SOMETHING LIKE FATE ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5. I’ve read all of Amy Lea’s novels so far, and this one was okay. Lo is 19, and comes from a long line of women who see visions that lead to their soulmate. When her vision finally comes, and she’s planned a summer abroad in Italy, who could it be? This was a cute book, with emotional depth. I almost just wish the leads were older? I can’t imagine 19 year olds with this type of emotional maturity, maybe they are out there, but even at my age of 36, it’s rare to have people with this many emotional epiphany to realize love. Absolutely a book to easily read, but nothing memorable. Thank you for the ARC NetGalley!

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It had the lighthearted feel of a YA romance while also hitting on heavier topics like parental loss. It paid homage to a lot of classic rom coms, which I tend to love. However, it did often highlight the fact that this book didn’t feel very fresh or new. I feel like I have read similar books before.

While I did enjoy this book, there was nothing that made it stand out from other romcoms I’ve read.

The whole psychic abilities and being able to know who your soulmate is going to be sounded like a cool concept, but the execution was okay. There were a lot of cringey and juvenile moments because of it which didn’t work for me. It did get better in the second half though.

The relationship between Teller and Loren was probably my favourite part of the entire book. They had a good foundation as friends which eventually developed into something more. They just understood each other so well and I loved whenever they were together. I wished we got more moments of them as a couple before everything wrapped up. Ending a book without an epilogue is always a crime in my eyes🤷🏻‍♀️

Overall, despite some of its flaws, this was a very cute read.

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

I struggled with this review, because I didn’t love this book, but I couldn’t put my finger on why. It just seemed kind of all over the place and honestly frustrating. The whole vision/fate thing was a cute idea, but it just became redundant and I needed her to just move on. The story was very drawn out, but then felt rushed in places I didn’t want it to be. It wasn’t a bad book, but not my favorite by this author. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

The exploration of destiny versus free will in love resonated deeply with me. Lo’s journey of self-discovery and her gradual realization of where her true feelings lie is both relatable and inspiring. This book is a delightful reminder that sometimes, the best love stories are the ones that blossom right under our noses. If you’re in the mood for a sweet, humorous romance set against stunning vistas, this one is a must-read!

Another addictive YA story from Amy Lea!

I still haven't gotten around to reading her Adult books (though this was definitely more of a New Adult) but Amy's YA books are always so much fun and impossible to put down—they are such comfort reads for me.

Something Like Fate is a perfect summer/end of summer read.
I absolutely loved the vibes—it was so immersive, felt like I was travelling Italy with Lo and Teller!

Lo was a great MC, she's easy-going, fearless and super extroverted and even if she was a little lost and frustrated me when it came to her feelings, I understand why she was struggling so much.
Teller, who's the complete opposite of Lo and the grump to her sunshine, was her perfect balance. I adooooored them together, so much so I screamed "NO!" every time Caleb was in the scene. 😂
Even though Caleb was frustrating the sh*t out of me I found out his purpose by the end, especially after everything that Lo's dad revealed to her. So just trust that there's a reason for all of the frustration he brings lmao, though I wish his relationship with Lo wasn't taking the focus from Lo and Teller every time.

I love that both Tel and Lo had relationship experience and they weren't clueless about what kind of love they wanted and they deserved and that showed especially later on.
One of my absolute fav scenes was when they got the tattoos together, literally can't get over it.

The supporting characters were also fantastic, Amy always writes such well-rounded casts.
If you love romcoms with friends to lovers, grumpy sunshine, only one bed (more than once 👀), summer Europe adventures and psychic elements you should check this one out!!
Can't wait for Amy's next book!!

Thank you NetGalley and Skyscape for this ARC! Amy Lea writes such amazing books. My first book by her was the catch so it was interesting to read this one of hers! Friends to lovers rom com! So good!

4.5/5 - I was very lucky to get an ARC of this book from
NetGalley, and I devoured it in a day. This is a rom-com, friends to lovers, love triangle of complicatedness story about love and fate. Lo comes from a family of women psychics who have talents and visions - specifically they have a vision of their true soulmate. The consequence of not finding your soulmate is to be destitute, alone, unlucky (as per her Aunts). Lo has never had any inclination towards any visions or "powers", until one day she has a vague vision. And it just so happens she's heading off on a month long backpacking trip to Italy - the place her vision showed. Convinced she will meet her soulmate, Lo and her best friend Teller travel to Italy. Along with a lot of bumps along the road and less than ideal situations - Lo ends up meeting Caleb and is convinced he is her soulmate. But what if her true love has been there all along? What if soulmates are overrated? It's a story about love, loss and finding yourself. So well done, loved this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Skyscrape for the ARC of “Something Like Fate” by Amy Lea.

This is such an incredibly sweet, light hearted YA romance novel. Despite a heavy reliance on fate, destiny and soulmates in the plot line throughout the story, the characters in Lea’s novel are flawed and show that free will and shucking the expectations can make you just as happy.

I enjoyed the slow burn, friends-to-lovers trope in the novel, although I must admit I was frustrated it took so long for Lo and Teller to “discover” their feelings for one another. I was even more frustrated by Lo’s decision to just stay in Italy with Caleb so close to the ending of the story.

