Unless It's You is book two in the The Hart Sisters trilogy by Chrissy Hopewell.
Ok after reading this book I’m jumping into Amazon and getting If We Pretend.
This light Enemies to lovers and second chance romance was a captivating read!
Chrissy Hopewell portrayed the characters and their personalities very well.
I thought this was a sweet, heartwarming romance that makes you want to read more in the series.
I can’t wait to read book three Since We're Here.

Thank You NetGalley and Fox Hollow Publishing for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Stella met Ethan and instantly felt a connection, but she dated Ethan's best friend instead. A year later, they broke up, and she somehow ended up working with Ethan on a project. At the same time, her aunt who recently passed away, left her with a bucket list that she must fulfill otherwise it will affect her and her sister's inheritance that they desperately need. Ethan who secretly harbors resentment and regret for not pursuing things with her, offers his help to be her advisor in fulfilling the list. With the time they spend together, their sparks are re-ignited...

This is a second chance romance for Stella and Ethan, though they never really start anything at the beginning apart from a kiss. I don't really feel too much chemistry between them, and the reason why Stella dated his best friend is just mehh (her friend told her to, really? also she thought he was dating someone else, but yeah, she could've confirmed instead of jumping to the next guy right away). The story didn't grip me from the beginning, it's really difficult for me to finish the book, and the miscommunication really irks me. What I do love is their character growth as they support each other through their grief and completing the list. It was a sweet and heartwarming romance, with some humor and spice.

✿ 𝙸 𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚎𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚍 𝚊 𝚌𝚘𝚙𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 from #netgalley 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚖 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠 𝚟𝚘𝚕𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚕𝚢 ✿

Unless one decides to live a life in solitude, it is important to allow yourself to be vulnerable and even scared because the result of finding love far overpowers any of that fear of failing. Ethan doesn't allow anyone to penetrate his hard surface because of his fear of abandonment due to his childhood. He never feels quite good enough. Stella throws herself into work and convinces herself that she is neither wife nor girlfriend material ad Ben said to her. It is when her great aunt Evelyn creates a bucket list for her and her sisters which must be completed in a month does she realize how empty her life is. Ethan agrees to act as her advisor but refuses to let her cheat her way through as that is simply going through the motions without really understanding why the tasks were tailored to her. That in creating this bucket list would Stella understand that Evelyn didn't want her to regret not choosing her great love. She needed to pursue the one who got away. This is a great love story in which it reveals how truly magical it can be.

Stella & Ethan shared a great night at a pub, and an amazing kiss. The a mutual friend told Stella that Ethan was getting back with his ex, and instead of confirming, or talking to him about their great night, she started dating his best friend. I hate a miscommunication trope, but I love Ethan & Stella.

Witty banter, cute kittens, a former Rugby player with a heart of gold who helps Stella finish a bucket list made for her by her great-aunt and she helps him deal with some personal issues he keeps bottled inside.

It's just too good.

Upon the death of her great aunt, Stella Hart, an American advertising executive living in London, learns that she had a stipulation in the will. Stella must complete a bucket list that she has sent, or the estate goes to charity rather than to Stella and her sisters. Whilst the list is unreasonable, the last item states that she needs to Find the One that Got Away but Stella dreads the thought of facing her ex-boyfriend, Ben. However, when she must work with Ben’s best friend, Ethan Fraser, who has never seemed to like her, she realises that the chemistry between them is intense. Ethan Fraser, an ex-professional rugby player, is also struggling with the loss of his late troubled mother. Yet with Stella, he realises he can face his fears, as she is the only one that truly understands him; however, he can’t quite come to terms with Ben finding out, believing it to betray their friendship.
An easy read, with two quite likeable characters in Stella and Ben. Their attraction is dynamic, but it is the connection that they feel, in part because of their loss, that was a delight to read. I enjoyed seeing how this couple overcome their past hurts but also learn from this when developing their relationship.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a arc of this book!

