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!

I enjoyed all the stories in this collection. Overall, I give them four stars. They are full of laughter-inducing high jinx and tears (thanks Abby Jimenez as always). I haven't read books by Sally Thorne, Jasmine Guillory, Ashley Posten, and Sariah Wilson before, but I will look for their work! I am a big fan of Abby's; her story was my favorite. Christina Lauren can be hit or miss for me. This one was a hit!

If I needed to rate them individually it would go like this:

The Exception to the Rule: 4 stars
Worst Wingman Ever: 5 Stars
Rosie and the Dreamboat: 4.5 Stars
Drop, Cover, and Hold On: 3.5 Stars
With Any Luck: 3.5 Stars
Royal Valentine: 4 Stars

I have to say read these carefully as there are easter eggs in the collection!

I want to start by saying thank you to NetGalley and the authors for this ARC! I am always grateful to receive early copies especially from incredible writers!

Exception to the Rule by Christina Lauren
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Overall, super cute story! Timestamps would be cool to add to the dates, especially with them hitting send on the first at midnight. Are they emailing only from midnight to like 12:30am or the whole day? I really liked how him having this secret of knowing who she was wasn't drawn out too long and it was more of him trying to lead her to the same conclusion he had made. Thoroughly loved it!

P.S. I think there is a typo in Chapter 5, second email, c.sun16@email.com replies to the t.sol18@ipsd.edu instead of t.sol18@email.com

Worst Wingman Ever by Abby Jimenez
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Abby Jimenez really knows how to wreck me. Taking care of her grandma was so sweet, but also realistic with the grief and how hard it is to be a nurse. I absolutely loved the twist the grandma threw in there, hilarious. Just overall amazing.

Rosie and the Dreamboat by Sally Thorne
⭐⭐⭐⭐

All of these stories are cute and lovey but this one makes an adorable love story from what honestly would be a horrifying experience. I would've been much more freaked out, can't believe she held it together but I guess we can thank the Dreamboat/Mr. Husband for that!

Drop, Cover, and Hold On by Jasmine Guillory
⭐⭐⭐

This one felt kind of rushed. She thought the baker was hot and liked his pastries, but that didn't feel like enough for the character to just jump in bed with him. And he'd been secretly pinning but she thought he hated her? It's a quick flip which sadly made me not connect to this short story as much. I've read all of Jasmine Guillory's books and loved them all! I think this one could've benefited from being a little longer to flesh out more.

With Any Luck by Ashley Poston
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I loved this story! Reminded me of the hangover movie at first but with romance added! Best friends of the bride and groom, sprinkle a little superstition, attraction, and a guy who doesn't give a crap about fate/luck makes for a great love story. Very fun short story.

Royal Valentine by Sariah Wilson
⭐⭐⭐

This story had an unfortunate meet-cute in Rome where she passed out and he brings her back to his apartment to sleep it off. He becomes her expert travel guide and she tells him all the history behind the art in Rome hiding her identify as a princess. It was neat how this book referenced characters from the other stories in this collection. Although why are there two Callum's? It was an interesting choice. Maybe it was just me but reading his accent within the dialogue kinda threw me off. I had to Google that "ken" was Scottish slang for "know". Not my favorite story in this collection but cute.

Definitely an anthology I needed from some of my favorite romance authors. Each of these novellas was heart warming and lived up to the hype of being an “improbable Valentine’s Day meet cute”. I hope Amazon makes this a thing going forward.

I liked how these stories were all in the same “universe”, so that there were Easter eggs in the stories that you picked up on from reading the other stories. All of the stories were clever, made me laugh or cry, and had swoon worthy heroes. They were also all thoughtful and made me appreciate how good romance transports you to a happy place. A true microcosm of why romance is such an important genre. I zoomed through this in one sitting and wished there was more!

Thanks to Netgalley, Amazon Original Stories and the authors for the ARC.

This was a delightful book of a few short stories to read right before Christmas! Most of these authors are top authors for me and the ones that I haven’t read are becoming authors on my TBR list.
The humour, the love, the predictability. I love it all and it was refreshing to read a few short stories rather than out all my focus into one book for a few hours.

