I enjoyed this one! I think it can resonate with a lot of folks who struggle with reconciling a certain upbringing (very strict Protestant Christian upbringing, in the story, but probably any very conservative religious household cant relate) with... living and growing up in a modern world, and thinking for yourself what you believe is right and true and how those values may or may not be lead y example within your church. There's a lot more to discuss that I'm not going to get into on a book review, but I think the author was very thoughtful about it and I'd recommend this to young people in those groups. What's present here is a very real struggle. Plot and character-wise, I did enjoy the main characters; at the beginning Meg read more like a 13 year old than an 18 year old, but I can forgive that given her sheltered upbringing. I like Micah a lot. Overall very solid, very sweet and not too swoony.

Meg graduates from HS and realizes that her parents have been lying to her all along. She leaves in search of answers, and finds a whole lot more--a first love, a questioning of all she ever believes in, and some true friendships.

This title explored religion in a way that most YA books shy away from, which I appreciated. A lot of teens will appreciate this title and the issues it explores.

“It’s a little like we are helping each other become who we are meant to be. No fixing each other, but pushing each other.”

I’m a religious person. Also, I live my idea of religion in my own way, with my personal feelings, and I don’t argue with people about this topic, therefore when somebody starts a discussion, I just walk away. Because of that I almost walk away from this book, but something stops me from doing it, and I have to say my heart hasn’t been as completely full of and story, as it is with Never Saw You Coming.
Marvelous written, in this book, the author delivers a story not about religions or church, nor what is right or wrong, what is acceptable by society or not. It’s not about forgiveness or redemption, but about faith, belief and keeping truth to yourself.
Meg and Micah have a complicated relationship with God and their own families, they have their own burden and “garbage,” however the important part is how they use their faith to find themselves.
Every character is fantastic, each of them plays an important role in the story and I think the author does a great job to present every perspective of these characters about the main topic of the story which makes this book richer.
I like that the author doesn’t go for the ‘black and white idea’ she uses more like every situation, every person has their own color. I totally enjoyed that each character speaks their mind as it would happen in real life, and the complexity of families’ dynamic, because let me tell you something, teens and young people aren’t the only with mixing feeling and broken hearts, adults can be pretty much mess up too.
And my final thought is: We really need Duke’s book. You’ll agree when you read it. 😊
100% recommended.
I received an ARC from NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. And I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

NEVER SAW YOU COMING is a poignant story featuring two 18 year old devout Christians whose paths cross after each of them are betrayed/let down by the adults in their lives. Meg discovers that her Dad is not her actual father (and that he’s divorcing her mother and might be gay), while Micah’s father, a pastor, has been sent to prison. Together they wrestle with questions of what they believe - about God, their families, and who they want to be as they head into adulthood.

I had a mixed reaction to this story, to be honest. The concept was captivating, but Meg and Micah seemed both way older than 18 and at the same time naive/childish. I suspect this is an accurate depiction of teens raised in intensely Christian environments. But it made it difficult for me to fully immerse in the story because they just felt so strange in their thought processes. I am a Christian, but was not raised in this sort of setting, so perhaps that’s the disconnect for me.

That said, I believe this will be an incredibly helpful and well-received book for the millions of young adults who find themselves on the brink of adulthood with big problems they didn’t cause or see coming, needing to figure out how the faith they were given works in the real world.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a complicated one for me to rate.

The story is cute enough in general and I did enjoy the bond between the two MCs (Micah is absolutely precious).

However, this is too religious for my liking. It's actually quite heavy-handed at times. I have no doubt there are readers who will see themselves in Meg and Micahs’ shoes, however, I'm not one of them and, to me, it's all a bit much. I do appreciate that there are some attempts at being inclusive. There are LGBTQ characters and other topics mentioned that go beyond the traditional Christian beliefs (in the author's words, this is an alternative christian story), but they are often overshadowed by all of the heavy theological content.

So while I do think this has its moments, and the author's note at the ends helps a lot, I just don't think I am the right audience for this particular story, unfortunately.

This book.. I could not stop reading. I have read Hahn’s first book and enjoyed it, but this one was so much more. Meg and Micah have wonderful character development and beautiful stories. Life at 18 isn’t always easy. The church/ your parents/ you friends all weigh in on your daily actions. What is it like just to become yourself without the weight of it all? I look back and wish I could have my 18 year old self read this book. I think it had an inspiring message for readers. And the greatest is love. Be the love, spread the love, help others find the love. Jesus loves.
Thank you Netgally for the ARC in exchange for my honest review

Representation: Queer side character

Gorgeous, affirming, and so, so beautiful, I devoured NEVER SAW YOU COMING in a matter of days. I adored> this book.

It follows religious eighteen-year-old Meg who's just learned that her father isn't actually her biological father. She decides to travel to meet her remaining biological family, her great-grandmother Betty and Uncle James, the youth pastor at the local church. There, she meets Micah Allen, a former pastor's son who is dealing with his father having been incarcerated years previously. Together, they grow to love each other and further their relationship with God and what, exactly, that looks like for them.

