‘Accidentally In Love’ follows Kate, who after quitting her job in London and breaking up with a man who did not want to be in a committed relationship with her, decides to move back to her hometown to open and run her own art gallery. Here she meets Kit, her father’s friend and the man that Kate instantly hates. But Kate needs Kit to help her open her art gallery and the feelings between the two of them eventually turn to love.

I liked this book overall. It was cute and I did really like Kate as the main character. I loved Kate’s family, especially Fiona who I instantly loved, and I absolutely loved the family dynamic and how much they all loved and supported each other.

My main problem with this book was it took me forever to read it because the writing was so slow and even though this book is about 350 pages long, it felt like nothing happened until the last 20% of the book. I also felt like there was not much chemistry between Kit and Kate. They had barely any scenes together and the only scene where I actually saw them have some sort of chemistry was the last scene that they were together before the end of the book. Kit was just another boring love interest in my opinion and he was kind of forgettable.

‘Accidentally In Love’ is a cute rom-com and I’m sure anyone who loves art and hate to love romance will love this book.

I completely loved this book! The story begins by introducing us to the character of Katherine, who at 35 is the curator at the Webster Fine Art Gallery in London. After being passed up (again) for promotion, Katherine makes a spur of the moment decision – and quit her job there and then. After seeking solace back in Sheffield with her family, Katherine decides its time for some big changes in her life. Starting by ending her very ‘on/off’ relationship with commitment phone John. After much soul-searching, Katherine decides she wants to open her own art gallery in her home town of Sheffield.

When Katherine is introduced to Christopher (Kit) at a dinner party her Dad is holding, we see instant sparks and chemistry between the two of them. Kit is an artist and the two of them are so similar, yet seem to not get on at all initially. Supported by her family and her brother Adam, who is going through relationship problems of his own, Katherine works hard to see her dream of opening her own art gallery come to life. Not without one or two hiccups along the way!

Accidentally in Love is a fun, laugh-out-loud romantic comedy. Packed full of brilliantly written characters, sparks and chemistry! delivers what it promises, a laugh-out-loud romantic comedy indeed. I would recommend to anyone who wants to read a fun and casual romance story.

Katherine is fed up of working in a 'boy's club' environment and giving her all to a guy that doesn't seem to be giving a lot back. So she leaves her job, the city and the guy she thought might have been the one to open her own gallery. There, she meets Kit, instantly they clash but slowly, they begin to understand one another on a much deeper level.

I didn't love this book, I found it very slow starting and was almost at the point of giving up when, eventually romance started to blossom with Kit and I decided to stick it out. The story of their romance then went from 0-100 in a very short amount of time and I didn't find it overly relatable.

Girl leaves city to start up her own… gallery! Ok, so it’s not the most original of stories and it’s become a common, popular theme recently but, hey, I enjoyed it and relished in the easy-going nature of the plot. No wicked surprises in the chapters, it was an ideal read you could take to the beach.

Katharine has clearly convinced herself that her “relationship” with John is eventually going to progress into something serious. However, at an embarrassing work dinner, Katharine realises she needs to make a change. This sets off a sequence of events whereby Katharine moves back to Sheffield and explores the idea of opening her own art gallery.

I like these types of stories because it reminds me how much independence women can have. Katharine is determined to succeed on her own, without any financial hand-outs from family. The relationship she has with her brother is lovely and made me feel all warm inside; it was great to see how supportive they are of one another. Furthermore, the banter that exists between these two characters and across the book added to the entertainment value of the story.

Broody, miserable Kit has the expected hidden background. It takes a while for Katharine and Kit to make a connection and I enjoyed watching their explosive conversations before they become friends. It is clear that they will end up together, but I liked the path that Missen takes these characters on; not only do they learn more about themselves, but also how they behave with others.

I found I could not trust Katharine’s best friend, Lainey. I felt she was far too selfish and made Katharine appear submissive. Lainey, due to be married, expects more and more from Katharine and, from my perspective, offered very little support for her friend’s new venture. Of course, friendships survive in this type of book, but I wish the writer had shown Lainey as a more reformed character.

