2.5 stars:
Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with a complimentary copy of this novel to read and review!

I went into reading this book expecting more of a typical romance/rom com-type novel. 'Love and Other Mistakes' doesn't quite fit into either mold, and, in my opinion, fits into a much narrower niche. If I had to describe the genre, I'd say it's Christian Fiction with a dose of Christian Romance. There is no explicit sexual content or language, though I wouldn't go so far as to say that there aren't still more sophisticated themes and issues present throughout.

I applaud Jessica Kate for seeking to weave a more nuanced romantic tale, and think there is definitely an audience who will appreciate the Christian elements and the lack of explicit content. These stories are important, and help to diversify the genre. However, the presentation of all of these components together just didn't work for me. While there are heavier issues and conflicts that are explored (such as terminal illness and infidelity) a lot of the resolution to said conflicts didn't feel earned. This was especially present in the infidelity storyline, where there was more emphasis put on the forgiveness element than to the perpetrator actually showing any remorse. Perhaps this is more realistic in some ways, but it almost felt abusive because it was a parent/child dynamic, and it left me feeling uncomfortable and frustrated.

Perhaps the overarching theme of the novel is that forgiveness heals, regardless of whether or not the aggressor wants said forgiveness. I just craved more explication and more of a connection to the characters. Overall, I'd say this is a great book for someone who already has a knowledge of the Christian community that Kate writes about, and who would enjoy a chaste exploration into love and forgiveness.

**I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**

This book was really interesting to me. I’m confused why it was found in the women’s fiction section. I didn’t particularly like this story and it was difficult to finish. I’m not much of a “Christian” fictional book. But I did like how the author depicted the characters as being normal and with flaws and realistic issues.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson and was not required to write a positive review.

This is my first book by this author and my Christian fiction book. I didn’t know there was such thing as Christian fiction when I requested this book. I did put the book on hold a couple of times before I finally picked it up and finished. I am use to reading contemporary romances and rom coms. I not sure I would pick this type of book again. When I read the blurb I thought the book would be about something different.

I definitely enjoyed the way this author writes. Very realistic issues. I kept trutning the page because I needed to know what happened. Thanks Netgalley for the Arc

DNF—— I’m not a fan of cheating. This book has that in it, so that’s a big strike against it for me. It felt confusing and pulling in several directions. Just never got into it or felt any connection to any character.


**I received a copy from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review**

I'm sorry I accidentally submitted the review for a different book. I plan to review this one and give feedback once I finish the novel! So sorry about that.

LOVE AND OTHER MISTAKES by JESSICA KATE has everything that makes up a really good Christian romance novel - a good story and very real, flawed characters, that draw us into their ups and downs, and a Christian message that deals with such things as selfishness, unforgiveness, fear, rejection, obedience, relationships and of course love. There is a really strong feeling of God's unconditional love for His children, and that His plans and purposes for our lives are better than ours could ever be. Running through it all there is a certain amount of humour. I really enjoy the way it is written.
When Jeremy Walters comes back to his childhood home after seven years, having left his fiancee, Natalie Groves, a few weeks before their wedding was to take place, with a baby in tow, there is bound to be friction between them. Add to this Jem's overbearing father who he cannot seem to please, his neice with family problems who comes to live with him, his "perfect" pastor brother who can do no wrong in his father's eyes, being a single parent, and his desire to date Natalie again, and you have a powder keg ready to blow!
Natalie has ambitions that are based on wanting to please her dying father by carrying on his ministry. She also has a problem with self esteem, feeling she needs to perform in order to be "good enough"!
There are many ups and downs and we really get to relate to the characters' thoughts and feelings.
It is altogether a most enjoyable read, which gives us quite a bit of food for thought, for example, how our actions can affect others.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Thomas Nelson. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

A fun, entertaining read with flawed characters and realistic issues. An interesting debut novel from this author.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson and was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine.

