Tuesday, 19 April 2022

πŸ’› MEANT TO BE 🌼 Jennifer Probst πŸ’œ

 




• 19 April 2022
• Standalone Romance
Twist of Fate #1

★★★★
3.5 Stars

Two broken hearts discover an unpredictable path to healing in an emotional romance about fate and second chances by New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Probst.

It’s been two years since Chiara Kennedy lost her dearest friend, Rory. Chiara misses everything about her. Rory’s widowed husband is another story. Sebastian Ryder is a man Chiara had secretly wanted, let slip away, and hoped to never see again. Then fate throws them together for an unexpected one-night stand and a morning after of new challenges.

Sebastian had a soul mate in Rory. Shutting down after his tragic loss, he kept a cool distance from everyone
including Chiara, with whom he once shared a deep if fleeting affection. That was over and done with a long time ago. But when they meet again, old emotions resurface along with a heart-wounding past that haunts them both.

As Chiara and Sebastian grow closer, finally getting to know each other, Chiara struggles with feelings of guilt even as she cherishes her second chance with Sebastian. Will fate allow them to overcome the past, or are they destined to always wonder if they are truly meant to be?


Chiara + Sebastian

Five years ago they spent an amazing evening together talking about life and hopes and dreams and ... they just clicked. But they they wanted different things. Sebastian was ready for the white picket fence and Chiara wanted to be free to enjoy her life.
A little while later she meets her best friend Rory's soon-to-be-husband. Sebastian.
The next three years they try to pretend they don't know each other. And then Rory dies and Chiara and the other two girls in their bestie group have to run their company without Rory.
Another two years go by without Chiara and Sebastian seeing much of each other. But then one slightly drunken/roofied night leads to a one-night stand neither of them wanted - but which they also kind of did want but would never admit to....
But there can never be anything real between them, right? Not with Rory between them and with their friends and Rory's dad and the whole town knowing their business ...
  
WHAT WILL HAPPEN WITH CHIARA + SEBASTIAN?
WILL THERE BE A HEA??
READ THE BOOK TO FIND OUT ☺

 ___________________________



Welll... I'm not so sure what to say.
This didn't grab me the way Jennifer's books usually do.
I don't know what it was. Maybe the dead wife thing - there have been too many books with that trope this year already... Or maybe I just didn't connect with any of the people. I almost stopped reading in the prologue already. But I kept going and it did get better - but I was still not sure I wanted to read this. Mostly because of the dead wife. But I also sometimes had the feeling that this book was written in 1991 and Jennifer just now decided to release it. No idea why, but it felt so old at times. And the jobs of both our darlings - it was too much for me. Too much talk about it, too much that just wasn't part of their romance.
BUT... in the end - I kinda liked reading it. It was romantic and sparky and heartbreaking and fun. It just wasn't my favorite Jen Probst book. But I will still read the 2nd book!
 
MEANT TO BE was a great start to this new romance series. Sparky, fun, sexy, heartbreaking ... 




ARC received for an honest review
 
After DNFing my last JP read, I was hoping for more this time.
 
Well, I did finish this one, but I will say that I nearly put this one down for good more than once.
 
I liked the connection between our lovelis, but man oh man, Chiara in particular, and Sebastian tried my patience.
 
I got the best friend/dead wife thing was something they had to overcome, but sheesh, did they drag that out. I wanted to tell Ryder to run run run just as fast as he can away from her. I am glad they removed heads from sphincters, but it was hard work for me to get to the end.
 
So, whilst this was not my favourite Jen Probst story, it wasn't the worst.
 
But I think for a while it is time for me to walk away from them and come back fresh down the track.
 
 
 Links to the Book & Author 

 



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Jennifer Probst wrote her first book at twelve years old. She bound it in a folder, read it to her classmates, and hasn’t stopped writing since. She took a short hiatus to get married, get pregnant, buy a house, get pregnant again, pursue a master’s in English Literature, and rescue two shelter dogs. Now she is writing again.

She is the NYT and USA Today bestselling author of The Marriage Bargain. She is published both erotic and sexy contemporary romance with Entangled, Decadent, Red Sage and TWRP. She has also written a children's book, Buffy and the Carrot, co-written with her twelve year old niece, along with a short story, "A Life Worth Living." Visit her website for more info!