While the main characters in this book are technical adults they are definitely college-aged kids. They're difficult and stubborn, but also extremely relatable. I identified with Brooke and her anxiety spells and insomnia. Her mind moves a million times a minute and she's so genuinely hilarious.

The only thing that was hard for me was the romance. It was very very slow and I wish they would've sped it up a bit. There are so many parts where the inner monologue of Brooke was so long that it took away from their story. Other than that I enjoyed this one!

Thank you to MacMillan Audio and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Publication Date: August 8, 2023
Review Date: August 9, 2023

This was a fun, light-hearted older YA/new adult rom-com. Eighteen-year-old main character Brooke leaves home to attend university in Melbourne for her first year, away from her family, and explores navigating college, making new friends and making out her own way in the world. As it would turn out, Brooke unexpectedly finds that she’s also going to be dealing with navigating an old relationship (friend turned enemy from high school) as he becomes one of her new housemates.

Brooke is your archetypal caretaker “mom” friend with a Type-A personality who always tries to make sure everyone is okay. Her voice is believable and enjoyable – the monologues she would have with herself in her head were some of the funniest parts of the book.

Overall quirky, light-hearted, entertaining – a fun beachy summer read or just if you need something light-hearted without it being too serious. It did touch on some serious topics, but not in too heavy of a way to take away from its overall relaxed narrative. The narration by Maddy Withington was excellent. 4/5 stars. I’d definitely check out more from this author.

Unnecessary Drama, a very well named book. Lets start with this book was very fun for me to listen to. At times I was literally laughing out loud. Brook was relatable, quirky and adorable. Who doesn't have anxiety and fears? As a young adult I would have loved this book to no end. As an adult there were moments where I saw my younger self and thought of what I was like. The romance that bloomed between Brooke and Jesse felt gentle and sweet. At the end I was genuinely rooting for the pair. Through out the book there were a few moments that were cringey, however they perfectly fit into the story.

Thank you NetGalley and Flatiron books for my ALC!

If you looking for a good romcom this one is it. This is a cute enemies to lovers. Some of the banter was so cheeky I love it. And the main character is very well developed with her anxieties, and her thought processes crack me up. She is so relatable and adorable. The audiobook narrator did a fantastic job. You could definitely tell the difference with characters, and it was very cute and well done.

After reading some recent heavy, dark books- this lighthearted YA was a breath of fresh air! I loved the characters and humor even through some not so good situations. The narrator was great, highly recommend!

For a YA novel, I’m sure this is fine but as an adult reading a YA novel, this wasn’t a hit for me.

There definitely were some pros (I really appreciated the truthfulness of Brooke’s anxiety, as well as her and Jesse’s family issues) but as a whole it didn’t feel like there was really a point to the story. I also feel like there was a lot of unnecessary information which led to some pacing issues.

So, like I said, this wasn’t for me but I don’t think I believe it isn’t for anyone so if the premise sounds good to you, give it a go!

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Young Listeners for an advanced copy of this audiobook.

This was a delightful and hilarious second chance college romance that included a dash of coming of age. The main character’s anxiety was so relatable. The need to have things organized because of how chaotic things around her could be. And Jesse was amazing. I loved him.

This will definitely be on my reread list.

Unnecessary Drama by Nina Kenwood

This book was a delight! Brooke is so excited to finally be moving away from her childhood home and starting a new adventure in university. She is horrified to find out one of her new roommates is her enemy from high school. A classic storyline but this take on it felt fresh and fun. I absolutely loved how relatable and charming Brooke was, her tumbling thoughts and feelings were so relatable.

She does ramble a bit and is bursting with anxieties, so I can see how some might find this one a bit much, but I found her endearing and the overall story quite entertaining. There were many laugh out loud parts, and really lovely growth moments as well.

The audio was fantastic! I flew through it - highly recommend it to brighten your mood. Can’t wait to find more books by this author. Thank you to @macmillan.audio for the opportunity to listen to this one! It’s out on August 8th!

