I wish I could say I enjoyed this. I usually like a romcom, especially one that is not based on cringe humour. There's nothing wrong with this. It just didn't click with me. I liked the characters, the idea was good, the writing was fine. The book's going to do well, and I'm glad of it. It just wasn't a good match for me.

If I had to describe this book in a way most books are marketed, I would say this is a Devil Wears Prada meets Suits

To be very honest, my expectations weren't very high when I started reading this book because I had no idea if the writing style would be to my liking. But as I gradually proceeded to read Hailey's story, I was completely addicted and finished the book in two days!

The Plot

Hailey Kidd is newly hired as a legal trainee at the firm where her role model, Vivian Jones, works. Her entire life changed when she made the decision to become a lawyer. Being a school teacher wasn't enough, even though, she was happy where she was with her friend and boyfriend who were also teachers. But somewhere along the lines, she realized that she wasn't happy anymore and needed to do something for herself. As she enters into a new world filled with secrets and deceit, will she manage to balance her old and new life?

My thoughts

I'd like to start by saying that I absolutely loved reading about Hailey and the way she navigates her new life. It's not easy to start all over again when you think you've already settled down in a career. As I am a law student myself, I was happy to know that the plot revolved around a law firm and also featured a badass character such as Vivian. While I may not agree with her actions, I still think she was incredible.

Hailey is the kind of person who always thought of others and placed them before her. Her life revolved around solving problems for her loved ones. But now, working in a hectic law firm, she is surrounded by people who are different from her, people who have different values than her. Slowly, she is engulfed by these things and starts to question her own life and relationships. As she questions them, she realizes that maybe what is made out to be isn't actually the way it is.

The book is very fast-paced and I loved the the friendship triangle between Hailey, her boyfriend and friend. The setting of the book is also very realistically done and even the law was cleverly handled, in my opinion.

Final Verdict

I highly recommend it because the story is just amazing. If you're looking for great characters with a self-discovery arc, this book is for you. It's definitely one of my favorite books of this month!

Thank you, Netgalley and Bookouture, for sending an eARC! My opinions are in no way biased.

Book Tour review!!!

4.5 stars!!!

If you loved the Devil wears Prada, then I highly recommend this amazing book! This is the first book I’ve read that was set in a law firm and I quite enjoyed the drama in the office. I love how the author approaches Hailey’s life and talks about how her change in career slowly impacts her life with her best friend, Sophie and her boyfriend, Dom. I really liked Hailey’s character and I know she had her flaws which led her to make some bad decisions but I I found that really relatable!
.
Whenever I read a book, I like to focus on the secondary characters and how the author writes about them because in my opinion it says a lot of about the book and the writer. In Never Say No, Sophie was one of my favourite secondary characters and I absolutely loved her struggles because I thought they were quite relatable for women turning thirty. Other characters who I found quite interesting were Vivian and Liam and how they impacted Hailey, which ultimately leads her to realise some important things about herself and what kind of person she wants to be. Other than that, there were various elements in play which made the book a good read overall!!

I really enjoyed Elizabeth’s second book, Never Say No. It is so amusing, such a feel-good book that is unique story and fascinating plot.
Hailey, Dom and Sophie have been friends for many years. When Hailey and Dom became a couple, Sophie remained their close friend. All three became teachers, but Sophie wanted more, and is training to become a solicitor. She is placed with a top law firm in the family law department under the only female partner. How will she get on? Will she thrive under pressure? Will her relationship with Dom survive the long working hours and the temptation of the hot rich lawyers? Can her friendship with Sophie be maintained with no time to work at it?
I laughed out loud several times whilst reading this book, I would highly recommend it. It is a light, lovely and refreshing read.
Whilst I enjoyed Elizabeth’s debut novel, The Spare Bedroom, I preferred Never Say No, the characters were better developed and Elizabeth may well become one of my favourite authors in this genre!
Thanks to NetGalley for a Kindle copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book, mostly, but it wasn't my favorite. It felt like there was a lot going on but then much of it was the same? I'm not sure. I did like the characters, but overall the book fell a bit flat for me.

I really enjoyed this one! I found the main character to be very relatable in how she lives her life, which can be hard to find in a fictional character.

