Not How I Saw That Going

by Jenessa Fayeth

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Lyndi

Eating carbs and forgetting to fold the laundry aren’t my only talents. I'm also proficient at speaking without thinking. Which is how I ended up confessing my love to a stranger at the grocery store.

The same stranger who also happens to be a firefighter—a very grumpy one—for the exact fire station I owe a debt to.

I didn’t mean to embarrass the man, and I certainly didn’t mean to make him famous. That was a happy coincidence.

He could use some humor in his life.

But when I decided to be my own queen and take back my life, I didn’t expect fake dating the grump to be a part of it.

Fake boyfriends aren’t supposed to come with real feelings.

Moving on is harder than I thought.

Ward

Rescuing a little boy at the grocery store was just a normal day for me. Except usually I’m in gear and getting paid to do so.

Noticing his mom was not part of the norm.

I saw stuff in the war no one wants to see. The kind of stuff you don’t bring up on a first date. Which is why I haven’t. Dated, I mean.

I’ve made it clear that I want to be left alone, but it doesn’t stop my mom from setting me up with women I have no interest in.

I’m certainly not interested in Lyndi. She’s a single mom, whose carelessness made me famous.

Okay, so I can’t blame that all on her—as much as I’d like to.

But she’s there when I need her.

My best friend insists my heart died in the war, then why does it beat so fast when Lyndi is around?

This is a closed door romcom, with all the swoon only a shirtless firefighter can deliver. Lyndi's son is not a quiet character, but real, with big emotions and tantrums. This book lightly touches on issues of abandonment and emotional abuse.

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Book Details

Genre

Romantic Comedy

Subgenre

Firefighter / Police / First Responder

Series

Never Say Never series • Book 1

Audience

Adult

Bell Peppers

🫑🫑

Profanity

2 Mild

Violence

2 Mild

Drugs, Alcohol, Tobacco

1 None

Publication Date

January 31, 2023

Language Versions

English

Narration Type

Human

Fiction Form

Novel

Sensitive Themes

Domestic violence, Kidnapping or abduction, PTSD or trauma recovery, Unwed pregnancy

Representation

Single-parent or widowed-parent protagonist, Veteran/military service representation

SUCH A GOOD READ! (No, I am not 50+.)

Such a good romcom. No spice, but it works well without it. It was like love at first sight, turned slow-burn. Both characters had flaws making them feel human and relatable. Crew was evilest little bean and I would kill for him (for legal reasons, that's a joke). AND FINALLY, a male lead (Ward) who treats the child (Crew) of the love interest/female lead (Lyndi) like his own kid rather than a burden.

This was a really cute book

I really enjoyed this book. It was different from a lot of stories I’ve read and I can’t compare it to anything I’ve read before. It discussed heavy topics like ptsd but also showed the characters working through their trauma and helping each other heal. Janessa Fayeth did a great job writing these characters and this story. Although there were some heavy topics it was also romantic, cute, funny, and low angst.The audiobook was great and the narrators did an amazing job bringing this story and their characters to life. I highly recommend this book and audiobook.

4.5 Stars

A cute, heartwarming read. Jenessa Fayeth has some laugh out loud moments in the book. Good, light read about a single mother and a firefighter/ military veteran.

Smart, Funny, and Thoroughly Satisfying

This is the first book I've read from Fayeth, but in the span of 200ish pages she won my utmost admiration! Lyndi and Ward are both well developed, delightfully human, and deeply engaging characters. Crew nearly gave me acid reflux with some of his antics (I work with children and couldn't even imagine how I'd respond to one of my kiddos pulling some of Crew's stunts), but the love Lyndi clearly feels for him is a beautiful gift I wish every child could experience. The plot is solid, the descriptions of people, places, and events are believable and beautifully worded, and, most importantly for me, Fayeth handled the issue of mental health delicately and with compassion. I deal with PTSD from childhood trauma and was really impressed with the way such issues were discussed in enough depth to be respectful and realistic without overwhelming the light-hearted rom-com mood of the story. If I could give this book 6 stars I would do it in an instant, because this story truly delivers on all levels!

Decent

It was enjoyable. Lyndi was fantastic. Her and Crew felt like a mother and son I would know. Thankfully Crew was depicted as an actual kid rather than a tiny adult as most of these books like to do. Ward however was a bit boring. I'll never be a fan of a male lead treating people poorly which Ward does for the first oart of the book. He got better, but his pity party was tough to swallow. The whole Rodney thing really missed the mark. That plot was bad. His plan was to kidnap Lyndi and force her to make TikToks??? Weird and lame. That really brings the book down for and the epilogue was really lackluster. Lyndi's POV saved this book from a lower rating.