I really wanted to like this but it’s a huge disservice to list this originally as a romance when it is clearly women’s fiction. They’ve since changed it. I’m sure those who enjoy women’s fiction will like this story. But for a romance reader to get to an ending like that - I’m so disappointed.

I just finished Never Saw You Coming by Hayley Doyle and I loved it.

Jim & Zara are two completely different people on two completely different paths in life. When they bump (literally) into each other their lives become entwined for a short amount of time that changes everything.

This book had so many little twists and turns I didn't expect - it was a hell of a ride! Amazing, 4* from me, well written, well paced, great story and great characters - all of them!

I would love a book 2 of this as I feel like I could follow these characters forever!

This book made me smile and gave me the 'feel good factor'. This is a love story with a twist. It explores many different relationships between family and friends. You need to enjoy the ride....I did!

An engaging nearly-romance.

I'm not quite sure how to categorise this book. I wouldn't call it an out and out romance, and the character Jim is a big enough presence that it's not women's fic/chick-lit. Commercial fiction generally - hmm, not sure it has the weight. Okay, that aside, what's it about?

Dubai-resident Zara travels to Liverpool to see the man she loves (and has been in a virtual relationship with for months), only to find that the life she envisaged doesn't even exist.

Scouser Jim is living in a rut, working in a toll booth and generally down on his luck. Briefly, that changes when he wins a flashy car on the radio - until someone called Zara smashes into him.

They change the course of each other's life. At first they're immensely wound up by one another, but Zara needs help getting to the airport and Jim, busy life aside, is a good sort who wants to help. Or at least feels obliged to assist.

Hijinks ensue.

This is a tale of getting to know each other and working out what you really want in life. There's no falling in love in chapter two and then figuring out their internal conflicts. Instead they battle their conflict as they're getting to know each other, figuring out if they mean anything to each other, and what, if anything, they should do with that. Depending on your expectations, it could be a little frustrating.

But the characters are well-drawn which helps you enjoy their journey. I'm from Merseyside and so familiar with Liverpool and I enjoyed Jim traipsing around the city. Made me feel at home!

This was a nice easy read modern romance book, which I enjoyed. I could picture the main characters Zara and Jim in my minds eye quite clearly from the beginning of the story. I wished the story would move on a little quicker, but overall I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who wants something light hearted to read.

A story told from two perspectives with two entirely different people. Zara is a butterfly – flitting from one place to another and currently moving from Dubai to Liverpool to surprise her ‘long-term internet boyfriend’ for his birthday. Jim is born and bred in Liverpool, never left and even with his degree is stagnant and working at the toll booths and living above a chip shop. The only one of his parents three children to stay nearby, he watches out for his mother, spends time with his friends, works and reads. Always with a book to hand. Both are searching for something: Jim to make life easier for his mother, hoping to get her to America to meet her grandchildren and spend time with her daughters. Zara is looking for love. A series of bad choices, a tendency to overthink, and being shuffled from place to place since childhood left her rootless and feeling invisible. Dubai and the Ex-Pat community is great for a party, but she’s got no real, solid friendships or ties. Believing that Nick in Liverpool was her “one” she packs everything, arranges to buy a little car on landing at Heathrow, and heads off.

This was an interesting tale as we get to know both Jim and Zara through their own retelling of their concerns, histories, and the point where their lives collide, literally and they are thrown together for a journey of a few days, many miles and plenty of time to talk, think and perhaps even form a connection. Both are desperately seeking something: with world-views and perspectives that are miles apart, they couldn’t be more different: but there’s something in Jim that settles Zara: she feels cared about, if not always comfortably. And Jim’s natural go-to is pessimism: not expecting much and therefore not seeking it. Together the two find revelations about themselves that were always there, but unseen, and until circumstances tear them apart, a connection that both will think on for a while.

Forcing yourself out of your comfort zone and pushing beyond the fears and insecurities is the upshot of the story: with Zara returning to Liverpool to find Jim whilst Jim has (with much pressure from friends) headed to Dubai to find her brings the story to an unexpected twist, not the ‘happily ever after’ that Zara sought from day one, and not quite the ‘stagnant and same old” life that Jim knew – providing opportunity for more and left to the reader’s imagination. One moment, a chance circumstance and a few hours of together managed to change two lives in ways unexpected – and made for an intriguing read that had you empathizing with the characters, cheering them on and wanting them to find “it all”. A very promising start for a new author – sure to bring many loyal readers to her corner.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=” https://wp.me/p3OmRo-aER/”> <a> I am, Indeed </a>

✨Never Saw You Coming by Hayley Doyle✨

I had no idea what to expect from this book. My thoughts going into it was that it was just going to be a nice generic romcom but it definitely wasn’t generic. It really took me by surprise with how much I enjoyed it and where the story went too.

