A superb book that I loved from start to finish, I loved getting to know Jim & Zara whilst reading this story. The story is told from both of their perspectives so you get to know them both and their separate thought processes.

I flew through the pages and loved the style in which it was written and the differences in terminology determining the different cultures they had grown up in.

I love a book that makes me want to pick it up and the characters were so relatable that it was an absolute pleasure to keep reading. A true feel good read proving that anything can happen if you instigate the change.

When Zara, having left Dubai to be with Nick, a man she’s been having an online relationship with, she discovers that things are not always what they seem on screen. What can she do now except return to Dubai with her tail between her legs. At the same time Jim, stuck in a boring job, wins a brand new car and his life seems to be on the up. But when Jim and Zara’s lives collide, nothing will be the same again.

Sadly I found Never Saw You Coming rather predictable and at times tedious. Jim’s character didn’t really lend itself to being the hero, and Zara came across as a spoilt child (but not in a positive way) and by half way through the book I didn’t really care what happened to the pair. The ongoing issues with the car were signposted and didn’t help.

Sorry, just not a book I would want to read again,

Zara gets help from a night in shining armour, following an accident in Dubai. They start a long distance relationship but when Zara turns up unexpectedly to see him she finds out that he is not what he seems. A chance meeting with Jim opens up a journey of mishaps and fun. A light hearted read.

What a beautiful story!. Thoroughly enjoyed the love hate relationship in the beginning. It was brilliant. Got a few giggles from me. Also found it very refreshing to other love stories. The ending..I was shocked to begin with, but again it's not the typical love story. Brilliant read. Loved every minute of it.

Loved the story, loved the characters. It felt very authentic and I read it really quickly. I must say, without giving anything away, that I didn't expect the ending though and it's taken me little while to process it. Can't really fault it apart from it felt at time a bit gloomy at times.

This is possibly a 2.5 stars Out of 5. It was a bit dull and I didn’t warm to the female main character at all. I didn’t particularly care about the male much either. I feel bad being negative when the author has clearly put a lot of time and effort into a book but I wouldn’t recommend it. It’s very forgetful.

I liked the storyline of this book, found it engaging. However I found the language style a bit difficult at times and the story could have been covered more quickly. I liked the main character, found her somebody I could identify in terms of age and stage of life. Some of the language was a bit much and slightly too floury almost like somebody trying to prove that they are a good writer.

Never saw you coming by Hayley Doyle

The story about Zara and Jim’s chance. Jim is in a dead end job and a life is going nowhere. Zara is trying to find love with lying worthless men . 

Story very slow had a little humour. It would have had more if it didn’t keep being so repetitive. Aldo it would have held more interest. The bone of the story and characters were good but was too slow to start. It ended very abruptly not really giving an out come. Promised a lot I felt it didn’t deliver.

Sweet, whimsical kind of story, I truly enjoyed both Zara and Jim and the hapless nature about them. Their unfortunate encounter and what transpires afterwards is a whirlwind of crazy. Both are quite delightful as they meander through a series of events with Zara having her heart broken again by the mysterious Nick (or is is Greg?lol) and Jim realizing his sudden good luck is anything but.

The writing style had me a bit confused at times, with too many Britishisms to keep track of. Therefore, I skimmed a ton of passages that did not add to the story. However, as an American, that is to be expected but in the end, did not diminish my enjoyment of these two lost souls.

There is great humour for the taking as Jim tries to rid himself of the chatty Zara, driving her to and fro in a long period of 24 hours. Their journey is not one either of them wants to repeat anytime soon but the realization that perhaps finally, both have found another who not only understands their quirky ways but their true hearts was heartwarming.

Like others before it, Never Saw You Coming doesn't have the typical HEA but more of a hopeful one for the future. This book was fun albeit a bit confusing at times and I give it a solid 3 stars.

I decided to DNF this book. The writing was too slow and the characters did not appeal to me. This is strictly personal. Thank you to Avon and Netgalley for a gifted copy of this ARC.

If you go into this thinking it’s a romance, you’ll be disappointed, yes there is romantic tension in it, but that is such a small part of the story. Based on the synopsis I thought this would have more romance.

But it’s more about two people who literally crashed into each other and somehow spur each other on to do the things that they really wanted. And get out of the rut that their lives are currently in.

While I enjoyed the story, it moved a bit slow for me and I wanted to be more chemistry between the main characters.

I will say that I had “video killed the radio” star stuck in my head all afternoon after I finish the book.

Never Saw You Coming

The story follows Zara who travels from Dubai to Liverpool to meet up with the love of her life. Events ensue and she ends up meeting Jim, a local lad, in difficult circumstances. I won’t give away much more of the plot though as I don’t want to ruin it.

I’ll be honest, I have mixed feelings about this book. It started very slowly and I felt that the first chunk of the book dragged. I nearly gave up a number of times but I was determined to carry on. Ultimately I am glad I did as it was enjoyable, but I wish that I hadn’t spent the first third of the book not sure whether I wanted to read it.

