Thanks to Dutton Books for an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. I devoured Kismet while reading on the sand and at the snack bar today. While it's April in the USVI instead of July on Fire Island like it is in the book, it is not a bad place to relax and read!
Narrator Amy's twin sister Jo is about to marry Dave, in a whirlwind romance that includes a week of wedding festivities culminating in a July 4th wedding. July 4th is also the twins' thirtieth birthday. Amy, on the other hand, has been married to her high school sweetheart Ben for almost five years. As the week's festivities begin, it turns out that Dave's best man was Amy's college friend - from the "break" she and Ben took which they never told their families about. His appearance adds to the recent stress Amy and Ben have been under. How will the wedding week go? You'll have to read it yourself to find out!
Kismet publishes today - do yourself a favor and check it out. I fully enjoyed being whisked into the wedding, marriage, and family drama! The detailed descriptions helped me visualize each event and empathize with almost every character at one point or another. I'll link some content warnings in the comments, There is some potentially triggering content I want to point out to readers.
CW: miscarriage, pregnancy loss, infidelity, divorce

This is a story about what happens when your past suddenly and unexpectedly reappears in your present.  Amy Sharp’s twin sister, Jo, is getting married over July 4th at their family’s vacation home on Fire Island, on what just happens to be their shared 30th birthday.   Amy’s a little annoyed Jo scheduled the wedding on their big birthday and she’s dealing with tension with her husband, Ben, a childhood friend who she has dated since high school — except for a brief period their freshmen year of college.  Nonetheless, Amy is determined to rally for her sister and her husband to be.  

But then at one of the pre-wedding events, Amy meets Emmett, her future brother-in-law’s best man — who it turns out is someone from Amy’s past, during the brief period she and Ben were split up.  This throws Amy into a tailspin, as she faces her complicated and unresolved feelings for Emmett at the very moment she is navigating a rough patch with Ben, Jo’s seemingly erratic behavior, and questions about whether Jo’s in-laws-to-be are determined to scuttle the wedding.  

I really enjoyed this book!  It is an insightful exploration of two interesting dynamics: first, the chance to revisit, or reconsider, what might have been with the one who got away, particularly at a time when your long-term relationship hits a rough patch.  And second, navigating when the family or friend you are closest to is about to have a new primary person.  What I particularly appreciated in this story is that no one is the villain — whether it is the Amy-Ben-Emmett situation or the relationship between Amy and Jo, we see how all parties are ultimately sympathetic and trying to work their way through the hard challenges of adulthood, even while making mistakes.  This deepens and raises the emotional stakes of this heartwarming and frequently funny story. 

Strongly recommended!

Amy has been through the unthinkable, which is now putting a strain on her relationship with childhood sweetheart turned husband, Ben. The one thing she doesn't need is to see her one time college fling, the only man she ever thought she had feelings for besides Ben. Unfortunately for her, he is the best man in her twin sister's Fire Island wedding.

This book falls into two tropes I love: Second chance and marriage in trouble. I liked all of the characters in this book except maybe Amy. She annoyed me a good deal, but I did feel for her a few times. I understood why she was doing some of her actions, just not all. Even with that, I enjoyed the book a lot. The setting of this book is amazing and made me want to go to Fire Island on vacation. Amy's family is also one that I adored. This was a quick read, which I liked and also didn't like. I wanted more of the family but appreciated the focus of the book.

check TW, there are a lot in this one.

Release day: 4/18

A solid debut.

Lots of secrets and sister drama, which is fun.

I wanted it to move a smidge bit faster.

Full review to come on my website.

Having grown up on Long Island, I truly enjoyed Becky Chalsen's debut set on Fire Island. A mix of women's fiction and romance - dwelling on family relationships and their complexity as well as some romantic relationships as well, Kismet kept me interested from start to finish and I look forward to reading more from Chalsen in the future.

