Overall I really enjoyed this book, miscommunication or lack thereof is my only negative point because it is so overdone however, the way the author and narrator communicated the truth was very well done and I still really liked it.

Unnecessary Drama
by Nina Kenwood
2/5 ⭐️

Brooke is the friend everyone wants but takes for granted. She is organized, caring, loyal and thoughtful. She is also a rule follower that is tired of cleaning up after others, especially her older sister’s messes. As she starts college, she decides to move out and away from any unnecessary drama.

Brooke did not think things could get worse after seeing a mouse the first night in her student housing but they did! One of her roommates turns out to be, Jesse, the high-school boy that humiliated her in front of the whole school. Again she is determined to stay away from any unnecessary drama. The problem is Jesse always seems to be around and he is not as horrible as she remembers him

Unnecessary Drama was a light and easy read. The bright and cheerful cover caught my eye enticing me to read. The main character, Brooke is someone I think many people with social anxiety could easily relate to. Unfortunately, this book was not for me. I adore the enemy-to-lovers trope but Brooke’s grudge was foolish in my opinion. Nothing happens which I guess is the point- “Unnecessary Drama”, but it was like listening to someone narrate a normal day-to-day life. A younger audience might enjoy this book but as a forty-year-old woman, I did not.

Thank you to @macmillan.audio and @netgalley for the ALC in exchange for my honest review. All my opinions are my own.
Publication Date: August 8,

Thank you @macmillan.audio @netgalley for a copy of this audiobook. This was a YA romance about Brooke who goes away for college and meets her housemates and discovers one of her mates is an old best friend, Jesse. The story is told in dual timeline to see Brooke and Jesse's relationship as teenagers and what went wrong. I enjoyed the current time line as Brooke is just coming into her own and learning to become an adult while figuring out how to live with Jesse.

I have never related to a character more! Brooke is an 18-year-old riddled with anxiety and maybe a touch of OCD. She heads off to university, and when she meets her third roommate, she is taken back to the past she tried to leave behind.

Enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes, and this quick read nailed it. The characters were all so lively and a great fit for the novel. A quick read with no over-the-top chase that is normally found in romances.

Thank you to netgalley for this ARC.
*tried to post to goodreads but got the “unable to find ISBN” error.

Here were some of my thoughts while reading Unnecessary Drama.

I couldn’t really get behind the main character. I don’t really know why, she just seemed to surface level for me. I wish there was more substance in the plot. The characters are all 18-19, which I kept forgetting but makes sense for why things were less substance. She bounces from an estranged relationship with her distant father, taking care and resenting of her older partying sister, struggling in her dating life, holding on to past embarrassments and it was too scattered at times. It was cute at other times, and I would suggest it for a quick beach read, but there are others in this genre I liked much more.

Thank you for allowing me to share my honest feedback!

Audiobook Review - This is a cute YA romance full of anxiety driven antics. The characters are fun and quirky. Light easy listen for romance fans. Recommended where light romance novels are popular.

This was cute, but seemed a little too convenient. Like, the characters just kept getting thrown into scenarios that made other things happen. It didn't feel very organic. But it was cute.

This is the first book I have read by Nina Kenwood, and I really enjoyed it. I did not realize this was YA fiction when I first started listening to the audiobook and I was pleasantly surprised! Unnecessary Drama is about eighteen-year-old Brooke as she heads off to her first year of college. Brooke is an incredibly organized rule-follower. She finds out after moving into her college apartment that one of her roommates is her ex-high school friend, Jesse, who broke her heart and confidence. Brooke is charming and lovable, and made me laugh out loud.
Kenwood is a clever, talented and creative writer. I loved her characters and would really love to see her leave the YA genre for adult fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley for my advance audio copy in exchange for my honest review.

This audiobook was a fun an easy listen. Brooke, the MC, is out in the world now for college, and we follow her journey through navigating anxiety and being out of her parents home. Her one roommate is a hopefully new friend not foe Harper, while her other roomie is a boy from her hometown.
It is sweet and enjoyable bokk!

This was a cute, easy to read, rom com. It was very young adult, which fits perfectly into what my students enjoy reading.

The storyline was believable and the characters were likeable. I wish we were given more of the roommate Harper and her relationship with Penny (would be a great follow up book!). I understand what the author was trying to do through Brooke's anxiety--so many cringe moments that poor girl experienced--but there were moments where I felt frustrated with her!

Even though a lot of the book fell into some of the broader, cliche tropes -- as most rom coms do-- it was still fun to read. I think teens/new adults will really feel connected to all of the characters.

3.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the early listen in exchange for an honest review!

4.25/5

Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own. 

The main character is very neurotic. I empathized with her, but there were definitely times that she stressed me out. There were also times where I laughed out loud at her antics. She was quite the character. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this humorous read.

Unnecessary Drama, the NA fictional rom-com by Nina Kenwood, was one of my favorite romance/rom-com books I've read this year. It was lighthearted and funny, with lovable characters and a relatable premise. This one was an easy 5 stars for me for almost the entire book, right up until the last 5%. Book resolutions can often make or break it for me, and in this case I found myself wanting more out of the ending. Or, maybe less? It felt like the author overshot the ending by an extra chapter that didn't quite work for me. I still very much enjoyed this book, especially in its audio format, and I would happily recommend it.

