This story is told in two different timelines (the past and present) from two different POVs – Izzy and Nate, the main characters.

It has an interesting story and I was hooked right from the start, the chemistry between the two main characters is there and I found myself rooting for their happily ever after.
I enjoy the flashbacks, seeing how fate keeps getting them back together and seeing how good they would be as a couple.

I really like the writing style, all the emotions that the main characters are feeling are conveyed really well – the sadness, the longing, the heart-break, love and hope. It's all there throughout the story.

While I like most of the things here in this story, I felt things becomes slightly repetitive near the ending because the timing for Nate and Izzy isn’t always right and they keep pushing and pulling each other for 10 years.
Nevertheless, it was wrapped up nicely and I’m satisfied with how it ends.

Overall, it’s a good military romance book and I enjoy my time reading this second chance romance.
I haven’t read many stories like this and this book makes me want to read more of them!

⚠️ 𝐓𝐖: War, violence, death, sexual content

I received an advanced review copy for free through Netgalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Huge thank you to the author and publisher!

In the Likely Event is a touching, emotional and beautiful story of love that spans distance and time and endless roadblocks, and a love that is just meant to be. Nate and Izzy had an intense connection from their first meeting, which unfortunately ends traumatically. Their connection remains and neither is far from the other one's thoughts.

Nate has a dangerous job in the military and is always on the move, which keeps him away from Izzy and keeps them from building a life they seem to both desperately want. Periodically they find themselves together again and it's like no time has passed and their connection is as strong as ever.

They now find themselves together in Afghanistan and Nate is working overtime to protect Izzy and keep her safe in a place of extreme danger and unrest, while they both try to balance working together given their shared history.

This author knows exactly how to pull at all your heartstrings. I was invested in these characters and their love story from the very beginning. There was nothing I wanted more than for them to ultimately get their happily ever after. While their road wasn't easy or quick, it was so obvious that these two were meant to be. I didn't want this story to end.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC. Rebecca Yarros has become one of my favorite authors. Her books always get me in my feels. I liked this one but didn’t love it like I did The Last Letter. I’d still recommend!

I really loved Fourth Wing and was incredibly excited to delve into Rebecca Yarros's romance writing. Unfortunately, I found I couldn't really connect with the story. I've found in the past that I don't love contemporary military romance books, so it's likely just a personal preference.

Despite their connection and chemistry over the years, the timing was always off for Izzy and Nate, so why would now be different? This was my first military romance and I am not sure this is for me.

A drawn out love story over 7 years and you never know how it’s going to end until it does. It was just that good. 5 stars all the way and I can’t wAit to read her other stories!

I thoroughly enjoy Rebecca Yarros' writing style.

It's one of the aspects I appreciated in this book. I also adored the dual POV and the bodyguard trope. The romance had a slow burn, which was perfect, especially considering it was a second chance romance.

However, as a POC, I felt uncomfortable with the concept of this love blossoming amidst of a very serious and real war in Afghanistan. Maybe if it was fictional one it wouldn't be as bad, but...

I don't think military romances are my thing.

Thank you to Rebecca Yarros and Netgallery for the ARC.

I have loved many Rebecca Yarros books in the past, but In the Likely Event made me want to beat myself in the head with my Kindle.

Isabeau and Nathaniel met at 18 and 19 on a plane that ended up crashing into a river 90 seconds after takeoff. They then spend the next 10 years coming and going in and out of each other’s lives, only reuniting a handful of times, never spending more than a week together (but usually only a day or two), and it was the most frustrating story I’ve read in FOREVER.

Here’s the thing…this is supposed to be a love story. A romance. Technically it is - Izzy and Nate do eventually get their happily ever after (thank goodness because the ending was the only thing I really liked about this story). But this was the messiest, ugliest “romance/love” story I’ve read in a long time. Maybe even ever. Because there is absolutely nothing romantic or heroic about a man telling the woman he loves to go live her life and be with other people - or for him to be with other people, if he is in love with her. I get that young people do dumb things, have questionable logic, and make stupid decisions. I get that Nate’s job in the military made it impossible for them to have a typical relationship. But to be okay with leaving things so open ended and undefined is crap. The whole “right person, wrong time” thing was a heaping load of malarkey that I didn’t buy for half a second.

Do I think the book is well written? Yes.
Did I think the past and present storytelling worked well? Yes.
Did I get aggravated by just about everything else in this book? Yes again.

I was so excited to get an ARC of this book, but I held off on reading it because I was about to take a trip and get on a plane and who needs to read about a plane crash as you’re about to get on a plane!?!? Now I wish I would have skipped this one altogether. There’s nothing that deflates me more as an avid reader than when a beloved author writes a story I find utterly unpalatable. Thankfully it doesn’t happen often. And I have hope that Ms. Yarros’s next contemporary romance won’t rub me the wrong way so badly. But wowzers, this one sure did.

thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to NetGalley and The Publisher for the ARC! My first Rebecca Yarros book aside from Fourth Wing, I was interested to see her writing style outside of fantasy. Military romance isn’t necessarily my thing but this was full of emotion and I found myself hooked! It seems like Yarros has not only immense talent but range!

YARROS writes like butter! It's so easy to devour her stories and she definitely makes you feel an array of emotions right through her books - this one being no different.

It didn't quite hit like her fantasy but I still really enjoyed the total contrast. The character depth was brilliant.

I just want to read more of her work!

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for the ARC of In the Likely Event!

