REVIEW: In the Unlikely Event by L.J. Shen

"Romance masterpiece" - Kylie Scott, New York Times bestselling author

From USA Today and #1 Amazon bestselling author L.J. Shen comes a new, contemporary romance with heart-wrenching twists and laugh-out-loud moments.

In The Unlikely Event is available now!

OUR REVIEW:

In the Unlikely Event has characters that have what we've come to expect from LJ Shen: charisma, quirkiness, snark, and strong personalities. Both Mal and Rory have these traits in spades. What makes this novel such a stand out are some of the features that we don't always see in such abundance when it comes to her work. For instance, the sheer variety and number of voices we hear from is something you don't see very often in literature and enhances the reading experience by adding levity, perspective, and drama. Another thing that stood out to me as different from Shen's previous novels is the humor--sometimes it felt like a romcom and sometimes the humor seemed to work as a shield against some of the deeper truths. Additionally the build up to the big reveal was more fun than angsty which had me turning pages and making guesses about what was to come. While none of my guesses were wrong, and there was definitely a sense of satisfaction to guessing correctly, it was how the characters revealed and reacted to the information that made it even more pleasurable to read. 

This more lighthearted love story was an unexpected delight from LJ Shen and just reiterates what I already know--I'm here for everything she writes and I always look forward to what's coming next. 

Sometimes you meet people who are out of this world, so you make them a part of yours.

A one-night stand born from vengeance in a foreign land.

An explosive chemistry neither of us could deny.

We signed a contract on the back of a Boar’s Head Pub napkin that said if we ever met again, we would drop everything and be together.

Eight years and thousands of miles later, he’s here.

In New York.

And he’s America’s music obsession.

The intangible Irish poet who brings record executives to their knees.

The blizzard in my perfect, unshaken snow globe.

Last time we spoke, he was a beggar with no intention of becoming a king.

But a king he became, and now I’m his servant.

I’m not the same broken princess Malachy Doherty put back together with his callused hands.

I have a career I love.

A boyfriend I adore.

An apartment, a roommate, a life.

I changed. He changed, too.

But Mal kept the napkin.

Question is, will I keep my word?

Download your copy today or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

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In The Unlikely Event is now available in audio!

Narrated by: Shane East, Muffy Newton and Savannah Peachwood

Amazon Audible: https://amzn.to/2Qw5ODd

Amazon Audible Worldwide: http://mybook.to/ITUEaudio

Add IN THE UNLIKELY EVENT to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2lSW5tE

Excerpt

When I finally come face to face with the street artist standing on the side of the pavement, his guitar case open and full of rolled-up notes and change, I understand why his grandfather told me I’d recognize him with the self-assurance of an avid believer.

I’ve never seen someone like him before.

He is beautiful, true, but that’s not what stands out to me. He is radiant.

It’s like his presence has a presence. He sucks the air out of everything in his vicinity, making it impossible not to look at him. Malachy is tailor-made for a huge, colossal heartbreak. Everything about him—his tattered jeans, filthy boots, white shirt, and leather jacket that was broken in decades ago—screams trouble. He looks like a seventies heartthrob. An icon. A Terry Richardson muse. Bruce Springsteen pre-fame.

His voice is like honey and warm spices. It lulls me into a place in my mind I’ve never been before, even though it’s far from beautiful. It is gruff, throaty, and smoky. When someone bumps my shoulder to get closer to him, I snap out of my reverie and realize what I’m listening to.

“One” by U2.

The coincidence is strange. I try to tell myself it’s nothing. This is Ireland. U2 is a national treasure.

His eyes are squeezed shut as he sings. It’s like no one exists other than him and his guitar. Something warm rushes through my skin, like a heat wave, and I shudder in delight.

Warmth.

I always thought there was something melancholy about street performers—the way people walk past them, ignoring their music, their art, their passion. But this guy, he’s the one doing the ignoring. The tables have turned. He’s got the crowd eating from the palm of his hand. Every woman here is under a thick, sweet spell. He’s got that Harry Styles quality that makes girls want to bed him and older women want to adopt him. The men are a cross between impatient, annoyed, and jealous. You can see it in the way they tap their feet, check their watches, nudge their wives and girlfriends to move it.

The song ends, and Malachy Doherty cracks his eyes open and stares directly at me, like he knew I’d be here. Like he watched me watching him through closed eyes. Disoriented—and for some reason wanting to do something, anything—I throw a bill into his guitar case and look away, realizing to my horror that I threw the fifty euros his grandpa gave me. Everyone around me murmurs and whistles. They think it was intentional. I can feel my face flaming red. I bet he thinks I want to sleep with him.

Do I? Probably. But should he know that? Hell no.

About LJ Shen

L.J. Shen is a USA Today, Washington Post and Amazon #1 best-selling author of contemporary, New Adult and YA romance. Her books have been sold to nineteen different countries.

She lives in California with her husband, son, cat and eccentric fashion choices, and enjoys good wine, bad reality TV shows and catching sun rays with her lazy cat.

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