I really enjoyed reading Unlikely Match! The main character, Jules is in need of a liver transplant and is bravely facing her day-to-day life. Tom, the CEO of the start-up next door, is the antagonist of this enemies to lovers story. Noteably, the author shares that she is intimately connected with the subject matter of this book as she had the same disease as Jules and received a live liver transplant, so the details are spot on. This story was unique, the characters were well developed, and I was thinking about this book when I wasn't reading it - a true test of a good read for me!
I received an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Review posted via Goodreads as of 6/2/2022
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4760627829
Really enjoyed.
*Rough topics warning*
Jules Kelly owns a tech company. As her business grows, her health is declining due to a serious disease. She is in dire need of a transplant, and the man she despises might just be the answer. Tom Davenport is the CEO of a database company. He is forced to share office space with the irritating but beautiful Jules. When an investor both Jules and Tom depend on flip things upside down. Now Tom and Jules are having to compete against each other for an amount that could literally change lives. Which side will win? Love or Money?

This book was amazing! I could not get enough of the enemies to lovers trope. I will give a warning though. There are serious topics discussed. Some rough medical and emotions subjects are brought to life. Just a warning. I would absolutely recommend this book.

I was prepared for this book to wreck me. A transplant romance? Yeah, I was ready to cry. But I didn't expect it to be so heartwarming and funny at parts. So definitely read this if you love

- workplace rivals to lovers
- medical stuff/transplant process
- funny banter
- gay best friend who is the BEST
- start-up business culture
- grumpy + sunshine

This book was such a delight to read. I do wish there was a tad more romance, and the pacing felt slow for the last 30% of the book, but it didn't stop me from enjoying the story and even tearing up. Definitely add this book to your TBR!

Writing Aesthetic/Style: 5
Plot/Movement: 4
Character Development: 4
Overall: 4

Thank you, Laura Bradbury and NetGalley, for the ARC!

Trigger Warnings: chronic health illness, transplant, hospital scenes, foster system
Content Warnings: swearing, one open door and one fade-to-black scene

An enemies to friends to lovers in fast paced.

Jules
Is a strong and independent woman. She understands that she’s sick and needs urgently a transplant.
Her own pain is hard enough, but she doesn’t want to involve more people, even she doesn’t includes her “best friend” in many topics. She is isolated until Tom appears and she has the strong need to push him (too hard some times)

Tom
Firstly is shown as a stubborn and sexist man. But his insecure and kind in an awkward way. (The punchin and macho thing wasn’t for me)

Alan
The best friend, always supportive. But became really annoying.

The family!!! I hated them. Girl you need to love yourself more and LEAVE. Even the dialogue was too much.

I rounded this rating up to 5 stars after reading the author's note about her journey with PSC. The entire book felt so authentic in the way that Jules was dealing with her illness and I think that was because of how personal this illness is to Bradbury. At times this isn't a light and fluffy romance, it made me so sad to see the reality of what Jules was facing. I really loved to see how both Jules and Tom developed over the course of the book. For this book being single POV, I felt like I was able to get to know Tom really well.

Wow - this book took me on an emotional rollercoaster in all the best ways! I would not recommend this book if you are squeamish with medical trauma, but it really opened my eyes to some of the things transplant patients (waiting and recovering) have to deal with. I can honestly say I have never read another book like this. I love how the author used her own difficult experience to make a delightful rom-com that also deals with some heavy topics.

We start with Jules, a CEO of a social media tech startup, who has a rare disease and is waiting a liver transplant. The only thing she is looking for is finding a way to live - she definitely didn't expect to find love. She is sharing an office space with Tom, a grumpy CEO of a rival tech startup, and they are competing for the same angel investment. Jules is keeping her illness a secret from most of the office, and especially Tom. But as she starts to fall for Tom, how long can she keep this a secret?

The supporting characters made me both scream (in anger) and cry (in happiness). It makes my heart break that people actually do have horrible family members like she depicted. Everyone needs an Alan in their corner! Sometimes our chosen family is so much better than our biological ones.

