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The Improbable Meet-Cute: Second Chances Collection
12 hours, 19 minutes
Fate works in mysterious ways—and this Valentine’s Day, it’s feeling particularly mischievous. From accidental Zoom crashes to graveyard resurrections, six beloved romance authors bring you a collection of increasingly steamy second chances.
Accidentally Yours by Christina Lauren
When marketing consultant Veronica accidentally crashes the wrong Zoom meeting, she’s shocked to receive a job offer from the company’s intriguing CEO. Their professional email exchanges quickly turn flirty, but Veronica’s mind keeps drifting to her reserved but gorgeous new neighbor. As Valentine’s Day approaches, she’ll discover that sometimes the most improbable meet-cute can lead to the perfect match. (2 hours, 10 minutes)
Time Will Tell by Hannah Bonam-Young
When a history teacher receives a letter from her deceased grandmother revealing a secret love affair in the 1950s, it leads her to a time capsule hidden decades ago. But it’s the charming grandson of her grandmother’s lost love who changes everything, proving that sometimes the heart knows exactly where—and when—it belongs. (2 hours, 9 minutes)
Second Act Romance by Julie Soto
When food poisoning takes out the lead in their Valentine’s Day production of Oklahoma!, TV sensation Colby J. Turner swoops in to save the show. But for leading lady Bex Hardgrave, this last-minute casting is more drama than she bargained for. Eight years ago, their onstage chemistry sparked real-life fireworks—until a misunderstanding brought down the curtain. As showtime approaches, Bex and Colby must decide if their second-chance romance deserves its own standing ovation. (1 hour, 24 minutes)
A Play for Love by Trilina Pucci
Years ago, during a college production of Romeo and Juliet, Rory and Oliver shared one unforgettable stage kiss before fate pulled them apart. Now, while drowning her Valentine’s Day sorrows at brunch, she spots her former Romeo, wearing nothing but gold shorts and wings, playing Cupid for the lovelorn masses. Their chemistry still sizzles, but these former leads will need more than Shakespeare’s guidance to turn their second chance into a true romance. (2 hours, 3 minutes)
Death to Valentine’s Day by Catherine Cowles
After her boyfriend’s betrayal, the last thing Maia St. James wants is Valentine’s Day. But when friends drag her to a Death to Valentine’s Day masquerade ball at a mountain lodge, she ends up kissing a masked stranger—only to discover he’s her ex’s older brother. And when a guest is found murdered, the party becomes a deadly mystery. Now Maia must unmask a killer before her second chance at romance is cut short. (2 hours, 20 minutes)
Valentine’s Slay by Navessa Allen
Louisiana gravedigger Noah Evans’s Valentine’s night shift takes an unexpected turn when his high school crush, Emma, starts screaming from her freshly dug grave. As they unearth a deadly family conspiracy, Noah and Emma discover that old flames burn even hotter the second time around—especially when someone’s trying to kill them. (2 hours, 13 minutes)
Fate works in mysterious ways—and this Valentine’s Day, it’s feeling particularly mischievous. From accidental Zoom crashes to graveyard resurrections, six beloved romance authors bring you a collection of increasingly steamy second chances.
Accidentally Yours by Christina Lauren
When marketing consultant Veronica accidentally crashes the wrong Zoom meeting, she’s shocked to receive a job offer from the company’s intriguing CEO. Their professional email exchanges quickly turn flirty, but Veronica’s mind keeps drifting to her reserved but gorgeous new neighbor. As Valentine’s Day approaches, she’ll discover that sometimes the most improbable meet-cute can lead to the perfect match. (2 hours, 10 minutes)
Time Will Tell by Hannah Bonam-Young
When a history teacher receives a letter from her deceased grandmother revealing a secret love affair in the 1950s, it leads her to a time capsule hidden decades ago. But it’s the charming grandson of her grandmother’s lost love who changes everything, proving that sometimes the heart knows exactly where—and when—it belongs. (2 hours, 9 minutes)
Second Act Romance by Julie Soto
When food poisoning takes out the lead in their Valentine’s Day production of Oklahoma!, TV sensation Colby J. Turner swoops in to save the show. But for leading lady Bex Hardgrave, this last-minute casting is more drama than she bargained for. Eight years ago, their onstage chemistry sparked real-life fireworks—until a misunderstanding brought down the curtain. As showtime approaches, Bex and Colby must decide if their second-chance romance deserves its own standing ovation. (1 hour, 24 minutes)
A Play for Love by Trilina Pucci
Years ago, during a college production of Romeo and Juliet, Rory and Oliver shared one unforgettable stage kiss before fate pulled them apart. Now, while drowning her Valentine’s Day sorrows at brunch, she spots her former Romeo, wearing nothing but gold shorts and wings, playing Cupid for the lovelorn masses. Their chemistry still sizzles, but these former leads will need more than Shakespeare’s guidance to turn their second chance into a true romance. (2 hours, 3 minutes)
Death to Valentine’s Day by Catherine Cowles
After her boyfriend’s betrayal, the last thing Maia St. James wants is Valentine’s Day. But when friends drag her to a Death to Valentine’s Day masquerade ball at a mountain lodge, she ends up kissing a masked stranger—only to discover he’s her ex’s older brother. And when a guest is found murdered, the party becomes a deadly mystery. Now Maia must unmask a killer before her second chance at romance is cut short. (2 hours, 20 minutes)
Valentine’s Slay by Navessa Allen
Louisiana gravedigger Noah Evans’s Valentine’s night shift takes an unexpected turn when his high school crush, Emma, starts screaming from her freshly dug grave. As they unearth a deadly family conspiracy, Noah and Emma discover that old flames burn even hotter the second time around—especially when someone’s trying to kill them. (2 hours, 13 minutes)
Audiobook
Published January 20, 2026
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About the author
Christina Lauren
98 books101k followersChristina Lauren is the combined pen name of long-time writing partners/best friends Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings. The coauthor duo writes both Young Adult and Adult Fiction, and together has produced twenty New York Times bestselling novels. Their books have been translated into 30+ languages. (Some of these books have kissing. Some of these books have A LOT of kissing.)
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January 24, 2026second act romance by julie soto ⭐️⭐️⭐️
i liked the concept but this was too short😭 also covid mention is always a jumpscare in books✋🏻
accidentally yours by christina lauren ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
i LOVE the “oh my real life crush is the same person as my online crush?” trope so much
i liked the concept but this was too short😭 also covid mention is always a jumpscare in books✋🏻
accidentally yours by christina lauren ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
i LOVE the “oh my real life crush is the same person as my online crush?” trope so much
March 16, 2026
1. Accidentally Yours by Christina Lauren ★★★★1/2
the setup…
Veronica is a marketing consultant who was unfairly let go from her last job. She signs in to what was supposed to be a job interview but turns out to be another company’s Zoom meeting. She keeps her profile dark and listens in to an awful marketing presentation. In her current mood, she pipes in and delivers a scathing analysis before signing off. Jude, the CEO, tracks her down because her feedback was pretty refreshing, enough so that he hires her on as a consultant. It’s all by email and they continue chatting and it turns personal after a few days. Little do they know that they’ve actually met in person before.
the heart of the story…
Veronica has a wicked wit that Jude really gets, as did I. Loved their banter and that Zoom meeting was hilarious. And, I didn’t have to wait to long for the twisty moment.
the narration…
Dominique Salvacion sounded exactly as I would have imagined Veronica and Andrew Gibson was a very appealing Jude. Loved their pacing and storytelling.
the bottom line…
While this is based (sort of) on the dreaded miscommunication angle, it didn’t linger there too long and it played out pretty nicely. I love these little themed novellas, especially in the hands of talented writers. Perfect start to the collection.
Posted on Blue Mood Café
2. Time Will Tell by Hannah Bonham-Young ★★★★
the setup…
Georgia is a history teacher in Toronto who receives a letter from her grandmother following her death. In it she not only discloses that she had an affair with a woman in the 1950s but the two of them had buried a time capsule. Georgia finds it but the key is with her grandmother’s former lover. When she locates the deceased woman’s grandson Callum in England, they begin a flirty email correspondence.
the heart of the story…
I loved this “meet cute,” unique in itself but the exchanges between Georgia and Callum were so much fun. They were the highlight of the story.
the narration…
OMG! Victoria Connolly was delightful as Georgia and Maxim Reston’s voice just slayed me as Callum. I loved every single thing about their performance.
the bottom line…
So much of the story used the epistolary format, one I enjoy immensely. The banter was lively and the romance developing in those messages felt real. The payoff was wonderful and this is best taken in on audio because the narration is superb. My first by this author and now I want her backlist.
Posted on Blue Mood Café
3. Second Act Romance by Julie Soto ★★★1/2
the setup…
Theater actress Bex Hardgrave is on tour with the musical production of Oklahoma! and they are all set for the Valentine’s Day production until a seafood taco takes out most of the cast. She’s okay as she took a pass on that delectable but the “show must go on” tradition is threatened because they don’t have anyone to stand in as Curly, her male lead. As luck would have it, new TV star sensation Colby J. Turner is in town and comes to the rescue. Bex is flummoxed as they performed together eight years ago and she’s still not over him.
the heart of the story…
The flashbacks to eight years ago gave me a glimpse into what seemed to be a potential romance between Bex and Colby. It’s full of wit and light banter but it was the backstage production drama and the performance that swept me away. Loved that aspect of the story.
the narration…
Thérèse Plummer is another favorite and I loved how she captured Bex and the cast. Her performance was lively and delightful.
the bottom line…
This was pretty funny and I was fascinated by the lengths to which the show goes on. The romance was just okay, even though the idea of it captured my imagination. It needed just a little more oomph. No matter as I had a good time.
Posted on Blue Mood Café
4. A Play for Love by Trilina Pucci ★★★1/2
the setup…
Rory Smith and Oliver Adams had what feels like a serendipitous encounter…in a drama class. She was randomly paired with him for a scene from Romeo and Juliet and shared a kiss she never forgot. Jump forward four years and they have another random encounter right before Valentine’s Day that is both unique and hilarious. Two special meet cutes…is it destiny?
the heart of the story…
I thought after the first encounter something might have developed between these two but nothing happened. Their second connection was far more crazy and hilarious, but occurring the day before she was leaving New York for California. I loved how they decided to spend their time together, then and later.
the narration…
It’s a duet narration by Jesse Vilinsky & Stephen Dexter, a style I love as it always adds an oomph to the story and it did here. Both of them have wonderful voice tones, excellent timing and great storytelling skills.
the bottom line…
While Rory & Oliver’s two meet cutes were unique and funny, it’s what came next that made this an enjoyable romance. I just wish there’d been an explanation for why they never connected the first time. Otherwise, I had a good time with these two.
Posted on Blue Mood Café
5. Death to Valentine’s Day by Catherine Cowles ★★★★1/2
the setup…
It’s Valentine’s Day, exactly one year since Maia St. James caught her cheating ex-boyfriend in the act. The last thing she wants to do is be among people let alone go to a party. But her two best friends talk her into going with them to a Death to Valentine’s Day masquerade ball at a mountain lodge. When she sees the ex coming her way at the party, she grabs a masked stranger to help her with a distraction…a sultry kiss. But this man is no stranger. He’s Decker (Deck) West, the brother of her ex and that kiss ignited something for both of them.
the heart of the story…
For a short story, this has the weight of a full length novel, covering quite a bit of the backstories and fleshing out the characters pretty well. It was enough that I really liked both Maia and Deck and despised Jackson (the ex and Deck’s brother). And, toss in a little murder mystery (someone got killed at the party) and there is a lot of meat on these bones.
the narration…
Erin Mallon was delightful as Maia and Connor Crais, one of my favorites, did triple duty not only as Deck but two other major characters. Loved their performances!
the bottom line…
I highly enjoyed this story, despite the murder mystery taking a weird turn. This is my first by the author, though I own two of her bestselling books. Her writing style works for me so I’ll bump those up. Meanwhile, this was a win for me.
Posted on Blue Mood Café
6. Valentine’s Slay by Navessa Allen ★★★1/2
the setup…
It’s Valentine’s Day and Noah Evans is working the night shift at the Louisiana graveyard when he hears some moaning. He’s a gravedigger and used to finding lovers amongst the gravestones. But when the moans turn to screaming, he realizes it’s not a Valentine’s Day tryst but a woman…buried alive. And it’s coming from the grave of Emma Broadburn, his high school crush who he watched be buried earlier in the day. How in the world???
the heart of the story…
I immediately went into my rational zone, trying to figure how this could happen and believing something mystical might be at play. It was great that those questions got answered (nothing ethereal here) and it was clear that Emma’s doctor husband pulled a fast one. Things heated up between her and Noah a little too quickly for me but I liked their easy relationship. I also enjoyed the mystery part of the story.
the narration…
Allie Pine and Alastair Haynesbridge delivered the duet style narration, one of my favorites as it makes the story more conversational with rapid-fire pacing. Allie brought the Louisiana drawl perfectly and I enjoyed both of their performances.
the bottom line…
Okay, this wins the award for the most original, unique and macabre meet-cute ever! And, it became believable once the story progressed. I liked their easy relationship and the romance/suspense combo, though the speed of the spice didn’t quite work as well. It was a nice finale to a really fun and romantic collection.
