Not That Kind of Ever After by Luci Adams is a delightful and captivating love story that takes time to unfold. The supporting cast is equally impressive, with each character deserving or their own novel. This book is a must-read for anyone who enjoys a heartwarming and charming romance that will leave you feeling satisfied and content.

I do not like giving negative reviews but this just wasn't it for me. I try to think about the right audience for the book and if maybe I was just not in it but I can't really think of who this book would be for. It was almost a DNF for me and I tend to push myself to finish books even when not enjoying them (I do need to stop doing this though). It was very disappointing because I had this on my most anticipated releases list and it did not deliver what I was expecting.

The female main character was one of the most annoying characters I have read in a long time, I don't like being rude as I know this is someone's passion and dream but I just have to be honest. The plot did not make a whole lot of sense to me, the FMC was very childish and difficult to read about, I tried to love it but I couldn't.

The way the FMC expressed her feelings towards her best friend borderlined obsessive and crush-like instead of an actual healthy friendship. She hated her best friend's fiancee over what? No reason, whatsoever. This made the plot and reasoning for her actions feel so pressured and not plausible at all. The FMC literally wants to go and sleep with other people to prove him wrong? Are you ok? Basing life choices like this to spite your best friend's fiancee? Sure.

All of a sudden she realizes she had feelings for her bffs brother, that might as well have been her brother since they kind of were almost family at this point. No hint whatsoever and they were a thing. So many things did not make sense, the characters were not likeable, the plot was not there, I tried to think of something I liked about it but nothing really comes to mind.

I was living for all of the classic fairytales!!! While it was predictable, I didn't mind because it was still pretty cute overall! Bella was charming and relatable and overall I thought this book was fun, enjoyable and ridiculously sweet!

Bella Marble wants to be the princess in her own fairy tale. She works for a small press but isn’t the writer she dreams of being. Her soul mate and best friend Ellie is moving out and getting married. And her parents HEA is now ending in divorce. Life isn’t going the way she wants. Ellie’s brother (hot) Marty suggests she stop looking for Prince Charming and live her life. Her retelling of a one night stand on a story app ends up going viral making her want to look for other dating fairytale romances to write about.

This is all suppose to be fun and playful and the fairytale tie ins are fun to some degree. The book begins with her having a cringe one night stand with a hairy Charles Wolf. The payoff joke being she takes his red hoodie. Get it. She’s got a Red Hood and has been riding the Wolf. That’s the level of humor in the book. And Bella is the epitome of self absorbed immaturity. She judges everyones appearance, clothes and ways that they speak. She does get some minor character growth after 85 percent of the novel but by then I didn’t care. I give her a few points for truly caring about Ellie but she doesn’t treat her well either.

The best thing I can say about the book is the cover is cute. I wish I enjoyed the story more. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.

So many things are changing for Bella. Her best friend is getting married. Her parents are getting divorced. And she's still on the hunt for her Prince Charming all while trying to kick off her writing career. After one horrendously hilarious one night stand, she pens a quirky story in a fairy tale spinoff which goes viral, and she is suddenly on a mission. However, that mission could lead to everything turning upside down.

Luci Adams is a brilliant story teller. Her characters could be your best friends. There are laugh out loud moments, but there are also some very cringe moments. Bella has all the best intentions, however, she is only human and royally makes a mess of her friendships and life much like we, the normal, everyday people do. Although we might not handle ourselves exactly how Bella does, there is a lot of emphasis given on how we can forgive, repair relationships, and move on. That is what makes this story golden.

Get ready for staying up late, laughing until you can't breathe, and perhaps shed a few tears. Not That Kind of Ever After wraps up all the feels and leaves you glorious smile.

Thank you to St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

Rating: 4/5
Pub: 3.14.23
I received a copy of eARC for my honest opinion.

In this book you will meet Bella who is a receptionist at a small press, but she has always had the dream of being a writer and being noticed by “The One” but after her life is turned upside down, she decides to take her own life in her own hands and tries something new, and hopefully it will pay off.

I thought this book was cute, it was a little different than the other Romcoms I have read, and I think that is why I liked it so much. It was a little darker than your normal light fluffy romcoms and talked about topics you might not see much in them. I thought Adams did a great job with her world building, the plot came across clear and not confusing, the characters were well developed and the characters growth throughout the book was done beautifully.

