I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a wonderful book. I enjoyed it from start to finish!

Unlikely Story is a contemporary romance set in both New York City and London.

Nora is a therapist in NYC. But she also writes an anonymous weekly advice column. She has an editor in London who she develops feelings for.

She is a therapist who sees a therapist. And honestly her therapist Ari was a wonderful part of the story.

I love when the main character is a therapist. So Nora’s jobs were definitely one of my favorite things about this book.

There is a little Jewish rep, although I would have loved more.

I loved everything about the NYC apartment where Nora lived. Her older neighbors and her best friend were perfection. And she has one neighbor who she finds handsome, but she can’t stand him.

I liked a lot about this book. But there was one aspect that confused me. I could not figure out whether the reader was supposed to be aware of it or not. That part of the story definitely went on too long.

The romance in this book was good (which man will she choose?). But it was a bit too slow burn. But overall this was a quick read that I did enjoy.

Unlikely Story was such a pleasant surprise. I love reading a book that makes me feel like I won’t be able to stop until I read cover to cover, and this one certainly is like that.

The story revolves around Nora and Eli, but giving You’ve Got Mail vibes and I loved the drama of it all. It hits hard with all the flirty messages, funny banter, romantic gestures, slow burn feeling, HIGH LEVEL TENSION and honestly free therapy. The book is fun, charming, and will have you yelling at Nora to open her eyes (girl, please!).

I’m so glad I decided to read this today. My first but surely will not be my last Ali Rosen book. Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and author for providing me this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Unlikely Story by Ali Rosen
Contemporary romance.
Nora is a relationship therapist during the day in New York. She also has a part time job writing a weekly advice column for the London Tribune. She and her long time editor for the column have become online friends through the process trading notes and conversations in the app. He’s intuitive, open with his own feelings and entertaining to chat with. When an opportunity to travel to London comes up, Nora admits to herself and her own therapist that she has feelings for J.
At the same time, her co-op has a new resident and he’s driving Nora crazy with his noisy renovation happening directly above her. His ex was a client of Nora’s and he blames Nora for their breakup so he’s not too upset about disturbing her.

Nora loves her job as a psychiatrist and being able to help people. She also needs her downtime. “Being able to build a life where I get to introvert alone is one of the greatest advantages to aging.” Hear, hear!
Beyond that comment, I loved how she had feelings for both men and she didn’t just ignore those. Also loved how intuitive and free J was in his writings.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley. I also purchased an audiobook to keep.

This book was really a study in how much you can like a book when you can see every twist coming? And the answer is, a whole heck of a lot. The secret identity of her editor was obvious to me from the jump but the journey of her realizing was so well done.

Nora is such a relatable, charming narrator. Watching her realize she can ask for help and doesn’t need to do everything for everyone was so lovely. The advice her therapist gives her is what so many of us need to hear.

And Eli. Secret softie Eli who tries to cover it up with a cool exterior. Readers will fall in love with him right along with Nora.

Hilarious and romcom movie worthy. I loved the tropes enemies to lovers, a love triangle, mistaken identity. Nora and Eli and J had great chemistry and the fun part was waiting for the identity to be revealed.

The plot of this story was...unlikely. I like my romcoms to be a bit more believable, and the actions of the characters just didn't seem all that realistic. I think the characters surrounding our FMC were really enjoyable. I liked the apartment complex/senior citizen friend group/

I really enjoyed this book. I usually enjoy dual POV, and while this is a single POV book, I was engaged throughout. The author conveyed what was going through the other characters head really cleverly through the messages the two share. I found both main characters likeable and quite endearing and I love how everything unfolded.

The story was fun and lighthearted and I had a good time reading it.
This was a wonderfully written romantic comedy.
I absolutely loved these characters and really enjoyed getting to know them.
A sweet, funny and heartwarming read!

This latest from bestselling Jewish author Ali Rosen was an anonymous texting coworkers to real life enemies to lovers next door neighbor fade to black romance. It had tons of heart, a great cast of secondary characters, animal sidekicks and messy family drama that all came together in a satisfying end. It was also great on audio. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

Unlikely Story was a very cute contemporary romance - a sweet novel great for fans of You've Got Mail too. Therapist and column writer Nora and her editor Eli are a great match in their virtual interactions and have an amazing rapport. But they don't realize that they've also met in person as neighbors in the same NYC apartment building quarreling over renovation plans Eli has for the roof of their building. Nora and Eli, the neighbors, have a fun enemies-to-lovers vibe and great banter and teasing as they slowly become friends and more. They both are dealing with family issues that they help to work through with each other's help, with the added help of Nora's sessions with her own therapist too. The novel was a little slow to start but then I found that I couldn't put it down. The growth and change in both characters was fantastic and heartwarming. Definitely recommend. Thank you to Montlake and NetGalley for the chance to read this novel.

I think you have to be in the right mood for this one, otherwise you may end up picking holes in a plot that definitely reflects the title. However, if you’re up for the type of story where the reader realises very early on what’s happening and most of the fun and tension lies in how and when the protagonists will work it out, then I strongly recommend giving this a go. Nora and Eli are both very much products of their upbringings and trying to break long-held habits; their interactions in all forms are full of chemistry and it’s easy to root for them both. For me there was a little too much emphasis on the therapy aspect, but as a Brit I really appreciated the accuracy both of Eli’s word choices, and also the parts set in London. The city descriptions generally were an evocative backdrop to the story, and along with some well-drawn and memorable supporting characters, make for a delightful read.