The novel charts Katharine’s actions as she moves to open her gallery. I was pleased to see the book finish on her opening night but I wanted to know more about what will happen next to the central characters. What is in store for Kit and Katharine? Will Lainey have a happy marriage? Katharine’s parents: what is in store for their next adventure? Will Adam find happiness? There were just too many questions that I hope means Missen will write a follow-up to such a lovely story.

With thanks to HQ Digital, NetGalley and Rachel’s Random Resources for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This story was so cute! I loved Katharine and Kit. Katharine was so feisty - I loved it. There were a lot of laugh out loud moments in this one. I recommend it if you are a rom-com fan!

This was cute but did not hold my attention much tbh. Like it was a standard chick lit with a meet cute but also it did not have many memorable characters. That being said, it is NOT by any means bad. It is easy to go through and finish in a day

This book unfortunately fell flat for me. It was really difficult for me to get into and even more difficult to stay interested in throughout. I almost DNF'ed it several times, but stuck it out and it didn't get much better for me.

I could not connect to the characters at all and found them both lacking depth and interest.

This was a very slow paced read and a slow burn romance. Overall, the story felt blasé and disjointed to me.

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I started out not so sure on this one. Kit was...abrasive. I don't think there's really any other way to say it and all the way through to the conclusion, I don't think there's any excuse for the abrasiveness and the reasons given in the story fall flat for me.

That being said, it was a witty, laugh-out-loud and charming second half. It's a bit trite, the whole one person flipping a lid at a hugely, glaringly obvious misunderstanding and making the innocent one have to grovel. I've read many a contemporary romances recently that are finally doing away with that plot point and actually dealing with communication. But I do think the chemistry with their connection over art was strong enough to overlook that.

I truly enjoyed Katherine. Not come across many characters who have been run so absolutely ragged and kept waking up and grinding through another day. She was tough, she was realistic, she had me cheering for her so heard.

Overall, a cute romance for a night in of reading.

This book started off with a bang with Katherine quitting her job and deciding it was time to open her own galley. Based on the way it started, I was expecting an action packed book. Honestly, though, I was so bored for the first two thirds of the book. I wanted some action, some character development, something. Finally near the end of the book, things pick up and we really get to see the depth of Katherine and Kit. Kit's opening up was probably my favorite part of the whole book—I enjoyed getting to know him.

Also, I felt as though the author brushed over Katherine and Lainey's make-up so quickly. If that's the way I felt in a friendship, I'm not sure we could just hug and all would be forgiven.

I had a very difficult time getting into it, but there were some bright spots throughout.

A heartwarming romantic comedy. This isn’t’t my usual style of reading but this one really appealed to me and I am glad it did. I couldn’t put it down and read it in a day. Everyone needs their happy ever after

I know people have their favourite romance tropes, I have a favourite setting trope. I love a big city to small town move. I love books set in smaller towns, the feeling of community, local shops and beautiful scenery and peace, this is what this book provides. Fans of enemies to lovers, will love this story. I really loved that this story revolved around the art world, the more flashy parts of it and the sweet intimate, personal parts in the art world. I loved how the main character, Katherine had a goal that she was passionate about and that she went for it, I love how Kit runs a lovely causal art class from his home and cares about the success of his students. At times you want to shake both of these characters to see past their silly perspectives and stubbornness. But that is true human nature, we're constantly self-sabotaging our happiness. I really enjoyed this light, funny, warm story.

Accidentally In Love was heart-warming romcom that revolved around Katharine’s idea of her own art gallery and how her life changed in space of a week. It was about dream, life, struggle, friendship, family, love, and drama.

Writing was flowless, emotive and gripping from the beginning. It was written in first narrative from Katharine’s perspective in her fun and refreshing voice. Plot was interesting with real life situations and relatable characters. There were lot of emotions in the book. I laughed, worried, felt angry, smug, and sad along with characters.

It started with, Katharine’s life going downhill and fast. After quitting job when she didn’t got promotion she deserved, heartbroken on finding out she was not important to man she was with for 9 months, she left London and returns to her hometown, Sheffield, with a dream of opening her own art gallery. Last thing she needed was another man in her life. But then her dad set up surprise meeting with Kit- the famous, handsome and amazing local artist. Well, that didn’t turn out as good as any of them thought. Her father put two same kind of person in the same room, of course, it was going to push other away. It was interesting to see how their hate was going to turn into love and how Katharine’s idea of her own gallery was going to take shape.

