It’s been a while since I’ve gotten any book reviews in. Quite frankly, January completely kicked my bum. I’m telling you – I had so many plans to get all the reading in. And it just didn’t happened. In my defence, I spend 4 days taking oral exams, 6 days supervising written exams ànd the rest of the time correcting about 350 exams. Luckily, there’s been some reprieve. Long live Netgalley for the ARC’s, and long live Anna Premoli’s Accidentally in Love and its perfect escapism!



So as I already said in the intro, I got to read this book via Netgalley – all opinions are mine though. Accidentally in Love was actually already published in Italian last year, and is now getting its release in English. Lucky for me, cuz – while I understand Latin? Reading Italian is just not gonna be happening any time soon 🙂

STORY
“Sara Di Giovanni is a successful lawyer in New York City: she is the star of her profession, an excellent role model to her very vivacious little sister, but has so far been unlucky in love…

Ethan Phelps is the rich playboy trouble-maker whose only talent in life is spending money and dating women… That is until Ethan’s father dies with no will to his name, leaving his two sons the legal heirs to his billion-dollar company.

Sara is forced to become the court-appointed guardian to handle Ethan‘s share of the fortune, as his family do not trust him to manage it himself. Sara thinks it should be easy, but it’s not so simple when Ethan is determined to get rid of her by whatever means necessary…

What ensues is a dramatic and hilarious power-play between Sara and Ethan… but what will happen when feelings start to get in the way?”

CHARACTERS
If you think you know what’s going to happen? You’re probably right. I mean, this is that kind of book. I was really pleasantly surprised by the way the romance was set up. Especially because, as you might expect from the description, there are definitely some ethical dilemma’s that need to be considered throughout this book.

First of all – I loved how the meet-cute. Again, it was semi-obvious, but it does give you the chance to meet Sara not in function of Ethan. Throughout the rest of the novel, that’s something of a rarity, so it was pleasant to actually get that little bit of insight into who she is.

Sure, even then, we mostly get to know her as opposed to her sister, but still.

(By the way – this might just me, but I felt as if there were a couple of set ups that could totally introduce a novel featuring just Sara’s sister, so I will be looking out for that!)

As for Ethan, I have some more remarks. Sure, he is made out to be understandably upset at his family. However, there’s some clear indications of actual mental problems (OCD, maybe? Anxiety? Alcoholism – affirmed). None of those excuse his behaviour – which, at times, is just down right mean. What’s more problematic to me? None of those seem to be resolved or properly addressed throughout the novel. The last time, a little. But come on – no one gets over their absolute phobia of germs by just sitting in a dirty cinema.

That’s not how it works!

OVERALL: 3/5
I originally gave this one a 4 but looking back now – and especially because of the whole Ethan- thing, I felt compelled to take it down one star. What saves this novel? Its narration. There’s just enough detail and action to keep you interested, without going too far away from the prime romance.

In general, I had a really good time reading it – I literally got through it in just a couple of hours. Don’t expect too much of a deep story. Do get ready to go along on a wild ride of tricks, stubornness and some legal jargon. With a bit of romance thrown in, of course 😉

Accidentally in Love is out this Thursday! (February 1st), so definitely check it out on Amazon (affiliate link) if you feel like reading a fun love story that feels like it has some depth to it!

-Saar

Cute read! The plot was not something you read everyday and while it was incredibly predictable, that’s not a bad thing.

I requested this book because it was described as great for fans of Meg Cabot. And I guess I can kind of see that... but no as much as I'd hoped.
The story was okay - a lawyer is court appointed as a guardian for a 35 year-old trust fund playboy. Yep. 35 year-old. Eh, okay, I can work with that. He likes to scare off his guardians and makes it his mission to do the same to Sara. He kkind of whiny about it. Like, even when he eventually get what he wants, he's acting like 16 year old who's car has been taken away.
The story was cute. It was a little over-the-top unbelievable, but cute. Very quick read, especially easy to just kind of skim-read. The POV switches off sometimes a little randomly, and I wasn't a fan of that. Especially at the beginning it made it hard to keep track.
3.5/5 stars, rounded down to 3. Would I buy it myself? Probably not. Would I recommend it to a girlfriend? If she was really desperate for a quick, rom-com/chick lit read.
I received a free ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

Accidentally In Love is a beautiful, funny and well written love story.

Sara "Painintheass" has no choice as to accept the guardianship on Ethan Phelps; the "DrunkenPsycho".
Who immediately starts to dig up her weakness; so he can get rid of her. - Unfortunately... "the vicious little viper" didn`t back down and keep her mouth shut...

Sara Di Giovanni is a determined lawyer who is on top of her game, she always wins her argument but things aren’t that successful out of work. She’s been pining for the attention of the chef in her family restaurant and he doesn’t seem to notice her. Her tenacity catches the eye of Judge Richter who has a particularly difficult case on her hands, Ethan Phelps who has been throwing away his share of the family fortune on his profligate lifestyle. His family have tried several court-appointed guardians who he has managed to scare away one way or another. He finds that his attempts to do the same to Sara is much more difficult, resulting in a challenge that starts changing both of them.

