A review by friendlydisaster101
Accidentally in Love by Belinda Missen

4.0

Thank you to Netgalley and HQ Digital for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

(actual rating: 3.5/5)

I really enjoyed reading this book, because even though it's marketed as a romance, it's so much more.

This book follows Katharine, an aspiring art curator, as she upends and takes back control of her life. After quitting her job, dumping her almost-boyfriend, she moves back home to pursue her dreams of opening an art gallery. The story mainly follows Katharine and how she deals with her friends, family, and the work it takes to set-up her gallery. Enter: Kit, the handsome, brooding, and ridiculously stubborn local painter who seems to cross paths with her everywhere. Katharine's given up on boyfriends, but she just might fall in love. Accidentally, of course.

What I really loved about this book was Katharine herself. It's rare that I love the main character as much as I enjoyed reading this book from Katharine's perspective. She was determined and brave in an incredibly refreshing way. It was honestly quite fun reading about her character arc and all she manages to do.

The romance was absolutely adorable and I loved it. That's all I've got to say on that.

On the other hand, however, a really big problem that I had with this book was how rushed the ending was. For all I could rave on and on about the build and the character development, and just how amazing Katharine was in general, the ending just didn't do it for me. I very clearly remember being at the 90% mark in this novel and thinking, this is not going to end well, in that there was no way the resolution would be satisfying for me.

Unfortunately, I was right (but why does this never happen in math class?). I strongly disliked the way the book ended, because even though overall it was really cute, the ending ruined things a bit. It rushed to provide a happily-ever-after without giving me a sense that things were over, that all loose ends had been tied. Mostly, however, it was just plain disappointing, seeing as to how much I loved the story itself.

All in all, I really enjoyed this, if not for the ending. I would definitely recommend it to readers who want a bit more than just another rom-com, leaning almost towards women's fiction, or an all-around funny main character.