Never Say No is trying to be The Devil Wears Prada but fails to live up to its iconic predecessor. Stylistically, it’s over-written, while the characters are under-developed. Emotionally needy BFF Sophie’s “struggles” don’t really seem to be much of anything (guess what, it’s okay to be single at 30! The world will not end if you don’t have a boyfriend!), Dom the boyfriend’s entire personality appears to be “less fashionable than lawyers”, and super-boss Vivian Jones is constantly held up as this incredible feminist powerhouse, but it’s much more tell than show. The book as a whole is overwhelmingly straight (the idea that Hailey might be sexually interested in Vivian or vice versa is mocked, but...queer women do exist) and white (in that frustratingly assumed way, but surely if Hailey or any of her coworkers weren’t white, it would be relevant the same way the sexism angle is?), and most of all, overwhelmingly run of the mill. It just isn’t that interesting a book. It isn’t ghastly, it’s just dull.

**I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bookouture in exchange for an honest review**

Never Say No, by Elizabeth Neep, has all the trappings of a fun romp. Hailey Kidd has recently switched career paths from primary school teacher to divorce lawyer in-training. She spends the novel struggling to balance her new high-pressure job, working for her (new) idol; training for a marathon and supporting her best friend; and grappling with the engagement ring she found hidden in her boyfriend's things -- an engagement ring she isn't at all sure she wants him to use.

This is a quick, breezy sort of book, one that easily keeps the pages turning. In spite of this quick pace, however, it never seems to make much forward progress, like wheels spinning in place. There are few, if any, twists or turns, or even really changes -- few of the characters seem to grow or develop much throughout the book, despite that being ostensibly the point and purpose of it in many ways.

The writing style is fine, if a little repetitive -- all these characters, from big shot lawyers to teachers, men and women, young and old, all seem to speak using the same turns of phrase. And while Neep brings up many issues that could be interesting (Sophie's anxiety and the history with her parents, Hailey's boss's insistence that she supports women while in practice choosing Hailey's male counterpart over her for no reason time and again) she ultimately fails to flesh out any of these topics anymore than she fleshes out the characters, all whom feel like cardboard cutouts filling in roles rather than fully fleshed out people. Even the thesis of the book, the very thing that gives it the title, is left under-explored -- although Neep, through Hailey, gives lip service to the idea of "never saying no" and the cost of trying to have it all, it is not an idea that is fully realized by the end of the story.

There are a few other cringe-worthy moments as well. Hailey spends quite a lot of the book judging the women around her for their sex/dating lives, before, during, and after her own romantic crisis. Everyone in this book is emphatically straight, with the idea of Hailey or her female boss being interested in sleeping with each other tossed around as a punchline more than once. Another issue in the realm of diversity is the assumption of whiteness that pervades the novel, in spite of the drawing on the cover. No character is ever described in much detail, and no one's race is ever mentioned. While this could mean the law firm and Hailey's personal life are both teeming with racial diversity, surely if one of the various lawyers striving for fame and fortune was a person of color, it would be as noteworthy as their gender.

This book is ultimately unsatisfying and frustrating, with a few off-putting "jokes" peppered throughout. A disappointing take on what could have been an interesting exploration of what it really means to have it all.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for the ARC.

This was the first time I've read a book written by Elizabeth Neep and defitely won't be the last.
Never say No was so much more than what I expected it to be based on the description. Yes, it is an entertaining and fast read with interesting and mostly likeable characters, but it is also thought-provoking and relatable.
I liked the way Hailey went through so much character growth. To be honest, I applauded her courage to change her career and try to find out what is important for her, not other people, but of course, the journey of self-discovery and re-defining priprities and significant relationships is never an easy one.
The book is well-written and engaging, and I can wholeheartedly recommend it.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

After reading The Spare Bedroom, I was SO thrilled to be given an advance reader copy of Elizabeth Neep’s upcoming title, Never Say No. I was expecting it to be a lighthearted romcom, but instead I got something so much deeper and more relatable and I was so here for it!

As the main character, Hailey was a complex woman, and I found her arc just enthralling. Don’t so many of us have a problem saying no? We make our lives about our family and friends, our jobs, the things that take up our day, but rarely say YES to ourselves and everything our hearts desire. But for Hailey, as she starts her new job at a law firm, she begins to wonder if the life she’s living is the one she wants to keep, or is there so much MORE out there? I really could relate to the protagonists need for self-discovery, and defining her friendships and love as she went along!

