I couldn’t stop screaming “AND THEY WERE ROOMMATES!” the entire time. Iykyk.

But seriously, this was fun. A great debut. I know this is marketed as a romcom, but I don’t know that I’d called it that. It’s like women’s fiction / romance. I really enjoyed the feminism and social issues addressed throughout the plot. My emotions were definitely all over the place with the back and forth. I laughed and cried, but that makes a book so good to me.

This is a quick read, but definitely an emotional one. I struggled though some of the density and plot twists, but other than that I enjoyed this book.

A quick read to pass the time. Enjoyable and light. Several funny bits.
The book was not what I was expecting and I felt the information was a bit misleading.
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I liked but didn’t love! I feel like it was a story that felt familiar/told before but that could be a me issue vs the writing/storytelling. I did enjoy the family dynamics!

It’s kind of funny that the first thing I thought when I finished reading this book was almost exactly the title, that being that it’s not exactly what I had in mind. The description made me think that it was going to be a way lighter read than it is.
It gets 3.5/5 stars because as timely and well done the very serious topics touched are, I found the way they’re told was honestly rather boring.
It took about 3/4 of the book for me to warm up to the characters, which made the heavy topics a little hard to read about. Although I will say that I liked Alfie from the very beginning and his being a big part of the story is what kept me reading after I’d seriously considered just not finishing it.
Overall, it wasn’t what I expected and reading it was a bit of a chore, yet I ended up enjoying how all the threads were tied up towards the end.

Happy thanks to NetGalley and Dutton for the thought-provoking read!

Two London flatmates, Alfie and Hazel, have a one-night stand. They’re both attracted to the other, but unable to be open and honest enough about it to pursue a relationship. When Alfie forms a close bond with Hazel’s sister, Emily, and Emily’s wife, things get really complicated. With openness and honesty about love, romance, family, sex, and life, this relationship-themed novel is, at turns, funny, sharp, heartwarming, and entertaining. I really liked it! If you enjoy books about the complicated relationships between friends, lovers, and family AND love a London-set book, this one is for you.

Thanks to Dutton for an advanced copy of Not Exactly What I Had in MInd.

This was an interesting book and a little different than what I was expecting. There was a little too much going on for me and then the epilogue....

Hazel works at a coffee shop but her passion is to draw. She shares an apartment with Alfie, who is a school teacher that has just gotten out of a long term relationship. After a night together, the two are worried that things will get awkward. Hazel's sister, Emily is married to Daria, and they're thinking about having kids, but Daria isn't sure about their decision. This book follows their lives and the issues that each couple face.

I was surprised by the ending of this book which doesn't usually happen to me. This isn't your run of the mill romance story. I enjoyed reading about the characters, but wasn't super happy with the ending of the book. I think I was looking for something light and fun, and while this book has some of those moments, it wasn't what I was looking for. I thought the writing was great, it just wasn't my cup of tea. The title lived up to its name for me.

Thank you to Penguin Group for providing me with an ARC of this book.

I really enjoyed Not Exactly What I Had In Mind. The title is perfect for the book, this book is not what I was expecting but I still found myself really loving it! I think the characters were really well done and the writing was very sharp and witty. This reminded me a bit of a Sally Rooney book which I loved. I really look forward to reading more from this author!

I really liked the characters in this book! There is definite chemistry which is noticeable from the start. Overall, this book filled me with many emotions. However, I couldn't put it down! It did feel very realistic at parts. I am glad I got a chance to read it.

The story line is what originally caught my eye, it’s so intriguing! I think that overall, this book is well-written.

This book was such a lovely mix between contemporary fiction and romance. I really loved reading about the development of both Emily & Daria’s relationship alongside Hazel & Alfie’s throughout the book, and I think the pacing was really nice and kept the whole novel enjoyable. I liked the inclusion of more serious and relavant topics throughout the plot, and how they affected the characters and their relationships. This book was really fun and emotional to read!

