coming is one of my most anticipated releases this year and it did not disappoint! I loved Meg in More Than Maybe so I’m so happy that we get more of her story. It was wonderful to see her find herself and not let how she was raised and what people would think of her dull her sparkle. I adored her relationship with Micah (I mean Erin Hahn knows how to write love interest that makes me wish they were real *sigh* haha). I really loved seeing their relationship grow. As always there are amazing side character who are equally as wonderful and the book wouldn’t be the same without them.

This book does not shy away from calling out the topics that all young people (mainly teenage girls) have heard being raised in church. Having grown up in church and attended a christian school and college I am so familiar with how much church people can honestly be the worst.
Life will always be messy and I am far from perfect but God loves me for my messy imperfect self and this book reminded me of that.

I can’t recommend this book enough. It was such a fantastic read and I’m going to have a hard time not rereading it over and over again!

Thank you to Wednesday Books and Nethalley for the ARC of this book!
I received an advance reader copy in exchange for a honest review

Where was this book when I was a youth group-attending, church-going adolescent? No matter, it's here now. <i>Never Saw You Coming</i> spoke to both anxious adolescent me and now late-twentysomething me; it encapsulates a bundle of contradictions. More, please, Erin Hahn.

Hahn did such a great job depicting the life a a teenager who grew up in a christian church culture. There can be judgement, legalistic teaching and not enough love and grace if people aren't careful. I experienced this personally to a degree and I love what Hahn was aiming to do in this book. She really wanted the teens to be seen, heard, and understood. She wants them to find a safe space in life to feel like they can make mistakes, explore the world around them and not feel condemned. Through the story of Micah and Meg, Hahn was able to show how two teens from broken families could find a way out of that brokenness, find God and a healthy relationship where they could truly be seen and loved for who they are. This book definitely won't be for everyone but it really resonated with me and I hope it will with many others as well.

I feel like my perspective on this book is... well, to be frank, not relevant. I’m a grown adult who has the freedom of choice in all things & it gives me such a skewed perspective on evaluating the accuracy of the portrayal of these characters. I grew up in the beginnings of purity culture. I’ve seen hypocrisy in the church & been part of the hypocrisy—such is being human. I am a Flawed & mistake-laden human, but I remember expecting so much more from the adults in my life & I was surrounded by incredible adults. Truly. So the struggles of Meg & Micah seem authentic & relevant, but they also seem... a little forced? Like Hahn is trying a little too hard to undo the wrongs of the sanctimonious? I just reviewed Never Saw You Coming by Erin Hahn. #NetGalley

I very much enjoyed this book.

Micah and Meg work well within the story both as individual characters, and as a couple. The dynamic between the two is tender yet believable.

The religious aspects of the plot also work quite well within the story and I found myself able to relate a little too much to certain aspects of it.

My main issue was a small nitpick which is that I find it hard to believe that a fundamentalist church would let a new in town 18 year old have charge over 14 year olds. I felt also they likely would not have been quite so accepting of her status as the illegitimate niece of one of their pastors.

Over all however, the characterization of this book rang true and the dialogue flowed easily rather than in the stilted manner many books do.

This book is a worthy companion to More than Maybe which gives us the Luke and Vada backstory.

Review coming soon. Thanks to Erin Hahn, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC; the opinions are mine.

Pub Date 9.7.21

*Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a digital ARC of this book*

Never Saw You Coming is a dual POV book, with Meg and Micah as the main characters. Both characters are struggling with their faith, relationship with the church, and discovering who they really are. This book does a really good job of displaying the Church and God in both good and bad contexts. I, myself, grew up in church, and it wasn't until I was older and able to form my own views about faith and God that I realized a lot of the hypocrisy and corruption that goes on in the church. I personally have left a lot of my religious beliefs behind, and I don't necessarily like church, which is why I rated this down a star. That's obviously my own personal belief though, and I thought Erin Hahn wrote an amazing story. While I wasn't super excited to pick up a book involving religion as the main plotline, I really enjoyed it. I think the internal conflict that both characters go through is very well done and it doesn't sway you to believe one way or another. If anything, this book is about becoming more accepting than religion tells you to be, and I loved that. It wasn't a book all about praising God and following all the rules, but more so about finding yourself.

Overall, it was a good book that I had a hard time putting down sometimes. Regardless, I am still a little wary of books surrounding religion so openly though, even if I did enjoy Never Saw You Coming. If you are an atheist, I wouldn't recommend this book. If you are a person of faith or member of the Church, I would definitely say to give this book a read!

