FAV BOOK THIS YEAR!

Unlikely Match: A Transplant Romance
by Laura Bradbury
Laura Bradbury, Grape Books
Pub Date: May 26

UNLIKELY MATCH is a romance novel with heart and depth and the kind of authenticity that can only come from personal experience. Indeed, author/publisher Laura Bradbury has lived with chronic illness leading to a liver transplant. So when she writes about MC Jules Kelly, who is awaiting the same surgery, character development and narrative ring poignantly true.

Jules still manages to serve as CEO of a startup company that shares space with another startup run by Tom Davenport. They bump heads from the first day after Tom makes uncivil remarks that Jules overhears. She keeps her illness secret from everyone except a trusted few; Tom has secrets of his own. I marveled as they grew close, evolving from enemies to friends to tender lovers, endearing in their frailties and bravery.

And when Jules faces death if she doesn't get a transplant ASAP, the story grabs the heart and doesn't let go. I loved it so much that if family duties had permitted, I would have read it straight through again.

If you adore romantic fiction with characters so real you grow to care deeply about them, then you're a perfect match for UNLIKELY MATCH. Sequel, please!!!

Thanks to Laura Bradbury, Grape Books, and NetGalley for the ARC. Opinions are mine.

#UnlikelyMatch #LauraBradbury #GrapeBooks #NetGalley #chronicillnessfiction #livertransplantfiction #enemiestoloversromance #medicalfiction #bookstagramcommunity

Definitely more emotional than anything I've read from this author. It's was a very interesting book, nothing like I've read before.

Last night I finished this amazing book just in time to write a reviw for his book birthday.

Firts thing we have Jules, she's the CEO of her own company,she's outspoken,fierce and carign to the people she loves,on the outside she looks like the perfect girl with a boho style that loves hosting champagne parties to her employes just because she wants to. But thats just what people see on the surface, they don't know that behind closed doors she's battling a lifelong Illness and waiting fo a miracle to happen.
Then we have Tom a career focused guy with his own company that always wears the same clothes to work,he might look like a grumpy guy to the world, it migh seam that all his life is either black or white but he's hidding and carrying things from his past that make him the way he is.
Both characters are forced to share an office space, their 1st encounter was horrible which makes Jules believe he's like every other tech guy in the world anh him judging her as a "party girl".
It gave me life the way both werein denial of their chemestry, they banter and joke with eachother to the way they can't stop looking for the other when they're in the office and I believe the rest is history.
They can't be more opossite if they try, but I belive that's what make them so perfect to eachother.I love the grow of both personalities individually and togheter.
Another thing that conected with and love was that during Jules process she had amazing doctors that helped her, not just in the medical part but in listening to her feelings and all that. As a doctror I believe that a smile or an ear to really listen to your patients it's a huge part of their treatment.
I'm gonna finish saying that this book amazed me to the core, because the author wroted this story from her personal experience and thats was why the book is so well written, it really shows you the struggle of patients waiting for a transplant and perspective of things that happend during this book and i couldn't love it more.

Thanks to the author and Net Galley for this amazing ARC in exchange of a honest review. I seriously can't wait for people to read this story.

Jules Kelly is living with PSC, a disease that can only be improved by receiving a liver transplant. While waiting for this miracle to be presented, she's fully focused on taking her company to the next level. What she didn't account for, is that she now has to share her workspace with another company, whose leader is Tom Davenport, a man that makes the first impression of being a misogynistic asshat. Through the trial and tribulations of tackling both work, illness and the possibility of love, Jules learns that from a messy declining life, perfect moments can be collected

a truly beautiful and authentic story that provoked the deepest emotions from within. a story about illness and love, written in the most spectacular and attention gripping way

the enemies portions of this romance doesn't hold back between Jules and Tom, and even though Tom doesn't make the best first impression, he does redeem himself in turning out to be quite the cinnamon bun hero

Unlikely Match was a difficult but inspiring story that had me tearing up multiple times. it sometimes got morbid which didn't bother me at all because it presented raw emotions, and showed how Jules is this calm and collected woman when her body is fastly deteriorating.
i loved how it also progressed with a non-linear relationship because both were still battling inner demons, but it also showed how complete opposites can work out in harmony

both the romance and medical aspects had my full attention. probably the first time that a medical journey had me so invested, and i'm happy to have gained the knowledge surrounding PSC (primary sclerosing cholangitis) that this story has told

trigger warnings for: medical trauma, PTSD, hospital scenes (on page), parental abandonment, foster care system (off page...mostly)

*𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘤 𝘪𝘯-𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸*

I absolutely LOVED this book. Who doesn't love an enemies to lovers trope?! I know I do.. but with this element, this book is SO much more.
Knowing the author is a live transplant recipient herself and realizing that the author is sharing and writing from experience, made this book just that much powerful.
The characters are real with personal and relatable stories, storyline is both original but genuine. It all just comes together and works perfectly.

