Not Exactly What I Had in Mind Paperback – 4 May 2023

A great first book, written well and with interesting characters; you wanted to know all about them as soon as you met them!Some unexpected turns and storylines, I wonder if more will be explored with these characters in future books.Look forward to reading what else Kate produces.

I really enjoyed “Not Exactly What I Had in Mind”, an audiobook that kept me company on my daily commute for a couple of days.Alfie and Hazel aren’t a couple, they’re roommates. In the spur of the moment, they’ve slept together and now they’re not really sure how they feel about one another. Adding to this complication, Hazel’s sister, Emily and her wife Daria turn up one day and let everyone know that they’re looking for a sperm donor.The story is a little predictable but there’s plenty to keep you interested with sprinkles of depth added to each character as the book plays out. The four main characters are fun and I really liked the modern relationships between them all.It’s quite a chaotic romance story, with a lot of bad decisions made along the way, but I feel like this is more a study of a group of friends in modern day life. For me there was plenty of relatable content and for the most part this group felt quite realistic, each with their own quirks and personalities. There’s also a lot of emotion intwined in these pages, touching on some really important, topical themes.I liked this book a lot but I wasn’t a fan of the epilogue, to be honest. The epilogue gives us an update on this group post-pandemic (or mid-pandemic really), which I wasn’t keen to see in a work of fiction. I don’t feel that this was all that necessary and I’d have been happier not having to hear about coronavirus at the end of a nice read.I’d probably recommend this book for people looking for an easy read about a group of people in their 20s, approaching the big 30.Overall rating: A story of modern relationships, “Not Exactly What I Had in Mind” was a really enjoyable read for me – 4 stars!

I'm able to finish the book because of the plot, it makes me keep going, to know what's going to happen. Not really focusing on the two main characters but more towards the one of the main character's sister and her wife (on how they want to get pregnant and build a family).

I loved this book, read the whole thing in a day and had serious withdrawal symptoms after. Loved Al the characters and missed them immediately after

So in this book we have 4 main characters. Hazel and her flatmate Alfie. Emily, Hazel's sister and her wife Daria.⁣⁣These 4 characters are just soooo deep and vibrant! They all have a good amount of spotlight in the book giving you time to know them better. And the dynamic they take on together is really touching.⁣At first I thought this book was very well written and I expected it to be quite predicable. Not in a bad way just your classic guy gets girl feel good book. But boy was I wrong!! Some of the loopholes your thrown through, my goodness did it make for good reading! ⁣It takes on the complexities of modern day life but adds a humourous twist. Making it relatable but not too serious.

Well the title definitely is what comes to mind after reading this book. It was slow to start for me and raised many different emotions. I felt parts weren't clearly resolved and this left it feeling unfinished although totally open to your own interpretation. I think this made me sad because one of the big topics of the book is frustrating in the lack of justice. Due to the reader not being told the conclusion, even though we all probably know what it was made me feel so angry for Hazel. The book is definitely thought provoking and makes you think about if maybe we communicated better and didn't assume things that life might run a little smoother. The characters were an interesting bunch. Not sure I understood Tony's purpose for being in there. I am also Team Alfie all the way!

The book was okay, it had some funny parts and explored a lot of themes but I think the ending was flat, usually an epilogue ties up loose ends, whereas here it didn’t tell us what happened between Alfie and haze just that they were meeting tomorrow.. a bit of an anti climax

Not exactly what I had in mind.I was privileged to have the chance to read an advance copy of this book via netgalley.I absolutely loved this book. The characters seemed real and convincing, like the kind of people I have in my life already. I love that the conclusion of the story was set against the backdrop of the pandemic, it made it feel very real and up to date. I felt myself invested in the characters very early on in the book & I wanted to find out what would happen to them and how the story would conclude. Everything about this story felt real & authentic and I’m excited to read other material by this writer.