The characters of Meg and Micah were cute together and multidimensional. Although I liked the idea behind this it was religion heavy it may not be something all young adults can relate to. I received this book as an advanced reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was so happy to get a copy of this through Netgalley. I absolutely loved You’d Be Mine and I loved this one more. I’ve always struggled with faith due to the amount of horrible things that go on in the world so this was just the perfect book, we are not all perfect but we can strive to be better, understanding and accepting. Meg and Micah are the sweetest couple and so mature for young adults. I cannot reccommend this book enough, it is a beautiful read, and was perfect to escape the realities of life in 2021!

As a product of youth groups of the late 1990s/early 2000s who did the True Love Waits pledge, I find this story fascinating. The author works through many of the same thoughts I have processed about purity and sex since meeting my husband and getting married. As a parent now, I understand why parents and pastors promoted purity pledges. I don’t disagree with the principles behind it. However, I do disagree with the guilt and shame that came with it so that when/if we messed up, we may as well just give up because there was no hope.

While I loved the characters and the inner conflicts they were facing and how they dealt with them, I can’t recommend this book to teenagers. To adults, especially those of us who are in the church, who need to consider how our approach to sex shapes the next generation, yes, I’d definitely recommend. For teenagers who are working on shaping their worldviews, I just have too many concerns with parts of it to be able to encourage a teen to read it.

*2.5*

This book was okay. I'll start with the good. Meg and Micah were great main characters. Neither of them were perfect, and they were both trying to find themselves in different ways. Additionally, I loved their relationship. It was so sweet and dynamic. I loved the side characters as well, especially Duke, Betty, Vada, and Amanda. I feel like they all had their own personality, and they weren't just present as plot points (especially Duke. Duke was my favorite character by far)

All of that being said, Micah and Meg's relationship happened too quick. There wasn't too much development. Also, this book was extremely religion-heavy. Obviously that isn't a bad thing, I just wasn't expecting it, and I wasn't a huge fan. There wasn't any real conflict overall. One thing I will say is that I'm really glad that Hahn spoke about some of the sore topics related to religion, namely the topics of sex before marriage and certain sexist principles.

Overall, it was a decent book. I didn't feel too much of a connection to any of the characters except for Duke and Meg (and even then, not a significant connection).

I have never read a faith-based book quite like this before. The closest I would say, that I've read, is Melody Carlson, which had a huge impact on me as a kid. I'm so glad this book is being released into the world, and I hope it's the first of many. This is a story about learning your parents aren't perfect and what it takes to forgive them.
Meg is a good girl, homeschooled, dedicated to her church and her relationship with God. She even has a picture perfect family... or so she thought. When she discovers that her dad isn't really her dad and she was the result of a one night stand at a youth group conference, everything she ever thought she believed is thrown out the window.
The son of a pastor, jailed for his crimes against the congregation, Micah is just getting out of the shadow his father left him shrouded in. As his father's Parole hearing draws closer, the details surrounding the crimes come to surface once again. Can Micah and Meg find forgiveness for the mistakes of their parents? My favorite part has to be near the end, where Meg's Mom meets Mrs. Sanderson. We really do need a t-shirt. I can't wait to see what more this author has in store for us.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. This book had its moments, but in the end it was not for me. While I applaud the book for talking about religion in a book for teens (which is not commonly done) it was almost too much at times. This managed to draw me out of the story at times.

this is an (incredibly) easy-going romance-y-with-deeper-issues book that explores the longterm psychological impact of growing up in a conservative church. it's very sugary and vanilla, even when discussing fairly high impact issues. idk it wasn't my fave but was very readable. i think i was on board with the premise a lot more than the novel itself - it has a lot of untapped potential.

i haven't read her other book (more than maybe) of which this is apparently a spin-off, but i don't think it impacted the story at all.

I applaud the author for tackling religion, a topic you don't often see in YA. It brings to mind Cynthia Rylant's A Fine White Dust and Rae Carson's Fire and Thorns series in the way that it unhesitatingly delves into issues of religion and faith. There's also a sweet love story at the heart of it all. It's a read that's sure to bring about discussion, and I look forward to having a copy of this in our collection.

This book is really good. It was NOT for me, however. I recognize that this book is well-written and engaging, and its discussion of faith is... honestly, pretty interesting. Overall, I found this to be pretty run of the mill, but I think if YA faith-based romance is your jam, this will very much be for you.

Rating 3.5 stars, rounded up because I understand that personal preference is very much affecting my overall scoring abilities.

I’m just floored and impressed by the author, especially after reading the Author’s Note. The note brought it all together and put a personal stamp to the story.

I was hooked on the story, although I had some initial doubt. But I was soon pulled into the book and loved every minute. From the characters to the plot, the book was captivating.

Both Meg and Micah had such a unique and interesting background, both were connected to the church, but also connected differently. And both had pasts that brought them closer to each other, but also made their relationships to the church more complicated. I adored their relationship, they made me smile, chuckle and warmed my heart.

I thought the book was incredibly well done. And the story on its own will stay with me much longer than any other YA novel. Because in the end the book had heart, soul and substance.

NEVER SAW YOU COMING is a YA contemporary romance with all the swoon and first love excitement I expected, BUT it’s also so very different, even surprisingly different. I didn’t expect it to read like Christian fiction for teens. Nevertheless I loved it, and can only recommend it.

5 Stars

This was a great book I never saw coming! The characters were great and the message even greater. This is a book all teenage, Christian girls should read. I can't recommend this enough. Speaks to my very teenage heart that grew up in church. Meg is an awesome hero. I can't wait to read more from this author.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for my free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a beautiful and eye opening book about finding and living your truth. It centers on faith and on issues I hadn't once given thought to prior to reading this. I loved Meg as I read about her in More Than Maybe but lived her even more throughout this. She is pure light and love. Micah was beyond bicep worthy. Read the book and you will get it.