This novel really opened me up to people and experiences unfamiliar to me. I don't have a lot of insight into conservative Christianity, and if you'd asked me if I would want to read about it, the answer would have been a resounding no. But I loved Hahn's More Than Maybe, and was excited to rejoin the world. She shows Meg as someone who is unlearning some unfortunate ingrained habits, and Micah as someone learning to forgive - including himself. I enjoyed the contrast between refusing to compromise one's beliefs and recognizing that sometimes, beliefs change with new experiences. I think a lot of students from homes like Meg's could really relate to this.

Like a few other reviewers have mentioned, I was also a little apprehensive about starting Never Saw You Coming by Erin Hahn as it revolves around Christianity and I am a non-believer. But I thought "just give a try!" I'm glad I did. The plot centers around Christianity, but in a way that is natural, and allows the characters to question things and is more nuanced than I first thought. It was really well written, and I'm glad I read this one!

Wow. I was extremely apprehensive going into this book, as I do not have a good relationship with Christianity as a whole (and currently do not believe in god) and was worried it would be too religious for me. Instead, it was hard-hitting and relatable, reminding me especially of the shame and purity culture of the Catholic Church in which I was raised. I wish some of the characters could have left the Church or truly questioned their religion, but the discussions they have are complex and nuanced.

In truth, Never Saw You Coming is raw, and it made me cry. Since pub day is so far away, I'll refrain from giving away too many details. However, I really appreciated how the author approached these difficult subjects.

Unfortunately, the overall plot and characters are a little forgettable.

This book was fantastically written, with a vivid storyline and relatable characters. It's a great YA story that I'd certainly recommend to those who grew up to question their Christian upbringing.

Micah and Meg sure came into each other’s lives with a whole lot of baggage. Meg, reeling from finding out the dad she never knew was dead and the man she thought was her dad actually wasn’t. Then there’s Micah, who suffered a different kind of betrayal from his dad, which created a rift in his family. Thankfully they found each other and through the story...helped each other heal.

I received a complimentary copy of this book "Never Saw You Coming" and all opinions expressed are my own. I thought this book was okay. Overall a quick read, teen romance and religion as the main subject of the story line.

Meg Hennessey's world is upended when she finds out most of her life has been a lie. She planned to take a gap year before going to college, but decides to road trip to meet her newfound family, finding friendships and love while also wrestling with her Christian upbringing.

Erin Hahn has created a unique spin on Christian YA fiction and made it realistic, without all the sanitizing you normally get from the genre. Refreshing!

if you use a Taylor Swift lyric as a title you know I'm going to add it to my tbr right

TW: slut-shaming (contested), purity culture, religious trauma, discussion of and attempted suicide, near-death experience

I don't have words for what this book meant to me and how perfectly I needed it.

NEVER SAW YOU COMING is faith positive, purity culture shaming, and sex positive. It's set in Michigan. There's a beautiful romance, a wonderful side character coming to terms with his sexuality, discussion of mental health, a search-and-rescue adventure, a v cute dog, a love interest described as Nick Miller, and fun adventures at part-time jobs. The main characters are 18 and 19.

"The uncomfortable truth is, while the church loves sinners in their pews, they don't want them in front of a crowd. It's the difference between acceptance and tolerance."


I don't want to get too personal in this Goodreads review [as I proceed to get incredibly personal], but recently I've been questioning my belonging within my church. I love God, I love His gospel, but WHEW His people leading the church? Some of the shittiest people I've ever met in my life. The amount of shame, judgement, and prejudice within the religion--a religion that believes loving God and loving your neighbor are the first two commandments--is stifling and toxic.

Not to get all cheesy and spiritual on you, but I know God is real because He prompted me to read this arc at this moment in my life. This book is going down as one that changed my life.

I've felt seen. Validated. And now I have the courage to actually set those boundaries with myself and my church and decide to take a step back. I feel like I'm leaning more towards Micah's position on church than Meg's, but all that to say, faith is a spectrum and is fluid. I can be more or less involved with a specific religion later in life too. And that is also something this book taught me.

"Call it my heterosexual white girl privilege (I do), but I've never had a reason to feel like I didn't belong."


Meg is such a deeply relatable character. She learned some things about her past that completely contradict everything she understands about her life. She runs away to find her biological dad's family and meets and falls for a boy shamed by his church after his pastor father cheated and scammed the whole congregation. She explores her sexuality, her identity, her life in a liberated and (relatively) judgement free place. Her "dark" past of reading smutty fan fiction and longing to wear a two-piece with her friends was my childhood, tenfold.

A crucial part of Meg's journey is also seeing the church's perspective on modesty and LGBTQ+ people. The blame and damnation assigned to everyone but the cishet men was an upsetting revelation, one she couldn't fully grasp living in the thick of things. Escaping her regular life led to her recognizing her privilege within her church--and in turn, my own--was eye-opening for both of us.

