Thank you to the author, Boldwood Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The cover and the premise of this book were enough for me to apply for an ARC - and I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. I loved the close family bond, and the relationship between the sisters. While I don't condone the thinking of "having" to find a husband to feel a sense of self-worth, the author gave enough backstory so it was understandable why the main character, Emma, would feel that way. Not to mention the influence of a truly cringeworthy mother - we've all met people who exude that vibe - who would drive anyone to desperate measures. The only quibble I had was with the male lead, and why on earth he would accede to this plan (marrying the sister of the woman he's been in love with for forever, sight unseen, as part of a "scientific experiment"). This does not go well, but the ending is satisfying without being pat.

*2.5
This book had such a confusing plot. I could not tell who the main character was because honestly there were about 10 characters that all took up the same space in the storyline. It follows the story of Emma who has been unsuccessful in the dating world. She agrees to be part of a compatibility project to get married at first sight. HER SISTER MATCHES HER UP WITH HER BEST FRIEND COOPER. Already, I knew where this was going, and oh man. I was ready for watching two strangers fall in love and some angst, but it never happened. I loved the idea of this book of marriage at first sight and the writing was good. But, the plot and character development just did not do it for me. I would be interested in reading more of Beth Moran's books tho.

*Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Emma is 37 and she is the oldest of five daughters in a nice Italian Irish family and decides to solve the lack of lovefife with the help of computer science a program will find her perfect maths THE ONE .
This book in nice and well written and if Emma will find her path is to you to discover reading the book.
Nevertheless I have to say that sub plots are too much there is a crowd there .,, too much I nearly took notes to follow the story
Take a Chance on Me by Beth Moran. #TakeaChanceonMe #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

This was an exciting fun read that kept me on my toes the whole time. The author’s depiction of the characters was spot on and the plot had me breathless and kept me turning the page long into the night! A great read!

This was an enjoyable read and I did enjoy getting to know the different characters, particularly the 4 sisters who were all so different. It was easy to read, humorous at times and I found myself wanting more at the end. I wonder if a follow up story is on the cards....? If you’re looking for an easy to read, romantic and feel good story, then this is for you.

Have you ever gone into a book expecting one thing and gotten another? That was the case here. It wasn’t that I didn’t like it, I just felt like the description made me feel like it was going to be one way, and everything I was expecting didn’t come to fruition. Emma is the eldest of 5 sisters and she’s also the last one who is single. She’s had a string of really bad dates and hasn’t even kissed a man in five years.
Cooper has just resigned from his job and come back to his college town, at an awards dinner he runs into the girl he has been in love with for as long as he can remember. Bridget is Emma’s sister and she’s always been taken, but she was always best friends with Cooper and he was firmly in the friend zone. To try to get over his unrequited love, he enrolls in the experiment their department is conducting, like Married at First Sight.
Emma has also decided to enroll in this because her dating life is going no where fast. When Bridget learns they both have enrolled, she’s so excited because her friend and sister should be perfect for each other!
This book pushed the boundaries of awkward for me. I absolutely loved Emma’s family, they were the saving grace of this book. Her Italian mother, her Irish father and her sisters that had problems of their own. Each sister had issues and no one is perfect.
Can getting married at first sight really work? Can Cooper fall in love with someone else even if Bridget is still right under his nose? Unfortunately, this one missed the mark on giving my romantic feels or vibes at all until the very, very end. I wish there was something that jumped out and made me feel swoony, but I did struggle here.
Thank you to Netgalley, Beth Moran and Boldwood Books for an early copy. These opinions are my own.

This book sounded amazing, I mean.. getting married at first sight? sign me up!
BUT NO. This one fell so short even giving it two stars feels a little bit too kind.
First, there are so many characters to keep track of I just couldn't keep up. And they should all have their own books or something, their issues just kept adding up in the book and this easily could have been a series of all the sisters.
Second, THE FEELINGS. Who knowingly marries your female best friends sister while you still have feelings for the best friend? UGH. WTF.
Lastly, the ending. I wasn't satisfied with how it ended. I mean if this happened in my family there's no way we be all happy go lucky bff's.