An incredible, poignant, moving story. The characters come alive on the page, and Meg's faith journey is relatable for anyone who's looked to the church for love and found hypocrisy instead. I can't remember the last time I cried for most of a book, but Never Saw You Coming had me in tears from before I even hit the middle.

I enjoyed this one! I think it can resonate with a lot of folks who struggle with reconciling a certain upbringing (very strict Protestant Christian upbringing, in the story, but probably any very conservative religious household cant relate) with... living and growing up in a modern world, and thinking for yourself what you believe is right and true and how those values may or may not be lead y example within your church. There's a lot more to discuss that I'm not going to get into on a book review, but I think the author was very thoughtful about it and I'd recommend this to young people in those groups. What's present here is a very real struggle. Plot and character-wise, I did enjoy the main characters; at the beginning Meg read more like a 13 year old than an 18 year old, but I can forgive that given her sheltered upbringing. I like Micah a lot. Overall very solid, very sweet and not too swoony.

Meg graduates from HS and realizes that her parents have been lying to her all along. She leaves in search of answers, and finds a whole lot more--a first love, a questioning of all she ever believes in, and some true friendships.

This title explored religion in a way that most YA books shy away from, which I appreciated. A lot of teens will appreciate this title and the issues it explores.

“It’s a little like we are helping each other become who we are meant to be. No fixing each other, but pushing each other.”

I’m a religious person. Also, I live my idea of religion in my own way, with my personal feelings, and I don’t argue with people about this topic, therefore when somebody starts a discussion, I just walk away. Because of that I almost walk away from this book, but something stops me from doing it, and I have to say my heart hasn’t been as completely full of and story, as it is with Never Saw You Coming.
Marvelous written, in this book, the author delivers a story not about religions or church, nor what is right or wrong, what is acceptable by society or not. It’s not about forgiveness or redemption, but about faith, belief and keeping truth to yourself.
Meg and Micah have a complicated relationship with God and their own families, they have their own burden and “garbage,” however the important part is how they use their faith to find themselves.
Every character is fantastic, each of them plays an important role in the story and I think the author does a great job to present every perspective of these characters about the main topic of the story which makes this book richer.
I like that the author doesn’t go for the ‘black and white idea’ she uses more like every situation, every person has their own color. I totally enjoyed that each character speaks their mind as it would happen in real life, and the complexity of families’ dynamic, because let me tell you something, teens and young people aren’t the only with mixing feeling and broken hearts, adults can be pretty much mess up too.
And my final thought is: We really need Duke’s book. You’ll agree when you read it. 😊
100% recommended.
I received an ARC from NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. And I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

NEVER SAW YOU COMING is a poignant story featuring two 18 year old devout Christians whose paths cross after each of them are betrayed/let down by the adults in their lives. Meg discovers that her Dad is not her actual father (and that he’s divorcing her mother and might be gay), while Micah’s father, a pastor, has been sent to prison. Together they wrestle with questions of what they believe - about God, their families, and who they want to be as they head into adulthood.

I had a mixed reaction to this story, to be honest. The concept was captivating, but Meg and Micah seemed both way older than 18 and at the same time naive/childish. I suspect this is an accurate depiction of teens raised in intensely Christian environments. But it made it difficult for me to fully immerse in the story because they just felt so strange in their thought processes. I am a Christian, but was not raised in this sort of setting, so perhaps that’s the disconnect for me.

That said, I believe this will be an incredibly helpful and well-received book for the millions of young adults who find themselves on the brink of adulthood with big problems they didn’t cause or see coming, needing to figure out how the faith they were given works in the real world.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a complicated one for me to rate.

The story is cute enough in general and I did enjoy the bond between the two MCs (Micah is absolutely precious).

However, this is too religious for my liking. It's actually quite heavy-handed at times. I have no doubt there are readers who will see themselves in Meg and Micahs’ shoes, however, I'm not one of them and, to me, it's all a bit much. I do appreciate that there are some attempts at being inclusive. There are LGBTQ characters and other topics mentioned that go beyond the traditional Christian beliefs (in the author's words, this is an alternative christian story), but they are often overshadowed by all of the heavy theological content.

So while I do think this has its moments, and the author's note at the ends helps a lot, I just don't think I am the right audience for this particular story, unfortunately.

This book.. I could not stop reading. I have read Hahn’s first book and enjoyed it, but this one was so much more. Meg and Micah have wonderful character development and beautiful stories. Life at 18 isn’t always easy. The church/ your parents/ you friends all weigh in on your daily actions. What is it like just to become yourself without the weight of it all? I look back and wish I could have my 18 year old self read this book. I think it had an inspiring message for readers. And the greatest is love. Be the love, spread the love, help others find the love. Jesus loves.
Thank you Netgally for the ARC in exchange for my honest review

Representation: Queer side character

Gorgeous, affirming, and so, so beautiful, I devoured NEVER SAW YOU COMING in a matter of days. I adored> this book.

It follows religious eighteen-year-old Meg who's just learned that her father isn't actually her biological father. She decides to travel to meet her remaining biological family, her great-grandmother Betty and Uncle James, the youth pastor at the local church. There, she meets Micah Allen, a former pastor's son who is dealing with his father having been incarcerated years previously. Together, they grow to love each other and further their relationship with God and what, exactly, that looks like for them.

This book, at its core, is a reminder that God loves you, no matter what, and that even if you lose your way in life because of the people around you? You can always find your way again. NEVER SAW YOU COMING is my favorite book of 2021 so far and one of my new favorite books of all time. I cannot wait to get my physical copy.

Side-note: I loved Duke and I need to see more of him in another book someday!