Ali Harris is a fab author.
This was such a good book. Packed full of emotions.

Thanks for the opportunity to read and review it.

This Wasn’t Meant to Happen is an emotional and beautifully written story about love, loss, and finding your way through unimaginable grief.

Sofie, a risk-averse woman who plans her life by numbers, is forced to face the one thing she could never prepare for—the stillbirth of her baby. What follows is a raw, honest journey through grief, love, and the strain it places on her marriage.

Ali Harris writes from personal experience, and it shows. The emotions feel real, the characters flawed but deeply human, and the story stays with you long after finishing. It’s heartbreaking, but also full of quiet hope and strength.

Way out of my comfort read for me, a heartbreaking sad read it was although beautifully written.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins OMC for this ARC.

A wonderful emotive read. Sofie and Rory are mourning the still birth of their son, Leo. Brilliantly written by an author who has been through the loss of a baby. Displaying grief, love and changes to their relationship. I feel every student midwife should read the book to gain an insight into how such a tragic loss affects the parents , family, friends and work colleagues. Although very upsetting to read, I could not put the book down, to see how Sofie and Rory's story ended.

I received a free copy of, This Wasn't Meant to Happen, by Ali Harris, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Sofie Jensen was so looking forward to having and raising her precious baby boy, but that did not happen. This book made me cry, the loss of a child no matter what age is wrong, its one of the strongest hurts in the world. I enjoyed reading this book, it was a really good read.

This was an absolutely heartbreakingly, beautiful story that is impossible to put down. A truly difficult subject handled so well, this is an absolute must read for me! .
Well done with this book and I hope it reduces some of the stigma of talking about baby loss.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review.
A sad but often uplifting book on love and loss . The story is told from a personal experience that is absolutely heartbreaking at times.
Quoted from the book “you never get over the loss of a baby but you get through it” .
5 stars

I managed to reach chapter 34 before I had to give up. The detail and horror of this experience is just beyond what I could accept and still remain sane. So I am sorry to say it has been an extremely painful book to try and read.

An extremely well written book about a difficult subject. Written using the author's personal experience of stillbirth but also touching on other issues of loss. An excellent heart-rending read.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy. All opinions are my own.

This was a beautiful and heart wrenching read. Ali Harris handles such a sensitive topic with the utmost care and consideration
I haven't read anything from this author before but will definitely be looking out for more from her in the future

What an emotional read this was. A difficult subject but beautifully written. This is a book to be read with a box of tissues on hand.
Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in return for an honest review

This was a deeply emotional and inspiring book. Sofie, an actuary, doesn’t like risks. She doesn’t take them. She meets Rory who pushes her just a little for the “lucky” things in life.

Sofie never wanted children but finds herself pregnant. As her pregnancy progresses, she becomes attached to her baby in a way she didn’t expect. But sadly, her baby was still born.

The story that follows was very sad but also so touching. We see Sofie navigate thjngs that so many women have to deal with after a loss. She lost herself for a while but we saw Sofie find herself again.

I thought the relationships with the supporting characters were great. Ali Harris pulled from her own personal experience to write this book and you could feel the raw pain throughout. It was a beautiful way to share her story.

Thank you Net Galley, Ali Harris & Harper Collins for an eARC of this book!

This book was so emotional and heartbreaking.

Sophie faced the most devastating loss. Grief is such a personal experience and everyone navigates it in their own way and this was explored in an emphatic and realistic way.

Losing a baby must be one of the most painful experiences and I hadn’t realised how common it was until reading this book. The writing is beautiful, raw and honest and I feel will help others affected (and their friends and family ) by such a painful loss.

This story will require a box or two of tissues close at hand. It’s full of emotions, courage, bravery , heartache and hope.

Oh wow, what an incredibly emotional read. This is a book that so many people will be able to relate too. Just make sure you have tissues!

This book completely wrecked me. I spent most of my time reading it through tears. It’s so emotional and impactful.

I know this book will stay with me for a long time. Huge thanks to Ali Harris, the publishing team, and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read it.

Wow. This book will steal a little piece of your heart and stay with you long after you finish it. It’s heartbreaking and, at times, almost too hard to read, but it’s also a story full of hope, love, and the quiet strength that comes with surviving unimaginable grief.

I’ll admit, I thought this was going to be too sad for me, and yes, it is sad, but Ali Harris manages to weave so much hope into Sofie’s journey. Grief is messy, complicated, and deeply personal, and this book portrays that perfectly. No two people grieve the same way, and Sofie’s journey felt so real and raw; it was not polished or contrived, but deeply human.

The line that hit me hardest was: “Tell me, what do you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” It’s such a simple reminder of how easy it is to play it safe, to stay in the comfort zone instead of risking everything for true happiness. Sofie is the ultimate risk averse character. She calculates life by numbers, clings to routine, and defines herself by her job. But when her life is shattered by loss, she’s forced to reevaluate everything.

Her love for Leo, the baby she never got to bring home, broke me. The other line I loved was: "Stillborn, but still loved." That hit so hard. The way she shut herself off from Rory and her friends, the way she tried to carry her grief alone, felt so painfully real. But what made this book so special was Sofie’s gradual transformation; from realizing Leo would always be a part of her, to embracing life again, taking risks, and learning that she is strong enough to keep living, even after her heart was shattered.

Ali Harris drew from her own personal experience, and you can feel that honesty on every page. The writing is beautiful, the emotions are raw, and the character growth (not just for Sofie, but for everyone around her) was inspiring. I loved seeing themes of second chances, forgiveness, and love woven through such a heartbreaking story.

Yes, you will need tissues, but by the end, your heart will feel full. It’s emotional, devastating, and yet incredibly hopeful. I hadn’t read anything by Ali Harris before this, but I’ll definitely be reading more because her writing is stunning, and she handled such a sensitive topic with so much care and compassion.

Highly recommend, but be prepared because it’s an emotional rollercoaster, and it will stay with you.

Thank you to NetGalley, Ali Harris, and One More Chapter for the eARC of this book.

This book will steal a little piece of your heart. Heartbreaking and quite hard to read in places. This is a story of hope and surviving the hardest grief. I was gripped in the emotions of this book.

I thought this would be too sad to read and it was sad, but I felt like it was hopeful at the same time. Grief is hard? Everyone grieve differently and the book did a really great job of taking readers on various journeys in a way that felt real and not contrived.

Tell me, what do you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? This line really resonated with me as myself included, often take life for granted and because of that, do not take risks that could create happiness far beyond what I could have imagined. Sofie was completely risk adverse and therefore, believed that her job was her extension of her. She calculated risks on a daily basis and used such numbers to dictate what she chose to do. Nothing deviated from the norm and how she wanted her and Rory's life to be. When she found herself unexpectedly pregnant, she immediately felt fearful as to what could occur. What happened to her with respect to Leo was a sadness that without a loss of a child, could not be imagined. She wanted Leo. As a result, she buried herself in grief and shut out those including Rory and Nishsa as she felt like no one could truly understand how she felt. However, she began to realize that both physically and emotionally, Leo would always be a part of her. She is a mother. She chose to live and whether it be working with her Mom and Midge at Per's cafe, swimming in the sea, or presenting a new idea at work that would set the company apart, that she is extremely strong and worthy of happiness and love. She knew she could do this. I found the book to be heartfelt and inspiring. A wonderful read.

I hadn't read anything by this author before but after reading 'This Wasn't Meant To Happen', I will definitely be reading more by them. The author's writing is beautiful and even though there were some sensitive subjects they were handled with care. I can't recommend this book enough. I look forward to reading more by the author.