The Improbable Meet-Cute series from Amazon was a Valentine's Day treat. A series of six novellas that are barely related — perhaps one line in each book connects it to another book — these all feel a bit like the beginning of a story, though some feel more complete than others. The novellas are each unique but, like the genre they come from, there is no doubt each one will have a happily-ever-after ending for the characters. I give the entire series three hearts though; there are stories I enjoyed, stories I had problems with... which is exactly what I expect from a series of short stories. I'll review each novella separately, but I think the collection will be a hit with anyone who reads a lot of romance novels.
The first in Amazon's The Improbable Meet-Cute series from Amazon, this novella was my favorite of the series and is the definition of a "meet-cute."
C & T "meet" one Valentine's Day due to a typo on an email address. The two continue to send emails to one another over the next decade never revealing their identities, but slowly beginning to depend on one another's advice and to enjoy their long, slow-burning flirtation. It's obvious where the book is headed - I mean, meet-cute is right there in the subtitle and is the entire reason these books were written!
It's still a joy, however, to watch the characters figure things out.
In this installment, Holly is a hospice nurse caring for her grandmother and John is a handyman helping his brother renovate his apartment which (surprise!) is in the same complex where Holly's grandmother lives.
A note left on Holly's car window that John intended for someone else leads Holly and John to begin a series of notes to one another. Yup, you can see where this one is going too but it's still a cute and quick journey.
Rosie and the Dreamboat was my least favorite
story in this series, which says a lot
because it was still cute.
Rosie and her sister go for a spa day and Rosie gets locked in a floatation tank. Her dreamboat is the young, hot firefighter who has come to rescue her (not that she knows he's a dreamboat, she's trapped in a tank!).
I just didn't enjoy the characters in this one. There's so much awkwardness, I had second-hand embarrassment for all of them. I'm sure they get their happily ever after, but this one was too much drama for me.
Rosie and her sister go for a spa day and Rosie gets locked in a floatation tank. Her dreamboat is the young, hot firefighter who has come to rescue her (not that she knows he's a dreamboat, she's trapped in a tank!).
I just didn't enjoy the characters in this one. There's so much awkwardness, I had second-hand embarrassment for all of them. I'm sure they get their happily ever after, but this one was too much drama for me.
The spiciest of the series, it's one of the only ones where the novella goes beyond the meet-cute part of the story.
But the characters were... meh. The best thing about this novella were all the descriptions of the amazing food from the bakery. But the characters did not do it for me. It's hard to be excited about someone who's super grumpy through the entire novella. Who has time to try to read the tea leaves on what our grumpy baker is thinking?
I know people love the representation for girls who are not stick figures but, I assure you, she deserved better than this grumpy baker.
Audrey is used to being the one that people kiss
before they meet their one true love. She believes it's a family curse
and she would like to find her own one and only. This story takes place
during a weekend when she is the best man for her best friend Rhett.
I'm going to be honest, this book in the Improbable Meet-Cute collection is tough for me to review objectively. I really enjoyed the characters and I enjoyed the resolution, BUT (& it's a big but) I have an issue with how things unfolded in this novella.
Consent is a big deal for me and there is a situation in this book where one of the characters is so drunk that she is clearly incapable of consent. I'm not going to lie, it bothered me. Obviously it bothered me more than the character, but I hate to see authors write scenes like this, particularly because I think Poston could have made her point without having characters so drunk they can't remember — and therefore consent to — their actions.
I think most people won't have a problem with the story but, if not for the lack of consent, this would have been one of my favorites in the series.
I'm going to be honest, this book in the Improbable Meet-Cute collection is tough for me to review objectively. I really enjoyed the characters and I enjoyed the resolution, BUT (& it's a big but) I have an issue with how things unfolded in this novella.
Consent is a big deal for me and there is a situation in this book where one of the characters is so drunk that she is clearly incapable of consent. I'm not going to lie, it bothered me. Obviously it bothered me more than the character, but I hate to see authors write scenes like this, particularly because I think Poston could have made her point without having characters so drunk they can't remember — and therefore consent to — their actions.
I think most people won't have a problem with the story but, if not for the lack of consent, this would have been one of my favorites in the series.
Sariah Wilson is another author that I'd never read before but I don't think this novella inspired me to seek out her work. It was fine but the characters in this novella have too much baggage to get through 70 pages without unnecessary drama.
This ranks near the bottom of the Meet-Cute series stories for me. Aside from the distracting attempt to write in an accent (when Wilson really only writes one or two words in each sentence in the accent, which is...not great), I found myself lacking patience for everyone in this story.
This ranks near the bottom of the Meet-Cute series stories for me. Aside from the distracting attempt to write in an accent (when Wilson really only writes one or two words in each sentence in the accent, which is...not great), I found myself lacking patience for everyone in this story.
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