3 stars// Both Myles and Whitney wish to parent children and have begun the process of doing so with their fertility clinic. Here's the rub; Myles and Whitney aren't in a relationship nor do they know one another. After some tests and in a one in a million chance of fate, Myles and his second wife find out that her eggs weren't used with their surrogate's IVF procedure. It was Whitney's, who had frozen her eggs for future use due to her own reproductive medical issues. Myles dedicates himself to father his child Haylee, whether or not his soon-to-be ex-wife or birth mother wish to be a part of it, and proceeds to do his best to protect his custodial rights to her. Whitney, who is a full-time actress, singer, and entrepeneur, hesitates to waive her parental rights before meeting Haylee eye to eye. Of course, upon seeing her face to face, she is comeplled to stand her ground and be the mother her daughter needs. Myles and Whitney's walls take a while to come down as they get to know each other and understand the commond ground they share in wanting to provide Haylee the life she deserves. As walls come down, their attraction towards one another builds, but will they be able to stand strong when Whitney's stardom comes to knock every thing down?

As a Jane the Virgin stan, I was really excited to get this book and read it cover to cover. An accidental pregnancy turned romance? A very rare trope for me to get behind. This was a fairly enjoyable book and the beginning really drew me in. I will say the stakes felt not as high once you get towards the middle and quickly resolves by the book's end, which made it feel a little bit too fast paced. There were some scenes I think that could have been expanded and maybe more pressure from outside forces to really push the unusual family closer together. I did really appreciate the concern at the beginning of Whitney learning her daughter was born to white parents, but not making it a big deal for an interracial romance. (I'm looking at your season 1 of Love is Blind). This is also the second book of an interconnected series, so I am interested in reading the first, Token, that centers Kennedy who was a big supporting character to Whitney in this book. It felt like there could be a third featuring Aurora and I will definitely be looking into it once announced.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, Graydon House, and Beverly Kendall for this ARC.

I really enjoyed One and 1 Million! The premise immediately pulled me in, and I loved the direction the story took. The pacing was a little inconsistent at times, but it didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment. I liked the characters, especially the male lead—he really stood out for me more than the female main character. There was an attempt at an enemies dynamic that didn’t quite land, but it wasn’t a dealbreaker. The side characters were a highlight, adding so much personality to the story. Overall, this was a solid read! 3.75 stars, rounding up to 4.

i really enjoyed this book, it had great writing and kept me entertained. i don’t really enjoy books where someone is a celebirty and even though i enjoyed this book, Whitney being a celebirty didn’t help me enjoy it more.

I received a free early copy of this book for review. This is my own opinion. Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the opportunity to review!

<b>Genre:</b> Contemporary romance

<b>Tropes:</b> baby mixup, celebrity x regular person

<b>Spice Level:</b> 1.5/5

<b>Content Warning:</b> pregnancy, fertility, babies, exes being terrible

Grab some popcorn for this one because it seriously felt like watching a movie. This was very much a “yes, and—“ kind of book where EVERYTHING happened and it was so much fun!

Whitney is a Black actress, singer, and owner of a clothing line. Myles is a lawyer. A mixup at the fertility clinic means they’re the parents of a beautiful baby girl.

I definitely recommend this for someone searching for relatively light, cute conrom with some drama! It’s a quick, easy read.

Also, I appreciate that the author compared a lot of the people who appeared multiple times to celebrities. It was a nice touch.

Such an easy and fun read! I was immediately hooked by the first few chapters! I was able to easily get lost in this book & finished it in one sitting! I truly loved the story and the couple! I was rooting for them as soon as they met! Will definitely read more from this author.

This was such a fun read. I enjoyed how the author took a different approach to this romance. Myles was such an amazing dad it’s rare to read a man wanting a child so bad he hires a surrogate but I hope it becomes more common. I loved how protective of Haylee he was although at times it was overwhelming. Whitney immediately stepping into her mom role was a joy to read. I loved the romance between Myles and Whitney the chemistry was very good

one of my biggest pet peeves in a romance, especially one that claims to me enemies to lovers, is when lust and sexual attraction ares equated to an emotional connection and love. So much time was spent describing how they are hot for each other or providing descriptive scenes of them boning without the necessary conversations to establish a meaningful connection.