This book, at its core, is a reminder that God loves you, no matter what, and that even if you lose your way in life because of the people around you? You can always find your way again. NEVER SAW YOU COMING is my favorite book of 2021 so far and one of my new favorite books of all time. I cannot wait to get my physical copy.

Side-note: I loved Duke and I need to see more of him in another book someday!

I think I'm just too old and non-religious for this novel. There were some cute moments but at times it was very heavy-handed. Two stars as I loved the Michigan references and the cover was perfect.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received a copy of this book from Wednesday Books and Netgalley.

This book focuses on Meg who has a very strict Christian upbring and discovers something that leads her to feel betrayed and question what she's been taught.
Its a painful, beautiful book and moving in a way I very much did not expect.

This book... oh man, this book. I cried over this book. I stayed up all night thinking about this book.

There are so many things about this book that make me not its target audience: it's YA and it's about a girl grappling with her Christian faith, and I am a Jewish adult who cannot remember Judaism ever trying to shame me for anything (it might've happened, I just don't remember it). Despite that, I loved this book.

The protagonist here is Meg, an 18 year-old whose world is rocked when she finds out her parents are not who she thought they were. She's been raised in a strict church culture where purity and modesty are highly valued, and now she sees hypocrisy in her parents and doesn't know what to do. She leaves home and travels to the town where her birth father, whom she never knew, is from. There, she meets Micah, who has his own church-related problems: his dad, a pastor, has spent the last 5 years in prison for various financial and sexual crimes.

As Meg's relationships with Micah and her dad's family develop, she has to confront all of these things she's been told to believe about herself. Hahn has called this book her "purity-smashing YA romance," and I think that's accurate. This book is not at all anti-Christian or anti-religion, but if I were a young Christian girl being constantly told that my body is a sin, this book would remind me that God and Jesus love me regardless. With my background I wasn't able to really relate to these elements of Meg's struggle, but books act as windows AND mirrors, and I empathized so strongly with Meg and the challenges of being a teenage girl that my remoteness from her experiences didn't really matter. That's absolutely to the credit of Hahn's beautiful, empathic writing.

That's all to say I LOVE THIS BOOK, I think it's beautiful, and I hope you'll read it too. It comes out in September. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for the ARC.

Erin Hahn’s Never Saw You Coming is a balm of comfort. Readers will find fall in love with the refreshing honesty of Meg and Micah, two teens who are heartbreakingly genuine in their struggles as they navigate a story that deals with questioning religion, faith, hypocrisy, and the true meaning of love and forgiveness. With her familiar humor and extraordinary prose, Hahn has created a world in which readers are invited to be still and know that they are more than enough just as they are. No conditions. No exceptions.

I love Erin Hahn's writing and when I heard she was writing a book about teenage Christians, I was all in. I was a teenage Christian in the 90s, and while I'm no longer religious, discussions of teenage religious behavior continues to fascinate me. This is a book I wish I had when I was a teenage Christian. The focus on girls and the double standard of purity is something that has always made me so angry, and this book addressed it so well.

I really liked Meg as a more fleshed-out character than she was in More Than Maybe. Micah is obviously an angsty dreamboat. I appreciated how their stories meshed and how they could be there for each other in similar ways. There was shitty parenting and great parenting and even better extended family parenting.

There was a lot of drama in the third act that seemed ridiculous, but I understand why some stuff happened, even if it was over the top.

Overall, I really enjoyed this and will be delighted to reread it when the final copy comes out in September.

This is incredibly sweet, absolutely thought provoking, bold and truly heartwarming, healing, inspirational reading! Let me tell you something Meg and Micah are the most amazing, the sweetest, earnest, most lovable young couple the author created!

I feel like they switch places with their parents at the entire book because they acted so mature. As both of their worlds crumble into pieces, they still find a way to stand on their feet. As their faiths, realities are tested and they keep losing everything in their lives, they find each other.

Meg Hennessey realizes her 18 years long life consists of lies. The man she knows as her father is not her real father and as soon as the truth reveals, he leaves her family, wanting to divorce and her mother confesses that she is product of a special one night stand at a youth camp. When she learned she was pregnant to her, before talking to Andrew who was the biological father of Meg lost his life at a tragic car accident.

Meg finds out she has grandmother and an uncle are still alive. She decides to spend her gap year by reconnecting with her roots and discovering who she is after living under strict rules of conservative mother: she’s never been kissed, held a boy’s hand, watched R rated movie, homeschooled, mostly lived in her parents’ protective cocoon!

Now it’s time to free herself from her chains and discover her roots by traveling to north and moving to the town where her dad was born.

Micah,19, is still chased by the big scandal his father created which ripped apart their family. Now he is broken, questioning his own belief when his pastor father/ his best friend/ his mentor is put behind the bars because of siphoning church’s money and labeled as sex predator!

After being stalked by reporters, shunned by public, losing her home, their entire savings but mostly saying goodbye to his innocent childhood, Micah manages to bottle up his boiling anger and resentment for his mother’s sake who finally remarried and reinstated a better life with new kids. After 5 years later, his father will be released from prison and his parole hearing is approaching but Micah has no intention to go and be part of it!

