These are my favorite kind of short stories and a perfect way to get to see the writing of an author you may be interesting in reading their work. Perfect reads for around Valentine’s Day! I love how the stories are short but still give you just enough. Abby and Christina Lauren were my favorites, but all of them were great.

These short stories are going to delight any reader as they focus on Valentine’s Day and near misses or missed opportunities. This compilation from this amazing group of authors is a real treat! I loved Christina Lauren’s story told through email messages and Abby Jimenez’s Worst Wing Man Ever, revealed the authors sensitivity and exceptional empathy for a dying grandmother. Messages on car windows brought this couple closer together. The other authors write a magical realism story -thank you Ashly Poston for continuing down this vein we have come to love so well. Sally Thorne, Jasmine Guillory and Sariah Wilson add to this excellent novella. I suggest settling down with this book of comfort and hope, a glass of wine and make this book your valentine! I soaked up the love in these stories and it was a great book to start my reading year off on the right track.
Thank you to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really fun book with cute, mostly stand-alone stories. The little easter eggs that loosely connect the story were a great touch that united the stories. They were all very different in tone, style, etc. so the connectedness helped make the collection cohesive.

The Christina Lauren story was my personal favorite. It was so creative. Abby Jimenez's story was the most sentimental--it definitely hit me right in the feels. It made me think very fondly about my favorite grandparent. Sally Thorne's story had me laughing out loud, and I NEED a recipe for the blackberry yuzu tarts in Jasmine Guillory's story. I think I might need the sparkly jumpsuit from Ashley Poston's story even more. I'm a sucker for a story about royal romance.

Overall, this collection is a fun and romantic. I would definitely recommend it to my romance novel-loving friends.

They only story I really loved in this book was Abby Jimenez’s Worst Wingman Ever, with Christina Lauren’s The Exception to the Rule coming in a close second. Three of the other books I thought were ok but very corny and predictable, and one I didn’t even want to finish.
Thank you NetGalley for the early release copy!

Such a great collection of short stories! Amazing writing and great character development despite the short length. The meet cutes give you hope in this world that fun and meaningful connections can happen anywhere. Abby Jimenez and Christina Lauren shined as always. Worth a read!

I wasn’t 100% sure how I would feel about this collection as the only author I was familiar with was Abby Jimenez. Let me say I immediately had to search up and put library holds on the work of every other author from this collection. I was desperate for more and sad to see each story end. Each one was unique but also had a wonderful arc between them. I connected with each character and wanted to hear more of their story. I think this is an excellent introduction to these authors and so appreciated the chance to meet them.

This short story collection was so cute! Here’s my breakdown:

1) The Exception to the Rule: Christina Lauren rarely does wrong and they didn’t with this epistolary novella either. Based around a mistaken email sent on Valentine’s Day, this one was adorable. 4 ⭐️s.

2) Worst Wingman Ever: a heartwarming case of a misdelivered Valentine’s note served up by Abby Jimenez. As usual, our romcom queen was spectacular. 5 ⭐️s.

3) Rosie and the Dreamboat: The relaxation float tanks have always seemed a bit claustrophobic to me and this short story by Sally Thorne only emphasized that point. I won’t be getting in one but Sally can write about firefighters coming to the rescue any time she wants. 4.5 ⭐️s.

4) Drop, Cover, and Hold On: Jasmine Guillory’s writing style has never worked for me and this story was no different. Blah. 2 ⭐️s.

5) With Any Luck: this was my first read of anything by Ashley Poston and I was pleasantly surprised! This novella features a Best Maid and the Man of Honor as they search for the groom frantically before the wedding. It was fun and it was cute and I will 100% be checking out more of her stuff. 5 ⭐️s.

6) Royal Valentine: I’ve not read anything by Sarah Wilson before either and this was another fun author to find. I’m not usually into romances based around royalty, but if I ever am in the mood for one I’ll be checking out her series. It was fun watching Princess Ilaria try to hide her identity for a forbidden day in Rome, even if I could see the plot twist coming from a mile out. 4 ⭐️s.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinions!

The Exception to the Rule by Christina Lauren
On February 14, an accidental email to a stranger opens the door to an unexpected relationship in a captivating short story by the New York Times bestselling authors of The Unhoneymooners.

