Published May 30th

Even if the Sky is Falling is a collection of short stories by Taj McCoy, Lane Clarke, Farah Heron, Charish Reid, Sarah Smith and Denise Williams. The collection is edited by Taj McCoy, who is "committed to championing stories that include Black & Multiracial women of colour, plus-size protagonists, Black love, Black joy, & senses of sisterhood & family bonds."

That aim really comes through in this collection of six romance stories, all set during a 12 hour emergency lockdown (of sorts). The opening story, "All The Stars" by Taj McCoy explains how the disaster happens, with a sweet tale about a NASA crew trial that goes awry.

In Keep Calm and Curry On by Farah Heron, two rival Pakistani chefs get stuck with each other in a flea market; My Lucky Stars by Lane Clarke sees law student Jones infuriated with her colleague Dianna, who she assumes is just a pretty face. Bunker Buddies by Charish Reid is that "do it for our country" scene from Grease 2 but with a professor and a sexy indie bookstore owner; Interlude by Sarah Smith is a handyman fantasy come to life, and Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better by Denise Williams is a spicy tale of old rivals returning to their college for an awards ceremony when the alarm sounds.

It's SPICY - no slow burns here, no ma'am - but it's fun, and it's always nice to read stories featuring minority characters that don't have a traumatic backstory to overcome. It's hot, it's fast, it's sweet, and it's charming. It has been described as "an ode to the disaster movies of the 1990's, but with more kissing" and that's a really accurate description.

Spicy, cute, well done.

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC via Netgalley!

Thank-you to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and Canary Street Press for the eARC!

Rated each story individually and then averaged it out for a total of 4.20 stars out of 5, which is pretty good!

My top 2 stories were "Keep Calm and Curry On" by Farah Heron and "Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better" by Denise Williams. The only one I really didn't like was Taj McCoy's "All the Stars" like I'm so sorry but Griff is the worst??? Nothing against miss McCoy, tho. I just strongly disliked the MMC. 😅😅😅

Overall tho a very enjoyable read!

Even If The Sky is Falling is a collection of short stories written by some of my favorite authors about 6 couples- friends, exes, rivals, and crushes- who must take shelter together when an international siren signaling a detrimental meteor shower goes off. Some of the things I liked about these stories: because they are short, it takes no time at all to get to the steam. Most of them feature a Black woman in the STEM fields. They all have a happy ending. I would have read a full length novel with any of these characters. It was a quick and entertaining read, and one that also makes you think about how and with whom you would want to spend your last few hours on Earth. Thank you @htpbooks and @netgalley for my digital ARC. This one is out May 30!

I loved this collection of connected story that asks the question ‘what would you do if you thought the world was ending?’


I really loved the concept, and the romance…oh the romance was sweet and yet also a little steamy shall I say. I almost forgot this was a YA book, but it surely kept me reading.

A lovely collection!

This was such a cool and unique concept! I’ve never read anything like this-a collection of stories by different authors that shares a unique theme. I love this idea of how you’d spend your time at the presumed end of the world, and some of the scenarios presented in the book were really fun and unique! I’ve actually only read one of these authors before, so it was neat to get exposed to new authors in this way, and I’ll definitely be checking out other things these authors have written!

I was given an ARC by NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing. All opinions are my own!

This was a great book and the cover art is phenomenal! I really loved this whole book and it led me on a fun end-of-the-world adventure.

There are seven short stories in this collection and they are all equally delightful, steamy and cozy!!!! The first short story gives you the reasoning behind why a nationwide emergency alert system goes off, implicating that a meteor is going to hit Earth. Then we dive into the rest of the short romcoms that include many tropes, like second chance romance, forced proximity, locked in, "lets-just-bang-it-out-once-to-get-it-out-of-our-systems" and more! Highly, highly recommend and I will absolutely be buying my own copy of this, especially since the cover is so stunning too.

-All the Stars by Taj McCoy
NASA senior comms specialist Halley & her colleague Griffin broke up over a year ago, & haven't spoken since. However, when he is assigned to her unit at their Colorado base. When someone on her team accidentally sets off the national alert system, Halley & Griffin have nothing but time to revisit the demise of their relationship.

-Keep Calm & Curry On by Farah Heron
Maya runs a spice booth at the Verona County Flea Market with her sisters, called Masala Girls (a fun twist on 'Spice Girls') when she runs into a childhood friend-turned-family-enemy, Tarek Mizra, the owner of Curry Junction, a new food truck. When the alert rings, they are stuck together at the market and forced to face the past that ripped their families apart. Shoutout to Tarek for not only NOT knocking romance, but naming romcoms as his favorite film genre.