📖 ARC REVIEW 📖

Thank you Amazon Original Stories for an early copy of The Improbable Meet-Cute collection by @christinalauren @authorabbyjimenez @sallythorneauthor @jasminepics @heyashposton and @sariahwilson411 . I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. 🤍

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Release date: January 23rd, 2024

Blurb:

What makes love stick? Is it the irresistible spark when you lock eyes across a piazza in Rome? Is it feeling the earth move under your feet? (Wait—that was an actual earthquake.) In these six serendipitous short stories, bestselling authors turn improbable first encounters into hopelessly romantic happy ever afters.

The Exception to the Rule by Christina Lauren
Worst Wingman Ever by Abby Jimenez
Rosie and the Dreamboat by Sally Thorne
Drop, Cover, and Hold on by Jasmine Guillory
With Any Luck by Ashley Poston
Royal Valentine by Sariah Wilson

🛑Read on with caution; review may contain spoilers🛑

It was such a delight to start off my 2024 with this collection of cute and sweet short love stories by these amazing authors! Each story has their own charm and all can be read in one sitting, but expect to want more with some. Due to their length, I certainly did want more for some of the stories, I wanted more interaction between the main characters! 🥹 I especially loved Christina Lauren’s ‘The Exception to the Rule’ – it was the cutest meet-cute for me and the coincidence was just hilarious! I also enjoyed Abby Jimenez’ ‘Worst Wingman Ever’ and how the main characters John and Holly lived by Holly’s grandmother’s advice to “Take responsibility of their own unhappiness.”.

This is such delightful selection of short love stories that everyone shouldn’t miss when it releases this month!

This was a collection of short stories perfect for Valentine’s Day. Some of my favorite romance authors are included and I just adored them! I wanted more. They’re all so cute, short and sweet.

* The Exception to the Rule by Christina Lauren - Did not read. I dislike reading a book full of emails so I skipped it.

* Worst Wingman Ever by Abby Jimenez - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Abby’s stories are amazing. They dive deep, hit on serious issues, but are offset by an incredible romance.

* Rosie and the Dreamboat by Sally Thorne - ⭐️⭐️ The storyline is unrealistic. Both in the premise of being stuck for hours and the actions and reactions of those around her.

* Drop, Cover, and Hold on by Jasmine Guillory - ⭐️⭐️ The writing is juvenile and the storyline a bit far-fetched. I skimmed this one.

* With Any Luck by Ashley Poston ⭐️⭐️⭐️ The hatred between them is never explained. I have a hard time reading this author’s work due to grammar inconsistencies.

* Royal Valentine by Sariah Wilson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Secret royals?! Love it! But what does NSFW meano??

The Exception to the Rule by Christina Lauren - 4.5 Stars

The Exception to the Rule was so cute, sweet and easy to read. I adored it. I loved the progression of the relationship between the main characters. It left me with a smile on my lips. I definitely recommend.

Worst Wingman Ever by Abby Jimenez - 4 Stars

Worst Wingman Ever was a bit heavier. There were still light hearted and funny moments but this one left me in a somber mood. I'm loving the way these meet cutes are being orchestrated. I recommend it.

Rosie and the Dreamboat by Sally Thorne - 3.5 Stars

Rosie and the Dreamboat was enjoyable. I loved the hero, he was adorable. He was kind and gentle with the heroine through her predicament. I liked the heroine but wasn't fond of the way she saw herself. I wasn't fond of her sister either.

Drop, Cover, and Hold on by Jasmine Guillory - 3.5 Stars

I liked Drop, Cover and Hold on. It was cute, sweet and had me craving pastries.

With Any Luck by Ashley Poston - 3.5 Stars

With Any Luck was awesome. It was a sexy and cute read. I loved the hero and heroine and their journey.

Royal Valentine by Sariah Wilson - 3.5 Stars

Royal Valentine was good. It had the same cute, sweet and light hearted vibes as the previous stories. It was longer and a bit slower than the others.

each of these were such fun reads! I didn’t know all of the authors so it was cool to see new writers. I also loved the Easter eggs in each of stories (Callum x2!!)