It felt like so much of the story moved slowly through Teller and Lo’s travels through Italy (the span of only a few short weeks), only to hit the fast forward button and speed through nearly 6+ months of Lo’s extended travels in Europe with Caleb.

While I understand his motivations, I was also frustrated by Teller’s lack of fight for Lo - a part of me really wished he would realize at the airport he should stay and fight.

In the end, I’m happy that Lo came to her senses and returned home, and while the predictability of her vision actually referring to Teller (as soon as I learned his mom owned a coffee shop, that was game over) was an easy one to sense from the beginning of the story, I still enjoyed the cute reveal at the end.

All in all, I am a little disappointed by the abrupt ending of the story - it would have been nice to have a small epilogue to learn about what happened to their budding relationship - I definitely think this is a story worth reading.

Amy Lea has such a lovely writing style and while it’s not spicy like some of her other novels, the chemistry is there between the characters.

If you’re a fan of Lynn Painter’s “Better than the Movies” and Ai Hazelwood’s Check & Mate, you will want to grab a copy of “Something Like Fate” when it becomes available!

“The sun to my moon.”

I loved 'Woke Up Like This' so the second I saw Amy’s post, I rushed to get my hands on this book and locked in.

- nerdy mmc & sunshine fmc
- invisible string coded
- fun dialogue & banter
- if you loved 'People We Meet On Vacation' by Emily Henry, you might like this!

Thank you to Amy Lea, Netgalley, and Skyscape for the advanced reader copy!

I was a little worried about the potential love triangle (I'm not too fond of those), but this was a well-executed slow-burn friends to lovers. Lo and Teller are hilarious together. I love that Lo respected Teller’s boundaries but still made way for him to step out of his comfort zone at his own pace. Additionally, Teller is the sweetest guy ever and is always considerate of everyone, especially Lo! These two are so patient with each other. Despite being best friends, they continue to learn more about each other and feel safe with one another. They even help each other out with their respective romantic endeavours. But then there's Caleb, the guy Lo falls head over heels for after he saves her from a runaway trolley. Caleb is hot, spontaneous, and loves to adventure. Best of all, she's convinced he's her soulmate.

"Do you want to be someone else?"
"Doesn't everyone?"
"I wouldn't want you to be anyone else."

Amy Lea does a great job setting the scene because I literally want to hop on a plane right now. This was such a charming book that I finished the book in one sitting. I truly admired Lo's connection and love for her family. The last third of the book was a bit relentless with the whole ‘soulmate’ stuff, but I can understand why Lo was so desperate to find her soulmate. I would've loved to see more tension/romantic build-up between the main characters, especially in the earlier parts of the book. The ending was also slightly rushed but everything tied up quite nicely. There is something like fate, and it’s called choice. Will Lo continue to let her search for her soulmate overcome what her heart truly wants?

Something Like Fate will be released Feb 2025, right around Valentine's Day 💌

3.5 ⭐️s

I am a huge Amy Lea fan, she is an auto buy author for me and her first YA book “Woke Up Like This” was my favorite of her books so far.

I was over the moon to get an ARC of this book and was even more excited when I saw that it was best friends to lovers. The premise with the two backpacking through Italy together sounded fantastic and the added magical realism w/ her family’s psychic abilities & the curse made it really promising!

The vibes very much felt like Love & Gelato meets Red String Theory (both books I LOVED) and I enjoyed the setting a lot! :)

Where it started to lose me was with the feel of the book. While the book is labeled as YA, the characters are college students putting it more in the older YA category of New Adult. However, the characters themselves acted very much like younger YA MCs would. So it got a little confusing at times trying to figure out who the intended audience would be for this book. I still absolutely fell in love with the characters, but I kept being pulled out of the story when they’d mention college and marriage because they really did act like younger high school students. I feel like this could have either been a great YA book or a great adult book but it kept floating back from one to the other and it was harder to focus on the story.

Things I Loved:
- the family dynamics and drama (they were seriously adorable and funny)
- the best friends to lovers trope (it had all the awkward will they or won’t they chemistry of friends realizing they want to be more and I LOVED that!)
- the humor and quippy dialogue/banter was perfect and made the story fun

Things I Didn’t Love:
- the love triangle (I’m a fan of love triangles but I couldn’t stand the other love interest in this one)
- the pacing got a little funky and slow towards the 75% mark
- the internal conflict of the MC got a little repetitive, it was mentioned over and over and over and it got a little frustrating

Overall, this was cute but it wasn’t my favorite of Amy Lea’s books. I will definitely still be picking any book she writes up because they’re so fun but this wasn’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for this ARC!

I don't really know what to say about this one. It had a cool premise and foundation for the story, but for some reason I just didn't connect with it. Magical elements and culture aspects aside, this one felt like reading another version of the same stories that are already out there and there was nothing that stood out and made a book one to remember. The characters felt a bit juvenile at times, even given their ages, and, romance aspects aside, very predictable. This is my first Amy Lea book and I really wanted to fully enjoy it, but unfortunately wasn't the case.

to be honest, the main reason i requested this book was because it was being compared to people we meet on vacation which is one of my favorite romance books of all time. maybe i was primed, but something like fate does feel a little bit like an amalgamation of popular romance books but written for ya. don't get me wrong, i still loved the self growth of lo's connection to her family, especially since her mother died so young. however, like with some friends to lovers, the build up wasn't there and some of the plot b with lo's father felt a bit juvenile.