Posted on Blue Mood Café
(Thanks to Brilliance Audio and NetGalley for my complimentary copy of the entire collection. All opinions are my own.)
the setup…
Veronica is a marketing consultant who was unfairly let go from her last job. She signs in to what was supposed to be a job interview but turns out to be another company’s Zoom meeting. She keeps her profile dark and listens in to an awful marketing presentation. In her current mood, she pipes in and delivers a scathing analysis before signing off. Jude, the CEO, tracks her down because her feedback was pretty refreshing, enough so that he hires her on as a consultant. It’s all by email and they continue chatting and it turns personal after a few days. Little do they know that they’ve actually met in person before.
the heart of the story…
Veronica has a wicked wit that Jude really gets, as did I. Loved their banter and that Zoom meeting was hilarious. And, I didn’t have to wait to long for the twisty moment.
the narration…
Dominique Salvacion sounded exactly as I would have imagined Veronica and Andrew Gibson was a very appealing Jude. Loved their pacing and storytelling.
the bottom line…
While this is based (sort of) on the dreaded miscommunication angle, it didn’t linger there too long and it played out pretty nicely. I love these little themed novellas, especially in the hands of talented writers. Perfect start to the collection.
Posted on Blue Mood Café
2. Time Will Tell by Hannah Bonham-Young ★★★★
the setup…
Georgia is a history teacher in Toronto who receives a letter from her grandmother following her death. In it she not only discloses that she had an affair with a woman in the 1950s but the two of them had buried a time capsule. Georgia finds it but the key is with her grandmother’s former lover. When she locates the deceased woman’s grandson Callum in England, they begin a flirty email correspondence.
the heart of the story…
I loved this “meet cute,” unique in itself but the exchanges between Georgia and Callum were so much fun. They were the highlight of the story.
the narration…
OMG! Victoria Connolly was delightful as Georgia and Maxim Reston’s voice just slayed me as Callum. I loved every single thing about their performance.
the bottom line…
So much of the story used the epistolary format, one I enjoy immensely. The banter was lively and the romance developing in those messages felt real. The payoff was wonderful and this is best taken in on audio because the narration is superb. My first by this author and now I want her backlist.
Posted on Blue Mood Café
3. Second Act Romance by Julie Soto ★★★1/2
the setup…
Theater actress Bex Hardgrave is on tour with the musical production of Oklahoma! and they are all set for the Valentine’s Day production until a seafood taco takes out most of the cast. She’s okay as she took a pass on that delectable but the “show must go on” tradition is threatened because they don’t have anyone to stand in as Curly, her male lead. As luck would have it, new TV star sensation Colby J. Turner is in town and comes to the rescue. Bex is flummoxed as they performed together eight years ago and she’s still not over him.
the heart of the story…
The flashbacks to eight years ago gave me a glimpse into what seemed to be a potential romance between Bex and Colby. It’s full of wit and light banter but it was the backstage production drama and the performance that swept me away. Loved that aspect of the story.
the narration…
Thérèse Plummer is another favorite and I loved how she captured Bex and the cast. Her performance was lively and delightful.
the bottom line…
This was pretty funny and I was fascinated by the lengths to which the show goes on. The romance was just okay, even though the idea of it captured my imagination. It needed just a little more oomph. No matter as I had a good time.
Posted on Blue Mood Café
4. A Play for Love by Trilina Pucci ★★★1/2
the setup…
Rory Smith and Oliver Adams had what feels like a serendipitous encounter…in a drama class. She was randomly paired with him for a scene from Romeo and Juliet and shared a kiss she never forgot. Jump forward four years and they have another random encounter right before Valentine’s Day that is both unique and hilarious. Two special meet cutes…is it destiny?
the heart of the story…
I thought after the first encounter something might have developed between these two but nothing happened. Their second connection was far more crazy and hilarious, but occurring the day before she was leaving New York for California. I loved how they decided to spend their time together, then and later.
the narration…
It’s a duet narration by Jesse Vilinsky & Stephen Dexter, a style I love as it always adds an oomph to the story and it did here. Both of them have wonderful voice tones, excellent timing and great storytelling skills.
the bottom line…
While Rory & Oliver’s two meet cutes were unique and funny, it’s what came next that made this an enjoyable romance. I just wish there’d been an explanation for why they never connected the first time. Otherwise, I had a good time with these two.
Posted on Blue Mood Café
5. Death to Valentine’s Day by Catherine Cowles ★★★★1/2
the setup…
It’s Valentine’s Day, exactly one year since Maia St. James caught her cheating ex-boyfriend in the act. The last thing she wants to do is be among people let alone go to a party. But her two best friends talk her into going with them to a Death to Valentine’s Day masquerade ball at a mountain lodge. When she sees the ex coming her way at the party, she grabs a masked stranger to help her with a distraction…a sultry kiss. But this man is no stranger. He’s Decker (Deck) West, the brother of her ex and that kiss ignited something for both of them.
the heart of the story…
For a short story, this has the weight of a full length novel, covering quite a bit of the backstories and fleshing out the characters pretty well. It was enough that I really liked both Maia and Deck and despised Jackson (the ex and Deck’s brother). And, toss in a little murder mystery (someone got killed at the party) and there is a lot of meat on these bones.
the narration…
Erin Mallon was delightful as Maia and Connor Crais, one of my favorites, did triple duty not only as Deck but two other major characters. Loved their performances!
the bottom line…
I highly enjoyed this story, despite the murder mystery taking a weird turn. This is my first by the author, though I own two of her bestselling books. Her writing style works for me so I’ll bump those up. Meanwhile, this was a win for me.
Posted on Blue Mood Café
6. Valentine’s Slay by Navessa Allen ★★★1/2
the setup…
It’s Valentine’s Day and Noah Evans is working the night shift at the Louisiana graveyard when he hears some moaning. He’s a gravedigger and used to finding lovers amongst the gravestones. But when the moans turn to screaming, he realizes it’s not a Valentine’s Day tryst but a woman…buried alive. And it’s coming from the grave of Emma Broadburn, his high school crush who he watched be buried earlier in the day. How in the world???
the heart of the story…
I immediately went into my rational zone, trying to figure how this could happen and believing something mystical might be at play. It was great that those questions got answered (nothing ethereal here) and it was clear that Emma’s doctor husband pulled a fast one. Things heated up between her and Noah a little too quickly for me but I liked their easy relationship. I also enjoyed the mystery part of the story.
the narration…
Allie Pine and Alastair Haynesbridge delivered the duet style narration, one of my favorites as it makes the story more conversational with rapid-fire pacing. Allie brought the Louisiana drawl perfectly and I enjoyed both of their performances.
the bottom line…
Okay, this wins the award for the most original, unique and macabre meet-cute ever! And, it became believable once the story progressed. I liked their easy relationship and the romance/suspense combo, though the speed of the spice didn’t quite work as well. It was a nice finale to a really fun and romantic collection.
Posted on Blue Mood Café
(Thanks to Brilliance Audio and NetGalley for my complimentary copy of the entire collection. All opinions are my own.)
January 9, 2026
Collectively I give this collection 4 stars!! There were some awesome narrators with this and some really good Valentine theme novellas!! The narration for these were truly fantastic!!
My fave by far was Death to Valentine’s Day by Catherine Cowles. Easily a 5 star and such a fun twisty romantic suspense with both swoony worthy moments & murder mystery vibes! Narration by Erin Mallon & Connor Crais! Fantastic! 5 ⭐️
Nevessa Allen’s Valentine Slay was a close second with yet again a thrilling romance with twists & fast past drama I didn’t see coming!! I wasn’t sure where this one was going, but it was great!! Narration by Allie Piper & Alastair Hanesbridge! They did this one lots of justice! 5”4.5⭐️
Christina Lauren gave us a fun, humorous story with Accidentally Yours as well & I really enjoyed the characters and narration by Dominic Salvation & Andrew Gibson! Those two really made the humor stand out! This story about a work interview Meetcute had me laughing and swooning! 4⭐️
Julie Soto is a new to me author, but I really loved her novella Second Act Romance! This one was cute, fun, and theatrical love story. Therese Plummer carried this narration on her own & was absolutely lovable!!! 4⭐️
Hannah Bonam Young gave us a cute/history filled story about family history that made for a cute & sweet love story!! Time Will Tell was narrated by Maxium Reston and Victoria Connolly! This narration was the perfect match for this story!! 4⭐️
Last but not least my girl Trilina Pucci gave us a Play For Love one of my other faves of the series! This was a cute, fun, and so lovable story about love going the distance & making it work regardless of how far. I loved this story & characters so much!! Narration by Jessie Valenski and Stephen Dexter, absolutely loved their emotion and the way they pulled this story together!! 4.5⭐️
Thank you NetGalley & all the authors for allowing me to listen to this collection early!!!
My fave by far was Death to Valentine’s Day by Catherine Cowles. Easily a 5 star and such a fun twisty romantic suspense with both swoony worthy moments & murder mystery vibes! Narration by Erin Mallon & Connor Crais! Fantastic! 5 ⭐️
Nevessa Allen’s Valentine Slay was a close second with yet again a thrilling romance with twists & fast past drama I didn’t see coming!! I wasn’t sure where this one was going, but it was great!! Narration by Allie Piper & Alastair Hanesbridge! They did this one lots of justice! 5”4.5⭐️
Christina Lauren gave us a fun, humorous story with Accidentally Yours as well & I really enjoyed the characters and narration by Dominic Salvation & Andrew Gibson! Those two really made the humor stand out! This story about a work interview Meetcute had me laughing and swooning! 4⭐️
Julie Soto is a new to me author, but I really loved her novella Second Act Romance! This one was cute, fun, and theatrical love story. Therese Plummer carried this narration on her own & was absolutely lovable!!! 4⭐️
Hannah Bonam Young gave us a cute/history filled story about family history that made for a cute & sweet love story!! Time Will Tell was narrated by Maxium Reston and Victoria Connolly! This narration was the perfect match for this story!! 4⭐️
Last but not least my girl Trilina Pucci gave us a Play For Love one of my other faves of the series! This was a cute, fun, and so lovable story about love going the distance & making it work regardless of how far. I loved this story & characters so much!! Narration by Jessie Valenski and Stephen Dexter, absolutely loved their emotion and the way they pulled this story together!! 4.5⭐️
Thank you NetGalley & all the authors for allowing me to listen to this collection early!!!
February 3, 2026
Amazon, please keep doing these! I love these short novella series!
Okay, individual ratings:
-Accidentally Yours: 4.5, actually one of the most fun Christian Lauren stories I’ve read in a while! I really liked the concept of an accidental Zoom call turning into a job and also a love story! I also loved that they fell for each other in two separate places but not in a way that felt like they were cheating on each other with each other.
-Time Will Tell: 4.5, sexy British professor… need I say more? Okay, I will, don’t worry. First of all, I love the gay grandma plot line, what a sweet way to honor all of the people who lived in secret for so long. I liked how they talked on the phone for hours every night for a month or so before meeting in person because I felt much better about them making out immediately upon meeting each other at the train station. I also loved the high school teacher rep.
-Valentines Slay: 5, Navessa Allen, girl, you are one of the most creative authors I have ever known. I mean, you heard “improbably Valentines meet cute” and your first thought was grave digger finds his high school crush buried alive?! I love you. I really felt for Emma, and I’m so happy to know that Nolan will support her in finding her inner worth now that she’s away from Beau. I also love the idea of a man being head over heels for a woman from literally high school, and when he gets a chance he’s like “I’m going to worship this woman so hard.”
-Death to Valentine’s Day: 3.5, this was my first Catherine Cowles, and I really enjoyed her writing style. However, I do think this would’ve been better done as a whole book because of the best-friend-murder plot and the ex’s brother trope. Everything just needed to be fleshed out more, but the concept was amazing!
Okay, individual ratings:
-Accidentally Yours: 4.5, actually one of the most fun Christian Lauren stories I’ve read in a while! I really liked the concept of an accidental Zoom call turning into a job and also a love story! I also loved that they fell for each other in two separate places but not in a way that felt like they were cheating on each other with each other.
-Time Will Tell: 4.5, sexy British professor… need I say more? Okay, I will, don’t worry. First of all, I love the gay grandma plot line, what a sweet way to honor all of the people who lived in secret for so long. I liked how they talked on the phone for hours every night for a month or so before meeting in person because I felt much better about them making out immediately upon meeting each other at the train station. I also loved the high school teacher rep.
