It’s not actually that often that a romance book can keep surprising me – Take A Chance On Me did exactly that, though.

I was offered an ARC by Netgalley in exchange for a review. All opinions are strictly my own.

The story
Meet Bridget’s sister, Emma Donovan – eternally single maker-of-cakes for many a happy couple, whilst never making it down the aisle herself.

Emma has four younger sisters, all of whom are married or getting married, and an Italian mother who can’t understand what is ‘wrong’ with her eldest daughter, who seems to be stranded on the shelf. Despairing of her own ability to find a suitable husband, Emma agrees to be part of a compatibility project to get married at first sight.

Meanwhile Cooper is struggling to get over his crush on Bridget and seems destined to stay firmly on the shelf too. Perhaps it’s time his fate was taken out of his hands…

Is happily-ever-after just about daring to take a chance, or do you need some extra magic to make love last?

The opinion
Look, I’m going to be honest: I thought I knew exactly what to expect from this book. Guy likes girl, girl doesn’t like guy, guy struggles, guy moves on. As I mentioned in the intro, though – that’s not quite what happened. If anything, this book offered a complete subversion of that narrative. And you know what? I’m not mad about it.

More than anything, what I really liked about this book, was how utterly human the characters were. They make mistakes, they mess up, and they just keep on trying. And if at times, that meant I was left with completely conflicted wishes for what was about to happen? Well, that’s really more of a me-problem, isn’t it?

As you know from the very beginning that Cooper has a crush (well, let’s be real: is kind of hopelessly head over heels in unrequited love) on Emma’s sister, and that Emma was initially really attracted to Cooper’s friend… Well, romance has a tendency to solve conflict with more conflict, from time to time. Luckily, in the case of Take A Chance On Me, the author didn’t take that easy way out. Which, sure, left me waiting for the other shoe to drop for like 95% of the story, but also… Was a pretty big relief to me, because I actually liked the characters, and I didn’t want them to make the kind of mistake they wouldn’t be able to take back?

Another choice that seemed slightly off, when compared to other romance books: the narrative style. Where chicklit isn’t a stranger to short phrases, many exclamations and brief paragraphs, Beth Moran actually opted for a slightly more natural style: longer phrases, almost stream-of-consciousness-like, and a switch between first person for Emma and third person for Cooper that I enjoyed way more than I anticipated.

The rating: 3.5/5
Did I thoroughly enjoy this book? Absolutely. Did it also leave me with a kind of melancholic feeling, sad and happy for the main characters at the same time? Yes. And did I kind of wish that Beth Moran would’ve just written a separate book for each of the sisters (similar to Kate Hewitt’s The Sisters of Thorntwaite-series)? Check. All in all, though, this was a really fun read, and the perfect kind of thing to fly through on a spring day.

-Saar

It was certainly a different concept, doing a scientific experiment to find your soul mate !
The book is a romantic comedy full of drama and emotion
The book jumps between the different characters and their stories and at time it could be difficult to keep up
This is not my favourite Beth Moran book, , enjoyable but not as special as her first two books
Thank you to Netgalley, Boldwood, and Beth Moran for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review

When I saw this book come up in my recommendations I couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy the cover is so colourful and vibrant I thought it would be a fun read.

It follows the story of the Donovan Sisters each has her own trials and tribulations in the book. A family of strong women raised by an Italian mother and an Irish father. Emma is the oldest of the sisters who are all married and she feels left on the shelf, in order to change her life she enters her data in to a scientific experiment her sister is running along with her best friend Cooper. It transpires that Emma and Cooper are a 94% love match on paper and decide to go through with the experiment and get married. However unbeknown to Emma, her new husband is in love with her sister and has been for years.

Whilst this book is in the romance genre it is very tame, almost Christian fiction as church is mentioned often one of the characters is a pastor. It didn't quite get my pulse racing. The stories following the sisters were interesting and sometimes complex but it was just an ok read for me. I would however look forwards to reading another instalment if a book was written about Emma and Ben, there is obviously lots of material there for the author to explore.