Characters were great. I liked all side characters. Family dynamic was amazing. Adam was lovely, caring, wise, and supportive big brother. I loved how he helped Katharine even though his life was not smooth and shiny. I loved conversations between him and Katharine. Katharine’s dad was cool. I like how he set up her and Kit’s meeting and it was great to read his relationship with Fiona and his children. Fiona was quirky, fun, logical, and the best step-mom I read in books. Lainey, Katherine’s best friend, was great and supportive most of the time but I didn’t like how things changed with her upcoming wedding and Katharine’s move out of city and specially what happened between them just before climax.

Katharine was great throughout the book. She was 35 yrs old curator at art gallery. She was career oriented, passionate, caring, and compassionate person. I liked the way she quit her job and how she started working on opening her own art gallery within a week. She was more than capable but needed a boost from her friends and relatives and once she started working on it, she knew what she was doing and how she wanted it. Kit accused her of going after famous artists and big things but I don’t agree with him and I don’t think she needed to apologise for it. I agree she needed to give a chance to new artist but the way Kit was saying was wrong. What I loved more about her was she saw her faults, accepted it, and tried to make it right.

Kit was famous and talented local artist but he was rude. He had air of mystery and I was curious to know his story and why he stopped exhibiting his art in gallery but I didn’t like how he treated Katharine and making her feel less and low even after what had gone through. I’m glad he came around after some time and treated her right once they cleared their differences.

Romance was lovely. At first both couldn’t stand each other’s presence. They argued and fought, Kit belittling Katherine every time they met (I easily sided with Katharine), they didn’t see eye to eye and it created lot of drama and banter which was fun to read. Once they got over their differences and chatted without trying to prove something to other, things became sweet and lovely. Some scenes were adorable. It was sad to see how quickly things fell apart but I liked how Katharine handled things after that.

Climax was dramatic. I was expecting this surprising entry just when everything was going nice and smooth but not in such big way. Characters’ actions and reactions were dramatic but I liked how Katharine’s family supported her and how things turned out at the end.

Why 4 stars-

My small complaint is the actual romance started at around 60% of the book. The end was good but it felt rushed, so much was wrapped in last 5% of the book, I felt there should be more. One more chapter or an epilogue would have done the trick.

Overall, Accidentally In Love was lovely and emotive romance with hate-to-love arc, interesting characters, and entertaining banter.

Katharine loves photography. It never really took off enough to make it as a living so she settles on being a curate in an art gallery. It is her dream to one day own her own gallery but for now she will work for someone else rather than herself.

She is in an on/off relationship with a man who she hoped one day would be 'the one' and his feelings are made clear at a recent award ceremony.

She makes a massive life changing decision to move up north back home to follow her dreams.
We follow the ups and downs of her new adventure and the will they wont they of her new love interest.

The best line in the book is 'Pivot, Pivot, Pivot' which is from the best ever episode of friends and when I read it, I burst into laughter.

I loved this book, well deserved ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Favorite Quotes:

…she looks like the poster child for corporate office perfection, whereas I’m sure I left the office looking like the love child of Beetlejuice and Alice Cooper.

‘Go easy on the old boy… He thought Kit would be right up your alley.’ ‘Let me be very clear... He’s not going anywhere near my alley.’

… there’s a teensy bit of smug satisfaction that comes from knowing he’s stuffed up so badly. Who am I kidding? The schadenfreude is a strawberry milkshake, and I’m so very thirsty.

‘Can I tell you a secret?’ He leans in and fixes me with such a look I’m certain he’s about to unload nuclear codes on me.

Everyone has those mornings where something simply doesn’t feel right… It’s more a charge in the air. That’s how I feel right now, life slipping off-kilter as I step into the bridal shop. A bell above the door tingles to alert the God of mischief that it’s time to suit up.

My Review:

I always enjoy delving into Belinda Missen's books as every one of them that I’ve had the pleasure of perusing as been lively, fun, cleverly amusing, and delightfully irreverent, and this one was no exception. And in addition to all that, it was also highly entertaining and thoughtfully perceptive. There was a brilliant and well-honed balance of humor, interpersonal conflict, family issues, witty banter, romance, personal loss, deep friendship, angst, and unabiding familial supportiveness. The storylines were teeming with uniquely flawed and oddly compelling characters full of unusual quirks that provided unexpected levity as well as additional creative story elements.