-Valentines Slay: 5, Navessa Allen, girl, you are one of the most creative authors I have ever known. I mean, you heard “improbably Valentines meet cute” and your first thought was grave digger finds his high school crush buried alive?! I love you. I really felt for Emma, and I’m so happy to know that Nolan will support her in finding her inner worth now that she’s away from Beau. I also love the idea of a man being head over heels for a woman from literally high school, and when he gets a chance he’s like “I’m going to worship this woman so hard.”
-Death to Valentine’s Day: 3.5, this was my first Catherine Cowles, and I really enjoyed her writing style. However, I do think this would’ve been better done as a whole book because of the best-friend-murder plot and the ex’s brother trope. Everything just needed to be fleshed out more, but the concept was amazing!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 11, 2026
3,5 ⭐️ Me ha gustado más que el otro recopilatorio de San Valentín, pero hay un poco de todo, algunos muy buenos y otros ñe. Mi ranking 👇🏼
Time Will Tell by Hannah Bonam-Young ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Dos mujeres entierran una caja y, años después, sus nietos se encuentran gracias a ella. Precioso 🥹
Death to Valentine’s Day by Catherine ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️,5
¿Romance y misterio? Ya me tienes 😏
Valentine’s Slay by Navessa Allen ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ,5
Otro misterio e investigación junto con un poquito de 💞
Accidentally Yours by Christina ⭐️⭐️⭐️,5
Divertido y entretenido, aunque me sobró el drama final.
A Play for Love by Trilina Pucci ⭐️⭐️,5
Me gustó que se reencontraran, pero sin más.
Second Act Romance by Julia Soto ⭐️
El que menos me gustó, me pareció aburridísimo 🫠
Time Will Tell by Hannah Bonam-Young ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Dos mujeres entierran una caja y, años después, sus nietos se encuentran gracias a ella. Precioso 🥹
Death to Valentine’s Day by Catherine ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️,5
¿Romance y misterio? Ya me tienes 😏
Valentine’s Slay by Navessa Allen ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ,5
Otro misterio e investigación junto con un poquito de 💞
Accidentally Yours by Christina ⭐️⭐️⭐️,5
Divertido y entretenido, aunque me sobró el drama final.
A Play for Love by Trilina Pucci ⭐️⭐️,5
Me gustó que se reencontraran, pero sin más.
Second Act Romance by Julia Soto ⭐️
El que menos me gustó, me pareció aburridísimo 🫠
February 5, 2026
My rankings:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Time Will Tell by Hannah Bonam-Young
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Accidentally Yours by Christina
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Valentine’s Slay by Navessa Allen
⭐️⭐️⭐️ A Play for Love by Trilina Pucci
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Second Act Romance by Julia Soto
⭐️⭐️ Death to Valentine’s Day by Catherine
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Time Will Tell by Hannah Bonam-Young
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Accidentally Yours by Christina
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Valentine’s Slay by Navessa Allen
⭐️⭐️⭐️ A Play for Love by Trilina Pucci
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Second Act Romance by Julia Soto
⭐️⭐️ Death to Valentine’s Day by Catherine
March 1, 2026
A fun collection of little easy-to-devour rom-com snacks by heavy hitter authors. Basically they cut straight to the best parts of novel but don’t feel lacking for it. All six of them have enough background and yearning I could feel giddy with anticipation about the moment the lovers become lovers, followed by enough plot to wrap up the story contentedly.
The stories are arranged by spice level, starting with just half a pepper, ending with 4 (according to the included scale, which felt accurate for me).
Overall I give the collection 4 stars. If you feel like picking and choosing, here’s my thoughts on the individual stories:
💕Accidentally Yours by Christina Lauren: I loved the FMC’s takedown of corporate BS. This was super sweet! 4 stars
🫶Time will Tell by Hannah Bonam-Young: ummm how can a novella make me feel so darn giddy? My cheeks HURT from smiling. 6 stars!
👏 Second Act Romance by Julie Soto: celebrity heart throb + broadway star? Say no more. This one just worked! 5 stars.
🎭 A Play for Love by Trilina Pucci: another one for the theater kids. Some honest out loud laughter ensued. 4 stars.
💘Death to Valentine’s Day by Catherine Cowles: Plots are starting to get crazy, and murdery, but I can still dig it. 4 stars.
⚰️Valentine’s Slay by Navessa Allen: What did I just read? 😵💫 Even murdery-er than the last. This plot starts out so completely ridiculous I almost DNF’d, but not mad I kept reading. 3 stars for me. I can see some people being into this.
I read all these on digital (thank you to Brilliance for the gifted copy!).They are all free on Prime Reading right now, too.
If you’re in a reading slump, or you’ve been reading long heavy books, I’d totally recommend grabbing one of these babies a la carte for a palate cleanser. 💖
The stories are arranged by spice level, starting with just half a pepper, ending with 4 (according to the included scale, which felt accurate for me).
Overall I give the collection 4 stars. If you feel like picking and choosing, here’s my thoughts on the individual stories:
💕Accidentally Yours by Christina Lauren: I loved the FMC’s takedown of corporate BS. This was super sweet! 4 stars
🫶Time will Tell by Hannah Bonam-Young: ummm how can a novella make me feel so darn giddy? My cheeks HURT from smiling. 6 stars!
👏 Second Act Romance by Julie Soto: celebrity heart throb + broadway star? Say no more. This one just worked! 5 stars.
🎭 A Play for Love by Trilina Pucci: another one for the theater kids. Some honest out loud laughter ensued. 4 stars.
💘Death to Valentine’s Day by Catherine Cowles: Plots are starting to get crazy, and murdery, but I can still dig it. 4 stars.
⚰️Valentine’s Slay by Navessa Allen: What did I just read? 😵💫 Even murdery-er than the last. This plot starts out so completely ridiculous I almost DNF’d, but not mad I kept reading. 3 stars for me. I can see some people being into this.
I read all these on digital (thank you to Brilliance for the gifted copy!).They are all free on Prime Reading right now, too.
If you’re in a reading slump, or you’ve been reading long heavy books, I’d totally recommend grabbing one of these babies a la carte for a palate cleanser. 💖
February 21, 2026
Just killing time while waiting for other reads to become available. I deff enjoyed the variety pack of different authors.. made me feel adventurous 🧳
January 20, 2026
as a whole I would give the collection 4 stars. I love the novella collections that amazon does so I was thrilled to have received this as an ALC! Each of these stories was very unique and fun to listen to! I will say I am slightly confused about the "second chances" of it all bcecause not all of these stories included a second chance in any sense? I still enjoyed them, and the last chunk of them definitely held true to the second chance, this was just an observation!
my mini individual reviews are below!
Accidentally Yours - Christina Lauren 3⭐️
Very cute!!! I love email romance novellas so this was fun!!! The narration lacked something, and fell kind of flat for me but i really enjoyed the premise!!!
Time will Tell - Hannah Bonam-Young 4⭐️
SOOOOOO CUTE!!!! the narration was chefs kiss!! I love duet narration a pretty good bit so i was eating this up. The blot was very unique which made it more fun to read!!
Second Act Romance - Julie Soto 4⭐️
THIS WAS SO GOOD!!! The chemistry was palpable from the first interaction. I loved the flashbacks throughout the whole story. The audio was fun and i felt like the narration style matched the character really well!
A Play for Love - Trilina Pucci 2⭐️
the idea and plot was really cute!! I really was obsessed at first. But the mmc was really cringey and i don’t know if it was the actual thing he was saying or the way the narrator delivered it? Or both?? Either way he really bothered me and that deterred this from being a 3-4 star rating😭
Death to Valentines Day- Catherine Cowles 4⭐️
BY FAR MY FAVORITE IN THIS COLLECTION!!!! There was so many twists and turns but they didn’t take away from the romance at all! It didn’t feel choppy or like we were left hanging at the end! It so well put together and thought out. LOVE!!!!!!
Valentine's Slay - Navessa Allen 4⭐️
Leave it to Navessa to write the most insane plot for a valentines day novella. Start to finish I was HOOKED. i really enjoyed the suspense, the spice, the romance. Truly the craziest story and I devoured every minute. not to mention the duet narration of it all! Loved it very much thank you!!
Thank you to Brilliance publishing + NetGalley for the advanced listeners copy!
my mini individual reviews are below!
Accidentally Yours - Christina Lauren 3⭐️
Very cute!!! I love email romance novellas so this was fun!!! The narration lacked something, and fell kind of flat for me but i really enjoyed the premise!!!
Time will Tell - Hannah Bonam-Young 4⭐️
SOOOOOO CUTE!!!! the narration was chefs kiss!! I love duet narration a pretty good bit so i was eating this up. The blot was very unique which made it more fun to read!!
Second Act Romance - Julie Soto 4⭐️
THIS WAS SO GOOD!!! The chemistry was palpable from the first interaction. I loved the flashbacks throughout the whole story. The audio was fun and i felt like the narration style matched the character really well!
A Play for Love - Trilina Pucci 2⭐️
the idea and plot was really cute!! I really was obsessed at first. But the mmc was really cringey and i don’t know if it was the actual thing he was saying or the way the narrator delivered it? Or both?? Either way he really bothered me and that deterred this from being a 3-4 star rating😭
Death to Valentines Day- Catherine Cowles 4⭐️
BY FAR MY FAVORITE IN THIS COLLECTION!!!! There was so many twists and turns but they didn’t take away from the romance at all! It didn’t feel choppy or like we were left hanging at the end! It so well put together and thought out. LOVE!!!!!!
Valentine's Slay - Navessa Allen 4⭐️
Leave it to Navessa to write the most insane plot for a valentines day novella. Start to finish I was HOOKED. i really enjoyed the suspense, the spice, the romance. Truly the craziest story and I devoured every minute. not to mention the duet narration of it all! Loved it very much thank you!!
Thank you to Brilliance publishing + NetGalley for the advanced listeners copy!
February 7, 2026
4 stars overall.
I listened to the audio, and the majority of the narrators did a great job! My only complaint is Connor Crais. I know he has a deep voice, but it sounds sooooooo monotone and stiff when delivering lines that I just can’t with him. My favorite short stories in this collection were: “Accidentally Yours”, “Time Will Tell”, “Second Act Romance”, “A Play For Love”, and “Valentine’s Slay”.
The first 4 stories were very sweet and gooey love stories, and the main characters were too cute! I was filled with cute aggression and had to either squeal and kick my feet in the air or jiggle my cat’s belly as I listened.
Story #5 “Death to Valentine’s Day” by Catherine Cowles started out fine, until the random murder happened, followed by the FMC’s best friend RANDOMLY turning out to be a jealous murderer. It just was a little too chaotic for my liking.
Navessa Allen did not disappoint with her short story, “Valentine’s Slay”. It was SO GOOD! And I really liked the setting in a small town in Louisiana, with the love interest working in a cemetery and even with the happy ending of them now owning 4 kittens 😻😻😻.
I listened to the audio, and the majority of the narrators did a great job! My only complaint is Connor Crais. I know he has a deep voice, but it sounds sooooooo monotone and stiff when delivering lines that I just can’t with him. My favorite short stories in this collection were: “Accidentally Yours”, “Time Will Tell”, “Second Act Romance”, “A Play For Love”, and “Valentine’s Slay”.
The first 4 stories were very sweet and gooey love stories, and the main characters were too cute! I was filled with cute aggression and had to either squeal and kick my feet in the air or jiggle my cat’s belly as I listened.
Story #5 “Death to Valentine’s Day” by Catherine Cowles started out fine, until the random murder happened, followed by the FMC’s best friend RANDOMLY turning out to be a jealous murderer. It just was a little too chaotic for my liking.
Navessa Allen did not disappoint with her short story, “Valentine’s Slay”. It was SO GOOD! And I really liked the setting in a small town in Louisiana, with the love interest working in a cemetery and even with the happy ending of them now owning 4 kittens 😻😻😻.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 11, 2026
My favourite novella collection yet!!
Valentines slay - 4🌟 SO GOOD!! Such a fun concept
Death to Valentine’s Day - 4🌟 um YES I need to read more Catherine cowles immediately
Accidently yours - 3.5🌟 ugh I love them!! So entertaining
Second act romance - 3.5🌟 cute cute cute
Time will tell - 4.5🌟 PERFECT, I had tears in my eyes
A play for love - 3.5🌟adorable!
Honestly, valentines slay, death to Valentine’s Day and time will tell should’ve been full length books😭
Valentines slay - 4🌟 SO GOOD!! Such a fun concept
Death to Valentine’s Day - 4🌟 um YES I need to read more Catherine cowles immediately
Accidently yours - 3.5🌟 ugh I love them!! So entertaining
Second act romance - 3.5🌟 cute cute cute
Time will tell - 4.5🌟 PERFECT, I had tears in my eyes
A play for love - 3.5🌟adorable!
Honestly, valentines slay, death to Valentine’s Day and time will tell should’ve been full length books😭
Did not finish
February 6, 2026Death to Valentine’s Day by Catherine Cowles and Accidentally Yours by Christina Lauren were my favorite short stories in the collection. A Play for Love was pretty cute too, but I ended up DNF’ing the others. I gave each of them a try but my interest just wasn’t there.
