This book took way too long to get to the point. All the things that kept the main characters apart were just annoying.

A novel that is timely and topical. It has many emotional hot points as the young characters work through a changing world. They have to learn to lean on family and friends and decide to grab the good things and let go of the bad. The author does a good job. Of working through the issues without seeming to take any particular side which is well done.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4! I read this book in one sitting, it was such a good binge read. I adored most of the characters (except Miles obviously), and it was easy to root for Hazel, Alfie, Daria, and Emily. I went into this thinking it was just going to be a quirky romance, but it was actually so much more than that. I loved reading about the dynamics between Hazel and her sister, seeing her personal development, Alfie’s adorable-ness, and seeing Emily and Daria’s growth as well.

The first 75% of this book worked really well for me, as you might gather by the fast that I read the book in one sitting. The writing style was compulsively readable, and the plot components kept me very invested in the story. UNTIL the last 25% of the book, when, in my opinion, things too a sharp turn that I don’t feel reached an appropriate resolution before the ending of the book. Giving Miles’ malicious actions more attention than Hazel and Alfie’s story just felt rather out of left field to me — and felt like something most readers wouldn’t have been prepared to read about. I think the sudden change in plot when Miles took those drastic actions was somewhat okay, but the level of resolution that was reached just really didn’t work for me. Some other reviews criticized that COVID is mentioned in the epilogue, but I actually liked the epilogue. It was sweet to see the family that was completed despite the turbulence of the pandemic.

Overall, it’s a book I’d recommend to some, but not all!

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted copy in exchange for my honest review!!

Not Exactly What I Had in Mind is an interesting book that is difficult to review. At times it was difficult to read because some of the characters were making very bad decisions and were blind to the riskiness of those decisions.

I did like that it was told from various characters’ POV. It made the story richer by getting other perspectives on what was happening.

A lot of the characters were hard to like. My favorite character, Alfie, wasn’t perfect but he was the best of the lot. He was sensitive, caring, and patient. He was the type of person who was there when his friends needed him.

After reading it, I’m not sure if I am satisfied with the conclusion. The story was left open ended and I expected that these open issues would have been wrapped up in the epilogue. But, the epilogue didn’t sort everything out either.

If you like reading books with strong characterization that discusses complex issues, this is the book for you.

This was an interesting story and not exactly what I thought it would be like, after reading the blurb about it. It's the story of flat-mates that seem to have a "thing" for each other. During a semi-drunk interlude, they succumb to their passion for one another. Things then get rather awkward as they don't know how to relate to each other in the "daylight". In my perception, due to their inability to communicate; some poor decisions are made that have disastrous consequences. Throw into this mix a sister, who is a partner in a same-sex marriage; and desperately wants to have a baby. They really don't want an anonymous donor for the baby and decide to ask her partner's brother to donate. Now, while all of this plays out there are the nuances of multiple relationships that are spokes on the wheels of the 2 main characters; Hazel & Alfie.

This story touches on the LGBTQ community, cyber bullying, life choices, victim's rights, family relationships, cancer, and finding your own voice.

I received an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. This was an interesting book. The stories of the characters seemed to go all different directions and then randomly weave back together. I didn’t love it.

Not Exactly What I Had in Mind is the perfect title for this book, while I enjoyed parts of it, it also felt like too much, too many themes that weren't fleshed out enough if there had been some more editing to make a tighter story. There were also a lot of trigger warnings that I wasn't expecting so this was a hard read for me. I liked the multiple point of views and set up of the characters, but ultimately this story fell flat for me.

This book started out promising, but then became full of standard womens fiction cliches. I also didn't particularly like the writing.

It’s an ok read. I failed to get too involved with any of the main characters. I didn’t particularly care about any of the characters. This book was a miss for me.

Not Exactly What I had in Mind is just that.. something I didn’t really expect. I enjoyed it and it was a quick read, but overall it left me a little unsatisfied. It follows a group of characters, including Hazel and her roommate Alfie, Hazel’s sister Emily and Emily’s wife Daria. Hazel is an illustrator working in a coffee shop and Alfie is a teacher, and the pair sleep together early in the book and awkwardly move on with their lives and don’t really talk about it again.

Emily and Daria are trying to start a family, and both story lines combine as all four figure out all of these important and large hurdles in their lives. It’s very character driven as it focuses on these four individuals and what happens to them throughout the next few weeks and months, and the book covers a lot of deeper, more serious topics. Overall it fell a little flat for me. I dislike the large miscommunication that happens between some characters and how it truly affected the rest of the book. I also felt the epilogue really did not work well for me and almost ruined the whole book entirely in my opinion. I did like the conversations between Emily and Daria regarding finding a surrogate for their baby and the trials and tribulations that come with that process. It was a overall great that I finished in a day and I was intrigued to finish it and see how these characters ended up.

This book is also very British, and as someone who is not British some of the jokes I think went over my head. It was funny though, and I think it’s a book a lot of people will enjoy. Unfortunately for me it didn’t wow me, but it was overall pretty okay to me.

Thanks to Dutton and Penguin Random House for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Sometimes you just need a good Rom-Com to take your mind off life. They are light hearted and easy reads that usually leave you feeling all mussy. From the very beginning this book was spicy and I loved it! I like a some naughty details every once in awhile.