Thank you to Netgalley & Bookouture for the chance to read this title in exchange for my personal opinion. To see my full review, head to booksaremagictoo.com on pub day, September 4th!

On the Kindle cover page it says that this book is "funny and uplifting". I am afraid that I didn't find either of those things to be true.

This was a book about a woman who had been coasting along in her life, she was a primary school teacher, just like her best friend and her boyfriend, but then decided to train to be a lawyer. She lands a traineeship in a prestigious law firm and things pretty quick start to spiral out of control. I think most of us have been where Hailey was, in terms of being tempted by someone she shouldn't have been. I am sure that if you have lead a bit of a sheltered existence, being in the world of a top legal firm must be a little surreal. That was really well described, actually.

I wasn't too sure about the dynamic between Sophie and Hailey. I wasn't feeling the deep bonds of friendship between those two.

Yes, there were definitely shades of The Devil Wears Prada, only at the end, I wasn't high-fiving the main character in this book. It ended a bit awkwardly, I thought, and there were things left unsaid between the three best friends.

My favourite character was actually Vivian. In the beginning, I didn't like her at all, but by the end of the book she had revealed herself to be a flawed human like the rest of us and was a bit more humble, which endeared me to her. It shows the skills of the author that she changed my mind about her too!

I wanted to love this book, but it was more of a like, for me.

4 stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture.

I was first attracted to the book by the cover - it is bright and fun. I thought I may identify with the main character as I, too, have terrible FOMO, a lot!

I really enjoyed reading Hailey's story but found myself wanting to shout at her a lot. I wished and hoped that she would redeem herself at the end, which she does! I was left feeling satisfied with her journey and sympathising with the lessons she'd learned along the way.

Overall, this was a fun and uplifting read that is beautifully written and has believable and likeable characters! Except Vivian, of course. I thought she was vile...

A favourite quote is "I refuse to let the maybes of tomorrow steal the joys from my today." ♥️

This book is perfect if you're looking for an easy read, maybe a literary version of a Hallmark or Lifetime movie? Hailey is constantly saying yes, to way too many things. Honestly just reading about her life was exhausting! I was anxious about her relationship with Dom and furious at her boss/coworkers, and I guess some of her actual choices. Overall it's a solid chick lit read, pretty much exactly what I expected. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys the genre.

Never Say No was a strange read for me.

It was light-hearted and had some amusing elements, but some of it just seemed a bit far-fetched. I enjoyed the story and was keen to keep reading to see how it ends.
Would there be a happy ending for Hailey? I know I was rooting for her all the way through.

This highlighted that sometimes your career and your life aren't as compatible as you'd like, and you need to make decisions on how much you will let that change you.

I really enjoyed reading this book. The book is written very well, and I quickly flew through it.

Hailey was a good representation of a woman in her end twenties trying to figure out life and ‘getting her shit together’. I love how relatable she was at times, and how the author made sure that Hailey wasn’t a ‘perfect’ character, even though her boyfriend and best friend seem to think so. It was really fascinating to take a look into Hailey’s mind.

Hailey, Vivian and Sophie went through an amazing character development, which I love. In my opinion, the other characters were quite flat to me.

From time to time, something unpredictable came up and caught my attention again.

I give this book 3,5 out of 5 stars.

4.5⭐/ 5⭐ rounded

Hailey Kidd is the protagonist of this novel. She is a long time best friends with Sophie and Dom. Dom is also her boyfriend. They all were teachers. Hailey switched her career from teacher to lawyer and begins training with her idol, Vivian Jones. To make her mark in Law firm and to get herself noticed she started struggling with work-life balance. The result was she ignores her best friend and boyfriend, and begins to forget and cancel planned activities with them. She is so attracted to her new life and new people that she has started having doubts about everything and everyone she had in life earlier.

This is a story of friendship, relationship, love, emotions, career change, work-life balance and much more.

The few reasons which love the book is it covers the scenario where people take relationships and friendships for granted and don’t value people who are there for them until they are no more there.
The second reason is that love relationships also have their phases and initial sparks and butterflies will not be there always.
The third point which I liked is Hailey idolizes Vivian for having a successful personal as well as professional life until she knows the real story as the grass is always greener on the other side.
The fourth one is the career change, Hailey changed her career at the age of 30 she left her teaching career and started as a trainee in the law firm she went for her dreams.