February 16, 2026
I feel like I missed the 'star crossed lovers' comet on Valentine's Day with how much each book mentioned this event......
As a whole, this series was fine. I am not a huge fan of the insta-love trope and since these were novellas, the insta-love was rampant.
As a whole, this series was fine. I am not a huge fan of the insta-love trope and since these were novellas, the insta-love was rampant.
March 3, 2026
Six books in one collection set around Valentine’s Day:
3.4⭐️Accidentally Yours; 4⭐️ Time will Tell; 3+⭐️Second Act Romance; 4⭐️ Play for love; 4+⭐️ Death to Valentine’s Day; and 4+⭐️ Valentine’s Slay
3.4⭐️Accidentally Yours; 4⭐️ Time will Tell; 3+⭐️Second Act Romance; 4⭐️ Play for love; 4+⭐️ Death to Valentine’s Day; and 4+⭐️ Valentine’s Slay
February 5, 2026
3.5⭐️ entertained me enough whilst shuffling around!
February 7, 2026
Accidentally Yours - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Time Will Tell - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Second Act Romance - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
A Play For Love - ⭐️⭐️.5
Death to Valentine's Day - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Valentine's Slay - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Some stories were sweet and cheesy, while others were 🦆-ing dark and unhinged. Which was pretty fitting for a Valentine's Day collection. 👌
Time Will Tell - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Second Act Romance - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
A Play For Love - ⭐️⭐️.5
Death to Valentine's Day - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Valentine's Slay - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Some stories were sweet and cheesy, while others were 🦆-ing dark and unhinged. Which was pretty fitting for a Valentine's Day collection. 👌
February 8, 2026
This series was so fun!
I loved each book.
The series is readable in a day (if you ignore all other responsibilities which I highly suggest)
I loved each book.
The series is readable in a day (if you ignore all other responsibilities which I highly suggest)
February 16, 2026
Cute six novella’s! Loved 5 out of 6! Great little Valentine’s reads!
March 18, 2026
I enjoyed these short Valentine's-themed stories more than I thought I would and it introduced me to some new authors!
February 17, 2026
I think I enjoyed this group of novellas the most out of all the Amazon collections.
The first two were great! Then they went down after that - as usual. It did take me way too long to get through 6 novellas because I started to loose my motivation to continue them, and other things were calling to me. But I did finish and wasn’t let down with the collection.
The first two were great! Then they went down after that - as usual. It did take me way too long to get through 6 novellas because I started to loose my motivation to continue them, and other things were calling to me. But I did finish and wasn’t let down with the collection.
February 9, 2026
Accidentally Yours- 5 stars, adorable and funny, many laugh out loud moments
Time Will Tell - 4 starts, love the way the characters connect in this one
Second Act Romance- 3 stars, cute but meh
A Play for Love- 2 stars, cringy and annoying
Death to Valentines Day- 5 stars, adorable, tricky to have a twist in such a short book but she did it!
Valentines Slay- 4 stars, not my trauma response but I enjoyed reading it nonetheless
Time Will Tell - 4 starts, love the way the characters connect in this one
Second Act Romance- 3 stars, cute but meh
A Play for Love- 2 stars, cringy and annoying
Death to Valentines Day- 5 stars, adorable, tricky to have a twist in such a short book but she did it!
Valentines Slay- 4 stars, not my trauma response but I enjoyed reading it nonetheless
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
The Improbable Meet-Cute: Second Chances is a collection of 6 "increasingly steamy" second chance romance novellas for Valentine's Day 2026, written by beloved romance authors. I will briefly review each novella individually first, and then I'll add my thoughts on the collection as a whole.
Christina Lauren - Accidentally Yours - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Still sore from being let go by her previous employer, marketing expert Veronica meets Jude, CEO of a tech company, by accidentally joining his staff Zoom meeting, during which she unloads her frustrations and gives the company's lackluster marketing strategies a lashing. Jude is intrigued and both eager and desperate to hire her as their new freelance marketing consultant.
Accidentally Yours is a solid opener, and one of the lovelier stories in the romantic collection. It's written in dual PoV in mostly epistolary style (save for the chapters where we, readers, know they are other's new neighbors, while both of them remain entirely unaware of that fact, resulting in them crushing hard on each other both physically AND epistolary). It's smart to format a short story this way, packing in a lot of background information background information within its limited space. Writer duo Christina Lauren really brings their characters to life. I like that they fall in love through writing, first and foremost, and the physical attraction they don't know about yet is icing on the cake for readers to really feel the potential of their romance. When it all comes together, it sparks and really clicks.
Hannah Bonam-Young - Time Will Tell - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
When history teacher Georgia receives a letter from her recently deceased grandmother Bonnie, in which she comes out as a lesbian who was in a relationship with Englishwoman Martha decades ago, Georgia makes it a mission to reach out to Martha's grandson Callum, a small town UK doctor: she hopes he'll be open to helping her open a time capsule Bonnie and Martha left behind.
As with Accidentally Yours, Bonam-Young has written a lot of this in epistolary style, and here it really amps up the story's progression. What I like about this pairing is Callum's rather shameless flirting; he really shoots his shot and it's smile-inducing. Their connection evolves into phone calls and live meetings, and their relationship is rather sweet. I think this story would have benefitted from a few more pages though, and a slightly slower pace, to help deepen the relationship before they actually meet in England.
What stands out though, is that this is a second chance for Bonnie and Martha. They are both no longer among the living, but their romance is received, accepted and celebrated by their loved ones years after. I think that's a rather wonderful and romantic sentiment.
Julie Soto - Second Act Romance - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The third story brings us backstage with an Oklahoma! musical touring company... that almost sees its full cast knocked on its ass with shrimp taco related food poisoning. Right before their sold out Valentine's Day show. The female lead actress Bex is fine to play Laurey, but the male lead (and any understudy) for Curly is out. As they scramble to find a replacement, Bex reminisces about another time a stomach bug threw a wrench in things. Years ago, she performed two shows opposite Colby, who's since become a famous TV-star. Their chemistry had been off the charts, as well as their ease with each other on and off stage. But they lost touch due to her becoming ill, and all that remains are memories and what ifs. So of course, as fate would have it... the man happens to be available to reprise his leading role for the Valentine's day show... and he's never quite forgotten about Bex, either.
This one is brilliant. The high-energy, fast-paced setting is crazy original, and it's obvious author Julie Soto pulled from her own experience with working in musical theatre. I thoroughly enjoyed being along for the ride this way. The backstage experience, if you will, is thrilling. The moments of romance - which reignites as they perform the show - allow you to take a breath, slow down for a little bit. I savoured these little moments along with Bex and Colby, because their anticipation is so palpable. Their shared excitement for the show and for each other, the elation they feel about having this second chance - it translates well and results in a tiny but fierce romance story. Loved it.
Trilina Pucci - A Play for Love - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Pucci's story begins in a flashback, to a moment in college where Rory is required to perform a Shakespeare scene with a classmate. She's hoping against all hope that she doesn't have to do Romeo + Juliet, because the idea of having to kiss one of her male classmates is... off-putting, to say the least. Until a late arrival walks in: Oliver. The hottest guy in school. And luckily for Rory, the professor picks her to do R+J opposite him. A "screw it" moment ensues with Oliver kissing her... and we cut to 5 years later. Oliver is a "failed actor" in New York and in the midst of being roped into an embarrassing stripping act involving golden short shorts and wings when he sees none other than that one girl from college he had a major crush on. But Rory is leaving NYC the next day... Oliver has one chance to give her the best date ever.
Another adorable story. The New York date has notes of Before Sunset, with these vignettes of shared experiences, moments of connectedness building on the pre-existing sexual attraction between them. Their chemistry is charged and their romance and the choices made in the end are believable.
I also love how Pucci is such a visual thinker in her writing and humor. I've read a few of her books and this story is no different: her work is very vibrant.
Catherine Cowles - Death to Valentine's Day - ⭐⭐⭐
For Valentine's Day last year, Maia got the live visual of her boyfriend doing the nasty with her cousin. Not only did she lose her boyfriend that night, but things have also become awkward with his parents and brother Decker. Although, things with Decker had already been awkward for a while. So this year for Valentine's Day... she'd rather ignore it. But her friends drag her to a masquerade, eager to see her friend have a little fun. But no one could have predicted the evenings turns (plural) of events: not only does Maia almost run into her ex, she actually runs lips first into Decker (who's all too eager to plant one on her). Annnnd there's also a murder.
My least favorite story of the second chances bundle was still enjoyable. This one was sexier, but at the same time a little less deep than its predecessors. I enjoy the ex-boyfriend's older brother trope immensely, and wasn't disappointed here because Decker is a yearner with a good heart and a strong body. Solid. I just wasn't feeling the murder subplot and the killer reveal. Maia was a bit of a Mary Sue and "all the boys want her", and I don't need that. Decker desiring her was enough. Cowles could have built on that some more.
Navessa Allen - Valentine's Slay - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
When one hears moans in a graveyard, the first instinct isn't to run to a fresh grave and rescue whomever was surely buried alive. It isn't Noah's, anyway. So as he walks around trying to chase away what HAS to be a couple getting freaky, he's the one freaking out when he indeed discovers the woman he'd help bury earlier today IS STILL ALIVE AND SHE'S ALSO THE GIRL HE CRUSHES ON. Just another day in paradise. So he rescues the damsel who lives to tell the tale of her bastard doctor husband attempting to kill her by way of induced comas and a failed overdose, and keeps her safe in his cottage while they plan for revenge. And bang it out. Hard. Hoo boy. This is Navessa, guys. I mean.
The story is a little out there, but we're taking it with a grain of graveyard sand, because Navessa Allen's stories are about having fun with and in the dark. This is what she does and what she does best. The story's resolution suspends disbelief but isn't any less satisfying. We love a good comeuppance after a good cum-
I'm not sorry. Sure, I would have liked for Emma to have a chance to get to know and fall for Noah, but... when the smut was smutting, I ceased having any objections and I read the hell out of it anyway.
I think a collection such as this is impossible to rate as one book. I'd urge you to look at the stories individually, and that's why I rated them all individually along with my collective 4 star rating (averaging out the individual ratings, rounded down). There's enough in here for everyone to enjoy with different themes and different spice levels (the bundle starts with the mildest of bell peppers and ends with Navessa "Pepper X" Allen).
A charming detail about this collection, is that every author wove in a part about star-crossed "second chance" comets, destined to cross paths this fictional Valentine's Day. Every story highlights this taking place, and it gives the collection a Love Actually kind of vibe: one big story of interwoven romances. While one couple is finding love again in New York, another couple is celebrating a long lost queer love, and another is feeling the possibility of a second chance while on stage, and another... And so on and so forth. You can almost visualize the way these stories happen simultaneously and I think that's a lovely way to experience a set of standalone stories. With that little bit of connection still there. It's something we humans all crave.
Thank you NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for generously providing me with a copy of this book; all opinions expressed are honest, voluntary and 100% my own.
Christina Lauren - Accidentally Yours - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Still sore from being let go by her previous employer, marketing expert Veronica meets Jude, CEO of a tech company, by accidentally joining his staff Zoom meeting, during which she unloads her frustrations and gives the company's lackluster marketing strategies a lashing. Jude is intrigued and both eager and desperate to hire her as their new freelance marketing consultant.
Accidentally Yours is a solid opener, and one of the lovelier stories in the romantic collection. It's written in dual PoV in mostly epistolary style (save for the chapters where we, readers, know they are other's new neighbors, while both of them remain entirely unaware of that fact, resulting in them crushing hard on each other both physically AND epistolary). It's smart to format a short story this way, packing in a lot of background information background information within its limited space. Writer duo Christina Lauren really brings their characters to life. I like that they fall in love through writing, first and foremost, and the physical attraction they don't know about yet is icing on the cake for readers to really feel the potential of their romance. When it all comes together, it sparks and really clicks.
Hannah Bonam-Young - Time Will Tell - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
When history teacher Georgia receives a letter from her recently deceased grandmother Bonnie, in which she comes out as a lesbian who was in a relationship with Englishwoman Martha decades ago, Georgia makes it a mission to reach out to Martha's grandson Callum, a small town UK doctor: she hopes he'll be open to helping her open a time capsule Bonnie and Martha left behind.
As with Accidentally Yours, Bonam-Young has written a lot of this in epistolary style, and here it really amps up the story's progression. What I like about this pairing is Callum's rather shameless flirting; he really shoots his shot and it's smile-inducing. Their connection evolves into phone calls and live meetings, and their relationship is rather sweet. I think this story would have benefitted from a few more pages though, and a slightly slower pace, to help deepen the relationship before they actually meet in England.
What stands out though, is that this is a second chance for Bonnie and Martha. They are both no longer among the living, but their romance is received, accepted and celebrated by their loved ones years after. I think that's a rather wonderful and romantic sentiment.
