I received this as an ARC from NetGalley.

The story opens with a runaway bride - she just cannot go through with it - he is too controlling and only wants a trophy wife. She wishes she had realized this more than a few moments before she was to walk down the aisle, but Lainie did not. So, instead of walking down the aisle, she bolted for her car (already packed for the honeymoon) and found herself a hotel a few hours away and hid there until she could regroup. When she finally turned back on her phone, she realized that she needed to be in Catfish, Texas, her grandmother's hometown to meet with her two older cousins to go over the inheritance left to them.

Grandma Lizzie left everything to her three nieces - home, business, and all other worldly possessions. The three nieces move back into Lizzie's house and devise a plan to keep the business going - none of them wanting to sell.

My only complaint - this is a novella - it needs to be a complete book - what happens to each girl?

A Chance Inheritance by Carolyn Brown is the perfect book to read if you are looking for a quick light read. With great characters and an easy storyline to follow this novella was just what I needed. I think it’s always good to read short cute books in between books like thriller or crime novels.

With thanks to Netgalley for my digital copy to read and review.

A chance Inheritance is a so called good short story, I can’t say book or novella. But the second story The Third Wish, a reprint from 2017 couldn’t keep my interest and I stopped reading.

A short story about 3 cousins who inherited the home and bait shop from their grandmother. They had spent wonderful summers with their granny and miss her terribly. They are all at a point in their lives where they need a change. Nice characters, but ended too soon to find out what happened to them, which is disappointing.

The second short story is The Third Wish. has likable characters and an engaging plot. When she was 8 years old, Jessica Graham found an empty bottle at the beach when her mother took her sister Ashley and her on a vacation to Florida to celebrate Ashley's birthday and high school graduation. They all made 3 wishes. Mama and Ashley got their 3 wishes, but 20 years later, Jessica is still waiting for her third wish. After the death of her mother, she decides to go after it. And eventually not only is her wish granted, but so much more.

I read an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.com Both story are republished here. This is my unbiased and voluntary review.

I was surprised when I went to the next chapter that the book was done. I wasn't aware of it being a novella. It was a quick and easy read.
Thanks for the opportunity!

I have voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this title given to me via NetGalley. Wow what can I say about this title it was just an awesome read. This book was just something so wonderfully different I’ve never quite read anything like this. You should read to find out you won’t be disappointed. I’m definitely going to read more by this author.

Cute, typical Carolyn Brown. More of a short story and had two stories when I was only expecting one novel.

A fun and delightful read! I loved the characters and the plot. It was wonderful how the sisters came together.
Many thanks to SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is a good book. The three main characters are cousins. Their grandmother has recently passed away. Leaving the cousins her bait and tackle shop and her home. They have to figure out how to run the shop for about 18 hours a day. They split their hours up so someone is there. They learn they’re nobody better than family.

I love this book, it was a delightful read, and the stories were sweet and heartwarming.
These stories were about love and the heartaches and headaches these ladies have been through. These ladies were strong-willed and determined to forge their way in life by their rules.

Lainie, Jodi and Becky are Lizzie Cornell’s granddaughters. All 3 of them inherited their grandmother’s home and bait shop and they return to Catfish to grieve her passing. While they were there, they realise how much the Fishing Hut meant to the locals and they want to continue the legacy their grandmother have created.


This book is a short story about 3 cousins who returned home to find their new footing in their life. It is a story of family relationship, love and memories of them with their grandmother. Overall it is a sweet read to me.

*review post scheduled to be posted on 28/4/23*

I was really disappointed with this very short story. It starts out really well, but then abruptly stops. I thought it might have been a misprint or most of the book getting left off, I felt like I got drawn in to the story and really wanted more. This could have been a fabulous book, but it turns out it was a very short novella.

No better way to start a story than a runaway bride. The cheering for her to get out of a bad situation as fast as she cans ends quickly when she learns of the passing of her grandmother. She returns to her grandmother’s home to help her cousins run her grandmother’s bait shop. Love, self-discovery and healing awaits all three women as begin a new journey in their lives.
The Third Wish tells the story of Jessica and Ashley who are both struggling with the death of their mother and packing up her belongings. They come across a box of letters between her mother and man they don’t know. After years of unanswered questions about her father, Jessica finally thinks the letters might be the key. Against better judgement and pleading from Ashley not to go, Jessica sets out to search for the man and hopefully get answers to her questions.
The only disappointment I had with both stories was they were over with too quick. I wanted more. Carolyn Brown has a way of developing characters that make you soon feel like you are reading about family. Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Right from the start you know Carolyn Brown has concocted some wild tales. The cast of characters is about as colorful as you can imagine. And in this book that contains two separate stories, the first starts harmlessly with a runaway bride. Carolyn Brown wants you to jump into the title story of A CHANCE INHERITANCE right away.
One thing to keep in mind. Grandmothers have a gifted instinct and should be listened to. Granny Lizzie leaves everything to her three granddaughters. It is questionable just what the three cousins will decide to do. Their stories are varied but the connection to their grandmother is the core. Becky, Jodi and Lainie spent loads of time with Granny Lizzie at her bait business Catfish Fisherman’s Hut which sold anything needed to spend a morning out on a boat fishing. All three of these young women are experts at working at the hut. They knew all their neighbors and customers. They were equally able to manage the big rushes during busy season. What they missed most was the time they had spent with their granny. Their only regret was not spending more time, but Granny Lizzie left them with a legacy of a family owed business and home.
Becky, Jodi and Lainie are going to face what their new normal is being in Catfish Texas. One of them realizes quickly that she had minimized the friendship of one particular guy in town. Now that she is back and planning on staying, perhaps it isn’t too late to see where that friendship could go.
Next at bat is The Third Wish. You know that adage be careful what you wish for, but in Carolyn Brown’s world wishes should come true. Jessica Graham along with her sister and mother had spent a vacation at the shore and had shared some dreams and wishes when they found an old bottle. For Jessica, her genie wish was for a seashell, to find her father and find the love of her life. Silly perhaps but dreaming never hurt anyone. When her mother passes, she and her sister find a shoebox filled with letters. Letters between her mother and a man neither woman had ever heard of. Her sister’s father had died in the military. Jessica had always felt like something was missing and decided to see if she could locate her father using the information in these letters. There was always the possibility that it might end badly, but it would finally answer some questions.
It would not be a Carolyn Brown book without country music references. I started reviewing this amazing author back in 2010. Lucky In Love and my tagline was moral never call a woman a bitch. I was smitten and hooked. You could say love at first sight and my regard has grown exponentially over these years. I never miss reading anything by this monstrously talented author. Carolyn Brown uses every book and story to spread her love of family, faith, traditions, animals, country music and classic dialog with just the right amount of sass. In A CHANCE INHERITANCE we are gifted with a collection of stories that totally encompass all things, Carolyn Brown.