-My Lucky Stars by Lane Clarke
I love an opposites attract sapphic awakening. Jones is three months off of a breakup while her ex is newly engaged to the woman he left Jones for. Dark skinned, grumpy Jones is in law school, but was disappointed when the only other Black girl, light-skinned, green-eyed, sunshiny pageant-queen Dianna, seemingly betrayed her by performing the most palatable version of herself for their White classmates. When they're stuck together at school, Jones navigates new feelings that she didn't realize she had until being in such intimate proximity to Dianna.

-Bunker Buddies by Charish Reid
I think this was my favorite story because it was probably so many booktrovert's dreams come true hahaha. Shea, a university professor, visits a local bookshop frequently, and after 20 orders, has finally worked up the courage to ask the bookstore owner, Nick, out to coffee. Then the emergency alert rings and Nick takes Shea to safety to his grandpa's underground bunker. These two had such great chemistry and even did a little role play (sheeeesh!) so it's no surprise that I devoured this story!!!!

-Interlude by Sarah Smith
Talk about another steamy fantasy!!!! Songwriter and jingle-writer Jocelyn is stuck in her basement with her contractor, Caleb, and plays out the "we just met but we're both hot and the world is ending so wanna bang?" trope if there is one hahaha.

-Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better by Denise Williams
This is academic enemies to lovers and second chance romance and it is an absolute delight! Hale and Piper (which I can't get over that this character is named Piper Drake when there is another steamy romance/fantasy author named Piper J. Drake HAHA) are stuck together during the emergency alarm and reconcile their past feelings for each other while they were classmates. Such a treat!

-Epilogue by Taj McCoy
Lovely, predictable and sweet epilogue of the first short story.

Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley provided an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.

I love the concept behind this romance anthology, and the cover art, so I was excited to dive into this book. Some of the short stories delivered on the promise, while others didn’t quite hit the mark.

Here’s how I rate each of the stories:

• Two NASA specialist exes forced to reunite under pressure. 2/5
• Competing food stall owners face no escape—from each other or their shared past. 3/5
• Two law students learn just how strongly opposites attract between the library stacks. 3/5
• A pair of literature lovers confront long-held feelings under the covers of a bookstore bunker. 4/5
• A songwriter discovers her newly hired contractor hits all the right notes. 4/5
• Trapped on campus, former college rivals entertain their reignited spark. 4/5

I give it a 3 stars overall.

[arc review]
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Even If the Sky is Falling releases May 30, 2023

This was such an unexpected delight!
A collection of 6 interconnected short stories from 6 different authors, all with diverse characters and steamy scenes.
The overarching theme was solid, while still allowing each story to have their own unique and distinct voice.
This focuses on cities in the US, but globally, countries have implemented an alert system to warn civilians of any impending meteor strikes. In each story, we see a couple hunker down for 12 hours as the first alert and unbeknownst accidental test run is set off in the US.
My favourites were “All the Stars”, “My Lucky Stars”, and “Bunker Buddies”.


<b>All the Stars by Taj McCoy</b>
Halley and Griffin are NASA specialists, and exes assigned to the same mission. Their team is the one working on the installation of the ADGWS (aerial debris global warning system), however, another member accidentally spills his beer which short circuits the entire system and sets off the nationwide alert by accident. The system reboot takes 12 hours total, and of course, Halley and Griffin use that time to reconnect ;)

<b>Keep Calm and Curry On by Farah Heron</b>
Maya and Tarek are childhood friends. She has a small business that sells South Asian sauces and spices, and he has a food truck specializing in Pakistani food. They are rival competitors in the market where they are located.
The writing style and family drama wasn’t my favourite here, but them bonding over food was cool.

<b>My Lucky Stars by Lane Clarke</b>
Jones and Dianna are both law students, stuck in a bunker together in the library. Dianna ends up spilling her drink on herself and thus has to remove her skirt and tights.
This had enemies to lovers, black rep, diabetes rep, and wlw!

<b>Bunker Buddies by Charish Reid</b>
Shea is a professor, Nick is a bookstore owner. This is told in dual pov. The tension between them has been brewing for 6 months, and the shelter order gave them the perfect opportunity to take things to the next level. Readers into role-playing will love this!

<b>Interlude by Sarah Smith</b>
Jocelyn is a Filipino songwriter, Caleb is the kitchen cabinet contractor, and they end up meeting and getting to know each other all on this day as the alert goes off just as he arrives at her place.
This one was really rushed and felt a bit forced just because they were the only ones who didn’t previously know each other, but it was still enjoyable!

