I was skeptical knowing that these were novellas and sometimes it is harder to get connected to the characters. However, I did not really have that problem with these. I loved the little connections that each of these stories had with each other. Although they are standalone novellas, there were a few easter eggs that were dropped between a few of them which I really enjoyed! If i had to rate the collection overall, I would give it a 4/5 stars!! My favorites were Abby Jimenez and Christina Lauren's book. Also a big fan of the connection to Valentines Day that the stories revolved around. Thank you Netgalley for letting me read/review early!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this arc.

What a fun collection of short stories by some of my favorite authors, this will be a cute read for anyone around Valentine’s Day

I loved every book in this collection and how they were all connected in little ways.

Christina Lauren ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Abby Jimenez ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sally Thorne ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Jasmine Guillory ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ashley Posten ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sariah Wilson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What a cute collection of stories by some of the best romance authors out there! I truly enjoyed reading these stories as it opened me to a couple of authors I haven't read yet, as well as a couple of my personal favorites. Reading these stories felt like I was sitting down at a Galentine's brunch gossiping with my besties about our great love stories. It can't get much better than that!
Each story in the collection, for me, took about 45min-1hour of time to read which was perfect! I was able to read a story or two and come back for more when I had the ability, which made it very satisfying as a reader to complete a story in a sitting. The collection as a whole would also be very easy to consume in one sitting as they are quick, fun reads that are hard to put down! Highly recommend to any cute romance fan, and especially to a fan of any of these authors!
A big thank you to NetGalley, and to all of the authors, for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange of my honest review!

Thank you for the chance to read this! I absolutely loved each of the stories with my favorite being Abby’s. I can’t wait to get a copy for my friend I know she’s going to love them as well. Definitely recommend.

The Improbable Meet-Cute collection was a quick, fun palate cleanser to start the new year. I loved all of the short stories, but Abby Jimenez’s, Worst Wingman Ever, reminded me why I love this author so much. I’ve never not laughed, cried, all of the above reading one of her stories. Highly recommend the whole collection!

I absolutely adored The Improbable Meet-Cute collection! With stories told by Christina Lauren, Abby Jimenez, Sally Thorne, Jasmine Guillory, Ashley Poston, and Sariah Wilson, this anthology is the perfect blend of romance and wit.

The inclusion of stories from two of my favorite rom-com authors, Christina Lauren and Abby Jimenez, was the cherry on top!! Their signature styles shone through, delivering heartwarming and humorous narratives that left me laughing out loud at times.

What made this collection even more special was the introduction to a new-to-me author, Sariah Wilson. Her story captivated me, prompting me to immediately request one of her earlier books from my local library. Since then, I've found myself enchanted by her storytelling.

The Improbable Meet-Cute collection is a must-read for anyone seeking a perfect blend of love, laughter, and happily-ever-afters, expertly crafted by a lineup of brilliant authors. It's a. Five stars without a doubt!

I absolutely loved this collection of short stories!! It was perfect to read right after the holiday season and really got me ready for Valentine’s Day!!

Several of my favorite authors were featured, and their stores were so fun and perfect! The characters were well developed and lovable in each story. I can’t wait to read more by these authors.

This collection of stories would be a great way to start off your reading list this year!

Loved the compilation of short stories from some of the hottest authors out there right now! It really is the perfect introduction into each authors style if you’ve never read anything from them before. This is such a perfect little book to get you in the mood for Valentine’s Day.

Some of these were adorable! Most of them were, actually! I loved this cute collection of romances from some of my favorite authors!

Overall, I enjoyed this collection of short stories sharing stories about the little ripples in life that unexpectedly bring people together. All stories had the common thread of taking place on or around Valentine’s Day. In addition, it was fun to notice some loose tie ins between the stories- a character from the first story was mentioned in the last, the first two stories characters had Guinea pigs, etc. I will definitely revisit some of these stories again. In particular, I enjoyed the second story by Abby Jimenez and the sentiment highlighted by this statement “That’s the thing about kindness. You never know how big the ripple is. How one little selfless gesture can make all the difference for the person who receives it”.