This is a book with two Women's Fiction Novellas in it both written by Carolyn Brown. The first one is A Chance Inheritance. I loved the characters in this book, but I felt it ending right after it got started. I just wanted more. It is a very fast paced story. I loved the setting of this story. I think I read this first novella in one hour, so it is a great book if you just want to read something quick that will pull you into the story. The next Novella in this book is The Third Wish, and I really loved everything about this story. I really loved the characters, and I just loved the cute and cheesy parts of this book. I loved the storyline. The ending was so cute. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Sourcebooks Casablanca) or author (Carolyn Brown) via NetGalley, so I can give an honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

Heartwarming, emotional and engaging journey filled with witty and intriguing charters, heart racing twists and lots of hometown goodness. Really enjoyed this feel good adventure as they search for a new beginning and find so much more than they were looking for. Great reading!

A Chance Inheritance by Carolyn Brown a wonderful story about three cousins inheriting a store from their grandmother. The story takes place in Catfish, Texas. Catfish Texas is a small town where everyone knows everyone. The story is about taking chances and finding love. Read it you will like the story.

A CHANCE INHERITANCE, Novella 1
THE THIRD WISH - Novella 2
Carolyn Brown, Author
Romance

In the first novella, three cousins come together to deal with the loss of their grandmother and keep the family bait shop running. Doing this will bring them closer than they would ever imagine they could be. In the second novella, Jessica made three wishes at the tender age of 8. As her life progresses, these wishes all come true, but will they turn out the way she expected?

I was a little disappointed to find this was two novellas in one as I thought it was just one book. I am usually not a novella reader and was pleasantly surprised as both had such depth; they told their stories in a well-written way without being a bit of fluff like some seem to be. There was some romance written into both. I would definitely give this a 5 out of 5 stars.

3.5 Stars
Oh, Carolyn Brown never disappoints when she follows her fans' heats. She has created a new generation of Cornell women in this book, A Chance Inheritance. She has cousins come together to take over a beloved b&b and learn it isn't as easy as they remembered it to be from their childhood.
Oh, and there is romance just waiting to happen.

A runaway bride is joined by her feisty cousins in running their late gran’s bait shop on the Red River in this women’s fiction about starting over. And, in the second tale, a woman finds getting her childhood wish of finding her dad might not be what she imagined. Carolyn Brown does it again with the downhome country charmers.

A Chance Inheritance begins with some endings- a grandmother’s death and a failed wedding- that lead to a new beginning for three women who need new starts. Lainey realized just in the nick of time that she didn’t want to marry a control freak, Becky is tired of going to work and seeing her ex flirting with other women, and Jodi’s life has gotten into a rut and no substance so Lizzie’s will leaving them her bait and snack shop along with her house on the river is just the jumpstart they all needed and Becky gets an additional romance out of the deal.

Elements of this one are present in other books previously published in full-length novels. The fishing scene is new, but a shared inheritance among three women who start out less than pleased with each other is familiar. This novella was engaging, but also felt like it could have been further developed around the central story and tied up more of the surrounding details.

The second novella, The Three Wishes, introduces the story when a young girl, Jessica, finds a bottle on a Florida beach and her much older sister and mother play along that it has a genie so she makes three wishes- to find a shell, to find her father, and to find true love. The first comes true the next day, but it isn’t until after her mother’s death that she finds clues in her mother’s things as to her father. And, following up in finding her father leads her to the potential for the last wish coming true.

The Three Wishes drew me in and made me heart sore for her a little when she gets her answers, but not for long. Carolyn Brown knows how to tuck the bitter in with the sweet so the story is one of healing and happiness involving a feisty small town romance. Definitely a magical story. All in all, a pair of charmers with small town folks finding life’s answers and a bit of romance. Those who enjoy laid back, heartwarming women’s fiction should definitely reach for this pair of novellas.