5⭐️ I’m speechless !! So good! That little twist at the end! I cannot wait to read other books by this author!! The writing was so good and it really immersed me in the story!!! 😭😭😭😭😭

I loved it. This author writes compelling story's that have you wrapped up in each page. I loved the characters, the timeline and the flow of the story. Each flashback from the past was just enough for the reader to understand. I was rooting for Izzy and Nate from the first chapter in the airplane. This author always has something heartbreaking in her books and by the end I definitely teared up. Gosh just read this story. It's so good. I don't give out 5 stars freely but this story deserves it.

En bref, j'ai aimé le contexte et les personnages, me laisser surprendre par certains pans de l'histoire et découvrir petit à petit, entre passé et présent, Izzy et Nate. Ils sont touchants et attachants, ne baissent jamais les bras et vont tous les deux devoir combattre, pour diverses raisons. Leurs sentiments et leur alchimie sont forts et ils vont devoir prouver à l'autre qu'ils sont profonds, ils ont commis des erreurs, pas toujours pris les meilleures décisions mais cette seconde chance est celle de leur vie. On vit chaque instant intensément avec eux et j'ai adoré les voir se battre pour ce qui compte et aller au bout de leurs envies. Le final est explosif, je ne m'attendais pas à certaines choses qui nous sont dévoilées et on les quitte d'une sublime manière. J'ai adoré le temps passé en leur compagnie !

This book was tense and absolutely heart-wrenching which in all honesty is 2 things I tend to avoid in romance books. However, I was hooked by the high stakes and this really did work. The use of flashbacks was so well executed and not frustrating as they often can be!

This was a dual-POV and flashback timeline story that grabbed my interest early and held it all the way to the last page. As my first "Military Romance" I wasn't sure what to expect but was absolutely entertained. This story read like a movie, with action from the get-go.

Rebecca Yarros has a way of writing characters that feel so real, not only in their feelings and perspectives but their flaws. Both Nate and Izzy tugged at my heart strings, and I found myself rooting for them early on and crossing my fingers that it all worked out.

This story was fun, but also a little heartbreaking. If you're looking for a fuzzy romance, this isn't it. If you're looking for a story about facing your demons and overcoming obstacles in the name of love... this could be exactly what you're looking for.

I always look for a story to make me feel something, and Rebecca delivered.

[disclosure: I was provided a free eARC of this title from Netgalley and Montlake Publishing for the purpose of this honest review, all thoughts are my own]

This book caught my attention in the very beginning. If you like military, slow burn, second chance romances you will really enjoy this one. This book had so many ups and downs, I’m glad that Izzy and Nate got their happy ending! I wasn’t ready for their story to end! I want to see where they are in 20 years! Overall a good read that I recommend!

Received a arc for a honest review.

Izzy and Nate are fated to be together, but that doesn’t mean they have it easy. From meeting in a plane crash to finding each other in a war zone, you wonder how they can be so unlucky.

I picked this one up because I was interested in how a contemporary romance would treat the war in Afghanistan. Unlike reading historical novels that took place during WWII, I actually lived through this one. In the acknowledgments at the end of the novel, Rebecca Yarros pays tribute to her husband who spent 22 years in uniform, including in Iraq and Afghanistan. So it seems she drew from some of his experiences.

Overall I thought the novel was a little disjointed, probably because it jumped back and forth in various timelines in a “will they/won’t they” way. It felt improbable that the couple would have survived a plane crash, then find each other completely randomly a few years later, and then in Afghanistan. But sometimes if you suspend your belief it works out. Here, I think the book started to drag a bit in the middle and I found myself skimming to get to the end. I found myself also distracted with the August 2021 timeline, since the fall of the Afghan government and the hasty US retreat is still pretty fresh in our minds.

I liked the main characters enough, and thought the premise was interesting. It just seemed to drag a bit more than I would have liked.

Thanks to Netgalley, Montlake and Rebecca Yarros for the ARC.

Izzy and Nate meet and immediately hit it off - only to have their airplane crash less than an hour later. They both make it out but Izzy is taken to surgery and Nate is whisked off to the military. By chance they meet a few years later, then some years after that, until it is suddenly ten years later in the war zone in Afghanistan and they come together again. Except now they aren't talking to each other and both are trying to downplay the intense chemistry between them because of something that happened the last time they met.

