Kind: A Romance Where Nothing Bad Happens

by Hannah Leigh

Drew’s life needs to change. He knows he’s a workaholic—he worked so hard that he literally ended up in the hospital. Now he’s recovering, but he doesn’t know how to fix things. What is this “relaxing” that everyone always talks about?

He’ll try joining a volunteer group. That’s not work, right? So it doesn’t count.

Ellis has been a jerk for his entire life—until he finally lost enough friends to wake him up. He’s turned over a new leaf, but he barely knows how to be a person, let alone a good one. How do you be kind without being fake?

He’ll try joining a volunteer group. That’s what good people do, right?

Kind: A Romance Where Nothing Bad Happens is the story of a recovering workaholic and a recovering jerk who find love at a community volunteer group. It has NO crises, NO breakups, and NO long dark nights of the soul—just a slow climb out of misery and into happiness.

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Slow Burn, M M Romance, LGBT, Queer

316 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 1, 2026

Reviews

[Kathleen in Oslo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful debut that lives up to the promise of the title. Drew is a grumpy, miserable workaholic -- "grumpy" is mostly nature, "miserable workaholic" is definitely nurture -- recovering from a serious (off-page) car accident caused by overwork-induced exhaustion. Ellis is a recovering asshole whose resolution to cast off his trollish ways is being sorely tested by months of enforced co-habitation with his angry, bitter ex. They have a meet not-so-cute at a community volunteer group, where they're voluntold that they'll be co-organizing the group's big summer barbeque. Is that grudging acceptance, followed by tentative friendship, followed by acknowledged lust and unacknowledged pining that I smell? Indeed it is!

This is, indeed, a book where people are kind -- or at least, trying hard to be -- and nothing bad happens. For angst aficionados with cold, shriveled hearts (me), this is not an easy sell! But happily, "kind" doesn't mean dull or dumbed-down. Ellis and Drew are funny, self-aware, clever, and extraordinarily likable. Crucially, Ellis's trollery does not have a political basis: he is a gamer (but not, like, gamergate-type gamer) that got his adrenaline hits from flaunting his superiority over people online, mostly in comment sections and forums. Just as Drew was addicted to perfection at work -- making himself deeply unpleasant to his colleagues in the process -- Ellis was addicted to always being right, in the most loud and obnoxious way possible. Tellingly, Ellis's about-face -- his decision to try to be a decent person -- was prompted by a cruel joke played on a real-life friend in meat space: while Ellis would have laughed it up were it all happening on-screen, it wasn't so funny when he actually had to face the victim. Ellis's conversion to kindness is, in this way, initially more sincere than Drew's attempt to set boundaries around work. While Drew can tell himself that breaking those self-imposed boundaries is a victimless crime -- squirming away from the knowledge that his crash could easily have destroyed others -- Ellis saw firsthand that his actions caused pain. This is a novel where the process is the point; and while they both end up happier, kinder people, it is an ever-ongoing series of small decisions and setbacks, rather than any one big catharsis.

I must say that Drew was surprisingly cavalier about the health insurance ramifications of his life choices given his extended hospital stay and ongoing intensive rehabilitation, but it all worked out in the end. Seriously though, kids. Don't do a Drew before you price out COBRA!

All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable, heartwarming, smexy romance that -- for a few hours, at least -- was the perfect anecdote to our shitty timeline.

I got an ARC from the author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Mal · Rating 5 out of 5]

stressed type A character, check. Unlikeable other character, double check. Both characters trying to be something they are not - hilarity ensues. I really really related to Drew’s inner judgy sarcastic vibe.. wait a minute!! I did not I would never. I also related to Ellis trying so so soooooooo hard to be better at being a good person every minute of every day.

I wanted this book to never ever end, even now my mind wants to go back and see what Drew and Ellis are upto. The author is definitely going to be a favourite for me. I was completely engrossed, invested in their story.

Did I mention how hilarious this book is. I was laughing out loud through a lot of it. it’s also extreamly touching, small everyday genuine moments sprinkled throughout that just make you swoon and sigh.

And so so relatable when what’s been your way of life is no longer working for you and you’ve come to that crisis point and you don’t know how to set up new patterns. Gosh this story had loads if levels to sink into. The found family is spectacular

The Banter is top tier, the progression from I definitely do not like anything about this man why do o have tolerate him to I want to spend all my time with him he allows me to be me was absolutely beautiful

Oh and their chemistry is fantastic so organic and funny and hot.