I enjoyed Izzy and Nate's love story. The premise of meeting in the midst of tragedy and forming a strong bond was interesting. I have to say that I enjoyed it more while I was caught up in the reading of the story than I do now that I am sitting down to write my review. The characters acknowledge that they need to spend more time together to grow their relationship despite their magnetic pull towards each other but I don't think they ever truly take their own advise. The premise of why Izzy went to Afghanistan in the first place is ridiculous and hard for me to get past. That being said, I don't think military romances are for me. I think the book was well written and the characters were well developed but it was not my favorite.

SUMMARY:
Izzy Astor hates to fly. Then she spots her seatmate, who is anything but ordinary. Nate Phelan sports dark hair, blue eyes, and a deliciously rugged charm that Izzy can’t resist. Their connection is undeniable. Izzy never believed in destiny before, but she does now. Just ninety seconds after takeoff, their plane goes down in the Missouri River. Their lives change. They change. Nate goes on to a career in the military while Izzy finds her way into politics. Despite a few chance encounters over the years, the timing never feels right. Then comes a high-stakes reunion in Afghanistan, where Nate is tasked with protecting Izzy’s life. He’ll do anything to keep her safe. And everything to win her heart.

Ok mixed feelings about this. I liked the characters and was rooting for them, but the whole Afghanistan fall storyline felt icky. I didn't like how it was necessarily portrayed. After all, the US really had a hand in the chaos.

✔️ Second Chance
✔️ Then and Now
✔️ Bodyguard/Protective Over Her
✔️ Sickbed
✔️ Hurt/Comfort

This book was so angsty with longing and pining all over the place. The one drawback was that I found it hard to like either character in the current timeline. The reveal of how/why they broke up made it difficult for me to like Izzy.

Past Nate was everything, though. I loved everything about him in the before storyline.

Steam 🔥🔥
Banter 🗣️🗣️
Swoon 💕💕💕

Seriously debated DNFing this one, and I debated reviewing for a while.
But considering everything that I've seen around for this book, I feel like it's important to bring out another POV. So buckle up because here it is.

I'll start by saying that after the whole hype surrounding Fourth Wing, I was excited to give Rebecca Yarros' writing a chance. I saw this one on Read Now on NetGalley, so I just had to take advantage of this opportunity, especillay since I'm such a huge romance fan. (side note : I had no idea military romance was even a thing when I requested this ARC).

If you have not read the synopsis, this book is a second chance romance between a government aid and a military man in active duty. The book is set in Afghanistan, during the withdrawal period of the US military from the country.

I can definitely see how lots of people have loved this book. The chemistry between the two main characters was great, and the second chance trope well sep up (I'm personally a huge fan of a multiple timelines book structure). And Yarros' writing, while nothing exceptional, still made the book quite addicting.

That being said, I had a weird feeling the whole time I was reading it, something just wasn't right. I felt like there were a whole lot of stereotypes and a generous amount of white saviorism and military propanga to it.
With a book set during such a crucial moment in Afghan and American history, and again with the setting being as important to the story as it was here, I expected a critique of the US presence in Afghanistan.
Well, none of that.
And even worse, the US was again presented as the saviour of a poor nation in trouble, without any context provided, without any nuance, and most importantly, without ANY voice given to the Afghan people. I didn't expect an entire social commentary on the US military presence in the world, of course not. But dealing with the Afghan inside conflict and its repercussions, without even giving dialogues to Afghan characters is just ridiculous. It's just told from the American POV and I can't stand by that choice.

For those who say "it's a romance, we don't need deep, we just want flirty and cute", I say :
1) romance authors are incredibly talented and manage to weave incredibly powerful and sensible messages into their stories, without it getting to heavy
2) This romance in particular is set in Afghanistan for 80% of the time and the whole army withdrawal is CENTRAL to the story. It was actually the perfect romance to talk about it. Again, I didn't need her to do a whole essay with a bibliography in the end or anything, but just, please be responsible when you're dealing with such a complicated subject instead of just taking the easy, dangerous route to "the all powerful US military here to save the day"
3) it's actually very dangerous because her writing is gripping and you're sucked into the story, so much so that you don't realisez how problematic it is unless you actually take a break and think about it.

Chance encounters, fate, finding love. This book was lovely to read . The perfect romance book, it had everything you could ever want.

This book is romance at its best. I can’t even put into words how brilliant it is. Absolute perfect. 5 stars aren’t enough.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes you have to read this!!! I LOVE it!!! Please please please write more like this!! I ate this up! I absolutely could not put it down!! I could so see this being made into a movie. "Chefs Kiss" perfect!!
I just reviewed In the Likely Event by Rebecca Yarros. #IntheLikelyEvent #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

Izzy (Isabeau) and Nate meet as passengers on a flight where Izzy is nervous and anxious and Nate helps to calm and reassure her. What happens next sets the scene for the next ten years, an angsty relationship of friendship, war and and ultimate chemistry.

In the Likely Event is told in dual timeline format, and it’s a perfect way of building the basis of their relationship, how they meet and the times spent apart. Nate is in the military and has a huge weight on his shoulder from past familial hurts. Izzy is a college student who has the expectations of her family, unsure of who she really is.
As the story unfolds, readers get to know Nate and Izzy through their contact, sometimes planned, sometimes not and always there lies the backdrop of chemistry and also a sense of heartbreak.
Rebecca Yarros has a captivating way with words in her writing and In the Likely Event had me hooked! A beautiful angsty romance for all the contemporary romance readers out there.

Trigger warnings: there are some parts of this story that may be a trigger for some, including war.

a spicy, well-written dual timeline romance with witty dialogue and a fast paced plot. the characters kept finding their way back into each others lives throughout the book and each time they pulled on my heart a little more. i loved fourth wing so i was pleased to read another of rebecca's books - this was an enjoyable read.