Julie Soto - Second Act Romance - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The third story brings us backstage with an Oklahoma! musical touring company... that almost sees its full cast knocked on its ass with shrimp taco related food poisoning. Right before their sold out Valentine's Day show. The female lead actress Bex is fine to play Laurey, but the male lead (and any understudy) for Curly is out. As they scramble to find a replacement, Bex reminisces about another time a stomach bug threw a wrench in things. Years ago, she performed two shows opposite Colby, who's since become a famous TV-star. Their chemistry had been off the charts, as well as their ease with each other on and off stage. But they lost touch due to her becoming ill, and all that remains are memories and what ifs. So of course, as fate would have it... the man happens to be available to reprise his leading role for the Valentine's day show... and he's never quite forgotten about Bex, either.
This one is brilliant. The high-energy, fast-paced setting is crazy original, and it's obvious author Julie Soto pulled from her own experience with working in musical theatre. I thoroughly enjoyed being along for the ride this way. The backstage experience, if you will, is thrilling. The moments of romance - which reignites as they perform the show - allow you to take a breath, slow down for a little bit. I savoured these little moments along with Bex and Colby, because their anticipation is so palpable. Their shared excitement for the show and for each other, the elation they feel about having this second chance - it translates well and results in a tiny but fierce romance story. Loved it.
Trilina Pucci - A Play for Love - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Pucci's story begins in a flashback, to a moment in college where Rory is required to perform a Shakespeare scene with a classmate. She's hoping against all hope that she doesn't have to do Romeo + Juliet, because the idea of having to kiss one of her male classmates is... off-putting, to say the least. Until a late arrival walks in: Oliver. The hottest guy in school. And luckily for Rory, the professor picks her to do R+J opposite him. A "screw it" moment ensues with Oliver kissing her... and we cut to 5 years later. Oliver is a "failed actor" in New York and in the midst of being roped into an embarrassing stripping act involving golden short shorts and wings when he sees none other than that one girl from college he had a major crush on. But Rory is leaving NYC the next day... Oliver has one chance to give her the best date ever.
Another adorable story. The New York date has notes of Before Sunset, with these vignettes of shared experiences, moments of connectedness building on the pre-existing sexual attraction between them. Their chemistry is charged and their romance and the choices made in the end are believable.
I also love how Pucci is such a visual thinker in her writing and humor. I've read a few of her books and this story is no different: her work is very vibrant.
Catherine Cowles - Death to Valentine's Day - ⭐⭐⭐
For Valentine's Day last year, Maia got the live visual of her boyfriend doing the nasty with her cousin. Not only did she lose her boyfriend that night, but things have also become awkward with his parents and brother Decker. Although, things with Decker had already been awkward for a while. So this year for Valentine's Day... she'd rather ignore it. But her friends drag her to a masquerade, eager to see her friend have a little fun. But no one could have predicted the evenings turns (plural) of events: not only does Maia almost run into her ex, she actually runs lips first into Decker (who's all too eager to plant one on her). Annnnd there's also a murder.
My least favorite story of the second chances bundle was still enjoyable. This one was sexier, but at the same time a little less deep than its predecessors. I enjoy the ex-boyfriend's older brother trope immensely, and wasn't disappointed here because Decker is a yearner with a good heart and a strong body. Solid. I just wasn't feeling the murder subplot and the killer reveal. Maia was a bit of a Mary Sue and "all the boys want her", and I don't need that. Decker desiring her was enough. Cowles could have built on that some more.
Navessa Allen - Valentine's Slay - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
When one hears moans in a graveyard, the first instinct isn't to run to a fresh grave and rescue whomever was surely buried alive. It isn't Noah's, anyway. So as he walks around trying to chase away what HAS to be a couple getting freaky, he's the one freaking out when he indeed discovers the woman he'd help bury earlier today IS STILL ALIVE AND SHE'S ALSO THE GIRL HE CRUSHES ON. Just another day in paradise. So he rescues the damsel who lives to tell the tale of her bastard doctor husband attempting to kill her by way of induced comas and a failed overdose, and keeps her safe in his cottage while they plan for revenge. And bang it out. Hard. Hoo boy. This is Navessa, guys. I mean.
The story is a little out there, but we're taking it with a grain of graveyard sand, because Navessa Allen's stories are about having fun with and in the dark. This is what she does and what she does best. The story's resolution suspends disbelief but isn't any less satisfying. We love a good comeuppance after a good cum-
I'm not sorry. Sure, I would have liked for Emma to have a chance to get to know and fall for Noah, but... when the smut was smutting, I ceased having any objections and I read the hell out of it anyway.
I think a collection such as this is impossible to rate as one book. I'd urge you to look at the stories individually, and that's why I rated them all individually along with my collective 4 star rating (averaging out the individual ratings, rounded down). There's enough in here for everyone to enjoy with different themes and different spice levels (the bundle starts with the mildest of bell peppers and ends with Navessa "Pepper X" Allen).
A charming detail about this collection, is that every author wove in a part about star-crossed "second chance" comets, destined to cross paths this fictional Valentine's Day. Every story highlights this taking place, and it gives the collection a Love Actually kind of vibe: one big story of interwoven romances. While one couple is finding love again in New York, another couple is celebrating a long lost queer love, and another is feeling the possibility of a second chance while on stage, and another... And so on and so forth. You can almost visualize the way these stories happen simultaneously and I think that's a lovely way to experience a set of standalone stories. With that little bit of connection still there. It's something we humans all crave.
Thank you NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for generously providing me with a copy of this book; all opinions expressed are honest, voluntary and 100% my own.
January 12, 2026
4.5⭐️ These Amazon Original short stories always bring together a great collection of authors. I discover new authors all the time. This is the second Valentine’s collection for Improbable Meet Cutes, and the theme is Second Chances. One of the best aspects of these collections is a nugget that appears in each story. For this collection, it was a pair of comets called the Star-crossed lovers. It was a fun way to put the second-chance romance into perspective.
My favorite from this collection was Time Will Tell by Hannah Bonam-Young. It tackles the secret love of two women in the 50s who didn’t stay together but kept their love alive over the years and left a time capsule for their families. It brings together their grandchildren in a touching story as they plan to open it and learn more about their grandmothers. This story pulled at my heartstrings because of lost love in a time of intolerance and how we still struggle with this in modern times. It was so beautiful.
Next favorite is Valentine’s Slay by Navessa Allen. This story is a wild ride, and the spice was 🥵! It is dark, but oh-so-rewarding.
Thank you to Brilliance Audio for the ALC.
My favorite from this collection was Time Will Tell by Hannah Bonam-Young. It tackles the secret love of two women in the 50s who didn’t stay together but kept their love alive over the years and left a time capsule for their families. It brings together their grandchildren in a touching story as they plan to open it and learn more about their grandmothers. This story pulled at my heartstrings because of lost love in a time of intolerance and how we still struggle with this in modern times. It was so beautiful.
Next favorite is Valentine’s Slay by Navessa Allen. This story is a wild ride, and the spice was 🥵! It is dark, but oh-so-rewarding.
Thank you to Brilliance Audio for the ALC.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to Amazon Original Stories and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this title to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
I'm in my novella phase. I read the short stories Amazon put out last year and adored them. I was excited to see there were more coming out for the season of love and couldn't wait to read them! I'm excited I got to read them. I loved all the different themes that were presented. I will say I was expecting them all to be second chance romances given the title but they were not.
Accidentally Yours by Christina Lauren: I don't think there's anything Lauren can write that I don't love. This one was totally charming and funny as all get out. I loved the accidental zoom, the fact that the FMC, Veronica, (who had nothing to lose), calls the men out on their BS. How she and Jude communicate via email and get to know one another. It totally had You've got mail vibes with that (one of my favorite movies). Is there some miscommunication with this one, there is, and normally it makes me crazy. But it truly worked with this story. This would be a great full length story and I gave it 4.5 stars just because I needed more!
Time Will Tell by Hannah Bonam-Carter: Another author that is aut0-read for me. I really love her all inclusive stories. This was probably my favorite story out of all the ones presented. I loved how the two characters form a relationship via email, then texting, then phone calls. The build up was a lot of fun. There was flirting and a bit of pining. The romance between Georgia and Callum was truly charming and I enjoyed how they got to know each other. Even the side characters were fun. This is another title that would be a great full length story and I gave it 4.5 stars just because I needed more!
Second Act Romance by Julie Soto: This author can be hit or miss for me. I did like the idea that this story was actually a second chance, which is what I was expecting. However, I think because I don't know all that much about theater, I lost my edge understanding this story. Often times while reading I didn't really understand what was going on. This made it hard to feel the chemistry between the two characters. Plus there is a lot of focus on the side characters which I usually enjoy but as a novella I feel like it was too much. I needed a bit more focus on the FMC and the MMC. This was fun but not my favorite of the stories. 3 stars.
A Play For Love by Trilina Pucci: I have not read anything by this author before, I always love being introduced to new authors to see if I'll enjoy their writing. This did meet the second chance romance vibe I was looking for. I really enjoyed the initial meet-cute and then the subsequent follow up. The first part was a good build up for me. I loved how Rory reacted. And then to get Oliver's POV later on as he's struggling to find work and takes on a job he truly doesn't want just to make some money for rent. I would have liked to see more of him and his love for teaching kids. We're really just told about it rather than being shown and I feel like that would have made the ending make more sense. But overall I enjoyed the writing and the short story and could see myself reading more from this author. 4 stars.
Death To Valentine's Day by Catherine Cowles: This is another author I've never read before. But her books have been on my radar so I was excited to have a chance to get to know her writing through this novella. I will say this story took a turn I didn't think it would take, murder mystery. I did love the idea of it, though. The chemistry between the two main characters was lacking for me. I needed more between them as it came off as inst-love and I am not a fan of that trope. I just didn't feel like they had a chance to ramp up their chemistry given the side story of the murder. And the ultimate murderer was definitely a shock but I also would have liked to see more finger pointing to other characters first so we could be kept guessing more. 3 Stars.
Valentine's Slay by Navessa Allen: I have enjoyed the dark romance this author has written and I was excited to see what kind of novella she would give us! I love the idea of a graveyard romance. I will say the build up between the characters was lacking. While I know it's hard to create that tension in such a short time, it's totally doable and I just didn't feel that from the FMC, Emma. The MMC, Noah, yes. He told us over and over about his attraction to Emma and how he never thought her marriage was right for her. But overall their connection just wasn't there. The story line was cute enough. Kind of mysterious but not really as I guessed it from the very start. I'll continue to give Allen a try as she comes out with more books. 3 stars.
Overall, this was fun to read and I hope Amazon continues to put out fun short stories. I'm loving the holiday themes and I hope they continues to publish them as they truly are so much fun!
I'm in my novella phase. I read the short stories Amazon put out last year and adored them. I was excited to see there were more coming out for the season of love and couldn't wait to read them! I'm excited I got to read them. I loved all the different themes that were presented. I will say I was expecting them all to be second chance romances given the title but they were not.
Accidentally Yours by Christina Lauren: I don't think there's anything Lauren can write that I don't love. This one was totally charming and funny as all get out. I loved the accidental zoom, the fact that the FMC, Veronica, (who had nothing to lose), calls the men out on their BS. How she and Jude communicate via email and get to know one another. It totally had You've got mail vibes with that (one of my favorite movies). Is there some miscommunication with this one, there is, and normally it makes me crazy. But it truly worked with this story. This would be a great full length story and I gave it 4.5 stars just because I needed more!
Time Will Tell by Hannah Bonam-Carter: Another author that is aut0-read for me. I really love her all inclusive stories. This was probably my favorite story out of all the ones presented. I loved how the two characters form a relationship via email, then texting, then phone calls. The build up was a lot of fun. There was flirting and a bit of pining. The romance between Georgia and Callum was truly charming and I enjoyed how they got to know each other. Even the side characters were fun. This is another title that would be a great full length story and I gave it 4.5 stars just because I needed more!
Second Act Romance by Julie Soto: This author can be hit or miss for me. I did like the idea that this story was actually a second chance, which is what I was expecting. However, I think because I don't know all that much about theater, I lost my edge understanding this story. Often times while reading I didn't really understand what was going on. This made it hard to feel the chemistry between the two characters. Plus there is a lot of focus on the side characters which I usually enjoy but as a novella I feel like it was too much. I needed a bit more focus on the FMC and the MMC. This was fun but not my favorite of the stories. 3 stars.
A Play For Love by Trilina Pucci: I have not read anything by this author before, I always love being introduced to new authors to see if I'll enjoy their writing. This did meet the second chance romance vibe I was looking for. I really enjoyed the initial meet-cute and then the subsequent follow up. The first part was a good build up for me. I loved how Rory reacted. And then to get Oliver's POV later on as he's struggling to find work and takes on a job he truly doesn't want just to make some money for rent. I would have liked to see more of him and his love for teaching kids. We're really just told about it rather than being shown and I feel like that would have made the ending make more sense. But overall I enjoyed the writing and the short story and could see myself reading more from this author. 4 stars.
