She thinks meeting him must’ve been fate. It wasn’t. Claire, a pastry chef struggling to make her restaurant succeed, is too busy to pursue romance. That doesn’t stop her loving but meddling mother, Helen, from setting her up on dates. Even after Helen promises to stop her matchmaking efforts, she can’t help herself. She convinces Eric, a pediatrician, to meet Claire at a gallery event. Eric … Eric, a pediatrician, to meet Claire at a gallery event.
Eric and Claire feel an immediate connection, and their meeting becomes a magical first date. But the longer Eric and Claire see each other, the less comfortable Eric feels about hiding the fact that Claire’s mom set them up. Meanwhile, Claire loves to talk about how she trusts Eric, and how they met by chance. How will she react to the truth?
This witty, sweet romance includes a free Hallmark original recipe for Claire’s Coconut Lime Tarts.
more
Pastry chef Claire Michaels is doing everything she can to make her struggling restaurant a success. Dating is the last thing on her mind. But that doesn’t stop her mother Helen from playing matchmaker. Helen is married to the love of her life and wants the same for her only child. When she meets Eric, a pediatrician, she knows immediately that he’s the one for her daughter. Despite her promises to stop her matchmaking efforts, Helen can’t help herself. She convinces Eric to meet Claire.
When Eric and Claire meet for the first time, there’s an immediate connection between them. But as their relationship progresses, he starts to feel guilty about hiding the fact that her mom set them up. Claire thinks that she met Eric by chance. How will she react when she learns the truth?
I absolutely loved this book. It has all the wonderful things I have come to expect from a Hallmark romance. Heartwarming family relationships, a sweet romance, and relatable characters. Kacy Cross’s engaging writing style made it very easy to become engrossed in the story. I really liked the restaurant setting and the delicious descriptions of food. I wasn’t sure how I would feel about the multiple POVs, but I ended up really enjoying it and became just as interested in Sam and Helen’s relationship as I was with Claire and Eric’s. If you are looking for a lighthearted, feel-good story, then I highly recommend this book. As an added treat, the author includes a delicious recipe at the end.
Thank you to NetGalley and Hallmark Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
When a chance meeting really isn’t a chance, Claire and Eric must figure out if they were meant to be, or just another meddling-mom. A fun, quick read that will leave you satisfied.
Love by chance is a delightful, charming and sweet read. Eric and Claire are wonderful characters. I truly enjoyed reading their story. Its a wonderful well written story. I thought the storyline was really good. Its a page turner. This story kept my interest through out the story.
Thank you to Hallmark Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy.
I read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book All thoughts and opinions are of my own.
Love By Chance is a sweet, romantic story that will leave you hungry for sweets. Claire owns her own bakery and is very close to her mom. It was funny to see how far Helen, Claire’s mom, would go to find a sweet guy for Claire. At one point she seems to go too far and what ensues is funny and horrible at the same time.
Eric is a pediatrician who ends up in one of Helen’s schemes. That scheme made a fun and humorous story. This was written to go with one of Hallmark’s movies. I have never seen the movie but after reading this book I really want to watch it. This is also the first book I have read by Kacy Cross and I plan to see what other books she has written because I enjoyed this book. I received an advance copy of this book and I willingly chose to write an honest review.
Love by Chance by Kacy Cross is a fun, light, breezy, romantic novel that delighted me from beginning to end.
I enjoyed Claire and Eric. I thought they were like able and had chemistry. I also liked that they both had professions and identities outside of each other. I also feel they complimented each other well.
I enjoyed the “sparring” and banter between Claire and her mom, Helen. I think they have a good relationship despite her mom’s meddling. I think Helen truly has Claire’s best interests at heart, but doesn’t know exactly how to help without sometimes coming off as pushy. If Helen would have dialed back some of her mannerisms, she would have probably come off as a more enjoyable mom overall. However, I still liked the fact that there were flaws amongst the characters that were presented throughout the book, as it made them more endearing to me.
I enjoyed the connection and romance of Claire and Eric. I enjoyed the plot, subplot, and the sweet ending. I will definitely read more from this author.
5/5 stars
This was a cute romance. Helen just can’t stand it that her daughter, Claire isn’t married yet. So she sets out to rectify the situation. Eric is a pediatrician who just happens to to become the object of Helen’s machinations.