Told in two points of view and through flashbacks as well as the present day this beautiful novel shows how a single point in time can change your whole life - and how sometimes you still have to fight it not to happen. Having previously only read the fantastical Fourth Wing by this author it was interesting to see a more contemporary side of her, one that hits closer to home for her, too.

Thank you to NetGally and the publishers for this ARC.

Unfortunately this book just wasn’t for me and I had to DNF.

The characters and setting was fine but I just couldn’t get into the story.

THIS BOOK WAS FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC! I literally cannot wait to read more of Rebecca Yarros’s books because her books keep me in a chokehold!

Izzy and Nate have a chance meeting that beats most others out there. They met on a plane (her first plane ride) and it went down, they both changed, things changed, etc. They come together then they have to part. They are perfect for each other, but timing and obstacles are tricky things. Nate is in the military serving in Afghanistan and Izzy is a politician who went to Afghanistan to get her sister, a journalist out. Nate just so happens is tasked with protecting Izzy during that time. Things are a tad awkward initially as they have not seen each other in some time but....

I say it every time, romance novels are about the journey and Yarros takes both Nate and Izzy on a will-we-ever-get-the-timing right journey. Their journey is told through both the past and present day and with both characters’ POV. Readers are given glimpses into their chance meetings and feelings. I enjoyed them both and kept my fingers crossed for them.

This is a wartime romance, and it may hit too close to home for some. There may be some triggers, so be advised.

Enjoyable second chance romance. Now I am off to request a copy of Fourth Wing!

Will post 8/18 on Instagram!

Before this novel, I had only read Rebecca Yarros' book, The Fourth Wing. This was another 5 star read for me and I can’t wait to read even more by her!

Synopsis:
When Izzy Astor gets on a plane to fly home and see her sister, she is not prepared for the super hot guy, Nate Phelan, who is sitting beside her. She is even more unprepared for the plane crash that follows less than three minutes in the air. Nate makes sure she makes it to the hospital safely, but unfortunately is unable to stick around. He is leaving for basic training and the army waits for no one.

Ten years later, Nate is in Afghanistan and in charge of keeping some politicians safe as they try to get some civilians out safely. What Nate is not expecting is for Izzy to walk off the plane with a big diamond on her hand. The same Izzy he hasn’t spoken to in three years, who broke his heart in half.

No matter what, the universe always brings them together like a magnet, but how long can the fight it?

Review:
THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD. Every chapter was like a cliffhanger, and the chapters rotated between past and present, as well as dual POV for Izzy and Nate. I was so invested in this story that I finished it yesterday and am still dreaming about it today.

Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to devour this novel in less than 24 hours.

Read if you love
-bodyguard romance
-second chance
-dual POV
-right person, wrong time
-forced proximity

I found ‘In the Likely Event’ a dramatic, sweeping romance full of action and passion. The story grips you quickly and is a real page turner. It’s written from a very American culture and does feel over dramatic compared to my usual reads but this is what added to the sense of pace and excitement. I feel more time could have been spent on the initial plane crash and aftermath. I feel like the impact of this event should have been more monumental.

I requested this book in hopes that it would pull me out of my reading slump post Fourth Wing... Holy heck did it do just that!! An author that can do Fantasy romance and contemporary romance? Rebecca Yarros is that gal.

This is my first military romance, I must also note that I am an Aussie and have very little knowledge on the US military but it seemed clear to me that Yarros does have either experience or at least very decent knowledge on this. The setting for the 2021 timeline in Afghanistan is really intense and gets quite political, but I think that Yarros approaches this in a factual but sensitive way.

This book is dual POV and has multiple timelines between our two MCs Izzy and Nate. Izzy and Nate have been brought together on several different occasions (including a pretty traumatic first meeting!), but despite their instant chemistry, it's never seems to be the right time. Fast forward to 2021, Izzy is working in politics and is in Afghanistan to help evacuate a girls chess team and guess who turns out to be tasked with keeping her safe? ...Yeah you guessed it, Nate! But after not talking to each other after three years, tensions are high between the two.

This book has so many amazing tropes; right person/wrong time, second chance, forced proximity and bodyguard/military. It also has ADHD rep which I really appreciated!! This book is slow burn but in the best possible way, Nate is such a gentleman!! "I'm going to kiss you now" But don't let the slow burn fool you, there is spice and the spice is hot!

Izzy and Nate's characters are both flawed, but there is a lot of really great character development in this book, it makes them so much more relatable and lovable. There are also some solid secondary characters to this book that I really think add to the overall plot, my favourites being Izzy's sister Serena and Nate's best friend Torres.

