I approached Not In A Million Years as a lighthearted and laugh out loud rom-com, but I soon found out it was something else entirely. This book deals with some serious subjects as addiction, manipulative friendships, and toxic relationships. I usually like books that tell this kind of stories... but, to be honest, I wasn’t able to fully like this one. To me, it felt like a lot of very dark, concerning and serious situations were told a little bit too lightly. I did not see characters growth. At the beginning of the book, the main characters are basically three incoherent, judgmental, and kind of shallow twentysomethings. At the end of the book, fifteen years later, they're almost forty years old... but they haven’t changed a bit. It felt to me like many important issues were set aside to make room for a forced happy ending. I really would have liked a deeper characters and relationships (whether toxic or healthy) analysis.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I had high hopes for this book based on the synopsis and cover, but unfortunately the book didn't work for me. It is promised as a beachy forced-proximity rom-com, and it really is anything but. Kate is angry for the majority of the book, and she is really quite unlikable for most of it. As time goes on you get some glimpses as to why she may be so angry, but her behavior doesn't come across as endearing. The "quippy humor" comes off much more strongly as passive aggressive. I don't feel I ever truly got to know Kate or Daniel; if anything I feel I got to know Andy as a character much more deeply. I like a slow burn, but Kate and Daniel's romance is really a stop and go with jumps that just felt incredibly jarring. The book jumps in time quite a bit as well, which added to the chaos. I actually think the heavier topics addressed were really well done - perhaps this is two books, tried to meld into one. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to provide my honest review.

I think I’ve done something right in a past life because i’ve really lucked out recently with the amazing books i’ve been reading. First a quick thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Now for the good stuff…. this book is beautiful, heartbreaking, shocking, funny and pretty much every other thing you look for in a book.

The character are flawed in their own way but that’s what makes you love them because they’re real and relatable.

The way addiction is touched on in this has honestly been one of the best i’ve seen in a book, the author approached from that raw, ugly viewpoint that most of us like to shield ourselves away from in such a graceful manner, I honestly can’t praise her enough.

The romance was more subdued than i usually read but i think that’s what made it more special in the end.

Will gladly be recommending this to everyone i met lol!

luv & kisses <3

I cannot put this book down. I loved everything about it from the beginning to the very end. This book will definitely stick with me for quite some time especially the characters. I love the writing style of the book and cannot wait to read more books from this author in the near future. Please, as a fellow reader, I recommend adding this book to your to be Read list.

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From the very first chapter I could see how much Kate truly cares for and seemingly understands her friends, especially how much she values their friendship over romantic relationships. This kind of first view of Kate gave me a sense of trust with her, I found she was loyal and her brutal honesty in her POV made her seem a tad harsh but realistic. Her dating struggles also came off as honest and relatable.

I loved her baking the treats for the hall, showed her patience, compassion, and that she’s charitable. Daniel’s cafe choice for their meet up showed that he has a similar moral compass and the same charitable quality. Andy saying he thought they were meant for one another and these displays of their similarities made me believe in their compatibility from very early on in the story.

The forced proximity trope was often used but not too overplayed - the common task of trying to ensure Andy was safe, them only having one car in Turkey, as well as the noisy neighbours of Kate’s.

The flashback to the housewarming party was a great scene to instil doubt in Andy, and showing the pedestal that Kate had put him on. Andy’s ignorance and disrespect made me almost hate him, and the power of Kate’s first impression of Daniel made me understand how she was almost set up to dislike him.

The use of Kate’s first person POV was a brilliant choice, especially when it came to her descriptions of Daniel - she notices so many little details in his mannerisms and appearance that it is so obvious she’s in love and in denial. Daniel is almost always being friendly and caring towards her, while Kate is so snarky with him. As a reader I could tell how hard he was trying to make her like him, and seeing how often she pushed him away was sad.

Kate and Daniel’s chemistry was written incredibly, we weren’t told as readers that they had chemistry, we were shown it. Their charisma, banter, and tension was incredible to read. Not to mention the night in the hotel room - perfect amount of smutty. Not too over the top that it was cringey, but perfectly placed.

