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annadventure00's review against another edition
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book was amazing! I normally have a harder time getting into a romance book but this one had me hooked from the second I started reading it. The premise is interesting and every chapter reveals a new puzzle piece in a beautiful love story. Also it’s giving enthusiastic consent.
At the same time it is raw and I had a couple of moments where I had to put the book down and think about the reality in which we live.
Would recommend but maybe not to everyone as there are quite some triggering moments described.
At the same time it is raw and I had a couple of moments where I had to put the book down and think about the reality in which we live.
Would recommend but maybe not to everyone as there are quite some triggering moments described.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Death, War, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Death of parent, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief
Minor: Car accident
siriuslyjenn_'s review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Islamophobia, Gun violence, War, Xenophobia, and Violence
Moderate: Car accident, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Infidelity
kelly_e's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Title: In the Likely Event
Author: Rebecca Yarros
Genre: Romance
Rating: 4.75
Pub Date: August 1, 2023
T H R E E • W O R D S
Swoony • Addictive • Steamy
📖 S Y N O P S I S
When Izzy Astor gets on a plane to go home, she isn’t expecting much. It’s the usual holiday travel experience: busy, crowded, stressful. Then she spots her seatmate, who is anything but ordinary. Nate Phelan sports dark hair, blue eyes, and a deliciously rugged charm that Izzy can’t resist. Their connection is undeniable. Izzy never believed in destiny before, but she does now.
Just ninety seconds after takeoff, their plane goes down in the Missouri River.
Their lives change. They change. Nate goes on to a career in the military while Izzy finds her way into politics. Despite a few chance encounters over the years, the timing never feels right. Then comes a high-stakes reunion in Afghanistan, where Nate is tasked with protecting Izzy’s life. He’ll do anything to keep her safe. And everything to win her heart.
💭 T H O U G H T S
In the Likely Event was my Amazon First Reads selection for the month of July. I grativated towards the plane crash aspect, and when I selected it, I didn't realize it was written by the 'it' author of the moment, Rebecca Yarros (you may have heard of Fourth Wing!?). This is a contemporary romance - so there are no dragons here! If that's what you're looking for, you're likely going to be disappointed. Because fantasy is not my jam, I was looking forward to being able to read this author's work nonetheless.
This book got me from the very start! Learning how Izzy and Nate meet on the plane and their instant connection was one of my favourite parts of the whole book. What really hooked me was the structure. Told in alternating perspectives and timelines, and spanning ten years, Izzy and Nate's love story unfolds at the perfect pace.
I know there have been numerous comments on the problems of Nate's character arc, but I actually liked his character. To me, he felt very authentic with a dark and secretive past. The inclusion of the MCs annotating books for one another was such a sweet addition. Yes, this novel requires some suspension of belief, yet for some reason I was here for it. I'd have also been okay with an alternative ending, but was left satisfied anyways.
One of my favourite contemporary romance reads so far this year, I appreciated that there was some depth and flaws to the characters, as well as a relationship that faces many challenges along the way. Although I have no plans to read the Fourth Wing series, I'd definitely be interested in reading more of Rebecca's contemporary romance in the future.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of alternating POV romance
• readers looking for military romance
• chance meeting trope lovers
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"The weight of the ring of my finger felt like an anchor, tying me to the one person I was starting to realize had never deserved me."
"It was impossible to give away a heart I'd never gotten back in the first place."
"That's what Nate was to me. As far wat as a lifetime and as close as yesterday, as near as twelve inches."
Author: Rebecca Yarros
Genre: Romance
Rating: 4.75
Pub Date: August 1, 2023
T H R E E • W O R D S
Swoony • Addictive • Steamy
📖 S Y N O P S I S
When Izzy Astor gets on a plane to go home, she isn’t expecting much. It’s the usual holiday travel experience: busy, crowded, stressful. Then she spots her seatmate, who is anything but ordinary. Nate Phelan sports dark hair, blue eyes, and a deliciously rugged charm that Izzy can’t resist. Their connection is undeniable. Izzy never believed in destiny before, but she does now.
Just ninety seconds after takeoff, their plane goes down in the Missouri River.
Their lives change. They change. Nate goes on to a career in the military while Izzy finds her way into politics. Despite a few chance encounters over the years, the timing never feels right. Then comes a high-stakes reunion in Afghanistan, where Nate is tasked with protecting Izzy’s life. He’ll do anything to keep her safe. And everything to win her heart.
💭 T H O U G H T S
In the Likely Event was my Amazon First Reads selection for the month of July. I grativated towards the plane crash aspect, and when I selected it, I didn't realize it was written by the 'it' author of the moment, Rebecca Yarros (you may have heard of Fourth Wing!?). This is a contemporary romance - so there are no dragons here! If that's what you're looking for, you're likely going to be disappointed. Because fantasy is not my jam, I was looking forward to being able to read this author's work nonetheless.