#macmillanaudio #summerbooks #reading #audiobook #audiobookreviewer #audiobookrecommendation #netgalley #newfavouriteauthor #newfavouritebook #ninakenwood #ebooks

This audiobook was really cute and very enjoyable. Brooke and Jesse have a past that left Brooke with some not so kind feelings for Jesse. Now they have ended up sharing an apartment with one other girl. Brooke has some anxiety issues that were on display in the book. It is a clean romance with lots of witty banter. I loved the way Jesse was protective of Brooke (as much as she would allow).

There is a fake relationship trope in this book also. I think those awkward moments were very touching and really got me wanting to push them towards the real thing.

The narration by Maddy Withington was awesome and the reason I bumped this up to 4 stars. The Australian accent was very pleasant to listen to and the volume stayed consistent throughout (yeah!). I highly recommend this audiobook!

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the gifted copy.

Unnecessary Drama is an adorable coming of age story that tows the line between romance and literary fiction. Brooke was a realistic representation of what its like to live with anxiety and how difficult it can be to try to date as an anxious person. I really appreciated the romance and and how much chemistry Jesse and Brooke had. Overall this was a solid, heartfelt, funny read that represents an often ignored part of the young adult experience (university). I'm so glad I picked this up!

Book Title: Unnecessary Drama
Author: Nina Kenwood
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Release Day: August 8, 2023
Format: Audio Book
Rating: Storyline 5⭐️ Narration 5⭐️

Synopsis: From the award-winning author of It Sounded Better in My Head comes a deliciously entertaining enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy about two high school nemeses who end up sharing a house together their first year of college

Eighteen-year-old Brooke is the kind of friend who not only remembers everyone’s birthdays, but also organizes the group present, pays for it, and politely chases others for their share. She’s the helper, the doer, the maker-of spreadsheets. She’s the responsible one who always follows the rules―and she plans to keep it that way during her first year of college.

Her student housing only has one "no unnecessary drama." Which means no fights, tension, or romance between roommates. When one of them turns out to be Jesse, her high-school nemesis, Brooke is determined she can handle it. They’ll simply silently endure living together and stay out of each other’s way. But it turns out Jesse isn’t so easy to ignore.

With Unnecessary Drama , Nina Kenwood perfectly captures the experience of leaving home for the first time, dealing with the unexpected complications of life, and somehow finding exactly what you need.

My Thoughts: I absolutely loved this romantic comedy. It was fun of embarrassing moments we have all had that became laughable moments. I laughed out loud a few times and couldn't stop listening to this. I was rooting for Brooke and Jesse as soon as this loveable but awkward plot line started. It was pleasantly sweet and full of everything I expected from a RomCom. This is a perfect read/listen to get you out of a reading slump or if you need a pick me up.

The narration by Maddy Withington was exceptional. I absolutely loved her voice changes and felt her expressions with every awkward to laughable laughable moment. I will definitely be looking up more audio books from her.

Thank you to MacmillanAudio and NetGalley for this advanced listening copy for my honest review.

such a wonderful read! 4 strong stars!

i was on the fence about what i would feel about this book but i was pleasantly surprised! such strong writing and great detailing of anxiety. it felt familiar and accurate and i applaud lenwood for that.

anyone who knows me, knows that i’m not the biggest fan of enemies to lovers (mostly because authors often make these characters cruel) but i didn’t find that here and mixed with forced proximity, it’s just a recipe for a win.

the narration was soooo wonderful too! i was thrilled the australian accent and how emotive the narrator was. it made the anxiety described in the book even better.

thoroughly loved this one. written with such understanding for that new adult voice, i’d recommend!

thank you netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.