This is my first encounter with Laura Bradbury, but certainly not my last.

I did not want to put this book down! Unlikely Match is such a lovely book, I can’t rave enough about it!

I always love a great romcom and this one had so much depth to it as well. The transplant storyline was written with so much respect & I just loved the main characters.

This is a must read!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It's rare that I find a book that I absolutely love with my entire being, but Unlikely Match is one of those rare books!

I devoured it in one sitting, falling in love with the characters alongside them as they fell in love with one another.

For a book with such a serious undertones, Laura Bradbury was able to craft a lighthearted book filled with friendship, love, and creating your own family. Her first hand experience brought so much to the story that would never have been possible without her knowledge.

I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who likes an emotional romance with a bit of spice mixed in!

I was really excited to get approved for this book, as I'm always looking for romances with chronic illness/disability representation. I have an autoimmune disease, though nothing as serious and nearly terminal as what the main character has in this novel, but her experiences as a chronically ill person still really resonated with me. I know that the author is writing from her experience, which contributes to how authentic and thoughtful this portrayal is. Jules is a CEO of a start up and she's (mostly secretly) suffering from a serious autoimmune disease called PSC, which has send her into liver failure though she's only in her mid-twenties. She and her business partner are chosen for a year of subsidized workspace in a cool tech co-working space, but they have to share it with SiloBase, whose CEO Tom is intense and, upon their first meeting is a complete asshat (Jules' words, but also mine). There is definitely a romance here, but it's complicated, and that felt appropriate for the situation. So often in contemporary romances, the conflict that keeps the characters apart is something that could be solved by a simple conversation. Not so in this case - the stakes are much higher. Content warning for severe illness, organ transplant surgery, child neglect in the foster system (off page), and a truly awful family. Like, just the worst!

Wowowow! This book has me crying at 2am!
In this book we follow Jules, a CEO of her own startup company, as she struggles an incurable and very rare disease called Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC). She meets Tom in the office space her startup is about to share with Tom’s startup. She overhears him talk very badly about her startup and that is when they become enemies. Tom is very serious and work driven while Jules is completely opposite. After a few accidental run-ins they start to develop a friendship but Jules chooses not to tell Tom about her PSC.

Now this book had me crying so much! Seeing how much Jules wanted to live but the only way that could happen was through a liver transplant. To see her body shutting down on her was heartbreaking! I laughed and cried and thought about my own life. This book had minimal but good spice!!! The love between these two characters was everything!

I need everyone to go read this book!!!

When I tell you I devoured this e-arc…I literally read it in a matter of hours! I got approved for this one quite a long time after I’d requested it so it was a very pleasant surprise to see it on my NetGalley shelf!

And the book itself was even more of a pleasant surprise. What I thought was going to be a typical romcom was anything but! Moving, emotional and covering the toughest parts of life that don’t often crop up in fiction, yet along romantic fiction.

The story of Jules and Tom or Thunder was so incredibly heartwarming. And the way their relationship changed and grew as Jules’ health ebbed and flowed was at times incredibly moving and at other times full of joy! I felt such resentment towards Jules’ family who were so awful towards her. But I completely adored Alan who was such a wonderful friend to Jules!

Aside from being a bookstagrammer, I am a medical student, and there is nothing more important than empathy and being able to put yourself in your patients’ shoes. It’s not an easy thing to do sometimes, especially when patients are going through something you have no experience of yourself. But the way Laura wrote about PSC, and used her own experience of the condition and transplant surgery within the book was incredible and gave real insight into what it is like living with an incurable disease and the journey of having transplant surgery.

Thank you Laura for sharing your own story and that of so many others through Jules and Tom’s journey! I’d really recommend this book, it’s different to other rom coms in such a lovely way and I’m so grateful to have revived an e-ARC of this one 💛

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

I really enjoyed reading Unlikely Match! I was a little worried at first, because I really hated Tom after that first interaction, but fell in love with him by the end of it. The shift from enemies to lovers was gradual and not in your face, which is not an easy feat to accomplish! This book covered such serious topics, but did so in a way that didnt sugarcoat things, but also was not too graphic or brutal, which I very much appreciated.