This book got me from the very start! Learning how Izzy and Nate meet on the plane and their instant connection was one of my favourite parts of the whole book. What really hooked me was the structure. Told in alternating perspectives and timelines, and spanning ten years, Izzy and Nate's love story unfolds at the perfect pace.
I know there have been numerous comments on the problems of Nate's character arc, but I actually liked his character. To me, he felt very authentic with a dark and secretive past. The inclusion of the MCs annotating books for one another was such a sweet addition. Yes, this novel requires some suspension of belief, yet for some reason I was here for it. I'd have also been okay with an alternative ending, but was left satisfied anyways.
One of my favourite contemporary romance reads so far this year, I appreciated that there was some depth and flaws to the characters, as well as a relationship that faces many challenges along the way. Although I have no plans to read the Fourth Wing series, I'd definitely be interested in reading more of Rebecca's contemporary romance in the future.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of alternating POV romance
• readers looking for military romance
• chance meeting trope lovers
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"The weight of the ring of my finger felt like an anchor, tying me to the one person I was starting to realize had never deserved me."
"It was impossible to give away a heart I'd never gotten back in the first place."
"That's what Nate was to me. As far wat as a lifetime and as close as yesterday, as near as twelve inches."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, Abandonment, and War
Moderate: Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Mental illness, Grief, Medical content, Car accident, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Cursing, Islamophobia, Infidelity, and Classism
airplane accident, PTSD100_pages_hr's review against another edition
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, War, Death, Medical content, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, and Cursing
headinthepages's review against another edition
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Car accident, Child abuse, Mass/school shootings, Cursing, Grief, Toxic relationship, Violence, Alcohol, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Medical content, Sexual content, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and War
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
3.25
Finished reading: August 4th 2023
"Whatever had bound us together in the first place was still there, as tangible as ever. We’d buried it, ignored it, burned it to the ground, but never managed to sever it."
*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Montlake in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***
I know that this isn't exactly a genre I would usually go for, but between the plane crash angle and second chance romance I simply couldn't resist adding In The Likely Event to my shelves. Especially after reading Deanna's glowing review... And while I do understand why so many people seem to love this military romance, I did end up having mixed thoughts about In The Likely Event myself. It's not a bad read and there were things about this story I loved, but there were also certain aspects that didn't sit as well with me personally.
I still like the premise of this story, with the plane crash element and the main characters being thrown together again and again by fate. I always love a good second chance romance, and theirs sure starts with a bang. I even liked the jumping back and forward in time, as it helped fleshing out their past while also taking a break from the urgency of their present situation. This time jumping doesn't always work for me, but I thought that it was very well executed here, and it didn't slow down the pace at all.
One of the issues I had with In The Likely Event was that it ended up being quite a political story, and that isn't really my cup of tea. At the same time, I wasn't a fan of how Afghanistan was portrayed, nor how the characters behaved while in that country. I've seen other reviews commenting on this, and I agree that the culture and country aren't exactly portrayed in a favorable way, and the conflict is used to generate tension between the characters instead of properly shining a light on the situation and issues in play. I've seen the term 'white savior complex' mentioned more than once, and I agree that this term definitely applies to this story.
As for the characters... I'm having mixed thoughts when it comes to both Izzy and Nate. While I do see their chemistry and I like the idea of their connection and the second chance romance, they both frustrate the heck out of me as well. Sure, neither wants to give up their dreams to be with the other, but also they can't stop pining whenever they are not together? Seriously annoying. I wasn't a fan of their actions and behavior in the present (while in Afghanistan), mostly due to that 'white savior complex' vibe that both seemed to be having. And since when is Nate not respecting Izzy's choices sexy?
I liked the writing style itself, which was engaging and quick to read. I confess that I did skip the sexy scenes, which were too steamy for me... And especially the one in Afghanistan was quite inappropriate to be honest. I could have done without the love triangle vibe as well, but that is just a pet peeve I guess. I think that if In The Likely Event would have focused more on the PTSD and misconnection instead of on more political aspects, I would probably have enjoyed this story more. The Afghanistan setting felt too much like a prop and it didn't really add anything substantial to the story; those scenes could have been set in any conflict zone and the result would have been the same.
In short, there were things that worked and things that didn't work out so well in this story, and I ended up having mixed thoughts about In The Likely Event. I've seen rather extreme reactions to this story in the reviews, and I can understand both sides now that I've had the chance to read the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Grief, War, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Xenophobia, Car accident, and Classism
_alyssar_'s review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Infidelity, Sexual content, Violence, Car accident, Grief, War, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Physical abuse, Blood, Cursing, and Injury/Injury detail
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