It was mostly entertaining and well written, and the author clearly knows both Dubai and Liverpool well so I appreciated the detail. However I do not think it’s a book I would ever reread as it felt overly long for what it was.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a real slow burn for me and I really wasn’t sure about it at the beginning but after a while I began to really love it!  This is a story about a girl called Zara who lives in Dubai and who has been taken in by a man she meets there who comes from Liverpool called Nick.    Zara comes from a wealthy family who don’t really appear to have the time to spend on her and she comes across as being very lonely.  As a result she decides to get on a plane and visit, Nick, the man she has only met on the one occasion in Dubai,  who she has been having a long distance relationship with via the internet.  The other main character in this story is Jim,  a bright underachiever who works on the toll for the Mersey tunnel.  Jim has never left Liverpool and has never been abroad.  He loves his mother, who is not very fit and needs a certain amount of looking after.  She is part of the reason that he has never left Liverpool as he sees himself as the person who she relies upon.  Jim has good friends and a strange relationship with his best friend’s girlfriend.  He lives in a one bedroom flat above a Chinese takeaway and although his life is not ideal he does not have the ambition or drive to change it. 

In the story Jim wins a car allegedly worth around £50,000 which he manages to sell quickly.  At this point his dreams and aspirations go through the roof.  He has no use for the car but can take his mother to see his sisters in America, something he has always wanted to do.  On his way to exchange the car for this vast sum of money, Zara who has arrived in the UK and bought a car to drive to Liverpool crashes into Jim’s beautiful new car.  From this point onwards Jim’s world nose dives and nothing seems to go right for him.

There is a certain amount of predictability in the story but it just seems to sweep you along as it goes.  I loved the descriptions of Liverpool, which I have recently visited and I loved Jim’s Liverpudlian expressions which are totally alien to Zara, but by the end she is using the same expressions.  Zara is quite zany while Jim has his feet much more firmly on the ground but they can both see the good in the other.  This was a really interesting first novel and Hayley Doyle is a writer to look out for in the future.  Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this wonderful book.

This is an enjoyable easy to read novel. I enjoyed the characters. It was at times touching, at times laugh out load. The characters were fun, and the plot line interesting, if at times the characters bad luck was a bit distressing. An easy read if you are self isolating and passing the time.

I had a tough time getting into this book. I felt like I joined this book in the middle of a conversation, and struggled to connect with it. I probably would not recommend this book, even though the description of the story was good.

Hayley is a new author to me and I enjoyed this read.

A sweet story about two people from different sides of the world who find themselves trapped and in need of change. Lots of ups and downs and missed opportunities! 

I'll certainly ready more of this author's novels.

From its description, I thought I would love Never Saw You Coming but I was disappointed. I found it a struggle to get in to and I didn't connect with the characters. I actually found Zara quite unlikable.

An easy but forgettable read.

It took a while for this one to get going for me, but when it did I was desperate to find out what happens for Jim and Zara. After an introduction that can only be fated, Jim is probably one of the nicest men in history as he continuously helps Zara with her mission of true love and recovering from the lies told by her true love. Poor Zara!!! There are many presumptions and assumptions by Zara and Jim isn’t exactly forthcoming with information to correct these - I love how they each bring out the other’s passionate side. Throughout the story you see snippets of their backstory and it really fleshes out their characters, making you feel for them even more. Their attempts to follows their hearts are farcical and heartwarming at the same time. And that epilogue almost had me feeling the feels until the proper ending! A great debut!

At the beginning, I struggled to get into this story. I found it a bit slow to get going but once I got the know the characters, I got drawn into the story.
This is a nice story about life's journeys and where your path takes you. 
Well written and likeable characters.

I’m a sucker for cheesy hallmark movies, sweet romcoms and charming meet cutes. One of my favourite ever films is “Jersey Girl” no not the hideous Ben Affleck movie but the one with Dylan McDermott and Jami Gertz. If you haven’t seen it , it all starts with a car crash. So imagine my sheer delight on finding this book starts with one too.


Zara has been having an online relationship with Nick and with him wishing she was with him she decides to make that dream come true. So after packing her bags she leaves Dubai for London where she has arranged to buy a car and drive to Liverpool.

Jim stuck in a dead end job in a toll booth and caring for his mum after his dad’s death has just won a 50k BMW on a radio show. Suddenly Jim is making plans to quit his job and sell the car and take his mum to Florida to see family.

On the way to sell the car, Zara crashes in to it. Destroying both the car and Jim’s plans. You see where this is going right. Well enjoy the ride. With a wonderful cast of characters and short chapters that you can race through and a hero that has intelligence alongside his good looks. He likes books too what an added bonus!

This is funny, heartwarming, sweet and just the read you need to cheer your soul.