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.

It’s not a big secret that I’m not a huge fan of short stories, but when I saw a collection from some of my favorite authors I knew I had to read these! This collection did not let me down. I thoroughly enjoyed each one. They were cute and sweet. Perfect palate cleansers for between longer books.

This was such a fun collection of 6 short stories, all based around Valentine’s Day, and I could see so many of them being full novels! I was extremely sad to have some of them end so soon. I’m usually not a big fan of short stories because they always leave me wanting so much more from it, but I of course had to jump on board with some of my favorite authors participating. The authors did a great job still emitting so much feeling despite being shorter lengths.

Thank you NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for sending me and ARC in exchange for my honest feedback!

I really really enjoyed this collection of Valentine’s Day themed short stories. An impressive group of romance authors teamed up to deliver us 6 feel good love stories that do not disappoint. 4.5 stars for the collection as a whole,

The Exception to the Rule - Christina Lauren
5 stars. Here we have an email accidentally sent to the wrong email address which results in a years long back-and-forth between the two main characters, always only on Valentine’s Day. I really loved this one and it gave the book a strong start. I loved how even though it was a short story, it told a long story. I loved the email exchanges and how we got to feel the relationship build from year to year, and I felt like the ending was strong. In the arc copy it was a little hard to follow which email was from who if you didn't pay close attention, so the final copy could afford to make that easier to follow.

Worst Wingman Ever - Abby Jimenez
5 star. Here we have Holly and John. Holly is a hospice nurse, caring for her own grandmother and John unknowingly provides much light in her life in an anonymous fashion. This was another great one. This one definitely had the most depth and emotion and will have you pulling out the tissue box at points. There are heartwarming family connections, a cute puppy, random acts of kindness, and sweet love connection. The ending was strong and felt complete. This was actually my first Abby Jimenez despite owning most of her collection, they will be moving up my TBR for sure.

Rosie and the Dreamboat - Sally Thorne
4 stars. This was the most humorous of the lot. Here we have Rosie, who hasn’t had the easiest life, always feeling like she lived in the shadow of her sister. She gets trapped in an unfortunate situation while having a spa day and in comes Leo “Romeo” the firefighter to save the day. Their banter is adorable. This one was a bit too Instalove for my personal taste, and would have made a nice full length novel to really see the relationship develop, since it takes place over a very brief period of time here. But still very enjoyable.

Drop, Cover, and Hold On - Jasmine Guillory
3 stars. This story brings us Daisy and Harris. Daisy frequents a bakery owned by Harris but vows not to return because he’s so grumpy toward her. They get trapped together in the bakery post-earthquake and true feelings are revealed.. and then some. I didn’t love this one as much, it felt a bit forced and rushed.

With Any Luck - Ashley Posten
4.5 stars. In this story we have Audrey and Theo who are the best-maid and man of honor to their best friends. The groom disappears and Audrey has zero recollection of the previous night and fears the grooms disappearance may be her fault. Audrey and Theo work together, despite an apparent mutual dislike for each other, to uncover what happened that night and where the groom went. A cute enemies to lovers short story. It was hard to follow the dialogue at points as it would go back and forth unlabeled and the formatting for the ARC was a bit jumbled, which took away from the flow a bit. Overall a very enjoyable short story though.

Royal Valentine - Sariah Wilson
4.5 stars. Ilaria is a princess who just wants a chance to experience life out of the spotlight for a minute. So she plots with her assistant to switch places and has a whirlwind day with a handsome man on Valentine’s Day. I thought this story was super cute! Also loved the little Easter egg nods to a couple of the other stories in the book!

An insanely good line up of authors! I can't believe it. I've read 3/6 authors before, and now I'll be reading some from the other 3 as well! 5 star collection!

Novella's are hard to review without giving spoilers because they're so short that anything could be a spoiler, but I love all these couples and wish they were full length novels.

It’s hard to judge a short story collection like this because I had wildly different opinions about the different stories. Christina Lauren’s contribution was definitely my favorite, followed by Abby Jimenez’s. These both had the pen pal trope which is one of my favs. On the other hand, I could not stand Sally Thorne’s story. This leaves me at around 3⭐️ because while I enjoyed some stories, some of them flopped. I would recommend certain stories but not the whole collection.

