This Owen Nicholls romantic comedy left me hoping it had more to the story. I needed more with the characters, story. The will they won’t they isn’t a new concept, you have to put something special to it. This sadly lacked that something special.

I think because I've been reading more contemporary romance, my standards have increased. This was a cute novel, but didn't blow me away. I appreciated the struggles and humanity of the two main characters, but they also frustrated me. I think this one with a bit more chemistry and editing could be better.

Will they or won't they? That's the question in this tale of two people whose timing is always just a little bit off, but who keep being drawn to each other again and again. This conceit lets you see how these characters grow and evolve over time, which makes the pay off at the end even more sweet.

I liked this, but it was quite a bit heavier than I expected it to be, and a lot less interaction between Jess and Tom.

Jess is a comedienne, who initially is part of a duo with her best friend. Tom is in an indie band. They have several run-ins with one another, and mostly don't actually get along (but not in a way where they are enemies, exactly). They find themselves miscommunicating often, mostly due to Jess's quick temper and insecurities; Particularly when it comes to various feminist ideals... She is misandristic and generally mistrusting of men, likely due to her father's abandonment.

Both of these characters have quite a few issues to work through, and they do well by the end. It's all a bit vague and yet specific at the same time. Jess is angry at the world, and only gets more angry before she starts to heal. Tom is insecure, lost and coasting, and depressed, often turning to alcohol.

This is certainly an interesting story, but don't expect anything light or fluffy. It isn't much of a "romance," so much as it is a coming-of-age love story about a couple of people in their mid-late twenties.

3.5 Stars

I'm not sure how to rate this. Yes, I did read it to the end, so it gets points for that.

First, it's not a romance, it's a love story. A long, winding, often unhealthy love story between Tom and Jess, which spans years from the time they meet until the end of the book.

As the title implies, every time Tom and Jess meet is not the right time for them and they grown in the years apart, but not until near the end.

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

I chose this ARC from NetGalley because it sounded like one of my favorites from earlier this year "One Day." The backdrop of the Scottish/Northern England music and comedy scenes nicely sets the stage for a story about good people with bad timing. Cute. Good summer read.

Ahhh I really enjoyed this one! I was skeptical at first but I loved both of the characters and the plot so i highly recommend

While this rom-com was more on the romance side, less on the comedy side, it was a very sweet read that left me making a lot of "aww" and other sweet noises. The author's voice is cozy and empathetic, which made for a nice read, but it took me a while to get into the book because I wasn't expecting that kind of voice. Tom, the "big, soft, southerner" was an adorable beta who broke out of the typical mold of a romance hero--and I enjoyed it. There wasn't really anything I didn't enjoy about this book.

What a beautiful romance. Love is never perfect, but this tale is very close to that. It celebrates imperfections while wonderfully capturing the positives of some of the finer goals in life: making yourself and others happy. Nicholls has these huge, pivotal moments that sometimes go without full mention, which almost make the reader pay even more attention. The story leads you into false ending after false ending. It is a wonderful love story, particularly about loving oneself, too. This was a treat to read, and I cannot wait to buy my own copy.

Love, Unscripted by Owen Nicholls was one of my favorite books of 2019 so I was very excited to get an advanced copy of Perfect Timing.

Tom and Jess are probably supposed to be together, but the universe has other ideas. Thanks to an unfortunate miscommunication during their meet-cute, Jess doesn’t have too many nice things to say about Tom. Throughout the next few years, they constantly run in and out of each other’s lives, all while Tom is becoming more famous with his band and Jess is becoming more (in)famous with her comedy career.

Some of the subject matter went deeper than I anticipated, but that’s okay. Brit romantic comedies tend to be a little more serious, which can be a welcome experience. I don’t love the miscommunication trope in anything but I’m glad Tom’s fairly harmless lie got cleared up quickly so the story could focus on the more realistic theme of, well, timing.

Nitpick: the chapter headings were too clunky. It had the chapter number, a chapter title, the character POV, the location, and the date. Most of that information wasn’t necessary and I started glossing over them.

I'm not quite sure why I went into this book with the feeling that it was going to be lighthearted and cheesy. Perhaps it was the synopsis or my undying love for cheesy romances that set me afoot. This book dealt with some heavy themes that while I appreciated the representation, I also despised it. At times, the characters were unlikable and made me want to skim read the rest of the book. I'm sure this book will appeal to some and not to others. For me, I think I went into this book with a different mindset that it would be comparable to a Christina Lauren or Tessa Bailey rom-com and it just wasn't. However, while the material and the story weren't my favorite, the writing is great and I commend the author for writing complicated characters.

Never felt that connected with either Tom or Jess and didn’t understand the instalove that simultaneously couldn’t withstand minor misunderstandings. Side characters were great but needed to be fleshed out more instead of just propping up the mains.

The plot didn't grab me right away, but about halfway through the book, I couldn't put it down until I found out how things would end between Tom and Jess. At first, I thought their happenstance meeting and instant connection was a little cheesy, but over time, I became really invested in their emotional journeys. I thought the discussion of Tom's relationship with alcohol and Jess's relationship with her father were very realistic and well-done, and added some depth to the book. Overall, this was a lovely, quick read and I would recommend it!

With some of the deeper themes that are explored (alcoholism, absent parent, anxiety, etc.), this wasn't quite the lighthearted romance I expected it to be. For some reason it also didn't seem that readable to me and I had to keep fighting the urge to skim it.

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

The writing was so playful, so enjoyable to read. Both these characters were so relatable.
If you're looking for something to kick a reading slump or if you just want a fun, romantic book to sweep you off your feet this summer: look no further. This was such a good book.
The pacing was really good and the humour and banter between the characters kept me engaged the entire time.
The characters I absolutely adored. Fun, cute, witty enjoyable people to follow in a book!
Everything about this story worked. I had no idea what to expect going in but was happy with the journey it took me on. I wanted more as I always do when I’m reluctant to let a story go.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for this cute advanced ebook!.