Not Exactly What I Had in Mind
A Novel
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $18.00
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Charly Cave
-
By:
-
Kate Brook
About this listen
An irresistible, funny, sharply observed debut novel in which two roommates, and two sisters, will learn that sometimes family—and love—find you in the most unexpected places.
Hazel and Alfie have just moved in together as roommates. They've also just slept together, which was either a catastrophic mistake or the best decision of their lives—they aren't quite sure yet. Whatever happens, they need to find a way to keep living together without too much drama or awkwardness, since neither of them can afford to move out of the apartment.
Then Hazel's sister, Emily, and her wife, Daria, come for a visit, and Hazel's and Alfie’s feelings about each other are pushed to the side in the whirlwind of their arrival. Recently returned from abroad, Emily and Daria are excited for a new life in a new town, and ready to start a family of their own.
As the lives of Hazel, Alfie, Emily, and Daria collide, a complicated chain of events begins to bind them all together, bringing joy and heartache, hope and anxiety, and reshaping their relationships in ways that no one quite predicted. Warm, clever, and devastatingly relatable, Not Exactly What I Had in Mind is by turns funny, heartbreaking, and a painfully true-to-life story about family, friends, and everything in between.
©2022 Kate Brook (P)2022 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
-
One Day in December
- A Novel
- By: Josie Silver
- Narrated by: Eleanor Tomlinson, Charlie Anson
- Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Laurie is sure love at first sight doesn't exist anywhere but the movies. But then, through a misted-up bus window one snowy December day, she sees a man who she knows instantly is the one. Their eyes meet, there's a moment of pure magic...and then her bus drives away. Certain they're fated to find each other again, Laurie spends a year scanning every bus stop and cafe in London for him. But she doesn't find him, not when it matters anyway. Instead they "reunite" at a Christmas party, when her best friend, Sarah, giddily introduces her new boyfriend: the man from the bus.
-
-
It's Not Romantic, Not Joyous, and Not for Me
- By D. Fields on 12-01-18
By: Josie Silver
-
The Other Woman
- By: Sandie Jones
- Narrated by: Clare Corbett
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Adam adores Emily. Emily thinks Adam’s perfect, the man she thought she’d never meet. Emily chose Adam, but she didn’t choose his mother, Pammie. There’s nothing a mother wouldn’t do for her son, and now Emily is about to find out just how far Pammie will go to get what she wants: Emily gone forever.
-
-
Spare me the constant blushes!
- By C. A. Cameron on 08-28-18
By: Sandie Jones
-
You Had Me at Hello
- By: Mhairi McFarlane
- Narrated by: Julie Hesmondhalgh
- Length: 10 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What happens when the one that got away comes back? Find out in this sparkling debut from Mhairi McFarlane. Rachel and Ben. Ben and Rachel. It was them against the world. Until it all fell apart. It’s been a decade since they last spoke, but when Rachel bumps into Ben one rainy day, the years melt away. They’d been partners in crime and the best of friends. But life has moved on: Ben is married. Rachel is not. Yet in that split second, Rachel feels the old friendship return. And along with it, the broken heart she’s never been able to mend.
-
-
Narrator ruins it
- By Sandi P on 09-07-16
By: Mhairi McFarlane
-
The Third Wife
- A Novel
- By: Lisa Jewell
- Narrated by: Joe Jameson
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the early hours of a summer morning, a young woman steps into the path of an oncoming bus. A tragic accident? Or suicide? At the center of this puzzle is Adrian Wolfe, a successful architect and grief-stricken widower, who, a year after his third wife's death, begins to investigate the cause. As Adrian looks back on their brief but seemingly happy marriage, disturbing secrets begin to surface. The divorces from his two previous wives had been amicable, or so it seemed; his children, all five of them, were resilient as ever, or so he thought.
-
-
Not a mystery
- By Susan on 07-06-18
By: Lisa Jewell
-
The Making of Us
- A Novel
- By: Lisa Jewell
- Narrated by: Helen Duff
- Length: 13 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lydia, Dean, and Robyn live very different lives, but each of them, independently, has always felt that something was missing. What they don't know is that a letter is about to arrive that will turn their lives upside down. It's a letter containing a secret - one that will bind them together and show them what love and family and friendship really mean.
-
-
Extraordinary Stories
- By JimKnott on 08-16-18
By: Lisa Jewell
-
The Queen of New Beginnings
- By: Erica James
- Narrated by: Juanita McMahon
- Length: 15 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Clayton Miller's life is a mess. His career as one of the country's best comedy script writers has stalled and his long term girlfriend has left him for his ex best friend and ex writing partner. Just when he thinks his life couldn't get any worse, he commits a spectacularly public fall from grace and with the press hounding him, his agent banishes him to the middle of nowhere until the dust has settled.
-
-
I couldn't put it down....