This collection of short stories is so fun! I mean look at these heavy hitters!! This will be available as an ebook and audiobook (no physical copy) for anyone with Amazon Prime on January 23rd! Just in time for Valentine's Day!

The Exception to the Rule by Christina Lauren
* mystery pen pals
* college/grad school setting

Worst Wingman Ever by Abby Jimenez
* laugh out loud funny
* acts of kindness
* emotional

Rosie and the Dreamboat by Sally Thorne
* hot fireman
* trigger warning: claustrophobia

Drop, Cover, and Hold On by Jasmine Guillory
* grumpy/sunshine
* enemies to lovers
* bakery setting

With Any Luck by Ashley Poston
* enemies to lovers
* timeline hops

Royal Valentine by Sariah Wilson
* set in Rome
* identity swap

Thank you @netgalley and @amazonpublishing for the earc in exchange for my honest review

This was the freaking cutest thing I've ever read!

I absolutely loved this collection of short stories. I loved how unique each plotline was and I loved getting to see different perspectives from each author!

I absolutely loved Christina Lauren's short story. I personally need it to be a full book and I want to see the couple's journey throughout life. It made my heart so freaking happy and I just loved how unique their relationship was with the emails back and forth over the years.

I am such a huge Ashley Poston fan and I loved how she delivered in this short story! The dialogue was perfect and I loved their chemistry together!

This truly got me in the perfect Valentine's mood and I am LIVING for it.

These were so cute!!! Short stories by some of my favorite rom com authors about adorable meet cutes on & around Valentine’s Day. You won’t wanna miss these!!

Thank you NetGalley for eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was the best surprise on Christmas Eve!! I couldn't stop reading this one. I'm a huge fan of every author that participated in this and nobody disappointed! I will be recommending this to everyone when it's out.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of The Improbable Meet-Cute collection, which is the perfect Valentine's Day must-read for all rom-com fans. Christina Lauren and Abby Jimenez are two of my favorites and their short stories delivered their trademark quirky characters and hilarious situations. The others are now on my list of TBR authors because every unique, silly, romantic story put a huge smile on my face. It's impossible not to fall in love with Callum (both Callums, actually).... or Leo Husband.... or the sexy/grumpy baker... In other words, get ready to put all of your faith in love at first sight.

Thank you to the publisher for giving me the chance to read an early digital copy of this book. I was so excited when I saw that it was "Read Now" and even more excited when I was actually able to snag a copy. This is my first read of 2024, and I'm so glad that I enjoyed it and am starting my year of books off with a hit. There are a handful of short stories by authors that I have read before and loved. Quite a few of them have written books that I have absolutely loved, and they are auto-read authors for me. I would read pretty much anything they write, so I am happy that even though most of them have full length novels coming out in 2024, we also get these short stories by them. Out of all of them, I think the ones by Christina Lauren and Abby Jimenez were my two favorites, but I did really enjoy reading all of them. One of my favorite parts of romance novels is the meet cute. I first heard that term on the movie, The Holiday, and since then, I always look for characters' meet cutes. These stories were the perfect amount of cute and spicy, fun and serious. Many of these authors have the ability to give me all the feels in their books, so the fact that they were still able to do that in a short story really speaks to their talent as a writer. I would think in some ways it would be harder to write a short story than a novel because they have to have all the components in a shorter space. I have already read Abby's full length novel that is coming out this year, and I am looking to the others. In the meantime, this was a fun read and one that romance readers would enjoy!

What a rockstar line up of authors in this collection! All of these stories were such fun, quick reads with all of the authors’ typical charm in their minimal pages. There were little nods that tied the universe together throughout and I enjoyed trying to catch those.

The Exception to the Rule - Christina Lauren
‘You’ve Got Mail’ vibes with anonymous emails swapped between C and T every Valentine’s Day for ten years before they unknowingly meet in a hilarious moment. The email relationship develops in a surprisingly deep way for only communicating one day each year, and their IRL moments were so sweet. All of CLo’s humor and heart was here. This felt like a complete story.