Thank you to NetGalley and Laura Bradbury for the e-ARC.

Thank you @LauraBradbury and @NetGalley for the ARC of Unlikely Match.

I absolutely devoured this book. It was on point as a rom-com and had wonderfully written subplots. The attention to detail of the character writing was flawless and the true acts of love and kindness were down right feel good moments!

If you enjoy rom-coms with depth and bumps along the way (and some spice) this book is for you!

Check the Trigger Warnings before reading this!

Characters: 3.5/5
Setting: 3/5
Writing: 4/5
Steam: 🔥/5
Plot: 4/5
Overall: 3.5/5

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Favorite non-spoilery quote: “People judge fast, don’t they? Once they decide you are one thing, it’s almost impossible to change their minds, yet nobody can be defined by just one thing. Not ever.”
Unlikely Match is a self-described “transplant romance” that follows Jules and Tom, CEOs of their respective companies and enemies ever since said companies won office space in the same building. Jules is quite ill, however, and as her health condition worsens, her need for a liver transplant grows higher. Based on the title of this novel, I’m sure you can guess what happens next.
I’ll be honest - the first 5 or so chapters had me wanting to DNF this book. In the beginning, Tom is not just your typical endearing asshole MMC; he is a straight-up misogynist. Jules definitely tells him off, though. The first part of the book felt very slow, but it did improve enough for me to continue and enjoy the latter half of it.
I loved the relationship between Jules and Alan. It was written very well and their moments together were absolutely hilarious. As for Tom, once he got over his misogyny, he was actually an awesome love interest. He was cute, shy, and all-around lovable. His and Jules’s relationship progressed in a way that felt very natural and real.
Jules is a total badass. She literally created her own company, which is a challenge in itself, but this book proves that challenge was really nothing compared to other aspects of her life. As this was a romance novel, I knew she would get some semblance of a happy ending. The end of this book is so sweet, heartwarming, and poignant.
This book comes out on May 26th if you are interested! The issues I had with this book were mostly due to personal preference, so if you do want to read this book I highly suggest you do.

Wow. I adored this book. I completely devoured this in about five hours. Once I started, I couldn’t stop reading it! This is such a powerful story about Jules, our main character, who is fighting a rare, often terminal, illness and her only hope is a liver transplant. Despite her disease, she’s still the CEO of her own tech company and honestly such an inspirational person. Just when she’s losing hope, she meets Tom, a rival CEO who is sharing an office space with her company. He might be just what the doctor ordered because he brings out a spark in her that she didn’t know was still there. They’re complete opposites but is he exactly what she needs?

At first Tom seems like your stereotypical douche bag tech guy but as the story progresses we really understand his character and his development throughout the book is really good. Once we peel back those layers, I really did love him. How could you not after that second date 🥺 Jules…what a powerful, inspirational, amazing, warrior of a female lead. Her story will definitely bring some tears to your eyes, so grab the tissues. This is such a great story of perseverance, friendship and love even in the darkest of times and I think that everyone should read this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Laura Bradbury for this eARC! It deserves all the stars!

This is a romance that will make you swoon and cry (multiple times!). Jules is terminally ill with PSC, a rare disease that means lots of trips to the hospital and a slim chance of making it to the top of the organ transplant list. I was so enamoured with her determined, strong, and lively character - a great CEO of a tech company. She was warm and talented, and full of zest for life, somewhat swallowed up by her condition. This book had the right balance between the romance, Jules’ everyday life, and insight into PSC and transplants. I struggled to put this down, as absorbed as I was in Jules’ fight and her blossoming relationship with Tom - a man with a lot of baggage of his own and a very big heart.

As someone with long-term health conditions, I could sympathise with Jules’ secrecy surrounding her condition and unwillingness to discuss it with others. Whilst she has a great support system in Alan and to a lesser extent, Mac and Annie, she battles on, relishing her freedom and independence whilst shouldering the bleakest aspects of her condition in silence. She carries on when she should rest, she dreads the looks of pity and being treated differently. That really resonates with me. Her relationship with her family was heartbreaking and frustrating and showed that blood isn’t always thicker than water!

