I really enjoyed Nina Kenwood's first book, and this one didn't let me down at all! Very cute, very fun vibes, no real sense of tension but sometimes that's exactly what you need in your Geelong to Melbourne shabby housemates vibe romcom.

4.5 Stars for this book it was an absolute delight to read. There are some laugh out loud moments and some really heart wrenching ones as well. They are funny and heart wrenching because we have all been there. Brooke is one of the most relatable characters I have read in a long while, I saw so much of my teenage self and my friends in Brooke that at times it took my breath away.

It is not all fun and games and Nina Kenwood deals with some really sensitive issues with a really light hand. Kenwood tapes into the teenage mind so well she took me right back there.

Needless to say I loved this novel and I am pretty sure that anyone who picks it up will also love it.

Many thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read this wonderful novel.

This book was wonderfully enjoyable! I devoured it in a day and a half. I related to Brooke almost too much at times. I felt completely transported back to first year Uni, living in my Box Hill share house and wishing my housemates would fall in love with me while also simultaneously being disgusted by their living habits. I could see it all in my head. The new awkwardness of sharing a space with people you don’t know, the friendships that develop slowly and then all at once, the homesickness that threatens to overwhelm you at times. I felt 18 again, filled with anxiety and toeing the line between feeling like teenager but also wanting so badly to be an adult. It’s an impressive skill to transport me back to such a tumultuous time and have me smile and laugh and enjoy the feeling, rather then recoil from it.
The book loses a star for making my jaw ache from how tensely I was clenching it while I read. Brooke is incredibly neurotic, and that’s coming from a incredibly neurotic person, and at times I just wanted to scream at her to take a breath and calm down. To just quiet her mind for a second. I kind of wish she’d dealt with that a little more. That her relationship wasn’t the be all and end all of her anxiety issues or her abandonment fears. But I also understand that this is a rom com and that most people perhaps don’t want to read about an 18 year old facing her issues head on. But still. Brooke’s anxieties made me feel too tense to be enjoyed at times. Which is a credit to the writing but did make me put the book down occasionally because I needed a break.
Apart from that this book was a really enjoyable, fast and joyful read that will send you right back to being an awkward, anxious 18 year old in the best of ways.

I loved this book!
I was really able to relate to Brooke and saw so much of myself in her character. the character development was beautiful, and the romance was on point.
I am a sucker for enemies to lovers, and this book really came through for me in that aspect.

4/5 stars from me, a delightful read.

Thank you netgally for providing me with an arc

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

NINA KENWOOD STRIKES AGAIN!

It Sounded Better In My Head is up there as one of my fave books of all time, so when I got access to this ARC my expectations and excitement levels were high. And let me tell you - Unnecessary Drama delivered!!!

I started reading it thinking “I’ll do 30 mins tonight and finish it off tomorrow”… and then I looked up and it was 1am. I finished it in a puddle of happy tears and swoons.

Our lead Brooke is anxious, extremely organised, stressed about friendships, and how people perceive her - and she is so incredibly relatable. I saw my teen self in her, right down to the struggle with people accepting my non drinking and my burst ovarian cyst. It was glorious to get lost and reminisce through Brooke’s thoughts and feelings.

Our male lead Jesse is an absolute charmer and my teen self is jealous.

I appreciated the heavier themes in this book, and I thought that they were respectfully and sensitively handled.

Sometimes reading YA/NA feels like you’re actually reading adults interact - the character choices and dialogue don’t feel consistent with their ages. Kenwood has this amazing ability to make her characters sound like proper teenagers and behave like teenagers - their questionable choices, their ridiculous dialogue… (I say this with love as a 34 year old). Hats off to Kenwood, it is a SKILL!

In short: I laughed out loud. I ugly cried. My heart swooped in my chest. Absolutely fantastic Aussie YA/NA!

Unnecessary Drama by Nina Kenwood

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

“You can trust me. With your writing. As a friend. With anything. With everything.”

💚

Brooke is 18, about to start uni and living in her first share house in Melbourne, all very exciting! That is, until she discovers that one of her new housemates is Jesse, her high school nemesis!

What to expect:
🏙 Melbourne setting
♥️ Rivals to lovers
🙏 Forced proximity
😬 Anxiety rep
😳 Awkward new friendships
🔥 Lots of pining and tension!
💙 Fake dating
😂 Lots of LOL moments

I absolutely loved reading this YA story set in Melbourne, my home city. I was hooked and laughing from the very first scene, on Brooke’s first night in her share house and her hilarious encounter with a mouse. I related to Brooke so much, particularly her social anxiety, her tendency to overthink and her love language with her friends being acts of service. At times, it was painful to be living inside her head because she was dealing with so much, but mostly, it was a lot of fun. Jesse is a great character and love interest. He’s patient and thoughtful and really is her perfect match. I loved reading about how they worked through their painful history and became friends again, then more. I’m so glad I got to read this as an eARC! I highly recommend you give this a read when it comes out on October 5th!!
Thanks to #netgalley!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This is a wonderful YA novel. All the characters and issues are believable, and I like that nothing overly dramatic happens.
As much as Brooke frustrated me with her inability to open up and be brave with her feelings, it was realistic. I can relate to Brooke wanting to be the sober one in the group. Her need to be in control yet also hygienic made me chuckle, and I can see a bit of her in a lot of people. Jesse was pretty wonderful, although it would've been nice to see some closure regarding his family. I am from a divorced couple where both sides have gone on to have their own children, and I really understood how Jesse was feeling.
This is another Nina Kenwood book that I hope many young adults read.

This is such a joyful, relatable and genuinely funny new 'new adult' book. I laughed out loud several times and fell in love with flawed protagonist Brooke and her plight to get through first year uni, including her first experiences living in a sharehouse, and her often-disastrous love life.

But really... how could we expect any less from Nina Kenwood? Her debut is still one of my favourite Australian YA books of all time. This latest work is just as clever, witty and reassuring. Completely charming from start to finish. Get yourselves a copy as soon as it's out!