I absolutely adored Alternate Endings, so I was really looking forward to Unlikely Story. Unfortunately, it fell flat for me—which is a nice way of saying I was bored. I pretty much figured out the entire plot just from the synopsis, which isn’t unusual for romance novels, but this one just didn’t land in the entertainment department. I found myself skimming a lot.

I really liked J, but Eli? Not so much. I definitely experienced the whole love at first write, hate at first sight tagline when it came to that dynamic. But more than that, I just didn’t find anything particularly substantial about the story. There were way too many loose ends: her parents, Eli’s cat while he was gone, and some side characters who added absolutely nothing to the plot.

That said, I did enjoy the sense of community in their apartment building—and of course, George. Can’t leave him behind.

I'm always a sucker for You've Got Mail retellings so I was so excited to read this one. Unfortunately this one is just a 3.5 stars for me. While I liked the two main leads (Eli and Nora), I didn't find myself pulling for them. There was a bit too much internal monologue/thoughts which was okay for a while but then got too much. I do think that though this wasn't the romance for me, others will still enjoy it.

Unlikely Story is the third fiction book by Ali Rosen and I was really looking forward to reading it.
I love books that are set in NYC and in this case the city was a great backdrop especially with all the food description.
I don't like reading blurbs and, in my reviews, I try not to give away too much information about the plot so I will try to keep my review general.
Nora is a relationship therapist and she also writes advice column and it seems that she is in love with her editor J who she never met in person. He lives in London and she lives in NYC but she feels a very strong connection to him.
They've been communicating through a shared file for the last 7 years and when Nora agrees to attend a party in London to meet her new boss she decided to finally meet J in person but she is scared that meeting him will burst the bubble they have and that in real life they won't have such a strong connection.
On top of this Nora has a new neighbor. Eli, that moved directly beneath her and he is planning to use the rooftop of the co-op building and Nora doesn’t like his plans at all!
I loved reading about Nora and all the neighbors in her building. They were quirky and funny and really added to the plot.
I loved seeing how Nora changed through the book, how she is more open with her friends, with Eli and also with J.
Unlikely Story is a great rom – com with plenty of food to make you hungry so have some snacks nearby while reading.

Ali Rosen's novels seem to always take me on an unexpected journey, and this one featured a beautiful exploration of vulnerability, identity, and the ties that bind. New Yorker Nora is a therapist who realizes she may be in love with someone she's never met - the editor of her weekly advice column in the UK - but her feelings get tangled when an irksome man moves into her building. Were there a few too many convenient coincidences? Yes. Did I predict the reveal from the beginning? Also yes. But it didn't really bother me. I enjoyed suspending disbelief for a while and getting lost in this sweet story with lovely characters and a whole lot of heart. Highly recommend!

Thank you to Montlake for gifting me with an ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

‘Unlikely Story’ by Ali Rosen is a gorgeous rom-com starring therapist Nora, who is so great at giving advice that she has her own newspaper column, but not as good at asking for help or advice when she needs it… The only person she feels she can really open up to is her elusive copy editor “J”. It’s too bad that J lives a continent away, unlike her annoying new neighbour Eli who resides far too close for comfort!

I really enjoyed:
- The New York setting was an immersive and wonderful backdrop
- The scenes in London were slightly off the beaten tourist track, with one of them set at one of my favourite places ever… Kew Gardens
- The texts between Nora and J were sweet and wholesome
- I adored Nora’s dog George, and the way he helped her interact with her kind and funny neighbours
- Eli’s cats weren’t bad either…

Of course, the book was a little (OK, a lot) predictable, but it was like a warm hug and gets 3.5 stars from me. The recipes at the end were a great bonus and sound delicious!

I received an advance Digital Review Copy of this book from the publisher Montlake via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This was a great take on the You’ve Got Mail trope where we have a writer and an editor working together virtually who happen to become neighbors in real life. What makes this one work well is that one character doesn’t learn the truth until about 70% in and then does not use the situation to their advantage as so often happens in these types of stories. The reveal to the other character happens pretty quickly after that and I loved how everything resolved. Great group of supporting characters too and I loved the focus on therapy and mental health as well. The Epilogue was great too.

This book started a bit slow but once it really got going, it was difficult to put down. My first Ali Rosen book but certainly not my last.

Thank you Montlake and NetGalley for the ARC.

I really wanted to love this more than I did- but it is a cute little romance story. It might hit more for some people, but it was just too slow of a build up for me! I felt like the first 40% dragged too much and it lost me. Eli + Nora were sweet and I did end up enjoying their story more the last part of the book but it took too long to get there. I enjoyed the FMC being a therapist and the mental health representation throughout. I also thought some of the NYC scenery and setting was fun! The writing style was a bit blocky and I felt like we jumped around a lot.

The You’ve Got Mail energy is strong in this one!!

Couples therapist Nora has a side-gig writing an anonymous advice column for a British newspaper, and may or may not be in love with her copy editor, man she’s never met but has talked to weekly for seven years. She’s also got some interesting ~vibes~ with new neighbor Eli, a British writer who seems just a touch familiar…and not just because she helped his girlfriend dump him in a therapy session a few months prior! It’s all very complicated, this web of connections surrounding Nora, but what a beautiful web it is!

The highlights for me in this book are truly the characters big and small- Nora and Eli are introspective, caring, and gentle; their geriatric neighbors like Mr. Kwan, Tom, Meryl, and Gladys bring that no-nonsense love and support; and Dane just seems like the coolest best friend a girl could have! As someone that relates to Nora’s people pleasing tendencies, it’s great to see how she acknowledges it and also how those around her try and support her in spite of that!

This was very adorable, written with such gentle love and care, and a perfect cozy read! Thanks so much to Ali Rosen and NetGalley for a chance to read this in exchange for an honest review!