Good debut! A bit choppy as far as the writing is concerned but the author tried hard to convey what these two sisters went through and how they continued to figure out their lives. I read it fairly quickly and although it won't be a memorable read for me, I appreciate how hard it is to put your words out there and I have no doubt Kate Brook will get better with each new book she publishes.

2.5 stars.

This book was tough to get through. I had a difficult time following the story due to the writing being a bit choppy. This felt like it was trying to be "Normal People" but... wasn't. And the epilogue.... it's just a no from me

This book took way too long to get to the point. All the things that kept the main characters apart were just annoying.

A novel that is timely and topical. It has many emotional hot points as the young characters work through a changing world. They have to learn to lean on family and friends and decide to grab the good things and let go of the bad. The author does a good job. Of working through the issues without seeming to take any particular side which is well done.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4! I read this book in one sitting, it was such a good binge read. I adored most of the characters (except Miles obviously), and it was easy to root for Hazel, Alfie, Daria, and Emily. I went into this thinking it was just going to be a quirky romance, but it was actually so much more than that. I loved reading about the dynamics between Hazel and her sister, seeing her personal development, Alfie’s adorable-ness, and seeing Emily and Daria’s growth as well.

The first 75% of this book worked really well for me, as you might gather by the fast that I read the book in one sitting. The writing style was compulsively readable, and the plot components kept me very invested in the story. UNTIL the last 25% of the book, when, in my opinion, things too a sharp turn that I don’t feel reached an appropriate resolution before the ending of the book. Giving Miles’ malicious actions more attention than Hazel and Alfie’s story just felt rather out of left field to me — and felt like something most readers wouldn’t have been prepared to read about. I think the sudden change in plot when Miles took those drastic actions was somewhat okay, but the level of resolution that was reached just really didn’t work for me. Some other reviews criticized that COVID is mentioned in the epilogue, but I actually liked the epilogue. It was sweet to see the family that was completed despite the turbulence of the pandemic.

Overall, it’s a book I’d recommend to some, but not all!

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted copy in exchange for my honest review!!

Not Exactly What I Had in Mind is an interesting book that is difficult to review. At times it was difficult to read because some of the characters were making very bad decisions and were blind to the riskiness of those decisions.

I did like that it was told from various characters’ POV. It made the story richer by getting other perspectives on what was happening.

A lot of the characters were hard to like. My favorite character, Alfie, wasn’t perfect but he was the best of the lot. He was sensitive, caring, and patient. He was the type of person who was there when his friends needed him.

After reading it, I’m not sure if I am satisfied with the conclusion. The story was left open ended and I expected that these open issues would have been wrapped up in the epilogue. But, the epilogue didn’t sort everything out either.

If you like reading books with strong characterization that discusses complex issues, this is the book for you.

This was an interesting story and not exactly what I thought it would be like, after reading the blurb about it. It's the story of flat-mates that seem to have a "thing" for each other. During a semi-drunk interlude, they succumb to their passion for one another. Things then get rather awkward as they don't know how to relate to each other in the "daylight". In my perception, due to their inability to communicate; some poor decisions are made that have disastrous consequences. Throw into this mix a sister, who is a partner in a same-sex marriage; and desperately wants to have a baby. They really don't want an anonymous donor for the baby and decide to ask her partner's brother to donate. Now, while all of this plays out there are the nuances of multiple relationships that are spokes on the wheels of the 2 main characters; Hazel & Alfie.

This story touches on the LGBTQ community, cyber bullying, life choices, victim's rights, family relationships, cancer, and finding your own voice.

I received an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. This was an interesting book. The stories of the characters seemed to go all different directions and then randomly weave back together. I didn’t love it.

Not Exactly What I Had in Mind is the perfect title for this book, while I enjoyed parts of it, it also felt like too much, too many themes that weren't fleshed out enough if there had been some more editing to make a tighter story. There were also a lot of trigger warnings that I wasn't expecting so this was a hard read for me. I liked the multiple point of views and set up of the characters, but ultimately this story fell flat for me.