4 Stars This was such a cute novella collection by a bunch of my fave authors! My favorite novella was The Exception to the Rule by Christina Lauren; I wished it had been longer and we got to see more of Terra and Callum together because they were so freaking cute. Overall these were really fun short reads if you need something short and sweet to read.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Amazon Stories Publishing, and all the authors for providing this heartwarming collection of short stories. These are all rom-com short stories that take place around Valentine’s Day when different couples meet for the first time. This collection is written by my favorite romance authors. I loved every story in this book. They are funny, heartwarming, steamy, and swoon worthy! If you love love then you should read these short stories now! Thank you again for allowing me to review this hilarious collection of meet-cutes around Valentine’s Day.

I was really excited to read this collection of Valentine’s Day short stories. The authors they got for this are some of my favorites, and they didn’t disappoint. I enjoyed all of the stories very much.

This was such an amazing compilation of short stories! I loved each and every story. The characters and storylines were the perfect mix, and they complemented each different story so well. I loved how the stories fit around Valentine’s Day.

So fun and just the sweet, funny, witty, swoony short stories we need from a group of amazing authors!

I devoured all of these short stories because I loved previous books by each and every one of the authors .
It’s a great collection for new readers of the genre or just if you want to find new to you authors.
I highly recommend

Thabk you Netgalley & Amazon Original Stories for the advanced digital copy.

I've listed them from favorite to least.

Exception to the Rule: I loved the progression to this story. 10 years is quite the dedication to send someone an e-mail every Valentine's Day. This one fully wrapped everything up nicely.

Worst Wingman Ever: It's amazing how Abby wrote such a heartfelt story in so few pages.

With Any Luck: This was such a fun story reminiscent of The Hangover.

Rosie & the Dreamboat: This one was quirky & had a creative meet cute.

Drop, Cover, and Hold On: The relationship was super rushed from thinking they hate each other to hooking up immediately after. Bleh.

Royal Valentine: I skimmed this one... Roman Holiday rip off.

The Improbable Meet-Cute Collection is a super sweet and swoony Valentine’s Day novella set with six new short stories by Christina Lauren, Abby Jimenez, Sally Thorne, Jasmine Guillory, Ashley Poston and Sariah Wilson.

Each story follows the meeting of two new leading lovers you’re sure to fall for. The standouts for me were from three of my favourite romance writers:

The Exception to the Rule by Christina Lauren:
Accidental Valentine’s Day email buddies catching real feelings giving You’ve Got Mail College Edition vibes. I love a good witty email. 5 stars.

Worst Wingman Ever by Abby Jimenez;
What happens when you deliver a Valentine’s love confession to the wrong single someone (who also happens to be a hospice nurse caring for her dying grandma - and omg my heart)! 5 stars.

With Any Luck by Ashley Poston:
A bad luck in love curse looking to be broken at a Valentine’s Day Wedding? By the Man of Honor? While searching for your best friend the missing groom? Bring it. Five stars.

Thank you NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for an advanced electronic copy of The Improbable Meet-Cute Collection which publishes on January 23rd.

The Improbable Meet-Cute is a collection of six short stories revolving around Valentine's Day. I'm usually not a huge fan of short stories, but when I saw the authors I knew I didn't want to miss this. They were short and sweet, but wrapped up nicely and didn't leave loose ends. The common theme of the characters finding unpredictable romance tied the stories together cohesively.

The Exception to the Rule by Christina Lauren: 5 ⭐️

Worst Wingman Ever by Abby Jimenez: 5 ⭐️

Rosie and the Dreamboat by Sally Thorne: 3 ⭐️

Drop, Cover, and Hold by Jasmine Guillory: 3.5 ⭐️

With Any Luck by Ashley Poston: 4 ⭐️

Royal Valentine by Sariah Wilson: 3 ⭐️

Thanks to Netgalley and Amazon Original Stories for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Improbable Meet-Cute collection is a cute collection of romance stories. Not my normal genre but these were light and easy to read and I really enjoyed them.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for my ARC.