Oh wow, I loved this book. The characters were priceless and the humor was perfect.
I loved the split perspectives that this story offered. They really gave the reader insight into each character in different ways. The characters were funny but they also showed their real emotions in very true ways and I felt for what they were going through.
I was snickering my way through this novel and it really brought a smile to my face. I recommend this to anyone looking for a novel with lighthearted moments that will make the reader laugh. I am eagerly awaiting more novels by Jessica Kate.

Rating: 5 Stars
Content: 4 Stars

*I received a complementary copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own and a positive review was not required.

I like this author’s style and the idea behind this story was a good one. She’s great at writing dialogue. The main characters, Jem and Natalie were both quirky, but were also caring about their families. Their quirkiness added charm to the book and I enjoyed their story. Natalie’s care and devotion to her parents was touching and she had my sympathy because of this from the very beginning of the book. So there’s some very, very good parts to this story.

But the number of characters and all their problems sometimes made for burdensome reading. I think this storyline would have made two great books: One with the focus more completely on Jem and Natalie, and the next book centered on Pastor Mike and his family. I’d like to have seen Pastor Mike’s story be more in depth and have a little bit more hope infused in it.

I’d definitely try another book by this author. I’m going to rate this book as. 3.75. Almost there, it needed some trimming in the storyline.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Not my usual genre, but cute book i thoroughly enjoyed the story. Book will be published on July 30th.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Though this new novel has every element we love about a good rom-com, Jessica Kate has also chosen to weave in some pretty serious issues. And here’s where I was cautious... would it be to just have the plot moving? Or would there be a point of them all?

Well, I can honestly say I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was most impressed by the author’s ability to balance the funny moments and those that don’t call for a joke at all.

The story is told from Natalie and Jem’s point of views as well as Lili’s, Jem’s niece. And let me tell you, "a mess" doesn’t describe well the life of these characters. So much chaos I wondered how everything would be tied together.

I’m happy to say I was satisfied with the ending. Yes, there is a bazillion of options of what could have been written, but this is Nat and Jem’s book and the focus was how the message of their journey would relate to the other character’s. And this was done very well!

I’m excited to see what Kate brings next :)

This was a really cute read! I picked it up not knowing or having a lot of expectations and I'm so glad I did. The author does a great job at making you feel what the characters are going through all three of them and it is just an overall sweet read.

Thank you to netgalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I would rate this book as 3.5/5

This story follows Natalie and Jem. They were high school sweethearts, engaged at 19, and broken up just weeks before their wedding when Jem moved to Chicago. Seven years have passed and Jem is back in town.

Natalie's life has been hard, and she is desperately in need of a job. When an internship offer arises with a local ministry, Natalie is so excited. But she needs a side job to help cover bills and they only one offering is Jem.

Jem needs someone to watch his infant son. He is optimistic that Natalie will be willing to help. And maybe they will have a chance to reconcile.

This book has several side stories but the biggest is Lili, Jem's niece. Lili found her father kissing her teacher. Extremely hurt, she moves in with Jem to get away from her parents. The aspect of a parent's infidelity and all the fall out around that is intense. Lili is overwhelmed and doesn't choose the best ways to deal with the pain.

I thought the characters had a depth about them, perhaps because they had to deal with so many difficult situations palliative care, diabetes diagnosis, unexpected pregnancy, flooded apartment, debts. There were a lot of difficulties.

This book was an enjoyable read and I would recommend it.

Thanks to #netgalley for providing a copy of this book for review purposes. Overall I really liked this book. The only thing that downgraded it for me is that I felt like some of her tone was almost too personal and slightly inappropriate (i.e. referencing body parts) for a Christian fiction. Chattiness is fine, but some parts were too much. I would still classify this as Christian fiction chick lit.
That being said, this is a wonderful book about the importance of second chances and especially about forgiveness. In this world where a record everything is kept digitally, letting go of hurt can be hard. While some of the issues were resolved by the end of the book, several more were not. I think that reflects real life. I would definitely read more books by Jessica Kate in the future.