Death To Valentine's Day by Catherine Cowles: This is another author I've never read before. But her books have been on my radar so I was excited to have a chance to get to know her writing through this novella. I will say this story took a turn I didn't think it would take, murder mystery. I did love the idea of it, though. The chemistry between the two main characters was lacking for me. I needed more between them as it came off as inst-love and I am not a fan of that trope. I just didn't feel like they had a chance to ramp up their chemistry given the side story of the murder. And the ultimate murderer was definitely a shock but I also would have liked to see more finger pointing to other characters first so we could be kept guessing more. 3 Stars.
Valentine's Slay by Navessa Allen: I have enjoyed the dark romance this author has written and I was excited to see what kind of novella she would give us! I love the idea of a graveyard romance. I will say the build up between the characters was lacking. While I know it's hard to create that tension in such a short time, it's totally doable and I just didn't feel that from the FMC, Emma. The MMC, Noah, yes. He told us over and over about his attraction to Emma and how he never thought her marriage was right for her. But overall their connection just wasn't there. The story line was cute enough. Kind of mysterious but not really as I guessed it from the very start. I'll continue to give Allen a try as she comes out with more books. 3 stars.
Overall, this was fun to read and I hope Amazon continues to put out fun short stories. I'm loving the holiday themes and I hope they continues to publish them as they truly are so much fun!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I received an eARC of this audiobook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Accidentally Yours by Christina Lauren
What’s It About: Veronica, a recently unemployed marketing expert, enters a Zoom meeting and quickly realizes that it is not her job interview but a marketing pitch for a tech start-up. Veronica, in a moment of disgust about the weak presentation, shares her honest take on it. Jude, the company’s CEO, is impressed and tries to hire her. Their professional correspondence quickly turns flirty. Will their connection move beyond email and into real life?
Review: This story was all about sexual tension, and it worked. Veronica and Jude’s flirty texts were adorable and sizzling. It’s flirty, and, fun and worth listening to.
Would I Read More: In some ways, this story ended just when it was getting good. There is potential for an entire book of flirty emails that I would love to read.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Time Will Tell by Hannah Bonam-Young
What’s It About: Georgia, a history teacher in Toronto, decides to integrate her grandmother’s time capsule into a lesson and uncovers a secret that leads her to England and the charming Callum. What starts as an exploration of her grandmother’s life leads to a friendship through correspondence that could become more.
Reviews: Bonam-Young took the opportunity to turn a simple love story into a deeper commentary without feeling heavy handed. The parallel journey of Georgia and Callum, and their grandmothers, was engaging and romantic. Georgia and Callum’s story felt like a classic romance, and I was all in.
Would I Read More: This story was engaging, and I enjoyed it, but I was satisfied with where it ended. I would love to see Georgia and Callum as secondary characters in other romance stories, but for me, I just want to think they got their happily-ever-after.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Second Act Romance by Julie Soto
What’s It About: Bex Hardgrove is the lead of the national tour of Oklahoma!. She is lucky because she loves her job, and she didn’t go out with her co-stars for fish tacos, tacos that gave the entire company food poisoning. The company is desperate; they need a new male lead. Enter Colby J. Turner, the star of a popular medical TV show and someone Bex shared the stage with before he was famous. As they play love interests, their chemistry becomes explosive.
Review: First, a confession: I am a musical theater nerd. I love going to see big splashy musicals. This story, for me, was a perfect glimpse behind the scenes of a musical with fun characters and flirty moments. This story felt like a movie, and I would love to watch it.
Would I Read More: Yes please! I was sad when this story ended. Bex and Colby have the potential to be the stars of an amazing book. I would be happy to read an entire novel about them staring in a show together filled with their flirty romance.
Rating: 4 out of 5
A Play For Love by Trilina Pucci
What’s It About: During college, Rory’s drama class final required her to kiss her crush, Oliver. The kiss was perfect, but they never spoke again until years later on Valentine’s Day. They spend the perfect day together exploring New York City,and their chemistry is undeniable. Can they find a way to turn their flirtation into more?
Review: This story features another one of my favorite tropes, finding love all in one day. I enjoyed exploring New York with Rory and Oliver, with all of their flirty banter. Also, this story definitely gave the main characters a more concrete ending that was satisfying.
Would I Read More: I would read another book in this universe, but I don’t need more about Rory and Oliver. The story had a satisfying ending, and I’m happy with where it was left. I plan to read more by this author.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Death to Valentine’s Day by Catherine Cowles
What’s It About: Maia St. James is still reeling from her long-term boyfriend’s betrayal when her best friends force her to go to a Valentine’s Day party. Maia doesn’t want to be and is desperate to hide when her cheating ex-boyfriend shows up. Maia kisses a stranger to hide, only to find out that it’s Decker, her ex’s brother and her childhood friend. Maia needs to come to terms with her sizzling reaction to Decker, but a murder may derail their HEA.
Review: I had a mixed reaction to this story. I enjoyed Maia and Decker and rooted for them. It was a classic romance filled with yearning and sizzling chemistry. The murder storyline made the story feel uneven and out of place. Also, the resolution of the murder was over-the-top and didn’t quite fit with the rest of the story.
Would I Read More: I would read more about Maia and Decker, but I don’t know if I would revisit the universe. The murder storyline felt awkward, and I wouldn’t want an entire novel about it.
Final Rating: 3 out of 5
Valentine’s Slay by Navessa Allen
What’s It About: Noah was working his job at the cemetery when he heard someone scream from a grave. He discovers Emma, his former high school crush and recently buried town sweetheart. Noah and Emma investigate how she ended up in the recently dug grave and uncover a dark town secret while old feelings resurface.
Review: I was thrown by this story. It didn’t really fit in with the rest of the collection. Noah and Emma did have sizzling, spicy moments, but I was distracted by the plot around Emma’s “murder”. I never warmed up to the world or the story.
Would I Read More: Probably not. By the end of the story, I was ready to be finished with Emma, Noah, and their world.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Entire Collection Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Accidentally Yours by Christina Lauren
What’s It About: Veronica, a recently unemployed marketing expert, enters a Zoom meeting and quickly realizes that it is not her job interview but a marketing pitch for a tech start-up. Veronica, in a moment of disgust about the weak presentation, shares her honest take on it. Jude, the company’s CEO, is impressed and tries to hire her. Their professional correspondence quickly turns flirty. Will their connection move beyond email and into real life?
Review: This story was all about sexual tension, and it worked. Veronica and Jude’s flirty texts were adorable and sizzling. It’s flirty, and, fun and worth listening to.
Would I Read More: In some ways, this story ended just when it was getting good. There is potential for an entire book of flirty emails that I would love to read.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Time Will Tell by Hannah Bonam-Young
What’s It About: Georgia, a history teacher in Toronto, decides to integrate her grandmother’s time capsule into a lesson and uncovers a secret that leads her to England and the charming Callum. What starts as an exploration of her grandmother’s life leads to a friendship through correspondence that could become more.
Reviews: Bonam-Young took the opportunity to turn a simple love story into a deeper commentary without feeling heavy handed. The parallel journey of Georgia and Callum, and their grandmothers, was engaging and romantic. Georgia and Callum’s story felt like a classic romance, and I was all in.
Would I Read More: This story was engaging, and I enjoyed it, but I was satisfied with where it ended. I would love to see Georgia and Callum as secondary characters in other romance stories, but for me, I just want to think they got their happily-ever-after.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Second Act Romance by Julie Soto
What’s It About: Bex Hardgrove is the lead of the national tour of Oklahoma!. She is lucky because she loves her job, and she didn’t go out with her co-stars for fish tacos, tacos that gave the entire company food poisoning. The company is desperate; they need a new male lead. Enter Colby J. Turner, the star of a popular medical TV show and someone Bex shared the stage with before he was famous. As they play love interests, their chemistry becomes explosive.
Review: First, a confession: I am a musical theater nerd. I love going to see big splashy musicals. This story, for me, was a perfect glimpse behind the scenes of a musical with fun characters and flirty moments. This story felt like a movie, and I would love to watch it.
Would I Read More: Yes please! I was sad when this story ended. Bex and Colby have the potential to be the stars of an amazing book. I would be happy to read an entire novel about them staring in a show together filled with their flirty romance.
Rating: 4 out of 5
A Play For Love by Trilina Pucci
What’s It About: During college, Rory’s drama class final required her to kiss her crush, Oliver. The kiss was perfect, but they never spoke again until years later on Valentine’s Day. They spend the perfect day together exploring New York City,and their chemistry is undeniable. Can they find a way to turn their flirtation into more?
Review: This story features another one of my favorite tropes, finding love all in one day. I enjoyed exploring New York with Rory and Oliver, with all of their flirty banter. Also, this story definitely gave the main characters a more concrete ending that was satisfying.
Would I Read More: I would read another book in this universe, but I don’t need more about Rory and Oliver. The story had a satisfying ending, and I’m happy with where it was left. I plan to read more by this author.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Death to Valentine’s Day by Catherine Cowles
What’s It About: Maia St. James is still reeling from her long-term boyfriend’s betrayal when her best friends force her to go to a Valentine’s Day party. Maia doesn’t want to be and is desperate to hide when her cheating ex-boyfriend shows up. Maia kisses a stranger to hide, only to find out that it’s Decker, her ex’s brother and her childhood friend. Maia needs to come to terms with her sizzling reaction to Decker, but a murder may derail their HEA.
Review: I had a mixed reaction to this story. I enjoyed Maia and Decker and rooted for them. It was a classic romance filled with yearning and sizzling chemistry. The murder storyline made the story feel uneven and out of place. Also, the resolution of the murder was over-the-top and didn’t quite fit with the rest of the story.
Would I Read More: I would read more about Maia and Decker, but I don’t know if I would revisit the universe. The murder storyline felt awkward, and I wouldn’t want an entire novel about it.
Final Rating: 3 out of 5
Valentine’s Slay by Navessa Allen
What’s It About: Noah was working his job at the cemetery when he heard someone scream from a grave. He discovers Emma, his former high school crush and recently buried town sweetheart. Noah and Emma investigate how she ended up in the recently dug grave and uncover a dark town secret while old feelings resurface.
Review: I was thrown by this story. It didn’t really fit in with the rest of the collection. Noah and Emma did have sizzling, spicy moments, but I was distracted by the plot around Emma’s “murder”. I never warmed up to the world or the story.
Would I Read More: Probably not. By the end of the story, I was ready to be finished with Emma, Noah, and their world.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Entire Collection Rating: 3.5 out of 5
February 22, 2026
The Improbable Meet Cute: Second Chances
I love a themed short story collection… this is a collection of rom com stories revolving around the trope of second chances and also during Valentine’s Day time period, which is fun so I had to read it for Valentine’s Day too!
“Accidentally Yours” by Christina Lauren
I love a Christina Lauren story! This one follows a marketing consultant who is looking for a job, and during what she thinks is a job interview, she accidentally crashes a company meeting. Seeing that their slides for their presentation are horrendous, she calls them out and then leaves, but is tracked down by the CEO of the company and asked to work for them in marketing. They mostly start talking through email not even knowing what the other looks like. Turns out he’s also her hot neighbor! It was fun even though this scenario would never happen in real life lmao. But it would be great if there were more guys who were as open to criticism and honesty as this one was lol.
“Time Will Tell” by Hannah Bonam-Young
In this story, a history teacher’s grandmother passes away and leaves behind a letter, revealing that she loved a woman long ago but couldn’t be with her. She asks her to go find a hidden time capsule she buried. Her grandmother’s love has also passed, but her grandson is alive and living in England, and the two behind an email exchange that becomes a romance. She travels to visit him and falls in love with where he’s staying and they open the time capsule together. This was really cute and I really like the idea of having the granddaughter and grandson be together when their grandparents couldn’t. It’s a fun play on second chance.
“Second Act Romance” by Julie Soto
In this story, we follow Bex, who is in theatre and playing the lead in Oklahoma! But disaster strikes when practically the whole crew gets food poisoning from fish tacos. They manage to find a guy — who is now a full blown actor — to play the part, and he knows Bex from his theatre days and he actually liked her but thought she went by a different name because she never bothered to correct him at the time. But a romance kindles when they re-play the main parts they did so long ago. Very cute. Also I’ve never seen Oklahoma! but I feel like I have now lol.
“A Play for Love” by Trilina Pucci
Another theatre-ish story! As a college student, Rory shares a kiss with Oliver, who is a theater actor, while performing a skit of Romeo & Juliet for class credit. Years later, Oliver is a struggling actor who hilariously gets roped into being an entertainer at a Galentine’s Day brunch, and connects again with Rory, whose weird coworker is trying to profess his love. They escape together and Oliver learns Rory is leaving the city soon after getting her masters, and Oliver is determined to give her one last New York experience. And along the way they fall in more love of course. But she still moves across the country and it’s not until later that he takes a job there and they can finally be together.