If you're looking for a sweet, uplifting romance.. this isn't it

I found it hard to get into the book at first but once I had got the characters sorted out in my head actually enjoyed it until towards the end which seemed to just suddenly stop. I felt sad for Emma and wanted her to get her happy ending but it didn't happen so was a bit disappointed
There were a couple of surprises I wasn't expecting which was good and made me keep reading

Thank you NetGalley, author Beth Moran, and Boldwood Books for giving me a free E-book arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and feelings are my own.
3 stars
This book had a unique premise, which is what drew me to this book! I liked the tight knit family theme that resonated throughout this book! But the amount of characters was a little overwhelming, especially in trying to keep track who was married to whom, who was expecting a child, and so on. The idea of marrying someone based on a scientific study sounded like it was going to make for a great love story, but it was not meant to be. I thought Cooper and Bridget were just kidding themselves and ended up so much unnecessary drama and heartbreak of two wonderful people. I thought Emma was a little to desperate to want what all her family and sisters expected her to have. I do not fault her for wanting to find that someone to spend her life with, but marrying a complete stranger on the hopes it will result into something real?! That was a bit naïve of her. Overall, I was not satisficed with the ending and would have liked to see a more solid or at least realistic reaction by the characters. I would like to read more books by this author. She definitely has a great and intruding writing style.

Let me say that I loved more the cover that this read.
I wanted to love it. But it was just too something. Too many characters, and I just couldn't connect with them . Really let down.
Not really my cup of tea.
2.5 stars

Thank you NetGalley, Boldwood Books and beth Moran for gifting me an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
Cute Cover? Check!
Cute title? Check!
Cute blurb? Check!
Total letdown? Check!
I sooo badly wanted to like this book, but I just couldn’t get into it! The characters and their relationship felt like it was just this side of believable. I also just really did not agree with some of the choices the main characters made which made them hard to connect to. What’s worse than not being able to connect with the characters in a romance book? Another pet peeve of mine is too many characters. The storylines were a little all over the place and I just found myself ready to move on to the next book!

Way too many characters, none of whom I get a chance to care about. Who's my main protagonist? I thought it was Emma, but then Dudeface is all over the sister at some wedding or conference or something? Yeah, I'd suggest introducing the main character and then adding a few others later, rather than dumping them all in the reader's lap like you're a toddler with a bucket of Duplos.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

I really liked this story, which was about a tight knit family of sisters, who go through lots of obstacles in each of their lives.

One sister Emma and a best friend of her sisters Cooper, take The compatibility test, but Cooper decides to make sure his answers line up with Emma’s.

To find out whether they were compatible, or whether they were more suitable to someone else, you will have to read the book.

I found it a lovely read.

Lots of characters and siblings bouncing around made it difficult to follow. DNF

***********************I received an ARC for my honest opinion from netgalley***********************

Thank you to netgalley and Boldwood books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the story of Emma and her four younger sisters. Emma is single and signs up to a scientific experiment being conducted by her sister and her sister’s friend, Cooper. It’s essentially “married at first sight” ie marrying someone you’re scientifically matched with. Emma ends up matching with Cooper and they marry.

I loved reading the sub plots of Emma’s sisters and their relationships with their partners. Also, the relationship with their parents. This hooked me in. As someone who is not from a big family, I also enjoyed seeing the friendship between the sisters.

I was less keen on Emma and Cooper’s story. I can’t say much without giving away the plot but it was a real heartbreaker for me and I felt like I needed an epilogue or a little more to conclude the story.

I did enjoy reading this and would recommend to anyone that enjoys romance.

(Review on IG to follow)

I had such high hopes for this novel. It did have a slow start, so I skipped a few pages. But then I got into it and it's unique story line. But I have to say that at the end, I was totally unsatisfied. For me, it was not the happy ending which I was craving. Al along, I was puzzled though how the author would achieve it, which is why I kept reading. But in the end, it was not to be.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book. The opinions are entirely my own.

