I think I'm just too old and non-religious for this novel. There were some cute moments but at times it was very heavy-handed. Two stars as I loved the Michigan references and the cover was perfect.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received a copy of this book from Wednesday Books and Netgalley.

This book focuses on Meg who has a very strict Christian upbring and discovers something that leads her to feel betrayed and question what she's been taught.
Its a painful, beautiful book and moving in a way I very much did not expect.

This book... oh man, this book. I cried over this book. I stayed up all night thinking about this book.

There are so many things about this book that make me not its target audience: it's YA and it's about a girl grappling with her Christian faith, and I am a Jewish adult who cannot remember Judaism ever trying to shame me for anything (it might've happened, I just don't remember it). Despite that, I loved this book.

The protagonist here is Meg, an 18 year-old whose world is rocked when she finds out her parents are not who she thought they were. She's been raised in a strict church culture where purity and modesty are highly valued, and now she sees hypocrisy in her parents and doesn't know what to do. She leaves home and travels to the town where her birth father, whom she never knew, is from. There, she meets Micah, who has his own church-related problems: his dad, a pastor, has spent the last 5 years in prison for various financial and sexual crimes.

As Meg's relationships with Micah and her dad's family develop, she has to confront all of these things she's been told to believe about herself. Hahn has called this book her "purity-smashing YA romance," and I think that's accurate. This book is not at all anti-Christian or anti-religion, but if I were a young Christian girl being constantly told that my body is a sin, this book would remind me that God and Jesus love me regardless. With my background I wasn't able to really relate to these elements of Meg's struggle, but books act as windows AND mirrors, and I empathized so strongly with Meg and the challenges of being a teenage girl that my remoteness from her experiences didn't really matter. That's absolutely to the credit of Hahn's beautiful, empathic writing.

That's all to say I LOVE THIS BOOK, I think it's beautiful, and I hope you'll read it too. It comes out in September. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for the ARC.

Erin Hahn’s Never Saw You Coming is a balm of comfort. Readers will find fall in love with the refreshing honesty of Meg and Micah, two teens who are heartbreakingly genuine in their struggles as they navigate a story that deals with questioning religion, faith, hypocrisy, and the true meaning of love and forgiveness. With her familiar humor and extraordinary prose, Hahn has created a world in which readers are invited to be still and know that they are more than enough just as they are. No conditions. No exceptions.

I love Erin Hahn's writing and when I heard she was writing a book about teenage Christians, I was all in. I was a teenage Christian in the 90s, and while I'm no longer religious, discussions of teenage religious behavior continues to fascinate me. This is a book I wish I had when I was a teenage Christian. The focus on girls and the double standard of purity is something that has always made me so angry, and this book addressed it so well.

I really liked Meg as a more fleshed-out character than she was in More Than Maybe. Micah is obviously an angsty dreamboat. I appreciated how their stories meshed and how they could be there for each other in similar ways. There was shitty parenting and great parenting and even better extended family parenting.

There was a lot of drama in the third act that seemed ridiculous, but I understand why some stuff happened, even if it was over the top.

Overall, I really enjoyed this and will be delighted to reread it when the final copy comes out in September.

This is incredibly sweet, absolutely thought provoking, bold and truly heartwarming, healing, inspirational reading! Let me tell you something Meg and Micah are the most amazing, the sweetest, earnest, most lovable young couple the author created!

I feel like they switch places with their parents at the entire book because they acted so mature. As both of their worlds crumble into pieces, they still find a way to stand on their feet. As their faiths, realities are tested and they keep losing everything in their lives, they find each other.

Meg Hennessey realizes her 18 years long life consists of lies. The man she knows as her father is not her real father and as soon as the truth reveals, he leaves her family, wanting to divorce and her mother confesses that she is product of a special one night stand at a youth camp. When she learned she was pregnant to her, before talking to Andrew who was the biological father of Meg lost his life at a tragic car accident.

Meg finds out she has grandmother and an uncle are still alive. She decides to spend her gap year by reconnecting with her roots and discovering who she is after living under strict rules of conservative mother: she’s never been kissed, held a boy’s hand, watched R rated movie, homeschooled, mostly lived in her parents’ protective cocoon!

Now it’s time to free herself from her chains and discover her roots by traveling to north and moving to the town where her dad was born.