“Death to Valentine’s Day” by Catherine Cowles
This one was interesting because it turned into a murder mystery at some point! Maia hates Valentine’s Day after learning a year ago that her boyfriend cheated on her with her cousin. Now she’s going to a “Death to Valentine’s Day” party where it turns out that ex is there. She ends up kissing a masked stranger who turns out to be his ex’s brother — and we learn that he’s always loved her from afar and has been the one to actually be there for her, doing all these things for her that are totally obvious signs he likes her, like girl come on. But then a girl at the party dies under mysterious circumstances and they’re snowed in before the cops arrive. Luckily for Maia, she and Older Brother get it on. We find out the killer is actually Maia’s best friend, which is actually really sad, and she has meant to kill Maia because she’s jealous. Older Brother saves Maia from being killed and they live happily ever after. I liked the murder mystery simply because I was not expecting it.
“Valentine’s Slay” by Navessa Allen
Noah is a gravedigger in Louisiana and one night he finds out a girl he recently buried is actually alive. She’s also his old high school crush. Her husband pushed her down the stairs and tried to cover up her death. Noah has to dig her out of the grave — what a horrifying way to wake up — and she begs him not to tell anyone because she’s scared that his husband would try to kill her again. As Noah helps to nurse her back to life, they start to have feelings for each other. Well, Noah always had, back in high school, but Emma starts to. Together they also find out that there were other people who were trying to cover for her husband, and they think that he took out a life insurance policy on her and then claimed the money. They break into his place to try to find evidence of this but end up running into him and fighting him and taking him down. Of course Emma and Noah live happily ever after together.
I love a themed short story collection… this is a collection of rom com stories revolving around the trope of second chances and also during Valentine’s Day time period, which is fun so I had to read it for Valentine’s Day too!
“Accidentally Yours” by Christina Lauren
I love a Christina Lauren story! This one follows a marketing consultant who is looking for a job, and during what she thinks is a job interview, she accidentally crashes a company meeting. Seeing that their slides for their presentation are horrendous, she calls them out and then leaves, but is tracked down by the CEO of the company and asked to work for them in marketing. They mostly start talking through email not even knowing what the other looks like. Turns out he’s also her hot neighbor! It was fun even though this scenario would never happen in real life lmao. But it would be great if there were more guys who were as open to criticism and honesty as this one was lol.
“Time Will Tell” by Hannah Bonam-Young
In this story, a history teacher’s grandmother passes away and leaves behind a letter, revealing that she loved a woman long ago but couldn’t be with her. She asks her to go find a hidden time capsule she buried. Her grandmother’s love has also passed, but her grandson is alive and living in England, and the two behind an email exchange that becomes a romance. She travels to visit him and falls in love with where he’s staying and they open the time capsule together. This was really cute and I really like the idea of having the granddaughter and grandson be together when their grandparents couldn’t. It’s a fun play on second chance.
“Second Act Romance” by Julie Soto
In this story, we follow Bex, who is in theatre and playing the lead in Oklahoma! But disaster strikes when practically the whole crew gets food poisoning from fish tacos. They manage to find a guy — who is now a full blown actor — to play the part, and he knows Bex from his theatre days and he actually liked her but thought she went by a different name because she never bothered to correct him at the time. But a romance kindles when they re-play the main parts they did so long ago. Very cute. Also I’ve never seen Oklahoma! but I feel like I have now lol.
“A Play for Love” by Trilina Pucci
Another theatre-ish story! As a college student, Rory shares a kiss with Oliver, who is a theater actor, while performing a skit of Romeo & Juliet for class credit. Years later, Oliver is a struggling actor who hilariously gets roped into being an entertainer at a Galentine’s Day brunch, and connects again with Rory, whose weird coworker is trying to profess his love. They escape together and Oliver learns Rory is leaving the city soon after getting her masters, and Oliver is determined to give her one last New York experience. And along the way they fall in more love of course. But she still moves across the country and it’s not until later that he takes a job there and they can finally be together.
“Death to Valentine’s Day” by Catherine Cowles
This one was interesting because it turned into a murder mystery at some point! Maia hates Valentine’s Day after learning a year ago that her boyfriend cheated on her with her cousin. Now she’s going to a “Death to Valentine’s Day” party where it turns out that ex is there. She ends up kissing a masked stranger who turns out to be his ex’s brother — and we learn that he’s always loved her from afar and has been the one to actually be there for her, doing all these things for her that are totally obvious signs he likes her, like girl come on. But then a girl at the party dies under mysterious circumstances and they’re snowed in before the cops arrive. Luckily for Maia, she and Older Brother get it on. We find out the killer is actually Maia’s best friend, which is actually really sad, and she has meant to kill Maia because she’s jealous. Older Brother saves Maia from being killed and they live happily ever after. I liked the murder mystery simply because I was not expecting it.
“Valentine’s Slay” by Navessa Allen
Noah is a gravedigger in Louisiana and one night he finds out a girl he recently buried is actually alive. She’s also his old high school crush. Her husband pushed her down the stairs and tried to cover up her death. Noah has to dig her out of the grave — what a horrifying way to wake up — and she begs him not to tell anyone because she’s scared that his husband would try to kill her again. As Noah helps to nurse her back to life, they start to have feelings for each other. Well, Noah always had, back in high school, but Emma starts to. Together they also find out that there were other people who were trying to cover for her husband, and they think that he took out a life insurance policy on her and then claimed the money. They break into his place to try to find evidence of this but end up running into him and fighting him and taking him down. Of course Emma and Noah live happily ever after together.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 23, 2026
Thank you NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for an eARC of this six book set in exchange for my honest review! As these books are ALL published with the audiobooks free (with a Kindle Unlimited subscription) I listened to all on audio on release day!
Accidentally Yours : 4⭐, 0.5🌶️
Cute and fun, but it did feel similar to a novella story that was included in the Winter novellas.
Narrators: Dominique Salvacio and Andrew Gibson were great for the MC's voices. Fit perfectly and an enjoyable audiobook.
Time Will Tell: 4.5⭐, 1🌶️
I loved this premise of Georgia finding her grandmothers old girlfriend, and falls for her grandson again. And while I recognize this is a short story, I wish we got more of Georgia and Callum actually together, and not just them talking virtually. Lacing the two "virtual" relationships back to be was too many "online love stories" in a row which kept this from being a 5 star read for me. HOWEVER, this book had so much potential and I definitely would have read more now or even in the future.
Narrators: Victoria Connolly and Maxim Reston did grate with their narrations. I loved Maxin's British accent and they fit the characters voices perfectly.
Second Act Romance: 4⭐, 1.25🌶️
This story was cute. Its a one night/ theater chaos event. And a second chance romance between two stage actors that worked together years ago and a missed moment. It was cute, but I wasn't really invested in the romance due to alllll of the chaos of the play events,
Could have done without the narrator adding the throwing up/ dry heaving sounds in the beginning of the book tbh 😅
Narrators: I've officially decided that Stephe Dexter is the perfect narrator for a piningggg and cinnamon roll MMC.
A Play for Love: 3.5⭐, 1.5🌶️
While I enjoyed that this book was longer than the previous others, I again thought it was weird that we were listening to a similar theme (theater) in two novellas in this series back to back. The similarity with Second Act Romance was kind of weird, and I was hoping for something more wild/ saucy and off the cuff like typical Trilina books. But this was an early 20's encounter and a future encounter. The personality of the FMC wasn't someone I related to, but overall it was a tad quirky. Not my favorite of the novellas but it wasn't horrible.
Narrators: Jesse Vilinsky and Stephen Dexter great narrators. I love Stephen’s voice for a man down bad, and Jesse narrated Rory’s quirky FMC voice wonderfully.
***Unfortunately, based on Trilina's mean/ insensitive actions in the past, she is not an author I will read if given the chance and I don't promote or recommend her stories. Simply read this as it is part of the series set and as an arc reader, I wanted to review the full group.
Death to Valentine's Day: 4.25⭐, 2🌶️
Ahhh Catherine, how you managed to write a novella that still has romance, pining, romantic suspense, an a surprise villain. Honestly, if you’ve never read a Catherine book and her interconnected worlds are a tad intimidating, this book is a GREAT place to start
Narrators: Erin Mallon & Connor Crais: With these two as the narrators, there is nothing else to say but, OF COURSE THEIR VOICES WERE PERFECT AND FIT THE CHARACTERS! I could listen to them narrator my CVS receipts.
Valentine's Slay: 4.5⭐, 3 🌶️
Hello to my favorite book of this set! Navessa balanced romance and suspense and her brand of dark chaos perfectlyyyy in this novella – I seriously wanted so much more of the story! It went by so fast and I think getting it as a full length novel would have truly made it perfect.
The premise of this man simping over a women her knew that is DEAD, but she’s NOT DEAD AND BURIED ALIVE, and then she pops out and is like “trauma? Never met her? Lets go fuck with my POS husband” and 😜. All the spice thats in this book was an ADDED bonus, especially because only one other book has explicit scenes.
Narrators: Allie Piper and Alastair Haynesbridge are two narrators I dont believe Iv'e listened to before, but they both were great! They fit the characters wonderfully and I really liked both of their voices.
Accidentally Yours : 4⭐, 0.5🌶️
Cute and fun, but it did feel similar to a novella story that was included in the Winter novellas.
Narrators: Dominique Salvacio and Andrew Gibson were great for the MC's voices. Fit perfectly and an enjoyable audiobook.
Time Will Tell: 4.5⭐, 1🌶️
I loved this premise of Georgia finding her grandmothers old girlfriend, and falls for her grandson again. And while I recognize this is a short story, I wish we got more of Georgia and Callum actually together, and not just them talking virtually. Lacing the two "virtual" relationships back to be was too many "online love stories" in a row which kept this from being a 5 star read for me. HOWEVER, this book had so much potential and I definitely would have read more now or even in the future.
Narrators: Victoria Connolly and Maxim Reston did grate with their narrations. I loved Maxin's British accent and they fit the characters voices perfectly.
Second Act Romance: 4⭐, 1.25🌶️
This story was cute. Its a one night/ theater chaos event. And a second chance romance between two stage actors that worked together years ago and a missed moment. It was cute, but I wasn't really invested in the romance due to alllll of the chaos of the play events,
Could have done without the narrator adding the throwing up/ dry heaving sounds in the beginning of the book tbh 😅
Narrators: I've officially decided that Stephe Dexter is the perfect narrator for a piningggg and cinnamon roll MMC.
A Play for Love: 3.5⭐, 1.5🌶️
While I enjoyed that this book was longer than the previous others, I again thought it was weird that we were listening to a similar theme (theater) in two novellas in this series back to back. The similarity with Second Act Romance was kind of weird, and I was hoping for something more wild/ saucy and off the cuff like typical Trilina books. But this was an early 20's encounter and a future encounter. The personality of the FMC wasn't someone I related to, but overall it was a tad quirky. Not my favorite of the novellas but it wasn't horrible.
Narrators: Jesse Vilinsky and Stephen Dexter great narrators. I love Stephen’s voice for a man down bad, and Jesse narrated Rory’s quirky FMC voice wonderfully.
***Unfortunately, based on Trilina's mean/ insensitive actions in the past, she is not an author I will read if given the chance and I don't promote or recommend her stories. Simply read this as it is part of the series set and as an arc reader, I wanted to review the full group.
Death to Valentine's Day: 4.25⭐, 2🌶️
Ahhh Catherine, how you managed to write a novella that still has romance, pining, romantic suspense, an a surprise villain. Honestly, if you’ve never read a Catherine book and her interconnected worlds are a tad intimidating, this book is a GREAT place to start
Narrators: Erin Mallon & Connor Crais: With these two as the narrators, there is nothing else to say but, OF COURSE THEIR VOICES WERE PERFECT AND FIT THE CHARACTERS! I could listen to them narrator my CVS receipts.
Valentine's Slay: 4.5⭐, 3 🌶️
Hello to my favorite book of this set! Navessa balanced romance and suspense and her brand of dark chaos perfectlyyyy in this novella – I seriously wanted so much more of the story! It went by so fast and I think getting it as a full length novel would have truly made it perfect.
The premise of this man simping over a women her knew that is DEAD, but she’s NOT DEAD AND BURIED ALIVE, and then she pops out and is like “trauma? Never met her? Lets go fuck with my POS husband” and 😜. All the spice thats in this book was an ADDED bonus, especially because only one other book has explicit scenes.
Narrators: Allie Piper and Alastair Haynesbridge are two narrators I dont believe Iv'e listened to before, but they both were great! They fit the characters wonderfully and I really liked both of their voices.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I thoroughly enjoyed all short stories in this set! I especially liked that they were all set on Valentine’s Day and all mentioned the comets appearing - it made it feel like all of these stories were happening concurrently in the same fictional world and really tied them in together. I also loved the variety of stories and plots - they all involved second chance romances but they were also all very unique!
