Member Reviews

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. I have chosen to write this honest review voluntarily and it reflects my personal opinion.
I haven't read the previous books in the series so I relied heavily on the background provided in the early pages - provided by the cat initially! This strange narrative style continued with the way Kassie thinks and acts, and there was repetition of previous events which seemed to be a way to fill the page. I read 15% of the book then a chapter started: Chris felt as alone as a batter waiting for the pitcher to deliver in the bottom of the ninth of the final game of a World Series tied 4 to 4, bases loaded, two men out'. I have no idea what this means, and it was the final straw for my dwindling interest so I abandoned the book at that stage.

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I realized halfway through that What’s Not Lost is the final book in Taylor’s “What’s Not” trilogy. Despite not reading the first two books in the series, I was immediately enthralled by Kassie's story. The steamy scenes were, well, steamy, without being awkward. The characters (especially Topher the cat!!) were fleshed out and all with different personalities, making the dialogue easy to follow and intriguing. This was such an entertaining read, but discussed the experience of embracing the unknown poignantly and wisely. I will definitely read books one and two after this!

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Kassie's seemingly perfect life crumbles when her husband dies, leaving her in charge of his business. Engaged and shocked by her fiancé's pregnant ex-girlfriend, she flees to Paris for solace.

Amidst the chaos, a Greek businessman offers unexpected support, leading Kassie to discover her true self. This heartfelt story emphasizes the power of love. Plus, Topher the cat adds delightful charm. A must-read!

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What’s Not Lost by Valerie Taylor is a very good story. I will go back to read the other books sometime. Book can still definitely read as a stand alone.

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I was a bit disappointed with this book. For most of the book, it felt like I am reading a slapstick comedy film script and then it suddenly became sober and the book ended. There was drama but which didn't seem that entertaining.

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A relatable story … about self-discovery, complicated modern family relationships, redefining happiness, and I read this in an evening, perfect entertainment which left me wanting more……. Such a delightful read, which I absolutely loved!

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This is the 3rd book in the series. I have not read the previous books and feel I should go back and read them.
This story is certainly full of lies, betrayals and lots of secrets. The storyline was a bit much to take in.
Main character, Kassie, just seems clueless on so many levels. I felt she should have been a bit more assertive about some of the things going on in her life.
Overall, a ok read for me. I really think with reading the previous books in the series I would have liked this one much better.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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Oh dear, I didn't realise that there have been two books in this series before this one.. I must go and get these other books and then re-read this one as well. I have enjoyed reading this but it really needs the others as well.. I am giving this 5 stars as this was a great read.

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for this ARC

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Valerie Taylor has once again out done herself with her new book What’s Not Lost. This is the third book in her What’s Not Series. Another perfectly named book that you will not be able to put down. This is a heartwarming and amusing romantic comedy!! Ms. Taylor continues with Kassie O’Callaghan’s story and this one she is searching for herself. This is a well written fast paced story about love, friends, and family. The characters are real and continue to develop with each book. They will feel like they are your friends, especially Kassie! You can read this one alone, Ms. Taylor’s wonderful writing style has woven the other books into this one, but if I were you, I would read them in order!!!! She will not let you down!

Thank you NetGalley, Aspetuck Publishing and the very talented Valerie Taylor for this extraordinary book and series. The opinions expressed are my own.
#netgalley #aspetuckpublishing #valerietaylor
#whatsnotlost #arc #whatsnotseries

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This is the third book in the What’s Not series and I loved how all the events of the previous two books came flooding back once I started. It picks up right where the last left off but recaps the important information you need to know without taking up a lot of time. The pacing was great, filled with drama and multiple POVs I couldn’t put it down. I really liked Kassie and Annie’s friendship, it gave a little humor between the drama. While there are not as many twists in this book I still never knew where it was going to end up. The ending was wrapped up nicely and I’m glad that Kassie has some self reflection and learned some valuable lessons along the way.

Thank you @valerieetaylor and @suzyapprovedbooktours for the gifted copy.

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I didn’t realize this book was the last in a trilogy.
I really didn’t get into the rhythm of the book until almost the very end.
I have no idea why Kassie would have gotten involved with Chris, it was a bit creepy.
I didn’t really care for Kassie, but I was team Matt from the first moment he was introduced.
It’s an ok read.

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I enjoyed reading ‘What’s Not Lost’, the strong main character and flow of the storyline give a clear message that life is for living!
The story unfolds with Kassie and Chris facing challenges and choices, Lexi is adding plenty of upheaval!
The characters were all relatable in their own way, the ups and downs of life and love take them out of their comfort zone and show what they are made of!
As we travel to Paris with Kassie, her strengths and weaknesses appear, she finds her way and I wanted to know more about her journey!

Thanks to the publisher, NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read this fun book.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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A widow is engaged to a man whose ex-girlfriend is pregnant with his child - they were on a break. This is further complicated by the career goals of the widow.

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No leí ninguno de los libros anteriores de esta trilogía porque lo que me encontré con que no entendia muchas cosas que sucedía, pero a medida que iba avanzando la historia fue comprendiendo mejor.

Creo que mi mayor problema fue no conectar con los personajes y en como se comportaban, supongo que si leo los anteriores se podría llegar a formar una idea diferente de lo que son cada uno de ellos y lo que los impulsa a pensar, decir y hacer las cosas que hacen.

Es un libro que se puede leer ligero porque los capítulos son super breves, algunos de una pagina, y eso hace que sea ágil la lectura, además de que contamos con el punto de vista de varios personajes.