Thank you to Dutton for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

This was an entertaining women's fiction debut perfect for summer beach reading that sees two twin sisters returning to their childhood vacation island for one of them to get married. Full of family drama, secrets and past loves, this is sure to keep you guessing as to what disaster will happen next and will the wedding come off without a hitch or get derailed for good.

Recommended for fans of Ali Brady's The beach trap and good on audio narrated by Christine Lakin. I liked this one but didn't love it as much as I was hoping. I think I was looking for a bit more of a romance as opposed to mid-life/marriage crises. Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and @prhaudio for complimentary digital copies in exchange for my honest review!

CW: miscarriage/infertility issues

I had such high hopes. I really thought this was going to be a grand intro into summer beach reading for me. But things took a turn pretty quickly.

The premise and setting were extremely promising, but the execution just did not do it for me, I’m sorry to say.

I was not invested in the main character at all. She was extremely immature and overly dramatic with little to no dimension or development.

I hope others love it more than I did.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Kismet was not what I was expecting. A story about family, and sisters, and remaining true to who you really are, it definitely threw me for a loop. For a large part of the book, I was convinced that the main character wanted one thing, when it turned out that she really wanted something else entirely. It also deals with some adult grief topics, such as the pain of miscarriage and plans that have gone awry. Overall, a quietly satisfying read.

Full of twists and turns centered around a wedding and a 30th birthday celebration, Kismet is as much a story of finding strength to go on after life sends you a curve ball and learning to forgive yourself and others. It is equal parts a romance and a love letter to twins and sisters in general. With its Fire Island setting and Fourth of July drama, this is a perfect beach read for 2023!

Thank you Dutton Books for my copy! All thoughts are my own.

I will admit that this book wasn’t on my radar at all until I saw my friend post about it. When I learned it was set on Fire Island, I immediately requested a copy! I love a good beach house setting and went to Point O’Woods on Fire Island many times growing up. I have to say that the setting was my favorite part of this book and I think it will be a perfect Summer read for anyone who wants a nice balance between character discovery, emotional journeys, and beachy vibes.

It’s definitely more on the contemporary side and even though there is a happy ending, I wouldn’t classify this as a Romance. I’ll have to double check if the publisher does but as primarily a Romance reader, I still really enjoyed it! It was fast paced and kept me reading.

Synopsis:

“A sun-soaked debut about love, sisterhood, and destiny, set in the glorious beach town of Kismet, Fire Island . . . Can Amy’s marriage survive Jo’s wedding?For as long as anyone can remember, it has been Amy, Jo, and Ben. Amy and Jo, the inseparable Sharp twins who couldn’t be more different; and Ben, Amy’s childhood sweetheart turned husband.But as this year’s Fourth of July weekend approaches, something feels off. Jo’s whirlwind engagement and wedding ceremony now eclipses the twins’ long-awaited thirtieth birthday. Recent arguments between Amy and Ben have left their marriage feeling more like make-believe than ever-after. And as the family beach town transforms for Jo’s wedding weekend, Amy’s trusted trio will be tested by the most unexpected hurdle yet: the arrival of a handsome, mysterious newcomer in a best man suit. One with a strikingly familiar face. A face that Amy had planned to never see again.This holiday weekend, even the strongest SPF won’t protect the Sharp twins from all the secrets about to take center stage.” —NetGalley

What I Liked:

The Setting—The setting is the star. I could so clearly picture the weathered beach house, big waves, and sticky humidity.

The Unexpected Aspects—This book really took me for an emotional ride. I was really moved by Amy’s journey and I loved how unapologetic I felt about that. Life is messy and we all make mistakes.

The Internal Dialogue—Amy’s journey in this book is messy and imperfect. I really appreciated how honest it was. I know a lot of people don’t like their characters to have flaws, but I find it to be much more humanizing and never know who will identify with it.

What Didn’t Work:

Lack of Resolution—This is probably because I’m mainly a romance reader, but I really would have liked a but more resolution with Ben. But it’s also a “slice of life” type novel, where we only get these characters for a week, so I do understand the reasoning.

