I love rom com reads and enjoy both the high brow and low brow kind. This one started with an interesting concept, but kind of dragged for me and then felt super rushed in trying to wrap up the story. I think this book might find lovers from other, but I wasn't the biggest fan.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, really funny at times and it was just a fun easy read. Perfect for anyone who loves a slow burning enemy-to-lovers romance. Katherine is such a strong character and I love how she takes no bs and follows her dreams even when everything in her life seems to be falling apart. Makes you appreciate that if you want something so bad and work hard at it then anything is possible so never give up on your dreams!
I will definitely be checking out more of Belinda
Missen’s work. Thank you so much for allowing me an advanced copy.

Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was a decent slow burn romance that slowly builds up to heartwarming story. Kat decides to open her own gallery after quitting her job and wants to feature Kit’s art work. Of course he refuses and inadvertently begins a complicated dance with Kat. This is in no way a romantic comedy more of a temperate artsy love story much more emotional than comedic.
Nonetheless worth the read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review

I went into this book anticipating a really light hearted fluffy romance, and it delivered.

Overall I really enjoyed how this story developed, it is the perfect cheese fest if you’re after a nice easy read. The cover is gorgeous and is something I’m instantly drawn to in romance. Our main character Katherine overcame multiple obstacles during the course of the story and I was really rooting for her and her gallery opening. I also loved the depiction of her relationship with her brother and step-mum, as someone who has both of those in her life I think it showed how complex these relationships can be and added a lovely family element to the story.

I would add that there’s a slight trigger warning for death and grief as Katherine and Kit both lost people very close to them and discussed this in conversation. Although these were tough topics to discuss I felt it was done well and added to story, adding complexity to the characters without making them martyrs.

I had two issues with this book though – one the romance was ridiculously fast. While I can appreciate a whirlwind romance, Katherine and Kit went from effectively despising each other to getting engaged within a month. With the trauma both of them have experienced in the past with bereavement, grief and fuckboys I was quite surprised that both of them took the relationship so easily. That being said, it was incredibly sweet and I did enjoy their happy ending (think the proposal was a bit much but that’s me)

The second was the relationship Katherine had with her best friend, Lainey. Lainey is the worst friend ever, is incredibly selfish and demanding and when they have a big fight she calls Katherine to tell her all the terrible things she’s done. Does she apologise when they make up? No. I found this very strange especially as the MC comes across as really strong and no nonsense. This to me is super problematic and is the reason I gave the book 3 stars instead of 4 unfortunately.

If you’re after a feel good book this is perfect, it just fell a little bit flat for me with the friendships and the very fast paced romance.

Katharine is sick of being passed over again and again for promotions at work, so she leaves the comfort of her stable job in London to open her own art gallery. And there's a hot local artist she's looking to feature. And I mean hot as in popular AND hot as in physically.

I love Katharine's supportive family, especially her relationship with her step-mom. I am also so glad to see an ambitious woman portrayed going after her dreams in this novel. I especially loved the Mr. Darcy vibes I was getting from Kit.

Accidentally in Love is a little bit of a boy-meets-girl, modern day fairytale.

The characters were likeable and had a detailed backstory to them. This made them relatable and kept me wizzing through the pages to see if it was a 'happily ever after' ending, just like any good fairytale. And also, just like any good fairytale, there are 'villians' to add a little bit of spice to the mix.

All in all, this was an enjoyable, light-hearted read which gave me a bit of a break from my normal heavy reading.

Accidentally in Love is a lovely warm and feel good romcom and the perfect poolside summer read. The writing is good and the author has developed some great characters, all of whom are engaging and realistic. I loved the family dynamics, the wonderful relationship Katharine has with her family and the way they all support each other.

Some of the more romantic scenes are depicted really well, particularly the scene in the darkroom with all the simmering sexual tension! Although I enjoyed the progression of the romance between Kit and Katherine, I felt Kit initially came across as downright rude and I can’t believe Katharine put up with the way he spoke to her. He did, however, redeem himself and I grew to like his character as the story progressed. As a lover of art and drawing, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about all the art references, Katherine’s job as art curator and Kit’s art school, and I loved the connection their relationship had through art.

The end felt a little rushed and it all seemed to escalate rather quickly, unfurling it over another chapter would have lessened the seemingly hurried pace.

A quick and easy read if you want a quick fix, with a good story line, great characters and a cosy romance.

Thank you to the publisher via Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley, HQ and Belinda Missen for gifting me an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
After being passed up for a promotion at work for the third time, Katherine knows it’s time to move on. She breaks up with her “are they, aren’t they” guy and decides that moving home is the best way to see her dreams of opening her own gallery a reality. There she meets Christopher, a local artist and friend of her fathers. He runs a local art school which brings them together.
This starts as an enemies to lovers plot line. Christopher gives fresh and funny banter that keeps the chemistry going between the two characters, but his hot and cold attitude got old fast. I think he was crazy immature for being in his thirties and some of the things he got himself into had me rolling my eyes. Their romance throughout the book was pretty tame and this could be classified as a clean romance! I think maybe if we’d seen their story play out a little longer I would’ve felt a connection between them, but I just feel like we didn’t quite have enough info to really fall for these characters!

