I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
A destination wedding brings back old feelings and hard truths in author Parker Elling’s “The Statistically Unlikely Reunion,” the second book in the Grad or Die Romance series.
The Synopsis
Two exes, one weeklong destination wedding, what could go wrong?
Lorelai Anneliese Zhao has always separated her life into two unequal halves. There was life before meeting and falling in love with Lucas Sebastian Murray, and there was her existence after she was forced to break up with him.
Before:
Lorelai was a college freshman trying to balance too many responsibilities. After being the unwilling catalyst for her parents’ separation, Lorelai felt honor-bound to provide for her family financially, meaning she didn’t have time for parties, boys or anything else people said ought to happen in college.
Falling for Lucas was, at best, an inconvenience, and at worst, a weakness her father could exploit.
Present:
Almost six years later, Lorelai is purposefully delaying graduation, knowing that the moment she finishes her PhD, she’ll have to join her father’s company and start the rest of her so-called life.
She’s worked hard to avoid news of Lucas over the years (her sentiment analysis dissertation project helped), but there’s one event neither she nor Lucas can avoid: the destination wedding of their mutual best friend, Brody.
To anyone else, a weeklong, all-expenses paid trip to Hawaii would be a dream.
For Lorelai, it’ll be torturous.
She doesn’t want to answer Lucas’s lingering questions, or face feelings she’s worked hard to bury. More than that, given Lucas’s meteoric rise and her health issues and ongoing family drama, she’s more convinced than ever that she’s the un-lucky charm her mother always labeled her as.
The Statistically Unlikely Reunion is a standalone STEMinist romance, part of the connected-universe Grad or Die Series, with a guaranteed HEA.
THE REVIEW
Another incredible, gripping romance novel, the author delves into postgraduate-meets-destination-wedding tropes that readers can definitely get behind. The rich settings of this novel are enhanced by the author’s powerful imagery, which creates descriptive scenes that are both emotional, immersive, and passionate. One aspect of the series that stands out from others is the author’s infusion of intellectual discussion and career themes into the back stories and the overall narrative of this book.
Yet the true heart of the story is in the author’s ability to create characters that readers really want to invest in. Not only do readers get a rich background for Lorelei and her family dynamics, especially the drama with her and her father and the expectations that come with working for his company, but her messy and complicated feelings for Lucas and the relationship she feels could have been clashing with her responsible nature and plans for the future, making their dynamic throughout the book even more compelling to the reader.
THE VERDICT
Thrilling, engaging, and powerfully written, author Parker Ellings’ “The Statistically Unlikely Reunion” is a must-read slow-burning postgrad meets destination romance. The twists and turns in the story, the complex family dynamics at work for the protagonist, and the adult-themed, passionate romance that unfolds across both the past and the present will keep readers invested as this larger series continues to develop, with the possibility of new romances. If you haven’t yet, please be sure to grab your copy today!
Rating: 10/10
About the Author
Parker is a career student and obsessive reader who loves learning and reading about… everything.
Though born and raised in the U.S., Parker spent a few years (off and on) living in Taiwan and found herself needing to relearn English when she was younger. Thankfully, there was a lovely saleslady at the local Thrift Store who allowed Parker to buy books by the bag. On a near-weekly basis, Parker would fill a grocery bag worth or mostly Harlequin books for $3, learning about everything from cucumber sandwiches (many of these were set in England) to how people earn those happily-ever-afters.
Parker tries to fill her books full of her past educational experiences (four degrees, from MIT to USC, meaning you’ll see a lot of stories set in or around academia) and past traveling adventures (living in five states and four countries and too many cities and not-quite-towns to list).
https://www.instagram.com/parker.elling
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