This story has been quite interesting mostly by the way it deals with a relationship between two women with considerable age-gap. It is there but is not the center of all issues that they confront themselves, is barely anecdotal. And that has been much appreciated by my, since this is an usual cause of major drama looming.

It also deals with some non habitual topics in romance novels, as deaf characters or one of them being deaf and psychic and a lot of funny comedians. Both MC have been really charming, their struggles stirring and moving, but they are so ready to take a chance. Although Bernadette is too much obtuse.

As a romance, it has all the necessary ingredients to make it interesting, it has some hot scenes and many poignant parts. It has been a really great reading that I've enjoyed a lot.

Stevie Adams is an improv actor who's dream is to make it big in New York and nothing is going to get in the way of her dreams.  She's already auditioned for a gig on Saturday Night Live and desperately waiting for a call back.  Bernadette Thompson is a deaf interpreter and her soul purpose in life is to look after her elderly mother. She also interprets for her best friend Constance Russo, a deaf physic, who Bernadette has been in love with for many years. Stevie and her actor friends decide to go to a psychic reading with Constance and Bernadette and Stevie find they have an intense attraction toward each other but they both have other priorities.
The storyline is actually quite interesting and the will they/won't they get together is very realistic. Stevie and Bernadette have both genuine reasons for not getting together and these reasons were definitely relatable. They're both aware they will get hurt if they pursue a relationship yet their chemistry is way too strong and if you like chemistry between the MCs then this book has it. What I didn't find realistic was how many times they randomly ran into each other. Quite a good read overall.

This was one of those stories where the characters’ occupations really set it apart. Bernadette was an ASL interpreter and worked for her best friend and psychic, Constance, who also happened to be her unrequited love interest. Stevie was part of a Chicago improv group waiting to hear the results of her audition for SNL. Both occupations allowed the author to create very interesting, funny, emotional, and informative dialogue. Even when the characters weren’t talking, their actions continued this silent engaging dialogue. It was well done.

The characters were also each interesting in their own way. Bernadette was seeing a therapist because she had a lot of problems to deal with such as promising her dad, on his deathbed, that she would always take care of her mother. That alone put a dapper on her relationships, but even worse was being in love with her straight married best friend since high school. Added to this problem was the hold Constance seemed to have over Bernadette’s love life…and Bernie, a nearly 50 year old, always succumbed to Constance’s selfish demands. Stevie, on the other hand, constantly placed her love life second to her career. After losing her parents in a car accident, in which she was also a passenger, Stevie never wanted to commit to loving someone. Both women did not actively seek a soul mate until an accidental psychic reading resulted in an accidental electrified touch between the Bernie and Stevie that was too powerful to ignore. It was instant attraction and it worked for these characters.

I read a few books by this author, and her characters are interesting and deal with realistic issues. In this story, Bernie had to decide whether or not she should place her mom in an assisted living home and not be wrecked by guilt for doing so.The dialogue over this decision was well written and emotional. Throughout the story, the author also successfully had her characters run the gamut of emotions from ecstatic to overwhelming sadness.
Most of the secondary characters provided a voice of reason and support when needed. At times their interaction with the main characters also provided the added bonus of comic relief.

Beautiful Accidents did involve characters with a substantial age difference, but this difference was hardly acknowledged by the characters. It was actually nice that the author did not allow her characters to dwell on this aspect of their relationship since there were other life altering aspects to focus on throughout the story. The only minor complaint I had with this story was the rushed ending. It seemed to be too fast and lacked a sense of complete emotional closure for the characters. Other than that, it was a very entertaining read and recommended.

I found this book very, very hard to read. The narrative was not written well. It was more telling than showing, which felt immature, and there was little characterisation. I found the depiction of a gay black character quite problematic, with his constant use of 'girl' and other typical gay slang. I also wish that the age gap romance had been signposted. I don't know; I feel like this book had a lot of promise but it didn't work for me. I'm not sure if it needed a better edit, another few drafts, or what. I wanted to love it.

This was a good read.