Whilst the subject was pretty heavy, the romance was wonderfully light and hopeful and it’s impossible not to fall for Tom with his shy and awkward behaviour (when he’s not fighting with Jules, that is!). The way their relationship was approached in terms of Jules’ uncertainty about her future and then later, after the transplant as she tried to come to terms with what she had been through, was really wonderful and it’s a pleasure to read an Own Voices romance with chronic illness. Laura Bradbury has a new fan right here!

This is beautiful and personal and everything you want from a rom-com. beware a few CW for hospitals and medical trauma but knowing that this author wrote on something she has personal experience with ensures it is handled with the utmost care. I will be rereading this as soon I get my hands on my copy post publishing.

🩺BOOK REVIEW🩺

Unlikely Match: A Transplant Romance by Laura Bradbury
Release Date: May 26, 2022

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

🩺🩺🩺🩺🩺🩺🩺🩺🩺🩺🩺

Meet Jules Kelly, a super bohemian girl boss CEO of a startup tech company that just won a subsidized space to work side by side with another up and coming tech company. A company polar opposite of hers, run by the cold yet superiorly handsome Tom Davenport. From the minute they meet, it is on. There is a spark of annoyance that takes over. However, no one knows Jules’ secret. She has a rare, terminal illness, and if she doesn’t get a transplant soon, her days are even more numbered than she thought. But there is something about fighting with Tom that makes Jules’ fighting spirit live again. Will this man she hates ultimately become the man that she needs?

⚕️⚕️⚕️⚕️⚕️⚕️⚕️⚕️⚕️⚕️⚕️

Man, oh, man guys. Get ready for this one. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS BOOK. I cannot scream it any louder. The way Laura Bradbury describes the life that a person with a terminal illness has to tip toe around life sometimes; grappling with the grim possibilities but also with the extreme desire to live is more than accurate. The relationship between Tom and Jules is so raw and real. A true enemies to lovers. This book is sweet, and tragic, and hopeful, and all around just wonderful. Please, friends, do yourself the favor and read this one. It is just amazing.

🩺🩺🩺🩺🩺🩺🩺🩺🩺🩺🩺

✨Thank you to @netgalley for the opportunity to read this before it is published!✨

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#romance #contemporaryromance

“You know what they say, life doesn’t have to be perfect to be wonderful.”

I don’t know if words can do justice to this multi-layered, all encompassing, page turning story. Not only was it a funny, witty, enemies to lovers/workplace rom-com, it was also an emotional, heartbreaking story that sheds light on just how fragile life can be. Jules encapsulates the definition of an independent girl boss but is slowly losing hope at the bright future she could have as a rare disease is stealing that future day by day! While she is in need of a little hope and a miracle, Jules is trying to understand the little spark of fight she has left that seems to be caused by a dreamy tech-bro “Tom”. Is she feeling hate or chemistry and what does this mean when she’s preparing to say goodbye. Thank you Laura Bradbury and Netgalley for this Arc!

This story spoke volumes to me personally. I was lucky enough to spend the few years that I did with my best friend because of a liver transplant. Her bravery was just as powerful as Jules’ bravery and this is the kind of love story she deserved.

One of my favorite books I've read this month! Besides the romance, it was a great story from the characters to the buildup in the storyline and it just felt so genuine and raw about situations like serious sicknesses that Jules had. For someone who might have relatable experiences, I think that this book could be triggering, but for others (like myself) who have yet to go through something like this either personally or with a close family/friend I found the reactions and thoughts very informative. This book was probably just a glimpse of what the first-experience is actually like.

Jules is an amazing character! She is strong and although her willingness to fight is not something everyone has all the time, I hope she inspires others to be a badass too. Tom was great too and honestly, is probably like most of us. Even though some of his actions-- especially towards the end-- might make some angry, I feel like this is how many of us would have reacted if we were to put ourselves in his shoes and with the context he has.

The romance aspect was a nice touch to help keep the story moving. It definitely was an important part of the book but I like how it did not take away from other important things like the sicknesses and what Jules needed to face.

Special thank you to Laura Bradbury, Grape Books, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this digital ARC of Unlikely Match.

I absolutely LOVED this book - from start to finish it was engaging, fun to read, emotional and more! Laura Bradbury takes her own experience of chronic/terminal illness and turns it into a story for everyone. This book has heavy moments and equally as many light and humorous ones. There's no way you can't love Jules - ambitious, a warrior, and free spirited...mix that with hard head, self absorbed Tom...you know what happens....recipes for Love! This book made me laugh, cry and truly appreciate what helping someone can do. The other characters are quite lovable too!