I don't understand either of the characters' behaviors. The male love interest is upset that the female protagonist wants to get a lawyer involved, when he is a lawyer himself and should understand the importance of legal advise and representation. The female protagonist claims to be this badass celebrity in Hollywood, but she just lets the male love interest walk all over her and is willing to relinquish custody.

—Jane the Virgin but not with Rihanna vibes

—hero who's frankly adorable with his baby

—celebrity romance is complicated

Heat Index: 6/10

The Basics:

Whitney, AKA Sahara, is a singer/actress/mogul at the top of her game. The issue? The eggs she froze five years ago were used... by accident. And now she has a baby with high-powered attorney Myles. Initially, Whitney doesn't intend to be involved in baby Haylee's life, which is exactly how Myles wants it... but then she finds out his wife left him over the incident. Now, she's not so sure she can leave her daughter—or the man who's worming his way into her heart against both their wills—behind.

The Review:

I mean, I couldn't resist a sorta Jane the Virgin but a pop star, riiiight?

Off the bat, I want to make one thing very clear: Holly, Myles's estranged wife, did not carry Haylee. That's something I think those promoting the book might want to make super clear, though of course it makes sense. Myles and Holly intended to conceive a baby carried by a surrogate. Whitney's egg was used instead of Holly's by mistake. So Haylee is biologically Myles's, but not Holly's, and Holly figures this out pretty quickly... because Holly and Myles are both white.

Haylee being a Black child without a present Black parent is a huge part of what figures into Whitney's desire to be in her life, which makes total sense. So there's our initial conflict: with Holly out of the picture, Myles wants sole custody. Whitney initially intends to agree, but can't bear to once she knows the whole story... and meets Haylee. It's kind of juicy in that you get where each parent is coming from. Myles never intended to have a baby with a stranger, and he loves his daughter intensely; Whitney didn't intend to have a baby (anytime soon), but the maternal instinct kicks in once she sees her daughter.

... And it kicked in a little hard for me. I'll admit, I'm not a mom and I don't want to be. But I did find it a bit jarring when Whitney went from very ambivalent over Haylee to immediately attaching to her. While this is her biological child, it is a pretty insane way to become a mother; and she didn't carry Haylee or know of her existence until right before meeting her. I don't want to dismiss her ability to feel that attachment. I'm sure some people would feel the same. But from a "this is a book" perspective, I kind of wish we'd had more time in which Whitney was uncertain about becoming Haylee's mom. The practical considerations pulling her in totally made sense to me—Haylee does need to be in touch with her heritage, and Holly just up and abandoning her does put things in a totally different light. The truly intense maternal instinct she felt was just a lot.

I did really enjoy the tension between Myles and Whitney. Both, again, have very valid concerns and the stakes are so high. Plus, you have this great clash of him being a stern, somewhat frosty lawyer (while, again, being such a sweet dad) and Whitney as this huge celebrity. They couldn't come from more contrasting worlds. I did wish we had that tension for a bit longer!

A lot of the tension instead ends up coming from the insanity of Whitney's world, factors like Myles's ex (who is kind of cartoonish at points—I didn't mind too terribly much, but it must be said), and Myles's resistance to truly committing to a new serious relationship following prior failures. It's not bad, but I do feel like we could've had more snap, which could've been resolved through tighter editing. As it is, we kind of hear a lot about all of these issues, versus really feeling them.

I'll also say... While I liked Whitney overall, I did bristle a bit at her arguing that Haylee needed a mother. Don't get me wrong—two parents obviously offer more. It's just math. But two parents don't necessarily need to involve a mother, first off. And second, one dad can be a perfectly great parent to a child, including a little girl. Nothing's perfect, but this perspective just made me go off her a little for a bit. Not permanently! But I felt the need to note it

The Sex:

While this book does have several sex scenes, they're not super explicit. Open door, definitely there, just could've used a bit more passion and intensity for me. But perhaps some of this lay in the fact that I kind of wanted them to start banging a little more impetuously, while they still disliked each other. Yeah, there's a baby involved, you need to be practical, yada yada yada. However.... boning the biological father of the kid you never intended to have isn't super responsible parenting in the first place, right? Why not make it a little messier? As a treat?