I didn't find the story compelling or the characters memorable. I thought it was okay, but I did have to push to finish it.

This is the first Christian fiction novel I've read since high school, so I was apprehensive, but pleasantly surprised! Love and Other Mistakes reads just like many of the other rom-coms I've loved recently. The author does a great job at not being overly preachy and creating relatable, flawed characters with just a touch of cheesiness to make you smile.

Natalie is trying her best to get by, helping her family care for her sick father and his medical bills, when her ex-fiancé, Jem, moves back to town with his new baby. She finds herself with no choice but to work for him as the nanny to make ends meet in order to pursue her true dream of working in ministry. At the same time, Jem's niece Lili comes to live with him after discovering a secret about her dad, the pastor of the local church. Natalie and Jem find themselves trying to navigate life with a baby and moody teenager, all while coming to terms with their own emotional past together. There's a love triangle, infidelity, and lots of drama between the three intertwined families in this novel.

This story was very "busy" with lots of characters and lots of drama. While I sometimes found myself annoyed at the characters for their repetitively bad decisions, they were overall pretty likeable (except Steph- I did not like Steph). I especially loved how the author really developed and made baby Olly an excellent character. There were some transition issues between POVs/time lapses that were confusing, but I expect these will be resolved before the final print.

Overall, a cute story for anyone who loves a good rom-com with lots of drama and a good lesson on forgiveness. I will look forward to more of Jessica Kate's work in the future.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson via NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"Jem" (Jeremy) and Natalie were high school sweethearts headed for the altar when Jem called the whole thing off and broke Natalie's heart. Jem left and seemingly never looked back getting his college degree and his dream job in the big city. However, for Natalie, Jem's leaving was the beginning of a tale-spin of bad events including her father getting cancer, Natalie dropping out of college to help take care of him and working a series of dead-end jobs to pay the bills. Natalie has tried to forgive and forget but all her anger at Jem comes blazing back when he moves back to town as a single father and has the nerve to ask Natalie to help him out by babysitting the child he had with another woman. In addition to Jem and Natalie's saga there is lots of family drama from a supporting cast of characters in Jem and Natalie's families.
For me, it was sometimes hard to like the characters in this book because they all seemed to make so many bad decisions over and over. While I appreciated that they turned to prayer and to God's love to try and resolve the problems they had been unable to resolve with their own wherewithal, I still got so mad at them at times! For me, personally, I like my romances to be a little bit more straight-forward but for readers who like multi-layered family drama this story might appeal to them.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read an advanced reading copy of this book so that I could provide a review!

Love and Other Mistakes, a debut novel by Jessica Kate, provides a challenging look at the broken people inside the church. I was prepared for light hearted rom-com and was surprised when it turned out to be a little heavier than that. The story centers on Natalie, although several other characters have a prominent role as well. The stories do all weave together, but there were a few times I would have appreciated a little more filler details. I felt like each of characters had a raw edge to them, which made them feel real. Christians make mistakes and they don’t always handle them the right way. But they do get up and try again because of grace and forgiveness given freely to them. I will read other books by this author.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I just finished this book yesterday and I am still trying to process all of my thoughts on it. I am not even sure what I just read.

I gave this book two stars because overall the writing was good and sassy but not well organized. I felt like I was on a roller coaster ride this whole book. We'd finally reach a part of explanation (FINALLY) only to swerve into a different story. It didn't build any tension it just made me angry. Honestly, if this was split into a family series of some sort it would have been much MUCH better. I was getting dizzy trying to remember whose insane relationship(s)/issues we were focusing on. I also think it took WAAAAAAY too long to get some real details about Natalie and Jem.

As a person who has been failed by her church before, I get that there is corruption in the church and it is a story that needs to be told. Being a pastor doesn't make you perfect. However, I think that plot cheapened the story and made it all the more confusing.