Micah,19, is still chased by the big scandal his father created which ripped apart their family. Now he is broken, questioning his own belief when his pastor father/ his best friend/ his mentor is put behind the bars because of siphoning church’s money and labeled as sex predator!

After being stalked by reporters, shunned by public, losing her home, their entire savings but mostly saying goodbye to his innocent childhood, Micah manages to bottle up his boiling anger and resentment for his mother’s sake who finally remarried and reinstated a better life with new kids. After 5 years later, his father will be released from prison and his parole hearing is approaching but Micah has no intention to go and be part of it!

At the time when he truly needs a friend who can truly understand his suffer, his path crosses with Meg who just set her foot on the town to meet with her grandma.

As she connects with her family, finding a job at the cafe next door where Micah works, selling sports goods, she slowly learns to enjoy her new life by forming deep connection with Micah.

I loved their blooming friendship, innocent, honest, genuine connection and extremely sweet, heartfelt, true romance!

Meg is witty, sweet pie, kind hearted but she also bold, risk taker, amicable. Her self discovery journey after being lied for her entire life never gets out of control. She acts responsible from the beginning and it’s enjoyable to see how she discovers sweet happinesses of the life and shares it with Micah!
Micah was also best book boyfriend, patient, loyal, caring and standing up for his girl at the toughest times.

I loved the daring, realistic approach of the author to the sensitive issues: church, religion, beliefs, homophobia, sexual awakening, family, self discovery.

But I honestly fell in love with those characters. And it was nice to see Vada and Luke’s cameos from More than maybe. Vada is best eccentric, artistic, loyal friend.

Overall: this book should be prescribed for grumpy, pessimist people who lost their way in their life to consume at least three times a day so they can absorb each inspirational quotes our characters tell and they can heal from their dark moods with feel good power of this exceptional reading which guarantees to put permanent smile on our faces! It’s absolutely amazing!

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/ Wednesday Books for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

<i>Never Saw You Coming</i> was a fantastic read. I read More Than Maybe last year and I loved it but, I have to say, that I loved this book more. I think this is Erin Hahn's best book. The discussions in this book about faith and the church were really interesting to me because as a Jewish person that lives in South America (and has never been to the US) I always wondered how that kind of upbringing affected people and especially young women like myself. All my knowledge about this topic has always come to me from media (news articles, movies, tv shows) so this book was really insightful.
I loved Meg's quirkiness and the way that she was unapologetically herself above all else. Micah was great too, he was really inspiring as a person, and I loved their relationship a lot.
I also loved all the MTM cameos, they were hilarious.
And DUKE!! he was amazing!! One of my favorite characters in this book. I adored the friendship between him and Meg, and Micah.
I would highly recommend this book, and i can't wait for Erin's adult debut!!

I appreciate how this book was more than just a typical young adult romance.
The characters were well-developed and weren't primarily focused on their love lives all the time.
Meg and Micah had good chemistry which is always a huge plus.
One of the strengths of the novel was the story wasn't so dependent on romance instead the characters also had other things going on in their lives. The author set up two interesting story line with religion . It helped contribute to this being a cute story but with substance.

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

CW: Discussions of self harm and suicide, mentions of death related to drunk driving

4.5 stars

Never Saw You Coming is one of my most anticipated books of 2021. I was absolutely stunned when I received the notification that I had won an advance copy on Goodreads. This book was both everything I hoped for and also completely unexpected. It doesn't shy away from the hard questions and instead dives head first into an examination of faith, love, forgiveness, religion, family, and also hypocrisy. Even though I don't have experiences like Meg or Micah with church/religion, I appreciated the vulnerability and raw honesty of their journeys. Hahn made their struggles so genuinely heartbreaking and relatable. The love that blossoms between them was so tender and beautiful. The writing was incredibly heartfelt and the message of being loved just as you are, without conditions or exceptions, was so powerful.

Family relationships play a large role in the story and I loved how found families were just as critical (if not more so) than families of blood. Duke also definitely needs his own book now ;) The cameos by my More Than Maybe favorites was wonderful and the epilogue was a beautifully perfect way to bring everything full circle. Meg and Micah's journey isn't an easy one, but I really appreciated the author's note at the end, which helped put things into perspective for me. I can imagine that Never Saw You Coming might be quite polarizing for readers, but it will also be a great comfort to many as well.

*I voluntarily read an advance review copy of this book*

I loved this book so much!!! Erin is amazing, though, so how couldn't I? Lovable characters, amazing plot, I highly recommend you put this one on your tbr if you love Erin's work, or just love romance!

