Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the digital ARC of this book in exchange for my thoughts on it.

Agnes Larkin, known as Ness, is a former teenage tv show star who has feel out of the Hollywood limelight. Her father ran off with her money and Ness had to start over in a more meager type of living.

She was asked to be in a reboot of her tv show and while hesitant, ends up on board. After their first table read full of awkward feelings and lots of side eye, they take off to a Bahamas resort. A storm strands them on an island and shenanigans begin.

Simply put, this book was quite literally not how I pictured it. I felt like it had some hope at the beginning, but it seemed to drag for most of the book. While it was an okay book, it’s definitely not one I’ll be recommending.

I recently read Not How I Pictured It by Robin Lefler and I found it to be a delightful and engaging read. The book tells the story of Agnes “Ness” Larkin, former star of the beloved TV show, Ocean Views, who finds herself stepping back into the role of Hailey Grant twenty years after the show's finale.

Ness is surprised that she's agreed to take on the role again, especially after her father/manager took off with her earnings and she ran away from the spotlight in shame. But as she reunites with her former castmates, Ness starts to wonder if it's time to confront her past.

However, things quickly become complicated when the first table read turns out to be a disaster, and Ness finds herself stuck on a tiny island with her co-stars due to a storm. The producers wanted drama both on and off-screen, and they're going to get it. Ness tries to reconcile her youthful dreams with her present reality while stranded on the island with a group of people who are not exactly survival experts.

The story is well-written and the characters are relatable, with their own quirks and flaws. I particularly enjoyed the witty dialogue and the exploration of the dynamics between the former castmates. The book also touches on themes of aging, regrets, and second chances.

Overall, I highly recommend Not How I Pictured It to anyone who enjoys a good, character-driven story with a touch of humor and drama.

This was a fun story. I loved the concept. Some of the story takes you in a wild ride. I enjoyed it though. More of an adventure story than a romance. Unique.

There were things I enjoyed about this, and it wasn't bad.

I liked:
-mature cast of characters in their 40s (MC is 42)
-lots of people dealing with their own problems and working through them
-rebuilding friendships and relationships
-a little bit of romantic angst

I didn't like:
- the plot really went off the rails...
-despite being a romance lover, this romance was unconvincing

Rating: 3.75

Not How I Pictured It: a cute book with a unique premise, but perhaps slightly lacking in terms of execution.

The Good:

- As stated, it’s a great premise. Very unique. Even if it feels a little underdeveloped in some ways, it’s still a really fun book.
- I loved Ness. She’s clearly someone who has learned from her mistakes and grown as a person. I found her to be extremely likable.
- I enjoyed the relationships between (most) of the characters.

The Meh:

- I wish some of the other characters had been better fleshed out, especially Coco. Some of them (ahem… Tyler) came across as a little cartoonish at times.
- Without spoiling anything, I have my theories about why Hayes participates in the project, but I wish it had been more explicitly stated.
- It’s often stated how unlikable Ness is but, in reality, only one person seems to have beef with her. Again, without spoiling anything, this makes the climax of the book feel a little manufactured.
- The articles and blurbs between chapters were a little cheesy and sometimes felt underwritten. I read a book last year, Business or Pleasure, that did a better job of executing these elements.

Also, I’d just like to point out that this is categorized as Romance/Women’s Lit. The romantic element is a very small part of this book. This is definitely more of a Women’s Lit/Contemporary Fiction read with an ensemble of characters. Yes, the female main character does have a romantic interest, but in no way does that relationship drive the plot of the book.

In summary: fun book, wish it had been a little better fleshed out, would happily read through Kindle Unlimited but might be a little disappointed to have paid full price for the book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this book.

Maybe I have a sub-trope I am a sucker for and that includes former child stars getting roped into reboots? But I loved this one. It was giving me The Birds of California vibes and I really enjoyed the journey Lefler took us on in this book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book was nothing like I expected. I'm sure I read about it when I requested it but I certainly didn't remember anything.

Imagine my surprise when I expected one kind of book, romance with a little comedy, and instead get a full-on adventure, survival story with a "who done it" twist thrown in.