Tropes: Enemies to Lovers, Office Romance, Grumpy-Sunshine

CW: medical trauma, parental abandonment, grief

Thank you to Laura Bradbury, NetGalley and Grape Books for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest feedback!

This book was incredibly sweet!! If you’re in the mood for a novel that’s still a cute rom-com but with slightly more depth to it, then this is a good read. You can tell that Jules’ experience with PSC is very personal to the author and the book does a great job of not romanticising her illness. You will probably get teary reading this novel. Tom was also a complex love interest with his childhood explaining his motivations throughout the novel.

I did enjoy reading this novel! However I have a couple nit-picky complaints that took me out of the enjoyable reading experience. First I found the writing, for lack of better words, cringy at moments. The “enemies to lovers” plot line for the couple just seemed so forced. Jules and Tom were only “enemies” due to miscommunication. Tom also was just an ass at the start that I still haven’t totally forgiven him for. I feel like it would have been so much sweeter if the book didn’t have the enemies element just for the sake of it.

Overall I still thought this novel was enjoyable and a sweet read. I’m definitely glad I picked it up.

eARC provided by NetGalley for an impartial review.

5/5 stars.
I absolutely fell in love with this story. As a person with chronic illness, I found this story extremely important. I loved the writing style, it was descriptive and lyrical and kept me engaged at all times. The characters were all also very real and relatable, they were flawed yet unique and had their own lives and personalities beyond their relationships. I appreciated the communication between Jules and Tom and how the author highlighted the importance of setting boundaries in a relationship.

My only complaints would be that for the length of this book, we only really explore Alan’s story as a side character. I would have loved to know more about Tessa, or look into Dr. Abebe’s and Annie’s personal lives more. I also wish that the “enemies” segment of Tom and Jules’ relationship lasted a bit longer so we could see more of their character arcs, and start to understand the deeper chemistry between them.
Overall, I really loved this book, especially after reading the author’s note. This book definitely showed the raw truths and emotion behind illness and how it impacts your life forever.

Thank you to Laura Bradbury and Netgalley for providing me with a digital arc.

I picked up this book and thought I would only read a couple pages as a break from doing work but I just kept reading and finished it in a couple of hours.

This was so different in comparison to all of the other rom coms I have read this year. It was such a touching story (that made me violently sob throughout the whole book) and I absolutely adored it.

Jules and Tom are EVERYTHING (granted I was a bit iffy at the start with his comments but 2 minutes later I let it go). Their relationship was beautifully written and it made me so happy. AND Tarun and Alan were perfect <3

Also the authors note sent me into a whole other spiral of tears 🥲

What an excellent, funny heartache of a book!

Loved their background history and their chemistry, the love and support for one another, the angst, the push and pull, the sexual tension between them, everything was so well executed by the author. The characters were not perfect, they had their own struggles and obstacles they had to overcome before they came to the realization that they are better together than apart. I’m so happy with how everything wrapped up at the end. It was such an enjoyable book.

I adore books that educate their readers on a certain subject without sounding like a textbook and this book hit that nail on the head in every way. I am so grateful that authors like Laura Bradbury are brave enought to write characters that struggle with the same things that they do. In this book, that struggle is a rare autoimmune disease that's only treatment is a liver transplant.

The enemies-to-lovers romance was top notch. Their chemistry was off the charts and both characters felt so raw and realistic. I appreciate that the plot of their romance wasn't too cliche. There were bumps in their path that made the story that much richer and beautiful.

If you're looking for a romance book that also includes a deeper message about survival - add this one to your list!