Worst Wingman Ever by Abby Jimenez
They’re falling in love, yet they’ve never met. Maybe fate can intervene in a heartwarming “what-if” short story about new beginnings by the New York Times bestselling author of Yours Truly.

Rosie and the Dreamboat by Sally Thorne
For a hopeful and hopeless romantic, it’s love at first sight—with a little twist—in a hilarious short story about finding Mr. Right by the USA Today bestselling author of The Hating Game.

Drop, Cover, and Hold on by Jasmine Guillory
It takes nothing less than a fateful natural disaster to throw two opposites together in a ground-shakingly charming short story by the New York Times bestselling author of Drunk on Love.

With Any Luck by Ashley Poston
Every person she kisses finds their true love, and it’s never her—until now, in this funny and magically romantic short story by the New York Times bestselling author of The Dead Romantics.

Royal Valentine by Sariah Wilson
Valentine’s Day becomes a Roman holiday for a princess in disguise in a dizzyingly romantic short story about making wishes come true by the USA Today bestselling author of The Chemistry of Love.

When some of my all-time favorite authors come together for a Valentine's Day meet cute anthology you know I'm all over it! These focused mostly on the art of the meet-cute. I don't read a ton of short stories, but I loved these. I loved that there wasn't that much conflict or third-act breakups, but that could be because of the length of these stories. I also enjoyed that some of these stories had some overlap.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review. This book releases 1/23.

📚 The Improbable Meet-Cute Collection
✍ Christina Lauren, Abby Jimenez, Sally Thorne, Jasmine Guillory, Ashley Poston & Sariah Wilson
📖 Short Story Collection
⭐4/5
🌶️
➡Six authors. Six short-stories about Valentine's Day meet-cutes. So much fun.
◾
🙏 Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for the advanced copy of The Meet-Cute Collection. All opinions are my own.
◾
🎯 What I loved: This is such a fun concept. Six stand-alone short stories that take place on Valentine's Day, each by a popular romance author or duo. They all tie together in small ways (look for those Easter Eggs!) and are really cute. Expect low-drama, low-heat but high laugh scenarios with some sweet serendipitous moments. I LOVED Christina Lauren, Abby Jimenez and Sally Thorne's stories (Sally Thorne's was my favorite) but liked the others too. With the six stories, you get a variety of tropes too: enemies to lovers, pen pals to lovers, strangers to lovers etc., so you're guaranteed to hit some of your favorite story types throughout the collection.

🙅‍♀️ What I didn't: Because of the length restrictions, a few of the stories felt unfinished but this wasn't a situation where I expected big emotions and closure, so it was exactly what it was meant to be!
◾
Read if you love:
*memorable meet-cutes!
*Valentine's Day
*light, happy reads
*a variety of authors with short stories that connect
◾
See also: Modern Love, In Bloom, Paris for One & Other Stories

I was given an early copy of this book in exchange for my honest feedback and review.

Short stories are a favorite of mine and these stand out as a joyously fun and delightfully romantic collection that I’ll happily revisit again.
I think if I had to pick a favorite story (or rank them in any way) it would be like trying to pick a favorite hen out of my flock: messy, confusing, and I don’t really want to because they’re all so dang fun and pretty. So I won’t. The whole collection is fantastic!

The imaginings of these authors is so delightful I immediately wanted to flip back to page one and start again as soon as I finished the last page. The stories stand alone boldly, but also intertwine subtly; there are fun twists, and familiar tropes that feel fresh and exciting. These authors really showed out.

This was a fun short story collection! It’s free on KU and Audible if you’re a Prime member. Definitely recommend it for Valentine’s Day this year. My favorites were Christina Lauren’s and Abby Jimenez’s.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy!

