
Member Reviews

Two women with minor roles in Miss Match are the willing and not so willing projects of matchmaker Samantha Luce in this second novel in the Perfect Match series. This is a sweet, funny romance featuring strong women with fascinating careers and personal lives easy to imagine thanks to the talented Fiona Riley.
Shelly White is a geeky tech wizard hoping dance lessons with Lucinda Moss will pull her out of her (ahem) shell and give her the confidence to date the women she meets at mixers run by Perfect Match. She has a cat she loves, a father she endures, and a thriving business but longs for the chance to meet a special someone to make her life complete.
Claire Moseley has recently been promoted to a senior executive position in the public relations firm owned by Moss. She is driven to succeed both in the workplace and in her personal life where she competes with her brothers at everything from softball to winning the race for the preferred shower facilities at her family home. She has no time for serious relationships and thinks dating services are a joke.
I loved almost everything in this novel. The pacing is great, the character depth is off the charts. Their relationship builds slowly and the reader gets to savour all those little moments that make for a wonderful romance. Nothing instalove about these two. My only negative is how painful the expected bump in their road to love felt to this reader. That may be the biggest compliment to the writer’s talents because I was so invested in this couple I was unwilling to have anything ruin their HEA.
ARC received from Bold Strokes Books via NetGalley for review.

Unlikely Match is a sweet, enjoyable story with nice, adorable and believable characters. The pacing of the story is perfect, it never felt slow or rushed. I have not read Miss Match which is the first book in this series but I never felt like there was anything missing and I really enjoyed the story, so I think it's safe to say that this can be read as a standalone book.
I highly recommend this if you're looking for a sweet entertaining romance.

It happened! I've been waiting and waiting and WaAAahhhhhh Fiona Riley blessed my gay life with the next installment of the Perfect Match series! I'd taken a break from lesfic reading for my own personal projects, so this was surely a welcomed treat back. Plus, it's an honor to be approved for my first Ever NetGalley review! Hope I don't eff this up!
Here, we follow Shelly White, a dynamo of a woman who's tech-brainish, a low-key gaming genius, gorgeous, and stylish to the point that I side-eyed my screen. She even has the sweetest cat in the world! Aaaaandddd she still can't find the love of her life. Ahh, I live for this.
On the other side of the romantic tracks is Claire, the femme-sporty love interest with a heart of gold and trust issues that (of course) break them apart for a bit. But, never fear! This story doesn't lack the lovey feels and you'll learn a few things, too. I'm quite fascinated in Fiona Riley's research, taking into account all these inventions mentioned--I'm intrigued! I want to buy a Rubik's cube now.
I love that the main story focuses on Shelly and Claire's chemistry as well as their personal obstacles--specifically, family. I ate up every single interaction of theirs, along with Samantha and Lucinda who show up time to time to out-perfect the entire cast. <3
The characters are feminine and fresh, everyone's professional and photoshop-lovely (not a bad thing). Just everything I look for when I wanna escape into lesbian fiction land.
If I had to drop some critique, it'd be about the dialogue. Some lines could flow more naturally, how people actually talk. At times, Claire's brothers sounded too similar in voice to the other characters. And they kind of...flirted with Claire? Idk, maybe I read it wrong.
Their sex scene was *sexy hand gesture that's probably cringey*. Very nice. I could've used more, even. Riley's very good at those. Details, yum.
Overall, a pleasant read! It didn't surpass Miss Match (an all-time fave), but I still purchased it because I've gotta support authors who are turning into favorites. ☆☆Four stars!☆☆

I didn't think the maturity level matched the main characters. I don't think it would have even changed I'd they were a MF couple. It just didn't work.

Unlikely Match is a sweet romance novel and finally one where no man is involved in the relationship part (I guess I just read a lot of those kind of plots lately, where one of the main characters was previously with a man and then fell for a woman).... The story had a great pace and it never felt slow or that I was temped to skip a page. The main characters are portrait very well and the chemistry between them is coming out through the pages. The first few chapters had some reverences to the prior book by Fiona Riley Miss Match but overall it can be read as a standalone book.
I honestly have to admit that after ready the fireworks scene I tried to build the "projector" and it actually works - its awesome! I can honestly say I never leaned something that neat from a romance novel.