Stevie is a star in a improv scene in Chicago she doesn't believe in fate because when she was seven she was in a fatal car crash that killed her parents and she survive and was raise by her grandmother. She dreams of working on Saturday night live and nothing going to stand in her way to achieve her dreams.

Bernadette is ASL interpreter for her psychic bestfriend Connie who she has a complicate relationship with which means she has unrequited love for her that she seems not want to give up on.

When Stevie friends convince her to go to a psychic reading as long she doesn't get a reading she meet Bernadette and their an instant connection that take them both by surprise as they part ways after Stevie gets a reading they both can't stop thinking about each other and it seems,the universe is trying to tell them something because they keep running into each other.

Bernadette is trying to keep her promise to her father about taking care of her mother even though her mother can take care of herself and wants to go to a retirements home but to me she hiding behind this because she thinks she doesn't deserve a life and doesn't want to leave her comfort zone. Stevie wants to achieve her dreams and doesn't want anything to stand in her way but she comes to realize that she can have both if she fights for it. Both characters needs to learn that they can have a happy ending.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.

Congrats Erin Zak you certainly have got my attention ! This is my second book and I must say, BRAVO 👏
So first off, not a lot of authors can get the “love at first sight/touch” storyline, so for that I give you the applause you deserve Erin :)
So the connection between the 2 MCs was very believable, very hot scenes (not a lot of those though unfortunately) but most importantly they were very interesting characters, with real struggles and very relatable family issues (the dilemma of taking care of your parents vs living your own life was very interesting).
I also really enjoyed the supporting characters.. every single one of them was developed so well and the dialogue/banter between characters was so entertaining!
So the MCs are great, supporting characters are amazing, but most importantly the storyline! For me I thought it was quite entertaining and different especially the first half of the book (I love me some tarot cards and weird stuff like that).
So I highly recommend this one to everyone!
My rating is a 4.25 (had it been for the somehow rushed ending, this book would’ve scored a 5)..
“I received an ARC for an honest review.”

I'm really starting to appreciate and enjoy Erin Zak as a writer! So far, all of her novels have been completely different from each other, and they've all been extremely well written and captivating. Beautiful Accidents is no exception!

MC Stevie is an improv actor, and when she reluctantly joins her friends in the cast for a psychic reading from a deaf psychic, she finds herself seriously connecting with the psychic's ASL interpreter, MC Bernadette. The two both feel a physical spark immediately, but Stevie has dreams of moving to New York to join the Saturday Night Live cast, and a relationship doesn't fit into that picture anywhere. On top of that, Bernadette's relationship with her psychic friend is very complicated, and she's not quite ready to give up her unrequited love for her friend either.

Despite the roadblocks, Stevie and Bernadette's story is compelling. I actually appreciated the book even more because of the roadblocks. Their emotional struggles brought the story to life, and instead of this being a formulaic, linear read, it felt three dimensional and more true to real life.

I have to admit, there was a bit of a pacing issue in the second half of the novel where it felt a bit rushed, but it wasn't too distracting. I feel like that's something that Zak will get better at and perfect as she continues to write. The novel is truly entertaining with well rounded and very likeable characters who I found myself easily rooting for. 4 stars!

**Many thanks to Bold Strokes for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.**

Beautiful accidents by Erin Zak is wonderfully written and I was captivated with the main characters from the start.

This novel follows Stevie, an improv actor and Bernadette, an ASL interpreter for a psychic through the ups and downs of falling for each other, starting a relationship, and making choices about the future. Both characters overcome emotional roadblocks, either from their past or present. As the reader, Zak has brought those emotions to life off the page as the novel presents its twists and turns. I continuously felt as though I was rooting for everything to work out and the characters to get a happy ending.

Overall the story kept me intrigued from the start which made me want to finish the book. I do think there are some pacing issues towards the second half of the novel. The first half seemed very flushed out and built up nicely to the second half, however the second half seemed rushed. Several big things happen that needed more detail to satisfy and wrap up certain plot points brought up in the first half. The pacing issues were not super distracting from the plot overall however.

