Never Saw You Coming by Erin Hahn: If being on the verge 0f adulthood wasn’t scary enough, 
imagine finding out that your entire childhood has been a lie? So to say that Meg Hennessey is feeling lost and completely of kilter is a complete understatement. With this new knowledge from her mother Meg decides to take a gap year and head North to reconnect with the family she didn’t even know she had. Thinking this would be her best chance to experience life unrestricted and try learn as much about the other half of herself from her grandmother, the last thing Meg expected was to feel such an intense connection with Micah.
Life hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing for Micah, not only did he lose his best friend, role model and father but he lost a large part of his faith. Even with so much time having past it would seem that the deeds of his fathers past are still haunting Micah, more so now that his fathers parole hearing is coming up. With all of these old feelings of anger and resentment bubbling within Micah he is more than a little surprised that he connects so seamlessly with town newcomer Meg. For the first time in a long time Micah feels like someone truly gets him and understands his pain but can something that started so fast last?
I have been hearing so much about this book everywhere, so I was absolutely thrilled to get a chance to read and review Never Saw You Coming. I do have to say that on reading I found myself caught between loving Meg and Micah’s story but also finding it to be heavily religious. In saying this, the religious aspect doesn’t really bother me much but I would say that in a way it kind of took away from what could have been a pretty good story. I would probably say this is more a Christian story than a romance.
Meg and Micah were both great characters that were facing much the same issues with trying to find their identity and their connection to their faith. I absolutely loved the pure vulnerability and honesty that both of these two characters faced, this made them very relatable. As a couple these two fitted together very naturally, they are both very down to earth and real with how they experience things. One of the things that I loved the most was that even though both Meg and Micah were going through their own personal issues, they helped each other push through.
Family and the Church were two major themes in this book, that both played of each other and are largely what brought Meg and Micah together. I loved that both characters got to see that family is not only your blood relatives but also the people you chose to make your family. As for the role of the Church and religion in the novel, at times I did feel that it got a bit heavy but ultimately I didn’t feel that it would be a deal breaker.
Overall Never Saw You Coming is definitely an interesting read that borderd more on YA Christian alternative literature than your conventional YA romance novel. I would recommend going into this cute book with an open mind.
Book Info:
Publication: September 7th 2021 | Wednesday Books |
Raised by conservative parents, 18-year-old Meg Hennessey just found out her entire childhood was a lie. Instead of taking a gap year before college to find herself, she ends up traveling north to meet what’s left of the family she never knew existed.
While there, she meets Micah Allen, a former pastor’s kid whose dad ended up in prison, leaving Micah with his own complicated relationship about the church. The clock is ticking on Pastor Allen’s probation hearing and Micah, now 19, feels the pressure to forgive – even when he can’t possibly forget.
As Meg and Micah grow closer, they are confronted with the heavy flutterings of first love and all the complications it brings. Together, they must navigate the sometimes-painful process of cutting ties with childhood beliefs as they build toward something truer and straight from the heart.
