Right so overall this book was a fairly enjoyable read, the characters were easy to like.. minus the obvious exception (sure you can decipher that when you read it)
The storyline was also pretty good although I did feel it went a bit awol at times as the author seemed to try to cover as many.topics as possible.
There was some humour and the characters were quite Witty which helped the story along.
However... WTF was that epilogue... not once in the whole story was the pandemic mentioned... then bam... it was pandemic R Us which for me completely ruined it! This book up until that point deserved an easy 4 stars but the ending took one away! I think the whole pandemic thing just wasn't needed and would have been better without.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book.

No quoting/joking of the book title in this review.

I found some characteristics of some characters (that is a terrible sentence I do apologise, I've just stayed up til half 3 in the morning reading this book) a bit insufferable at times, however on the whole I enjoyed this book.

It dealt with a lot, and felt very contemporary.

Unlike other reviewers I didn't mind the epilogue, it's the first book I've read mentioning it so that could be why.

I couldn't stop reading the last third of the book, hence the staying up til half 3.

I'd re-read this book and that's why I've scored it as such.

I read this is one day, it was very easy going and the characters were really relatable to us millennials/gen Z readers navigating the dating world in this day and age. This book explores modern relationships and family dynamics that are outside of the outdated ‘nuclear family’ ideals. Alfie and Hazel are flatmates, that slept together and blurred the lines of their friendship - I enjoyed finding out where their relationship was heading, whether they had feelings there or whether it was just a one off spur of the moment event. Hazels sister and her wife visit a lot, to the point where they form a friendship with the amiable and charismatic Alfie who now gets included in their family dinners and games nights. He agrees to be a sperm doner for them so they can have a baby, and although Hazel is now dating no-good Miles this causes a lot of conflicting feelings for her. I enjoyed the way each characters issues were slowly revealed and we learned there was more depth to them than we first thought and wanted to find out how things would conclude. This was an enjoyable read!

I chose this book in the spirit of adventure of reading a different genre .I usually read thrillers ,sci fi or urban fantasy, so this was well out of my comfort zone. I quite enjoyed it, the characters were well written, and there seemed to be lots going on. For a trip into the unknown for me it was fine, not going to switch from my usual genres but not a bad read at all.

Alfie has just moved in with Hazel and Tony all as flatmates. One night Hazel sleeps with Alfie and Alfie is smitten, but keeps this to himself. Hazel really likes Alfie too, but also doesn’t admit it. When Alfie agrees to be a sperm donor for Hazel’s sister Emily and her wife Daria it brings huge implications for any relationship Alfie and Hazel might have. The characters in this book are realistic but both Hazel and Alfie have huge communication problems which affects their relationship from the start. They both have issues that need to be resolved and when Hazel meets Miles and starts dating him, it is clear she is a poor judge of character. Everyone can immediately see he is a poor choice, except Hazel. This is a sort of love story with a difference, with a number of complications barring the way to a positive outcome. I enjoyed reading this book and wanted to know whether there would be a happy ending. Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me an ARC of this book.

A slow burner that eventually proved that it was worth the perseverance. Flatmates, Friendship, Family, Fertility, Fickle Fraudulent Fella; this book has it all...and I really appreciated that the ending wasn't predictable wishy washy twaddle!

The slow introduction of the relationships really does pay off when the reader realises just how much they have invested in the characters... Lots of reviews will detail the gist of the book without any spoilers; I think it's great to enter this narration with no expectation and settle back and let everything unfold around you.

Thank you NetGalley.

Although this was a really easy read, it has some good characters in it and the storyline is pretty typical of romcom. However for some reason I didn't really gel with this book or the characters. Sorry.

Thanks so much for my earc of this book. I wanted to love this but something didn’t quite connect. I’m not even sure I can put my finger on it because it wasn’t one big thing. The dialogue felt a little stiff, the characters weren’t massively likeable, the plot didn’t engage me as much as I’d like.
I’m sad to say it was a DNF for me

This book was a pleasant surprise for me. I expected it to be more of a chick-lit/rom-com vibe but it was so much deeper.

