I received an ARC from the publisher for my honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for providing me with access.

For me, this book was very meh. I am not a big fan of miscommunication tropes, so right from the beginning it was hard for me to get in with the characters. Their biggest issues came from one night of conversation, and realistically, if they had never seen each other again, nothing would have happened. The whole plot felt very forced and contrived.

On top of that, there were some inclusions that the author made that gave me pause. At the very beginning of the book, when Tom is describing his friend and calls him gorgeous "in a totally heterosexual way." I'm not really sure why that bit was necessary to add? It just seemed like the author was trying too hard.

Not my favorite.

A wonderful story about relationships, friendships, growth, and overcoming the real obstacles life puts before us. There were things I liked and things I disliked in the novel, but overall, it was a pleasant and quick read.

I have mixed feelings about this book: there were some things I liked, and some things I really struggled with.

what I liked:
- The chemistry between the two leads is great, and the author did a good job convincing me of their relationship. I enjoyed reading their interactions, and was rooting for them, but more importantly themselves as individuals.
- I liked how this book touched on really hard and heavy topics without making it the entire books purpose. It had just the right touch of Normal People by Sally Rooney combined with lighter romance bits.

what I didn't like:
- The writing style was very excessive and long-winded when it didn't need to be. The author rambled on and on about certain scenes and feelings when it wasn't really necessary, and I as a reader really didn't have the time or patience to sit through it all. I feel about 1/4th of this book could easily be cut out and their absence would add value to the book.
- I didn't love the ending, it felt like I had read the whole book for nothing. the payoff wasn't satisfying for the long-winded descriptions I sat through to get to it.

This novel was unexpected in the BEST way. I love that it wasn't simply a "will they/won't they" story. Instead it was a thoughtful, well-told tale of self-discovery, honest (sometimes too honest) portrayal of friendship, timing. Nicholls touches on some difficult issues like alcoholism and suicide without beating you over the head with morality. Tom and Jess are completely flawed which makes this story that much more believable. I would definitely recommend this to others!

Owen Nicholls novel, "Perfect Timing" is billed as a romance. As a reader of many romance novels, I can confidently say this is not a romance. This is a more of a love story. Tom and Jess first meet at a talent competition. Tom is an up-and-coming musician and Jess is a budding comedian. They hit it off immediately, but Tom's fictional girlfriend prevents their new friendship from becoming something more. Life goes on and a string of badly timed encounters continues to prevent any meaningful relationship from developing. This novel explores other issues such as alcohol abuse, absent parents/poor parenting, and other types of dysfunctional relationships. Overall I enjoyed this novel, and think some of the poor ratings may be due to the reader's expectations that this is a romance novel, when really it is not. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

In love and in life, timing is everything. Tom and Jess met on the streets and had an immediate connection. But after a series of unfortunate mistakes and miscommunications, it caused the two to go their separate ways. Even after years of their first encounter, Tom and Jess cannot stop thinking about each other. Despite their instant chemistry, both Tom and Jess need to fight their inner demons to really discover who they are and where they belong before they can have a successful relationship.
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Perfect Timing gives me the “right place, wrong time” and the universe making you wait for the right person vibe. It wasn’t the light hearted read I was expecting as it deals with many heavy reality like anxiety, depression, alcoholism and an absentee parent. I had a hard time holding on to the story and just wanted to skip the chapters to get to the point. I was desperately hoping for something to happen in their love story but it fell flat b/c it was the wrong timing for them. The characters were not very likable which made it an even harder read. I would say this is definitely not one of my favorite reads
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Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest opinion

Perfect Timing is a kind of underwhelming book about two people who are (probably) meant to be together, but the universe/fate has other plans. After a failed meet cute, Tom & Jess big moment never really seems to happen, instead they kind of just fumble around messily pining after each other.

I had a really hard time finishing this book, and not gonna lie, I skimmed A LOT of it. It just wasn't for me

I DNFed this book after a few chapters because I literally could not handle it. The writing was absolutely terrible. Maybe some people would like it but what the actual heck. The writing was always so rambly. The main characters just rambled constantly about things that made no sense.

I just couldn't finish it.

I have mixed feelings about this book. It’s definitely not the rom com I was expecting, it’s a love story about the journey two people take to discover their truest selves. Tom and Jess had an immediate connection when they met, but a series of miscommunications and mistakes kept them apart. The book says “it’s all about timing”, and their timing was inevitably bad.
Through a series of career changes and significant others, they both try to find the best version of themselves. 3.5 stars, rounded to 4.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

“Plans are for tomorrow. Today is for living.”

This book reminds me of some of the other super popular books that span over years. (One Day in December, In Five Years, etc.) And because of that I can honestly see this one being a real hit.

Love the shorter chapters.
How it’s broken down in parts.
And the cover is so adorable.

Perfect Timing surprised me. I was expecting a rom-com and got an intense look at how people with anxieties and hang ups about themselves try to have relationships. Tom and Jess are both lovable but they don’t see themselves that way. Learning how they deal with their issues and become more complete people was eye opening. It wasn’t always pretty but it was real.

