saradavcamp's review against another edition
4.0
This book was beautiful. I think the thing it made me want to do the most was vacation in Maui--which isn't something I'd been interested in before. The setting was perfect. Her descriptions of the surrounding area were very lovely.
I thought that the characters were very real, very like able and very good for each other. The romance between them was very sweet. She was rather hesitant to fall in love and he had never wanted to stick around before. Watching them get over their concerns was entertaining and the author did a great job of it all. I enjoyed this book and recommend it to everyone.
I thought that the characters were very real, very like able and very good for each other. The romance between them was very sweet. She was rather hesitant to fall in love and he had never wanted to stick around before. Watching them get over their concerns was entertaining and the author did a great job of it all. I enjoyed this book and recommend it to everyone.
caslater83's review against another edition
3.0
Pros: It's clean. No clothes being yanked off. Nothing inappropriate. Good clean romance.
Cons: I found this harder to enjoy. Why would Lani be involved with a guy for almost a decade if she doesn't love him? Why waste that much time? Easton strikes me as a "go where the wind blows" type of guy. He's not perfect (no man is, really), but is he really that much better than Derek?
I typically enjoy Rachael's books, but of all her books, this is definitely my least favorite novel.
Cons: I found this harder to enjoy. Why would Lani be involved with a guy for almost a decade if she doesn't love him? Why waste that much time? Easton strikes me as a "go where the wind blows" type of guy. He's not perfect (no man is, really), but is he really that much better than Derek?
I typically enjoy Rachael's books, but of all her books, this is definitely my least favorite novel.
valeriew's review against another edition
4.0
Cute book!!! I loved Easton. He was a great character. I did feel like things moved a little too fast and that her reaction to what he did was a little ridiculous. But he did the right thing in the end.
amy_inthecatacombs's review against another edition
4.0
*I received a copy for I Am a Reader Blog Tour
Not Always Happenstance is the second book in a series, and I use that term very loosely because so far Pearl, the Matchmaker is the only thing shared in the stories. At least for now, I don’t know if any other authors in the series have tried to do any more cohesion than that.
I will say I wish Pearl would be more meddlesome. When I first heard about this series, I immediately thought of the elder, Chinese women that plays in the Freaky Friday version with Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan. I kind of wish Pearl could have this facet to her, too. She does meddle some, but I’m kind of been wanting some comedic aspect. Then again, it might would not be that cohesive since multiple authors have her appear in their respective books.
Anyway, I didn’t like Easton that much for a while. Even though the girls he was with knew he had no intentions of staying, I hate how he used the locals for his own personal gain. He does change which is nice. I really liked Lani and wish her family was closer knit. I kind of wish Derek was more in the book, but I kind of understand why he wasn’t.
I did like this book, but I feel like not much happened. I never had a problem reading this book or found that many lull moments, but I do wish more bigger events happened. I loved that Rachael included Hawaii words, but I do wish there were more cultural aspects.
Not Always Happenstance is the second book in a series, and I use that term very loosely because so far Pearl, the Matchmaker is the only thing shared in the stories. At least for now, I don’t know if any other authors in the series have tried to do any more cohesion than that.
I will say I wish Pearl would be more meddlesome. When I first heard about this series, I immediately thought of the elder, Chinese women that plays in the Freaky Friday version with Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan. I kind of wish Pearl could have this facet to her, too. She does meddle some, but I’m kind of been wanting some comedic aspect. Then again, it might would not be that cohesive since multiple authors have her appear in their respective books.
Anyway, I didn’t like Easton that much for a while. Even though the girls he was with knew he had no intentions of staying, I hate how he used the locals for his own personal gain. He does change which is nice. I really liked Lani and wish her family was closer knit. I kind of wish Derek was more in the book, but I kind of understand why he wasn’t.
I did like this book, but I feel like not much happened. I never had a problem reading this book or found that many lull moments, but I do wish more bigger events happened. I loved that Rachael included Hawaii words, but I do wish there were more cultural aspects.
momwithareadingproblem's review
5.0
I received an eARC of this book from I Am a Reader as part of a blog tour in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.
Not Always Happenstance by Rachael Anderson is the second book in the Power of the Matchmaker but can be read as a standalone. This fun, contemporary romance follows Lani. Lani is at a crossroads in her life. She must learn to trust her heart instead of head because if she doesn’t Lani risks losing something she didn’t know was missing.
Lani is such an easy character to relate to. She’s fun, outgoing, kind, sweet…the list goes on. BUT she has trust issues. Her dad ran out when she was a kid, her family isn’t close AT ALL, and her only constant in life is her grandmother. When her college sweetheart asks her to marry him after nine years and living an ocean apart, Lani has to decide if she loves him enough to leave the home she’s made in Hawaii or if it’s time to move on. I really felt for her on this! She loves Derek, but he isn’t IT….does that make sense?
Lani runs a bed and breakfast with her grandmother on one of the smaller Hawaiian islands, so this gives the author some leeway to have some fun characters. First there’s Pearl, the Matchmaker, the eccentric Asian lady who happens to show up for a room that people keep canceling and she stays the whole summer. And then there’s Easton. Easton is very mysterious. He shows up, rents the bungalow for the entire summer, but rather than see the tourist hot spots, he wants to see what the locals see. He’s a playboy who may have met his match in Lani.
The plot of the story is a sweet romance that blossoms between Lani and Easton. As I’ve already mentioned, Lani has some big decisions to make regarding Derek (her college sweetheart) and ultimately what she is looking for in life. Easton needs to learn how to love in earnest. Reading this story my heart broke for them over and over again because simple miscommunication or NO communication kept them from happiness.