I have to say, while it's not my favorite genre, I found this book to be funny, gripping, and totally captivating!! Certain characters were easy to hate, as they should be, and others were questionable, at best.

If you're looking for something different I'd definitely read this book. I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would.

loved this mystery and seeing the cast of a old tv show reunite. There is a mystery to be solved and finding the boat and camera in the house. loved the slight romance and that the friends were able make amends and move on with their life and have the relationships back in their life's.

Unfortunately, this book just didn’t connect with me. I didn’t love the characters very much and felt like it took a really long time to understand them. I think having the story be shorter would have helped.

At one point in this book, the events are described as ‘stranger than fiction’ and that is a highly accurate statement. Suspend reality for a bit and just enjoy the ride.

Ness Larkin is a former child/teen star who has been living in relative obscurity for decades after her dad emptied her bank accounts and abandoned her without a backwards glance. When a revival of her teen show presents an opportunity to try things out in show business again, she decides to take it. Plans immediately get off course when she and her fellow cast mates—including the ex love of her life, Hayes—end up stranded on a deserted island en route to their filming location and it becomes apparent someone can’t be trusted.

First of all, I’m glad that I had looked at a few other reviews prior to reading and had knew going in that this was more of adventure mystery with a romance-lite subplot than a full-on romance novel. The chaos that ensues on the island among the cast gets increasingly bizarre as the book progresses, but it’s all entertaining. Ness experiences a lot of personal growth and owning up to her past choices and mistakes during her time on the island. It’s not always easy for a person to admit their faults to the people they’ve hurt in the past, and Ness faces it admirably while also trying to keep things afloat while they’re all stranded. I liked her a lot. It all provided an interesting and unique setup for a second chance with Hayes. There aren’t any real deep discussions about their past or much history provided about the intensity of their former relationship, but I still felt like it was clear they had a connection.

As an escapist desert island mystery with an interesting cast of characters and a little side of romance, this was a fun read. Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Behind the scenes celebrity peeks, a mystery, weird/dark humor, reunited loves (of the romantic and BFF varieties), and an unexpected survivalist adventure that makes everyone's true self come forth, this unique book wove in pieces of my favorite kinds of stories into one fun book.

3.5 rounded up
'Not How I Pictured It' by Robin Lefler is best described Gilligan's Island meets Lord of the Flies meets any early 2000s WB teen TV. There's emnity between Ness Larkin and her former castmates, especially her ex-best friend Libby, plus a bit of a spark with former flame Hayes, now a highly successful movie star.

The pace is brisk and, at times, sharply funny in its observations. This is a book best read for the action more than feeling too invested in the characters as they were fairly stock standard self-involved actors. While it was fairly easy to guess the villain, it was still entertaining to watch the reveal, though at times I do think it got a bit too 'moustache twirly'.

All in all this was a fun read that I couldn't put down. I would caution potential readers that the publisher has incorrectly classified this as a romance and women's fiction. I would say this is more a humourous thriller.

Thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

"Not How I Pictured It" is a novel written by Robin Lefler.

I loved the premise of this book, but unfortunately the development did not convince me.

The pace is the element I appreciated most. Fast, effervescent and brisk, it allowed me to get to the end without almost realizing it.

The rest, on the other hand, failed to involve me. The main problem, for me, are the characters. I found them all extremely flat, superficial, lacking in depth. Even Ness, the protagonist with her only third person pov, seemed poorly analyzed to me, and this prevented me from becoming passionate about her events. In general, the only feeling they all conveyed to me was great annoyance! Seriously, they have contemptuous, despicable and mean attitudes that really irritated me. Even the romance component, definitely marginal to the story, left me completely indifferent.

All in all, "Not How I Pictured It" is a novel with an excellent premise, which unfortunately did not convince me in its development .

Thank you to the Publisher and NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is the weirdest non-romance marketed as a romance I have ever read. Take 'Flight-29 Down' and mash it with Agatha Christie's 'And Then There Were None,' and you get this book. Beware of snakes, rats, illness, and an addiction plot line.