Not That Kind of Ever After

by Luci Adams

• ISBN10: 1250842204
• ISBN13: 9781250842206
• Publish Date: 14 March 2023 (first published 16 February 2023)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: St. Martin's Griffin
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 400
• Language: English

Reviews

[chymerra]

Not That Kind of Ever After is the story of Bella and how her life fell apart, got put back together, fell apart again, and got together again. Bella’s life isn’t what she thought it was going to be. She would be an author, live an extraordinary life, and be married. Instead, she’s a receptionist at a publishing house, isn’t living her dream life, and is single. In a matter of days, her life gets turned upside down when her best friend moves out and gets engaged to a man Bella can’t stand. Then she finds out her parents are getting divorced. But there is an upside to everything. She is rewriting her bad dates as fairytale retellings on a storytelling app, and she has gone viral. But as soon as she thinks she has everything, things come crashing down. A fight with her best friend, being rejected for dates (which means no stories), and weird roommates litter her life now. Can Bella get out of her way and get back on track? Or will she be stuck in the same rut forever?

I was not a fan of Bella. Oh, at first, I liked her. She was funny and seemed like a great friend. But she began to wear on me after a chapter (yes, a chapter). She was high maintenance and not in a good way. She always had to be the center of attention and literally pouted when it wasn’t on her (Ellie’s moving out/engagement party). And lastly, she was highly immature. I could have dealt with the other faults and liked her. But it was her immatureness that ruined her character for me. Put it this way, I felt for Ellie’s fiancee and her roommates.

I did like that the author took Bella’s romantic hijinks and had Bella turn them into romance fairytales. It gave me a fresh way of looking at the fairytales and a giggle.

The side characters were well-written in Not That Kind of Ever After. I sympathized with them because I didn’t know how they tolerated the drunken, immature mess that Bella had evolved into.

Bella did experience character growth during this book. There was a point in the book where Bella realized that maybe she was doing everything to herself, and she tried to fix everything. It was nice to read that, but the damage was done in my eyes with her. Like a real-life person, I didn’t want a character to be a constant drama llama, and Bella was.

The romance angle of the book was interesting to read. While I think I figured out who Bella ended up with, I needed clarification. So, I wouldn’t label this a HEA with her on the romance front.

There is a lot of sex in Not That Kind of Ever After. What I liked is that the sex experiences ran the gauntlet. They went from bad to good to out-of-this-world fantastic. The author even threw in a menage for Bella to experience.

The end of Not That Kind of Ever After was interesting. I liked that the author wrapped everything up. I am not going to get into anything other than that, other than the ending was very fitting for the book.

I would recommend Not That Kind of Ever After to anyone over 21. There is language, mild violence, and sexual situations.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin, NetGalley, and Luci Adams for allowing me to read and review Not That Kind of Ever After. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

[The Romantic Comedy Book Club]

Throwing out the traditional format of a romantic comedy, Luci Adams takes an invigorating and realistic approach with her hilarious debut novel, Not That Kind of Ever After. Mimicking the format of sharing random unorganized thoughts in a diary or a personal conversation with a close friend, Luci puts us into the deep end that is Bella’s witty, sarcastic, and unfiltered mind. We aren’t just a person reading her story, we are right next to her, knowing her thoughts, her feelings, peeking over her shoulder at her text messages, side by side with her, every step of the way.

The story begins how you would least expect it, adding yet another failed attempt of a long list of dates to find her Prince Charming. All Bella wants, asides for being a successful writer, is to have the happily ever after of her parents. Her frustration builds as she witnesses those around her finding their "ones". To add insult to injury, her attempts to become a successful writer are mocked by blank pages and blinking cursors. Frustrated, distraught, and spiraling - Bella decides to take advice from a friend and put her misadventures on paper. Opportunity strikes when Bella learns about a platform for new writers where she can share her dating fiascos with a wider audience. What Bella doesn’t plan on is the wild ride that ensues.

What I liked about this book: I loved the full growth of Bella’s character. The casual approach Luci takes has us following Bella on an (almost) day to day basis. By slowing down her interactions with work, friends, and life in general, we are able to witness the full transformation of who she started as in the beginning of the story and who she ended up being towards the end. We also get to see her “human side” where she grows, fails, learns, and tries again. Luci doesn’t wave a magic wand where Bella has one bad experience and all of a sudden she is born anew. We see her make her transformation, move forward, stumble, and try again - that is realistic growth. We also see the future in the same manner as Bella, we have no idea where the story is going and that mystery keeps the reader captivated. There are so many twists, turns, and unexpected paths that you'll find you almost want to take notes just to keep it straight.

What I didn’t like about the book: Honestly nothing; however, I don’t believe this book will be for everyone. The book is the inner working of Bella's brain, her “ID”, unfiltered, raw, and honest. We are walked through every single thing that is happening to and around her. For some readers, this may be too much detail, an overabundance of information where they just want to get to the romantic comedy portion of the book. This also creates a very slow moving story. The first several chapters are the span of just 1-2 days (following the text message dates help you know where you are in the week). There also isn't a clear path of the story so if you are someone who needs direction, again the format may be off-putting.

A side-splitting twist on some fairytale favorites, Not That Kind of Ever After reminds us that fiction exists as a basis of entertainment, but not a model of life. We aren’t flawless princesses looking for our Prince Charming. Life isn’t perfect and neither are we. We are fallible, we are real, and we are simply people looking for someone who sees us for who we are, good and bad, and still wants to be with us. That is what makes a true ever after.