I tried reading this one but I couldn’t get into the first story. I didn’t like how the female character was mean to the Asian supporting character.

Not for me. The overall premise of this collection sounded really promising to me but it fell flat. I ended up skimming most of the stories. I just didn’t feel any sense of urgency that seems like it would be present in a situation where characters literally think the world is about to end. And while I know this is a short story collection so there isn’t as much time to develop things as in a novel, I wanted to know the characters more, and the intimacy between them felt rushed.

When it feels like the world is about to end, people will often do what they otherwise wouldn't have the courage to do. This book is six tales written by popular romance authors, running with that premise.

We open with Taj McCoy's "All the Stars." She also wrote the epilogue to tie it all together. In our opening, Halley works for NASA, can't stand her partner Willy and just had her ex assigned to her mission last minute. While installing an alert system, Willy creates an error that makes it seem like an asteroid is going to hit Earth. Upset, Halley and her ex wind up talking about their relationship. And more, of course.

Farah Heron wrote "Keep Calm and Curry On," a cute play on the famous British saying. Maya opened a food stall and sells her sauces, but there's competition in the form of Tarek Mizra. He's the son of her father's former business partner, who had cheated him, so she's less than enthusiastic to be stuck with him during the lockdown. But forced proximity gets involved...

Lane Clarke contributed "My Lucky Stars." Jones and Dianna are the only Black women in their law school class but have never gotten along. Now that they're stuck in the Reserved Section of the library together, forced to get to know each other better.

Charish Reid wrote "Bunker Buddies," where Shea and Nick danced around each other for a while. Nick works in a bookstore and Shea visits more often than she can afford to buy books. Beneath the store is a bunker that Nick's grandfather had set up, so there's a place to hide out during the alert...

Sarah Smith wrote "Interlude." Jocelyn has a virtual meeting scheduled for the same day that Calab is arriving to check on her kitchen cabinets. It's also the same day as the alert. They're awkward and cute around each other as they hide in the basement until the all clear.

Denise Williams wrote "Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better." Of course, there's competition involved with a title like that! Piper and Hale had competed for top grades in college, and fifteen years later now meet again. They're both successful in their respective fields but are stuck together during the alert and forced to work together.

These stories are all romance novellas, so they hit all the main plot points at a speedrun pace. Any romance reader will be able to predict what's going to happen, but that doesn't make it any less fun to read. There's less fluff, no secondary potential romantic partner, and no subplot to complicate matters. I enjoyed "Interlude" the most, actually. The meet-cute and fast setup worked out really well for the couple, and I like these characters the most. If you're a fan of end-of-the-world stories, disaster romance movies, and forced proximity tropes, this is definitely a collection that will work for you.

I was so excited for this one — unfortunately, I couldn’t get past the first story in the collection. As a civilian I would be so worried in the event of an alarm like this, and it felt like it was being played for cheap and inconsistent laughs. Why make the alarm nationwide, and not limit it to a specific location so we can trust the consequences aren’t dire? False panic like this gets people injured or killed!

The other choices here are equally thoughtless, and it feels like the author wanted their high-concept sexytimes but didn’t care to much about making it ring true. Why does the hero insist on defending the coworker whose deliberate error and refusal to listen to the heroine caused the whole crisis? Why does the heroine forgive the hero for this AND for their awful breakup, and fuck him during the disaster? Considering this story was written by the collection’s editor, it destroyed my faith in the quality of the stories to come.

I debated even saying anything in a review, but this is honestly one of the biggest disappointments I’ve had in some time.

