What a great collection, from some of my favorite romance authors! This was a perfect warm-up to Valentines Day. The stories felt substantial and pulled out all the emotions a full novel would.

This collection of short stories is fun all the way through! Note: pay careful attention to the links between each of the stories! I’m a huge Abby J., Jasmine G. and Christina L. fan so I was psyched to read this, and the stories did not disappoint! Each story was funny, sweet, and steamy at times. Short stories are so fun when you only have a few minutes to read. These authors did a great job building interesting, heartwarming plots and resolving everything in this short format. Highly recommend!

The Exception to the Rule ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The back and forth emails were so fun. The fact that it was a novella but spanned over 10 years… I needed this one to be a whole entire book 🥹 100 pages was just not enough. One of my 2024 reading goals is to read more Christina Lauren!

Worst Wingman Ever ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Despite being only 57 pages, this didn’t feel like it was rushed or lacking anything. I laughed. I cried. I realized I would read Abby’s grocery list if she published it 🤣 She can do no wrong and I LOVE all her books so much.

Rosie and the Dreamboat ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I ignored my claustrophobia and really enjoyed this one! The humor and banter between the characters was great. And again, this one wasn’t lacking a deep storyline despite being 40 pages

Drop, Cover, and Hold On ⭐️⭐️

I loved the *idea* of this one… two people, who supposedly hate each other, trapped in a bakery after an earthquake. However, it DID feel too short, and moved a little too quickly. It just missed the mark for me unfortunately.

With Any Luck ⭐️⭐️

This one reminded so much of something that would be a romcom movie. It even had a little bit of suspense, and thought it was headed in another direction, so I wasn’t expecting the little twist. However it moved a little too quick and had too much backstory for a short story, so it wasn’t my favorite.

Royal Valentine ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was not personally my favorite type of story, maybe since it was about royalty? But it was super cute, and gave Hallmark vibes. It was well written and had a good balance of giving plenty of information, but not dragging on too much.

This same review will be posted on my Instagram page in the next few days

These were cute romance stories set around Valentine’s Day. My favorite was The Worst Wingman Ever. They all were shorts, but it was fun to read something fun from some of the best romance writers.

This was such a great collection of short stories! Here is a short review for each story:

The Exception to the Rule:
This short story reminded me just how much I love Christina Lauren! This was cute, romantic, funny, relatable... I loved it so much and was so sad when I ran out of pages! My only complaint is honestly that I want a full book with this couple!

Content warnings: death of a parent

Worst Wingman Ever:
I did not expect a 60 page story to hit so hard. This was just so cute and shows how even a stranger can impact your life in such a significant way. I am so happy these characters found each other! I also can't wait to check out some of Jimenez's other works.

This quote will stay with me for a while: “𝚃𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚋𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚞𝚗𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜. 𝙸𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎, 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎 𝚒𝚝.”

Content warnings: terminal illness, death of a loved one, grief

Rosie and the Dreamboat:

Parts of this story were super cute and I loved, other parts were a little cringe I'm not gonna lie. The MMC's last name being husband? SUPER CUTE given the jokes between the two sisters. The FMC staying stuck in a spa pod thing with slimy goo... Not so much. Also not so cute that he calls her Rosie Clamshell... The FMC's sister ditching her to finish the spa day like that was also not cool...

Content warnings: confinement (think claustrophobic conditions), bullying

Drop, Cover and Hold On:

I love both Grumpy x sunshine and books with characters who are bakers but this one somehow didn't work for me. I couldn't connect with the characters... That being said, it did make me very hungry! I read this as part of The Improbably Meet-Cute collection and thought this was the weakest story of the bunch.

Content warnings: sexual content, fatphobia, confinement due to natural disaster.

With Any Luck:

I enjoyed this story, it gives some hangover vibes. The dislike to lovers vibes creates some hot tension and I would've read a whole book about this couple!

Royal Valentine:
This was a cute take on a classic story - the swap between royalty and a commoner. This story was pretty instalove but the couple was so cute and I got such wanderlust that I didn't care haha. As it is, the MMC's reasons for "breaking up" are pretty weak but I would've loved to read a full length book about this couple.


Overall, The Improbable Meet-Cute collection was super fun to read and perfect for Valentine's! A huge thanks to Amazon Originals and NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

This is a fun collection of cute romance short stories by a group of well-known authors. I especially loved the stories by Christina Lauren and Abby Jimenez. This collection is worth it just for those two delightful tales.The others are an okay enough way to pass the time as well.

