I generally avoid short stories. I hate getting attached to characters who are quickly gone. However, I thoroughly enjoyed this collection from the queens of rom-com! Each story is sweet and well-written. The spice level is low (which isn’t important to me but may be to others). I’ll be reading it again around Valentine’s Day!

This was the sweetest collection of short stories. Each one will make you melt and have your toes curl in happiness. This was a fabulous lineup of some of my favorite authors. Thank you so much NetGalley and Amazon originals for this arc in exchange for an honest review. I could not leave a review on Goodreads/storygraph since the book was not listed on either.

I would definitely recommend this for anyone that loves quick rom-com leads. This is a series of short stories (meet cutes) written by some very well known authors! There were a couple I enjoyed more than others, but overall a great read. Just in time for Valentine's Day too!

A short Valentines Day stories of many amazing authors. Christina Lauren was an amazing short story of two students that emailed each other for years on Valentines Day. It was adorable. Though I wished the ending wasn't in their email correspondence. 2nd story was about a nurse and an handyman that was okay. It wasn't too memorable. 3rd story by Sally Thorne was a bit confusing. Girl gets stuck on a relaxation pod and cute fireman was able to entertain and help her through the whole ordeal. It was a bit of a letdown . 4th story was about a grumpy baker and Daisy that loved the baked goods as well as the baker. It was cute. I liked how the story ended. 5th story was by Ashley Poston. Who is my newest favorite author. A maid of honor for her guy bestie, believing she was cursed by not finding true love. Meeting the bride's best friend/man, Theo that she known from her one night stand last year. Maybe she will find love regardless of the curse. The ending was a bit anticlimactic. I needed more. 6th love story was written by Sariah Wilson. A princess that wanted a holiday for herself. Meeting a dashing photographer that luckily wasn't after her pictures to sell to others. The ending was cute. Overall, the first story was the best!! Yet, all together it was a cute Valentines Day romance book that I recommend!! Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

How fun to read short stories from all my favorite romance authors! Of course these go by super quickly, but it was fun to be sucked into each one. Recommend for something different from your favorites!

Very fun short stories by a great collection of authors. Christina Lauren and Abby Jimenez knocked it out of the park, although Abby made me cry! There were small ties to each story throughout the book, and each story was so different from each other. I actually liked that there were fewer stories than a normal anthology because they were a bit longer.
Received a free arc for an honest review.

I generally enjoyed the The Improbable Meet-Cute collection but the only one I really loved (by a big margin compared to the rest) was Christina Lauren's The Exception to the Rule. T and C's love story was one of the cutest and sweetest things I'd read this year and it was written in such a refreshing format as well. I was honestly surprised at how attached I to them, especially as the slowly started to bare themselves to each other. It was also fascinating seeing the years-long mystery slowly unravel and see how fate came to play in their lives. This was Christina Lauren's first short story and I think they could not have written a more perfect one, it started and ended wonderfully and I will definitely be eating some soup dumplings in T and C's honor next Valentine's!

The next two I liked were Ashley Poston's With Any Luck and Abby Jimenez's Worst Wingman Ever. I adored the concept of Poston's story, it was imprinted with her signature magical realism-type love story, however, do I wish it was a bit longer. I felt that there wasn't enough time to develop the romance between the two main characters beyond their short shared history but I did appreciate the concept and it would've elevated the story more if there was a bit more foundation being built. Jimenez's was also one of the best written stories in this collection and the only reason I couldn't rank it higher is because of 1) how heavy the story was for a short story and 2) there were some parts (particularly in relation to Holly's grandmother) that felt so far out and a bit unnecessary, and made me wonder what we were supposed to do with the info and how it was supposed to make us feel. Besides those points, I do think Jimenez's story was hopeful and carried a lovely message to it.

At the top of the lower half of my ratings is Jasmine Guillory's Drop, Cover and Hold on. I really liked the concept of Guillory's short story and am a huge fan of the MMC trope of being silent but having fallen first (and he's a baker!) but I was turned off by the very very insta-love aspect of it. The FMC went from being attracted but not really liking the MMC to completely smitten in the span of a few pages but like me, the way to her heart was through baked goods so I kind of understood?

