Two lifelong rivals set out on a coastal road trip to find their friend and runaway bride before the upcoming nuptials. Emma and Finn, two former high schools debate teammates and almost lovers are stuck travelling the west coast together in an effort to save their friend’s marriage. The two former friends must set aside their shared mistakes, but being so close together stirs up past heartbreak and also brings to light potential romantic feelings. This debut romance novel by Bachelorette star and New York Times bestselling author, Hannah Brown is one you’ll want to add to your summer reading.

DNF @ 14% The pacing and writing style were just not great for me. I couldn’t really connect with any of the characters.

Thank you SO much to Forever Books for the ARC!

I love Hannah Brown and even read her non-fiction book and loved it, but am sad that this one was really hard for me to enjoy. The writing itself was hard for me as well and I'm curious how much was written by Hannah vs the other author that was credited as well.

It just seemed too immature and unlike Hannah in my opinion.

I hope this will be a huge success for her even though it wasn't for me!

Hannah Brown was one of my favorite bachelorettes so when I saw that she wrote a book, I had to pick it up! I enjoyed the story very much and was invested in the characters! I love the settings this took place in and this felt like a true beach read to me. I can't wait to pick up a physical copy!

I loved Hannah Browns season of The Bachelorette and her personality is so fun so I knew I had to grab this book. 😊 I loved the mystery, I loved the right-person-wrong-time trope, the characters were easy to like and I had a good time.

Hannah Brown steps into the world of contemporary romance with this fun and adventurous new read that will take you through the past and present and make you fall helplessly in love.

Emma will do anything for her friends, and as Maid of Honor in her best friend’s upcoming wedding, she will do whatever it takes to give her the best day possible. But when the bride suddenly runs away, Emma must rely on the one person who gets under her skin the most and seems to never leave her brewing, conflicting emotions at peace—her almost everything, Finn—to help her find her friend and put the pieces of this misunderstanding back together for a picture perfect wedding.

I adore Hannah Brown and was so excited to read a romance from her! It had charm, wit, an element of fun, and humor that just hooked me. It also had a good blend of banter, chemistry, and cute dynamics to create a lighthearted rom-com to be swept away in.

3.5/5

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.*

This was a three and a half star read for me throughout the first half but I’m bumping it up to four stars. The last half of the book is what solidified it as a four star read.

The first half of the novel had more flashbacks than anything else, making it nearly impossible for me to connect with the story and characters. Every conversation or new scene flashed Emma (female main character) back to high school or college. I’m assuming flashbacks were used to provide background information about her relationship with Finn (male main character) but squeezing them all into the first half of the book took away from what was supposed to be the current timeline of the book - Emma and Finn taking off to find fleeing bride, Sybl. If you put together all of the “current” timeline events together, they may have equaled somewhere around 15 pages?

The most touching part of the novel was Emma reaching out to her dad. I felt the most connected with Emma during that section but I had to wait about 20 chapters to get there. This is when the story truly started to become heartfelt and touching, bumping up the original three stars.

This book is available now so run to get a copy to check out!

I wanted to love this book, but it just wasn't a hit for me. I experienced a rollercoaster of engagement and interest in the story. While there were portions that had me excited or swoony, I felt like some of the writing wasn't quite my style, and the tropes got to me in this one.

I was a fan of Hannah’s on The Bachelorette, so I was intrigued when I saw she wrote a novel. I wasn’t sure what to expect about her writing skills though, so I’ll admit I went in with pretty minimal expectations. (Sorry, Hannah!) I was pleasantly surprised, however, with how much I enjoyed this book!

I won’t say this was anything earth-shattering, but it was a solid romance and a fun beachy summery read. I really did care for both main characters and was rooting for them. I liked the way the story alternated between a current timeline taking place over just a few days and flashbacks of the past years of their relationship. I also found the writing humorous and heartfelt. I also loved the little Easter eggs to Hannah’s time on The Bachelor series. ☺️

If you’re looking for a breezy and fun romance to binge this summer, I’d definitely recommend picking this one up!

Mistakes We Never Made was a very fun, very trope debut rom com. This will make a great beach read, plane read, vacation read.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when learning that Bachelorette Hannah Brown wrote a fiction novel but I was left pretty impressed! I hope she’ll write another, perhaps even with the same characters.

I loved the settings in the book & the road trip element was so fun! It had me wanting to travel the PCH & throw on a bathing suit asap. I like the second chance romance trope & the childhood friends to lovers tropes so that was enjoyable! The dual timelines kept things interesting, too, and I think I favored the one of them as kids.

I will say I hate the miscommunication trope, which was a big part of this book, so that was a detractor. Let’s be adults, people. Also, the inability to actually find Sybil, despite it being 2024 and Finn & Emma tracking her phone, annoyed me. There was another trope that gave me the ick but I’ll keep this review spoiler free.