Erin Hahn's YA romances have an uncanny way of pulling me in and keeping me invested through the last page, and this was no different! This book felt unlike any other YA I've read in its exploration of Christianity, the church, purity culture, and more. Meg's story would have meant a lot to me as a confused youth group kid and still did as an adult disillusioned with the church. Her relationship with Micah was beautiful to watch unfold, and each of their individual relationships to their families and their faith were complex and thoughtfully portrayed. The prose was beautiful, the themes relatable, and I loved the appearances of characters from Hahn's last book. I would enthusiastically recommend this book to teens and adults who find themselves questioning their relationship to religion (or even not questioning it)--this would give them a lot to think about, while telling a beautiful love story to boot.

This book had a little too much God for my own personal tastes, but it fills a much-needed space on my library bookshelf and I know it will speak to a lot of teen readers. I'm excited for them to find it.

After finding out her father she’s lived with her whole life is not her dad, Meg goes to visit her real dad’s great grandmother and his brother. She decides to stay and meets Micah whose dad is in prison. Meg and Micah hit it off and become close. Because both come from religious backgrounds, they know that no matter what or who you are God loves you. Great book.

Erin Hahn saw a lack on the bookshelf: an empty space for teens who believe in God, but want to believe in themselves, mess and all-- and she filled it beautifully.

In NEVER SAW YOU COMING, Erin Hahn follows two teens in two different crises. Meg, after just receiving news that shakes her understanding of herself to its core, takes a gap year in the Upper Peninsula, where she meets (and falls for) Micah. Micah's father is soon to be released from prison, having been sent there for pastoral misdeeds that not only divided the community but broke Micah's family.

Both Micah and Meg are facing deep questions with the essential heart of: who am I and what is the difference between the Church as an institution and personal belief. They also wrestle with chastity and modesty culture and how far they should go/want to go, and what desiring another person is like for the first time in your life.

Neither saccharine, nor inspirational, Meg and Micah believably navigate their journeys in this book in a way that feels necessary. Teens of faith, who ache a more grace-filled, accepting, and loving Church, will latch onto this book, and teens who don't believe will still enjoy the love story and family journeys in this book.

Completely original and necessary. Brava, Erin Hahn.

I wish I had this book when I was growing up. The way Erin Hahn handles a deeply traditional and religious upbringing with the complexities and contradictions of real-life, human fallibility, and just being a teenager with raging hormones--well, it's perfect. There's so much empathy there. I loved both main characters, Meg and Micah. I feel so tender for them as they fall in love, as they try to navigate who they are becoming, and who they were raised to be. And in true Hahn fashion, there's plenty of swoon and banter in this book. It's a romcom with less com and more substance. You will laugh at all the jokes between friends, and Meg's wit and sarcasm, and you will cry with both of them as Meg and Micah deal with their families. I don't want to give too much away, and I can't really summarize such a deep book. Just read it. Find yourself a cozy place to be, and settle in.

Never Saw You Coming by Erin Hahn was an exceptionally good book about two teenagers, Micah and Meg, grappling with their pasts (or in Meg’s case, her mother’s past). These internal struggles stem from growing up in religious households, but learning that there are levels of hypocrisy and a lack of forgiveness when it comes to people at the church.

Told from the perspectives of both Meg and Micah, we really got to know the characters and the inner conflicts that they are experiencing. Despite the seriousness of the conflicts they are facing, the overall story is uplifting and funny at times. I loved the blossoming romance between the two characters, and appreciated how realistic it was.

I was especially excited when I realized that Never Saw You Coming is a spinoff from Hahn’s book, More Than Maybe. While it’s not necessary to have read this before reading Never Saw You Coming, I really enjoyed reading Meg’s story and the cameo’s from the first book were fun.

Overall, I would recommend this book! A big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read the book and give my honest review.

This is my favorite Erin Hahn book to date. I loved the characters and their journeys so much. I flew through the book and had a hard time putting it down to do other things. Five stars isn’t nearly enough.