And the bottom two are Sariah Wilson's Royal Valentine and Sally Thorne's Rosie and the Dreamboat. I just found Wilson's story a bit bland and uninspired, and the writing didn't shine as much as the other's did but the story wasn't bad, it just wasn't as romantic. As for Thorne's, after a few pages in, I just cringed my way through the middle part to the end (I honestly skipped a few pages), I don't know if it's because Thorne's writing just isn't for me but I found Rosie weird (her internal monologues had such an odd voice and her constant need to compare herself to her sister was making me insecure) and her humor wasn't funny at all (nor was "Romeo's"). I did like the concept of their meet cute but the execution left much to be desired, though I did like the ending. It was surprisingly cute.

I appreciated the cohesiveness of the stories, I liked that there were little easter eggs that led one story to the other and I hope we'll have another opportunity to read more short stories like these.

The Exception to the Rule:
I absolutely loved this! I love the email style. I felt like I had a truly intimate view into the characters relationship immediately. Very sweet story. When I finished reading, I couldn’t stop smiling and screaming I loved it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Worst wingwoman ever:
Cute I like the two person point of view. Honestly would love a whole story about grandma and aunt Lucy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Rosie and the dreamboat:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ well written. Very funny. Love the humor throughout the story.

Drop cover and hold on:
First slight bit of actual spice in the collection. Just enough story to want more. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

With any luck:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ enjoyed the story. Nice balance of spice with story for a short story. Story nicely combined several rom com ideas together to make an all together nice little story that made me smile.

Royal valentine:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ such a fun story. Love the modern fairytale. I also loved that it tied together with “With Any Luck” and “The Exception to the Rule”

All in all the collection was a lovely feel good read. I would average it at four out of five stars. While they’re all different stories they work well together as a collection. The improbability of each couples meeting in my opinion makes the stories that much cuter.

These short stories were so good. Thank you netgalley for allowing me to read these. When I seen they were up for grabs early I was so stocked to read since some are from my favorite authors. Definitely read so you can see for yourself just how good these stories are.

This was such a fun set of short stories and all left me wanting more. I especially hope the final two are fleshed out in proper novels some day. I loved how they intertwined just slightly.

I thoroughly enjoyed this Valentines collection of short stories by some of my favorite romance authors! Six meet cutes!

These short stories take place around Valentine's Day, and are all, you guessed it, focused on the meet-cutes of the main characters. A quick read, I enjoyed some more than others, but they were all entertaining.

The Exception to The Rule - Christina Lauren
This was fun! That being said, I hope the final copy displays the email exchanges between C and T in distinct ways so it's instinctive for the reader to figure out who is who and who is writing what.
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Worst Wingman Ever - Abby Jimenez
I'm a huge Abby Jimenez fan, but this one unfortunately missed the mark for me.
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Rosie and the Dreamboat - Sally Thorne
This was quick and sweet!
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Drop, Cover, and Hold On - Jasmine Guillory
I think this was my first Jasmine Guillory, and I quite liked it!
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With Any Luck - Ashley Poston
This was was definitely my favorite! I absolutely loved it and wouldn't say no to a full-length novel.
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Royal Valentine - Sariah Wilson
I really liked this one as well. My first Sariah Wison too, so I'll probably check out her books now.

Synopsis: This is a series of Valentine’s Day themed short stories by popular authors we love.
Pros/cons: Stand out stories by Christina Lauren and Ashley Poston, but because they were short stories, all lacked detail. We didn’t really dive in to the characters or the plots, but they were cute enough.
Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for the early read! This will be released for free to all prime members, just in time for Valentine’s Day.

six wonderful authors have come together to weave this delightful anthology of stories revolving around valentine's day!

The Exception to the Rule by Christina Lauren:

— 5 ⚝

This was super fun and heartwarming. This story follows Callum and Terra, who start emailing back and forth for 10 years every valentine's day when Callum accidentally sends Terra an email meant for a professor. I loved the emails that were exchanged between the two mc's. the way they met was so unique and the ending was so perfect. i loved the setting and the dialogues. christina lauren never disappoint. a perfect, quick, joyful read for valentine's day that you definitely need to pick up.