No conecte mucho con la historia, como decía antes, pero no considero que haya sido un mal libro. Me gustaría leer algo más de la autora.

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I didn't realize this was a series, so was a bit confused at the start but ended up powering through and enjoying it! Lots of characters and interesting development that had you rooting for Kassie's happy ending

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I enjoyed this book. It was a nice light read but I felt like there were so many missed opportunities for some deeper story lines. This book is the last of a trilogy, but I was able to follow the previous stories as more than half of the book discussed how Chris was adopted by Sara and Charles, but it was believed that Mike was his father until Mike’s death. Chris’ biological mom, Karen is also in the picture because she started seeing Mike again before his death. Kassie, the main character, is in her 50s and was divorced from Mike and seeing Chris but initially, they didn’t know that Chris was Mike's son that was given up for adoption. But it turned out that Mike wasn’t really Chris’ father, Charles was all along.

You see, Chris’ mother, Karen, was sleeping with Charles and Mike in college when she found out she was pregnant. Karen is Jewish and knew her parents wouldn’t accept the baby because Charles nor Mike were Jewish. So even though she wasn’t sure of who the father was, she told Mike he was the father and let Charles and Sara adopt Chris. The backstory was really confusing. I had to reread certain parts several times to understand what was going on and I’m not really sure we needed all of these details to deal with the story at hand, other than it recaps the previous two books.

Anyhow, Lexi, someone that Chris hooked up with while he and Kassie were 'on a break' shows up in Boston, where Chris and Kassie live, from California, pregnant with his twins. She breaks her leg at Kassie’s house after she trips over Kassie's cat, Topher and has to stay in Boston until she’s well enough to travel back to California. Topher has a point of view in the book too and it's really cute to see his opinion on what's happening, I would have liked to have heard more from him. The first half of the story goes through all of this. Navigating how Chris tells his parents, how Kassie feels about the whole situation, and what arrangements can be made for Lexi because she’ll probably have to recuperate from the fall and deliver the babies in Boston. Plus, Kassie is scheduled to go to Paris for a year to oversee a merger for the company she works for, Calibri. But Mike, her ex-husband, her as CEO of his company, Ricci and Sons. Even with everything going on, Kassie’s determined to go to Paris which causes problems with Chris because he wants her to stay in Boston until the twins are born.

So, I don't want to give any spoilers, but I'll say that Kassie goes to Paris. This is where I feel there were so many opportunities for different stories to be developed. She basically gets to Paris and needs no transition period. I understand that she had been there before, but it was for a shorter period of time. Her biggest problems are finding good wine and better clothes. The wine problem was fixed immediately by her office staff and one of her clients who happened to own a winery and she hired a personal shopper to find her better clothes. It was tied up a little too neatly for me. I would have loved to see her get into some mischief trying to learn the cultural differences. Some conflict with her coming into the position from the U.S. would have been something to explore too. Could there have been someone in the office who wanted to sabotage her success because they felt like they should have gotten the position? But no, Kassie came and fit right in and even though there was conflict within the office, everyone seemed to accept Kassie with no problem.

But maybe the focus is supposed to be Kassie's relationship with Chris, which I get but there's so much more that could have been explored in how Kassie decides to proceed with the relationship while relocating to Paris. As a 50 something myself, I would have loved to see more adventures from Kassie. It would have also been nice to hear from Topher a little more too. I enjoyed Kassie and Topher, and I could definitely see a series for them!

I read this book as an ARC from Net Galley.

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This is the 3rd book of What's not series, i never read this series before and this book was good. Full drama. What is this? What Kassie learn from all her experience? She still in same cycle no closure. And it is not end yet, there is next book. Oh lord.

Thank you to NetGalley for provide this book, it is pleasure to review this book.

#WhatsNotLost #ValerieTaylor #AspetuckPublishing #IndependentBookPublishersAssociation #IBPA #NetGalley #ARC

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This is the third book in the series and I have read them all. Kassie O'Callaghan has her life turned upside down. Just as she is reunited with her ex and now fiancé, her soon to be ex-husband, Mike dies and leaves her in charge of Ricci and Sons. They all thought that Chris was Mike's son, but when Mike died Chris did a paternity test to find out Chris was not Mike's son after all. During the dinner after the funeral, for Mike, Chris's ex-girlfriend shows up to tell Chris she is pregnant. Kassie decided to go to Paris where she was offered for a one year job to take someone’s place who was in leave. Kassie also learned that Mike made her CEO of his company in his will. Kassie is a strong female character who comes to terms with who she is and how she is gonna play the game of life. This was a very enjoyable book.

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This is the third book in the series. I really enjoyed the series as a whole. As soon as I started the first book, I had the good/bad guys firmly selected. During the second book, my feelings towards the characters switched around continuously, which carried on in this final book because the characters are human with human flaws. Loved the twists and turns in the intertwined relationships between the characters. I felt the books were well written and enjoyed the development of the characters. If I had one criticism, I felt the end/conclusion was rushed. I would have preferred a longer book with a lot more detail towards the end.

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This is book 3 in the series. Kassie O’Callaghan and her boyfriend, Chris and his ex-girlfriend, Lexi, have complicated lives. Instead of just staying the way they are, they chose to think differently. Kassie decided to go to Paris, where she had earned the job that was offered her, for one year, instead of staying and becoming the CEO of her husband's company, who had just died.
This changed the dynamics of the three, and we see them discovering who they are, what is important to them, and when they got out of the drama and chaos, they have breathing room, see clearer, and instead of making each other crazy, they can see their lives and where it is going now.
I received an ARC from Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles through NetGalley.

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