At the time when he truly needs a friend who can truly understand his suffer, his path crosses with Meg who just set her foot on the town to meet with her grandma.

As she connects with her family, finding a job at the cafe next door where Micah works, selling sports goods, she slowly learns to enjoy her new life by forming deep connection with Micah.

I loved their blooming friendship, innocent, honest, genuine connection and extremely sweet, heartfelt, true romance!

Meg is witty, sweet pie, kind hearted but she also bold, risk taker, amicable. Her self discovery journey after being lied for her entire life never gets out of control. She acts responsible from the beginning and it’s enjoyable to see how she discovers sweet happinesses of the life and shares it with Micah!
Micah was also best book boyfriend, patient, loyal, caring and standing up for his girl at the toughest times.

I loved the daring, realistic approach of the author to the sensitive issues: church, religion, beliefs, homophobia, sexual awakening, family, self discovery.

But I honestly fell in love with those characters. And it was nice to see Vada and Luke’s cameos from More than maybe. Vada is best eccentric, artistic, loyal friend.

Overall: this book should be prescribed for grumpy, pessimist people who lost their way in their life to consume at least three times a day so they can absorb each inspirational quotes our characters tell and they can heal from their dark moods with feel good power of this exceptional reading which guarantees to put permanent smile on our faces! It’s absolutely amazing!

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/ Wednesday Books for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

<i>Never Saw You Coming</i> was a fantastic read. I read More Than Maybe last year and I loved it but, I have to say, that I loved this book more. I think this is Erin Hahn's best book. The discussions in this book about faith and the church were really interesting to me because as a Jewish person that lives in South America (and has never been to the US) I always wondered how that kind of upbringing affected people and especially young women like myself. All my knowledge about this topic has always come to me from media (news articles, movies, tv shows) so this book was really insightful.
I loved Meg's quirkiness and the way that she was unapologetically herself above all else. Micah was great too, he was really inspiring as a person, and I loved their relationship a lot.
I also loved all the MTM cameos, they were hilarious.
And DUKE!! he was amazing!! One of my favorite characters in this book. I adored the friendship between him and Meg, and Micah.
I would highly recommend this book, and i can't wait for Erin's adult debut!!

I appreciate how this book was more than just a typical young adult romance.
The characters were well-developed and weren't primarily focused on their love lives all the time.
Meg and Micah had good chemistry which is always a huge plus.
One of the strengths of the novel was the story wasn't so dependent on romance instead the characters also had other things going on in their lives. The author set up two interesting story line with religion . It helped contribute to this being a cute story but with substance.

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

CW: Discussions of self harm and suicide, mentions of death related to drunk driving

4.5 stars

Never Saw You Coming is one of my most anticipated books of 2021. I was absolutely stunned when I received the notification that I had won an advance copy on Goodreads. This book was both everything I hoped for and also completely unexpected. It doesn't shy away from the hard questions and instead dives head first into an examination of faith, love, forgiveness, religion, family, and also hypocrisy. Even though I don't have experiences like Meg or Micah with church/religion, I appreciated the vulnerability and raw honesty of their journeys. Hahn made their struggles so genuinely heartbreaking and relatable. The love that blossoms between them was so tender and beautiful. The writing was incredibly heartfelt and the message of being loved just as you are, without conditions or exceptions, was so powerful.

Family relationships play a large role in the story and I loved how found families were just as critical (if not more so) than families of blood. Duke also definitely needs his own book now ;) The cameos by my More Than Maybe favorites was wonderful and the epilogue was a beautifully perfect way to bring everything full circle. Meg and Micah's journey isn't an easy one, but I really appreciated the author's note at the end, which helped put things into perspective for me. I can imagine that Never Saw You Coming might be quite polarizing for readers, but it will also be a great comfort to many as well.

*I voluntarily read an advance review copy of this book*

I loved this book so much!!! Erin is amazing, though, so how couldn't I? Lovable characters, amazing plot, I highly recommend you put this one on your tbr if you love Erin's work, or just love romance!

Erin Hahn's YA romances have an uncanny way of pulling me in and keeping me invested through the last page, and this was no different! This book felt unlike any other YA I've read in its exploration of Christianity, the church, purity culture, and more. Meg's story would have meant a lot to me as a confused youth group kid and still did as an adult disillusioned with the church. Her relationship with Micah was beautiful to watch unfold, and each of their individual relationships to their families and their faith were complex and thoughtfully portrayed. The prose was beautiful, the themes relatable, and I loved the appearances of characters from Hahn's last book. I would enthusiastically recommend this book to teens and adults who find themselves questioning their relationship to religion (or even not questioning it)--this would give them a lot to think about, while telling a beautiful love story to boot.

This book had a little too much God for my own personal tastes, but it fills a much-needed space on my library bookshelf and I know it will speak to a lot of teen readers. I'm excited for them to find it.

After finding out her father she’s lived with her whole life is not her dad, Meg goes to visit her real dad’s great grandmother and his brother. She decides to stay and meets Micah whose dad is in prison. Meg and Micah hit it off and become close. Because both come from religious backgrounds, they know that no matter what or who you are God loves you. Great book.