Many thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of Never Gonna Happen. The opinions are entirely my own.

3.75/5
This was a really enjoyable read. I found I really liked the British setting of the book - it worked really well also with the characters and the relationships too.
I liked how easy to read this book was and how the relationship developed with the characters. I also appreciated how romance wasn’t the whole plot too. I liked that there was more to this book than the romance between the two characters.

The author must have done her research about Mauritius too, as someone who has travelled there I felt like I was back there too when it was included in the story!

I feel like the characters needed a little more to them and I found it a little slower to get into. It was fade to black in terms of spice and I’m not so keen on that also.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC for an exchange for an honest review.

Such a fun book, I really enjoyed it.

I got swept away by Emily’s adventure and liked the element of travel in the story. I would quite like her job myself! Both Jamie and Emily were really likeable characters and I enjoyed following their story after they got together quite early in the story. The snow storm section was pretty dramatic and steamy. Adam, Jamie’s brother, was so mean it was almost unbelievable. I’d look out for more books from Heidi Stephens now,

The book is written well and has a really cute plot. I just didn’t connect with the characters to much, I didn’t feel an chemistry between the main character and the relationship just felt bland ??? This is coming form someone who loves enemies to lover and slow burn. Over all it’s cute funny read

Wow!! Just wow!!… This book is brilliant! More than brilliant, amazing!!!… Absolutely gripping, addictive and captivating… I was absolutely hooked from the first page to the last.

I really enjoyed this book, in fact one of my favourite reads so far this year! Chick lit at its best, I loved the characters, the storyline, the ending , all of it really! I would highly recommend to my friends and look forward to reading it again on the beach this summer!
Thank you so much to Netgalley for an early copy xx

With the cover I though it would be more beachy but it was basically the middle of winter. Though I’m a true believer in swimming in the ocean in the dead of winter. They were in Mauritius for such a small portion of the book. I thought Norfolk was in England for like 3/4 of the book, the american school system needs to be reevaluated because I’ve never taken geography. In my defense Norfolk sounds like something in the english countryside.
I didn’t really care much for the romance. Although I love a forbidden romance it needed more pinning and development.
Also who says fab unironically.

*Thank you NetGalley and Headline for providing a copy of the book*

I really enjoyed this tale of Emily, who uses a couple of unfortunate life incidents to take a change of direction. Heidi Stephens is a new-to-me author, but turns out not a new-to-me writer; I’ve been reading her Strictly blogs on The Guardian site for years and she takes that same breezy, irreverent style into her fiction.

Emily is capable, relatable and an extremely likeable main protagonist, and she is surrounded by a large cast of equally rounded characters. I particularly liked the way the relationship aspect was an integral but not overwhelming part of the whole story (instead of everything leading up to a will-they-won’t-they romantic conclusion), and when communication mistakes were made, they were frustrating, but they were sorted (and side note, Emily’s mum is fab). I read this is a matter of hours, completely sucked in - 4.5 stars.

i had a hard time getting into this one. i just don't think this authors writing style is for me. i think it has a great concept and others might still like though

This book is such a fun and cozy read. The story was well written, and I loved the main character. It was uplifting and witty. I really enjoyed reading this book and definitely recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book exchange for an honest review.

Never Gonna Happen is a quick and easy read. I enjoyed Emily's story and it is about more than romance, but about finding herself and being comfortable with herself. I really felt for Emily at the beginning of the book. She had to move home, and had broken up with her boyfriend (also her boss). She was down on her luck and in a funk.

The world that Heidi Stevens built for Emily to gain her confidence and footing was the perfect place. All the people living at working at the estate are characters we love and hate. They are well developed, and we know this because we love or hate them so much!

I did find that the book was laid out a bit weird in that we would move forward days or weeks in between two paragraphs, rather than a new chapter. I found myself having to re-read passages to determine where we were in the timeline.

A lot of the conflict in this book felt manufactured. So much of it could have just been dealt with if people just talked to each other.

Overall, this was a pretty good book. I look forward to checking out more of Heidi Stevens books in the future. Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for an advance copy. All opinions are 100% mine.

This was such a nice and light read. I finished it in a day and a half. I enjoyed the main characters and the plot. I thought it was well written and entertaining. The family drama definitely made it interesting. I’m really glad things worked out in the end. I look forward to reading more from this author.
Thank you for giving me the chance to read and review this wonderful book, 😃

Enjoyed the book right from the start! All the characters are well written about and you can just imagine them! Loved the story as it’s not your typical fall in love one!

Downtown Abbey meets a romcom. I call this book "Young english woman finds herself and her voice in this witty and charming story of love, deception, and old manor money".

Special Thank you to both NetGalley and Publisher for this ARC! I enjoyed this book, the witty characters, and the simplicity yet intricacies of the plot. Stay with me on that one... The characters, their lives and the mundaneness of it was refreshing as there wasn't anything insanely major that pushed me away from relating to the main character - yet there was enough drama and character tension both good and bad to keep you on your toes and coming back for more. Though I did have a hard time relating to the MC and struggled with her insecurities and need for reassurance, I did find myself mentally fist pumping on her confidence when it came to her profession and holding strong instead of backing down to bullies. That is A+ for me. I tried to remember what I felt at the age of 29 and making big life changes, so being in that head space eased some of my frustration.