Review to Come!

Thank-you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Looking forward to reading this book.

Love the cover!

Liked the other works from this author

Cute friends to lovers story, although at times predictable. This was my first time reading something from the this author and although this wasn’t that great I might still read her catalog, which I’ve seen praise for. I like the way Something Like Fate iexplored the idea of destiny versus free will, and the twist about her parents was a good example of this. I’m not quite clear whether her vision was about Teller all along or it was Caleb, but it’s obvious she made the right choice, and it was a little frustrating how long it took her to make that choice. Since she was so obviously pushing herself to be content with Caleb.

Something Like Fate offers a captivating exploration of Lo’s turbulent transition into adulthood. An outspoken extrovert, Lo thrives in disorder but feels confined by the life her father envisions for her. Desperately searching for a connection to her late mother, she longs to be accepted by her maternal family and dreams of meeting “The One.” Exhausted by meaningless flings and yearning for the companionship of her estranged best friend, Teller, Lo’s first vision convinces her that a trip to Italy holds the answers she seeks: clarity for her future, a chance to connect with her mother’s memory, renewed friendship with Teller, and perhaps, the discovery of her soulmate.

Lo’s life is a whirlwind, and her messy journey made for an engrossing read. Watching her grapple with her emotions and navigate difficult situations felt authentic and relatable. Her bond with Teller was a highlight, and seeing how their relationship evolved over the years was heartwarming. While I sometimes questioned Lo’s choices, I respected how thoughtfully she approached her decisions. I found myself wishing I could get inside Teller’s head during some of the story’s pivotal moments—it would’ve added another layer to the narrative. On the other hand, Caleb’s perspective wasn’t necessary; Lo’s view of him was enough to showcase his impulsive charm and how it impacted her worldview.

Though love triangles often bring heavy drama, this one felt refreshingly light, without the typical angst. Even as the story tackled some serious themes, it maintained an overall breezy feel. The conclusion was satisfying, wrapping up a heartfelt coming-of-age story intertwined with a tender romance.

That said, I’d advise readers that this book tackles more mature themes, better suited for a new adult audience. While there aren’t explicit sex scenes, discussions around intimacy, hookups, sharing pictures, kissing, and alcohol are prevalent throughout the story

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I loved Woke Up Like This so when I heard about this one I immediately added it to my list. And it did not disappoint. Lo, a sweet optimistic and outgoing college student, comes from a long line of phychics and when she has vision of meeting her soulmate on her trip to Italy, she is even more excited for it? However, her friend breaks her foot & can't go - so what happens, she invites her best friend, Teller, a handsome introverted numbers-loving, calendar planning guy, to come with her! But what happens when she starts looking at Teller through different eyes even though she's had a vision of her soulmate & it's not him? You'll have to read to find out ;) but needless to say I really enjoyed this one! Makes me want to travel to Italy ASAP & I love Lo + Teller's friendship. Pick this one up & fall in love with Italy & Teller with me!

While this was mostly closed door, I would probably categorize it as more NA than YA just based on the main characters being in college & talking about sex, drinking, etc quite a lot

While I enjoyed Something Like Fate, there were various times throughout the book that felt juvenile. I understand this book is in the YA genre, but I felt it didn't match the moment. That's why I'm giving it 3 stars.

The premise was there and held promise (it's what instantly drew me into the book) but I didn't connect with how the story unfolded. While it's a destination book, and had the hallmarks of great getaway for personal growth, it felt...stereotypical. It lacked originality. The sad part for me as a reader: it isn't memorable. I always walk away from a book with a memorable quote, moment, character growth, setting. But for some reason, this felt like a haze. It felt like several moments were cherry-picked from other published novels and put together. The potential was there but I just feel like the author didn't stick the landing.

I really wanted to love this book but it just didn't connect.

Thank you NetGalley and Skyscape for providing an ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Skyscape for the ARC

I've read one adult novel by Amy Lea earlier and found her YA book just as good! The setting was amazing. Italy, backpacking, the Amalfi coast, incredible. A perfect scenery for a sweet romance. I also liked and appreciated the Asian representation.

As for the plot, I found it really interesting and unique. The magical realism component was well explored and cool. The romance was sweet and charming. All in all a great YA romance.

This book is a solid 3.5 stars for me. It had all the elements of a classic laugh-out-loud rom-com with the friends-to-lovers trope, but something was holding me back from rating it higher.

One thing I absolutely loved was the setting—there’s just something magical about a European romance that instantly sweeps you away. ✨ However, I wish the chemistry between the two main characters had been established earlier. The first half of the book didn’t quite give me the romantic tension I was craving.

On the plus side, the spice level was low, which I always appreciate in a romance! Overall, I enjoyed the book and devoured it in under 24 hours. I’ll definitely be checking out more from this author!

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.