I loved everything about this book, these characters, their HEA. It bears saying again I wish I was still reading it, I did not want it to be over.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC copy of this, and read it in January.

I think the subtitle is a little misleading: bad things happen off screen, in the past, and in between the lines sometimes. And there's a lot of character growth, which sometimes involves back sliding. But I really enjoyed watching these two good balls learn to be better people, to themselves and to the world around them, and I very much enjoyed their romance

[Jess Hale · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very calm read - it’s all in the subtitle. Nothing bad happens!

Not to say that it didn’t keep my attention. I found that the pace really worked for me - not-quite-enemies-just-a-bit-antagonistic to friends to lovers, with a nice getting-to-know-you section that felt like it was over a realistic span of time.

The book wasn’t perfect - I found some of the focus and pacing went a little off towards the end - but I thought the characters, their motivations, and their relationship were lovely to spend time with. I particularly liked the way the sexual intimacy developed, it was sexy and fun and adult and wasn’t the “insta-lust” that I find so off-putting in a lot of romance, where instant attraction somehow equals love.

I also appreciated the “nothing bad happens”. I kept finding myself putting the book down at points where other romances would typically have A Big Misunderstanding before realising…I’m safe! And sure enough, there wasn’t any “we’ve forgotten how to communicate because that’s moving the plot along”, just great communication and things being resolved - but not in a “why is this book still going, there’s nothing left to read about” way, it’s a steady character development carrying us along.

I received a copy of this book for free, and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[... · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know the year has just started - I read this in early February - but it is BY FAR my favorite book of the year so far, and I couldn't be happier that it sucked up my entire Friday and has officially put me behind on All The Other Things I should have been doing today. 🤣

Drew and Ellis are too wholesome for words 🥰 Their meandering personal growth journeys, and annoyance-to-friendship-to-lovers-to-boyfriends evolution, made me literally laugh out loud a few times (Ellis, omg! 🤣🤣🤣), smile so hard my cheeks are literally aching now, and close my Kindle at the end with all sorts of glowy, happy feelings in my heart.

I can't wait to read more from this author, and highly recommend this book to absolutely everyone who is in love with love. ALL the stars!

[ancientreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did some serious hesitating over requesting an ARC of this book, because that subtitle “A Romance Where Nothing Bad Happens” suggests big goo potential. Wrong wrong wrong! There was no goo to be found — in fact, I wasn’t even a quarter of the way in before I started blithering about "Kind" all over the romance Discord I belong to: how funny it is, how endearing Drew and Ellis are, how anyone who loves Cat Sebastian’s books should grab it with both hands.

(I’ll come back to the point about Cat Sebastian.)

The setup: Drew is a workaholic architect, and when I say “workaholic” I mean that six months before the book opens he exhausted himself to the point of “hydroplaning [his car] into a telephone pole because he was too tired to see.” Cue a month in the hospital and a long, slow, painful recovery. Trying to learn the skill of not working himself into a grave, Drew has joined a neighborhood volunteer group, where he meets ...

... Ellis, a recovering asshole. A year ago, after an ugly episode we learn the details of late in the book, Ellis realized that he wanted to escape the dead end of being awful to everyone around him; since then, with the help of a therapist, he’s been learning how to be a better person. Unfortunately, this has left him still sharing an apartment with his still-awful ex. (Complicated reasons, which HL makes astonishingly plausible.) Escaping yet another hideous argument, he checks MeetUp for an activity, any activity, taking place in the next fifteen minutes, and finds himself at ...

... the neighborhood volunteer group, where he’s voluntold that he’ll be helping Drew plan a free barbecue.

This being a romance, Drew and Ellis naturally dislike each other at the start but slowly thaw, and matters proceed from there. This being A Romance Where Nothing Bad Happens, there’s no third-act breakup, no labored misunderstanding, no bad-faith “friends” trying to undermine the growing mutual affection. I mentioned Cat Sebastian earlier not because "Kind" reads like one of her books but because it has in common with them that the action is ninety percent interior to the characters — or, to put it another way, the narrative arc is emotional. I find myself wanting to protect this book from readers who insist on technicolor, supersaturated, dramatique external events in their romance: those readers will be bored and will DNF or leave bad reviews, and I am here to say that they will be wrong, wrong, wrong.