Thank you to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My rating scale
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Absolutely loved it! Gave me a warm fuzzy feeling or made me cry. And took me on an emotional rollercoaster.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Really liked it. Will read more by the author and other books in the series.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ - It was just okay, didn’t move me, but don’t feel like I wasted me time reading it either.
⭐️⭐️ - Didn’t like this book and probably won’t read other in the series.
⭐️ - I did not care for this book at all and feel like I wasted my time reading it

I love this family--warm, close, full of gentle conflict--everything I expect an Italian family to be! I even love the nagging . . . I mean CARE, expressed over the oldest daughter's single state at an advanced age. At times, I had to stop and sort things out in my mind because there is a lot going on here, but the book struck just the right tone and had plenty of action to keep me hanging on to see what happens next.

When I first read the description for this book it caught my attention immediately. In this book we meet Emma, who, after having her heart broken several years ago, has dedicated herself to her baking and making her business a success.

As she is the eldest of the sisters, when her younger sibling came to her and announced her engagement, Emma found it incredibly hard to hear, and made even harder when she realised she was in fact the last unmarried person within the family.

When Emma’s sister began a ‘Blind Wedding’ project within the neuroscience institute in which she worked, Emma decided to take a huge chance and signed herself up for something drastic. She agreed to marry someone who she had never met before, based soley on DNA samples and data analysis.

This story truly captivated me from the beginning. Emma is such an incredibly likeable, relatable person, it was simply impossible to not feel any connection with her as the story progresses.

I adored the real sense of family that this book emanated too. The bond in which the sisters shared was beautiful, and the loving, yet very different parents really warmed my heart.

I really admired the way in which Emma’s character grew throughout this book. Although she had been hurt in the past, she still put herself back out there, refusing to let the past dictate her future any longer.

This book is beautifully written, with a strong and truly unique storyline. Although there is obviously a strong romantic link throughout this book, I really loved how that was not the sole focus of this story. It really does highlight that happiness is something you can make happen for yourself, not something you have to rely on others for. The general feeling that this book gives out is inspirational.

I can whole heartedly say that this book was an absolute delight to read. The story flowed effortlessly throughout and I found myself fully immersed in the world in which Beth brings to life. An absolute page turner and a must read for 2021.

Did you know that there are books that can put you off the whole genre? Well, now I do. I gave myself a challenge to read more romance and romcom. And Take a Chance on Me put me completely off this challenge for good.
No no and now. I even wanted to give this book 2 stars. But refrained. I did read it till the end. I did find the writing itself easy to flow. I liked and even loved the characters. And because I liked and loved the characters I found this book so evil and twisted and so unrealistically wicked.
I wanted to say that I enjoyed family dynamics. But then, this amazingly tight knit loving loud family has turned around and done so many stupidly cruel things to the main character Emma Donovan... Nope.
I wanted to say I loved the relationships between sisters. But then baby sister does something so unspeakable and so un-mendable that I am lost for words.
What am I telling you? A story about eternally-single wedding cake maker Emma Donovan as told in this book is so unrealistic, twisted and unbelievable that the happy sugar cloud ending does not hold.
Every book I read I try to identify with one of the characters. I did identify with Emma Donovan and felt for her. Thus, I'd like to say that I do not think I would have given a happy end to those who hurt me so much even though they were supposed to love me dearly... Nope

Took a little bit of getting into this but I am glad that I kept going, lovely story, well written and I enjoyed it. I bit of a surprise at the end but very welcome. Beth writes super novels and this one was no different. Well done. 4 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for this early ARC

I’d like to thank NetGalley and Boldwood Books for approving me for an ARC of this book.

I love a feel good romance with loveable characters, a brilliant family and plenty of drama. The Donovan’s were fantastic, they reminded me of a family from a tv show I used to watch, 7th Heaven. They were chaotic, close knit and infectious, at the centre of it all was the mum Gabriella. She was the glue that held them all together and I often found myself giggling at her brutal by honest way of addressing everything. The sisters all had their quirks but Sofia was my favourite, despite what she was going through she always managed to find time to help one of the others and make them see sense. She was definitely cut from the same cloth as her mum, with a more subtle way of being honest, and managed to look out for her siblings even when they didn’t realise. Bridget was my least favourite sister, she almost seemed a little spoilt to me. From the start her manner and way she treated Cooper seemed really off and I couldn’t warm to her.

