I spent the weekend reading this and absolutely loved it! It was really giving me Emily Henry vibes. It took a few chapters to get into it but once I did I flew right through it! It was a fun roadtrip romance with flashbacks interspersed throughout and those flashbacks were my favorite part. They just made me feel emotional and nostalgic in a way and their whole situationship just recalled TTPD, which is all I’ve been listening to lately. I also loved Emma and how feisty and fiercely protective she was of her friends and family. A great debut and I’m excited to see what she writes next. 4.5⭐️

One of Emma’s best friends (Sybil) is extremely selfish and not likeable to me. So I was just getting more and more annoyed with her and she’s a pretty big character. I loved the story of Emma and Finn but there were a lot of unanswered questions. And the part where she sees her dad felt rushed and random.

I liked the actual romance of the book but the rest of it was just okay to me. I love Hannah brown and I’m excited if she continues writing, just hopefully we get more answers and less questions

Emma is the maid of honor at her best friend, Sybil's, wedding. Of course Sybil's other friend, Finn, is also attending the wedding. Finn is Emma's "almost" guy. The one she almost went to prom with, almost started something with during college, and almost got together with in their early 20s. After the last humiliating encounter, Emma has sworn off interacting with Finn ever again. That has worked well until 3 days before the wedding, Sybil takes off and Emma and Finn have to team up to find her. The road trip that follows will bring out all the skeletons from their past and force them to finally make a decision about the future.

I have been a fan of Hannah Brown since her time on The Bachelor and I didn't know what to expect with her first novel. I was very pleasantly surprised, The storyline was great, the characters were very well developed, and the writing was good. I really related to Emma in so many ways. I didn't love the ending, but I need to learn some lessons like Emma, which I guess is the whole point of the book. If I can learn the same lessons as Emma, I think the ending would be perfect.

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for the ARC of Mistakes We Never Made.

Rating: ★★★½

Hannah Brown’s Mistakes We Never Made offers a compelling blend of romance, self-discovery, and the bittersweet complexities of friendships. The story follows Emma, a fiercely independent and relatable protagonist, as she navigates the tumultuous waters of her past and present relationships. Brown's writing is engaging, filled with vivid descriptions and heartfelt moments that make it easy to connect with the characters.

The plot is paced well, with enough twists and turns to keep readers hooked. Brown excels in depicting the nuanced dynamics between Emma and her friends, especially the intricate relationship with her best friend, Lily. The dialogue feels authentic, and the emotional highs and lows are portrayed with a genuine touch that resonates.

However, despite its many strengths, the book does leave some questions lingering. Key plot points and character motivations are sometimes left unexplored or abruptly concluded, leaving readers wanting more depth and resolution. For instance, the backstory of Emma's strained relationship with her family is hinted at but never fully fleshed out, which could have added a richer layer to her character arc. Similarly, the resolution of the romantic subplot feels somewhat rushed, with certain conflicts brushed aside too easily.

Overall, Mistakes We Never Made is an enjoyable read with a lot of heart, capturing the essence of personal growth and the inevitable mistakes along the way. While it could benefit from more thorough exploration of some themes, it’s a touching story that many will find relatable and satisfying.

I was first interested in this book because #thebachelor but I definitely stayed for the plot! Loved it. Absolutely lived up to the hype!

I feel in love with Hannah Brown during her season of the bachelorette. Then again with all of her fun and funny videos with Tyler and Co during Covid. When I saw she wrote a romance I knew I H A D T O H A V E I T! 😍

This one follows Emma and Finn who have known each other forever year and A L M O S T became something. That couple that almost kisses, almost dates, almost everything it seemed. ie- that never the right time. #iykyk

Anyway as fate would have it they are thrown together in an epic road trip to help a mutual friend, they have a lot to work through and it’s an epic ride.

I thought this book was a pleasant surprise. I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I dove into it but as it progressed, I realized it was a fun and well-written book. Do you like the characters? Not necessarily and guess what, that isn't a prerequisite for a good book. Often the best books are those with less than likable characters because they're more interesting.

Emma and Finn had a history and it was full of "almosts" and "misunderstandings." At times it was hard to read because you did want to just shake them both and tell them to just talk to each other. They kept getting in their own way. But Emma learned how to grow and evolve from the way her family had impacted her. She had to find a peace with being left by her father - - it had chased her for her entire life and influenced how she dealt with all her relationships.

It was a good story and I really pulled for this couple to figure it out.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. I voluntarily chose to read and review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

I loved the premise of this read, it was such a fun story idea and really took you along for the ride. That being said I found most of the interactions fairly predictable and the chemistry between the characters didn’t really jump of the page to me. A good quick read if you want something fast paced and entertaining!

Are.
You.
Freaking.
Kidding me?

I’m not a fan of The Bachelor/Bachelorette shows, but I just could not resist the allure of this book. Now that I’ve finished it, I kinda wish I had resisted…

It took me 13 days to read Mistakes We Never Made, which isn’t a good sign. Yet it also didn’t turn me off enough to stop reading. And I was really starting to enjoy the book for the last 40 percent.