The plot twist of Kate and Andy having slept together shocked me! Also the fact that Andy claimed to only ever love one person was heartbreaking once I realised he had clearly loved Kate. Not to mention the longevity of their relationship - it helped show Kate’s motivation towards Andy’s sobriety as well as her harshness towards Daniel as she believed he was a root cause of Andy’s inability to stay sober.

The little breaks from the main plot were very much needed. Kate’s date with Claude, the sex tape recording, dropping off cakes etc. these scenes felt like little palette cleanses. I think without them the story would’ve been too dark, which is easy to do when touching on such tough topics like addiction.

The storytelling was very emotional and had me hating all of them at different points, especially when they each were enabling bad behaviour for the others. By the end of the book I didn’t hate any of them though, which was surprising, they all had their own little redemptions which I was thankful for.

These were two of my favourite quotes from the book:

“Before, it had been enough. Now, it wasn’t.”

“But I no longer believed that by giving and giving until I had nothing left to give, I could somehow save him from himself.”

One thing I’d like to note is that I wish the title had more to do with the story. I understand the premise that it’s in relation to Kate and Daniel’s relationship and how they wouldn’t date one another in a million years, but I feel that it isn’t true as from the onset we see that they are somewhat compatible and especially after finding out that Daniel has loved her since the beginning. Perhaps I’ve gotten too used to titles of books being in important quotes of the book, but I imagined a play on the concept of “not in a million years” such as her saying she would never have guessed she’d love him as much as she does, or a play on him saying they have all the time in the world etc. Feels like a missed opportunity but maybe I’ve just read too many corny rom-coms.

Also I think marketing this book as a hilarious enemies to lovers rom com is false advertising. It is not really a light hilarious rom-com, it is quite dark and the relationships between the characters is very toxic. The characters are manipulative and toxic, and the plot of Andy’s addiction is very heavy to read. While each character has redeemable qualities and by the end of the book you can understand each characters individual motivations and set backs, it’s still not a light summery romance like the cover, write similarities, and descriptions of the book make it seem.

There were some minor errors I spotted while reading, as well as some slang that I didn’t understand. Being Australian and reading a book based in the UK I assume some of these may be colloquial but thought worth a mention as some of them ruined my immersion in the read while I tried to understand what was said. Examples below, these were written down at time of reading in order throughout the book.

The use of “search me” - no understanding as to what the author meant by this? (Chapter 1/2 I believe?)

“I don’t want my fears conquering” - I assume meant conquered, chapter 3

“Gawped” was this a typo between gawked and gaped? Chapter 5

“Oh give over” I assume slang? Chapter 6

“Bessie mates” this was used multiple times and I assumed by the end of it that it was just slang. First noticeable use chapter 15.

“As last” instead of ‘at last’ (forgot what chapter)

I"m not sure how to feel about this book -- it starts out great, but then things derail. It's being touted as a fun-filled romance, but I don't think it really was.

Kate, Daniel and Andy are the main characters -- when Andy goes missing abroad, Daniel is determined to go find him and asks Kate along. The book blurb leads you to believe it's a fun, romantic trip - but she spends half of it hating Daniel for something he's done in the past we aren't privy of and the other half complaining as she's dragged along trying to find Andy. And Andy's character isn't very fun and his substance abuse becomes the main topic in the second half of the book.

Honestly, not what I'd consider a fun-filled romance even though there is a HEA ending.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

In 2008 Kate hon his as saved illl stated 5th and is moneys 💰 to buy a place of her own, and and the has great friend's around her to support her.

Group of 4 watchi0ng other  halfvess half play ⚽️ 🥅 !

Abbbie semce of humpour, 
Naomi kindness whpo isp someone she forgoten his name as there has been so many!
Rowan beautiful smile 😃 Andy and hispp partner Paul.
Zara  batch observation Patch.
15 years later all become her closes friends.
Meets Andy in bar funny from the start, and becomes her gay best friend. 15 years later discovered so much about each other she is 37 and between jobs. All other friend's had children and/or were married  and she has neither. 

Cannot get hold of Andy, so Daniel whom Kate who doesn't not like him much, but tells her he also has not heard from him and both of them are very worried 😟 .

Could he might not be sober anymore. He had a trouble with addiction to cannabis and cocane, so they are very worried that he he has gpot involved with that again and he's never coming back to them or he is lying in his flat dead.

