Critic Reviews
Good
Based on 3 reviews on
Hazel and Alfie have just moved in together as roommates. They've also just slept together, which was either a catastrophic mistake or the best decision of their lives--they aren't quite sure yet. Whatever happens, they need to find a way to keep living together without too much drama or awkwardness, since neither of them can afford to move out of the apartment.
Then Hazel's sister, Emily, and her wife, Daria, come for a visit, and Hazel's and Alfie's feelings about each other are pushed to the side in the whirlwind of their arrival. Recently returned from abroad, Emily and Daria are excited for a new life in a new town, and ready to start a family of their own.
As the lives of Hazel, Alfie, Emily, and Daria collide, a complicated chain of events begins to bind them all together, bringing joy and heartache, hope and anxiety, and reshaping their relationships in ways that no one quite predicted. Warm, clever, and devastatingly relatable, Not Exactly What I Had in Mind is by turns funny, heartbreaking, and a painfully true-to-life story about family, friends, and everything in between.
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'Fresh, funny and thought-provoking' @SophieCous Warm, witty, and devastatingly relatable, Not Exactly What I Had in Mind is a painfully true-to-life story about family, friends, and everything in between. 🍷 Out now 🍷 https://t.co/c3VBdCQfAM @katebrook1 https://t.co/vTIkuWHaeP
#bookworm #bookreviewer, #bookblogger, #crimefiction NetGalley & Edelweiss reviewer; Goodreads #librarian Retired public library cataloger - more time to read!
Not Exactly What I Had In Mind by Kate Brook #BookReview https://t.co/NkQFN0gY2E via @lauranazmdeh
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"Exciting, terrifying, an enormous privilege – and surprisingly exhausting!" is how NOT EXACTLY WHAT I HAD IN MIND author @katebrook1 describes the publishing process to Chick Lit Central. Check out her interview here: https://bit.ly/3I4DFMk
"Brook's enjoyable debut tackles the messiness of love and family... Heartfelt and entertaining." ―Publishers Weekly
"A charming peek inside the messy world of modern dating, blending hard-hitting realities with frivolous fun. Fans of Jamie Brenner and Hannah McKinnon will appreciate Brook's celebration of the chosen family of roommates, coworkers, and friends who provide steady footing in an unstable world." ―Booklist
"Brook's ability to balance humor with explorations of heartbreak, anxiety, and betrayal is admirable....an entertaining tale from start to finish, with characters you'll miss right after finishing the epilogue."―Kirkus
"A clever and insightful take on what love and family mean in the twenty-first century." ―Nicola Gill, author of We Are Family and The Neighbors
"Captures the intricacies of modern relationships with undeniable skill, heaps of humour and a style that fans of Sally Rooney will love. Captivating and addictively complex, this novel is full of an unshakable tension that is a delight to get entangled in." ―Ashley Hickson-Lovence, author of Your Show