This is a collection of short stories based on a what-if, what if the world would be going to end soon due to a meteorite ?
No, it doesn't talk about dinosaurs even if I'm a dino lover, it' talks about different people and this people who share the same historical moment are very different as there's different sexual orientation, profession, ethnicity.
As these are rom-com stories love is the at the centre of this end-of-the-world collection and I smiled, rooted for the characters and appreciated how this new dystopia rom-com genre came into being.
Even if the story are not at the same level they're entertaining and well written.
Recommended.
Many thanks to Canary Street Press for this arc, all opinions are mine

This was so much fun!!
We begin with a military group made up of a pair of exes, a good soldier, and the nephew of a high ranking official who spills his beer on a control panel and makes the entirety of the US think an asteroid is about to hit. 5 stories of couples stuck hunkering down ensues.
They were all super fun. Standouts include Farah' Heron's amazing food description that made my stomach rumble the entire time I was reading, Charish Reid's somehow both hot and laugh-out-loud role playing antics, and Sarah Smith's really hot hero.
The perfect book for a summer vaca or just a weekend at home!

4.5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley for the review copy!

What would you do if the sky was falling? This collection of short novella length stories follows a series of unrelated characters all experiencing the same event - a false alarm of the emergency meteor shelter system. From exes to childhood crushes, academic rivals to two complete strangers, these stories examine attraction, love, lust, and mutual companionship in uncertain times.

This book was so fun and the perfect read for your summer vacation. Because it was a collection of novellas it felt fast and low commitment. And there was lots of character growth and exploration packed tight. All these stories are multicultural and have a wide variety of wonderful representation! A must pick up this summer for contemporary romance fans!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this advanced readers copy.

The superstar power of of the authors could not get me to enjoy the premise of this book. Honestly, it's a nightmare scenario and nothing is sexy about it; a accidental emergency alert going out that there is an impact event imminent? No thank you! Love the authors, but this was a pass for me.

I received an ARC via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
I really like the concept of this anthology, with BIPOC authors all creating stories around the same event of a disaster like the sky falling. And while I will admit I didn’t read Lane Clarke’s contribution (I’m one of many she blocked on Twitter for daring to agree she was in the wrong about something!) I did mostly like the other stories. Farah Heron’s was especially sweet, following reunited childhood friends who end up as competitors in the local market, and I’m a sucker for bookish stories, so Charish Reid’s story was perfection. Taj McCoy’s story about NASA employee exes was also pretty cute. Interlude was a weak spot in my opinion, given there wasn’t the history between the characters to get my invested. And while I appreciate what Denise Williams was trying to do with her story, I wasn’t a huge fan of some aspects of their dynamic.

A collection of short steamy romance stories that will leave you wanting more. I loved the premise and the way in which each story was presented uniquely yet link to the same origin story. To me the shortness of the stories were connected to the urgency within which the collection is premised. I definitely wanted more but still happy I got to meet these characters and heard their stories.

When life becomes urgent all bets are off on what was once impossible when faced with a past broken relationship, a childhood crush, a familiar attraction, someone you have been secretly admiring a random stranger you feel connected to and college rivals.

These uniquely premised disaster strikes stories were both thrilling, heartwarming, cute and steamy. I loved that each explored various themes in relation to who was trapped with who and how their connections were and or became tangible or rekindled in a short space of time.

Some of these authors were new to me and other’s I have read their work.
A great summer rec and/or good book for vacation.

Thanks for the e-arc approved through Netgalley in connecting with Author Charish Reid!

Happy reading!

They stretched out in the luscious grass, admiring the blanket of stars coating the night sky above them. Their fingers find each other in the sweetest of ways, grasping tight and sending sparks up both of their arms. The night was cool, but the simmering attraction between them was bringing heat. But then a siren sounds, sending this moment from ecstasy to pure panic.

Even If the Sky is Falling is a collection of short story romances all connected together by a siren sounding across the country, signaling an environmental disaster that could mean the end of the world as everyone knows it. Comprised of romantic tales by 6 different well know romance authors, the reader will get to see what happens when life is threatened and you don’t have anything to lose.

Honestly, this collection didn’t work well for me. I feel that romances do not work as short stories. The romance isn’t developed, there is little to no tension, and the characters have very little depth. I just couldn’t connect to any of the stories because they all moved too fast. Now, I would read full length novels from all of these authors (some I’ve already read from), because the writing was good… I just couldn’t connect to any of the relationships with everything feeling so rushed.

