Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review. Sorry, this is a DNF for me. I felt that the storyline/plot was very lackluster, and at times - cringe.

Although this story wasn’t really my cup of tea I did really enjoy the narrator. Listening to this story in audio form really saved this for me. I don’t think I would have had any connections to the characters otherwise.

This book had a lot of potential.

If was very redundant. Bella was far too desperate. I was unclear of the target age for this book. She seemed like she should be in her thirties but didn’t act like someone from her thirties, definitely immature for what seemed like it should be her age range.

There were funny moments and I feel like has potential if the main character became real. And relatable.

NOT THAT KIND OF EVER AFTER was a cute slowburn romcom, with all the banter.

I listened to the audiobook format, and I enjoyed the narrator, which always adds to the story.

*many thanks to Netgalley and publisher for the gifted copy for review

There was something about this book that had me continuing to return to it and wanting to know the ending.
That being said, I think the book did too much. It could have just been book about dating and writing about it. Or a book about her roommates and best friend and hunt for love. But both was too much.
I also really didn’t like some of the side characters, I mean hard to like a book when you can’t stand the main characters best friend.

Sorry, this is a DNF for me. I felt that the storyline/plot was very lackluster, and at times - cringe. I also felt the FMC very unlikeable.

Bella’s life is not what she expected and certainly not a fairly tale - she isn’t an author, her best friend Ellie is moving out to get married, her parents are divorcing. Taking her friend’s Marty’s advice to stop looking for the one and just have fun, she writes a fairy-tale version of her disastrous one-night stand.

This was fun - slightly absurd - but fun. The main character wasn’t my favorite - she wasn’t exactly likeable. The fairytale dates were cringy at times! I’d recommend the audiobook.

This was such a cute rom com. Listening to this while going to work each day put a smile on my face. Loved.

This one was cute and a bit sappy and predictable but it was still a fast read and not a terrible one so I would recommend it

This one was standard and cute, it just really didn’t wow me. It was an easy read and listen though, so I recommend.

⭐️⭐️.5

𝙁𝙖𝙞𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙛𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙢 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙮 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣’𝙨 𝙟𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙢 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙨𝙬𝙞𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚.

📍 Read if you like:
• Happily Ever Afters
• Slow Reads
• Funny Moments
• Fairytales

I went into this book without much knowledge, but I remember I requested it a while ago on NetGalley and was approved.

I really wish I would’ve loved this book more than I did, but I had so many issues with it.

This was a feminist take on the “happy ever after” with our MC, Bella. After a terrible one-night stand, she decides to stop looking for her happily ever after… until she meets her Prince Charming.

There were some times were I found myself laughing, and the beginning of the book was hilarious - the way it started was definitely “interesting”.

While I understood Bella, I didn’t connect with her at all. She came across as whiny and intolerable. I liked the idea that she wanted to become a writer, but she never listened to herself and pursued that dream. I also didn’t care too much for Marty.

The whole time I kept questioning where the plot was. The story felt so dull and empty. The book is also way too long for it to be that slow and lackluster.

Thank you so much NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the review copies in exchange for my honest review!

•𝗧𝗪/𝗖𝗪: Sexual content, alcohol, cursing, misogyny

2.5/5⭐️
This is probably one of the most unlikeable main characters I’ve ever read - so annoying and self-involved but I guess that was the point?! I listened to the audiobook and the narrator did a fantastic job…of the purpose was to amplify the FMC’s annoyance. Have you ever wanted the worst case scenarios to befall the main character? Yeah, that was this book. Don’t even get me started on how she didn’t really care for her publishing job where she was encouraged to read all day. The plot itself had such potential - I liked the way it referenced fairy tales but mostly it just trudged along. I felt like it was obvious who she was going to end up with but it never really explored that until the very end. I did give a 1/2 star for the Taylor Swift and James Bay mentions but gosh this was so close to a DNF.

Check out Not That Kind of Everafter.

If you like books featuring…
* strong female friendship
* later coming of age stories
* fairytale retellings

For fans of…
* Beth O’Leary
* Notting Hill
* Maame by Jessica George

The first sentence definitely was not one that I expected, but it made me laugh and intrigued enough to continue. The audiobook's narrator was exactly how I expected Bella to sound.

Thank you to netgalley for the advanced listening copy of not that kind of ever after. This was actually so good as an audiobook. The social commentary and the sarcasm just translated great off the page.

Thank you to @netgalley and @Stmartinspress for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to @macmillian.audio for a free download of the audiobook.

Bella’s life is a mess. Her best friend moves in with her boyfriend, so she now lives with some new questionable characters. She’s working in a job, but it isn’t the career she dreams of. Bella deals with things in all the wrong ways…including dating. She starts to post stories about her different dates with “Frogs”…when in walks her best friends brother.

This book is adorable, funny and swoon worthy. It had witty banter, relatable characters, and moments that made me LOL. If you’re looking for a RomCom you can’t put down…Pick this one up!

5 stars

#books #bookishlife #booklover #readingisfun #iowabookstagrammers #iowabookstagram #netgalley #stmartinspress #macmillianaudio #ltbreaderteam #notthatkindofeverafter #luciadams #smpinfluencers

I DNF around 20%. I did not care for the main character - unhealthy behavior, which provoked empathy, but really turned me off. Immature behavior, every moment "could this be it" just very annoying.

Not That Kind of Ever After
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Romance
Author: Luci Adams
GR: 3.26

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

My Thoughts: The premise of this book was cute, I just felt it was redundant in places and dragged a little in other places. I wanted something a little different for this book. Not a bad book per say, I just wanted more. Bella engages in behavior in multiple ways, her dating life, her best friend, and her roommates. I did stick it through until the end. I would definitely give this author another look as there were parts of the book that I really enjoyed.

The story is narrated by Bella, in her POV. I had a really hard time connecting with Bella due to her behaviors. Yes, I understand this is fiction, I just wanted more for Bella. She engages in unhealthy sexual relationships, she pushes her best friend away with her deep resentment with her best friend’s boyfriend, however, I loved the premise of her writing, if it was fiction and not the result of her sleeping around. She really was outright nasty to her best friend’s boyfriend, when he did nothing necessarily to provoke the nastiness. I did like the ending, just wish there was a different direction to get there. There was romance in the last 20% of the book, the rest just felt like aimless drifting. The characters had witty banter, sarcasm, however, it lacked connection until the last part of the book. The author’s writing was crisp, steamy, and flowed well.

The narrators did a great job with the voice narration. I would say read the reviews, all of the reviews out there, and then make a decision on whether to read this book. I will say that I would absolutely give the author another try as I liked the writing structure.

This book was so freaking cute. I loved it so much. It wasn't an 'anti-fairytale' it was more a NEW kind of fairy tale. It was so sweet. I loved the idea of Bella finding her own path in life and making her own way. Screw prince charming, i'm going to save myself. It was so perfect.

And @josiejanefox did such a great job with the narration. The scene where she's trying to hide while talking to her friend. and trying to be normal. I could FEEL the anxiety. it was just perfection.

Thnak you both so much for creating this so perfectly!!

I laughed so hard during parts of this book. I loved the narrator! She did a fabulous job with the accent and all the characters.