Mistakes We Never Made by Hannah BrownStar Rating:
Spice Level:
Published by Forever on 05/07/2024
Genres: Fiction, Romance, Contemporary Romance, Women’s Fiction
Format: DRC (329 pages)
Source: NetGalley
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Emma Townsend can sum up her situationship with hot-as-hell romantic red flag Finn Hughes in one word: almost. They almost dated in high school. They almost hooked up after college. They almost took things too far one magical night. Their whole story is one series of “almosts” and “nearlys,” and now they just kind of can’t stand each other. Like, at all.
But this weekend, one of their mutuals is getting married . . . and Emma and Finn will have to pretend they don’t remember how disastrous it was the last time they were in a room together.
Emma’s doing a stellar job of playing it cool—until the bride goes missing. Now, with two days before the wedding, Emma and Finn are hitting the road in a sweet vintage sports car in hopes of salvaging someone else’s happily-ever-after.
Yet somewhere between Emma’s breakfast burrito throw down, a high-stakes kayak chase (it can happen), and an outrageous Vegas detour, these sworn enemies are crossing more than just state lines. As old feelings spark once more, Emma begins to question whether risking your heart is ever really a mistake.
This review was tough to write. I didn’t hate Mistakes We Never Made, but I can’t say I enjoyed it either. It was just thoroughly…meh. On paper, this rom-com had all the ingredients of a story I would normally love. A forced proximity road trip, high school friends-to-enemies-to-lovers, and a second chance romance. There were flashes of brilliance here and there, but when all was said and done, the story fell flat. The worst part was the ending—more on that later.
The story centers on Emma and Finn, high school friends and debate partners whose relationship slowly blossomed into romance. But Finn broke Emma’s heart by standing her up on prom night and then lied about what happened to protect their mutual friend, Sybil. Emma and Finn stay locked in a cycle of chance encounters, unresolved feelings, and repeated heartbreak for the next eleven years before Emma finally cuts Finn out of her life. Four and a half years of silence later—not that she’s counting—Emma literally runs into Finn at Sybil’s wedding. After a tequila-fueled girls’ night, Emma wakes up the following morning to find Sybil has gone full-on runaway bride. Emma takes it upon herself to track Sybil down and convince her to return in time for the wedding—IN TWO DAYS. However, Emma needs a car, and Finn won’t let her use his—unless he comes along for the ride. As Finn and Emma follow Sybil’s trail across the South West, old sparks reignite, and they finally confront the issues that have simmered between them for years.
Our heroine, Emma, has enough emotional baggage to choke a horse. Her dad left when she was little, and she’s had her heart crushed more times than she can count. All her past experiences have shaped her into a Type-A personality who uses control—masked as caretaking—as a protective suit of armor for her heart. On the surface, Emma is a meticulous planner and fiercely devoted friend. But when you peel back her layers, she’s a control freak who regularly dismisses her friends’ emotional needs and autonomy, imposing her own decisions under the guise of what’s ‘best’ for them. She’s not a bad person; she’s just scared, hurt, and unwilling to change.
Finn would win Boy with the Worst Communication Skills if it were an award. His dad died shortly after high school, and instead of dealing with his feelings, he got into fights and made some terrible choices. Finn is one of those guys who is charming and incredibly attractive, but you know deep down that he’s broken, and if you let him, he will SHATTER your heart. At least as an adult, Finn has gotten some therapy and tries to talk to Emma about thier past. But even with his newfound emotional maturity, the ghosts of his past linger. He’s still terrified of commitment and wishy-washy about what he wants from Emma.
While I didn’t love either of our main characters, the chemistry Finn and Emma had is undeniable. Through the years, they were drawn to each other like a moth to a flame, and their banter and misadventures on this preposterous road trip were some of the book’s best parts. But that’s about all the nice stuff I can say about their story. Emma and Finn have been locked in an uncoordinated dance of push-and-pull for almost a decade. Both of their hearts have been to hell and back—several times—and while it’s obvious they genuinely care for one another, I couldn’t get behind their relationship. They both assume the worst about the other, which creates a vicious cycle of hurt and withdrawal that is utterly toxic. Their baggage—mainly consisting of trust issues and a profound fear of heartbreak—fills their relationship with miscommunications and misunderstandings. The irony is not lost on me that Finn and Emma can’t communicate to save their lives, but somehow, they won the state debate championship together. Emma and Finn’s relationship is a classic example of “hurt people hurt people.” There is no way that they could overcome the years of hurt, heartache, and pain they caused each other without EXTENSIVE therapy.
And can we please talk about Sybil, the runaway bride whose disappearance set this whole story in motion? By the end of the book, we’ve learned so little about her backstory or why she bolted two days before her wedding that I wanted to throw my Kindle across the room. Sybil never tells Emma what happened the night of junior prom, which led to Finn standing Emma up. This HUGE secret is hinted at the entire book, and then it’s just glossed over. Sybil just shows back up at the resort, tells a half-assed story about where she went, and then walks off to go talk with the groom she abandoned. End book. The lack of resolution surrounding Sybil’s wedding was the last nail in the coffin. This wasn’t a cliffhanger. There were no hints to suggest there would be another book to continue the story. No, these were major plot points that just—poof—disappeared. And quite frankly, it pissed me off and made the entire ending of the book feel rushed and unsatisfying.
Would I recommend it?
Honestly, no. Mistakes We Never Made was a quick read, but it frustrated the hell out of me. While it had some funny and enjoyable moments, the book’s overall feel was just…icky. It takes a lot to get me to quit on a book, and I almost DNF’d this one twice. There were secrets kept that hurt feelings, a hookup that crossed over into cheating, an unintentional public fight that just made me cringe, and enough misunderstandings from lack of communication to make me want to scream. And the worst part is that none of it—NONE OF IT—was spoken about or resolved. Every issue was blown over, forgiven, and forgotten. I’m all for a drama-filled romance, but this one went a little too far. That being said, I think fans of super angsty romances might find more to appreciate here, but this one just wasn’t for me.