Review: A Series of Unfortunate Meet Cutes (anthology)

A Series of Unfortunate Meet Cutes by Tori Alvarez, et al.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I picked up "A Series of Unfortunate Meet Cutes" mainly because of Kelly Kay's contribution, "Follow Me," which I very much enjoyed. Based on that story and a handful of other standouts, I'd recommend this collection for all contemporary romance fans.

Individual reviews for several of the stories are included below. As a general note, it's worth mentioning how much I appreciated that the authors included a summary of tropes and heat ratings at the beginning of each story. I'd love to see other anthology organizers include something similar in future collections!

"Once Upon That Time I Started a Major Sh*t Show" by Maria Ann Germain: I really liked the unique story structure of this novella, which was narrated through a series of journal entries, text messages, receipts, boarding passes, and even party invitations. The story itself was cute and funny, and it definitely made me want to check out more of the author's work in the future. 4 stars.

"On the Rocks" by G.G. Gleason: I really enjoyed this story! The steamy scenes in this novella were my favorite ones of the entire book because of the way main characters Skylar and Seth communicated with each other. She hadn't had great experiences in the past, but instead of immediately assuming that his magical p33n would fix everything, he actually took the time to listen to her and what she enjoyed. I wish there were more men like that in the world! 4 stars.

"Follow Me" by Kelly Kay: While the story was a bit slow-paced for me at times, I enjoyed the instant connection between main characters Ingrid and Ian and empathized with Ingrid's desire to establish herself outside of her extended family's shadow and her own reputation as a former fashion influencer. Fans of rock star romance will definitely appreciate this one. 4 stars.

"Caution in Love" by K. Rodriguez: I would never have guessed that this is the author's first published work, but I will definitely be watching to see what she writes in the future! I loved the Latinx representation, and all of the food references (mmm, empanadas) made me hungry. Izzy and Chase had a bit of a rocky path to love, but they made a great couple, and I was rooting for them the whole way. 4 stars.

"Throne for It" by Melissa Williams: Insta-love isn't my favorite trope, but even I have to admit that this was a cute story. It's the prequel to a series launching later this summer, and I plan to pick up the first book when it releases. One thing I didn't quite understand about this story and hope the series will explain is why so many members of a random country's royal family were in Canada. Why couldn't Henry's niece's birthday party have been held in Cragnoor? 4 stars.

*Review copy provided by the authors. All opinions expressed are my own.

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