I love a lot of things about the book and my list will not end. I think the synopsis doesn’t do justice to the book it has much more to offer than mentioned in the synopsis.

Elizabeth Neep is now on my favourite author list and I am definitely going to read her other books too.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for providing me with a copy in exchange of an honest review.

Never Say No is a story about self-discovery, friendships, love, and monogamous relationships. I was actually expecting the book to be more of a contemporary romance but was pleasantly surprised that it was so much more.

Hailey Kidd is the protagonist in this story and she has always felt like she has to be perfect for everyone around her. She has been best friends with Sophie and Dom as long as she can remember and always thought she had to be the one to keep everyone together. This meant never saying "No" even when she wanted to do other things or even explore a different career than her friends. She brought this same mentality into her relationship with Dom who she loves dearly. However after a few years of teaching (which is the same career move Sophie and Dom chose), Hailey decides she wants to pursue her law degree and start practicing law. She gets hired on by the prestigious law firm Taylor, Laters, and Jones and starts training under her idol Vivian Jones.

As her lawyer career starts to unfold, Hailey is unsatisfied with the paperwork/research duties she is assigned and not actually being involved in a case. However, after a late night at the office she encounters a scene with her boss that changes not only her view of her idol Vivian Jones but also her trajectory in the law firm. These events not only plunges her deeper into the dysfunction of Vivian Jones' life but also the choices of what she is willing to do or put off to move forward in her career.

This was a really enjoyable book that surprised me. Hailey was such a relatable character and during her self-discovery she learns that mistakes are "ok" but also that relying on her friends and boyfriend more instead of trying to be the "strong" friend all the time was not helping her mentality.

Changing career paths, trying new things or even thinking about relationships is not limited to a certain age per se. Hailey just happened to be at her 30 year mark, but what truly set her to rethinking about her life choices was discovering a ring box in her long term partner drawer.
A person can panic and start taking stock of their life at any point in time and the author chooses to do it in a lighthearted manner. She uses different ways for Hailey to examine herself and her range of possible alternatives if she were to act on certain scenarios.

I think the author did an exceptional job in presenting various ranges of options of possible ways to change her life ideals. One she could go the route of her friend, Sophia and date many.
Two, have affairs on her partner. Three stay with her partner in a safe boring life. Four, shake it up with the partner and let him know it’s time to make changes. Five leave and be on her own!
I think many are going to focus on not liking Hailey because she is not saying what she wants fast enough and will not see what the author is really portraying.

I actually liked the book and I am an older person, and I hope people read it and truly appreciate and enjoy the fullness of a fun, romance and adventurous young woman seeking her identity!

Thank you to the authors and publishers who work diligently for us the readers.

I received an advanced copy from NetGalley and these are my willingly given thoughts and opinions.

Hailey has just started the job of her dreams under the mentorship of a woman she has idolized for awhile. She hopes to become a lawyer that makes headlines with cases that impact people. At the same time she is trying to maintain her longtime relationship with her boyfriend and continue to be a good friend. The new job keeps asking more and more of her and she must make some hard decisions about her priorities.

When I was pitched this book, I was very into the synopsis that accompanied the book, but I have to say that the synopsis nor the title didn't quite fit the book that I read. I liked the story that I read, but would have made some changes to the title and the synopsis.

The story I loved centered around Hailey and her struggle with a major career change and how that affects all the other areas of your life. It is the time old issue of work life balance and is there ever really an ability to balance all the things you want to give your attention to and make sure you are being to do all the things you wish you could.

I loved Hailey as a character to follow. There were moments were I was definitely talking to the pages and encouraging her to make different decisions, but I enjoyed watching as she stumbled and made mistakes in hopes that she would end up in a good place. It is also good when you want to know how a character's story will end.

This was a nice and light read which is what I needed at the time of reading it.

FOMO IS REAL! Hayley just started her trainee program working under a badass female lawyer named Vivian who she idolizes. Hayley used to be a school teacher like her boyfriend Dom and best friend Sophie. But like many of us Hayley starts to want more, more opportunities at work, more for her social life, and maybe more for her love life. This book had a slow burn releasing juicy tidbits just when I was starting to get bored. The story would quickly pull you back in and make you wonder can Hayley have it all? Can anyone really have it all?