Meant to Be is the first book in Jennifer Probst's Twist of Fate series. The series focuses on three friends, Malia, Tessa and Chiara, who own an online magazine, Quench, targeted for women.

Chiara Kennedy is the editor in chief of Quench and five years previous, she spent one night with high school counselor Sebastian Ryder. Chiara never thought anything could come of the time they spent together, so imagine her surprise when her friend Rory showed up introducing her new boyfriend, who happened to be Sebastian. Sadly, Rory was lost to an accident and Sebastian and Chiara lost touch.

Five years after the accident that took Rory's life, Chiara and Sebastian run into one another and they reconnect. While there is definitely a pull between the two of them, their respective relationships with Rory have them questioning what is happening between them and if it is a betrayal for them to be feeling what they are. Will they be able to make something work between them this time or is there too much history for them to have a healthy relationship?

Meant to Be is a story of loneliness, grieving, betrayal, guilt acceptance and second chances. It's difficult not to feel all sorts of emotions while reading this book given how complex the relationships and feelings are.

**I voluntarily read an early copy of this title courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review**

3.5 stars - The MC's kept going back and forth, but never talking about their issues, creating circles that drove me crazy and dragged the story too long.

I enjoyed the storyline and the side characters. My heart broke several times, but it was worth the journey.

I'm really looking forward to seeing how the series continues, as I'm emotionally invested in a few other characters already, and can't wait for their HEA's!

I had major major issues with the lack of consent in this book. I was so sucked into the stories and the characters until he ends up roofied (from her drink which he drinks to help her) and she is so tired that she doesn't wake up and they engage in some drug/sleep induced "dream sex". Which to make it even worse, ends up in an accidental pregnancy.

I finished the book to see if this would get any better but I just could not get over the complete lack of consent which not only bothered me but seems wholly unrealistic that she would be so tired she wouldn't wake up throughout the entire sexual act.

I typically really enjoy Jennifer Probst books but this one just wasn't for me.

Yay, a new series by a fantastic author!

Chiara and Sebastian met 5 years ago, felt a connection but didn’t pursue it. A while later, one of Chiara’s best friends Rory introduced her to her new boyfriend, yup it was Sebastian! Trying to be supportive of Rory, Chiara says nothing.

Fast forward years later. Rory has been taken from them in a freak accident. Sebastian has stayed away. Chiara and her friends Malia and Tessa worked hard to create Rory’s vision of a successful media firm. A chance meeting brings Chiara and Sebastian together again and changes everything.

I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait for the rest of the series. There’s strong female friendship and support, troubled pasts and baggage that needs to be overcome, and yes, some heat.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, but my opinions are my own.

Beautiful romance story with great characters and interesting relationships overall. I haven’t read many books by the author but this one settles it for me to look her up more in the future.
A must read romance for all book lovers.

Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy

Sebastian and Chiara make a permanent mark on the soul. Probst shakes up the heart by turning what if into a maybe. Meant to Be is an emotional twist on the unpredictability of life and the healing power of love. From heartbreaking to heartwarming, Probst turns emotion into a captivating experience.

Chiara and Sebastian meet at a bar one night and hit it off, talking the whole night and seeing the Sunrise together. But they both want different things. Sebastian is ready to settle down and start a family and Chiara longs to travel. It would never work. They part ways expecting never to see each other again. But shortly after, Chiara's best friend Rory is introducing Sebastian as her new boyfriend. Chiara doesn't want to hurt her, so she pretends they never met. But Rory dies in a tragic accident three years after they're married. Now two years later, Chiara is trying to dodge a creepy guy at the bar when Sebastian comes to her rescue. After an accidental one night stand leaves her feeling guilty, she's determined never to see Sebastian again, but unforeseen circumstances keep bringing them back together. Maybe they really are meant to be.
This was a really sweet second chance romance, although a bit predictable. I loved how sweet Sebastian was both as a high school counselor and a volunteer at the youth center. There's a lot of guilt on both sides that keeps each of them from feeling like they deserve a happily ever after.
I received an advance reader copy of this book. The views and opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and given voluntarily.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this new novel.

A sweet, run-of-the-mill romance about second chances that was entertainment at the moment but didn't leave a very lasting impression.

I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about this one based on the synopsis. See, Chaira looses her best friend, Rory. But then she and Rory’s husband have a thing. Now listen up, if something happens to me, Nick Brown can remarry- and honestly I hope he does but if it’s to one my best friends I will haunt them for the rest of their days!

But golly, I was won over! I ended up rooting for Chaira and Sebastian! And Rory’s father, gosh, he was just adorable! Loved him.