<b>Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better by Denise Williams</b>
Piper and Hale were academic rivals and are at their old college for an alumni awards ceremony. This one was the weakest of the short stories for me because they kept exploring the college instead of actually hunkering down like they were supposed to, and the chemistry just didn’t feel believable. I also don’t understand how the rest of the building was deserted even though there was an event happening??
ALSO Hale says: “The girl who drove me crazy in college, who filled my fantasies in med school, and who was always in the back of my mind during my marriage […]” yeah, that’s a red flag.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this e-arc in exchange for my honest review!
I really liked the premise of these short stories- disaster is imminent and people come together in the midst of the chaos to find love. Some of the stories stood out to me more than others, so it’s hard to give the collection overall a rating. I’m giving this short story collection 3 stars, but my actual rating is 3.5 stars.

What a cute read! This collection of books/stories was amazing! The fact that I know and love almost all of the authors was a huge perk! I love how each author brought their strengths. I'm a huge fan of Sarah Smith, Denise Williams, Farrah Heron so I knew it would be worth the read. But the best part was getting to know authors such as Taj McCoy, Lane Clarke, and Charish Reid their stories were good as well. Worth the read!

This book was sooooo cute! I loved the premise and the fact that you get six different stories in one. This format is a great way to introduce people to multiple romance writers at once, that they might not have read before. I put multiple new books on my TBR after getting into some authors I was previously unfamiliar with! There’s so many different romance tropes in Even If The Sky Is Falling, I’m certain there’s something for everyone in there! Forced proximity, academic rivals, strangers to lovers, second chance, family feuds, role playing and more. It has all POC writers and diverse representation.

This was a great collection of really cute stories! The romances were all fantastic and the characters all felt authentic in the face of disaster. It was a super unique premise that made it really fun to read!

I also loved how each author demonstrated their individual writing style using the disaster as a prompt to create their own, unique world within the larger story. This made it harder to rate because of how I connected differently with each story. It was so cool to see how each author approached it and I’m really excited to read more from these authors!

This collection of cute stories was truly amazing! The romances were good. For Short fas read the authors all did a great job of giving us cute stories with great characters. The characters felt authentic even in the face of disaster. The premise was unique and made for an enjoyable read.

What I particularly loved about this collection was how each author used the disaster as a prompt to create their own unique world and showcase their individual writing style. This made it difficult to rate the stories as I connected with each one differently. It was fascinating to see how each author approached the challenge, and I look forward to reading more from them

A fun collection of steamy short stories happening at the same time written by some great authors. This was a fun and quick read!

Thank you NetGalley for eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This anthology provides fun and funny romantic anecdotes from diverse couples. I especially related to Keep Calm and Curry On. Thank you Canary Street Press for the digital review copy!

Even if the Sky is Falling is a collection of six interconnected love stories by six talented authors. I LOVED this concept, which felt very much like the Valentines Day/ New Years Eve movies (if you’ve watched). There is a wide range of romance tropes, laugh out loud humor and a diverse cast of characters. I will say the spice level is HIGH, so if you are not into steamy books, this may not be for you. Below is a short snippet of what to expect in each of the 6 stories.

1. All The Stars by Taj McCoy
A second chance romance between two NASA employees.

2. Keep Calm and Carry On by Farah Heron
Former childhood friends reunite at a downtown marketplace when they realize they are selling the same Pakistani food and are competitors.

3. My Lucky Stars by Lane Clark
An opposites attract sapphic love story following two law school students who take shelter at the library.

4. Bunker Buddies by Cherish Reid
After a college professor has been pining over the owner of her local bookstore for months, the two end up taking cover in a bunker, and she soon realizes the attraction has mutual all along.

5. Interlude by Sarah Smith
Two strangers in forced proximity find themselves instantly attracted to the other.

6. Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better by Denise Williams
College rivals are brought back together for an awards ceremony and have the chance to live their fantasies.

Thank you HTP for the ARC! Pub date: 5/30/23

I really loved the idea behind Even If the Sky Is Falling as a collection of related stories, but I found the result to be disappointing for what I'd imagined. The beginning is so tech-speak heavy that it's easy to glaze over and forget to pay attention. My bigger problem though is that it felt like we dove into stories (aka steamy scenes) with minimal plot and character development, so it felt unearned and uninteresting. I've read plenty of good romance in story form, so I know it can be done, but it wasn't working for me here.