At first I couldn't figure out where the story was going, it was very confusing and didn't make any sense, also very hard to get into. It was very slow and I didn't attach to any of the characters, maybe one or two of the sisters, but not the main character or the love interest. What I liked the most was the family dynamic, mostly between all the sisters and how they had each other's back and were always there for each other.

This felt like I had seen it in a Hallmark tv movie. I would recommend this if you want an easy read and need a good book to just relax.

Thanks to NetGalley, Beth Moran and Boldwood Books for this advance review copy of Take a Chance on Me.

I love Married at First Sight on TV, so when I first read the description of Take a Chance on Me about a compatibility experiment where a couple met for the first time on their wedding day, this sounded right up my street.

At the start of Take a Chance on Me we meet The Donovon sisters. A large Irish-Italian family with an outspoken, meddling yet full hearted mother and a father who is suffering from ME, I loved reading about the interactions between different family members that reinforced the importance of a large family dynamic.

Each of the sisters in the Donovon family are experiencing their own marital challenges - from the sister with 3 kids craving some excitement, another facing the prospect of infertility and one who questions whether she wants children at all. With Bridget 'The Young One' is shortly expecting to get engaged, it leaves Emma, the eldest sister, the only remaining singleton. Unlucky in love, having previously been abandoned by her ex fiancé on the run up to their wedding, she is beginning to wonder if she will be left on the shelf forever.

Bridget runs into an old friend Patrick at a Neuroscience conference, but little does she realise that Patrick has loved her ever since university. Cooper ends up working at the same company as Bridget and whilst all these old feelings come to the surface, he knows that now she is engaged to be married, he must finally move on for good.

When Bridget and Cooper are tasked with creating a compatibility project - bringing two strangers together to meet on their wedding day, Emma decides she has nothing to lose and applies herself, but Bridget is devastated when the standard of men who are applying will never be good enough for her sister.

In a moment of madness, Cooper, so desperate to make Bridget happy, submits his own application, even editing his answers to be compatible with Emma. He's never met Emma, but figures, if he could fall in love with Bridget, perhaps he could love her sister too.

Obviously this is a TERRIBLE Idea. He is in love with Bridget after all but following the car crash journey of this relationship was an enjoyable read. Will they make it work? Will Cooper ever get over Bridget and will Emma get the happy ever after she deserves?

The book is told through the perspectives of both Emma and Cooper and has a bit of a Hallmark movies feel about it. Some of the elements are pretty far fetched and I have to be honest I did find myself wanting things to pan out differently at times. I simply couldn't get my head around the fact that Cooper signed up to the experiment, when quite clearly his emotions lay elsewhere. It felt morally wrong, but then I guess people do strange things when they are absolutely desperate!

There are LOTS of subplots to this book - at times so many so that they could almost have their own books rather than all being included in this one, so at times this felt like a lot to take in.

I enjoyed Take a Chance on me, but overall it did lack a bit of the punch I was hoping for.

Lucy

This book held so much promise for me! There were passages (like Cooper’s letter to Emma) that had me swooning. I found the blind marriage incredibly sweet, especially since both Emma and Cooper repeatedly expressed their desires to commit and make it work. And then the book dragged on without much happening between them, and then it ended in such a way I did not see coming. Honestly, I feel rather blindsided after finishing the book. I was anxiously expecting and hoping for one outcome and was given a completely opposite one. If I had known the story was going to end the way it did I would not have even read it. I feel almost deceived by the author (or perhaps publisher) because the POV should have been from a different character entirely. Speaking of which, I’m still confused why the alternating narrators switch from first person to third person POV.

I’m giving this book a 2-star rating, as I only reserve 1-stars for books I DNF within the first few chapters. But Take a Chance on Me is one of the most disappointing books I’ve ever read, which truthfully makes me sad as I was throughly enjoying it up until the last third. Thank you NetGalley for the review copy.