Thank you Christina Lauren, Abby Jimenez, Sally Thorne, Jasmine Guillory, Ashley Poston, Sariah Wilson, Amazon Original Stories, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

Need a quick read for Valentine's? This is it. By far this was the most enjoyable collection of Amazon curated stories I have read. I have read them all. I think this idea of giving them same prompt to multiple current authors is so fun. This "meet-cute" theme was done perfectly by EVERY SINGLE AUTHOR! Each story is completely unique. In 100 pages or less, you meet the characters, they meet each other, and you are left with happily-ever after. It was so refreshing to read. I have already recommended this to others who have started and love it was well. If you are Prime member, it is a free read. Go get it now!!

This is a collection of short romance novellas that give you the feeling you have after you enjoyed the most decadent dessert flight.

All six stories are varied on the steam level while being connected by a Valentine’s Day theme. I usually want MORE pages, but the novella format was surprisingly satisfying. Each story was a sweet escape with some of my favorite romance authors.

An ideal read for February.

This was a cute collection. These stories were fun and sweet. An eclectic mix of authors, characters, tropes, and plots were great. The meet-cute was the theme on hand and they're intriguing that's for sure. I did want some of them to be a little longer because I wanted more from the characters. These were all feel-good romances that will hit the nice spot and a nice Valentine reads.

The Exception to the Rule - 5⭐️ 0.5🌶️ (really just a sweet clean internet romance)

I loved this novella! I loved all of the realistic modern day touches - like technology and COVID references. C&T we’re just a fun online meet cute and made me smile 🥰 even though it wasn’t steamy at all, I still loved this. Christina Lauren can write quality banter, even when it’s through emails 💛

Worst Wingman Ever - 4⭐️, 0.25🌶️

This was an adorable meet-cute romance where Holly is the hospice nurse for her grandmother, and John is visiting his brothers apartment complex to fix things, and ends up leaving a letter meant for his brothers gf on Hollys care instead. Through exchanged letters, the two have a micro-friendship that evolves once they meet in person.

The romance was very minimal, and honestly I would have loved more of this book if it gave us more of them together after their first real encounter. No spice, just a little bit of sexual jokes.

Rosie and the Dreamboat - 3.75⭐️, 0.5🌶️

Not my fave of the collection, but I loved the uniqueness of this meet cute! The foreman that rescues her from a salt tank submersion spa day gone wrong. Romeo was adorable, but I just didn’t vibe with Rosie’s character.

Drop, Cover and Hold On - 4.5⭐️, 1.5🌶️

Ugh I love how Jasmine writes her romances and this is par for the course! I can understand some of the complaints that the age old “grumpy sunshine - he’s mean cause he likes her” is a bit juvenile, but. I. Still. Loved. It!! The dash of spice was a lovely surprise and overall I thought the ‘meet-cute’ of being stuck together during an earthquake was unique!

Overall I’m really liking all of these novellas! All the authors made such different work, and the ability to listen to all the books with Amazon Audible copies included is a great perk!

With Any Luck - 4⭐️, 1.5🌶️

This was so fun! The best woman and the man of honor are tracking down the groom the morning of the wedding while also addressing their past one night stand. She believes she’s cursed to always have people fall in love after kissing her, and their ONS he refused to kiss her. It’s a dash of enemies to lovers and was such a cute story! This one really flew by and I WISH it was a full length story!

Royal Valentine - 3.75⭐️, 1🌶️

In theory I thought I would have looooved this secret identity romance, but it just wasn’t super interesting to me. UNTIL the surprise twist in the end which I really liked!

What a delightful and adorable collection of meet-cutes!

I loved all the stories and The Exception to the Rule and Worst Wingman Ever proved to be stand-outs. While Christina Lauren, Abby Jimenez and Sally Thorne have been repeat authors whose works I have enjoyed in the past, it’s a joy to have discovered Jasmine Guillory, Ashley Poston, Sariah Wilson whose works I’d definitely go back and read.

Thank you to Amazon Original Stories, NetGalley and the authors for my copy. All opinions are honest and my own.

The Exception to the Rule is a delightful meet cute short story. Definitely fits the bill as improbable meet cute that warms the soul.
The worst wingman is a delightful meet cute short story. Definitely fits the bill as improbable meet cute that warms the soul.
The Rosie and the dreamboat is a delightful meet cute short story. Definitely fits the bill as improbable meet cute that warms the soul. I think of all of the stories this was my favorite.
The Drop, cover and hold on is a delightful meet cute short story. Definitely fits the bill as improbable meet cute that warms the soul. I think this one was the most surprising and utterly delightful.
With any luck on is a delightful meet cute short story. Definitely fits the bill as improbable meet cute that warms the soul.
Royal Valentine is a delightful meet cute short story. Definitely fits the bill as improbable meet cute that warms the soul.

Love this collection of short novellas from some of my favorite authors. These were all quick reads before Valentine’s Day and loved that there was just a little connection between them!