But then the ending absolutely enraged me. The whole book is the heroine finding her best friend who’s gone runaway bride, and getting her back so the groom doesn’t get left at the altar. Does that happen? We don’t know…all we get is “Sybil’s fateful wedding weekend had ended in a way that truly none of us had expected, and we were all still reeling from it—but that was another story.”

No, it’s NOT. It’s the point of THIS story and I am not happy I didn’t get answers to this question (or several others, for that matter).

I get that what the story was “really” supposedly about is the heroine’s growth and accepting her toxic trait of managing everyone’s lives, so YAY for her, she now has a modicum of self awareness in that area. But leaving everyone hanging is not cool. NOT cool, at all. Is she setting us up for another book? Who knows. I’m fairly certain I won’t be there for it though. Authors who leave me hanging like this rarely get a second read from me.

Edit added the day after I posted review because apparently I still have more to rant about: I didn't even touch on my frustration with the whole non-communication issue that was pervasive in this book - between just about everyone. Nothing frustrates me more than people in their late 20s STILL making the same mistakes they made when they were teenagers. HAVE YOU LEARNED NOTHING, PEOPLE??? At some point you gotta put on your big girl panties/big boy boxers and have an honest conversation. And nobody did, the whole FREAKIN book. The heroine kept running away (like literally) every time the hero needed to tell her something important, the hero...GRRRR...had apparently been in love with the heroine since they were 17 yet never worked up the nerve to tell her, multiple times - even when he was in his mid-twenties, and the "best" friend - who knew what caused things to go sideways between the hero and heroine the first time NEVER tried to help clear things up even though she knew the two had feelings for each other. SO MUCH non-communication. SO MUCH. But then again, if anyone was willing to have a freaking conversation, the book would have been about 50 pages long...

* thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review

I absolutely loved this book! I am not an avid watcher of 'The Bachelorette' but I had heard of Hannah Brown from her ICONIC season, and have seen her all over social media since. I have really enjoyed things that I have seen from her before and I find her really relatable, so I was super hopeful and excited for this book.

This book was full of references to Hannah Brown's life, and I read it just as if she were the one reading it to me - accent and all. It made it so fun to read and find little easter eggs (like references to the bachelorette). I want to shout from the rooftops just how much i loved this book and will be recommending it to everyone as the book of summer!

Way to go, Hannah Brown!
(And Emily Larrabee! She’s a collaborator? Is this a co-author or ghost writer? I wish these authors got more credit.)
Anyway - who would’ve thought after seeing Hannah on Colton’s season of the Bachelor that she would author 2 books already?! Yes, I watched her on TV - and during quarantine - and I like her. I enjoyed her first book, and it helped give her new romcom book credibility with my fave author Abby Jimenez giving a glowing review quote on the cover.
I also loved Hannah’s intro note.

This is a fun romcom book with many of the best romcom aspects at play : best friends gathered for a wedding, runaway bride, reunited with high school nemesis/sort of ex, forced proximity, road trip, second chance romance, some side family drama, undeniable chemistry, and a HEA.

Emma has gathered in Malibu with her Core Four (her, Nikki, Willow and Sybil) for Sybil’s wedding with Jamie. Finn Hughes is also at the wedding, but this former debate team partner and potential boyfriend (a few different times) is not someone Emma wants to see. When Sybil disappears Emma reluctantly partners with Finn, as Sybil’s other closest friend and since he has a car, to track her down. We get flashbacks to the past, some up and down and hot and cold interactions between the two, fun and challenging road trip adventures - including a Vegas tour and even the Grand Canyon, facing personal issues, dealing with anxiety, emotional growth, and so much more - all on a crazy adventure to the expected HEA for everyone.

I loved some nods to real life Hannah and some of her experiences - including the friend Nikki as a reality dating TV show alum who later realized the guy she wound up with cheated; Emma’s Beast (or Hulk) mode; driving past windmills; announcing to everyone about a sexual experience - and more.
I loved the shout out to the Bluebonnet Cafe in Marble Falls, TX as the best pie in the state (a personal fave of my family’s.) I wondered if this was thanks to the hometown date with Luke Pell of Burnet? I also appreciated Dallas references to Snider Plaza, Turtle Creek and Dilbeck architecture. The big focus on UT made me think it was similar to Hannah’s real family’s connection to Bama.

There’s so much to love about this story!
But it’s also a bit messy and all over the place. It jumps from past to present, hot and cold on romance, fixated on finding Sybil then seem to forget about her, several locations. This hot mess is endearing in Hannah; but I feel like she could have used more editing help to polish this up in the writing. There are some mistakes and things that don’t make sense. Some aspects go on and on, but then there are still gaps and questions left unanswered. The daddy/abandonment issues are real, but a bit overplayed and over dramatized in the storyline. The potential cheating aspect is a big no for me. The overall romantic tone is kind of bipolar with push/pull, hot/cold, open/closed off, really sweet/overly detailed spicy. There’s good connection and chemistry but really messy and frustrating.
I did really appreciate how Finn helps Emma deal with her anxiety and the exploration of mental health and growing emotionally.