An enemies to lovers story that didn't quite mark that tally for me with characters that you may or may not be indifferent to depending on your preferences for MCs.
The start of it is catching but as it moves on with Katharine and Christopher a.k.a Kit, it fell flat and predictable.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book received from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A cute romance which is exactly what i need sometimes to feel refreshed and dive back into reading so thank you Belinda Missen for making this wonderful romance. The only negative part was that the book seemed a little slow i feel like it took me forever just to get through one page with that being said I did not connect well with the characters either. It almost felt like the author tried to do an enemies to lovers type novel and i dont feel like that worked well for her, had she just stuck with the happy hallmark romance i believe i would have liked the book more.

Accidentally in Love by Belinda Missen is a story about Katharine, a longtime gallery curator at a fine arts gallery in London, who was completely fed up about being passed over for a promotion and was on an undefined relationship with a lawyer. She then leaves London to return back to her hometown to fulfill her artistic dreams, and possibly find the person she’ll spend her life with.

Katharine is very relatable. Sets aside passion for something that will pay the bills, but still holds out hope that one day she’ll be given the opportunity to show the world her talents. But not too far that she forgets about it. She instead took a curator job, which is still a dream job for her. And yet somehow, the time she spent learning and working for her craft, it simply was not enough.

This novel is definitely written for a millennial audience. Why, you ask? Calligraphy, photography, and drinking – the trifecta of millennial hobbies. Plus, the never-ending career frustrations and failed relationships.

It’s been a while since I’ve read a chill novel. It’s definitely a breath of fresh air. Katharine is a wonderful character and I haven’t really laughed while reading a book the entire year. When she checks out Kit, I suddenly burst out laughing because that definitely isn’t something I usually read in books. Which now I think I’ve been reading the wrong ones.

The title clearly says it’s a romantic novel. But that’s not what I got 80 pages in, and I’m not saying like that is a bad thing. What I’m saying is, Ms. Missen prioritized Katharine’s career realizations over her romantic interests. And that is exactly what I like about this novel. It’s more about Katharine’s success than her finding a suitable partner. Sure, finding a person you’d spend your life with is important, but not as important as having a career and being your own person. Katharine is the type of person I aspire to be.

Ah, Ms. Missen. Thank you for this wonderful book. Thank you for writing Katharine as a strong woman who knows what she wants, what she’s worth, and isn’t afraid to ask for what she deserves.

I enjoyed this book for the most part. The writing was solid, the characters are interesting, and I do love stories set in the UK.

My biggest problem was that it seemed a little unbalanced. The beginning is a slow build-up between the two main characters, and I had no issue with that. It was then that the "dark moment" happened and suddenly it's a week later and things are rushed to a happy conclusion.

But I could easily imagine the setting, having visited London and the surrounding countryside a time or two. And I loved how Katharine handled her new lease on life. How many of us have wanted to look at our bosses and do the very same thing?

I look forward to more from this author in future.

After getting passed up for a well deserved promotion because she's not part of the boys club, Katharine decides to move back to her hometown and strike out on her own by opening an art gallery. She meets local artist Kit/Christopher and you can guess what happens. What I really liked about this book is how Katharine worked hard for what she wanted and the author didn't shy away from writing her with some flaws. I really enjoyed the dynamic Katharine has with her family, especially her brother Adam.

I had trouble with the pacing of the book. It started off strong for me but then there were so many other plot lines going on that I felt like I was reading 3 different books. The dialogue was broken up by such long chunks of inner monologue that I often had a hard time tracking the conversations which is unfortunate because there were some good barbs traded between Katharine & Christopher. Their relationship was a bit puzzling to me. One of my favorite tropes is an enemies to lovers romance but the progression of the relationship between Katharine & Christopher left me feeling a bit puzzled. I missed the banter, the slow burn, the simmering feelings. I wasn't rooting for them to become a thing and I felt like Christopher (and when did we suddenly switch from calling him Kit to Christopher in the book?) was largely absent for most of the story, even after he had been introduced as a character.

Each character in the book was well developed but in this case it was almost problematic because there is so much to absorb and take in. You want a chance to explore each of their situations (Lainey, John, Adam & Christopher all have a LOT going on in their stories that I won't spoil here) and I feel like I would have loved to have seen more of an exploration of that rather than a detailed description of Katharine picking out paint samples. The ending hit me out of nowhere and I was still left feeling like I didn't really have a grasp on the relationship between Katharine & Christopher.