It also strikes me that there’s something adult about "Kind" — I don’t mean the sex scenes, although yes please, those are vivid and devoid of stripe-licking and consequently very hot. What I do mean is: Drew and Ellis have already come some way in life, found themselves taking a self-destructive turn, and now must work out how to proceed. They’re reflective and thoughtful; they talk a lot with each other and their friends, hoping for more insight; they consciously, purposefully change.

So they’re engaged in this serious process, yawn yawn you might think, but their inner voices are so distinctive, the dialogue is snappy or tender as the situation calls for, and each of them is often somewhere on the funny–hilarious spectrum, but not in the same ways.

- “Ellis was pretty good at saying, Shut the fuck up, but it was a skill he was trying to retire, lately.”
- Ellis, describing a friend’s reaction to a life event: “[Darius sounded] like he was trying to be casual but he’d never met casual, just heard about it in letters from across the sea.”
- Drew, listening to a bore: “there was a long digression into some Suspicious Persons In Our Midst that was probably racist but Drew didn’t have the energy to interrogate it enough to figure that out.”
- Drew snarks at Ellis, “maybe against his better judgment. Maybe not. The better judgment was in its chambers, deciding.”

I could go on and on, but I’ll try to cut it short with just a couple more points.

When Drew first meets Ellis, he notes that Ellis is “a little overweight.” I braced myself for Ellis to go on a diet or start working out or for the narrative otherwise to fat-shame him, but no: instead, Drew just finds Ellis more and more attractive as he gets to know him, and we hear not one more word about Ellis’s weight or, indeed, much of anything about his appearance except that he himself doesn’t always feel good about being “pasty,” so he wears a lot of hoodies. In short, that “a little overweight” is a piece of information about Drew and his workaholic perfectionism, not a tell from the author about herself. It's a bit risky, using the phrase so early in the book before the reader knows whose attitude we’re seeing. Don’t let it put you off.

As for Drew, what we know about his looks is that Ellis finds him hot from the get-go, that he has a number of surgical scars, and — his parents and grandparents having immigrated from China — that he’s presumably not so pasty. And, speaking of the immigrant thing, boy did Drew’s parents ring true to me, also a child of immigrants although from a different corner of the world: the sometimes grim determination, the clean-your-plate attitude toward food, the anxiety. Hannah Leigh doesn’t lay it on thick at all (you won’t feel as if you’re getting a lesson in the trauma of immigration), but I felt the weight of history. Nice work.

The ad copy for "Kind" describes the story as “a slow climb out of misery,” which sure, yes, it is that, only with a lot of laughter and warmth along the way. Also, as previously noted, hot sex. I’m grateful to the author and to NetGalley for the ARC.

[August Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kind: A Romance Where Nothing Bad Happens by Hannah Leigh

3.5 stars

Thank you to BookSirens for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Drew is recovering from a near fatal car accident caused by his workaholic nature. Ellis is recovering from being an asshole, caused by his asshole nature. When the two meet at a volunteer group that they’re both hoping will aid their recovery, they revert to their former tendencies, but soon they each find something unexpected in the other. Can they fight their natures to make their relationship work?

I wasn’t sure what to expect from a romance where “nothing bad happens”, but the promise of no third act break-up drew me in. While living up to its promise, it still includes conflict, character development, and everything else needed to make a gripping story.

Drew is an interesting character, but Ellis is where this really shines. His internal battle of being a good person in the “right way” is very compelling and I haven’t read that POV before. A deeper exploration of what I took to be anxiety or OCD (but is never called out as such) would have made this a better read, but it works as it is.

I had a few issues with the writing style. The tone and punctuation were more conversational than I'm used to. It was almost written like text to speech or subtitles with every “like”, hesitation and filler word included. Even the narration was as someone might say it which, was stilted and awkward to read but worked in places. There were multiple missing words and grammatic errors. The second half is a lot better, and I wish it had the same quality throughout.

With a good editor I think it could be a four or five star read. If you can look past the writing style and mistakes, the heart and characters of the story will stay with you. After finishing, I really missed Ellis and Drew. I kept wondering what they were doing, like they were old friends I wanted to catch up with.