Character Authenticity: 4/5 Spice Rating: 0/5 Overall Rating: 4/5

Content Warnings:

miscarriage, pregnancy loss, infidelity, divorce

The narrative voice is smart and engaging, but I felt the author was asking me to root for the main character to cheat on her very nice husband, which didn't sit well with me at all.

this also happens to be my most anticipated release of the year and boyyyyy did it exceed my expectations 🥺

I have an entire TikTok review dedicated to this book, so if you want to hear me rave and ramble about this book, check that out! @lexysreading on TT

I’m going to keep it short & sweet here but ON MY GOSHHHHH did I love this book 🥺 this was such a heartwarming story about sisterhood, love, the past coming back, rekindling, and falling back in love.

Amy attends her twin sisters wedding in their favorite beach town, Kismet, Fire Island. Her marriage is on the rocks, and someone from her past makes a surprising appearance. With nothing but fighting and old feelings being brought up, it’s questionable if Amy will make it through her twin sisters wedding week.

If you love contemporary romance that will keep you on your toes the entire time, you absolutely NEED to preorder this book!

Amy and her husband Ben travel to fire Island for her twin sister’s wedding. Once there, Amy runs into the best man, and realizes he’s the boy she loved in the past, but has kept hidden.

This novel had all the makings for a great story. Unfortunately, it just wasn't for me. I didn’t like Amy as a person, she had so many secrets and was very dramatic for someone turning 30 and married for 5 years. I didn’t like how she would run away from her husband everytime he tried to talk to her. I felt that both Amy and Jo, her sister, were so immature and were acting like teenagers reaching out to old boyfriends when they were married/about to get married.

The setting was fun, a small beach island, with a lot of fun party guests, but the MCs were not for me and I just couldn’t get into this one.

An atmospheric relationship / family drama set on Kismet, Fire Island.

Amy is lucky in many ways. She has a loving family including her twin sister, Jo. She has a great job. She has a wonderful and kind husband, Ben, and they’ve been together most of their lives. Almost everything in her life is going to plan. As Amy gets ready to engage in her sister’s week-long wedding celebration, her perfect life is threatened by the arrival of the groom’s best man.

The premise of Kismet is intriguing and I enjoyed the pacing of the novel, as we move from one wedding event to another leading up to the big day. Since the story takes place over the course of a week, I think it would have benefitted from deeper character development, particularly Amy’s, so that readers could understand her motivations and revelations. It would have been nice to have more insight into Amy’s respective relationships with Jo and with Ben. I would recommend it as a quick beach read to those interested in a marital drama plots.

Thank you very much to Penguin Dutton and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Publisher for an ARC of this book.

Kismet by Becky Chalsen is a summer soaked read about the bonds of family and the re-examination of one's life in the aftermath of heartbreak. The story is set on Fire Island during the weekend of Fourth of July. We are introduced to the Sharp family with the elder twin sister, Amy, as our narrator. Her family is gathering this weekend to not only celebrate her and her sister, Jo's, thirtieth birthday, but the wedding of Jo and her fiancé, Dave. What ensues is a story about heartbreak, regrets, and rediscovering one's own journey.

I wanted to like Kismet. I was really excited to read this thinking it would jump start a great season of beach reads for 2023. The premise was promising, the characters sounded interesting, and the setting- oh the setting- seemed like the perfect sun drenched place to relax and unwind. But the execution of this story was a mess. There were so many confusing and unlikely character developments; and there were characters with absolutely no development or dimension at all. The plot would progress forward only for a character to make a decision to revert it back. I swear I read the same chapters over and over with the characters making the same mistakes over and over again which made for a boring read. The narrator, Amy, was annoying and frustrating in that she would make these sweeping, grand life decisions only to back track on them a chapter later. In fact, all of the characters were over dramatic and eye-roll inducing in this way. In addition, characters would be Jekyll and Hyde types (like Amy being practical, but super emotional) or characters would have no traits at all (You never learn anything valuable about Dave.) For a character driven novel, Kismet failed to create a robust and dynamic portrait of this evolving family,