The Worst Wingman Ever by Abby Jimenez:

— 5 ⚝

This story follows Holly and John. John is supposed to place a note from his brother to his brother's girlfriend on her car on valentine's day. He accidentally places it on the wrong car. Holly and John then communicate via notes placed on her car after that. This book gave me so much. It gave me joy, it made me laugh, it made my heart ache and also kick my feet in the air. the fmc's grandmom is dying and she's taking care of her during her last days. I lost my grandfather recently and it was the heaviest loss of my life. the way this part was written really resonated with me on a spiritual level. it rlly moved me and I didn't expect to love this short story so much. 100% a must read.

Rosie and the Dreamboat by Sally Thorne:

— 2.5 ⚝

sally thorne is a favourite author for many. but i am not one of them. i, unfortunately have a rlly hard time connecting with her characters and her writing. this is a story about Rosie, who has an immense sister complex which was rlly annoying, who gets trapped in a rejuvenating box like thing in a Spa during valentine's day and Leo, the Dreamboat firefighter, who ultimately rescues her. they have conversations while she's stuck in the box. the premise was unique and fun enough but it often felt OTT and too cheesy for me. i also wasn't a huge fan of Rosie.

Drop, Cover & Hold on by Jasmine Guillory:

— 3 ⚝

This was my first from this author and I did enjoy it. it had just the right amount of sweetness and made me feel warm inside. This story followed Daisy and Harris, who get stuck in Harris' bakery on Valentine's day because of an Earthquake. His bakery is daisy's favorite but she is under the impression that she is definitely not his favourite. Although not a favourite in the anthology, it is still worth picking up and will not take much time getting through either.

With any luck by Ashley Poston:

— 3.75 ⚝

this was just okay. very middle of the road for me. i immensely enjoy Ashley Poston's writing and characterization. We get to see that in snippets here. It was good enough for a short story but again not my favourite.

This story follows Audrey and Theo, who are Best man & Maid of Honour (respectively, lol) in their best friends' wedding. Theo and Audrey have had a one night stand situation in the past so that was a nice added touch here. Audrey feels that she is the kind of person that you kiss before you find the love of your life and that's a major part of the story. Enjoyed it enough to say you should pick this up!

Lastly,

Royal Valentine by Sariah Wilson:

— 3 ⚝

this was fun! another first by an author in this anthology. it was cute and entertaining and also worth picking up.

This follows the royal princess Ilaria of Monterra, who is in Rome and chooses to stay back disguised as her PR assistant, Anne who leaves pretending to be her so that Ilaria can just enjoy the city. What sparks the desire to do so is her seeing a charming photographer, Callum who is a delight. I liked the final reveal in this and the confessions of love at the end. it warmed my heart. another one that's worth picking up!

thank you to netgalley and Amazon Original Stories for an e-arc of this anthology. all thoughts are my own and not influenced in any way.

This was SO much fun!! I loved all the stories, my favorite being Christina Laurens A perfect slump buster for all romance fans.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

This was a funny collection of meet-cute short stories. I wanted to read this for the Abby Jimenez story (which was adorable and funny as usual), and it did not disappoint. Every story was great. I loved the humor, the cuteness, and the romance. It was great getting a sample of different authors, all of whom I plan on checking out their other books.

I definitely recommend this collection if you want a quick, short, pick me up.

Love, love, love this collection!! It’s everything you want from some of the best romance writers out there. I can’t wait to re-read around Valentine’s Day.

I received an ARC from Netgalley and the publisher.

These are absolutely adorable. I adored The Exception To The Rule, and was skeptical the others could be as good…. And then they were! Delightful short stories filled with romance, meet-cutes, and so much witty banter. I loved all these couples and I was sad every time a story ended. All well-written, quick reads. Five stars!

Fun short stories by some amazing authors! Nice variety of unusual meet cutes and each story has at least one reference to one of the other stories.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Watch for The Improbably Meet-Cute collection to come out January 23, 2024.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an early copy of this book! Below is my honest review.

If you love any of these authors, it's definitely worth reading this. Normally, I'm not a huge fan of short stories but I needed more from some of my favorite romance authors! They're short and sweet to read, so it's super easy to fly through them. Now of course I'd love a full version of these stories, but hey, maybe it'll happen one day. I have hope.