Meets up with Daniel, tells her 'Andy was missing 🤔 of going for a bit to see if he liked it. If he did, maybe he would spend a few months out there every year' to go as well. Sea sandy and fabulous food,
Finally traced him in Alsaya which is on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey 🇹🇷. 

Daniel and Kate have a love hate relationship, or they just don't get on. But he wants her to go out to Turkey to follow Andy there but asks Kate to go with him.
No trips abroad and no saving for flats. No a holiday just trip to find Andy
Day of departure, means she has to go on plane but she is still scared 😱 of flying because of her fear of heights Kate has not been abroad for ten years.

'I was  used to solitude. I'd chosen it-i'd never had a relationship with a man 👨 I could imagine setting down with, and my university days were past'
But now this was a new feeling, one of loneliness and 'it felt horrible 💔 😢 .
There finally gives in and goes round to vislit  Daniel and has dinner with two men
As Alex is recovering there since being discharged from hospital.
Not been to hospital home before 'but couldn't help being oppressed by how beautiful it was'
Goes to drug rehabilitation centre to keep up his sobrity ad Kate thinks 🤔 that best for him.

Alex moves in with Kate. But one night she leaves Andy alone with Daniel and she crs home to find out they've been takking drugs.
'He'd been in as I'd ever seen him: pale, gaunt, trebling, the smell of unwashed body hitting me like a blow to the face'

'The flat beyond was dusty and almost empty, only a bare mattress on the mezzanine level where he slept 😴 invited me in for a coffee  bit  there was no coffee, and the fridge was  empty apart from a bottle of vodka'

This is a great feel good romantic comedy 😄 That keeps you guessing will they won't they and who does she feeling for or I'd the single life more suitable for her dissertation her loneliness.

Thanks to NetGalley and him  publishers for giving me a complementary digital copy of this ebook in exchange for a full, frank and  honest review.  All opinions expressed are solely my own.

Rapidly becoming one of my favourite authors. A group of friends develops from supporting boyfriends football games and becomes integral to life. The romances change but the group stays together and expands to include new comers.
Kate's friendship with Andy is complicated and adversarial with Daniel.
Then Andy goes off grid and no-one has heard from him.
Kate and Daniel set off for Turkey to find him. Will they find him, will the romantic atmosphere change their relationship, has Andy gone back to self destruct mode? All questions that make the story gripping.
The self destruct button, jealousy and lack of communication are human traits that we can all relate to, to some degree.
Enjoy I did

When you live and care so much about another person such as Kate and Daniel did with Andy, you often downplay that which is causing emotional and physical harm. It is only when it blew up in Kate's face such as Andy stealing from her best friends and the condition they found him in Turkey, was that they realized that they could not enable an addiction. It would always be an excuse and exclamation of change in the near future. By putting some much in her relationship with Kate, she really lost a lot of herself and as a result, her relationships suffered. I was glad of the ending as that type of love prevailed.

This book was not to my taste at all. I slogged through the pages, but I did finally finish it. I didn’t like the characters, Kate was a doormat to her “friend “ Andy for many years, codependent as possible. David was also treating Andy with codependency, so I guess it was easy for the author to create a relationship for Kate and David.

The whole book was mostly the two of them caring about, worrying about, managing and enabling Andy. I just didn’t see any value in the story. I’m sorry about that, the author spent time and effort writing this, but I’ve got to believe it wasn’t her best work.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, but my opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this book but didn’t feel it was hilarious as described, in fact it wasn’t really a rom com either! Like other reviewers, I’ve no idea why the main characters didn’t like each other and the female lead just came across as stroppy for no reason! But I quite enjoyed reading it, I think the description needs altering before the book goes on sale as the subject matter could be triggering for some.

Kate and Daniel go to Turkey in search of their longtime friend Andy when he goes missing. They find out that he has been in the hospital after a bad car accident. Kate and Daniel decide to stay with Andy until he is well enough to fly home. Once back home Andy stays with Daniel until he is well enough to go back to his own flat. Andy suffers from substance abuse and has multiple relapses on his road to sobriety.