I am a big fan of this author and when I realized this was a story about Meg, I was thrilled. What the author does in this story is takes many of the ideals of Christianity and conservative Christianity, and discusses them through the characters of Meg and Micah. Both characters are dealing with their own personal issues related to their faith in their family, and are able to find solace in each other. I think this is a very powerful story and I think that it has a very strong thought provoking message. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion

*ARC provided courtesy of the publisher*
I really enjoyed this book, even though I’m not convinced I was the target audience for it. That’s a good thing. As an avid reader of YA, I really like Meg and Micah as protagonists. Although I’m not a Christian, or all that familiar with the issues Meg and Micah face directly, I am religious and I do really appreciate the way the author writes about their struggles and the entire cast of characters’ relationship with God, the church, and each other. I thought the characters were well developed. I liked their relationship and I like that their storyline progressed realistically and didn’t rely on communication issues as a foil. However, I do wish that it was more diverse and that we were introduced more to the other characters, who really feel like background characters.. (I wish I could give it 3.75 but I’ll round up to 4).

This book felt complicated to me. Many people will love this book and I loved it about 65% of the time.

I thought this book was going to be one of those sweet little teen Christian romances. But what I got instead was a book that is heavy on the theology debates using two younger adults who have had some major upsets in their lives that would make them question God AND a sweet little teen romance. I know next to nothing when it comes to the heavy the religious content is in this book. I only know what I believe from my limited knowledge and point of view. So this is it.

This book reminds me of a documentary I once watched about these girls who pledge a chastity promise (complete with a ring) before their pastor/church and go to a yearly chastity dance with their fathers (which looks fancier than prom)…some of them are so extreme they claim they won’t even kiss a boy until they’re married, or even be in the same room with a boy unless they are chaperoned by a father figure…and then we have the few girls that fell off the chastity wagon just to offset the overwhelming tones of the other 90% of the cast.

Meg reminds me of these chastity girls. She’s 18 and rebelling; if you call wearing a tankini, kissing a boy, and showing some shoulder actual rebelling. Which I don’t. That said, I absolutely love her. Meg is a wonderful girl and anyone would be lucky to have a girl like her in their lives.

Micah (who is also a wonderful person anyone would be lucky to have in their lives) is contradictory. He’s a pastor’s son. Only the pastor got nailed for stealing money from the church and sleeping around. He says he’s agnostic (If I am remembering correctly). But I don’t think that’s what he is based on everything he says in the book.

Micah totally says multiple times that he believes in God and his revelation in the church supports that thought. Along with telling Meg a bunch of super conservative Christian info that he believes. So what I think he is supposed to be is, non-denominational. Because his father tainted that relationship he had with his church life, which is part of Micah’s major struggle throughout the book. And oh boy, when you near 40% of the way through this book does the religious talks start ramping up hard for a while.

Meg talks about singing in church and Micah has a revelation when he accidentally hears a tiny bit of a speech given in the same sermon. He talks God with Meg on the top of the ‘mountain’ giving these extremely religious views of how even thinking a thought that isn’t pure is a sin but god offers grace and understanding about such things and has known you would have these thoughts since before you were born so it’s fine…yeah. Not agnostic by a long shot my friends.

This book tries to be inclusive too. Dane is not quite sure what he is, but with a strict military background father he’s mostly afraid to explore. Dane is the most natural inclusion character of the book. I appreciate Dane.

For example a not so natural inconclusion, Meg just bomb drops out of nowhere that she thinks her stepfather (who is currently in the middle of divorcing her mother after over a decade of being married) is probably gay. How does she know this? Why are we getting this info? No idea. Does it get mentioned again…well not for the next 15-20% of the book because they are too busy going on with their teenage-hood lives and having conversations on how kissing and thinking about wanting more is totally a sin but God must be okay with it or why would we have these thoughts and feelings? *cough* free will? *cough cough*

Back to trying to be inclusive though. Meg tells Micah about her friends Cullen and Zack back home, who are obviously in a relationship. Fortunately, I think their names were mentioned in passing right at the beginning of the book so I don’t think this ‘we’re inclusive’ talk is quite as random the bomb drop the step-dad one was. I could go on. But I’m not.

Conclusion

I’m going to be honest, this book flipped back and forth between being really cute and somewhat irritating me. To me it felt like I was reading a massive example of the word contradiction. But that feeling is 100% based on my own life experience. Maybe there are people out there who hold all these conflicting ideals in their hearts and I’m just totally missing them from my life.

Maybe I just hang out with too many hardcore Catholics and non-denominational people with no one in between

Anyhow, this one just missed the mark for me. I’m sure other people will absolutely love it. It’s well written with super loveable characters who have a cute romance going on.