Advanced Book Review! Thank you @netgalley and @amazonpublishing for sending me this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
I don’t read a lot of short stories but I really liked that this was a collection with each story starting from the same premise – a meet-cute on Valentine’s Day. I thought that it was kind of Modern Love-esque, which I loved. I’ve read and enjoyed four of these authors before and two were new to me so it was also a good way to read something new from authors I like and discover new authors. Some of the stories even overlap in minor ways, which made the collection feel cohesive.
My favourite story, and the first one in the collection, was The Exception to the Rule by Christina Lauren. It’s got November 9 and You’ve Got Mail vibes with a sloooow burn. I loved the emails, the anticipation, the build-up, the banter. I couldn’t put it down.
Worst Wingman Ever by Abby Jimenez was my second favourite. It was very cute and I thought had a lot of heart.
I think Rosie and The Dreamboat by Sally Thorne could have been higher up except I didn’t really understand the whole sensory deprivation tank thing so it was harder to visualize. I liked the banter though and I think this one will be good on audio.
Drop, Cover, and Hold On By Jasmine Guillory was a little bit cheesy and potentially trying to do too much in a short story. I didn’t love this one. Although I liked the descriptions of the pastries.
In With Any Luck by Ashley Poston, thought it was a bit of a stretch to fit the theme in terms of why the main character thought her best friend, the groom, went missing before his wedding, but I might have been interested in a longer story with these characters.
And in Royal Valentine by Sariah Wilson, I just have one question – why didn’t he take her to the hospital instead of his apartment when he couldn’t wake her up on the Spanish Steps? But otherwise, this one was cute, while being predictable.
Four stars overall for being a really cute, easy and fun collection.
Also how cute are these covers? I love the colours and it kind of feels like a brighter version of candy hearts…which may have been the point since it’s a Valentine’s Day collection.

If you want something mostly light for Valentines Day, these were all great and swoony. Mostly instalove, but took to the end to officially get the two MCs together. Mostly no angst. Abby’s story was my favorite because I liked the build up between the two MCs the best of the 6 novellas. Although, it is the most emotional of the stories.

Thank you to Amazon Original
Stories and NetGalley. I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

4.5 Stars

This was super cute, and a perfect pre-Valentine’s Day read! I love how all the stories were ever so slightly connected and were just the perfect amount of cheesy cute.

I loved seeing each author’s take on a meet cute and how fate can intervene in love.

Just look at this amazing collection of romcom writers! This collection did not disappoint.

The Exception to the Rule by Christina Lauren- 5 Stars- When two strangers "meet" through an mis-sent email on Valentine's Day, they spark up a pen palship for years. I loved this story. Both the characters were super cute and I was waiting for them to meet in real life...which took years but was worth the wait.

Worst Wingman Ever by Abby Jimenez- 5 Stars- John mistakingly mis-delivers his brother's Valentine's Day card to the wrong car. From there, he and the mystery car owner, Holly, start exchanging gifts and notes. Abby Jimenez has this ability to make little scenes have so much power and humor to them. I adored all of the characters in this and would read a whole book on them.

Rosie and the Dreamboat by Sally Thorne- 5 stars- When Rosie takes her sister to a spa day, she didn't expect to get stuck in the sensory deprivation tank and have to be rescued by the fire department. This one started out a little slow but the second Rosie and Leo started talking I was HOOKED. I loved the dialogue in this one. It was hilarious.

Drop, Cover, and Hold On by Jasmine Guillory- 3 stars- Daisy is lucky or maybe unlucky when she gets caught at her favorite bakery during an earthquake. This one was cute and funny but lacked some development for me. I liked Daisy but didn't really understand why Harris was so hot and cold.

With Any Luck by Ashley Poston- 5 stars- Aubrey is the best man at her friend's wedding. The only problem is the Man of Honor, her one time hook up. This is my favorite in the series. I loved the whole idea of Aubrey's kissing curse and adored her with Theo.

Royally Valentine by Sariah Wilson- 3 Stars. When a royal princess switches places with one of her assistants she just wants a low key day in Rome. What she gets is meeting a handsome Scottish photographer. This one was cute but didn't really steal my heart like some of the others. It reminded me of a Disney Channel movie.

This collection was so worth the read! They are all short and quick reads to really get you in the Valentine's Day mood.

Thank you to the authors and publisher for the gifted copy. My reviews are always honest.