Since this is the first novel from Zak that I have read, I look forward to following this author and reading more.

*Bold Strokes Books was so very kind to send me an advanced reading copy of this book via NetGalley. I appreciate the opportunity to read and review this book.

This book simply wraps all the emotions, attraction and chemistry between the MCs right from their first meeting around you. And doesn’t let go till the last word.

An American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter, Bernadette Thompson, and an improv artist, Stevie Adams – the MCs have unusual jobs indeed and that is so interesting. Bernadette works with her best friend who is a psychic, Constance Russo. Constance is deaf, but so is Bernadette’s mother so that is not an issue for her. What is the problem is that Bernadette, now almost fifty, has been in love with Constance since high school and allows Connie to rule her life. Carrying the baggage of unrequited love and of being the primary caregiver to her mother, Bernie doesn’t allow herself much of a personal life and has zero love life. Stevie lost her parents in an accident when she was seven or eight and is carrying some baggage from that. Focussed on her career, Stevie has her sights set on Saturday Night Live and won’t allow anything or anyone come in the way to making her dream a reality.

Both the MCs are likeable, but with more brokenness and vulnerability, Bernadette is a tad more appealing. Their interactions, conversations and chemistry are all wonderfully written.

This book is a truly immersive experience and completely recommended.

This book is amazing! I think I said in my head this Beautiful Accidents is a beautifully crafted masterpiece. Okay listen, I am not exaggerating. Zak brings together two MC's that have there share of issues. Bernadette has self esteem issues along with anxiety. She is also being controlled by unrequited love and her home situation. Stevie on the other hand is only focused on her career and doesn't like to be tied down mainly because she lost her parents in an accident when she was 7. So normally what we see is a writer who makes one character the jaded unlikable character and normally the other one is more likable. In Beautiful Accidents, we get two MC's that despite their issues are actually very likeable. I did find myself not liking some of their actions - Mainly Bernadette, BUT she is still such an enjoyable character.

Erin Zak gives us chemistry, a wonderful connection and ultimately love. I can honestly say that many romances haven't been able to pull off that love a first sight/touch kinda thing, but I feel it in this one. From the moment Bernadette and Stevie cross paths you can see the Beautiful Accidents taking place. Some call it fate! Listen, I have to also give credit to how the sex scenes are done in this one. I didn't feel overwhelmed or even underwhelmed when reading these scenes. I found it to be a perfect balance and well done. I only had one slight issue with the ending after I was finished. To be honest, after I reflected upon it, I sort or changed my mind and was happy that Stevie was able to be strong (I can't give more than that).

I happily give this romance a 5 star rating!

First off, Erin Zak keeps churning out creative storylines that make for some compelling read! Her latest, "Beautiful Accidents," was no exception. Two intriguing characters with professions that I'd never read about before along with a deaf secondary character playing a pivotal role in one of the MCs' journey in a setting that was utterly original, not to mention, eye-opening for me. In other words, perfect ingredients for an original romance, imo, and I utterly enjoyed it!

First chapter alone had me laughing out loud with all the verbal shenanigans between Stevie and her Improv mates!! Stevie's character especially her wit, her humour, her brash attitude were depicted in a very personal way. Interesting! I definitely believed that she was an improv comic! BTW, never seen a live improv before but when Zak described the on-stage improv performance, it reminded me of the old show, "Whose Line Is It, Anyway?" which I caught some episodes of on the telly when I was a kid.

I absolutely loved how Stevie and Bernie, the ASL interpreter for Connie, her BFF, first met at Connie's psychic tarot card reading shop. Nevermind that it was totally an accident meeting of psychic proportions when Stevie literally fell on Bernie's lap!! Needless to say, what happened next was magical, mystical, whimsical, metaphysical as Zak convincingly described that instant spark between them that ignited their souls within, like two halves finally reunited as one! What was incredible was that they'd never met before in their lives. But that connection....soul mates? An accident awaiting them?