Generally, I'd call this a cute romcom. I just feel that such a wacky premise could've been backed by a bit more of a punch.

Thanks to Graydon House and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was an easy and fun read!

This story was interesting because it explores the way families can be formed in non traditional ways. As we now have these different ways to create families, there are grey areas sometimes. Both main characters had plans and life decided otherwise. The story was easy and fun to read and it took turns that I wasn't expecting. It gave me the vibes of a cute romcom. I loved the main characters but unfortunately I didn't really enjoy most of the side characters. They weren't bad, but I found myself a bit disinterested in some of their parts. It didn't change my overall appreciation of the book though. I recommend this if you love love and want to read a cute and fun story.

Thank you NetGallery and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC. Myles and Whitney’s story did move quickly and there seemed to be actions that the characters made off page. Would have enjoyed more of Myles and Whitney discussing their new normal before establishing a physical relationship. Would recommend for a Book Club selection.

This book had such a strong start, but by the end, I was left feeling like something was missing—especially when it came to the romance. The concept is super intriguing, almost like a reverse Jane the Virgin. Whitney "Sahara" Richardson is a world-famous actress, singer, and business mogul who has her whole life planned out. But then—surprise!—a fertility clinic mix-up leaves her with a six-month-old daughter, Haylee.However Haylee’s biological father, Myles, a high-powered family lawyer, isn’t exactly thrilled to co-parent with her.

Whitney was hands-down my favorite part of this book. She’s a total powerhouse—talented, smart, confident, and completely devoted to Haylee. I loved how much she prioritized making sure her daughter, who is biracial, would grow up understanding both sides of her identity. She just had such a strong presence, and I was rooting for her the whole time.

Myles, though… I had a much harder time liking him. The way he dismissed Whitney’s feelings at first (and straight-up lied to her) really rubbed me the wrong way. Even later on, he never fully trusted her, which didn’t make sense because she was so patient and understanding. I just needed more from him to believe in their connection.

Speaking of their relationship—it had potential, but it felt too fast and kind of flat at times. I totally got why Whitney was into Myles, but I struggled to see what really drew him to her beyond the physical attraction. Their chemistry could’ve been so much stronger if we had more moments showing why they truly worked together.

On the plus side, the writing flows really well, and I liked getting both Whitney and Myles’ perspectives. But the POV shifts sometimes happened mid-paragraph, which got a little confusing. Also, while the book is well-written overall, some of the dialogue and inner monologues felt a bit awkward or clunky.

The book has a unique premise and a fantastic leading lady, but the romance and character development didn’t quite hit the mark for me. I liked it, but I wanted to love it more.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Very interesting storyline. It was a unique and cute rom-com that will have you definitely wanting more.

Whitney is America sweetheart celebrity who finds out that her frozen eggs were used through a surrogate. And now there is a 6 month old baby girl Haylee. Miles the biological father is going thru a divorce at the time. The ex wife is out of the picture. So of course Whitney wants to be apart of her daughter’s life. Whitney and Miles agree to co parent and of course things got messy and steamy.

Let’s be real here, at first I was skeptical about this book. The dialogue started off an interesting pace.

The title “one in a million” is not the proper title for this book, that’s my personal opinion. It gives off like it will be a book about Aaliyah the late singer or related to something in that way. I guess i understood the title once I finished the book.

It was a slow drag in the beginning, but once you understand the plot it will pick up! Felt like a drama soap opera.

There were some good parts that i did enjoy overall. I love the friendship that Whitney had with her close circle. She was America sweetheart.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

WOW. This story was a crazy RIDE! Imagine storing your eggs because your career as a singer, actress, and superstar keeps you too busy to have a child. Then, one day, you get a call that the fertility clinic made a devastating mistake. Your egg was accidentally used to conceive a married couple’s child. To make matters even more complicated, you and the couple are of different races, making the mix up instantly apparent when the baby is born.