This is a charming story about two people who instantly feel a pull towards each other when they meet but life initially takes them apart. Their paths are destined to cross, but then their own inner demons become their next hurdles to overcome. The story is engaging and the characters are funnny! I thought it was a bit too long and I would have liked to see the lovers be united sooner but if you are up for, the quality holds until the end. It also portrays anxiety, self-loathing in a real way that I think many other books just glance over.

PERFECT TIMING by Owen Nicholls

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the advance copy for review - all opinions are my own!

PERFECT TIMING is an iteration of the classic “the right people meet at the wrong time” trope. Jess, an up and coming comedian, and Tom, a talented and aspiring musician, first lock eyes in a café in Sheffield. There’s mutual attraction and interest in that fleeting moment, but they don’t actually speak until the next time they meet.

Jess and Tom are beautifully flawed characters. While I was rooting for them to get together, I was also happy to see that they were also working through their individual issues, too. I feel like ✨therapy✨ and ✨self reflection✨ are sometimes sacrificed for the romance/the relationship, but that’s not the case here!

What I Liked:
👍🏽Dual POV. In this house, we love a dual POV. Seeing the same moment from different points of view is just 🤌🏽🤌🏽🤌🏽
👍🏽Really witty prose. Some of the jokes actually made me laugh out loud!

What I Disliked:
👎🏽This is so minor, but the chapter titles kind of gave away some of the jokes/important bits in each chapter.

This was in the “romance” category on NetGalley, but I wouldn’t classify it as a romance per se. It’s more of a love story (and a good one, at that!).

❗️TW: alcoholism, self harm, suicide

This book comes out on 9/7. Preorder or ask your library to get a few copies now!

Tom is a budding musician. Jess is a budding comedian. After almost bumping into each other in a cafe in Sheffield, they literally bump into each other in Scotland. They are competing in the same competition and end up talking for hours afterwards. What leads to an embarrassing incident for Tom, Jess believes he's already involved in a serious relationship.

Enter Timing...it is never right for these two. We are taken on a journey of missed opportunities and wrong words spoken. Two people, who are clearly meant for each other, just can't get together over a time period of several years. We get a glimpse into each of their lives, how they each begin to learn to love themselves and make amends with those around them.

This story has some very good life lessons. The things that are worth it are hard, but we must press on and try or we'll never reap any rewards. There's a perfect time for everything.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC. The opinions expressed are solely mine.

Rating: 3/5
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Warnings: absent parents, alcoholism, anxiety
Read if you liked: One Day

Thank you to Dell/Random House Publishing Group and Netgalley for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I would just like to put out there that this is not a romance; this is a love story that wrapped into a contemporary fiction novel.

I kind of struggled to finish this one. Within the first 100 pages, there was a lot of context for the original meeting but I wish it had given me more sparks between Jess and Tom then it actually did. Maybe I would have liked them more as a couple. Their love really wasn’t all that healthy nor was it dimensional enough to keep me invested in them. As the title would imply, the timing has never been right for them and we explore the ups and downs of their careers and interactions over the years.

I do like that some deeper themes were explored with absent parents, alcoholism and anxiety but in saying this, know that it wasn’t a light-hearted love story. I would say this book is okay, but nothing I am jumping to make people to read.

I want to thank the author and NetGalley for the ARC of this book for an honest review. I wanted to start off with my favorite thing about this book. The author did an amazing job of portraying that in order to enter a healthy relationship, you first need to be in a good place with yourself. The book was a perfect example of right person wrong time and follows the two characters as we see their journey discovering who they are. It also involves a series of miscommunications, many miscommunications which in small doses I can do but there might have been too many for me in this book. Overall, I did think that this book was pretty enjoyable and I would definitely recommend giving it a shot!

Super sweet and heart warming story but there is a deeper underlying plot here. This isn’t one of those meet cute or happy go lucky rom-coms!
It’s really a true love story so I wouldn’t even call this a romance.
The story is very long and at times a bit drawn out. I do think it was sweet and at times heart warming as I first mentioned, but it was just too drawn out for me.

There is something to the whole meeting someone when the timing isn’t right on both ends. Time takes you both in different directions, life moves you along, and then you reconnect.
The issue I have is that it took a really long time for that to happen. And again, just too drawn out for me. Even though I think it was a good premise.
I received a copy from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

What can I say. I liked this book. Must read. Do it. If you do anything else. Read this book today. Great read and enjoyable.

Timing is the key to this story but it is never perfect. From a casual glance to a chance meeting, an aspiring comedienne and a musical young man never seem to fall together at the right time. Desperately desiring each other, it is time that holds their fate in its hands.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

a solid 4! i loved the premise of this book and i feel like it is always just timing with the right person that is hard to nail. it’s always “if this place or time were right” or “we were good, the timing just wasn’t” and i think this book is good at showing how we change, how we’re just human, and how time is with us even when it feel helpless.

it reminded me a lot of sally rooney’s normal people a bit. i didn’t find myself rooting tons for tom or jess. they weren’t the most lovable characters but that’s what makes them human. it’s just like that sometimes as humans when we’re not meant for people whether in romantic relationships or friendships.

though i enjoyed this book, it was just a little too slow paced for me so it took me a little longer but i still enjoyed it in its whole