During the story the author explores the long term illness ME (chronic fatigue syndrome). This is a fairly new illness that not many know an awful lot about but Beth Moran explores the side effects and plights that many with this illness face. I thought the inclusion of it was done really well without being too clinical and over the top and she has definitely shined a light on an illness that is often tagged as someone being lazy, which it certainly isn’t!

The whole concept of getting married at first sight is completely unusual but highly entertaining! I don’t know if I could be brave enough to do it but Emma’s reasons for joining seemed to make sense to me. I felt sorry for her because she legitimately went into it in the hopes of finding her happy ever after and Cooper joined to get over Bridget, which is of course what you should do when getting over someone! After they were married I enjoyed seeing how they both adjusted to this new way of life. As the story went on I really warmed to them as a couple and thought Cooper was turning into a lovely partner for Emma. Whilst they had some issues to work through they both seemed willing to give it a try.

This was more than a story about being married to a stranger. It was a story of hope, family, belonging and taking a chance. Whilst I wasn’t keen on the ending I did love the Donovan’s and all they had to offer. The strength of sisterhood was tested and there was plenty of moments to make laugh and well up. The perfect bit of light reading as the warmer weather hits.

Take A Chance On Me is full of family dynamics. A loving family of five sisters, a disease-stricken father, a bossy mother, and all who join the gang as family or friends highlights modern “scientific” dating love matches against the backdrop of a noisy, messy, fully-engaged family showing the good, the bad, and the ugly. Nurture versus Nature is depicted as love stories are examined. The age-old “marriage ban/contract” is examined as the questions of whether love is developed or naturally designed attraction between two people. The loyalty of family and friends is tested, and love wins!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book has an interesting premises- I was immediately intrigued by the idea of doing an experiment to find your soulmate. It is certainly a creative storyline! I found it a little difficult to keep track of all of the family members and other characters though, and all of their storylines. I have a few friends who love "ensemble" reads who would love this but I felt slightly scattered.

With a household of sisters, the marriage bells were bound to ring, but what happens when you're the "odd" sister out? Everyone expects the eldest down to marry, but when Emma (the eldest) is caught without an ALTAR-native plan, the needling begins. Grant it, it's all from the heart, but it doesn't make it hurt any less, even if she doesn't really let it show. Meanwhile, Cooper is stilling struggling to get over his longtime, long held love affair with her sister. I mean, it's not everyday that you change the course of your life studies because a pretty girl has turned your head and your heart. It seemed bound to be written in the stars, but turns unrequited when those feelings are never revealed. Now, the "object" of his affection is getting hitched to another, and his lonely heart is left adrift. Enter the experiment of a lifetime, thought could make or breaks hearts! Matchmaking has been done for eons, but never quite with this amount of scientific input. One match made, and a bet between professorial minds is in play. Could this be the push they both need to reach their happily ever afters? Or will it be the final straw in proving to them both that the good guy/gal never wins?

I enjoyed getting to know these two characters then AND now. It was great to see how their experiences shaped their lives, and the possibilities that this chance pairing might open. They both had good hearts, and deserved to find their own happiness....much like many of those in our own lives. Sometimes that chance encounter, that random right turn instead of left, the moment that kept us from being on time versus late, adds up to something more wondrous than we can imagine. Following these two on their journey of the heart was both heartwarming and humorous, just as a love story should be.

Recommended for Contemporary Romance fans.