Big props to Hannah for stepping out in this way to write a romcom. There are so many great elements in this story. I really liked so much of it. But it took me a long time to get through it. Just needed some polishing to smooth out some rough edges and make it flow more easily to pull the reader along on the great journey. Still an enjoyable romcom. Great for summer reading!

Mistakes We Never Made by Hannah Brown
Genre: romance
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Format: eARC

🚗Flashbacks
🚗Best friend’s wedding
🚗Runaway bride (side character, not FMC)
🚗Road trip
🚗Right guy, wrong time

This was a fun romance starting off, but as it progressed I felt it was trying to do too many things at once. The unresolved runaway bride plot line was so odd to me. She returned and we assume they got married (I think?) but we don’t get true closure with that. I’m also not a fan of cheating so Emma and Finn’s make-out turned almost hook-up when they were both seeing other people rubbed me the wrong way. Another issue I had was the timing. The middle lost steam a bit and then the ending was so rushed - why did they have to say I love you and then get engaged after only 4 months of dating? I get they’ve known each other for a while but they haven’t been true friends or had any kind of consistent relationship (romantic or not) so it felt so hasty to me!

While I have quite a few complaints, I did find Emma and Finn’s connection/chemistry to be strong, so it made for a fun romance. I liked their banter and arguments - their debate team background was perfect. I just would’ve preferred that they didn’t rush into an “I love you” moment at the end and would’ve liked the epilogue to have more time passing so a proposal made more sense! Another thing I liked was Emma’s friend group - I love strong female friendships in books! The fact that Nikki was on the book’s version of the bachelor was a fun addition since Hannah Brown was on the bachelor and bachelorette. I appreciated that this book tried to dig deeper into Emma’s perfectionist, control freak tendencies. Seeing her reunite with her dad and get some closure (even if it didn’t turn out exactly how she wanted) lead to some strong character development.

While I think there are other romances out this summer that should be higher on your TBR, this might be a fun palette cleanser if your TBR is short!

A big thank you to Forever for my eARC in exchange for my honest review. Mistakes We Never Made is out now!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.
I requested this book because I follow Hannah Brown on instagram/am a fan and I love a good rom-com. Brown's debut fiction book did not disappoint! The main plot was fairly predictable, but the banter between Finn and Emma was really enjoyable. My one complaint is that the ending was really rushed and I was left wanting to know more about how some of the side characters stories wrapped up. Overall, though, Mistakes We Never Made was a delight. 3.5 rounded up to 4.

5 stars.

This was such an amazing surprise. I loved every minute while reading this and I really hope Hannah Brown continues to write more fiction like this. I loved all the characters, main and side characters. The chemistry between Emma and Finn was so magnetic as a reader that I was rooting for them from the first chapter. I will say the "disconnect" or "miscommunication" was the only thing I wasn't a fan of but I understand that were was a lot to uncover as you continue throughout the story. If you are looking for a summer romance with a road trip, this is perfect for you.

Cute story of how sometimes love (both romantic and other) needs another chance….. and then maybe a few more too!

When I learned Alabama Hannah from The Bachelor franchise wrote a romance, I obviously was curious and had to read it. Thanks to Forever pub for hooking me up with a copy via NetGalley. While the characters were a little immature and the plot a little easy to guess, it was still an enjoyable read. Parts were funny, it was often cheesy, but still a fun romance and story of friendship. It’s also available on audio on Spotify!

This was the perfect palate cleanser, quick summer read. As a former Bachelor fan (Hannah’s season was the last I watched) I was intrigued. I think it was a great storyline and the perfect amount of spice. I LOVED Emma, Finn was meh.

Thank you Forever Books and Hannah Brown for this review copy.

Loved this book. I always enjoy a road trip book. It was funny but also dealt with serious subjects. I loved getting the backstory woven throughout the whole book. Perfect way to kick off summer reading!

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Format: Audio/E-book

4🌟 - I liked it!

Thanks @readforeverpub and @netgalley for the E-ARC!

I just had to know what a Hannah Brown romance was like, and it was cute!! There were a tonnnnn of plot holes which could get a little frustrating! Don’t expect any reasoning for the main conflict 🤪.

I liked the overall vibe of the story and couldn’t help but picture her and Tyler Cameron as the main FMC and MMC. Also probably written primarily by a ghost writer 👻, but who is to say! Overall a quick and easy poolside read.

I wasn’t sure to expect from this as I only know Hannah from The Bachelorette and other reality shows but I really loved this book. It was nostalgic of that “one that got away” love and had really fun banter. I really loved the ending and how she tied up those loose ends with her father. This really had more depth than just your typical romcom and I highly recommend