It’s definitely worth the read & again, super impressed with Hannah and this debut novel!

*Title: Mistakes We Never Made

*Release date: 5/7/24 read: 5/7/24

*Author: Hannah Brown-debut author

*Format: e-ARC, 329 kindle

🙏🏾 Thanks to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for this ARC🧡 ! I voluntarily give an honest review and all opinions expressed are my own.

*Setting: Malibu, CA

*Genre: Contemporary romance, Women's Fic, Rom-Com

*Tropes: friendship, 2nd chance romance, enemies to lovers, beach read, road trip, forced proximity

*Synopsis: Emma and "the core four" get together for a wedding which brings back old hurts. Finn and Emma have danced around each other for years of "will they, won't they." When Sybil- the bride to be- goes rogue 2 days before her wedding, Emma and Finn go on a mission to find her. While on the Vegas road trip, they rediscover what they liked about each other and attempt something real.

*🎭Characters
*Emma Townsend- 28, main h, angry at father leaving when she was in 2nd grade
*Finn Hughes-main H
*Sybil Rain-the runaway bride, 2 failed engagements already
*Nikki, Willow-Emma's BFFs and part of the "core four"
*Jaime-the groom to be

*Review : This was a cute rom-com and definitely a good beach read. I had my reservations because I hate reality tv. I didn't know the author had been on a few shows either. I was pleasantly surprised that I got the feels about "the core four" and the one who got away. My person died before we could get another chance, so I'm glad Emma and Finn reconciled.

*Rating: 4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book! I liked the book, I liked the author, but the cheating trope is just not for me. So that really effected my rating on this book!

I am a HUGE fan of the Bachelor franchise and I absolutely loved Hannah's season. She is so likable and charismatic. I really enjoyed Brown's first book and was so excited to be approved for "Mistakes We Never Made". Unfortunately, I was underwhelmed by this novel. I didn't feel particularly attached to any of the characters and I just felt like I was wanting more.

I really enjoyed this debut novel from Hannah Brown. First off, I loved the setting and the cover is stunning. The characters were very likeable and the decade-long friendships between them all was so heartfelt. I loved how the author switched between past and present and how it really tied the whole story together. That being said, I did feel a sense of “whiplash” at times and frustration towards both Finn and Emma. This book gives romcom vibes with more serious issues sprinkled within and is the perfect addition to anyone’s summer TBR. I look forward to reading more from Hannah Brown!

The fiction debut from Bachelor Nation star Hannah Brown was a decent second chance, roadtrip romance. Good on audio, this story was full of flashbacks, missed connections/wrong time, right person, high school sweethearts kind of love that sees Finn and Emma joining up to help track down their runaway bride best friend right before her wedding.

I thought the mental health (anxiety rep) was well done and the side story about Emma's trauma from her parents' divorce and her dad's subsequent abandonment was treated sensitively. There were some great steamy scenes between the leads but I didn't love that there was a lot of borderline cheating - likely not to be a favorite part for many readers.

Overall this was a solid romance debut from a celeb turned writer and I would read more of what she writes in the future but this isn't going to be a favorite book of the year for me. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

I know nothing of Hannah Brown so I picked this up on the description alone. Overall, this was a fast, overall enjoyable read. There is a lot of chaos, a lot of pop culture references, and plenty of over-the-top antics and unrealistic moments. Upon reflection, perhaps Brown's life experiences have been quite outside of the norm (eg being a contestant on multiple reality shows, etc) that these over the top moments fit into her lifestyle, but not the typical readers. I enjoy a book that I can relate to more, and in this case I found very little I could relate to. There is a lot that is tried to fit in, with Emma's family dynamics, friendships, personal growth, etc. I just think maybe it was all too much for one story. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to provide my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC first and foremost, I nearly forgot to leave a review for this book because it wasn't memorable to me until I saw PUB DAY was inching closer on r/thebachelor.

Not a bad book by any means, I liked the writing style. But if you know ANYTHING about Hannah Brown's Bachelor(ette) history.. lol. In my head, to meeeeeeeee the love interest was if her runner-up and 3rd place had a baby. You cannot convince me otherwise. Very fun stuff.. it feeds the "what could've been" delusion. Side note: can't stand certain tropes authors put into second chance romances (if you know, you know).

This book was so great! I love an enemy to lovers with great banter!!! I loved the runaway bride and road trip! The MMC was my favorite because he showed the FMC such grace and lifted her up when she needed it.

This just did not do it for me, and I just found myself not drawn to the stories nor the characters. I tried my best to work through it, but once I got to 27% I decided to DNF. I didn't feel connected to the characters or the setting, and it felt a bit like other romances I've read. The flashbacks/time jumps didn't heighten the story.