Beth Moran’s Take a Chance on Me is a book you will just want to dive into. Sparkling with warmth and humour, Take a Chance on Me is a brilliant tale about the joys and frustrations of a tight-knit family, the many surprising paths life take us down and falling in love when you least expect it…

Much to her Italian mother’s frustration, Emma Donavon seems to have taken up permanent residence on the shelf. While her four younger sisters are all either married or engaged, Emma seems to have no luck when it comes to finding her own Mr. Right. With her mother forever wailing that there must be something wrong with her and despairing of ever reversing her dating fortunes, Emma decides to take a compatibility project to get married at first sight. Emma might get her mum off her back as she will finally have a ring on her finger, but does she know what she has let herself in for? One thing is for certain: she is going to get the shock of her life when she finds out just who will be the person waiting for her at the end of that aisle…

Patrick Cooper cannot remember a time when he wasn’t in love with Bridget Donovan. Unfortunately, Bridget is in love with somebody else and Patrick knows that his feelings for her will never be reciprocated. Down on his luck and with his life going nowhere fast, Patrick thinks that the time has finally come for him to take stock and stop wallowing in the doldrums. Sick of life passing him by, the very single Patrick decides to take the bull by the horns and jump off the shelf he seems to be permanently perched on, but little does he realise that his decision to take a leap into the unknown will change his life forever, but will it be in the way he had hoped for? Or will he end up regretting this impulsive decision?

Emma and Patrick have both taken a chance on their happiness, but will the end result provide them with what they have been seeking for so long? Or will heartache and disappointment be what they will have to look forward to in the future?

Beth Moran’s Take a Chance on Me is such a lovely book. A delightful romantic comedy guaranteed to lift your spirits, Take a Chance on Me is a brilliantly funny, heart-warming and feel-good tale full of wonderful characters you would just love to have as close friends. Emma was a fantastic heroine you cannot help but warm to and Patrick is a character you will just root for. Add plenty of humour, drama and emotion and you have a spellbinding rom-com that makes for absolutely perfect escapism.

A highly recommended tale that will make you laugh and cry, don’t miss Beth Moran’s latest novel, Take a Chance on Me.

This was such a beautifully crafted novel. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and was so sad it ended. Wonderful characters and a great feel good story.

When I received Take A Chance on Me by Beth Moran I was eager to jump right in as the idea of a compatibility test dictating your love life intrigued me, and the book certainly teaches you that it's not.



But back to the book, The Donavan’s are a large Irish/Italian family, who’s 5 daughters are now adult’s, experiencing their own lives, and when all of her younger siblings are either married or getting married, Emma wanted that too and was even willing to take a compatibility test for her sister Bridget, along with Bridget’s best friend Cooper. But as you may have guessed it all ends in disaster, pain, and betrayal. And you are left wondering if the Donovan’s will ever be the same.

Overall I found Take a Chance on Me an enjoyable read, though I will warn you this book is not for the faint of heart, it jumps from family member to family member and you get a little dizzy in parts, and at points, I wondered if it was just too much of one book, that maybe it would be better in a series, as I never fell headfirst into the story, but felt like I needed to get out a not book to keep everyone straight.

Now when it comes to the characters I have to be completely honest and tell you that I disliked Bridget, there was just something about her at the beginning that niggled at me, and by the end, I just knew I was right. Cooper annoyed me at times and honestly, he seemed like a bit of a wet noodle. I loved Emma, from her wish to be married to her courage to be the bigger person, she really was an absolute star.

I’ll start by saying I really enjoyed the writing of this book. The flow, the character development, the stories within stories. It was all good. Each character had a background and their own things going on that we knew enough about to be invested in, without it overtaking Emma’s story.

With that said, I wasn’t a full fan of the story itself. I absolutely hated Cooper. He was terrible and selfish and was doing something that would only end up hurting the people around him. I never liked or trusted him, and hated the fact that everyone let him go about his business. Reading this as Emma’s story, it’s heartbreaking knowing Coopers truth, and having a feeling that things won’t work out for Emma.

I enjoyed Emma as a character until her enlightening speech at the end. I just hated her high and mighty stance and the fact that she has just given up completely on other people. It wasn’t real to me that she would reject everything around her so much.

When I checked out the reviews for Take a Chance on Me, I was thoroughly shocked. How could everyone not love it as much as I do?