*Audiobook*

When Brooke moves into a house for college with two roommates, she expects there to be a huge learning curve: How will they split chores? Who will cook? How will they get along? What she doesn’t expect is one of her roommates to be her ex-friend turned nemesis, Jesse. Brooke and Jesse agree to be cordial but avoid each other as much as possible, yet neither seem to want to avoid each other. Brooke realizes that the Jesse she befriended—and had feelings for—all those years ago might have been there all along.

This story is so freaking cute. It’s not groundbreaking by any means, but for a romance, I really enjoyed it. It’s labeled enemies-to-lovers, but I don’t think that’s an accurate description. Jesse embarrassed Brooke in high school and she’s held a grudge ever since, but Jesse harbored no hard feelings. It makes their transition to a relationship way less frustrating because I can’t stand when the guy is a douche for 70% of the book and then the girl falls in love with him out of nowhere. Jesse is a sweet, helpful character throughout the entire story, and their slow progression to lovers is realistic and wholesome. I can relate a lot to Brooke. Going with the flow is my worst nightmare, so I felt all of her anxiety moving into a house with two roommates and navigating having feelings for someone she wasn’t sure that she could fully trust. Thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Nina Kenwood for this free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Such a fun book. This was a book with lots of fun tropes brought in to a closed door romance. I appreciated the flaws in both of our main characters and thought that their interest and hesitation was very realistic and of course the shenanigans they get into were fun too. This book was a great mix of rom and com!

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.

I loved this books so much! Very rarely have I ever related to a character so much. The main character Brooke is filled with anxieties — she's constantly overthinking and holding herself responsible for everything and everyone around her. Maybe it's because I related to her so much that I loved this book as much as I did. Regardless, I enjoyed the dynamics between these characters, the friendships and the relationships. It was funny and sweet and I highly recommend it!

Thank you Netgalley for providing a digital ARC.

Unnecessary Drama is really a sweet, relatable and realistic read. Coming from someone who lives in lists and anxiety i found myself relating to Brooke in a lot of ways. The anxiety spirals were very realistic and relatable. I loved loved loved the setting and enemies to friends to lovers that was shown throughout.

It deals with a lot of New adult issues that arises from handling your first ALONE ER trip to dating, living outside of the family home for the first time etc.

The narration was done extremely well and was very emotional and kept me hooked from start to finish!

Some of the parts of the books had me CRINGING though and seemed a bit far fetched but other than that it was an enjoyable read!

Cute book. I like the redemption that this story takes. Good YA listen. Roommates, past lives, fake romance. This story has it all.

Quick and easy read. Sweet story. Great characters.
I had a smile on my face the whole time listening to this book. Maddy Withington did a great job narrating.
I thought the characters were all relatable and real. Main character Brooke's inner dialogue was funny.
I enjoyed every part of this. A great read that is easy to get into. I liked that there was a clear storyline that had a beginning, middle, and end. The focus remained on Brooke and Jesse and the progression of their relationship, although predictable, was believable. I sometimes dislike when the main love interests have a love-hate relationship, but think Brooke and Jesse's made sense and was explained really well. I also thought their personalities were perfectly fitting for their age.
This was my first Nina Kenwood book, but I enjoyed it so much that I am picking up her other novel. 5-stars for great characters and the entertainment factor.

Thank you Macmillan Audio, Macmillan Young Listeners and NetGalley for the arc.

Moving away from home to attend her first year of college has Brooke’s anxiety on full alert. What will it be like in this new environment, with new housemates she doesn’t know yet? Good thing she has her rules and super organizational skills to help her through. At least this is the case until her final roommate shows up, her high school friend turned nemesis, Jesse.

Overall I found this to be a cute, quick romance that was fun to read. I enjoyed most of the characters and liked seeing the interactions between Brooke and Jesse. There was nothing earth shattering about this romance, but it fit with the tried and true enemies to lovers storyline. Brooke’s over the top anxiety got to me at times, but besides that this was a good romance. If you are looking for a light hearted, humorous YA romance, I would recommend giving this one a try!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book!