“An invisible red thread connects those destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstances. The thread may stretch or tangle, but never break.”
– Ancient Chinese Proverb

Speaking of psychic tarot reading, I must say, I never knew what it was about other than the bog-standard info depicted on the telly or in the movies. Never really thought about it until I was actually reading it in this book! So, it was decidedly a welcome moment when Zak delved in detail about the tarot reading process. What an eye-opening learning experience for me! The myriad of representations for each symbol on the card (I idiotically assumed there was only 1 meaning to each card!), the energy flow between the psychic (in this case, Connie), the client (Stevie) and the tarot cards, Connie's interpretation of what the symbols meant.... I wonder if the energy frequency of Stevie's thought about her wish actually changed the corresponding card to one that synced with it so Connie could interpret the correct answers/possibles. I wonder if tarot card reading works that way. It's all about energy vibrations and flow, innit? And we're all made up of energy, so.... Needless to say, I felt I learned something fascinating in the metaphysical effect of psychic reading.

This story was essentially about letting go - trauma, grief, guilt, fear. For both Stevie and Bernie. Stevie's journey was predicated on her parents' tragic deaths that not only devastated her but instantly changed and altered her life and path forward. Every choice, every decision made as she grew up which included her personal and professional life, were pursued based on the mental and emotional effects of her trauma that haunted her all her life. Zak deftly weaved Stevie's state of mind and actions to portray her still-grieving status. Her survivor's guilt had catapulted her determination to reject falling in love wholeheartedly lest she'd face the same kind of painful loss and heartache like she experienced with the loss of her parents. So to compensate her personal life, her career took precedent which became her ultimate love. The kind of love she could live with and was safer than gambling away her heart to someone else for fear of rejection, or loss.

Whereas, Bernie was a more complex character, altogether. At least that was how I interpreted Zak's poignant portrayal of her ordeal as I explored her journey. I was captivated by the reasons behind Bernie's self-imposed single life, misery and dissatisfaction of her life, all because of her interpretation of her dad's last wish before passing. The emotional and psychological effects of her trauma of losing her dad and her destructive relationship with Connie were the two quintessential pillars that shaped how she handled her life, personally and professionally. I was struck by the depth of her fear about love, heartache, rejection mixed with guilt that seemed to have taken over any sort of logic or common sense where her state of mind about her life choices were concerned. And with the sudden appearance of Stevie and their "otherworldly" soul connection, nevermind the endless times that they ran into each other - it's like when something is meant to be, there's really no way to avoid it, is there? Zak effectively weaved their two paths, that shouldn't even meet anyway because of their polar opposite lives, to constantly collide with each other with some funny sets of circumstances that I utterly enjoyed especially with Zak's sense of humour that spilled into the pages, what with Stevie and Bernie's persistent meetings by accident!

As much as they didn't want to give in to their undeniable chemistry and their apparent soul connection, which neither wanted to accept, really, because of their own fears, their attachment to each other kept deepening, much to their own chagrin! Stevie with her ultimate career goal and self-declared one true love of being on SNL (yes, that famous variety show set in NYC), and Bernie with her self-imposed imprisonment caring for her deaf mum, her refusal to commit to her so-called girlfriend (who was really a booty call, tbh), hence, her perpetual singlehood, and Connie's Svengali hold on her personal and professional life. Their respective predicaments were acutely palpable as they struggled with what their heads were telling them vs. what their hearts actually desired. There was a lot of angst especially on Bernie's part because of her dilemma about her unflinching desires for Stevie vs the fact that she was "stuck" taking care of her mum without any possibility of having her own life independently vs her "loyalty" to Connie. Speaking of, Connie and her friendship with Bernie was highly irregular. I was surprised at just how deep-seated and subversively consequential it was as Zak slowly revealed the nature of their relationship with twisted Freudian effect. Transference. It was fascinating to explore the deconstruction of Bernie's psychological and emotional repression as her feelings for Stevie reached the tipping point. At times I was frustrated with the growing intensity of the angst level, the persistent push-pull between Bernie and Stevie (with the shadow of Connie in the background, no less!) but couldn't help being engrossed with the development and progress of their complicated journeys! Zak truly knew how to capture the reader's susceptibility to soap opera with her addictive tale-spinning! In the end, all the denials of everything that happened to Bernie's life came crashing down at the same time. It was then that she had an epiphany. What mattered most. This time, without any self-declared obstacles, fears, guilt because there was nothing else for her to use against her own life's happiness and ultimately accepting her destined love, anymore.