The cast of characters were wonderfully full and bursting with personalities. You could not want more from a character stand point. So many different women, all in different plaes, with so many different points of view.

The plot was original while also fitting neatly into the romcom world. I noticed a trend in the reviews saying they were disappointed because the book didn’t turn out the way that they thought it would. So, basically, you dislike a book because it wasn’t predictable and exactly like thousands of other books within the genre?

I usually try ridiculously hard not to put spoilers in my reviews, and I am going to try with this one, but I have to express my love for Take a Chance on Me and in doing so, how I believe other reviews were wrong. Along the way, I might spoil some things. At the very least, I will give you a general idea of how the book unfolds, which could affect how you read the story. Please stop now if you want to avoid all types of spoilers.

*POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT*

The reason Take a Chance on Me works so well is that it isn’t exactly what you would expect. Yes there’s a couple and they are put together, but does that necessarily mean that they will fall in love? Is it possible that within the romcom genre we could have a book that shows a more realistic outcome to extraordinary situations?

Instead of trying to force books into what you want them to be, just let a book tell you its story. Read the authors words, hear their story, and take it in for what it is. This is exactly why I only read a bit of blurbs. I do not want to put my expectations on someone else’s work.

Every book is that author’s story that they have chosen to tell, and I wanted to read Beth Moran’s story. I’m so glad I did.

Conclusion
A wonderfully fresh take on the romantic comedy genre that’s both heart warming and funny.

Readers beware! Prepare to laugh and cry at a story about Sisters and Sisterhood, about love at first sight and sibling loyalty. About the joys and pain of parenthood, about the strength, yet fragility of Family bonds. What’s not to love?

Emma comes from a large Irish family and is the last of her 4 Sisters to be married or engaged, despite not being the youngest. She was cheated on by her then fiancé 8 years ago.

Bridget, Emma’s younger Sister ends up running a compatibility project to win a bet for her bumbling boss; he claims to have the secret to the perfect match. The best applicants turn out to be Emma and Bridget’s colleague Cooper; unbeknown to Bridget, Cooper has been in love with her since the day they met. What can possibly go wrong!?

I thoroughly recommend reading this book for yourself, to find out if Emma goes through with marrying Cooper, and whether or not Bridget comes to realise that her Sister’s scientific match is more in love with her, than Emma.

The editors blurb sounded like it would be a fun light read. A mental getaway of sorts about a sort of loving slightly crazy, but judgmental big love filled family all trying to get through life and trying to find love. This turned out not to be that book for me. Emma is the oldest sister and still single, which in her family makes her a pariah. Her mother keeps wanting to know “what is wrong with her” and “where she went wrong”. Ugh. Trite, old school and truly makes her an horrible parent that everyone in the family for some reason kowtows. Emma is a good person who has been emotionally beaten down and has pretty much given up on everything except her ability to make amazingly beautiful and creative wedding cakes. She has been on so many dates that have lead nowhere, except further self doubt from herself and driven home by every single member of her family. Then there is Cooper, who has been hopelessly in love with his best friend Bridget (Emmas sister)and struggling to move on, is unemployed because his integrity wouldn’t allow him to lie about results about his scientific work and is pretty much depressed about life, but when push comes to shove, he knowingly alters info to make sure he is set up with Emma who has signed up to meet someone through a “Compatibility project” that is part of a bet he is in on. There are too many characters, too much going on, too much noise. I felt like I needed a score care to keep everyone straight. I really was hoping for a fun light HEA that would leave me smiling. It didn’t come close. By the time it ended I was happy it was over.

I thought this book was slow to get started and it really felt prolonged but, paradoxically, rather chaotic too. With a large cast of characters to keep track of and a muddle narrative style, I did not feel as engaged with the story as I wanted to.
First of all, I was really excited about the premise of two strangers getting married and then growing to know each other after the event. After all, it’s something we have seen on television and in films before and I like the romance associated with it.