Centered mainly on Hazel and the people in her life, although Hazel is the mail character, you get an insight of many of the other characters without it getting confusing or too much.

Without leaving any spoilers, there are many topics in this book which aren't usually covered and may be triggering for some people.

Friendships, relationships and families narrated in great form. If you enjoy Beth O'Leary books and Laura Jane Williams books, you will really like this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

A really sweet and relatable novel about twenty-something life that covers some big themes in a warm and charming way. I couldn't put it down!

Really enjoyable easy read although you may feel frustration towards the main characters and how blind they are!

Not Exactly What I Had in Mind is a story that tries to pack in a lot of hot topics, so much so that I wasn't sure where this story was going and which storyline was the main one. I think this detracted from it and it all became a bit laughable, I mean how many more cliches can be added to one story.

Overall, it was an easy read with an average ending that didn't really work for me.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4674589357

I picked this from NetGalley in expectation of a traditional, light hearted, boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy finds girl again type thing, based on the marketing blurb. It turned out to be something quite different.

The two lead characters, Hazel and Alfie, both seem initially to come from the standard romance copybook, with a traditional 'will they, won't they' set up going on. As the novel develops, however, it covers a lot of big themes: fertility struggles, miscarriage, climate change, revenge porn. All of these were treated thoughtfully and sensitively, if perhaps a little superficially, but taken in combo, they left me feeling a bit gloomy.

A good book, and well written, but not quite the escapsim hit I had in mind.

Not Exactly What I Had In Mind was just that, not exactly what I had in mind, but that isn't a bad thing. I was mostly a lighthearted read, but the further I progressed into it, the more it dealt with tough subjects, one of which I never expected to be focused on in this book.

Lately, it's not often that I read general adult fiction, I love a good mysterious element in what I read, but this book was almost just a look into a group of people's lives, which is a nice break from the mystery sometimes.

(Will update with blog and social posts when live)

Hazel and Alfie  are thirty something flatmates living in a shared house in London who have just had a one night stand and everything has got a bit more complicated!

Neither is sure whether the other wants a relationship or to just be friends with benefits and Not Exactly What I Had in Mind explores their journey, as artist Hazel goes on a series of unsuitable dates through Tinder and primary school teacher Alfie grapples with his feelings.

Into the mix comes Hazel's sister Emily and her wife Daria, who are hoping to have a baby but just need to find a suitable donor. They can see that Alfie and Hazel are meant for each other, even if the couple themselves havent worked that one out  yet!

This is a thought-provoking story which explores  relationships and why we choose to have them. There are also a lot of serious sub-stories packed into the book which cover some big issues for the characters, from racism, to health anxiety, phobias, revenge porn and fertility problems. I was really gunning for Hazel and Alfie through this book. However, im not sure the prologue was needed  as it felt a little bit like all the ends were trying to be tied up at once.

This is such an endearing story! Warm witty and emotional!! I loved every second and can’t wait to read more by this author

My Novel Addiction! Wow. This is just my kind of book!… A brace yourself and buckle up read!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

There was much to like in this book however that was sometimes overshadowed by how MUCH was in this book. The writing was good, often humourous and insightful but the sheer number of topics it tries to feature overwhelmed the narrative. That isn't to say I didn't enjoy the read but I did notice myself skipping past some of the sections that didn't feel as relevant to the central story in order to get back to that.

Such a great read, very entertaining and thought-provoking. The characters were brilliantly entertaining and very well drawn. the novel deals with some pretty hard-hitting topics but does with with such kind empathy. Beautifully written.

This book was not what I had in mind when I requested it. From the description, I'd imagined something a bit like The Flat Share by Beth O'Leary. I like that book but I enjoyed this far, far more.
From the opening, I thought it would be a conventional romance, perhaps a bit chick-lit-y. How wrong I was. It was much deeper than that. The characters felt so real, their dilemmas so true. I absolutely loved every word of it.