I loved how Zak spun the closure of Connie and Bernie's story. I must say, I didn't expect her approach to be how it was executed, which delighted me to no end because, tbh, I was dreading that it'd be something Hollywood-y! Bless Zak, she portrayed Connie's character to behave just like she should because....the psychology of human behaviour!

Zak's secondary characters, as usual, were very interesting and fun to explore! I loved Laurie, Stevie's best mate, and Harper, Stevie's niece! The natural chemistry between Harper and Bernie was so heartwarming and adorable to read about! Even Laurie's chemistry with Bernie, albeit brief, was genuinely depicted so I believed in their camaraderie. I loved all the ASL dialogues between Bernie and her mum, Phyllis. They were portrayed with realistic effect. I could "see" the sign languages in my mind's eye and Phyllis' lip reading through Zak's mindfully detailed, written expressions to convey the hand gestures into words in the conversations presented. Well done, Ms. Zak!

How Bernie and Stevie eventually had their long-awaited reunion was constructed with a multitude of "accidents" which ended up being happy, beautiful accidents. Zak cleverly weaved their winding roads, sometimes meeting at fated junctures, sometimes veering off away from each other, but always with a set of accidents that turned into destiny. The entire journey of Bernie and Stevie's toward what was meant to be, from disbelief to playing along non-committally, to begrudging embrace to ultimate acceptance, was culminated into the realisation that they were soulmates. All under the watchful eye of the gods of fate and destiny disguised as Beautiful Accidents.

All in all, I really enjoyed this love story of soulmates, which Zak created with such originality in its concept, nature and execution. It was well-paced despite the angst but it had to be drawn out, I reckon, because of how deep-seated Bernie's psychological turmoil was. I, as the reader, had the opportunity to explore the stages of her deconstruction to the moment she accepted the truth and reconciled with her inner self to totally immerse in the joy of being in love and finally having a truly fulfilled life, whilst Stevie found all her dreams come true including embracing true love.

It was a bloody good read and I defo recommend it to fans of lesbian romance who enjoy a very creative soap with some cutting humour and angst that ultimately wrapped in a very cool celebratory New Year's Eve happy ending, SNL style!

**I was given, with much thanks and appreciation, an ARC of this book, by BSB via NetGalley, in return for an honest review.

This book kept me engaged from beginning to end. I enjoyed the chemistry between Stevie and Bernadette. They felt like very realistic characters.

I did not enjoy the book i dont usually feel books with huge age gap. the women was around 50 the other one was 29. huge difference for me to connect with them. it's very well written

3.5 Stars. I read this entire book in a day, it was a little addictive. This book is about Stevie Adams, a rising star on the improv scene in Chicago. She goes to s psychic, Constance Russo, with her improv friends, even though she does not believe in fate or psychics. While looking for her friends, she literally falls into the Constance/Connie's interpreter, Bernadette Thompson. Connie is deaf so she needs Bernadette to sign for her when she is working. The second Bernadette and Stevie meet, they both want to know more about each other. Stevie has a free reading by Connie and she learns she might be finding love, the one thing she is not looking for. Fate seems to have another idea as Stevie and Bernadette keep running into each other and eventually start spending time together.

I really enjoyed this novel. I enjoyed the tension and drama between Stevie and Bernadette. Both characters seemed pretty well developed and they developed a lot throughout the novel, and they change as the novel goes on. The tension was my favorite part, as their relationship starts to evolve. The drama in the novel makes sense based on the context of what was happening in the novel. I enjoyed the story line of this book and Stevie pursuing her dreams and Bernadette caring for her mother who is elderly. I would highly recommend this novel. I enjoyed it a lot.