Here is a little bit from the blurb...
✨”Zara Khoury believes in love – so much so that she flies from Dubai to Liverpool to be with a man she barely knows. It’s a risk, but she’s certain that uprooting her life for Nick is the new start she needs.
Jim Glover is stuck. Since his Dad died, he’s put his dreams aside and stayed at home in Liverpool to care for his mum. Trapped in a dead-end job, he’s going nowhere – that is, until he gets a phone call that just might change his life.. Zara and Jim aren’t supposed to meet. But then fate steps in, and when their worlds – and cars! – collide, the real journey begins…”✨ I really, really felt connected to these characters, especially Jim. Anyone from Liverpool real or fictional I’m always all in for anyway but Jim was just a really fantastic character.

If you read my review yesterday of the movie I posted about, you’ll have saw that I said my favourite stories are ones that involve two people walking around a city, well this is two people driving around a city. Same idea and works just as good.
I felt this was a lot different to other romcom type books i read and to be honest I can’t put my finger on why but I think it was probably to with it feeling realistic. The author Hayley does such a great job at painting two characters in a way that makes me feel like they are real, their decisions feel authentic to what would happen in real life and the scenario, as strange as it may seem at first, feels like it could, given the right circumstances happen in real life too.

I have A LOT of thoughts about the ending, so I need y’all to read it so I can then discuss it without giving spoilers 😂

This really is a great book and I got so invested in it, I think it’s going to be one that really connects with people this year too!

It’s out on April 2nd and it’s only 99p on kindle preorder right now ✨
Advanced copy from NetGalley

A light hearted fun read. Jim wins a car and Zara comes to Blighty to be with Nick and turns out not to be the person she thought. Set in Liverpool, this is a good read. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me review this book.

Thank you to Avon Books UK and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to like this book. The premise was good, the characters were well-drawn - although I found myself intensely disliking Zara at various points throughout - but it was just too slow and too long for what it was. I think my problem stemmed from the fact that I liked the two main characters more as individuals than as a potential couple. I did like the ending, which was a pleasant surprise, but felt the story could have been told in a lot less time/pages.

My favourite type of story is a love story and this is certainly that when Zara travels all the way to Liverpool from Dubai which is a long way to go to meet what you think is the love of your life. But all is not what it seems with Nick. A chance meeting with Jim however is dramatic and to watch their friendship blossom through the chapters of this book has been such a pleasure. It’s definitely not a smooth journey for both Zara and Jim as they are polar opposites but what do they say about opposites attracting!?

I loved how the story was told by both Zara and Jim and the alternating chapters between these characters are lovely. It has been hilarious to meet Jim’s mates who only have his best interests at heart. They are there for him when he needs them. The same though can’t be said for Zara where she doesn’t feel like she belongs anywhere.

What a great debut by an author which I’m going to keep my eye on for Hayley’s future work. Her writing is so easy to get lost in from the very first page. ‘Never Saw You Coming’ is a story about friendship and about never giving up on what you want in life ❤️ I give ‘Never Saw You Coming’ 4*/5* 😊

Thank you to Avon for an advanced copy of this book via Netgalley.

This book was not what I expected! Jim and Zara meet and embark on an adventure together. There were some cute, funny, laugh out loud moments Eventually though the story takes an unexpected turn. I love books set in England which was a plus for this book. I feel though that Jim and Zara’s story was not complete! Their relationship never really developed (or maybe it never developed the way I had hoped it would). Overall despite some shortcomings the writing was excellent and I look forward to the author’s next book.

Never Saw You Coming is the story of Jim and Zara whose lives collide one morning. Two unhappy people from very different worlds whose chance encounter will turn their lives around.

I struggled with this book at the beginning, but it picked up and finished well. Overall OK.

This is not a typical romance book, it is so much better! At times, it it laugh out loud funny and at others wanting to scream at missed opportunities. I love the normality of Jim, that he’s not a multimillionaire or running a successful business. He is realistic and relatable, an underdog.

Hayley Doyle is, what can only be described as, a genius writer. She keeps you hanging on a thread between wanting it to end and never wanting it to finish.

