An Improbable Meet Cute Collection Review

This adorable collection of short stories is the perfect Valentine's day read!

The Exception to the Rule

⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

Blurb

On February 14, an accidental email to a stranger opens the door to an unexpected relationship in a captivating short story by the New York Times bestselling authors of The Unhoneymooners.

One typo, and a boy and girl connect by chance. Wishing each other a happy Valentine’s Day isn’t the end. In fact, it becomes a friendly annual tradition—with rules: no pics, no real names, nothing too personal. As years pass, the rules for their email “dates” are breaking, and they’re sharing more than they imagined—including the urge to ask…what if we actually met?

Read if you Like:

💛 Anonymous messages

💛Right person wrong time

💛Email meet cute

💛 Friends to lovers

💛 Childhood to grad school

My Thoughts:

Exception to the Rule is an incredibly cute story about two people who meet because of an email sent to the wrong address and keep up the correspondence. I loved how the anonymity of the internet let them share things they might not have otherwise. It made the payoff of their meeting in person worth it! The start is a little slow stick with it!

🌶️ - This story doesn't include any open-door scenes however, there is a fair amount of sexual tension and discussion of the hero's attributes.

The Worst Wingman Ever

⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

Blurb

They’re falling in love, yet they’ve never met. Maybe fate can intervene in a heartwarming “what-if” short story about new beginnings by the New York Times bestselling author of Yours Truly.

Holly is dealing with the impending death of her grandmother and still reeling from a bad breakup. One bright spot: a Valentine’s Day card on Holly’s windshield—even if it wasn’t meant for her. An amusing mistake soon turns into a lovely exchange of anonymous notes, little acts of kindness, and a growing affection between two strangers. What happens when one of them has to say goodbye?

Abby Jimenez’s Worst Wingman Ever is part of The Improbable Meet-Cute, irresistibly romantic stories about finding love when and where you least expect it. They can be read or listened to in one sitting. Let’s make a date of it.

Read if you Like:

🩷 Hospice nurse heroine

🩷 Adorable puppy

🩷 Note on a car meet cute

🩷 Dealing with grief

🩷 Handyman hero

My Thoughts:

The Worst Wingman Ever was a nice mix of adorable romance and heavier themes. Abby Jimenez always writes the best meet cutes and this one is no exception! We are able to see a very genuine connection between the two characters in a short time. I also liked that they both cared for others a lot and realized they also needed to care for themselves. I will note that this story contains mentions of domestic violence and some of the ways it is discussed may be upsetting for some readers.

🌶️ - No steamy scenes

Rosie and the Dreamboat

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Blurb

For a hopeful and hopeless romantic, it’s love at first sight—with a little twist—in a hilarious short story about finding Mr. Right by the USA Today bestselling author of The Hating Game.

Rosie Whittaker and her sister are up for some Galentine’s pampering at a day spa. Getting locked inside a flotation tank is so Rosie. Enter a firefighter hero determined to pry this luckless pearl out of her high-tech shell. All Rosie has to go on is a dreamy voice and a flirty sense of humor. Remain calm, Rosie. This could be what you’ve been waiting for. Is this the man she’s waited for her whole life?

Sally Thorne’s Rosie and the Dreamboat is part of The Improbable Meet-Cute, irresistibly romantic stories about finding love when and where you least expect it. They can be read or listened to in one sitting. Let’s make a date of it.

Read if you Like:

🩵 Firefighter hero

🩵 Hot mess heroine

🩵 He has a good laugh

🩵 Damsel in distress

🩵 Laugh out loud funny

My Thoughts:

Rosie and the Dreamboat is the perfect example of the saying love finds you at the most unexpected times. I loved that both the hero and the heroine were able to grow a little bit during this story taking place over a couple of hours.

🌶️- no spice in this one

Drop, Cover and Hold On

⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

Blurb

It takes nothing less than a fateful natural disaster to throw two opposites together in a ground-shakingly charming short story by the New York Times bestselling author of Drunk on Love.

This Valentine’s Day, Daisy Murray has her heart set on binge-watching rom-coms. Instead, an earthquake traps her inside a bakery with its impossibly rude and insufferably handsome owner and head baker. They already have a history: she’s always smiled, he’s always scowled. Where better to finally get to know each other than amid the disaster? Then again, they have no choice. Besides, it could have its sweet, undeniable, and unpredictable perks.

Read if you Like:

❤️ Bake hero

❤️ Forced proximity

❤️ Earthquake

❤️ Curvy heroine

❤️ He falls first

My Thoughts:

I had never thought of an earthquake as a catalyst for romance but Jasmine Guillory pulled it off! This was a super cute story perfect for fans of he falls first!

🌶️ - Some making out

With Any Luck

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Blurb

Every person she kisses finds their true love, and it’s never her—until now, in this funny and magically romantic short story by the New York Times bestselling author of The Dead Romantics.

Audrey Love is cursed to be the person before you find your soulmate, the girl you dump for your true love. So when her best friend disappears hours before his Valentine’s Day wedding, Audrey fears that she did the unthinkable and kissed him at last night’s bachelor party. With help from the best man, she retraces her steps to find the missing groom and, with any luck, a true love of her own.

Ashley Poston’s With Any Luck is part of The Improbable Meet-Cute, irresistibly romantic stories about finding love when and where you least expect it. They can be read or listened to in one sitting. Let’s make a date of it.

Read if you Like:

💜 She has a curse

💜 He's the man of honor

💜 Missing groom

💜 She's the best maid

💜 Dual timeline

My Thoughts:

I loved that Ashley Poston managed to add a tiny element of fabulism to this short story with the heroine's curse. This story had hangover vibes but make it a romcom. It was both cute and funny!

🌶️🌶️ - One mostly open door scene in a flashback and some kisses

Royal Valentine

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Blurb

Valentine’s Day becomes a Roman holiday for a princess in disguise in a dizzyingly romantic short story about making wishes come true by the USA Today bestselling author of The Chemistry of Love.

Princess Ilaria has had it up to her tiara with the paparazzi, her own wild reputation, and the public eye. Trading places with her assistant, Ilaria wants just one blissfully ordinary weekend. Then a handsome photographer with a sexy Scottish burr offers to be her guide. Sparks fly, but how long can they last? Ilaria’s secret has to come out—and it could ruin a perfectly serendipitous romance.

Read if you Like:

💚 Princess heroine

💚 Roman adventure

💚 She's in disguise

💚 Sleepy beauty vibes

💚 Photographer hero

My Thoughts:

Royal Valentine is perfect for fans of The Princesses Swap but make it Valentine's day. This is read from Sariah Wilson and it showed me I need to read more because I have loved both stories!

🌶️ - Only contains kissing but it's more along the lines of making out

Thanks to Netgalley and Amazon Original Publishing for providing me with an ARC! All opinions are my own.