- By Kevin Herman on 01-15-17
By: Erica James
-
One Day in December
- A Novel
- By: Josie Silver
- Narrated by: Eleanor Tomlinson, Charlie Anson
- Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Laurie is sure love at first sight doesn't exist anywhere but the movies. But then, through a misted-up bus window one snowy December day, she sees a man who she knows instantly is the one. Their eyes meet, there's a moment of pure magic...and then her bus drives away. Certain they're fated to find each other again, Laurie spends a year scanning every bus stop and cafe in London for him. But she doesn't find him, not when it matters anyway. Instead they "reunite" at a Christmas party, when her best friend, Sarah, giddily introduces her new boyfriend: the man from the bus.
-
-
It's Not Romantic, Not Joyous, and Not for Me
- By D. Fields on 12-01-18
By: Josie Silver
-
The Other Woman
- By: Sandie Jones
- Narrated by: Clare Corbett
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Adam adores Emily. Emily thinks Adam’s perfect, the man she thought she’d never meet. Emily chose Adam, but she didn’t choose his mother, Pammie. There’s nothing a mother wouldn’t do for her son, and now Emily is about to find out just how far Pammie will go to get what she wants: Emily gone forever.
-
-
Spare me the constant blushes!
- By C. A. Cameron on 08-28-18
By: Sandie Jones
-
You Had Me at Hello
- By: Mhairi McFarlane
- Narrated by: Julie Hesmondhalgh
- Length: 10 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What happens when the one that got away comes back? Find out in this sparkling debut from Mhairi McFarlane. Rachel and Ben. Ben and Rachel. It was them against the world. Until it all fell apart. It’s been a decade since they last spoke, but when Rachel bumps into Ben one rainy day, the years melt away. They’d been partners in crime and the best of friends. But life has moved on: Ben is married. Rachel is not. Yet in that split second, Rachel feels the old friendship return. And along with it, the broken heart she’s never been able to mend.
-
-
Narrator ruins it
- By Sandi P on 09-07-16
By: Mhairi McFarlane
-
The Third Wife
- A Novel
- By: Lisa Jewell
- Narrated by: Joe Jameson
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the early hours of a summer morning, a young woman steps into the path of an oncoming bus. A tragic accident? Or suicide? At the center of this puzzle is Adrian Wolfe, a successful architect and grief-stricken widower, who, a year after his third wife's death, begins to investigate the cause. As Adrian looks back on their brief but seemingly happy marriage, disturbing secrets begin to surface. The divorces from his two previous wives had been amicable, or so it seemed; his children, all five of them, were resilient as ever, or so he thought.
-
-
Not a mystery
- By Susan on 07-06-18
By: Lisa Jewell
-
The Making of Us
- A Novel
- By: Lisa Jewell
- Narrated by: Helen Duff
- Length: 13 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lydia, Dean, and Robyn live very different lives, but each of them, independently, has always felt that something was missing. What they don't know is that a letter is about to arrive that will turn their lives upside down. It's a letter containing a secret - one that will bind them together and show them what love and family and friendship really mean.
-
-
Extraordinary Stories
- By JimKnott on 08-16-18
By: Lisa Jewell
-
The Queen of New Beginnings
- By: Erica James
- Narrated by: Juanita McMahon
- Length: 15 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Clayton Miller's life is a mess. His career as one of the country's best comedy script writers has stalled and his long term girlfriend has left him for his ex best friend and ex writing partner. Just when he thinks his life couldn't get any worse, he commits a spectacularly public fall from grace and with the press hounding him, his agent banishes him to the middle of nowhere until the dust has settled.
-
-
I couldn't put it down....
- By Kevin Herman on 01-15-17
By: Erica James
-
Impossible To Forget
- By: Imogen Clark
- Narrated by: Bronwen Price
- Length: 11 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Just turned eighteen, Romany is on the cusp of taking her first steps into adulthood when tragedy strikes, and she finds herself suddenly alone without her mother, Angie, the only parent she has ever known. In her final letter, Angie has charged her four closest friends with guiding Romany through her last year of school—but is there an ulterior motive to her unusual dying wish? Each of the four guardians possesses an outlook on life that Angie wants to give her daughter as a legacy.
-
-
Rather Boring...
- By M. Hutton on 08-05-22
By: Imogen Clark
-
Don't Want to Miss a Thing
- By: Jill Mansell
- Narrated by: Alison Larkin
- Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dexter Yates loves his fun, carefree London life; he has money, looks, and girlfriends galore. But everything changes overnight when his sister dies, leaving him in charge of her eight-month-old daughter Delphi. How is he ever going to cope? Comic-strip artist Molly Hayes lives in the beautiful Cotswold village of Briarwood. When it comes to relationships, she has a history of choosing all the wrong men. Leaving the city behind, Dex moves to Briarwood - a much better place to work on his parenting skills - and he and Molly become neighbors.
-
-
great story, narrator issue
- By Jennifer A. Cary on 05-21-14
By: Jill Mansell
-
One Night with You
- By: Laura Jane Williams
- Narrated by: Charlotte Beaumont, Arthur McBain
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ruby’s leaving London. She’s not running away from her ex per se, but an exciting opportunity in a new city has landed at the perfect time. Nic is moving to London. After a bad break-up, he’s excited to see where big-city life could take him. When a chance meeting throws the pair of them together for just one night, it’s clear that this could be the start of something special. But there’s one problem: she’s leaving, and he’s just arriving. So, after tonight, they’ll never see each other again . . . will they?