I think this book will do well with those interested in the art & gallery world and Katharine is an inspiration for taking a leap of faith for anyone wanting to start their own business. Many thanks to HQ Digital & Netgalley for an ARC

Accidentally in Love was such a fresh, funny romcom. I love stories about self-discovery and following your dreams, and this was very much that, along with a story about family, friendship, and finding the type of love you deserve.

Katharine works in a job where she’s overlooked and underappreciated, she’s semi-dating a guy who never makes her a priority, and her best friend has shuffled her aside except for when she needs her to do something for her. She’s almost at her breaking point, so when the opportunity arises for her to quit her job and leave London, she takes a risk and jumps in head first. Katharine was so relatable. I think we’ve all felt like we weren’t a priority when we should be, whether it’s in a job, a friendship, a relationship, or in our own families. Katharine has it coming at her from all sides, so she decides it’s time to make herself a priority and do something that fulfills her, even if she fails. I loved her gumption.

When she meets Kit, they immediately rub each other the wrong way. She wants nothing to do with him, but they’re connected through her family and their small community, whether she likes it or not. They form a tentative agreement that slowly morphs into friendship and then something more. Even when things were good between them, these two still butted heads, but it provided for a lot of fun banter.

I loved the family dynamics in the book. Katharine had such a great relationship with her brother, Adam, and her dad and his girlfriend were a lot of fun. The friendship between Katharine and Lainey was painful to read at times, mostly because I’ve been in her place and related so much to feeling forgotten, taken for granted, used. I liked what it added to the story and that it tied in with Lainey learning to speak up and do what was right for her own life, even if it looked different than she thought or different from what others expected.

Overall, Accidentally in Love was a fun, lighthearted read. I could see this being made into a Hallmark movie - girl starting over in the small town she grew up in, quirky family, enemies to lovers - and I’d definitely watch it!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me an ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review!

I really loved this book!
It was the kind of comfy rom-com that we all need once in a while, with a nice plot and witty banter!
I loved Katharine, the female main character of the book. She is determined and funny and crazy and she is ready to do anything she can in order to achieve her newly found goals.
Kit, the male MC and love interest is just equally as good as her. Initially, he's rude and stubborn, but then the amazing encounters between the two intensify and he just becomes this amazingly loving and gentle man that you might fall in love with completely.
Yet another plus to this book is Katharine's family. I loved every single one of them - from her witty brother to her supportive father to her father's amazing girlfriend. That is one hell of a great family!

The only thing that bothered me though was the ending. I felt like it was too rushed.
But if it were 2 or 3 chapters longer, then that would have been absolutely perfect!

My Rating: 4.2

First Impressions

When I read the description for this book, I really, really, REALLY wanted to get stuck in. I loved the idea of new-found independence and taking risks but I'm a huge sucker for romance at the same time, so all of this rolled into one just seemed brilliant! As well as this, I have never really read any books set in the North of England so I loved being able to read about Yorkshire since it really is beautiful (I may be bias since it's my home).

The first few chapters flowed in a really natural way: nothing felt rushed or forced, but it wasn't too slow either! You are given the time to understand Katharine's mindset and what led to her decisions to quit her job, end her relationship, and move back to Sheffield from London without it taking up too much time. Her first meeting with Kit was very intense - I didn't really expect him to have such a rude and defensive exterior - BUT I knew there was definitely more than what meets the eye with him, much like all of the other characters, and couldn't wait to find out more!

The Characters

Each character is introduced at a good pace and the relationship Katharine has with them is fairly easy to pick up on, which made the read much more engaging. I can only compliment Belinda Missen on this, she really has a knack for creating brilliant characters and showcasing them beautifully!

Katharine really did need appreciation for her talents which she did not have from her work in London or John - I'm not even going to get started on John! Her journey and development throughout the book is both realistic and humbling as she is unlearning some snobby habits and standing up for herself a little more!

Kit came off as quite standoffish at first, but there was definitely a heart of gold in there which I could tell by the way he cared for his students' art being showcased. The way he opened up during the course of the book was so beautiful, you could understand that he was coming from a place of pain and was quite scared of being vulnerable again.

Other characters include Katharine's brother, Adam, who was such a sweetheart! The bond that they both have was lovely to read about and really reminded me of my own brother, so I was able to connect with Adam in that way. Katharine's best friend, Lainey, is questionable: her wedding is important, but she kept brushing Katharine to the side when she needed her. In all, each character had something completely different about them and were significant in their own way which I loved!

Why I Loved This Book

To start with, all of the characters are 35+ years old, so the story feels much more realistic and the characters have a huge backstory that has shaped them to be who they are which you don't really have in many YA books! The attention to detail in each character really shows, whether they are in the book for 30 chapters or 3, so I never felt confused about who certain people were or what they brought to the novel.