However, I did not feel that Moran’s plot development really grabbed the essence of the story. It felt really slow to get going: the marriage doesn’t actually occur until half way through the story. Although the writer is establishing the reason behind these two characters getting married, I was hoping there would have been more focus on the couple’s relationship, rather than the events leading up to it. After the ceremony, I thought the story rushed forwards too much to reach the closing academic dinner, where the challenge had been established a year previous. I couldn’t see there was enough focus on watching Emma and Cooper grow as a couple. Consequently, I don’t think Moran found the right balance in the story and by speeding up the first half, could have allowed better plot development throughout.

There are a lot of characters in this story which I was generally able to keep track of. However, at the same time, I wanted to know more about their circumstances. Emma has four siblings, all at very different stages of relationships. They are implied as big personalities, but Moran assigns them as supporting characters. Instead, I think there is enough material to break this book into a series: focusing on each sister and the “crisis” you would expect them to encounter in a book of this genre. The sisters are all very individual and I think it is a shame this was not considered. I don’t normally request for books to be broken into a series but this time I think there is plenty of scope and opportunity for excitement.

My biggest distraction in this story was Moran’s writing style. The sentences were far too long for my liking. There were very, very long sentences – they could be an entire paragraph – with too many clauses and commas. I found it very muddled and that’s how my brain responded too. Often, I found myself re-reading big sections (ie, a single sentence), because I had lost the drift and focus. I wish this had not been the style of writing because it really ruined my enjoyment of the story, leading me to consider this as an average read. I struggled to engage with the characters and did not have a spark with the story – a bit like Emma’s own relationships. As such, when I reached the final chapters, I was quite relieved, caring little about the experiment that Emma has become involved in.

Don’t get me wrong, this is a lovely story but I think it could have been refined further to make it even better. My biggest criticism is based on the sentence structures: if they had been more controlled, I think I would have engaged and enjoyed this story far more.

With thanks to Boldwood Books, NetGalley and Rachel’s Random Resources for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have been a fan of Beth’s work for a little while now. I haven’t quite caught up with everything that she has written but I am getting there. I read the synopsis for ‘Take A Chance On Me’ and it certainly sounded like the kind of read I have come to expect from Beth Moran- a fun, light hearted, amusing read. Well it certainly was that and so much more. I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘Take A Chance On Me’ but more about that in a bit.
I loved the characters of Emma and Patrick and I warmed to them from the start. In fact it didn’t take me long to consider them to have become friends of mine. Both are a bit lost at the moment. Emma is the last remaining single Donovan woman. Her sisters have paired off and have either got married or become engaged. Emma was attached but for one reason and another that didn’t work out. Emma is kind, funny, determined, occasionally stubborn and compassionate. Patrick had a crush on Emma’s sister back in the day, which to a degree still applies today. Patrick is having a bit of hassle work wise and ends up finding a job at the same place as Emma’s sister. Patrick is funny, sometimes a bit too serious, kind, compassionate and very caring. Is Patrick destined to be with Emma, her sister or somebody else entirely? Will Emma find the ‘happy ever’ after ending that she so deserves?
I have to be honest and say that it took me a little while to get into this story but when I got into it that was it, I just couldn’t put the book down. My book wasn’t exactly glued to my hand but it might as well have been because it travelled everywhere with me. I think part of the reason for my addiction to this book was because I took so well to the main character of Emma and Patrick and I had to keep reading to see if they both found their ‘happy ever after’ ending. I had my own suspicions as to what was going to happen and I needed to know how the story panned out for them both. I became so wrapped up in the story that I lost all track of time and just how quickly the pages were turning. All too soon, I came to the end of the story and I had to say goodbye to Emma and Patrick.
‘Take A Chance On Me’ is really well written but then I have thought that to be true of all of Beth’s books to date. She has a way of grabbing your attention and subtly drawing you into the story. I like the way in which Beth writes such fun, light hearted romantic comedies that make the reader feel included in the story, as in the reader is another character. That’s how I felt at any rate. For me, ‘Take A Chance On Me’ was a delight to read from start to finish and kept my attention throughout.
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘Take A Chance On Me’ and I would recommend it to other readers. I will certainly be reading more of Beth’s work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 4* out of 5*.