This is the second of Anna’s books I’ve read and get the theme of feisty women in a battle of wits with off the wall men which I find refreshing.

Sigh. I wanted to like this- and was even willing to suspend the reality of how the US legal system works (no matter how smart she is, not judge would have appointed a patent attorney as a guardian - and no patent attorney should ethically take it on, especially given the large sum of money at issue.). However, while Sara is a good egg, I found Ethan loathsome, which colored my view of the novel. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Accidentally in Love is an entertaining book about a romance developing between an unlikely pair. Sara di Giovanni is a straight-laced New York lawyer with strong ties to her working-class family. Ethan Phelps is a spoiled playboy alcoholic with behavior issues and lots of money. When his father dies, he inherits a significant share of his business, but is deemed unable to manage his own affairs and required to have a court appointed guardian.

Despite appearances, Ethan is intelligent and devious, running off three top lawyers appointed as his guardian in hopes of regaining his freedom. However, when Sara is appointed as his newest guardian, it seems that he may have met his match. Sara is tenacious and refuses to back down to his tactics, but she also sees potential in Ethan. Eventually sparks begin to fly.

The interactions between Ethan and Sara are incredibly entertaining at times and you can't help but root for her as she outwits this trust-fund baby who is unused to meeting resistance. The development of the romance is a bit slower than you might expect and I was glad to see that. It is certainly cheesy at times and predictable, but still a fun ride. I was a bit bothered by the unprofessionalism of some of the situations that Sara finds herself in as guardian to Ethan. I think the author does try to maintain a semblance of Sara caring about professionalism near the end of the book, which I appreciated, but frankly some of the situations were a bit unrealistic for such a dedicated lawyer with a strong moral compass. Entertaining, but unrealistic.

Overall, I found this to be a light read with some very funny moments and a great slow-burn romance, but unsurprising and somewhat problematic if you want a realistic take on things. However, if you enjoy love-to-hate relationships and strong female characters, this might be worth picking up! I was provided with a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I picked this book having enjoyed one of Anna’s previous books but unfortunately I found this plot just a little unbelievable and the characters just a little bit to annoying.

Ugh....Sara, Sara, Sara. Don't do it. I know Ethan says he can change, he will stop drinking, blah blah blah, but no. Surely, if this was real life, the prudish, successful, intelligent Sara would make a better choice. Maybe have a fling with Ethan, but avoid him long term.....But, smart people make bad decisions all the time.

All that being said, Accidentally in Love was still a well-written, fun read.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

This book returns to the Anna Premoli books I love after a couple of not so hot ones (Until Love Do Us Part and Stuck with You: A fun, feisty romance).

Sara Di Giovanni is an patent lawyer of Italian origins, her family run a restaurant in Brooklyn. She is tenacious, hard-working, a bit of a prude and has no social life to speak of.

Ethan Phelps is the ne'er do well youngest son of one of the founders of the Phelps & Phelps department stores to massive conglomerate. When Ethan's father dies unexpectedly Ethan inherits 15% of the family business. After a disastrous shareholders' meeting in which Ethan behaves appallingly he is given a Court-appointed guardian to oversee his finances and prevent him from making poor decisions in relation to his crucial shareholding (holding which gives the Phelps family control of the majority of the shares and therefore able to direct the company). Ethan is the epitome of a wealthy Manhattan Trustafarian, constantly drinking, constantly partying, spending money like water and mocking the hard work of others.

After the three previous guardians resign in quick succession after Ethan blackmails, infuriates or otherwise pushes them over the edge, Judge Richter decides that, despite her lack of experience in the area, Sara would be an ideal guardian (based on her dogged arguing of a patent infringement case and constant raising of objections).

What follows is kind of reminiscent of a Doris Day and Rock Hudson film, Sara is clever and although Ethan tries lots of ways to get her to quit she soon gets the better of him, every time (so okay that's probably the opposite of the Doris Day films where Rock Hudson's character always got the better of her character). It's funny, the characters are engaging and the story moves along briskly.

I also really liked the way the book ended, the HEA was measured, although it was a bit wordy I admit, and commensurate with the way that Ethan and Sara's relationship developed.

Overall, if you like a billionaire meets his match, romantic comedy, battle-of-the-sexes, Manhattan v Brooklyn kind of novel I think you'll love this.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Ethan is very erratic and not used to really thinking deeply abouand consequences or where his actions will take him.

Sara is what changed that, his new guardian. They both are in for quite a ride!

This is book is so exciting, delightful, and shows how a train wreck can be fixed. This was a great novel that had so lots of action and drama as well.

This was a good read and makes ya feel as if you have no problems at all in comparison to the main characters in these stories. Ethan tops the list of most the most changeable person in the book, and for the better. The author did a great job with this novel!

Loved this book, particularly the dynamic and chemistry between the 2 main characters, sensible laywer Sara and rich playboy Ethan. When Sara is appointed guardian to look after Ethan's finances, the games bgin, each giving as good as they get.