Although this book is the sequel to Ms. Riley’s debut novel, “Miss Match”, one could read this book as a standalone. It is a very cute romance which is fast paced.
The main characters from book one in the series are Samantha, who owns a match making company, and Lucinda, a business executive during day and a dance instructor in the evenings. In the first book, we are also introduced to Shelly, a highly successful computer geek who owns her own business. Shelly is seeking out the services of Samantha to find the perfect match. In this sequel, Samantha and Lucinda are planning their wedding and Shelly is still dating. Shelly meets Claire and there is an instant attraction.
All the characters are well developed and enjoyable. Ms. Riley has presented a very well thought out storyline. As a result, Ms. Riley should be able to write several more books to the series.
I recommend this book. The plot is believable and has just enough angst to hold the reader’s attention. I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.
I was given this ARC in return for a fair and honest review.

A fitting, sexy sequel to "Miss Match," which I also had a delightful time with. I love that unabashed nerdiness is acceptable and even, promoted by Ms. Riley as well as her ability to capture the love stories of effective, smart women who want to give love well. I look forward to more entries in the series.

This has been a very sweet and engaging story, a cute romance that I have enjoyed a lot. Both mains are super adorable. The building of their relation, both in the personal and professional side, has been so well paced for me. It has moved me, made me smile, put a lump in my throat. Must be said that is the second book featuring Perfect Match Inc., the matchmaking business ruled by Samantha Monteiro that was the lead character alongside Lucinda Moss, in the previous book of Fiona Riley . Although you can read this one without have read the first one. I wonder if the next one will show us Sasha more deeply, I really hope so. Definitely I will recomend reading this book if you are looking for a nice and pleasant romance.

I am a big fan of Perfect match book 1, and this one is no exception. The characters are simply adorable, and the book is bursting with cuteness. I have to say I'm very very fond of Shelly, ever since I've been introduced to the character in the first book, and I was secretly hoping the author will put her as a leading character of the second book. So, now that I got my wish, I was enjoying reading this book, seeing Shelly developing as a person, getting out of her shell and blossoming, so to speak. She's a wonderful human being, and as soon as Claire starts to realize it, she's more and more into her.
4.5 stars from me.

I loved Fiona Riley's first book Miss Match. I was thrilled when I was granted permission to read this book. Shelly made several appearances in Miss Match and I'm glad she was the main character in this book. In Miss Match Shelly was portrayed as a shy, bumbling, genius, but as soon as this book began, I was able to see that there was so much more to her. She "met" Claire at a mixer and then they began working together (Claire worked at a PR firm). Their relationship built slowly upon friendship and then led to more. The dialogue was witty and I loved the characters' inner thoughts. Sometimes it made me laugh out loud. I liked that Samantha and Lucinda made several appearances in the book a well. The only thing I didn't like was why Claire broke up with Shelly 3/4 of the way through the book. I know in every romance the couple has to fight or break up 3/4 of the way through the book, but the reasons seemed to be made up (in Claire's mind at least). She apologized for doing what she did because she was scared, but it was a little hard for me to believe. But overall I really enjoyed the book....the characters are delightful and the plot development was natural. I look forward to reading Ms. Riley's next book!

This was quite an interesting book. It had a good mix of romance, sexy scenes and intelligence. It's a heady combo and one I definitely enjoy.
I can't wait for the next one and I hope Claire and Shelly show up in it

Regardless of the fact that the lesbian romance genre has become more and more crowded, Unlikely Match rises above the din. Clare and Shelly make their debut in Miss Match (book 1) but their story had to wait to be lovingly fleshed out here in the sequel. I still recommend going back and reading Miss Match so that you don't miss out this author's delectable writing, I'm impressed that she has made this sequel seamlessly its own stand alone with Lucinda and Samantha contributing as friends and colleagues. Speaking of which, Samantha has put her prowess at match-making to work by deviously getting Clare's and Shelly's paths to intersect and she's just certain that they have potential. It's all up to them after that little push together. It's a classic story of two falling in love then freaking out, but their intensity together is undeniable and the characters so likable you can't help but root them on for their own happy ending. It was enjoyable spending time in their world while laughing, crying, and worrying about them.