The only disappointment I have is that a sequel isn’t out yet, but I suppose she does need to be given a chance to write it! I don’t think Jim and Zara’s story is finished just yet.

This rom com was ok. The first half I was just hanging in there as the Britishness of it was a little hard to get a handle on (it has lots of slang that I had to work out). It did pick up in the second half and I especially liked that when the author could have put the main couple together, she didn't take the easy way out. It has a good 'meet cute' and I liked how assuming things about the other person kept them in limbo. Some of their situations just stressed me out too much for a lighter rom com.

I did not finish this book. I wanted to like Zara and Jim but just never felt a connection to them or the story at all. I wanted to root for them. I wanted to be deeply absorbed into the story, but it never got there for me. I really don't feel good about not finishing netGalley gifted books, but this one just wasn't for me. Thank you for letting me try!

3.5/5

Zara Khoury is unsure about most things in her life. But one thing she is sure of, is how strong her relationship with Nick is. Sure, their relationship developed online, but that doesn't mean that she doesn't know everything there is to know about him! So Zara decides to make his dreams of 'wishing she was with him' reality, and she hops on a plane, taking everything she owns with her, including their iconic mop, all the way from Dubai to London.
Moving is easy for Zara. She has moved enough in her life that she is unsure which country she can call "home", and the villa in Dubai where she lives with her father, his wife and her half-brother certainly isn't home.
The plan is easy, buy a car from London and drive to Liverpool. That way she can be free to move around when she gets to Liverpool.

Jim, on the other side of the world has been in Liverpool all his life. Upon his father's death, years ago, he decided to set his plans aside to take care of his mum. Now, years later, he is stuck in a dead-end job, working in a toll booth.
Unexpectedly, he is surprised by a call from a Radio Station notifying him that he won a brand new BMW, worth 50 thousand pound. Suddenly, Jim feels like the world may have meaning after all! He could sell the car, and take his mum to see his sisters and her grandchildren in Florida. He could finally quit his job and finally find something he likes!

But the world has something in store for Jim. On the way to sell the car, a devastated Zara crashes into him, destroying half of the car, and with it, Jim's dreams.

In Never Saw you Coming, Zara is the perfect embodiment of the hopeless romantic (Yes, I guarantee that we all have at least one Zara in our lives) who is waiting for the right Mr. Perfect to sweep her off her feet. I personally know many young women who, like Zara, refuse to see what is right in front of them because they so desperately want it to be their turn to get married, with hundreds of likes on their picture-perfect proposal picture on Instagram. And of course, finding Mr. Right = finding eternal happiness right? Zara definitely thinks so.

Never Saw you Coming is the journey of finding ones self. Perfect for Sophie Kensella readers.

*I received this ARC from the publisher in return for an honest review*

This was a cute story of Zara from Dubai and Jim from Liverpool and how they literally run into each other and their love story that follows. To be honest, whilst it was a sweet lighthearted read, I found it quite hard work and not as enjoyable as I hoped.

A lovely book. The story of Zara, who travels from Dubai to England to be with her boyfriend. Once here she buys a car and goes to surprise him, only to find he’s not there, or is he! Then she plans to go back, books a room for the night and the next day, whilst driving crashes her car into Jim( who works at a toll road pay cabin - who won a new BMW) car and has had a bad night.
From there follows a series of incidents for Zara and Jim. Zara wants to go back to Dubai after a run in with her boyfriends wife. But it’s not all smooth sailing. A lot of twists and turns follow. Loved last half where they miss each(read to find out how). Recommend it.

A story that has promised many moments of falling in love and the growing part of a relationship as it’s added in the romance genre but, somehow, for me, it didn’t feel at all romance. Yes, there are moments where you get to cheer for both of them as they try to get a hold of their life.
The writing was great and the story overall was very promising in my opinion but it missed several points to be a true romance novel.



Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my review copy.

I just couldn't get into this story at all unfortunately. Zara the main character who leaves Dubai to be with her 'love' who lives in Liverpool. The way she went about this and what she did/didn't do I don't believe that anyone in real life would do that? I just didn't 'buy it' as it were.

The other characters were not engaging enough for me, I appreciate that the author has taken ordinary people with ordinary lives as the focus but maybe I want a bit more escapism in my stories. For other readers they may really enjoy this. This is only my personal opinion.

I did read onto the ending as I like to finish these stories from NetGalley. The ending was quite sweet, just all a bit too ordinary for me.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this advanced copy in exchange for a honest review