This is way fun. The antics Helen gets into trying to see Claire married and the dance she and Eric do trying to tell Claire the truth. The characters are sweet and and the story is a joy to read. If you love sweet, romantic comedies, this is the book for you.
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and give my honest review of this book.
Love by Chance is a delightful novel by Kacy Cross. Claire’s mother, Helen, is driving her crazy with her interference in Kacy’s love life. Helen is determined that her daughter find true love and has set up Claire in any way imaginable, but what Claire doesn’t know is that she has also put her on a dating site, even after being told to butt out in no uncertain terms.
Amused by the conversation he overhears while Helen tries to explain the situation to an online suitor, Dr. Eric Carlton is somehow drawn in to Helen’s world and is convinced to meet Claire at a catering event she is doing through her restaurant, Gilded Sweets Bakery. Eric is taken with Claire, who thinks it is fate that brought them together. However can a real relationship develop when Eric feels so guilty for his deception?
This is a cute story of mishaps and mistakes that is entertaining from beginning to end. I enjoyed this book and do recommend it.
In “Love by Chance”, beautiful, busy baker and chef Claire Michaels has a full plate– she’s working hard to become a culinary success, please the public and her business partner, Marco, and earn the coveted starred review from the local restaurant critic. Love is on the back burner. That just won’t do for Helen, Claire’s “means-well meddler” mother who is not only a realtor extraordinaire, she’s also a proven matchmaker. Despite Claire’s protests, Helen just can’t rest until Claire is happily wed. Once Helen has handsome and charming Dr. Eric Carlton in her sights, he soon finds himself caught up in a scheme to arrange a fake chance meeting with Claire. A genuine attraction quickly grows between Claire and Eric, but he is plagued by guilt over his part in the deception. As Eric and Claire grow closer, Helen is neglecting her own relationship with her husband, Sam, who is ready to enjoy his retirement and take a long-planned journey to Italy with his beloved wife. When all truths are revealed, the effects are devastating, and it will take a leap of faith and a lot of love to move forward toward a happy future. However, where there’s cake, there’s hope, and the heart will have it’s way. Author Kacy Cross has done justice to the original Hallmark Channel movie upon which the novelization is based, and she has infused the sweet romance with her own humor and insights. I very much enjoyed both the movie and the book, and I highly recommend them both for lovers of delicious contemporary “foodie” romance. The book also includes a scrumptious Original Hallmark Recipe for “Claire’s Coconut Lime Tarts”.
Book Copy Gratis Hallmark Publishing
What is meant to be will always find it’s way….
Love by Chance is a beautiful romance story with all the feels. Claire Michaels is a pastry chef extraordinaire. She eats and breathes her craft and her business. With that comes a price, no time for any kind of personal life. That’s where her mother Helen comes in. She takes the reins in trying to find her daughter “the right man”. It takes a toll on her relationship with Claire and also Helen’s husband. Helen finds who she thinks is the perfect soul mate for Claire with Eric Carlton.
Eric Carlton is handsome, smart and a doctor to boot. Unfortunately things get out of hand and the secrets and lies about Eric and Claire’s “chance meeting” blows up in their faces and causes disastrous effects. This story had humor, wit and all the genuine romance that can sometimes go by the wayside in romance stories. A nice cozy read to enjoy with a cup of tea in front of a roaring fire.
I really enjoyed reading this book!
Love By Chance, is a refreshing
& sweet romance. Delightful characters make it the perfect read.
What happens a meddling mother will
not stop interfering in her daughter’s
love life. Then she feels fate has
brought her the “one”, or has it?
Claire Eric’s story will draw you
in from the very beginning.
Romance and Mom is a crazy combo! When Mom thinks she is your matchmaker run, just run. Loved the book and entertained by the movie. Both are fun and provide clean romance. Fast enjoyable read. As with all Hallmark books there’s a great recipe at the end. One of these days I am going to start making these.
Thank you to Hallmark and NetGalley for me to allowing me to read and review.
A funny, sweet romance
My rating is 4.5 stars
Claire’s mother was a meddler in the worst kind of way. For Claire. For us, not so much, because Helen who created the major problem that made the story so much fun to read! Helen needed to be needed by Claire and she thought the way to fill that void in her life was by arranging Claire’s. And finding her a perfect match. The problem is that Claire wanted to find her own. Have it happen naturally so she would have a romantic story to tell her children and grandchildren.