There are lots of good tropes: forced proximity, rivals/enemies to lovers, strangers to lovers, second chance, so if you do enjoy short story romances, then you may enjoy this collection.

This book was legitimately incredible. I have read some of these authors separately but what a powerhouse moment seeing so much diversity, love and just good stories together. I got introduced to new authors in this brilliant anthology that I loved! The premise of this story just makes sense. It’s so well constructed and written beautifully. Like honestly it was so good, Thank you for this amazing Arc!!

This collection of stories was heavenly (no pun intended). I think YA lovers will really enjoy this collection.

Even If the Sky is Falling is a series of short stories of six different couples connecting during a natural disaster alert lockdown. It was fun to read about the back stories of all the different characters and how they connected with each other during a time of stress.

This anthology was the perfect mixer!
It truly showcased the best of so many of my favorite authors.
I think that this needs to be the NEED TO READ for the Summer choice for everyone.
Each story in here just had the right sprinkle of romance and witty banter I love from these faves.

I really, really wanted to love this book but it just didn't do it for me. I normally am such a fan of individual stories that are all interconnected, but this just didn't grab me.

The only one I really, truly enjoyed was Keep Calm and Curry On by Farah Heron. Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better by Denise Williams was also ok but not great. Heron's story is really carrying the extra star in this two star rating. The others were either incredibly cringey (roleplaying interrogating Russian spies is....a thing that happens) or just frustrating (the sole female on a very important job's frustration with someone potentially ruining her career constantly being overlooked.)

Maybe it just wasn't for me - it was a quick read so if you like the authors involved definitely give it a try. But I won't be picking it up again.

this was a beautifully done collection of stories, it had everything that I enjoyed from the genre. I enjoyed how strong each story was and I've enjoyed previous books from the authors in this novel. It left me wanting to read more and I can't wait for more like this collection.

Read if you like:
🥵 Spicy Books
🌶️ The World is Ending Hook-ups
6️⃣ Six interconnected Stories
🗺️ Diverse Characters
✍🏻 Diverse Authors
⏳Lockdown for 12 Hours
🔥World Ending

I love how we get all the tropes through the 6 different stories as we follow couples for what they think will be their last 12 hours on earth before a meteor hits and they will likely die.

I loved the quick nature of the stories in these isolated times with them not thinking quite straight because the world is ending, right?? So the spice is through the roof in these and quite enjoyable cause they don’t have much time left 😉

Each story was great and unique and I truly loved getting to read a couple new to me authors through this book!

Thank you so much to the publisher for my ARC of this one! It was such a fun read!

Even if the Sky is Falling features a whole host of romance tropes that fans will devour. There's second chances, rivalries, opposites, and more. While there's definitely a sense of stake in this book, you can't deny how fun it is. To watch these romances and loves blossom, even if in the face of fear, becomes stories of hope. With some of my favorite romance authors here, I thoroughly enjoyed Even if the Sky is Falling.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the this arc in exchange for an honest review!
Even If the Sky is Falling is a collection of short romance stories written by six different authors that all take place during a twelve-hour period where the world has to take shelter due to a warning of a meteor hitting the earth.
The overarching backdrop to these stories was very unique and what drew me to this collection. There is something very romantic (albeit scary) about the idea of being stuck in a bunker with someone while there is impending doom outside.
Each story has different romance tropes, from second-chance love to rivals-to-lovers to forced proximity. I loved how diverse it is as well, with different races and cultures and with one of the stories being a sapphic story.
The stories are fun and each get to the romance quick (if you're not into spicy scenes, this may not be for you as every story has spice in it). My personal favorites were "Bunker Buddies" by Charish Reid, which is about a professor who ends up in a bunker with the owner of a bookstore who she has been crushing on, and "Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better" by Denise Williams, which is about two former college rivals who end up having to take shelter together.

Overall, it was a very entertaining group of sweet stories. If you like romance, especially spicy romance, this is definitely a fun read!