If you are looking for an emotional but calming read, I would recommend Kind.

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very sweet and low angst with characters who were both trying to be better than they were. Ellis has spent a lot of his life being terrible to people and doing things that hurt others intentionally. He’s now trying to work on being a better person and we get to see a lot of his journey and thought process while he’s learning to be kind. He may have some not so great thoughts sometimes and internally it might take him an extra second to get it right but you really do get to see him being better throughout the book. Drew on the other hand is a workaholic who has to learn what it’s like to relax for once and he has no idea what he’s doing. He’s used to working long hours and not having time for anything else. While I don’t think he will ever be happy doing nothing, I really liked how much he was okay with doing basically nothing when Ellis was around. Sure these two didn’t have the greatest first impression of one another but I loved seeing their friendship and relationship grow over time until they realized how much they like and care about one another. I liked seeing Ellis and Drew help support one another on their respective journeys to being better and how much they enjoyed spending time together. This book is just as advertised with characters who are working on themselves while falling in love in a very sweet way.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

[Demi Goddess Solis · Rating 4 out of 5]

The charm of Kind lies entirely in its characters and their parallel journeys of self-improvement. Ellis’s narrative is particularly compelling. The author doesn’t shy away from his past cruelty but uses it to highlight his conscious, daily effort to change. We’re privy to his internal struggles the instant, unkind thought that he must consciously override. This makes his external acts of kindness feel hard-won and authentic, transforming him from an archetype into a deeply sympathetic character.

Drew, meanwhile, embodies a different but equally relatable struggle. His inability to comprehend “relaxing” is both poignant and subtly humorous. His arc isn’t about becoming lazy, but about learning that value and happiness can exist outside of productivity. The most telling detail is how his compulsion to do simply fades in Ellis’s presence, finding a new kind of fulfillment in quiet, shared moments.

Their romance is a slow, sweet build of companionship and mutual support. Seeing Drew and Ellis become each other’s soft place to land offering patience, understanding, and quiet celebration for small victories, is incredibly satisfying.

[Ashley (mishm_ashofbooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a wonderful read, and exactly what I needed! I loved the premise of this, with both main characters being on a journey to better themselves, and in the process, finding each other. The characters were wonderful and properly fleshed out, and it was so nice to follow them in their growth. I thought the relationship between the characters also developed really well, in a natural and healthy way, and we had a solid cast of supporting characters as well. The humor in this was also really well-done. Once I got a solid amount into the book, I just couldn't put it down and read the last 200 pages in one sitting!
I loved how this was promised to be 'a romance where nothing bad happens'. I am not a big fan of things like miscommunication tropes or third-act breakups, so this was perfect. I thought it was really well-done, to have this be a calm and comforting read, but without being boring. There was still enough happening to keep me interested, and both the story and the characters felt realistic. I loved how this was described to be "just a slow climb out of misery and into happiness", which is exactly what it felt like, in the best way possible.

Thank you NetGalley and the author for the eARC!

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm torn over whether to give this book four or five stars. Four-plus, for sure. It was basically what it says on the tin: a romance where nothing bad happens. And that could easily be dullsville (particularly with the premise stated ahead of time), but this wasn't. I liked and cared about both the MCs, and there were some truly fun supporting characters as well. Despite the "nothing bad happens," plenty of growth happens, and some emotional pain/stress. The pain/stress just didn't get turned all the way up the way it is in many books (books that I love! I don't want to imply that nothing bad should happen in every book).

All in all, this was a highly enjoyable read, especially in this dark time. If I have a quibble, it's probably that I'd have liked to learn more about Ellis's background (basically, how he grew up to be the man he was before he reinvented himself). But that is only a quibble.

Recommended!

My thanks to the publisher/NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

[fortheloveofmmromancebooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arc review

Drew is recovering from a near fatal accident which has left him recuperating. To take his mind off it he joins a community volunteer group. He has been given the responsibility of organising the big summer barbecue.

Ellis finds himself walking into the same group by accident, after storming out of his home having had an argument with his ex, where he is cohabiting until he finds another place to live. He is also roped into helping Drew with the barbecue.

Initially, both are standoffish with each other, but slowly they become friends and actively seek each other out when they need someone. The more time they spend together the more they enjoy each others company, could they become more than just friends?