Six authors, six "lucky" meet cutes! I found Christina Lauren's to be my favorite of the six, with Sariah Wilson's to be the most unremarkable. While I expected these to be all lovey dovey, I was pretty disappointed with the lack of fluff and more emotional hard hitting. For example, Abby Jimenez's (while I adore her) was a little too hard hitting. Overall, these were fast paced and quick snippets but I wouldn't want to pick up a full length version of any.

I gave this whole set a 3.5 out of all but Abby Jimenez story was my absolute favorite of them all an that got a 4 because it was cute, but I wish it was longer! I love her writing so I don’t ever want it to end!

A collection of 'beginning of romance' stories from well-known romance writers with serendipity at the heart of it. The reason I picked up this book was because I love serendipity. I love stories that are mired in serendipity and also because this collection allows you to glimpse the writing of several writers in one go and you can have a taste of their writing and discover some new writers who you might want to to read more of.


This book found me in my romance girlie era, which is good timing. I didn't connect with all of the writing in here, but I liked some of the stories more than the others. I think my favourite was The Worst Wingman Ever and Royal Valentine.

Read it if you want to take a little leap of faith and believe in the magic of life and serendipity.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for my eARC.

Quick Summary: "Six short rom-coms to warm your heart"

My Review: The Improbable Meet-Cute by Christina Lauren; Abby Jimenez; Sally Thorne; Jasmine Guillory; Ashley Poston; Sariah Wilson is a dream collection of shorts by some of my most beloved authors, as well as by a few authors who are new to me.

About the Book: Six writers share their take on life, love, and romance.

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💌 The Exception to the Rule by Christina Lauren

💬 An accidental email leads to a lasting friendship and more.

🍬 This one gave off You've Got Mail vibes. I loved the style this was written in. It flowed perfectly. I also appreciated that what started innocently blossomed into something truly amazing.

Rating: 5/5
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💌 Worst Wingman Ever by Abby Jimenez

💬 Love, loss, and a few well placed notes bring clarity, direction, and an opportunity for happiness to two people seeking change.

🍬 The unexpected gift that came by way of the confession and through the parting wisdom were symbolic and freeing.

Rating: 4.25/5

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💌 Rosie and the Dreamboat by Sally Thorne

💬 A day at the spa turns into a super surprising and very dreamy ordeal.

🍬 This was such an amusing story. It was like an extreme version of The Dating Game. Romeo stole my heart.

Rating: 4.75/5
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💌 Drop, Cover, and Hold on by Jasmine Guillory

💬 How do pastries, food porn, chocolate brown skin, and earthquakes connect?

🍬 This short was deliciously naughty. The foodie in me was all in!

Rating: 4.45/5

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💌 With Any Luck by Ashley Poston

💬 With the wedding of her best friend in play, the best man/maid and a frenemy are on the chase, but what will they find at the end of their journey?

🍬 This was my first AP read. I found it to be humorous and saucy. It gave off My Best Friend's Wedding vibes.

Rating: 4/5

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💌 Royal Valentine by Sariah Wilson

💬 Royalty in disguise is real. What are the chances that two strangers who meet in a highly unusual way would end up with their very own fairytale adventure?

🍬 I'm a sucker for HEAs with HRHs. This had Hallmark, Freevee, and Netflix written all over it. Insta or not, it was charming.

Rating: 4. 75/5

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My Final Say: This improbable meet-cute experience was my happy place. Each writer brought a sweet treat, just in time for a Valentine's Day jaunt. I hope another collection is in the works.

Other: I genuinely loved this compilation. Not only did it give me a chance to hear from some of my favorite authors, but it also introduced me to some new ones. I look forward to familiarizing myself with other works from both the old and the new.

Overall Rating: 4.5/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: A
Status/Level: 💗

Sincere appreciation is extended to each of the authors, to Amazon Original Stories, and to NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to review this special Valentine's Day collection. It was delightful.

I absolutely loved the first three books in this anthology collection! Christina Lauren at their finest with a love story over the years. I adore a text/email heavy book and this one made me so happy. I especially loved the epilogue, so cute. Abby Jimenez can do no wrong. I only wish her short story was longer and more romance, but it was a great story and it made me cry. Sally Thorne had me cracking up with her story, and I love me a fireman romance. The rest of the book just kind of fell flat for me :( not sure if it's because the first three were so great I was expecting amazing things or what. They were still good but not great. Five stars for the first half!

What a great idea for a short story collection. Gather up a group of talented modern romance writers, give them a common thread to weave, and a word limit. The result: "Improbable Meet Cute"!

I was already a fan of some of these authors, but now I have new authors to seek out and new titles to read. I also really love that the series is available for free for Kindle Unlimited users and Amazon Prime users.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this collection of short stories!

These were the cutest novellas! I loved some more than others, but they were seriously all so cute. I only wish they could’ve been longer than novellas, haha, I wanted more!! They can all be read on their own and don’t need to be read in any order. If you’re looking for some quick, fun, romance reads, I recommend checking any of these out!