Micah was a top-tier love interest, and is actually inspired by Erin Hahn and her real-life meet cute with her husband! I wasn't a big fan of Hahn's debut, but this book completely changed my perspective on her writing. The vulnerability crackles on page. You can feel her real-life inspiration in every discussion on parental issues, the church, teenage sexuality, and embracing yourself.

A gorgeously coming-0f-age story that I will think about for a very long time.

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the arc. All opinions are my own.

This. Was. So. Good! I was mildly apprehensive about the faith based nature of this book, but oh my goodness it ended up being perfection. I see my past in so many of the experiences of these kids, and it just hurt my heart to see it on page, but also gave me so much hope, because these kids are awesome. Definitely will be looking for more by Erin Hahn!

Wonderful YA/NA contemporary about self-discovery. Readers follow Vada’s bestie, Meg, from ‘More Than Maybe’ and newcomer Micah on their paths to self-discovery and finding happiness with each other. Both have had their worlds forever shifted by their parents’ actions and are figuring out how to balance expectations put on them by their families, their church communities, and society at large.

‘Never Saw You Coming’ can stand on it’s own, even if you haven’t read Erin Hahn’s excellent ‘More Than Maybe.’ You also don’t need to be part of a church community to enjoy this book.

This is a young adult book which addresses issues of strict religious upbringing vs. the modern world and our own human frailties. Meg, age 19, accidentally discovers that her dad is not her dad. In fact, her ultra religious mom had an out of wedlock pregnancy. Shattered and angry she sets off to find out more about her now deceased biological parent. Micah, the son of a church pastor, is devastated to learn that the dad he loved and defended is actually a self-centered con man guilty of fraud and inappropriate sexual encounters. There’s a love story in play for Meg and Micah; and especially for Meg, there’s also a struggle between her learned definition of “sin,” and her newly discovered sexual longing.

If you’re still of the opinion that church rules are never to be questioned or broken, this is not the book for you. For me, as I’ve struggled over the years with my Catholic faith, it was an interesting read. I learned that some religions require a “purity pledge” for teens asserting that they will not have sex before marriage. The book implied that only girls must take the pledge, which seems unfair. I thought the author did a good job of reinforcing my same opinion that organized religion tends to over-sell the avoidance of sin, and under-sell love for one’s self and fellow human beings.

But, there’s more to the book than religious hypocrisy. That’s the background message, but it was also a nice love story. The plot moved along easily with interesting characters and good dialogue.

Thanks to Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Erin Hahn’s ‘Never Saw You Coming’ is a bold, poignant story about self-discovery and personal growth. Though it focuses on the Christian-steeped faith journeys of its respective protagonists, there is a universality to the novel that transcends its subject material. It’s also an interconnected standalone that builds on the world that Hahn expertly crafted in ‘More Than Maybe.’

When Meg Hennessey finds out that her childhood was a lie, she decides to seek out the family she’s just discovered she has, and begins to examine the belief system in which she was raised. Micah Allen is a former pastor’s kid with some battle scars of his own, including a fraught relationship with his father’s former congregation. As Meg and Micah become closer, they grapple with their feelings for each other and about their evolving core beliefs.

This novel engendered such a wealth of feelings that it’s difficult to decide where to begin. At its core, it’s a story about leaving childhood behind and becoming who you were meant to be. I think the themes contained in this book are so ubiquitous that it will resonate with all readers, regardless of whether or not they’re familiar with this particular sort of life and culture.

As someone who was raised in a similar faith tradition as what’s described on page, I felt an intense connection to the growing pains that Meg and Micah both feel as they grapple with what truths they still hold and which traditions they wish to reject. This novel so beautifully articulates the challenges and the triumphs of faith and life transitions, and I think it’s a really important work, especially now. (I also love how we get glimpses of beloved characters from ‘More Than Maybe,’ which is another book that I could not put down. Do yourself a favor, and read them both!)

This is definitely making my top ten list for 2021.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, for providing me with an ARC of ‘Never Saw You Coming’ in exchange for my honest review.

ugh i’d forgotten how great the ya genre is! i’m not a religious person, and honestly read the first couple pages of this and debated quitting. BUT I DIDN’T, and am truly glad; i couldn’t put it down! not to get too deep into things here, but i really identified with how meg and micah grew in their respective faiths and views of the church. fingers crossed that we get duke’s story next!

#netgalley

This novel is a feel good, finding yourself kind of book. There is a lot of religion and religious belief in the background that plays a part in the lives of the main characters but I feel that it has been portrayed effectively. It highlights the standards put on girls in faith and how suffocating it can be while the boys have little to none. This contemporary romance was a slow burn and I enjoyed reading it.
Full review will be posted in my blog, thanks again for the opportunity to read this book.