Overall I really enjoyed this story. It’s sweet, funny, and a clean read which is hard to find in this genre anymore. If you enjoy contemporary romance, I highly recommend this and the rest of the books in Power of the Matchmaker. Each book in the series features a different couple helped along by Pearl. A new one is released the first of each month for 2016. It’s fun to see how each book ties to the next and I’m excited to read more!
Not Always Happenstance by Rachael Anderson is the second book in the Power of the Matchmaker but can be read as a standalone. This fun, contemporary romance follows Lani. Lani is at a crossroads in her life. She must learn to trust her heart instead of head because if she doesn’t Lani risks losing something she didn’t know was missing.
Lani is such an easy character to relate to. She’s fun, outgoing, kind, sweet…the list goes on. BUT she has trust issues. Her dad ran out when she was a kid, her family isn’t close AT ALL, and her only constant in life is her grandmother. When her college sweetheart asks her to marry him after nine years and living an ocean apart, Lani has to decide if she loves him enough to leave the home she’s made in Hawaii or if it’s time to move on. I really felt for her on this! She loves Derek, but he isn’t IT….does that make sense?
Lani runs a bed and breakfast with her grandmother on one of the smaller Hawaiian islands, so this gives the author some leeway to have some fun characters. First there’s Pearl, the Matchmaker, the eccentric Asian lady who happens to show up for a room that people keep canceling and she stays the whole summer. And then there’s Easton. Easton is very mysterious. He shows up, rents the bungalow for the entire summer, but rather than see the tourist hot spots, he wants to see what the locals see. He’s a playboy who may have met his match in Lani.
The plot of the story is a sweet romance that blossoms between Lani and Easton. As I’ve already mentioned, Lani has some big decisions to make regarding Derek (her college sweetheart) and ultimately what she is looking for in life. Easton needs to learn how to love in earnest. Reading this story my heart broke for them over and over again because simple miscommunication or NO communication kept them from happiness.
Overall I really enjoyed this story. It’s sweet, funny, and a clean read which is hard to find in this genre anymore. If you enjoy contemporary romance, I highly recommend this and the rest of the books in Power of the Matchmaker. Each book in the series features a different couple helped along by Pearl. A new one is released the first of each month for 2016. It’s fun to see how each book ties to the next and I’m excited to read more!
francesca_rock's review against another edition
4.0
Review Posted: Book Bitch
What a cute idea! A series of books by different authors that have a recurring secondary or tertiary character. A character who is somehow magical I might add! How cool!
Then we get to meet Lani and she's kick ass and tough! Easton is a bit mysterious and his reason for being in Hana is kind of unclear. Just awesome so far - a strong leading lady and a mysterious man. Yep - all the ingredients I enjoy in a story.
And of course they fight it. Well, one of them does anyway. They're all like "no, it would never work" when clearly they were both super into it.
In the end this was a lovely story. All of the characters had integrity and deserved respect. It's so nice when you can have respect for people you're reading about. Yes, they made mistakes, but that just made their decisions in the end that much more powerful and impressive. The ending, after the flight - wow, I just loved that. Putting it all on the line like that. You go, Lani!
Side note - Hana sounds like paradise to me, I'd love to be there. I'm not completely familiar with Hawaii and Maui, but Hana is legitimately a place. And I believe this is a road that gets described and used fairly regularly. Look how pretty it is there! This book has given me a new destination on my travel desire list.
All in all, I dug this story! The story itself was pretty cool - but the characters were what made it spectacular.
Rachael Anderson, you completely nailed it.
What a cute idea! A series of books by different authors that have a recurring secondary or tertiary character. A character who is somehow magical I might add! How cool!
Then we get to meet Lani and she's kick ass and tough! Easton is a bit mysterious and his reason for being in Hana is kind of unclear. Just awesome so far - a strong leading lady and a mysterious man. Yep - all the ingredients I enjoy in a story.
And of course they fight it. Well, one of them does anyway. They're all like "no, it would never work" when clearly they were both super into it.
In the end this was a lovely story. All of the characters had integrity and deserved respect. It's so nice when you can have respect for people you're reading about. Yes, they made mistakes, but that just made their decisions in the end that much more powerful and impressive. The ending, after the flight - wow, I just loved that. Putting it all on the line like that. You go, Lani!
Side note - Hana sounds like paradise to me, I'd love to be there. I'm not completely familiar with Hawaii and Maui, but Hana is legitimately a place. And I believe this is a road that gets described and used fairly regularly. Look how pretty it is there! This book has given me a new destination on my travel desire list.
All in all, I dug this story! The story itself was pretty cool - but the characters were what made it spectacular.
Rachael Anderson, you completely nailed it.
ghumpherys's review
5.0
I'm loving the Power of the Matchmaker series! And Rachael Anderson is one of my favorite authors, so I wasn't surprised that I loved this novella. I have never been to Hawaii, and the setting in this story makes me really want to visit! Such beautiful descriptions of the island and the local culture. I loved the two main characters -- they were both fighting their attraction at first and determined to overcome it (ha!). Great banter and dialogue. I also liked that there was an element of mystery to Easton's background and reason for being in Hawaii.
I felt like Lani's grandmother was almost as much of a matchmaker as Pearl was, and it's interesting to see how Pearl has been incorporated into each of these stories. Loved the ending - it was just perfect!
I received a free e-book version of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I felt like Lani's grandmother was almost as much of a matchmaker as Pearl was, and it's interesting to see how Pearl has been incorporated into each of these stories. Loved the ending - it was just perfect!
I received a free e-book version of this book in exchange for an honest review.
magickislife's review
5.0
I love the characters in this book, Lani was by far my favourite in a book read recently.