The world Heidi built was charming and whimsical and made me want to sweep off to the countryside and take riding lessons but then I remember I have kids and responsibilities... and I digress. I did struggle with some of the overdrawn out dialogue, descriptions, and rough transitions, Sometimes while reading I had to go back and re read a section to only realize we were at a new part of the story - sometimes days or weeks later. I wish that there was less fluff in character interactions and dialogue and that certain descriptions or explanations could have been communicated during character conversation rather than literary side bar.

overall, there were some truly witty moments that made me laugh out loud and this was a very charming read. Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for this read! Incredibly grateful!

This was such a lovely book and it brought back my will to live after 200000 pages of Sarah J. Maas’ weird plot points (which I love, but, you know, they take their toll on a person).

We meet our main character, Emily, as she quits from her personal assistant job in a very fancy firm due to a failed relationship with her boss, a smarmy guy called Mark who has had a wife all along (which Emily did know – it’s just that, after leading her on for two years with talks of being separated, he now wants to give his marriage another chance, the asshole). So not only is Emily now jobless, but she’s been forced to relocate to a shitty apartment after a flat iron accident burned down her old flat (this was extremely funny to me).

She desperately needs a fairy godmother or a winning lottery ticket or a miracle or something, so, when she receives the opportunity to work for for a millionaire in a country estate that looks more like a castle, it’s just great timing all around.

Having never worked as a personal assistant for a private individual, Emily is understandably intimidated by Charles Hunter and his crazy family. He has a driver who’s in love with her, a housekeeper who hates her, a horrible son who demeans her at every chance and is basically waiting for his father to die so he can get his inheritance, a daughter who’s the worst version of a Valley Girl, and a son who… okay, the youngest son, Jamie, is very handsome and humble and cares about horses and gives her pants feelings. But surely it’s not a great idea to start yet another workplace romance? (Spoiler: she starts yet another workplace romance)

This book is so cozy and funny and warm and addicting. It made me want to teleport myself to the English countryside and have a cup of tea and curl up with a blanket.

The best part was definitely Charles. The boss of all our dreams! So sweet and fair and generous.

I have to say, I was a little annoyed with the conflict. It was 100% caused by Jamie and his inability to communicate things to Emily + set boundaries with the people around him. And it was solved by Emily realizing she was the one who had to take action, which, no? But we got through it, it’s fine.

This was an amazing romcom and I can’t wait to read more from this author!

A Five-star read that will make you fall in love again. I adored this authors first story, so was eager to get my teeth sunk into this one, Emily was someone you could get behind, you could feel that she was trying and struggling, just needing a break. Just when you think life can’t get worse, your flatmate ‘borrows’ your strainers and burns your bedroom down, its one of those things that could happen to us all, but poor Emily it was like the straw that broke the camels back. Thankfully she has an amazing family, that pull together and wrap everyone up in their simple joy. Charles was a great character, you could tell he wants to keep everyone happy, but can he keep all of the pieces together? You need to read to find out, but I for one am happy with what he does. Jamie is another enigma in the story, he will pull you in and keep you on your hoofs. There are some great secondary characters in this story, and I do hope we get to hear more from some of them, as they have a great story to tell as well. Overall I am just joyful that I read this great work, and will be eagerly awaiting what comes next.

This is a super easy and quick read. The plot was rather predictable and extremely fast paced, but it didn’t make it any less enjoyable. Emily felt relatable and fun and many of the side characters were excellent, especially Mr Hunter and Kelly. The cover is also gorgeous!

I hadn’t previously read anything by this author but I am definitely going to look out for her other books.

Thank you NetGalley and Headline for the ARC in an exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, yes the plot is predictable but I liked the characters, the story was well written and it’s definitely a book I could imagine taking with me to the beach this summer

I think the plot of this book was super adorable. I love how the girl wasn't the skinny blonde you read about in a lot of stories, but I felt like that was talked about more than it needed to be. Emily's character was strong and smart, and I really liked how she handled conflict. Some parts of the story felt rushed while others sometimes felt dragged a bit. It was hard to tell where I was in the story without re-reading some parts in order to gain more understanding.

Thank you Netgalley and Headline Accent for an advance copy of Never Gonna Happen by Heidi Stephens.

This is my first book by Heidi Stephens but I definitely plan to read her other works. This book was more than a romance book. Yes, Emily Wilkinson finds love but she also discovers how strong she truly is. I read through this book relatively quickly because I wanted to know what happened.

Yes, there is romance but it isn't spicy so I would categorize it as more of a behind close door read. My one complaint for the book is that I didn't feel a strong chemistry between Jamie and Emily. Maybe because the book was behind closed doors but I would have liked a little more witty banter between the two.

Emily Wilkinson was a strong female lead that worked hard and learned more about herself in the time that she worked for Mr. Hunter than she did throughout her life. While, I was a little off put that she had a relationship with a married man, I believe Emily grew from this. She discovered that although she didn't go to college she could become something of herself and I would love to know what she is doing in five years.

Her supporting cast especially her mom were truly a delight. I loved that her mom had a book for every occasion.

Lastly, while reading I really thought I was there in the story. The description of Bowford Manor and Mauritius made me want to visit immediately.

Overall, this was a great read. While I wish there was a little more chemistry between the two characters, Never Gonna Happen was a fun and quick read.