Oops!
Eric was the unsuspecting bystander who just happened to relent to Helen’s persistence and go to see Claire for himself. And happened to fall deeply in love with her at first sight.
See the conflict here?
Mistakes are heaped upon mistakes to create the perfect storm of RomCom magic. Claire, Eric, Helen, and Helen’s husband, Sam, were all allowed to share their thoughts in a third-person manner throughout the story, which was a great choice.
I enjoyed seeing Eric and Claire at the hospital with one of Eric’s young patients, bringing her cheer and pastries. Their kindness and love for children touched my heart. I also liked seeing Claire and her business partner, Mario, try to figure out which patron was the anonymous food critic they were expecting. And the result of them being wrong and saying things they never would have dreamed of uttering in the critic’s presence. (And, I might add, I’m quite proud of myself for figuring out this mysterious person’s identity right away!)
If you enjoy clean RomCom with witty humor, I highly recommend Love by Chance. And I’m excited to add Kacy Cross to my list of authors to follow!
Read my review of Love by Chance by Kacy Cross at AmongTheReads.net
I was given a copy of this book. I was not required to give a favorable review nor was any money received for this review. All comments and opinions are my own.
Sweet romance with a meddling mom, swoony hero and pastry chef heroine. This book is based on a Hallmark movie, which makes it the perfect recovery read for the Hallmark Christmas movie hangovers we are all suffering from.
If you love Hallmark movies, this book is for you!
Unlucky-in-love and highly-driven small business owner Claire is struggling to make a rousing success of her dream – creating cakes and tarts in the perfect local cafe. She’s got a history of failed matchmaking attempts from her mom, Helen, who takes meddling in her daughter’s life to a whole new level, and has sworn off relationships to focus on baking and business.
Helen is incredibly proud of her people-reading and matchmaking skills. She means well, and just wants her daughter to find the happiness she’s enjoyed for so long. At the same time, we come to find that Helen is struggling with her own identity and fears as she gets older and looks at the changes that the next chapter in her life will bring. However, we quickly see that she is going about things ALL wrong.
Our hero Eric is a nice, normal guy who gets caught up in one of Helen’s schemes. We have some hints that he and Claire may have met organically on their own, but Helen’s meddling definitely accelerates the timeline. The problem is, Claire has become very upset with Helen for her interference, and forbidden her from matchmaking. Now that Helen is positive she’s found the perfect guy for Claire (with both Claire and Eric in quick agreement), she’s afraid that her previous association with Eric may ruin everything. So her solution is to keep it a secret from her daughter, and she manipulates Eric into playing along…
I enjoyed reading Claire and Eric as a couple and as individuals. Both characters were well defined, likable, and funny – “good people”. The book and the characters have everything you would expect from a Hallmark book/movie, and they are honestly one of my “go to” entertainment sources for lighthearted fun with a guaranteed HEA.
In true romance style, we see our trio stumble through misinformation and misunderstandings all along their path. I’ll be honest in saying that Helen is over the top. We see where she is coming from, absolutely. But her methods leave a bit to be desired. Nevertheless, the story moves along at a nice pace, is well fleshed out, and written in a light, positive mood; true sweet & clean Hallmark fashion.
Thanks to NetGalley and the Hallmark Publishing, I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
This was a cute, charming story. Well, I can’t quite say the same about Claire’s mother though. I could feel the frustration that Claire has been dealing with because more than once I wanted to strangle her mother. Yeah, yeah I know Helen loved her daughter, so she wasn’t being mean. But geesh, ever heard about boundaries? Her steam roller ways seem to work in her business because she gets things done. But she can’t understand why Claire’s potential boyfriends run when Helen starts to meddle? Really? She sure has blinders on about that. It also starts to cause some problems in her marriage not only is she pulling strings but hiding it too.
Eric was a good guy, no doubt about it but I also kept waiting for him to put his foot down with Helen. I mean, really put his foot down.
I did enjoy some of the cute moments in the book. It also has the benefit of being a clean romance.
It has a somewhat predictable H.E.A. ending to the story.
“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”