Omg. This book was so cute. i loved the bucket-list aspect. It gave a forced proximity feel. I loved Ethan and this, and i love their relationship.

I would give this book a 4.25 stars. definitely recomend if you want a cutesy romance:)

This story was absolute perfection. Stella and Ethan were adorable and it was an honor to read about their journeys. I love that they helped each other and both had beautiful growth journeys.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this ARC. It really is a very sweet read. It took me a few chapters to really connect with the characters but from about 40% it got easier to get swept away with the story.
Chrissy has an easy direct writing style and I enjoyed the dual POV throughout the book. It was a balanced ratio between Stella and Ethan.

In the second half of the book, everything really drew me in. There were 2 things that I enjoyed the most:
1 - Stella really did have to try harder to make things work with Ethan.
2 - Ethan is a good guy that is sincere and considerate.

Once I got to know the characters it was easy to connect with both. I loved Stella's independence and adored Ethan's development with his feelings for Stella.

The bucket list was so well thought out and really pushed Stella to her limits which drove the story wonderfully. Initially, I wasn't such a big fan of Ben, even though he is portrayed as the one that everyone adored and chose. The final conversation with Ethan is what made me appreciate him in full as a character in the book.

One of my favourite quotes in the book was:
"I rub the butterfly tattoo on my wrist. When I got it before I moved to London almost eight years ago, I thought it was about freedom. But now? Now I think it's really about transformation. That you can change your life completely, while also keeping who you are at the core."

At the end, I found myself hoping for more about Maddie and am delighted that book 3 will continue with her. I will definitely also be grabbing book 1. Unless it's you works well as a standalone, even though it is book 2 in the series.

Initially, I was going to rate it 3.5 stars but the second half of the book was so well written and everything came together so nicely that it pushed it up to 4 stars.

***
I won't be adding this to my reviews but I wanted to point out one grammar error where the sentence just didn't flow right in chapter 37 loc 3678: "He reaches for my hips and yanks to me him."

Unless It’s You by Chrissy Hopewell was just too cute! Stella and Ethan had a kiss That Night, but she ended up with his best friend, instead. Now, she’s newly single and they have to work together on an advertising project. Banter….. curmudgeon but actually a cinnamon roll MMC on the inside. A little spicy, and a lot sweet. The characters spent a lot of time dealing with trauma from childhood, and it was done in a really respectful, honest way.

I loved the first book, and now, I can’t wait to read the last sister’s story of finding love! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is yet another romance with a grump hero who, deep down, has a heart of gold. Ethan is quite hot and Stella is very sexy. But they have trouble getting together since Stella thought he had a girlfriend and so she ended up dating his very best friend, a nice guy whose family had saved Ethan when he had a very crummy childhood.

But he’s still fallen for Stella so he helps her complete her great-aunt’s bucket list. And, of course, they fall for each other while they’re at it.

Predictable complications ensue, but you know it will all work out because it’s a romance novel.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

Absolutely adorable...

This is a new author to me and I am glad I took the chance on this one. This is the second Hart sister to find her forever love, even if she didn't believe she'd find it!! I feel this can be a stand-alone, but having enjoyed this one, I'm going back to read book one!

Stella is easy-to-love, and I enjoyed her spirit. Her meet cute with Ethan was sweet, and flirty, but when she sticks him in the "friend zone", and begins dating his best friend - well, he's frustrated.

Great aunt Evelyn is definitely a driving force, very involved in this storyline and this couple's HEA, and I loved it. The chemistry between these two is steamy, addictive and engaging. My complimentary copy of this book was provided by Netgalley, and I happily leave my review. I recommend this read.