This was a great collection of stories. I almost wish that I saved them to read in February, but they were fun nonetheless.

quick individual thoughts as i finished each one:

Christina Lauren-
SO CUTE loved the characters
You've Got Mail vibes
4.5 stars

Abby Jimenez-
spectacular amazing heartbreaking emotional
i love
5 stars

Sally Thorne-
super cute if a little long
4 stars

Jasmine Guillory-
a little beauty and the beast?
cute but meh
3 stars

Ashley Poston-
super cute
short & sweet
4 stars

Sariah Wilson-
this was just okay
a little Sleeping Beauty
3 stars

This collection of stories makes every hopeless romantic’s heart squeeze. I think that the concept is a great feel good moment that allows different authors, writing styles, and tropes to be presented and experienced at your own choosing. As someone who has read 2 of the 6 authors, and is familiar with 2 others, it was an attractive read. 

Personally, the stories would be rated as -
The Exception to the Rule - 5 stars
Worst Wingman Ever - 5 stars
Rosie and the Dreamboat - 4 stars
Drop, Cover, and Hold on - 3 stars
With Any Luck - 4 stars
Royal Valentine - 3 Stars


Overall, the collection would be rated 4 stars for me. 

What I loved - I feel like each author was able to bring their flare into their stories, and I feel like every story was different and fit well within the collection, while also being individual. The first two stories made me sad that I didn’t have a larger novel to experience the characters. And overall, every story made me feel like I was falling in love.

What I didn’t like - While I knew exactly what I was coming into to read, because these were short stories, I felt some of the stories fell victim to instant love, where others (mainly the first two), felt a bit more developed. I also didn’t love that there were some moments of a crossover with some of stories, but not in all of them. I think that it was either undeveloped or unnecessary. My final dislike would come from Royal Valentine being the final story in the collection. I do love a good royal story, but in this specific case, I felt like it didn’t develop far enough from the trope’s basics to excite me. And while it could be someone else’s favorite, I felt like it was a disappointing way to end the collection with a group of stories that presented that idea of “could this be my future meet-cute.”

For my romance readers looking for a few quick reads, I absolutely would say go for it.

For anyone who loves any of the above authors, I would absolutely would say go for it. 

For anyone looking for something completely different and new, then maybe not.

The "Improbable Meet Cute collection" is delightful. Christina Lauren's "The Exception to the Rule" and "The Worst Wingman," by Abby Jimenez are *chef's kiss* short story perfection. Look forward to recommending!

The Exception to the Rule by Christina Lauren - OMG, soo cute! I like the style of the book. For the beginning portion of the story it is mainly thru emails - back and forth, which I thought was very clever. And then when the couple meet-cute, it was SUPER adorable! Lol Christina and Lauren make the most relatable characters ever. I could not stop grinning

Worst Wingman Ever by Abby Jimenez - I love the strong family vibes. I think this is one of my favorite short story in this collection. Definitely recommend.

Rosie and the Dreamboat by Sally Thorne - This was hilarious to read. Firefighter saving a damsel at a SPA
Hubby hubby

Drop, Cover, and Hold on by Jasmine Guillory - This meet-cute was a slow burn. I enjoy a good bakery story. Grumpy-Sunshine vibe.

With Any Luck by Ashley Poston - I am surprised that I didn't like the structure of this story very much. Perhaps length of this novel made the before and after very fast and not satsifying. I didn't endear myself to this couple much.

Royal Valentine by Sariah Wilson - reminds me of Hilary Duff - celebrity/regular switch-a-roo but Royal edition.
Again I felt in the length of the story. Wilson was not able to build a strong character relationship to endear me to the couple in this meet cute

Would give a 4 just because I loved 2 of the 6 that really really really touched me.

This collection of novellas is a lighthearted, feel good gift for readers who love a sweet happy ever after. The stories all have a Valentine’s Day theme and are stand alone reads with the very thinnest of threads connecting them. While responding to the same prompt, the voice of each author clearly comes through.

The collection can be found exclusively through Amazon on January 23, 2024. It will be free for Prime members and on Kindle Unlimited or can be purchased as individual stories or as a collection. It will only be available in digital and audio formats. Each story is charming on its own, but the real charm comes from reading - and appreciating - the different ways love can find us when we least expect it.

Thanks to NetGalley, Amazon, and the authors for the digital ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.