A review by momwithareadingproblem
Not Always Happenstance by Rachael Anderson
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!