This book is an extremely slow burn, Kate is constantly grumpy and at times just plain rude (not in a cute grumpy/ sunshine kind of way), we do not ever really know why our main characters became enemies. Also it seems like every single character in this book enables Andy's behavior and substance abuse. I'm not sure how this got labeled a romance book as the main idea of the whole book revolves around finding Andy when he goes MIA multiple times. Oh, and Kate and Daniel work out that the love each other.


Troupe- Enemies to Lovers

TW- Substance Abuse

Spice level – 1

ARC provided by NetGalley and Bookouture in exchange for honest review.

What I was expecting compared to what I got from this book were two completely separate things. It’s billed as ‘a totally hilarious and feel-good enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy’ however it has much more serious undertones than that. Whilst I did enjoy the book I didn’t find it totally hilarious and feel slightly misled as to the subject matter. Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the chance to review.

Definitely was expecting something different when I picked up this book. It is not your typical romcom- I think it was overshadowed too much with a character's addiction and dragged for me. I would love to try more books by Sophie though, I did love her writing.

I’ll happily admit that I have a problem: when I don’t understand something, I need to ask whoever’s in front of me to explain. In real life anything. I say it’s a problem because there are things I wished I hadn’t asked. But anyway. With this book, I was told almost from the beginning that Kate (our main character) can’t stand Daniel (the book’s love interest). They’ve known each other for 15 years or so but haven’t talked to one another for several years, and yet from their first “reconnecting” meet-up in a bar in London, she’s straight-on aggressive—which felt a little much considering that they’re having a coffee to discuss their missing friend, Andy. Things don’t get better, Kate keeps repeating that he’s her nemesis or something, all the while she dreams about his body and the hand he put on hers on the plane. Um, excuse me? Could we have an explanation or something? Because as it is, I could obviously ask no one why she was always mad at Daniel and generally acting like a sad angry old bitchy woman…and it unnerved me, it really did. She was very unlikable (read: not at all). And it’s just too much drama for me (seriously, all these characters are nearing their 4th decade…).
After Kate and Daniel had champagne-induced sex (which, honestly, I didn’t expect to be so graphically detailed), she was (again) such a bitch that I wanted to DNF, but I went on because it was NetGalley. And so I finished it, and it didn’t work for me.

I couldn't put it down. I found myself smiling and laughing out loud several times. This book was fantastic!
I just reviewed Not in a Million Years by Sophie Ranald. #NotinaMillionYears #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

On Goodreads this books is listed as “Not in a Million Years: A hilarious and feel-good enemies to lovers romantic comedy” which I definitely think is false advertising. While parts of this had some rom com glimpses, overall it was more serious and heavy than that. I actually really enjoyed that though since I can only handle so many rom com style books. I enjoyed the first half of the book the most, but was still engaged in the second half, just not as much. I was bouncing between 3 and 4 stars for this one so we’ll go 4 (rounded up from 3.5).

Know up front that this is actually quite a bit different from the light rom com you might be expecting- although there are rom com elements. Kate and Daniel, who do not like one another, unite to find their mutual friend Andy, who has gone missing in Turkey. Unfortunately, Andy has addiction issues and while the pair is able to get him safely back to London, they must continue to help him even though he's not the most appealing character. Yes there's a slow burn romance, Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Wasn't what I was looking for but still a decent read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Daniel and Kate share a mutual friend, Andy, who has gone missing. Concerned for his well being (he’s a recovering addict), they fly to Turkey looking for him.
I thought this book was well written and definitely had some cute parts, but it was not the hilarious rom-com I thought it was going to be. It was way more serious than I expected. Overall it was still a good read though. Also, I always enjoy an enemies to lovers story!


📘: Not in a Million Years by Sophie Ranald
🗓 Pub Date: February 22, 2023

Thank you to NetGalley, Sophie Ranald, and Bookouture for this ARC!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

*Reviewed on NetGalley and Goodreads. Will review on retail once published!

If you are looking for a stereotypical rom-com, this isn't it. A huge piece of this is around Andy and his addiction issues which seem to be portrayed well- just unexpected in a read of this genre.

The time hopping seemed a bit all over the place, and ending rushed. But I did love the tense moments with Kate and Daniel throughout.

If you are looking for something unusual, I recommend this one.