I absolutely loved Meant to Be by Jennifer Probst, it is an incredible love story, and is the first book in her Twist of Fate series. Meant to Be is the first book that I have read by Jennifer Probst, and I really enjoyed. I am looking to reading other books that she has written. Meant to Be is a wonderfully written story. Jennifer Probst has shown that she is an amazing storyteller. I could not put it down and loved every moment on every page. I really enjoy how the book is told from the perspective of the main characters. I love getting the insight and feelings from the different characters. Meant to Be is wonderful love story and is filled with heartbreaking and heartwarming moments. I love the lighter moments where I find myself smiling and laughing out loud and the bittersweet moments that pull at my heartstrings causing me to sigh, as I read the heartbreaking moments. Meant to Be is filled with such moments, and so much more. It is filled with all those things that we have come to love and expect in a Jennifer Probst love story, especially the poignant and bittersweet moments that filled this page turner. My favorite part is how Jennifer Probst incorporates the title of the book into the love story, especially the last time that it is used. Meant to Be is the story of Chiara Kennedy, CEO, and editor in chief of Quench, a website catering to women’s self-care and Sebastian Ryder, high school guidance counselor and volunteer at the Dream on Youth Center. Sebastian was married to their late partner, Rory. Sebastian and Chiara met one night at a bar, prior to his dating Rory, but Chiara knew that they were not meant to be because Ryder wanted things that Chiara did not. Years later Chiara was at a bar doing research for a story. Ryder shows up and ends up guzzling a tainted drink that was intended for Chiara. Chiara is worried about Ryder and lets him sleep on her couch. In his disoriented state, Ryder ends up in bed with Chiara. This leads to an unplanned pregnancy for Chiara and Ryder. As Chiara and Ryder spend time together planning how to co-parent their unborn baby things between them change. As they spend more time together, they share secrets that they have not shared with anyone before and realize they may have something more. Ryder knows how Chiara feels about love, family and a happily ever after, which is the opposite of his hopes. I love that both Ryder and Chiara were both so vulnerable with each other. I love the chemistry between Chiara and Ryder. I love when Ryder tells Chiara how much he loves when she calls him Sebastian. I love that Chiara changes because of Ryder’s love for her and their unborn child. I loved that Meant to Be is a more than just a romance, there are dilemmas that both Chiara and Ryder are facing that need to be resolved, Ryder’s issues with Rory’s death and Chiara’s guilt over living Rory’s life. I love the characters and the family dynamic in Meant to Be, the characters feel like family and friends. I enjoy all the interactions among the Chiara, Malia, and Tessa, it feels like real family love and makes me laugh at their teasing. I love all the descriptions of the setting that Jennifer Probst details, it makes me want to visit. My favorite part of the book is the epilogue, I absolutely love how it goes above and beyond the happily ever after, I love the location of Ryder’s proposal. Meant to Be is filled with the poignant and bittersweet moments in the story as well as the plot twists, that I love in my favorite love stories. I love the cast of characters in Meant to Be and loved catching up with Chiara and Ryder. Who does not love family and friends that always have each other’s backs? I thoroughly enjoyed Meant to Be, who does not love a beautifully written love story? Cannot wait to read the other books in the series. Highly recommend Meant to Be.

Wow, what a story right here that will take you on an emotional ride! You can feel their emotions as you read along! 5 stars for this one!
Sebastian and Chiara met by chance one night, the connection they felt was undeniable, but she wasn't ready for that kind of relationship, she still had things she wanted to do with her life. Then years later her best friend Rory shows up with him as her new boyfriend, so she did what any best friend would do, she pretended not to know who he was.
Sebastian avoided Chiara as much as he could, but now, things have changed and he wants that chance with her again, but will she allow herself to finally be with the one that she walked away from?
This story pulled me in right away and I didn't want to put it down! I love Jennifer's writing, and I can't wait for more in this series! Don't miss out, grab this one asap!

4.25 🍭🍭🍭🍭

I really enjoy drama with soulmates bounded with other people, but then, reconnecting.
I have read a couple of those and I thought this story was gonna be similar… I was wrong.

What Sebastian and Chiara have is an extraordinary connection in a very peculiar way, that they must fight later because they made choices.

I really like her friends and Rory’s daddy is the best.

This is a powerful story with a great deal of angst and a very nice HEA.

Thank you to Montlake and Netgalley for an advanced reading copy of this books. Review contains my own thoughts and opinions.