Hazel works at a cafe and pretty much keeps to herself. Dating isn't really her thing but she recently had a one night stand with her very hot roommate and she can't stop thinking about it. I mean Alfie really knows what he's doing in the bedroom and Hazel wouldn't mind doing it again. She's pretty sure Alfie has one night stands often so their hook up isn't anything special for him. When Hazel comes home one day she discovers her sister and her wife cozy on her couch hanging out with Alfie. What the actual heck? Hazel can deny her feelings for Alfie but it's pretty clear when he willing agrees to help Hazels sister move that he has caught feelings too. No one willing volunteers to help anyone more! To make matters more complicated Emily and her wife Daria have been looking for a donor and have decided it makes more sense to go with someone thy know and like, and they now know Alfie and both really like him. Will this be a problem for Hazel? She swears there's nothing going on between them so it shouldn't be an issue. Would Alfie even want to be their donor?
These 3 women will become close to Alfie and bring him into their family one way or another!

I grabbed this envisioning something like Sally Rooney's books, and there are similarities--the communication issues (which, as usual, frustrated me), the angst and longing between the love interests that are compounded by their own fears and insecurities, and the intriguing side characters. I appreciated the multiple POVs to round out the story; I found myself wishing there were more chapters about Emily and Daria because I liked them so much. At times, it feels like Brook is trying to squish every social issue (e.g., revenge porn, medical trauma, male toxicity, even the pandemic) into the book, which makes the plot feel both overwhelming and like it's skimming over important topics. Overall, though, it's a perfectly fine read.

Couldn’t get into this one, it’s not my typical genre and nothing that really interested me. A fine book but didn’t hook me from the first 50 pages

This was an interesting one! Definitely not a rom com, more of a contemporary fiction. I liked that it was realistic in the sense that things don’t always work out the way you plan and not every loose end gets tied up in a neat little bow. I loved the found family Alfie found in Hazel, Daria and Emily. I liked how each character had their own relationships with each other and really cared about the others. Character wise, I liked them all. Emily got on my nerves a few times, but i I loved how caring and kind she was. Alfie was wonderful, but almost a little too wonderful at times. This book also tackled A LOT of social issues like the climate change debate, white privilege and fertility to name a few. The constant mention that Daria and Emily were vegans was a little much at times, but that’s probably just a me thing. I know there’s been some issue with the epilogue with it being set around the pandemic, but it did not bother me. The ending was a little ambiguous with Alfie and Hazel, but I kind of like that it’s open to interpretation. Overall, I enjoyed this read and I’ll definitely pick up Brook’s next book!

TW: miscarriage, anxiety, infertility, mentions of cancer, revenge porn, mentions of the pandemic

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton for an advanced digital reader’s copy!

This book was fantastic! Loved getting to read before publishing date and will be recommending on Instagram, goodreads, and Amazon.

Not Exactly What I Had in Mind was a quick and easy read. It wasn't my favorite, but also there was absolutely nothing wrong with it. It was well written. The failure to communicate trope is one of my least favorites, hence why I didn't utimately love the book. Hazel and Alfie had so many missed opportunities and failures to communicate. I most enjoyed the storyline of Emily and Daria - Hazel's sister and sister-in-law - as they tried to navigate their fertility journey. I do believe that others will enjoy this book, more than I did, as I found the premise to be one that is not my favorite, rather than anything to be wrong with the writing or the characters.

I appreciate the opportunity to read/review this book and will look forward to seeing what Kate Brook writes next.

This book was a bit all over the place. I really struggled with the back and forth, the constant drama for characters. I didn't love major plot points and found myself cringing a bit when the storyline included lack of consent. I had big hopes for this book but it fell really flat.

Hazel sleeps with her flatmate Alfie right off the bat in this tale of family and romance (of a sort). She then backs off because, well, it wasn't a great idea and because she meets Miles, who might be hot but who is a slug. A real slug. Her sister Emily is married to Daria and she really wants a baby but they need a donor. Daria has a fear of pregnancy (but Emily will carry the baby). Of course they ask Alfie, who is a good guy. Not a whole lot really happens as this group circles around one another but Brook introduces several topical themes (including revenge porn) and the characters are well drawn. Then there's the epilogue- not a fan. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. A good read.

*I received this book (Via eArc by Netgalley) for free from the Publisher ( PENGUIN GROUP Dutton, ) in exchange for an honest review*

It was a very interesting and not something I would actually actively seek out to read. It had very interesting topics and also circled around a love story and the struggles of family. Alfie and Hazel were very interesting to read and it felt so realistic. The epilogue felt like I was reliving the pandemic again. I think I very much enjoyed it overall and I would check out Kate Brook's other work!

Thanks so much to the publishers and Netgalley for the e-ARC!

Well, this book was appropriately titled. This was nothing as I had expected it to be. It was all very overwhelming and emotionally draining for me.

I don’t mind some diverse topics but when an author tries to hard to tackle them all at the same time, it come across false.

I really wish I would have liked it more.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for my E-ARC in exchange for my honest review.