Enjoyable story with two strong likable characters and supportive friends that help move the story forward with challenging as well as encouraging words. Shelly White is so adorable in her highly intelligent and nerdy way. Claire Moseley is focused and knows what she wants and how to get there. Claire has her endearing brothers but what Claire does not have is someone to share her life and success with. The interaction and chemistry between Claire and Shelly is one of the most appealing and entertaining that I have read in awhile.

This 2nd book in the series. Shelly, the main character in this book, was Lucinda's client at the dance studio in the first book. This story is Shelly finding her perfect match in Claire. The story was paced well and definitely had strong emotions and a great chemistry between the two characters. I also loved the dynamic between Lucinda and Samantha and it was nice to catch up with those two characters. This is a great book by itself, or you can read the first book.

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32072955-unlikely-match" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Unlikely Match" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1484668977m/32072955.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32072955-unlikely-match">Unlikely Match</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14545012.Fiona_Riley">Fiona Riley</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1999267771">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
I rec'd an ARC from NetGalley/Bold Strokes Books in exchange for an honest review. No synopsis need. This is the second in the Perfect Match Series and has Shelly (computer genius) and Claire (PR pro) with supporting characters from #1 Miss Match. A delightful little romance interspersed with doses of humour, erotica and angst. What's not to like!! Looking forward to #3?<br />4 stars.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31134832-gail">View all my reviews</a>

Review of Unlikely match by Fiona Riley
This is the second book by this author and another installment on the Perfect Match series which I recommend to read in chronological order. I found it as entertaining and fun to read as the previous one. Ms. Riley knows how to write a great story with a balanced amount of romance, humour, angst and hot scenes. She is seriously becoming one of my favourite authors in this genre.
This is the story of Shelly, a nerdy but lovable computer genius, and Claire, a PR and marketing executive hired by Shelly's firm. Soon the working relationship develops into something more but their budding relationship finds some bumps in the road... This is a very condensed description and there is so much more to this book. First, the main characters are multilayered, lovable and have an incredible chemistry. The secondary characters are very well described and functional to the plot, including Shelly's cat. As a bonus, the book catches up with the relationship between Samantha and Lucinda from the previous book. Overall, the story flows seamlessly making it believable and realistic. It's fun and enjoyable to read. 4 stars.
ARC provided by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

If you liked Fiona Riley’s debut novel, Miss Match, well you just have to read her second installment into the Perfect Match series. Riley brings us two adorable strong female leads that have an abundance of chemistry. I mean really what more does a romance need.
If you think back to Miss Match you remember that Lucinda was helping an adorable genius client of Samantha’s how to dance. Well, that client is now the main focus of Unlikely Match. Shelly White a lady version of Steve Jobs is looking for her true love. Shelly is an adorable character who reaches out and grabs your heart. She is dorky in the best possible ways. Her insecurities endear the reader to her. A female lead that is sexy, super smart and has a heart of gold is nothing to shake your finger at but seeing those little “imperfections” is absolutely adorable.
Out other main is Claire Moseley. Claire, also in Miss Match, was promoted by Lucinda to clean up some of the messes at Clear View. Clair leapfrogged some senior associates to become a PR and marketing executive and basically Lucinda’s right-hand woman. Claire is tenacious and competitive by nature. She has no no-nonsense approach to her job, she unequivocally knows that Luce went out on a limb and offered her a huge opportunity career-wise. In return, Claire works long hours and produces quality work time and time again, her loyalty to Clear View and her boss is endless. She is the ultimate workhorse. What she hasn’t had much luck in is meeting anyone special. Work takes precedence and she just hasn’t put herself out there in quite some time. That is till she is introduced to Shelly, and they begin working together on unrolling a few new products for the IT magnet. Shelly makes Claire want things she had put on the backburner. The only problem is dating a client is probably not the best idea career-wise.
This book is a true romance, built on two strong capable women and their journey to each other. The story is well crafted, as are the characters. They feel real. You read the book and feel as you could actually know women like this in real life. The best part is these two have chemistry in and out of the bedroom. Yay for that! I loved Riley’s first book and without a doubt took her writing up a notch. It was nice seeing Luce and Samantha together again, but the best part is those two dynamic characters stayed in the background and let Shelly and Claire be the true stars of this book. A really great read. I loved it! 4.25 stars