Author Jennifer Probst has done the near impossible: taken my least favorite romance trope, and yet she made me fall absolutely in love with this book. How dare this book make me fall in love with the characters and story anyway!?! 😂❤️

Sebastian Ryder and Chiara Kennedy meet one night and have an amazing emotional connection, but go their separate ways. They meet again a few years later - when Sebastian is introduced as Chiara’s best friend, Rory’s, boyfriend.

Rory and Sebastian get married, but that’s not the end of the story. In chapter one, you learn that Rory tragically passed away in an accident. The book follows everything that happens after the funeral.

Meant to Be has excellent character development, and a unique twist on the “I met him first, and then he married my friend” story.

I can’t say much more without giving huge spoilers, but let me say that there was so much depth and heart to these two characters and everyone else in their found family circle.

There are some parts that I had to suspend my belief about, especially in the first 25-30%, but I’m very glad I stuck with it. Solid 4.5/5 star read!

**3.75 Stars**

Meant to Be is a second chance romance involving Chiara and Sebastian who meet by chance one night and spend a great deal of time talking and just had a connection from the start, but circumstances at the time caused them to go their separate ways. They were brought back into each others lives when Sebastian started dating, and then subsequently married Chiara's best friend. Sebastian is now a widower and he and Chiara find themselves in a whole new relationship dynamic.

This is a difficult review to write. On the whole this book was interesting and I read it fairly quickly in one sitting. There were parts that I really enjoyed including the wonderful friendships, the relationship between the women and Mike, Sebastian's desire to help teens, and the women's strong leadership and business goals. I also liked the concept of fate and things turning out the way they should.

Having said that, I struggled with some other parts of the story. While I appreciated the strong female leads with regard to their business, I feel like there was too much attention to it in the book at times. I also felt like some parts of the book were just too drawn out and I found myself skimming pages at times. I also struggled with the dream scenario in the book in that it didn't seem realistic at all, and while I don't really need the books I read to be completely realistic at all times, this seemed a little too out there.

This was my third or fourth book by this author and while I have really enjoyed the books I have read by her, this wasn't my favorite, however, it was entertaining and because I read for enjoyment and to escape reality and to be entertained, this book did accomplish that.

I am voluntarily reviewing an advanced copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

The idea for this series is so appealing, and I have great appreciation for this talented wordsmith's work. I've loved everything of hers I’ve read so far, so I was eager to dive into what I anticipated to be an emotional, poignant second chance romance.

Chiara and Ryder met years ago and spent an entire night talking, sharing their dreams, and connecting on a deeply emotional level. But because she wanted different things, Chiara left without a backward glance. She put her efforts, along with her three best friends, into building a company that champions women.

Chiara’s life was great until her best friend, Rory, eventually married Ryder and then died in an auto accident three years later. Now Chiara and Ryder's lives are inextricably entwined, and Chiara feels like a fraud, living the live her best friend should have had.

This story has some really terrific elements, like the female friendships, Ryder's work with disadvantaged teens, and Chiara's relationship with Rory's father, who takes the place of her own worthless parents. Unfortunately, those elements are dimmed by long, unnecessary pages of self-introspection and extraneous filler. While I expected heartbreaking, deep emotion, it came across more like manufactured angst than authentic sentiment. What should have been a riveting story that held my heart fiercely in its grip became something I forced myself to finish.

I generally love Probst's work and her characters and storylines stand head and shoulders above the rest. Three years and hundreds of books later, “All Roads Lead to You" still has a special place in my heart where its characters will live forever. If you’re familiar with Probst's work, you'll probably enjoy this story, but if not, you may want to start with another title from this gifted storyteller.

This is my first introduction to author Jennifer Probst. But I can guarantee it won't be my last. As Ms Probst delivers a story that not only captivates but runs the gamut from heartbreaking to heartwarming and with characters that grow and situations that resonate there was a lot to enjoy in what is a well written romance. That I would happily recommend to others.

I love the writing of Jennifer Probst and am super excited about this new series. This story has a lot going on, but the basis is that two people meet, enjoy getting to know each other and really mesh. They want totally different things, so they go their separate ways without so much as a kiss. Zoom forward and the woman's best friend, Rory, introduces the same man as her boyfriend. Sebastian and Chiara act as if they are meeting for the first time and Rory and Sebastian end up getting married.

The whole set up was very interesting and the secondary characters really played into the story well. I loved Sebastian, even if he is a little messed up with guilt. Chiara is a super strong female character--CEO of the company that she and her three friends started together.

So what would you do if you were in the same scenario and then your best friend then died? Would you act on the old attraction or would you stay away?