This is my first novel by Hannah Leigh. I loved this low angst, strangers to friends to lovers story. There was no drama, just love. The writing was in the third person but told from both characters.
I would happily read more from this author.

[Elena · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC from the author with no obligation to write a review.

This book is delightful. I didn't want to stop reading to go to sleep, so it didn't take me long to finish the book. The subheading is pretty accurate, with the caveat that a number of bad things happened before the book begins, and the book is in part about reckoning with those things.

But really what the book is about is two men who have been unhappy jerks learning together to be both better people and also happier, and falling in love along the way. The level of craft it takes to make a slow, gentle journey of personal improvement compelling and engaging has to be impressive. But to be honest, I wasn't paying a lot of attention to craft because I was locked in with the characters and their love story. It's believable and sweet, and well worth the read. Also, the sex scenes are hot.

I loved this book from beginning to end.

[thefourthvine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Right now, owing to the Unfortunate Reality, my brain is as delicate about fictional horrors as Victorian maidens’ brains were expected to be. I need a story where things are good! Stakes are personal! Endings are believably happily ever after! And here it is. This is the perfect novel for the times. It isn’t pure fluff—there’s character development and relationship development and people growing. But it is a delightful cozy and soothing reading experience, because it does what it says on the tin: nothing bad happens.

I loved the characters and the pacing and the gentleness of this book. I would happily read dozens more if they were available.

[Frankie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of Drew and Ellis took me a little while to get into, it was slow and uneventful, and exactly as described, and once I got a bit further through it I found I was actually interested to see where it was going.
The banter between Ellis and Drew really held the story together, and there were a few times that I found myself chuckling.
I found the side characters to be a little one dimensional, and I wasn't all that invested in either of the MMCs, but overall I would say I enjoyed myself so I will still take it as a win.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Saskia Veldhuis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really enjoyable story, with exactly what was promised in the blurb. Ellis is trying so hard to break out of nasty mode that he sometimes goes too far the other way. He is doing better at redemption than Drew, who knows he should cut down on working but hasn't yet arrived at actually feeling that. They start as sort of antagonists slowly become friends and then more in a very organic way. The title is completely accurate, which makes this the ideal and safe read for in between my usual favourite high angst stories.
Thanks for the advance copy via Booksprout, I am happy to leave a voluntary review.

[Kyra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay so I’ve been reading a TON of dark absolutely tear jerking romances and this was the perfect break from those. Kind is a little slow at first(at least for me) but I found myself getting engrossed the more I read. The characters were sweet and as the title states kind or at least trying their damn hardest to be. The storyline was light and easy going and I feel like it was the perfect length, not so much that you’re getting bored but not too short that you feel like you MUST have more. Gotta say that I absolutely adore that it wasn’t an insta-love/insta-lust storyline too I feel like so many books follow that theme lately.

[HANNAH WILSON · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book ended up being way cuter than I expected. At first I had a hard time connecting with the characters (at the beginning (kept wondering what Drew’s problem was)but the more they spoke to each other, the more I understood where they were both coming from.
This wasn’t at all what I thought it would be, but I really enjoyed it anyway. It kind of makes you stop and think about who you are and whether you’re actually the person you want to be. Watching Drew and Ellis evolve as people and fall in love along the way was beautiful to see.
I also loved all the nerdy DND lingo and anime references they were such a fun touch! I’d definitely read more from this author. 5/5 stars.

[Laura J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Opposites attract, and Ellis and Drew are proof that they can come together gently. I loved the detailed and thoughtful characterizations (especially Ellis, for whom I would lay down my life), the slow burn, the hot sex, and especially the thinky thoughts about what it means to be a good person. I was cheering them on the whole way through. I'm excited to read more from Hannah Leigh.

[Mary Lou · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely romance!

I adored this! And while nothing bad happens, this is a story full of emotional tension and juicy relationship development, so it never feels like just fluff. Ellis and Drew are a wonderful pair and I look forward to the next book in this series!

[Urszula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written and composed story. Realistic and full of emotions.
Good background that adds to the story. Well developed and interesting characters and relationships among them.
Pleasurable read.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Nadia · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a nice romance about kindness towards others. Not sure if it was memorable, and at times the message was redundant. The romance was sweet. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my ARC.