Worst Wingman Ever - Abby Jimenez
Unsurprisingly, Abby made me both laugh and cry with this one. Holly is a hospice nurse and John unknowingly provides a light on some of her darkest days. There’s a cute puppy, touching family moments, and beautiful interactions between John and Holly. This one also felt complete.

Rosie and the Dreamboat - Sally Thorne
This was probably the most humorous of the collection, but also incredibly sweet. Rosie has really terrible luck but a great spirit and persistence to brave difficult times. Leo has to come to her rescue in one bad luck moment and his charm absolutely jumps off the page. Also my 90s child heart loved that his name was Leo and his coworkers had nicknamed him Romeo. I would actually love if this one got expanded/continued with a full-length.

Drop, Cover, and Hold On - Jasmine Guillory
A handsome, grumpy, misunderstood baker thrown into a forced proximity situation with the customer who thinks he hates her when he’s actually been pining for all along? Sign me up. Daisy visits the same bakery three times per week, but she vows she won’t return after one too many glares from the grumpy owner, Harris. An earthquake traps the two of them together and the truth comes out. Daisy was hilarious trying to make sense of Harris and his mood swings, and her alternate rundown of how he should have approached the situation was great.

With Any Luck - Ashley Poston
Ashley delivered a little Hangover-vibes story if The Hangover was a rom-com and it was a delight. Aubrey Luck has luck in everything but love, where she’s always the girl before ‘The One’ for anyone she kisses. Theo Love is the “Best Maid” to her “Man of Honor” in their best friends’ wedding and the two of them have to track down the missing groom on the big day. Aubrey and Theo have a *history* from a previous event—their chemistry is undeniable. (Also loved the tiny Iwan from The Seven Year Slip mention dropped in here 🥹)

Royal Valentine - Sariah Wilson
This one gave me Lizzie McGuire movie vibes with its mistaken identity/famous person hiding in plain sight in Italy setting. Princess Ilaria sends her assistant posing as her back to her home country so she can experience two days of anonymous freedom exploring Italy. An incident finds her in the care of the handsome Callum who spends the day playing tourist with her. There was an expected twist to the whole set up and it was a delight to be surprised.

This collection of stories was such a great way to kick off my 2024 reading year. Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this concept and each of these authors nailed it.

The Exception to the Rule by Christina Lauren - Definitely my favorite.

Worst Wingman Ever by Abby Jimenez - So good. Abby Jimenez really shines writing painful seasons of life into love stories.

Rosie and the Dreamboat by Sally Thorne - Wait a minute. I actually think this one is my favorite. If I had to choose a meet cute to happen to me IRL this would be the one.

Drop, Cover and Hold on by Jasmine Guillory - This one was great but for some reason it didn’t work as well to me as a short story. I felt like I was rushed through to the end. I would love to see this story as a full length novel with this short story as the climax. I did love it though even with that said.

With any Luck by Ashley Poston - Soooo gooood. Absolute perfection. The cakes were the cakes from Cook’s Bakeshop??? 🤯

Royal Valentine by Sariah Wilson - How have i missed a whole royal romance series!! I can’t wait to read more by Sariah Wilson.

This was such a delightful collection of short stories from some incredible authors! The different approaches that each author took were so creative, while also incorporating familiar tropes. I love easter eggs so the moments that the stories were interconnected put a smile on my face.

Christina Lauren and Abby Jimenez have always done a great job with back/forth messaging through text, email, notes, etc. and they both build their stories really well here with anonymous messaging premises. I adored Jasmine Guillory's premise as I love a story with a good grump and misunderstandings. Sally Thorne and Ashley Poston brought the creativity to their stories, Sally in premise and Ashley in the story formatting/sequence. Sariah Wilson gives us a familiar premise of a royal swap but it has a twist!

Thank you to NetGalley, Amazon, and the authors for an advanced reader copy of this short story collection!