Member Reviews

Unnecessary Drama by Nina Kenwood
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Brooke is moving into a house share with two people she hasn’t met yet, to go to college. She soon discovers one of her new house mates is Jesse, her nemesis from high school. One of the housing rules is “No unnecessary drama” so she is determined to ignore Jesse, but it is proving to be harder than she thought.
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What I liked:
-I loved Brooke. She is the responsible one who always follows the rules but she also really struggles with anxiety which is very relatable.
-The back story with Brooke and Jesse really sucked me in and I was very invested in seeing what happened between them now that they were living together.
-This book was HILARIOUS. I was practically in tears laughing at the chapter where Brooke goes on the coffee date.
-There was some fake dating and I was loving it.
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4.5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 This was a wonderfully enjoyable book that I am planning to reread over the years.

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Two former friends are unexpectedly thrown back together when they both end up renting a room in a houseshare. One of their new house rules is no "unnecessary drama", but that's easier said than done when they (sort of?) hate each other. This was a fun, cute audiobook! I would classify this as a coming-of-age story. We see Brooke grow and come into herself during her first year away at college. She has to navigate not only living away from family for the first time but school and her newfound relationships. As an anxious person myself (lol), I really related to her and a lot of what she's going through. I loved seeing her budding romance with Jesse and how he was the calm to her storm.

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I had heard good things about Nina Kenwood’s debut, and the summary of this book sounded really interesting. When I was invited to join the blog tour, I couldn’t say yes fast enough! Unnecessary Drama navigates the anxiety of moving away for college as well as a former friendship turned roommate turned something more.

Brooke has always been the responsible one, and she’s prepared to handle college the same way she approaches life: with a plan. All bets are off though when she moves into her student housing (aka a neighbor’s granddaughter Harper‘s house) and discovers that Jesse, the former friend and crush who she had a public and humiliating fallout with, is her other roommate. Now, aside from navigating the stresses of college and being away from home for the first time, she has to deal with the awkwardness between her and Jesse. However, as they are forced to spend more time together, old feelings begin to arise.

I really liked Brooke’s character. She’s used to being the responsible one, but she notes throughout the story that this is more a burden than anything else. If she didn’t take care of everyone around her, she would worry about them more. Being the “mom” friend is more a proactive measure than anything else. I also really related to her spiraling about moving away from home and dealing with the unknown territory that college is.

Her gradual friendship with Harper and Jesse was also great to read. Harper is a yeah above the two of them and is the one to institute the “no unnecessary drama” house rule. However, the three of them all become really close friends and help each other throughout their own problems. While Jesse and Brooke have bad history, it’s clear that he regrets what he said about her and that he is actually quite thoughtful and caring.

The writing was so easy to consume, and I enjoyed the humor throughout this book! There were so many moments that I couldn’t help but laugh at. Brooke’s narrative was so witty yet conveyed her mental spiraling so well.

I liked the romance as well! I wouldn’t say that the two of them are nemeses; it’s more that Brooke dislikes him and has been avoiding him for years ever since overhearing something he said about her at a party. Jesse does apologize for this, and I liked that they get to know each other as friends first before they start liking each other. Their scenes together were really sweet!

Unnecessary Drama was a relatable novel about moving away from home and dealing with the stress of college. I really liked the characters and the writing. I’ll definitely need to go back and read Kenwood’s debut and would love to read her future books as well. If you’re looking for a young/new adult crossover with a sweet romance and great characters, you should definitely pick up Unnecessary Drama!

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3.5/5 (rounded up)

I enjoyed it! It's a fun read. The author writes believable characters, and it's a great choice if you want a lighthearted fluffy romance. Outside of that, I don't have much to say. It didn't push the bounds or blow my mind, which is why it gets a 3.5.

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I liked this one. It was a pretty predictable plot. But still a cute read. If you are looking for a cute light romance book I would suggest this one.

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Reviewed for NetGalley:

University student, Brooke anxiously moves into a house with roommates under the rules and guidelines pointedly with no "unnecessary drama," tension, romance, or fighting with her new roommates. The only issue is one of her roommates is her high school nemesis, Jesse.

