Today’s book review is for In the Likely Event by Rebecca Yarros, a contemporary romance with a mile-high meet cute and a happy ending with a twist!
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Book Synopsis
When Izzy Astor gets on a plane to go home, she isn’t expecting much. It’s the usual holiday travel experience: busy, crowded, stressful.
Then she spots her seatmate, who is anything but ordinary. Nate Phelan sports dark hair, blue eyes, and a deliciously rugged charm that Izzy can’t resist. Their connection is undeniable. Izzy never believed in destiny before, but she does now.
Just ninety seconds after takeoff, their plane goes down in the Missouri River.
Their lives change. They change. Nate goes on to a career in the military while Izzy finds her way into politics. Despite a few chance encounters over the years, the timing never feels right.
Then comes a high-stakes reunion in Afghanistan, where Nate is tasked with protecting Izzy’s life.
He’ll do anything to keep her safe. And everything to win her heart. From Goodreads.
“The woman was a meteor, a shooting star capable of granting impossible wishes or destroying life as I knew it.”
The Basics
- Category: Contemporary Romance
- Tags: Military Romance, Second Chance Romance, Political Romance, Suspense
- Author: Rebecca Yarros
- Publisher: Montlake, August 2023
- Where to Find: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads
- Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
- Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️
**Spoilers Ahead**
When I read Rebecca Yarros’ “Fourth Wing,” I gave it an immediate 5/5 stars. The world building was so descriptive, and I loved the characters. Going off how I felt about “Fourth Wing,” I assumed I would like her other works. I know why some people like this book (it has a 4.25/5 rating on Goodreads at the time of writing this), but it just wasn’t for me. And that’s okay!!
This book gave me “28 Summer” vibes, but with a much happier ending.
So Let’s Get Into it…
The book follows Nate and Izzy, bouncing back and forth between the present and past. Nate and Izzy “meet cute” on a plane, but then everything goes south when their plane crashes into the Missouri River during take off. Nate is able to keep calm and help Izzy and other passengers to safety. During the crash, Izzy ruptured her spleen and has emergency surgery. While she’s in surgery, Nate gets picked up for basic training. They had an immediate connection on the plane, but never thought they would see each other again.
Three years later, Nate and his buddies are having a night out before they are deployed, and he spots Izzy at the bar attending her friend’s bachelorette party. They end up spending the next day together, but agree not to date. They stay in contact, but due to Nate’s line of work, they aren’t able to see each other or even communicate much. Nate wants nothing but the best for Izzy even if that means she dates other people.
In the present (2021), Nate is in the special forces in Afghanistan and is assigned a security duty. Until Izzy stepped off the plane, he did not know it was her that he would be guarding (along with the others in her group). Izzy on the other hand, is now engaged and did not even know that Nate was alive. They both still have feelings for each other, but frustratingly don’t want to talk about it. Their falling out stems from a day in 2018. Nate and Izzy have differing perspectives of what went down that night. Even though they are both valid in their feelings, it was very frustrating to read.
“It didn’t matter who I met, who I dated, or who I tried to love. Nate would always be in the way, even if he was never a possibility there. It was impossible to give away a heart I’d never gotten back in the first place.”
Comparing this to Yarros’ writing and descriptiveness in Fourth Wing, it is like the books were written by two separate people. The spicy parts of the book felt awkward and were hard to read without cringing. The characters have slight backstory, but not enough to make you like them. I also never felt immersed in the story. A bulk of the book took place in Afghanistan and nothing was really described about the setting taking place in a literal active warzone. Yarros briefly skims over PTSD, but only enough to make it feel forced and not a part of the story. She had a great opportunity to go into more detail about PTSD since the pair were plane crash victims and Nate was in the military, but the execution felt sloppy.
There is a happy ending YAY! There is also something I won’t spoil that is revealed at the end of the story. After learning that piece of information I reread a few chapters/passages, and it did make me feel a little more sympathy towards Nate.
“Possibility. The same reason he loved the sunrise.”
So… Bookmark or Bin It?
Conclusion: Bin it
I think this book was just a little too over the top and unbelievable/coincidental for my liking. I still think that Yarros is a great writer, but I am going to stick with the Fourth Wing (Empyrean) series for now.
Fun extra tidbit
Izzy’s full name is Isabeau because her parents loved the movie Ladyhawk. In the film Ladyhawk, the two main characters are Isabeau and Navarre. In Fourth Wing, Navarre is the kingdom the story takes place in. So does that mean Yarros’ favorite movie is Ladyhawk? Are there more nods to the movie in some of her other works??
Thanks so much for reading my book review of In the Likely Event by Rebecca Yarros. And now it’s your turn! Have you read this novel or any of Rebecca’s and if so, what were your thoughts!
Happy reading 😊