The Exception to the Rule by Christina Lauren 5 ⭐️- this felt the most like a full story because it happened over ten years. LOVED the back and forth in the emails!

Worst Wingman Ever by Abby Jimenez 5 ⭐️- I also liked this happened over a few days so it felt complete plus had some extra heart sing moments. I want a full nivel for this one!

Rosie and the Dreamboat by Sally Thorne 4⭐️- I laughed out loud during this one and could picture every single detail described.

Drop, Cover, and Hold on by Jasmine Guillory 3.5⭐️- I love a grump in love.

With Any Luck by Ashley Poston 3⭐️- the premise was fun but it was just too short and felt too rushed or incomplete. But looking forward to reading more of her books!

Royal Valentine by Sariah Wilson 4⭐️- loved these characters and the ending twist!! I’m excited to read more about the series these characters come from.

I admit, I picked up this whole collection with the intention of just reading Abby Jimenez's novella (she's an automatic must-read), but what happened instead was I got drawn into every story and now may go back and read backlist on all the other authors, most of which I have been aware of for years at this point. I love that the stories all took place in the same world and that elements, names, and locations from each story showed up in the others, and I was particularly delighted at the guinea pigs in the "extended families" of both Christina Lauren's and Abby Jimenez's stories (I have a small herd of three guinea pigs.). A quick read with joy in each HEA.

This collection of short stories was just wonderful! A collaboration from some of the best contemporary romance authors right now - what a treat.

Christina Lauren’s and Abby Jimenez’s were my favorites. Callum/Terra and John/Holly were swoon worthy. These meet cutes left me wanting so much more! Maybe someday we will meet more of these couples….

Thank you, net galley, for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Oh my goodness this was so much fun! I loved seeing that several of my favorite authors had a collab coming out, and it was wonderful! So cute, and I flew right through all of the stories. It blended together so well! The perfect little stories for Valentine’s Day.

I love love!! This collection is the perfect bundle of everything that is lovey-dovey, heartfelt, fireworks, angst, pining, and connection that you could ever want for Valentine’s Day! I enjoyed reading from different authors and am glad to be introduced to some new voices. Overall, this collection made me feel all the feels and I had fun reading it!

First, thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for advanced access to this super adorable collection of meet-cutes by some of my favorite authors! These short stories were exactly what I needed to end my 2023 reading with.

Out of the six, I LOVED the first three the most. They had me laughing out loud and even tearing up. Honestly, I’m surprised they were able to pull on my heart strings as much as they did given their brief lengths. The last three were just ok in my opinion - they didn’t have the same zippy dialogue and didn’t grab my attention as much.

I love that Amazon will be offering these to prime members and would definitely recommend lovers of the individual authors read their short stories.

The Improbable Meet is a collection of six short stories by some of my favorite authors. This book is a great Valentine's read (or really anytime!), and it just so happened I was reading it at Christmas, which was SO much fun. Each of these stories were cute, funny, and engaging light reads with just a little spice, which just gave me a break from some really heavy reads earlier in the year. The other really cool aspect of this collection is that they all have the same general theme around unexpected encounters and easter eggs that connect the stories, even though they are all stand-alone. LOVED them all and would highly recommend!

Story collection includes:

The Exception to the Rule by Christina Lauren - A misdirected email leads to an enduring friendship (and possible love?!)

Worst Wingman Ever by Abby Jimenez - A note on a windshield meant for someone else leads to an unexpected connection

Rosie and the Dreamboat by Sally Thorne - Spa Day gone wrong (or right!)

Drop, Cover, and Hold on by Jasmine Guillory - Earthquake in a bakery

With Any Luck by Ashley Poston - When a wedding goes awry, the best friends of the bride and groom have to put aside their perceptions of each other and work together

Royal Valentine by Sariah Wilson -A royal switcheroo leads to a princess potentially meeting her prince

Thank you to NetGalley, and all six authors for an advanced readers copy. All opinions are my own.