Things I loved about Unnecessary Drama:
- The chemistry between Brooke and Jesse. I loved both of these characters, and I loved following the ups and downs of their evolving relationship.
- The depiction of young adulthood. This book was written from the perspective of an 18-year-old student, which could have very well made this story difficult to relate to as an adult, but instead it made me feel nostalgic for what it was like to be in my early 20s, attending school and living with roommates, struggling with the specific insecurities that come from trying to forge relationships as a young adult, both romantic and platonic.
- The way Nina Kenwood writes about writing from the perspective of a young, aspiring author.
- The narrator of the audiobook (!!!): Oh wow, yes. I would listen to just about anything Maddy Withington decides to narrate. An Australian narrator, she has the most soothing voice that was perfectly suited to this genre of book. Her actual voice reminded me quite a lot of Matilda on Video (the beauty content creator), in the best way possible.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced listener copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

This was quirky and fun and all too real. I totally related to Brooke's internal dialogue, all those insecurities crowding out healthy thoughts. This is what the inside of my mind sounds like most of the time as well, so I could very much understand her struggles. Thank you Nina Kenwood for showing all of us out there that feel this way, that we are not alone in our social anxieties.
Brooke is the sort of heroine you just can't help but love and root for. I loved watching Brooke and Jesse find their way back to each other after years of festering hurt and regret. I laughed out loud and enjoyed living in their world for a bit and was sad to see it end. Nina Kenwood's voice is so fun; I can't wait to go read her debut novel now just to hear her voice in my head for a bit longer.

I hate to actually say this but double the age of these characters but this novel had me smiling so much about these young adult characters. Brooke took me back to when I fell in love with my now hubby and all the anxiety that came with it and not feeling worthy. Just need to say the bit at the restaurant had me giggling.
I listened in one day and suggest to anyone who wants a story of enemies to lovers or fake romance . Thank you to Net Galley, Nina Kenwood and Flatiron Books for this Audiobook ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I just loved this !!! Amazing narrator. LOVED Brook. LOVED her internal monologue. So relatable. Loved her second chance, friends to enemies, enemies to lovers romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Really enjoyed this lighthearted and funny book. It had serious notes as well. But I could totally relate to the stress and anxiety Brooke experiences and feels about life. Very relatable and likable characters. Easy listen. Narrator was great. Just an all around great listen.

This is a very cute listen. The main character’s (Brooke) voice is relatable and sweet even as she deals with constant panic and anxiety. Brooke loves rules, lists, and being organized but don’t let that scare you away, she is also incredibly funny and wears her feelings on her sleeve.
I would recommend this to fans of “Fangirl” by Rainbow Rowell!
Brooke starting at university in Australia and moving in with new housemates, occasionally taking care of a wild older sister, love of writing, an obsession with Vampire Diaries and anxiety all make for the perfect YA/New Adult romp.

This is a great light romantic read. It’s perfect for lovers of Jane Austen.

In this YA romantic comedy, Brooke is a total control freak who just moved to Melbourne to start college. Unfortunately, one of her roommates is her ex-best friend Jesse. She struggles with some family conflict. Her father is an alcoholic, and her sister seems to be a bit out of control.

Unnecessary drama brings all the best elements from Sense and Sensibility to present day Australia! I read it all in one day!

Some of the plot lines are not clearly resolved. We don’t know if her sister actually has a drinking problem or not. We also don’t get a coming to earth moment from her mom where she could tell them why she treats both daughters so differently.


This is a 4.5 stars for me

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy is exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this early audio copy!

3.5 stars, rounding up to 4.

I've read Nina Kenwood before, and while that book does pop into my brain fairly regularly, I didn't actually like it. But this one was much better (for me!).

Brooke moves into a new house, and quickly learns one of her roommates is her childhood nemesis. Why is he her nemesis? Because he kissed her and then made a big, humiliating, public deal about how much he didn't like her. Since then, they have had a well known hatred of each other.

Now they have to live together, and not ruin the dynamics of the house.

This was cute, and fun. I liked living in the head of Brooke which was an anxiety filled, type-A MESS! I liked that they were friends, and I liked that Jesse didn't want to skirt around the issues. He actually wanted to communicate.

It was a little immature, and a little annoying at times so I can't give it a glowing 5 stars, but it was a cute enough listen for a Friday workday, and I would recommend it to friends.

What would have made it better is if they acknowledged Brooke's anxiety issues. They're really extreme and I kept waiting for the part where she goes to talk to a professional about them, or gets on some type of anxiety medication, but she doesn't. She just continues to live in anxiety, and apparently Jesse verbally confirming his feelings is enough of a balm to quash the anxiousness she's always feeling, which I didn't love.

All in all, I found this fun.

This book was SOOOO GOOD! Awesome narration and MC’s! The story flowed well, and was easy to follow. Shout out to Netgalley and publishing for allowing me to listen and review this book!

4 STARS!