I loved the story and can't wait to read the next in the series.

Thanks to Montlake and Valentine PR for the gifted copy through NetGalley. All thoughts are my own.

This book had a whole heap of tropes and while I enjoyed most of them, it also felt like there were too many? I’ve always had a hit or miss relationship with Jennifer Probst books, but I loved the sound of this one so much I had to pick it up. The premise, the characters, the location and basically the underlying message of helping other people achieve their potential was a big draw for me. All said and done, while this book might not have worked for me, I think it might be just what someone else wanted.

Aside from the weird and awkward sex dream situation pretty early on in the book, there were quite a few things I did like. However, there were also some things that didn’t work for me as well.

What I did like: I’m a huge fan of books with great friendships and with Chiara, Malia and Tessa we have an incredible group of women who’ve been together for years and lean on each other through quite literally everything. Not only is their friendship special, the company they started is so powerful and I loved the idea behind Quench and how everything is run. I also loved Dex, because books with furry friends are also a way to win me over. The second chance romance was a huge draw for me and while it didn’t always feel that way through the book, I enjoyed the first time Chiara and Ryder meet and all that comes from that.

What didn’t work for me: I felt like I didn’t get proper insight into Chiara and Ryder/Sebastian’s pasts till halfway through the book, so their choices till that point felt strange. I liked the forbidden element of Chiara falling for her late best friend’s husband, but the constant reminder of Sebastian beng Rory’s got on my nerves a little. I also didn’t really feel much chemistry between the two, I felt like they were more affectionate friends than anything else and that was a little disappointing for me. There were a few other things that I didn’t enjoy, but I don’t want to talk about them because spoilers!

While this book didn’t do it for me entirely, I am curious to see what happens in the next one. So It Goes also has a gorgeous cover and from the little teaser and the blurb that’s up already it has me very interested to see what’s coming. Plus, I like what we saw of Malia so far and I am ready for more!

I was initially torn about this book. There is a very pivotal part early on that I didn't feel was realistic and it bogged me down for a bit. I finally just pushed that part aside and moved on to the remainder of the book which I thought was done well and kept me engaged.

Chiara and Sebastian met before he met and married her best friend, Rory. Yet after Rory's death, they avoid one another. Then because of strange events (or fate), they are thrown back into one another's lives. What they find is that they still have feelings which they both feel guilty for having..

Without giving too much of the storyline away, I will say that I liked these two characters and couldn't help cheering for them and hoping they'd get out of their own way. They both had issues, collectively and individually that kept endangering a potential long term relationship. All you want is to see them both get an HEA after everything that's happened.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

3.9 Stars

Chiara + Sebastian

Five years ago they spent an amazing evening together talking about life and hopes and dreams and ... they just clicked. But they they wanted different things. Sebastian was ready for the white picket fence and Chiara wanted to be free to enjoy her life.
A little while later she meets her best friend Rory's soon-to-be-husband. Sebastian.
The next three years they try to pretend they don't know each other. And then Rory dies and Chiara and the other two girls in their bestie group have to run their company without Rory.
Another two years go by without Chiara and Sebastian seeing much of each other. But then one slightly drunken/roofied night leads to a one-night stand neither of them wanted - but which they also kind of did want but would never admit to....
But there can never be anything real between them, right? Not with Rory between them and with their friends and Rory's dad and the whole town knowing their business ...

WHAT WILL HAPPEN WITH CHIARA + SEBASTIAN?
WILL THERE BE A HEA??
READ THE BOOK TO FIND OUT ☺

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Welll... I'm not so sure what to say.
This didn't grab me the way Jennifer's books usually do.
I don't know what it was. Maybe the dead wife thing - there have been too many books with that trope this year already... Or maybe I just didn't connect with any of the people. I almost stopped reading in the prologue already. But I kept going and it did get better - but I was still not sure I wanted to read this. Mostly because of the dead wife. But I also sometimes had the feeling that this book was written in 1991 and Jennifer just now decided to release it. No idea why, but it felt so old at times. And the jobs of both our darlings - it was too much for me. Too much talk about it, too much bla bla that just wasn't part of their romance.
And the whole accidental one-night stand thingy? A tiny bit too ridiculous.

BUT... in the end - I kinda liked reading it. It was romantic and sparky and heartbreaking and fun. It just wasn't my favorite Jen Probst book. But I will still read the 2nd book! And I really hope Ford will be book 3?!

► MEANT TO BE was a great start to this new romance series. Sparky, fun, sexy, heartbreaking ... I loved the dog the most!