Not What We Pictured

By Becca Kinzer

This is absolutely not how they pictured their summer going.

McKenna Boston is feeling stuck. She's spent years growing her photography skills only for her career to hit a wall. She's ready to move on, and she will, just as soon as she helps her sister's boyfriend stage the perfect proposal. But when her best laid plans go awry and a handsome stranger accidentally ends up with the heirloom ring, McKenna hops on a flight to retrieve it. Piece of cake, right?

Nate Lambert was hoping to enjoy a relaxing summer before starting his new job as a literature professor, but he arrives in Tennessee to discover his mom's bed and breakfast is struggling and there's a long list of repairs to be tackled. The last thing he needs is a gorgeous, determined photographer searching for a ring he doesn't have since the airline lost his luggage somewhere on his route from Nebraska.

With the ring nowhere to be found, all McKenna can do is wait and use the time to build her portfolio and plan her next career move. But she also can't help getting swept up in Nate's bed and breakfast renovations and in planning a community concert with the townsfolk. As both await news of Nate's suitcase, it begins to seem their serendipitous meeting, and the proposal gone wrong, could actually be everything going right . . . and that this may be their chance at a love neither could have pictured.

A clean, witty rom com with a forced proximity trope and a reluctant allies love storyFeatures laugh-out-loud humor and a sweet, endearing coupleThis contemporary summer romance with a Southern small-town setting is great for fans of Sarah Adams, Pepper Basham, and Emma St. ClairIncludes discussion questions for book clubs

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1496489098
• ISBN13: 9781496489098
• Release Date: April 2026
• Publisher: Tyndale Fiction
• Length: 352 Pages

Customer Reviews

hilarious and heart-warming

Another completely hilarious, utterly entertaining, absolutely charming, and slightly ridiculous romcom by Becca Kinzer! McKenna and her sister Bobbi were over-the-top hysterical with their wild imaginations and unfiltered ramblings. McKenna, even in her unhinged state, was quite lovable and her fierce loyalty and love made her a great heroine. Nate was the long-suffering hero with his romantic and tender poetry-loving heart hidden under a gruff exterior. McKenna and Nate exchanged some fantastic barbs and sarcasm at the start which turned into witty and clever banter. Both McKenna and Nate hid deep festering childhood wounds and needed to find forgiveness as well as true worth. I loved the secondary characters in Bugle, TN who helped Nate try to save his mother's bed and breakfast who also happened to meddle and interfere in every aspect of Nate's life. If you enjoy romcom that brings you to tears with its hilarity and sweetness, this book is it. I received a complimentary copy courtesy of Tyndale House via Edelweiss and was under no obligation to post a positive comment. All opinions are my own.