Myles and Holly were the married couple caught in this nightmare. Unfortunately, Holly couldn't bring herself to love a child that wasn’t biologically hers. But Myles? He loved his daughter unconditionally. In the wildest turn of events, he meets his daughter’s biological mother, Whitney, and what starts as a co-parenting journey quickly spirals into a whirlwind parents with benefits relationship.

I have never read something so wild and unique! The plot twists were unexpected, and the steam? Oh, it was steamy. The concept itself was bold and well-executed, making for an unforgettable read. However, Myles as the male main character wasn’t always easy to love. He embodied the grumpy-sunshine trope, which isn’t always my favorite, and at times, his character felt frustrating rather than swoon-worthy.

Overall, One in a Million was an incredibly creative and entertaining read with intense emotions, shocking twists, and undeniable passion. While the MMC wasn’t my ideal, the originality and execution of the story made up for it.

This book missed the mark for me.

The writing felt kind of all over the place. I feel as if we were introduced to mutliple characters for no reason. It distracted me from the story wondering when these people would actually appear down the line. I found the concept to be interesting for a story but did not find it well executed. What caught me off guard was the insensitive nature of the MMC. He lacked emotional maturity given the circumstances which were of no fault of the FMC. I found the connection between the two characters to be lacking. There was more telling than showing and I found I couldn't fulled be immersed into the book or get behind this love story.

As someone who loved Jane the Virgin I was so happy to see this book! It was a nice quick and easy read. I did have trouble understanding some scenes with the sudden switch in POV (but that could’ve just been the formatting of the book). There was a lot of side character intros that ultimately didn’t mean much for the story. The chemistry between the two characters did seem to just come out of nowhere but it’s not something I minded. Overall, it was solid and I would reread whenever I want to just relax and read something sweet.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! The plot was engaging and full of twists that kept me hooked until the very end. The characters were well-developed and relatable, and I found myself really connecting with their journeys. The pacing was just right, balancing action with moments of reflection. However, there were a few areas where I felt certain storylines could have been explored a bit more deeply. Despite that, the book offered a memorable experience, and I’d definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a thought-provoking read!

Grateful to Netgalley and The Hive for this e-ARC. One in a Million gave me big made for movie-vibes-and not just because it centers around Sahara/Whitney, a music turned movie star who accidentally ends up the mother of Myles’ daughter through fertility center fiasco. This seemed like a great concept for film, as it did suffer from pacing and over-exposition in written form. There are a lot of names in this book, which I’m guessing is part of an interconnected universe of stories and I think could have been more Easter eggs to other books vs. so much detail that detracted from a really interesting plot and relationship between the characters. It is a very, very fast read and I absolutely recommend it if you’re looking for something to binge on a sunny afternoon for a little extra dopamine. I think this book has so much promise and it will appeal to many romance readers!

My biggest reason for wanting to read this book was the title and cover. And i really wanted to enjoy this book, but in ultimately fell short for me.
The random time jumps, stories that weren't fully explored/forgotten about weren't the only issue. I also didn't feel real chemistry between Myles or Whitney. And once they got together their situationship/relationship nearly focus mostly on sex.

3 stars (if it wasn't an e-arc i would probably rate lower)

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book. All thoughts are my own.

So…I’ll be honest. This wasn’t bad but it wasn’t great either.

Pros:
* Unique storyline
* Diverse cast
Cons:
* Awkward pacing - started but tapered off and attempted to gain momentum again but it was too late
* Multiple plot holes - conversations tended to end abruptly & plot seemed to lack direction
* Too long - in my opinion, this could’ve been novella honestly. Making it a novel just drug the storyline out.
* Title - I believe the title was selected along with the cover to gain buzz for this book. I’m sure plenty of people (me included) mainly chose to read this because it reminded us of the late great singer and actress Aaliyah.

I think this story needs a good revamp to fix the above mention issues to take it from fine to great.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for the eARC of this book!

This book is a very unique play on the secret baby trope and reminded me of the show Jane the Virgin. We get to see Myles and Whitney/Sahara learn to co-parent after the complicated way they are brought into each other’s lives and eventually fall in love.

I did not realize this was part of a series so I was a little confused in the beginning, but overall this reads as standalone. I really enjoyed this one and definitely recommend!