Bella goes through a hard time with her life changing, losing her best friend/roommate because she is about to move in with her boyfriend, not having the job that she really wants, having to deal with some crazy new roommate and just trying to figure out her own life and dating. I found Bella to be relatable. I know that change is a little hard for me but it was the whole what am I doing with my life and the dating to find Mr. Right to be the most relatable. When Bella submits a chapter of a story she wrote about her dating life she thought she might have a few followers but instead she becomes huge fast and the fear of losing followers makes her take higher reckless risk in her dating life to continue making those chapters and let me tell you a few of those were crazy experiences and I loved how she would change the nights with them to write her next chapter of her fairytale dating. I was, however, cheering Bella on throughout the book. I am happy that she finally took some great advice from a great friend and realized what she really had and what would really make her happy.

I will be recommending this to anyone who loves RomComs, a fairytale dating app, horrible dates, and of course a happy ending.

I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to review this book

"Not That Kind of Ever After" by Luci Adams was a great read! The main character, Bella, is a bit lost and not satisfied with her life. She wants to be an author but isn't making progress on that. Until her best friend becomes engaged and Bella gets a wild idea. She starts to write about her dates and compares them with fairy tales. This takes off and Bella starts doing crazier things to get the stories. Until life hits her in the face and she realizes what is there in front of her. If you like romance and fairy tales this might be the book for you!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin for a free ARC for my review.

This was a very interesting read, not what I expected at all, but was refreshing. Written in Bella's point of view as she works through her life's changes and challenges.

Bella's personal drama and emotional struggles are palatable at times. With a will to continue on through messy situations, sometimes Bella's choices just make it more complicated. I almost wanted to look away or cringe at a choice, or shout "No, don't do that", but needed to continue on to see how it pans out, and its worth it!

Filled with entertaining encounters, the kind you gossip to your best pall about, I found it had to put this book down. The impacts of social media and stress were really well described here too. The strength of friendship shown here is heartwarming.

Overall a cute and entertaining read that I would recommend to others.

I skimmed through the first half of the book, reading only the dialogue. Didn’t quite understand the purpose of dividing into parts and then chapters. Maybe a title for each part would have helped understand its purpose. It is fairytale theme-esque but it’s not overwhelming on the princess, which I liked. The second half is where it picked up for me I read it properly. The characters were great.

Luci Adams has written a provocative story about a woman who is trying to find her place in a world where everyone is evolving and where she feels left behind.

Bella’s world changing, her best friend is getting engaged and moving out, her parents have news she thought she never hear, and she is over it all. She wants to be a writer and decides to take a slightly different approach to it.

Luci Adams is a new to me author and I’m so glad I took a chance. This is a well written, heartfelt story with the perfect amount of spice. You are going to connect with Bella and you will root for her as she tries to find her HEA!

#luciadams #mustread #couldntputitdown #marchrelease #takeachance #new2me #fairytales #readersofinstagram

I really really wanted to like this book, but how was I supposed to do that when I literally despised the main character from the very beginning of the book? She was immature and self centered, and I felt like she never really went through any believable change or growth. Plus the love story was so deep into the book.

I don't know. It just wasn't for me.

Thank you, Luci Adams, @stmartinspress and Netgalley for the gifted eARC.

Bella Marble's life is not exactly the fairytale she imagined it would be. Her best friend, Ellie, is moving out of their apartment to get married, her parents are divorcing, and she still hasn't found her Prince Charming. After a disastrous one-night stand, Bella decides to write about it and post it on an app for writers. When her one chapter starts getting attention, she decides to add more chapters to her story. But, she can't write more until she goes out, finds a date, and creates her stories first.

Not That Kind of Ever After is such a cute idea for a rom-com, but unfortunately, this novel just didn't work for me. Bella is such an unlikable protagonist. She's twenty-nine but still acts like an immature child in her actions and the things she says. The character development is very superficial, and I didn't feel any connection to any of the characters in the story. I found the plot itself boring and was often waiting for something exciting to happen. Many times, I just wanted to give up and put this in my DNF stack. The only redeeming qualities of this book were Marty, the ending, and the beautiful cover illustration.

Not That Kind of Ever After by Luci Adams
Rating: 2.5 stars (DNF)
Pub Date: 3/14

Bella is not where she thought she would be in life. Perpetually single, in a job she’s not happy with, and losing her best friend to married life, Bella is depressed. When her best friend’s brother suggests that she stop worrying so much and just enjoy herself, she thinks she’s finally found the solution to her problems. She begins to write fairytale versions of bad dates she’s been on, and one of her stories goes viral. Even after this huge victory, she’s still not sure if that’s where she wants to be.