Oh and the plot twist at the end? Shook. Left me absolutely gobsmacked, how had I not realised?!! No spoilers but it's a big one!

Was a big fan of this book, I think Yarros is certainly becoming a instant buy author for me!

In the Likely Event is an unexpected blend of adrenaline, drama and romance. Yarros pushes emotion to the limit with a deeply insightful read. Nate and Izzy are destined to break your heart. Expect the unexpected. Yarros does not disappoint.

Thank you Netgalley for gifting me a copy of this book.

This book wasn’t for me. What I read if the story was nice but not to die for and I decided to DNF it. I don’t want to push through it and end up hating the book.

I hope this book will find its audience

I'd probably start by saying that I consider myself a neutral reading party (by not belonging to any of the ethnic categories appearing the book) writing a review about a work of an author that I usually like. I hadn't really understood the polarising views of 'In the Likely Event' until I'd gone through it, but simply put, I find myself somewhat on the fence with everything.

First, it's pretty obvious to me that this is a story meant to be told from an American's POV (whether as a politician or a military service crew member), so the strong sense of 'them/those poor people/these evil people' vs 'us' was always going to be there no matter how I looked. The military romance dealing with American military/technological dominance (written by American authors) is always going to contain these elements--the white saviour complex, the clearly-defined good vs the bad guys and so on--and it is something I know many others can't easily overlook or not feel enraged by, particularly if they're looking at history written from a different perspective. I also had a feeling this kind of writing might have reached its zenith about a decade or more ago, so reading this in 2023 also makes this particular trope feel more outdated than ever, more so in today's fractured world.

On the one hand, that Nate/Izzy's romance was set during the withdrawal of the troops in Afghanistan helped give their ten-year-grey-relationship some push towards a sort of resolution during a time when things around them were literally falling apart. Then again, having their story run their course in Afghanistan might have been a poor plot setting choice as well, because...well, why did Yarros choose a particularly sensitive time (and admittedly, not a shining moment at all for the US) to bring this pair together?

That aside, my own issues with 'In the Likely Event' had less to do with geopolitics and more to do with character development and pacing--i.e., bookish concerns. I saw both Nate/Izzy's perspectives and how they felt about each other throughout; that was reasonably communicated well by Yarros as they simply seemed to be a pair that defined 'wrong place, wrong time, with the right person'.

But I just couldn't conceive anything more tortuous than the 10 years drifting together and apart, with a yearly fling thrown in (yet with no commitments) while they see other people to help pass the time and loneliness. How really, was this something I could really classify as a romance? Their history together might be significant, but the little time they spent together, then waxing lyrical about it rather than actually doing something concrete frustrated the hell out of me. Rinse, repeat over a decade.

It didn't particularly get much better because both Nate and Izzy merely came to a conclusion that they should have come to years and years ago, except that time-wasting angst, a romanticised history, coupled with a lack of clear communication got too much in the way. Moreover, did it really need a warzone for them to get their heads out of their arses?

The truth was, I was quite over this halfway on and simply plodded on to get to a rushed and unsatisfactory conclusion. 'In the Likely Event' just started out so painfully bright, but ended up a disappointing run.

There are some very valid criticisms of this book, including the whole white savior aspect. There were also times when I felt myself cringing that a real, ongoing crisis was used as the backdrop for these characters' romantic drama. These things definitely kept this from being a 5-star read for me.

Those issues aside, I immensely enjoyed the romance between Nate and Izzy. It was a perfect slow-burn, and I found myself rooting for them throughout.

The writing was engaging, and I was even surprised by a few twists and and turns that it took. Overall, I would recommend this if you're looking for an emotional romance.

Rebecca Yarros has become a must read for me. Izzy and Nate find themselves as seatmates in a horrific plane that they both survive. They part ways and find themselves back together in an unlikely place. Afghanistan.

Izzy and Nate's paths cross when they are seatmates on a plane and discover that they have an undeniable chemistry. Shortly after take-off, however, the plane crashes into the Missouri River changing the trajectory of both of their lives. Nate joins the military and Izzy enters the world of politics. They cross paths throughout the years but timing never seems to be on their side until they come together in Afghanistan and Nate is charged with keeping Izzy safe. He is determined not only to protect her but to finally win her heart. Rebecca Yarros is a fabulous storyteller and I loved reading Nate and Izzy's story.