As someone who doesn't really know much about art or artists, I did feel a little bit worried that there would be chunks I wouldn't understand. HOWEVER, I could pick up some terms and have a good idea about what was meant during some chapters, so try not to let this scare you off!

At so many parts of 'Accidentally in Love' I found myself with a cheesy smile and warm cheeks FOR them, it was just so endearing to read about Katharine and Kit's relationship blossoming into something so lovely! Throughout the whole book, I never felt bored or that I didn't want to finish, it was quite the opposite actually.

Conclusion

'Accidentally in Love' jumped out at me as soon as I saw it, so I couldn't wait to start! Katharine was easier to understand than a lot of other protagonists considering the many different things going on in her life, and every other character was introduced in perfect time! I slowly fell in love with all of the characters in one way or another, and was reminded of my own family and home quite often which was really warming.

Belinda Missen has such a natural flow to her writing which made this a relaxing and easy read, while still catching your emotions and allowing you to form your own bond with the characters and book itself. Overall, I absolutely loved this book and feel so honoured to have been able to read an ARC! I honestly and completely recommend 'Accidentally in Love' for romance lovers, more mature readers, anyone!

https://alovelylittlelibrary.blogspot.com/2020/09/accidentally-in-love-by-belinda-missen.html

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

I was drawn in by this cover immediately I’m suck a sucker for rom-coms with cartoon covers.

An art curator in London, Katherine, following getting passed over a promotion for the third time to less qualified men decides to quit her job and move home Sheffield to open her own art gallery, breaking up with her boyfriend in the process. After being introduced to local artist Kit by her father, he and Katherine become fast foes, constantly bickering, and teasing but upon spending more time together preparing for her gallery opening find themselves falling ‘accidentally in love’.

It took awhile for the book to really get started so it took me a bit to actually get into it. By 30% of the way into the book the protagonist hadn’t moved home, yet which was the driving factor of the novel. But once I properly got into it, I found myself engaged and finished it within the day.

For something which is a rom- com there is a severe lack of romance by half way through the book she had only interacted with the love interest a handful of times so you could see whatever was going to develop between them would be overly rushed and it certainly was. Once the romance aspect developed though I really liked their dynamic honestly preferring it to the enemies- to- lovers build up which is abnormal for me. Despite the lack of romance I was still interested throughout, and I was fascinated by the ins and outs of Katherine trying to open an art gallery.

Character wise I quite liked Katherine, I enjoyed her drive and passion for what she does and her relationships with the people in her family. Kit however I had issue with, his defining personality trait was being overly pretentious though this was explained and he did become less annoying as the book progressed still didn’t leave him as my favourite love interest.

Overall, this novel was light-hearted and witty and quite enjoyable just beware it certainly more com than rom with a lot less romance in it than you would expect.

Eks*mo is an outright SLUR and seeing that in the first few pages was jarring. That needs to be immediately REMOVED. I'm sure the author is able to come up with another analogy that conveys Lainey's prowess at PR than saying "can sell ice to an Esk*mo." Not only does it use a slur, it refers to a harmful stereotype. That should have been caught during edits.

All that aside, I enjoyed the rest of the book quite a lot. As an art historian myself, I really enjoyed reading about the art world, the nuances of gallery management and showcasing artists and so on. I really liked the slow build of appreciation between Katharine and Christopher. I loved their banter and the way they learnt to admit faults and grow from each other's critiques.

I also really enjoyed the family dynamics. I loved how supportive Adam was of Katharine's changes in careers, how much love they had for Fiona despite her being their father's girlfriend after their mother passed.

Overall, it was a great book to read. The esk*mo thing has to go.

Thank you to Netgalley and HQ Digital for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Accidentally in Love is a soon to be released rom com novel about an art curator (Katherine) and her troubles with work, friendship, and love. In the first couple chapters of the book, we find out that Katherine has left her job, moved out of London, and broke up with her "boyfriend" of nine months. What happens next? Katherine moves to her hometown to start her own art gallery using the last of her savings, and unexpectedly starts butting heads with a local artist that her father and stepmom tried to set her up with.

Although this book was very cute and a quick read for me, it fell flat on the plot and relationship building. I felt as though I couldn't connect with the MC or her relationships with her family and friends. I felt so uncomfortable when she talked about "shagging" with her stepmom (if my stepmom said anything like that I would crawl into a hole and never come out). Honestly, I think this is the only book where I hated the main character and thought that the exboyfriend deserved better. If you want to discuss let me know! I don't want to accidentally give any spoilers.

I would recommend this book to those who love a quick romcom/hallmark movie type of book!

I couldn't finish this book, unfortunately. It just seemed like the characters were bland and like many other similar novels. It didn't have anything special and I had to trudge along until I could no longer do it.