*Accidentally Yours by Christina Lauren:
I really enjoyed this book! Veronica and Jude had great, witty banter and chemistry - over email, texting, and eventually face-to-face. Plus, I loved the setup of accidentally crashing a zoom meeting! I highly recommend this short story!
*Time Will Tell by Hannah Bonam-Young:
This was a sweet story and a unique setup, revolving around a time capsule shared by their grandmothers. Even though all of Georgia and Callum’s early communication was done via email, it was fun to see their connection grow into something more than friendship. I especially loved the article wrap-up at the end! I definitely recommend this sweet short story!
*Second Act Romance by Julie Soto:
This was a great novella and the first book I’ve read by this author. I really enjoyed the unique behind-the-scenes theater production perspective of this story, and how that was woven around Bex and CJ’s relationship - both how they met and how their paths crossed again years later. I liked seeing how both actors had grown over their years apart (while advancing in their acting careers), but fell back into being comfortable around each other, just like old times. Overall, I definitely recommend this short story!
*A Play For Love by Trilina Pucci:
This was a hilarious and fun short story! I also loved how the story was broken into three “Acts”. I could really identify with Rory’s shy and nerdy character in college, fawning over her crush, Oliver, in class. And the whole premise of their second-chance meeting a few years later really had me laughing! I also loved everything about the day they spent together afterwards, and the ending was perfection! I highly recommend this novella!
*Death to Valentine’s Day by Catherine Cowles:
This was a good “slightly murdery Valentine’s Day story”, and my first book by this author. I loved Maia and her besties, and was drawn into the shared backstory of Maia, Jackson, and Decker. I also really enjoyed the side characters and am interested to see what happens with their friend group in the future. The murder mystery made for an interesting side-plot (and ending!) too. Overall, I enjoyed it and I would recommend this short story.
*Valentine’s Slay by Navessa Allen:
I really enjoyed reading this short story! The basis of the plot seemed like a stretch, but it was interesting and the dialogue was smooth throughout. I liked that all but the last chapter was told from Noah’s perspective - it helped frame the story that Emma (and Noah) was still figuring things out about what happened to her. The spiciness ramped up quickly, but it just added to their story and connection. I highly recommend this novella!
Overall, this was a fantastic set of Valentine’s Day themed novellas, and I highly recommend them! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free advanced copy - this is my honest and voluntary review.
*Accidentally Yours by Christina Lauren:
I really enjoyed this book! Veronica and Jude had great, witty banter and chemistry - over email, texting, and eventually face-to-face. Plus, I loved the setup of accidentally crashing a zoom meeting! I highly recommend this short story!
*Time Will Tell by Hannah Bonam-Young:
This was a sweet story and a unique setup, revolving around a time capsule shared by their grandmothers. Even though all of Georgia and Callum’s early communication was done via email, it was fun to see their connection grow into something more than friendship. I especially loved the article wrap-up at the end! I definitely recommend this sweet short story!
*Second Act Romance by Julie Soto:
This was a great novella and the first book I’ve read by this author. I really enjoyed the unique behind-the-scenes theater production perspective of this story, and how that was woven around Bex and CJ’s relationship - both how they met and how their paths crossed again years later. I liked seeing how both actors had grown over their years apart (while advancing in their acting careers), but fell back into being comfortable around each other, just like old times. Overall, I definitely recommend this short story!
*A Play For Love by Trilina Pucci:
This was a hilarious and fun short story! I also loved how the story was broken into three “Acts”. I could really identify with Rory’s shy and nerdy character in college, fawning over her crush, Oliver, in class. And the whole premise of their second-chance meeting a few years later really had me laughing! I also loved everything about the day they spent together afterwards, and the ending was perfection! I highly recommend this novella!
*Death to Valentine’s Day by Catherine Cowles:
This was a good “slightly murdery Valentine’s Day story”, and my first book by this author. I loved Maia and her besties, and was drawn into the shared backstory of Maia, Jackson, and Decker. I also really enjoyed the side characters and am interested to see what happens with their friend group in the future. The murder mystery made for an interesting side-plot (and ending!) too. Overall, I enjoyed it and I would recommend this short story.
*Valentine’s Slay by Navessa Allen:
I really enjoyed reading this short story! The basis of the plot seemed like a stretch, but it was interesting and the dialogue was smooth throughout. I liked that all but the last chapter was told from Noah’s perspective - it helped frame the story that Emma (and Noah) was still figuring things out about what happened to her. The spiciness ramped up quickly, but it just added to their story and connection. I highly recommend this novella!
Overall, this was a fantastic set of Valentine’s Day themed novellas, and I highly recommend them! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free advanced copy - this is my honest and voluntary review.
January 27, 2026
verall rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for this eARC! These types of stories are my favorite and always get me in my feels! Improbable meet-cutes are always full of swoon and unexpected romance, and I loved each of these from some of my fave romance authors!
Accidentally yours
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: none
This quick, quirky and sweet novella was such a good one to start this anthology of meet cutes! Jude and Veronica have instant physical attraction (unbeknownst to them) but get along just as well with witty banter, easy conversation, and cute flirting. I liked how they met both virtually and in person, and how well-matched they are for each other! I just wish for one more chapter about them and their relationship!
Time Will Tell
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: none
This novella was especially heartwarming and bittersweet! Georgia is bold and so moved by her grandmother, and I love how she took such a leap to reach out to Callum. He’s also English, so that made him especially dreamy 🫠 I enjoyed this one more because of the ending article-such a good HEA for them! This had so many good tropes in such a short story, and I loved the sad twist of fate that brings them together.
Second Act Romance
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: none
Julie Soto really made this such a *good* backstage romance! This second chance romance was full of last minute sickness hijinx and an unexpected reacquaintance with a dream guy that Bex performed with once before. I loved how instant their chemistry still was, and it was so well-detailed with performance lingo and explanations that I felt like I was a part of it! I do wish for just a little more about their date after the show but I imagine it went verrrrry well 😉
A Play for Love
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: closed door
I LOVED this one! It’s so much a short and sweet story that makes you believe sometimes fate is a real thing and true love exists! The way they meet multiple times in such unlikely and highly tense moments were so swoony, and Oliver was such a romantic, easy-to-love guy. Their HEA was perfect, with such a lovely grand gesture!
Death to Valentine’s Day
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
This was a great romantic suspense, with a good mystery that surprised me! It starts out with Decker and Maia reconnecting and admitting that there’s always been something there between them, and then turns into a good murder plot twist! I’m glad they got their HEA!!
Valentine’s Slay
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Talk about THE MOST improbable “meet-cute”? As always, Navessa Allen comes up with some dark and quirky ideas, and this was such a good one! I also liked this was completely from Noah’s POV, which is uncommon. He’s a true good guy, and Emma sees that in him quickly, and while their connection happens fast, given the circumstances, it’s understandable. Their HEA was so good and a great way to end these short stories!
Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for this eARC! These types of stories are my favorite and always get me in my feels! Improbable meet-cutes are always full of swoon and unexpected romance, and I loved each of these from some of my fave romance authors!
Accidentally yours
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: none
This quick, quirky and sweet novella was such a good one to start this anthology of meet cutes! Jude and Veronica have instant physical attraction (unbeknownst to them) but get along just as well with witty banter, easy conversation, and cute flirting. I liked how they met both virtually and in person, and how well-matched they are for each other! I just wish for one more chapter about them and their relationship!
Time Will Tell
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: none
This novella was especially heartwarming and bittersweet! Georgia is bold and so moved by her grandmother, and I love how she took such a leap to reach out to Callum. He’s also English, so that made him especially dreamy 🫠 I enjoyed this one more because of the ending article-such a good HEA for them! This had so many good tropes in such a short story, and I loved the sad twist of fate that brings them together.
Second Act Romance
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: none
Julie Soto really made this such a *good* backstage romance! This second chance romance was full of last minute sickness hijinx and an unexpected reacquaintance with a dream guy that Bex performed with once before. I loved how instant their chemistry still was, and it was so well-detailed with performance lingo and explanations that I felt like I was a part of it! I do wish for just a little more about their date after the show but I imagine it went verrrrry well 😉
A Play for Love
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: closed door
I LOVED this one! It’s so much a short and sweet story that makes you believe sometimes fate is a real thing and true love exists! The way they meet multiple times in such unlikely and highly tense moments were so swoony, and Oliver was such a romantic, easy-to-love guy. Their HEA was perfect, with such a lovely grand gesture!
Death to Valentine’s Day
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
This was a great romantic suspense, with a good mystery that surprised me! It starts out with Decker and Maia reconnecting and admitting that there’s always been something there between them, and then turns into a good murder plot twist! I’m glad they got their HEA!!
Valentine’s Slay
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Talk about THE MOST improbable “meet-cute”? As always, Navessa Allen comes up with some dark and quirky ideas, and this was such a good one! I also liked this was completely from Noah’s POV, which is uncommon. He’s a true good guy, and Emma sees that in him quickly, and while their connection happens fast, given the circumstances, it’s understandable. Their HEA was so good and a great way to end these short stories!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I have really liked all of the Amazon Original Stories romance collections they've done, and this was no exception. Some of my favorite authors were included, as well as a new to me author, and while I liked some more than others they all definitely delivered on the swoony, love vibes for Valentine's Day.
Accidentally Yours, 5/5 stars - This story had me laughing and literally giddily kicking my feet. Was the general setup totally silly and I didn't believe for a second that any 'professionals' would immediately devolve into email flirting? Yes. Were the vibes still impeccable? Also yes. Christina Lauren has a knack for writing stories that pack a punch in this format, I was invested the whole way through and smiling ear to ear when we got to see the (start) of the HEA for this couple.
Time Will Tell, 5/5 stars - This was very sweet and a bit less romantic but still gave a lot of swoony vibes, and the depth of the storytelling in such a short format impressed me. I think the methods used for storytelling in this one set it over the top, and I liked the sort of 'epilogue' we got at the end.
Second Act Romance, 4/5 stars - I loved this and CJ was such a heartthrob! The ending was a bit abrupt for my taste (I wasn't expecting it!) but overall I was definitely bought into this couple and their burgeoning showmance.
A Play for Love, 3/5 stars - I'll be honest that the first 60-70% of this was about 2 stars for me, this was a new to me author and I didn't love the writing style or the contemporary references. BUT the ending gave me butterflies, I thought it was perfect, so it averages out to a 3/5!
Death to Valentine's Day, 3/5 stars - This is a typical Catherine Cowles book in that it delivers romantic suspense, but an 80 page format is a lot to fit in quirky side characters, a literal murder, sexy scenes, a plot twist villain, and a romantic HEA with an epilogue. Not my favorite but if you're a CC stan you'll probably love this.
Valentine's Slay, 3/5 stars - Again this was a pretty typical Navessa Allen story, so if you're a fan you'll love this. There was the unbelievable setup and story circumstances, followed by some surprising horniness (if I was saved from being buried alive I don't think sexing up an almost stranger would be my personal first move, but to each their own) and a big dramatic breaking and entering scene. Another that wasn't my favorite, but I'm sure fans of this author will eat it up.
Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for the ARC!
Accidentally Yours, 5/5 stars - This story had me laughing and literally giddily kicking my feet. Was the general setup totally silly and I didn't believe for a second that any 'professionals' would immediately devolve into email flirting? Yes. Were the vibes still impeccable? Also yes. Christina Lauren has a knack for writing stories that pack a punch in this format, I was invested the whole way through and smiling ear to ear when we got to see the (start) of the HEA for this couple.
Time Will Tell, 5/5 stars - This was very sweet and a bit less romantic but still gave a lot of swoony vibes, and the depth of the storytelling in such a short format impressed me. I think the methods used for storytelling in this one set it over the top, and I liked the sort of 'epilogue' we got at the end.
Second Act Romance, 4/5 stars - I loved this and CJ was such a heartthrob! The ending was a bit abrupt for my taste (I wasn't expecting it!) but overall I was definitely bought into this couple and their burgeoning showmance.
A Play for Love, 3/5 stars - I'll be honest that the first 60-70% of this was about 2 stars for me, this was a new to me author and I didn't love the writing style or the contemporary references. BUT the ending gave me butterflies, I thought it was perfect, so it averages out to a 3/5!
Death to Valentine's Day, 3/5 stars - This is a typical Catherine Cowles book in that it delivers romantic suspense, but an 80 page format is a lot to fit in quirky side characters, a literal murder, sexy scenes, a plot twist villain, and a romantic HEA with an epilogue. Not my favorite but if you're a CC stan you'll probably love this.
Valentine's Slay, 3/5 stars - Again this was a pretty typical Navessa Allen story, so if you're a fan you'll love this. There was the unbelievable setup and story circumstances, followed by some surprising horniness (if I was saved from being buried alive I don't think sexing up an almost stranger would be my personal first move, but to each their own) and a big dramatic breaking and entering scene. Another that wasn't my favorite, but I'm sure fans of this author will eat it up.
Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for the ARC!
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