Unless It's You by Chrissy Hopewell is the second book in The Hart Series. I haven't read the first in the series, but I will definitely be checking out the first one because this was really good. Stella Hart is an American living in London and works at an ad agency, while Ethan Fraser is a former professional rugby player and who is on a sabbatical from his job as a brand manager and is spending his time working for a youth charity. His charity is merging with another and to promote the merger and to hopefully get corporate sponsors, they are hooking up with an agency to make some commercials. Stella and Ethan are stuck working together, much to their initial chagrin. They have somewhat of a past, but never really pursued anything. Stella ended up dating Ethan's best friend and just thought that Ethan didn't like her. Both think that the other has feelings they don't, angst within the family and a great aunt who leaves a bucket list that Stella has to complete in 28 days or lose it all to a cat charity. This was so fun and such an enjoyable read for me. I'm excited for the eventual third book!

Thank you to NetGalley, Fox Hollow Publishing, and Chrissy Hopewell for ther eARC of this book.

The plot of this story is what drew my attention to request an arc copy. Both characters are dealing with grief and loss and are struggling in their own ways. I found the idea of the FMC’s great aunts bucket list was fantastic I’ve never come across a book that used that kind of idea (and I’ve read a lot of books). The banter was great. It didn’t feel too much of an enemies to lovers to me more on the lines of second chance romance. But I did still really enjoy the book it is in dual pov which is a bonus point. The only thing I didn’t like is the miscommunication it’s one of the things I don’t enjoy in books. Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for a copy

can i give this 100 stars?!?!?? oh my god! i don’t think i have anything negative to say about this title other than CAN I HAVE A PHYSICAL COPY IN MY HANDS YESTERDAY?!?! i am super excited to pick up everything else this author releases!

This was a good missed opportunity romance. The character development was written well. It was easy to connect with Stella and Ethan. The characters were like able and relatable. This read was a little more slow burn and not as spicy as I usually like but it was an enjoyable read nonetheless. Some tropes you can expect are: second chance, dual pov, enemies to lovers. Thank you Chrissy Hopewell and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a really nice romance read. The banter was really fun and the romance developed very nicely over the book. The spice was a little more than I like. But I think other people would love it.

If you like a missed opportunity romance where the process of them getting back together is oh so sweet, then read this book!

Stella has been tasked with completing a bucket list in order to keep an estate. The list she has to complete has some crazy things - and she is so tempted to cheat the system. A simple "find the one who got away" - how is she supposed to know who that is?! Could it be her ex?
Watching her figure this out was SO much fun.

Ethan is Stella’s ex boyfriend’s friend. He has faced so much trauma which has made him grumpy and not approachable. He has always had a thing for Stella since they shared a kiss!

This story was heavy on the romance and I was here for it! But the romance did not come easy - imagine having feelings for your best friends girl?!

I really like both Stella and Ethan. Watching them both overcome their personal hurdles by working together was so heart warming!

Ethan has a lot of damage from his mother, and that aspect of the story where he finds closure was important.

Just read this heartbreaking quote he said near the beginning:
"Because someone loved you enough to write a bucket list for you."

This is the second in a series, but can be read as a standalone!

Thank you NetGalley and Fox Hollow Publishing LLC for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I got very involved in the characters and how they related to each other made perfect sense. I loved the setting of London as well as their travel to Scotland. The romance scenes were spicy and not too much. I even loved the cat. Extremely charming from cover to cover. Looking forward to the third installment!

Stella and Ethan have a past and it’s not from Stella being Ethan’s best friends ex.

Brought together by work, Stella ends up needing Ethan to help her with a personal matter of a bucket list her great aunt left her, in order to receive her inheritance. Ethan helps her see the deeper meaning in the items and Stella in turn helps Ethan fight the demons his past has created.

Once these two gave into one another I struggled to put this book down. Chrissy Hopewell did an amazing job keeping the reader interested

Spicy contemporary rom com with a hint of enemies to lovers but really a second chance romance. I enjoyed the characters and the way their relationship evolved felt believable. The chemistry and spice were well written and definitely sizzled. I look forward to reading more from this new to me author.