A sweet, light hearted read. Overall enjoyable read.

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I read this in one setting. While it took awhile to get into Brooke's headspace can take a little time and patience - she is a lot - it is such an honest portrayal of a child who grows up with an alcoholic parent. Children can often to grow up to consider alcohol of no consequence, and have their own problems with it. They can go the opposite route and avoid it all together. The lack of ability to trust someone as fundamental as a parent can lead to trust issues, and a need to control your environment as much as possible.

Brooke has lists upon lists. Life is more about knowing how to react best in a situation and according to plan than it is really living. She's excited to get into college and begin a new chapter of her life, but with a new group of people to get to know, she's uncertain of how she'll fit in. Especially when the last person she wants to see from her past shows up. Jesse - one of her first really good friends, and the boy who betrayed her. The one she was never able to forgive. The one rule of the house was no unnecessary drama, so clearly the best way to handle the situation is to avoid him at all costs, and pretend to be friends when forced together.

Once you can get over Brooke's controlling, anxiety-ridden, type A personality she's someone I can relate to. It's easier to give her a chance and want to root for her. Plus Jesse is such a good guy to root for - he's not without flaws, but he's very clearly crushing on Brooke. And has been for a long time. He's in her corner, and patient with her. Waiting for her to allow him to apologize for what happened in the past, and really explain why it happened. To get to know each other again now.

I enjoyed this so much more than I thought I would. Cute, relatable, a read-in-one-sitting type of a book. I'm so glad I found this one, and hope I can pass it along!

Thank you to the publishers through NetGalley for the ARC!

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I received an e-copy of this book from NetGalley. I think young adults will resonate with Brooke as she navigates her first year at university. Enemies to lovers fans will enjoy the plot and slow burn. A quick and fun read!

I received an e-copy of this book from NetGalley. I think young adults will resonate with Brooke as she navigates her first year at university. Enemies to lovers fans will enjoy the plot and slow burn. A quick and fun read!

I received an e-copy of this book from NetGalley. I think young adults will resonate with Brooke as she navigates her first year at university. Enemies to lovers fans will enjoy the plot and slow burn. A quick and fun read!

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When your best friend and the first boy who ever kisses you publicly humiliates and hurts you, that tends to stick with you for a long time... so now years later when you finally find a place to stay and one of your college roommates is said boy... things are about to get tricky. Brooke is a “always help” kind of girl, she’s the responsible friend, and when she discovers that the boy who broke her heart and destroyed her trust is now her college roommate she wants nothing more than to just avoid him as much as possible and endure it until school is over... except he is adamant about trying to explain why he did what he did and about trying to be friends with her. When an ex meets her again she pretends that they’re dating and what starts as one kiss soon spirals. But can Brooke trust Jesse again with her heart after what he did last time? Or would it be a mistake? Their student has one rule “ no unnecessary drama” but there’s going to be tons of drama wherever Jesse and Brooke are concerned. This was a friends to enemies to lovers story but honestly I just got so bored with Jesse and Brooke and wasn’t exactly that invested in them becoming a couple. I definitely think its a “me not you” kind of read where i just didn’t really like the main characters or the couple all that much and found their relationship to be boring. I think if you enjoy second chance romances then this would work for you and that you’ll have a better time with it than I did!

*Thanks Netgalley and Flatiron Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

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3.5 stars!
This book was so silly and fun–the perfect novel to fall into to giggle and also maybe to feel some deep second-hand embarrassment. Brooke was such a relatable character and I think her anxiety was portrayed in a really truthful way. She knew when she was being too much, but she couldn’t always control it. It was nice to see her friends rally together with her anyway! The romance was rushed, maybe because we don’t really get to hear what Jesse is thinking, but sweet.

I think the tropes were cliche but fun so if you like (sort of) childhood friends to lovers/rivals to lovers, and young adults navigating life on their own, then pick this one up!

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Unnecessary Drama is an adorable second chance romance that I loved from the start. One of my favorite books is It Sounded Better In My Head by Nina and this story was just as good. The characters in Nina’s book at heart warming and relatable and you can’t help fall in love and root for their happy ending. I can’t see what she writes next I’m sure it’s going to be amazing.

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