I smirked and snickered my way through this engaging tale and picked up a bit of artsy knowledge along the way as well as a new addition to my Brit Wordlist with lurgy, which Mr. Google told me is British slang for ‘A fictitious, highly infectious disease; often used in the phrase "the dreaded lurgi", sometimes as a reference to flu-like symptoms.’ I recall suffering several reoccurring bouts of lurgy in high school – an excellent cover story for my perpetual truancy.

This was a fairly pleasant read. It was predominantly about a woman at a cross roads with a little bit of romance of the chick-lit variety thrown in.

The majority of this book is Katharine changing priorities, jobs, residence and ditching one guy who can’t commit for another that has his own hangups. I found both relationships had a place in this book. It wasn’t as much of a hate to love as I expected, and as mentioned it wasn’t a true romance if that’s what you’re looking for. Nothing major happens till towards the end, and it’s quite minimal at that. The whole journey of it is why I can understand Mhairi’s name mentioned in the synopsis, but the similarities in the impact of it stop there.

Katharine has a great relationship with her family and brother, I found I wanted way more information about Adam and I can’t deny I felt a random spark between Adam and Lainey.

There was drama between Katharine and her best friend, which I felt was out of the blue for me and unnecessary. There was a miscommunication with Katharine and guy #2 that felt wrong, I would have preferred guy #1 to create jealousy or something before the point that they got together.

The writing was quite good, some great one liners, but the book felt all over the place at times and was hard to connect fully to. I would checkout this author again though.

(ARC kindly provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review).

Accidentally In Love by Belinda Missen is an adult contemporary romance where we see Katharine Patterson, who has recently quit her job and also broke up with her boyfriend. She decides to take a break and goes back to her home and stays with her father. She is an artist and wishes to open an Art Gallery in her own town. She meet Kit, who is an amazing artist and finds herself very intrigued by him as he is stubborn and not so caring person.
The story is quite good, but I felt there was a lot of unnecessary explanation in the story, which made the book very slow and boring. Overall it was an okay read for me and nothing quite exclusive.

Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous! Perfect book if you’re in need of a good read and a laugh! Thoroughly enjoyed it and loved the story, exactly the ending I would have chosen.

Katharine gets passed over in her fabulous art museum for a promotion....again. Spurt of the moment, she quits her fancy job, leaves her hum drum boyfriend and decides to open her own art gallery...at home.
When her dad intervenes and introduces her to the rudest artist- she is immediately put off. Until she realizes how talented Kit is.... If only he wasn’t such a ridiculous jerk!
Can she survive a gallery opening, be across the country from her best friend, lost her boyfriend and find romance in the midst of chaos?

Thank you Net Galley for a copy of this book. Wow! I adore this book and Belinda Missen is an author I will be reading more from. This is a hate to love romance that knocked my socks off. The banter, arguments, and dialog was beautiful. Love, love, love!

After quitting her job in a fit of righteous rage when an unqualified man is promoted instead of her to the position she’d earned, art curator Kate Patterson is in no mood to be set up with a grumpy artist who apparently is only interested in using her for her gallery connections. Especially since she’s pretty sure her sort-of-not-really-relationship with lawyer John has absolutely no future in it.

While there’s a solid romance in here, this honestly reads more like a coming-of-age story, except Kate is most definitely already of age at 35. What she’s doing is finally stepping up to exert control over her own life, rather than passively drifting along. She takes the bull by the horns not only with her career, but in her love life and with her family and even her friends… one of the most true-to-life parts of the book which really hit me hard was Kate’s realisation that friendships evolve and change with time and people who have been huge parts of our lives for a long time might not have the same role going forward. The hard truth which Kate has to accept is that despite thinking of herself as a thoroughly modern woman, she has in fact been something of a doormat, and it’s past time she got mad at the people who’ve been only too happy to wipe their feet on her.

Christopher was charming (once he got over his initial grumpiness) and some of the banter between him and Kate was genuinely hilarious. I did feel that the romance could have used a little more focus, particularly at the end of the story which felt a bit rushed. Four stars for an enjoyable read.