After about 45% I had to throw in the towel on this one. I just couldn’t handle one more negative, snarky remark or observation from the mc, who can’t seem to find a positive thing to say about anything happening in her life. I understand the brand of humor Adams was going for here, and she would have achieved it if Bella wasn’t so immature and unlikeable.

There were some really hilarious observations, especially when Bella started writing about her dates, and I laughed a few times. I loved all of the side characters, and they’re probably why I kept reading for so long.

Unfortunately, this was a miss for me. I couldn’t relate to Bella’s character at all, and therefore couldn’t root for her. And for all the talk of Prince Charming, dating apps, and fairy tales, there’s very little romance in the story. The premise was really promising but didn’t hit the mark.

Thank you so much to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this novel. Not That Kind of Ever After comes out on 3/14.

My thoughts about this book changed from part to part and chapter to chapter. At first Bella grated on my nerves. Then the story got kind of funny. Then I totally disliked the main character again. And so it went. I'd laugh out loud and think, okay, we've got something here and then Bella would be Bella and I'd be thinking to myself, ugh what is wrong with her. And then it hit me why I disliked her so much. She kind of remind me of myself when I was young and stupid. I suppose I don't like being reminded. There were other characters that brought me out of the ugh funk I was in. This was a 3.5 star read for me but since I can't do half stars, I thought about whether I would recommend it to my friends and the answer was maybe? I didn't hate it, but didn't love it.

I didn’t know what to make of this. Bella, an aspiring author, was trying so hard to find true love all while also trying to go viral via a storytelling website and it just got way messy. Everything was about trying too hard and losing herself in the process. Bella was whiny and egotistical at best. I didn’t like her. The MMC was too good for her and while they had chemistry, it wasn’t off the charts. I didn’t love the book but I didn’t hate it either. Middle of the road.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC.

DNF 3%
Absolutely TF not. What is feminist about Bella? The fact that she still sleeps with the guy she was actively body shaming. I won't put up with books that body shame women and I won't put up with books that body shame men. I'm not giving this book one more page, let alone another almost 400.

Bella is a single woman working as a receptionist at a publishing company. She
has had a lot of changes happening in her life very quickly. She lives with her best friend Ellie, however, Ellie is moving out to live with her now fiancé, Mark. Bella is not a fan of Mark. On top of this, her parents who are her basis of true love have told her they are getting a divorce.

Bella has been on the hunt for her happily ever after. After continuous bad dates, she slowly is giving up on that theory. She finds out about B-Reader. B-Reader is a self-publishing app where you can publish a chapter of your writing for people to read and comment on. She decides to start writing about her bad dates and comparing them to fairy tales. Before you know it, she is getting thousands of likes and comments. Everyone is loving her work.

However, she holds herself to a standard where she needs to find another terrible date just to write about without realizing that her real life happily ever after was right in front of her the entire time.

I know it can be very hard to deal with change for a lot of us. So I totally saw where she was coming from. I love that Bella realized when she had messed up or had done something wrong to the people who love her. She owned up and apologized to them all.

I think it is safe to say that Marty is one of my favorite characters I have ever read. His attitude and lines were the best.


Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

It is rare that a book is so unlikeable to me that I can't finish it - but that's exactly what Not That Kind of Ever After was for me. From the very first page I knew this wasn't my vibe, but Bella everything worse the longer it went on. This was...not it. Bella was whiny, unlikeable, and so desperate for a man that she just seemed...desperate.

At about 20% (which is usually when I give up on books I don't like) I decided to peek at the ending to see if things would get better (BTW - still had not the MMC at 20%). They did not! The ending looking incredibly unsatisfying.

Very bummed at this. Not a fan.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book sounded right up my alley when I read the description, and it was just…fine. There were some funny moments that really had me laughing, but there were also times that I felt the story dragging, repeating and was a little bored.

Overall this was okay, I wouldn’t read again, but not a terrible book.

I wanted to love this book, but it fell extremely short for me. The main character was very immature and her behaviours towards her best friend were ridiculous. I found I was mainly skimming the book and I only ended up finishing about 40%. There was a lot of potential with the plot, but it just didn’t happen in this book.