-
-
I was glad to be done.
- By Alysha on 01-06-24
-
Babyville
- A Novel
- By: Jane Green
- Narrated by: Kate Reading
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The amusing little inborn device known as the biological clock tolls for three women; two of them heed its compelling tones, while the third tries to ignore them.
-
-
pure chic-lit!
- By Amanda on 06-12-05
By: Jane Green
-
The Neighbors
- By: Hannah Mary McKinnon
- Narrated by: Mary Jane Wells, Alex Wyndham, Billie Fulford-Brown, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After a night of fun back in 1992, Abby is responsible for a car crash that kills her beloved brother. It's a mistake she can never forgive, so she pushes away Liam, the man she loves most, knowing that he would eventually hate her for what she's done, the same way she hates herself. Twenty years later, Abby's husband, Nate, is also living with a deep sense of guilt. He was the driver who first came upon the scene of Abby's accident, the man who could not save her brother in time. It's this guilt, this regret, that binds them together. Then, Liam moves into the neighborhood....
-
-
Oh, That ENDING!!!
- By Bette on 04-16-18
-
Secrets Between Us: An absolutely gripping psychological thriller
- By: Valerie Keogh
- Narrated by: Emma Newman
- Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
I read each letter slowly to make sure I understand it perfectly, one day very soon it will be a matter of life and death.... At the end of each letter, after signing her name, there is always one final sentence: Don’t forget to burn this letter. I’ll let you decide if I do....
-
-
dont waste your time
- By Paul Tamietti on 11-20-18
By: Valerie Keogh
-
The Housemate
- By: C. L. Pattison
- Narrated by: Polly Edsell, Jasmine Blackborow
- Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The housemate. She's here to stay.... You've let a stranger into your home. You don't know her secrets. You don't know what she wants. Megan and Chloe have found the perfect house. And when they meet Sammi, she seems like the perfect housemate to share it with. It could be the beginning of a brilliant friendship. But Megan isn't so sure about this new girl. She knows they need to be careful about whom they invite in. Because once she's in, she's here to stay.... A brilliant and gripping psychological thriller - perfect for fans of Louise Jensen, Jane Corry and Friend Request.
-
-
GReat easy story!
- By lisa on 04-04-19
By: C. L. Pattison
-
This Could Change Everything
- By: Jill Mansell
- Narrated by: Esther Wane
- Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
All it takes is one email to end her relationship, get her kicked out of her apartment, and just about ruin her life. Essie Phillips never meant for her private rant about her boss to be sent to everyone in her address book, but as soon as it goes viral, her life as she knows it is over. Solution: move to a new town, find a new job, make new friends. If only it were as simple as that....
-
-
Lovely but many sad moments
- By KT on 05-16-24
By: Jill Mansell
-
Mad About You
- A Novel
- By: Mhairi McFarlane
- Narrated by: Heather Long
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Harriet Hatley is the most in-demand wedding photographer in town, but she doesn’t believe in romance, loathes the idea of marriage, and thinks chocolate fountains are an abomination. Which is why, when her long-time partner proposes, she panics. Suddenly Harriet is single… and living down the hall from her ex. She needs a new apartment, like, yesterday.
-
-
Painful
- By Lauren Elizabeth Grant on 01-21-23
By: Mhairi McFarlane
-
After the Party
- By: Lisa Jewell
- Narrated by: Helen Duff
- Length: 14 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this irresistible novel from the author of Then She Was Gone, Jem and Ralph discover the power of starting over after 11 years together have left them drifting apart.
-
-
Bitter, Anti-Christian Stereotyping Detracts.
- By Gretchen on 11-23-18
By: Lisa Jewell
-
The Baby Shower
- By: S.E. Lynes
- Narrated by: Tamsin Kennard
- Length: 10 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
She bursts into my life like a storm, and nothing is the same again. One by one, I watch as my friends fall under her spell. Only I see that her smiles don’t reach her cold, furious eyes. And when I’m accused of things I didn’t do, when my home is vandalized, I know she’s behind it. But she only lets her mask slip when no one is looking, so if I say anything, I’ll look crazy. So when the baby shower comes around, I’m sitting on a velvet sofa in a posh hotel room, surrounded by balloons. But that afternoon, I finally learn the unbelievable truth. There is no baby....
-
-
Psychological page-turner
- By Sheila S on 04-04-22
By: S.E. Lynes
-
What My Best Friend Did
- By: Lucy Dawson
- Narrated by: Georgia Maguire
- Length: 8 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alice's life has become a bit boring lately. Her friends are busy getting married and having babies, but she's not ready for those changes in her own life - not even sure she still loves her boyfriend. Then she meets Gretchen. A brand-new, fun and unencumbered friend. Gretchen knows how to have a good time, and she also has a totally gorgeous brother. Before she knows it, Alice has been swept up into her new best friend's world. But Gretchen has a dark secret. Will Alice learn the truth before she throws her old life away?
-
-
hmm
- By Claire Lieber on 03-11-19
By: Lucy Dawson