***Thank you to NetGalley and Laura Bradbury. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own.***

This book was unlike any book I’ve read before. We followed the story of Jules Kelly, CEO of a tech startup and in need of a liver transplant. Bradbury did such an amazing job pulling you through Jules’ journey, the ups and the downs. She contrasted her support system with those who preferred to pretend that she wasn’t dying, her fears and her reality, namely that she might not have a future. Yet this book was not a downer. In fact, it was uplifting to watch this badass woman pick herself up and fight each day, to find love in the middle of all the chaos and reinvent herself after losing her sense of self. Her love interest Tom was the perfect counterpoint to Jules, an anchor in the storm and endlessly layered with a delicious intensity, attention to detail, a buried kindness and unexpected depth. I have to give a shoutout to Alan, her bestie. He was like her emotional conduit and an endless source of love and support. I really can’t recommend this book enough!

This was my first Laura Bradbury novel, and may I say, I am royally impressed.

I really enjoyed this novel, I feel like this is a good step away from all things rom-com we see too often on our feeds. This novel explores heavier topics under romantic themes that deal with chronic illness.

One thing I look for the most is how real the characters are written, and Laura did a really good job with Jules and Tom. I felt like if they were real people outside of these pages, I would 100% be friends with them. They were flawed and imperfect but learned how to be better through one another.

This one really impacted me, in ways I didn't think it would. When we see cute cartoon covers, I think we immediately jump to the conclusion "oh it's a rom-com!" And sure, this book made me laugh out loud a few times, it was still heavy.

The topics about health and insecurities were hard for me to read because they were so real and authentic and it wasn't what I wanted to hear. I think this was beautifully done and I will now be going to Amazon to add more of Laura's books to my wishlist.

Thank you to the author + publisher + NetGalley for allowing me to read this as an ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinions.

4 pierogi loving stars.

Unlikely Match is a transplant romance that follows Jules, who has been dealing with PSC for 5 years. Her health is rapidly declining and she is in need of a liver transplant of which the chance of getting one seem to be slipping further and further away from her. When her company is forced to share their office space with a tech company, Jules meets Tom. Saying that they don’t really like each other is an understatement…trust me. However, as time goes on, it’s clear that they might not be as repulsed by each other as they thought…

I thought this book was super cute. I did almost get a little emotional at times when Jules was talking about what life was like for her, and she’s honestly such a strong character. Jules and Tom are just ugh so cute and I genuinely enjoyed reading about them together. I also found the side characters likeable which is always a bonus.

All in all, I would definitely recommend this book if you are looking for a cute romcom with a little bit of emotional bumps.

More info:
POV? Single (Jules), First person
Cheating? No
Spice? Little bit of descriptive spice
OW/OM drama? No
HEA? Yes

List of possible triggers:
- Sickness
- Transplant
- Hospitals


ARC provided by NetGalley and Laura Bradbury in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I really liked the premise of this book. I love the connection to the medical world and the connections of organ donors. But at the same time, I felt the "conflicts" in this book weren't really that believable. Everything moved so fast and it just didn't feel at all realistic.

It's beautiful and my heart feels warm all over.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the author for providing me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am truly lost for words as this novel made me tear up. It was so good and hit close to home that I literally had to brace myself and at the same time also wished for the same deep relationship. I was not really expecting it to be so good. Highly recommended!

I simply adored Unlikely Match. From the very first chapter I couldn't put the book down. I loved how Jules and Tom met each other and the whole way their relationship came to be. Laura Bradbury did an amazing job conveying everything that Jules was going through and how hard it must be for people with illnesses. I will definitely be reading more from Laura Bradbury in the future.

I could not put this book down! I loved this book so much!! I recommend you read it!

This is an enemies to lovers and office romance all in one. This book has fantastic characters that you will fall in love with. This story is full of romance but is an emotional and beautiful story. I truly loved this book from the beginning to the end!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Laura Bradbury and Grape Books for the ARC

I absolutely love the idea of this book. As a person who has had kidney transplant, I love the representation. Granted, it didn't immediately grab me. But just because I was so invested in the representation it was about, I kept with it.

Please keep up with the writing Laura! I'm always keen to support a fellow organ transplant recipient.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Laura Bradbury and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Cute story, fun characters, well crafted overall.