In the Unlikely Event

By: L.J. Shen

Narrated by: Joe Arden, Shane East, Muffy Newtown, Savannah Peachwood

Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

"The perfect blend of soul-crushing angst, laugh out loud wit, and heart-melting romance.” (Helena Hunting, New York Times and USA Today best-selling author)

From number one Amazon best seller L.J. Shen comes a new, star-crossed lovers romance about loss, love, and meeting The One when you are too young to know how to keep them.  

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?

©2019 L.J. Shen (P)2019 Audible, Inc.

Uhhhhh

So here's the thing, to read/listen to this book and actually enjoy it, you have believe in fate and make believe. There's so many issues I have with this book. There are SPOILERS ahead, just a warning.

First of all, at the end Rory finds out that everyone has been lying to her about everything and she just forgive them after a chat? What? Her whole life gets flipped turned upside down and she's just like "I accept your apology, we're good now". Huh? No. No one reacts like that and ends up happily ever after.

Also, there is a scene that is supposed to be super hot, steamy, sexy, whatever. And as a female, I'm sitting there thinking, you have a UTI for sure, please go to urgent care. AND the messiest clean up that won't be done for WEEKS. And, again, please go to urgent care, you need antibiotics.

Lastly, this has bugged me so much, how does Mal go from the verge of DYING to spry as young lad in the matter of one nap?

I have a lot of issues with this book, the fantastical of it all. I can't.

Narration was decent.

No no no!!! That’s not how Vagina’s work!

Way too much make believe and the lead heroine is a complete idiot. There is a Mars bar scene which really “jumped the shark” and made me think the author has no idea how female anatomy works.

Two of my favorite narrators were unfortunately used for this book. I wish they could get the time it took to produce this book back.

Overdramatic, poor narration, unlikable characters

It was difficult tog get through this, but it's the one book I downloaded to get through a long flight. I struggled through hoping it would get better. It didn't.
The author relied too heavily on main characters who fall into ridiculous romance tropes, jump to the worst conclusions, make idiotic decisions, overdramatize everything (but who confusingly don't react more strongly to actual tragedies in the plot), and who refuse to make even slightly plausible choices that would clear up mistaken assumptions.
Even the narrator for Rory's character overdramatized 90% of her part, sometimes even giving misplaced gravitas to something as simple as stating the chapter heading. Also, her attempts as an Irish accent were terrible. At times it seemed like she used loudness as a substitute for quality, as if all the Irish characters were yelling their way through certain chapters.
Of the few things I enjoyed, the only one I can remember a day later is that there are surprise interjections from the perspectives of side characters (and animals, and objects). These round out the plot a little and give some humor. Those brief chapters were actually wonderful, and it's sad their brilliance is nowhere to be found elsewhere in the book.

WOW, 10 ⭐️.. WHAT A RIVETING EPIC LOVE STORY

Oh where oh where do I start with reviewing this breathtaking, epically original, intricately woven, beautiful yet tragic love story? Should I start by explaining that Rory and Mal are star-crossed lovers from different Continents who fell in love the day they met.. which was the day before they had to say goodbye.. naively thinking they’d leave their futures to Fate? Or should I explain their destinies, like their hearts, were always with each other - but life, lies, betrayal, secrets and heartbreak got in their way? Perhaps I should just say what an utterly moving, beautiful, complex, powerful, unique, emotionally gripping, stunning masterpiece this was and I’ll never forget it. Ms. Shen gives you a loveable hero and heroine who just click and are destined to be together. But she also gives you villains too.. and lets you peek behind their masks by giving you brief glimpses from their POV’s which was insightful and flips your thoughts. Finally, and maybe most importantly, I should just tell you that this riveting, romantic, beautiful, heartbreaking, unpredictable rollercoaster is, in my opinion, Ms. Shen’s best book yet.

Told from dual PoVs (Joe, I loved your sexy Irish accent for Mal) - with other characters and objects PoV’s.. (yeah that’s right objects!) being mixed in there too. The wonderful narration by these talented actors brought the story, its characters and the wealth of feels to life making it a perfect listen.

Worth a credit? Oh boy oh boy YES.. please don’t miss this book. This well-crafted, intense, second-chance journey of Rory and Mal’s was painful to my heart, profoundly touching, very addictive, emotionally suspenseful and ridiculously romantic. It made my senses soar high then plummeted them hard when the tide turns on a sweet couple whose ‘not yet’ love takes eight long years, tears, tragedy and many misplaced steps before it can finally turn into a forever together love.

More negatives then positives

The beginning had me hooked, but it dragged, got over dramatic, and i couldn’t stand the insults.

*SPOILERS FROM HERE*

The fact that Rory let’s her get insulted page after page, by people that “love” her and she does nothing about it - no. She just shrugs things off and puts the blame on herself. She gives Mal the satisfaction when he doesn’t deserve it. Mal is supposed to be someone we love? He emotionally abuses her time after time, even after he realizes that they’re actually “meant to be”. I get that they’re both supposed to be “messed up” but things they did to each other and then forgave each other for just had me rolling my eyes.

I cannot believe I stuck around, hoping there was this big reveal that would save their characters and faults. But there wasn’t. The bullying conversations everyone gives to each other is literally cringey and intolerable.

The performance was decent - lol.

Amazing, Amazing and Amazing!

I knew that I was going to fall in love with this book... So it wasn't a surprise when I did and I fell hard. The characters and their personalities, the notes that let you see a bit deeper into the minds of everyone... and everything?! which was hilarious btw. Mal and Rory were meant to be, it was written in the stars, it was kismet. But of course life and love is never easy especially when there are lies and secrets involved. This read pulled at my heartstrings, confused me at first and frustrated the heck out of me. I wanted to yelled at them to get it together because Communication is key ppls, if you start to assume and withhold truths it will cause nothing but trouble.... When these two were around each other you felt the intense attraction and steam that pulled them towards each other. Let's not forget
The. Things. That. Comes. Out. of. Mal's. Mouth. Omg!😜
Also, I never thought this before but the Irish accent is yummy, hot, sexy, goodness! 💚 Just thought I'd throw that out there. 🤷🏽‍♀️
I laughed, I cringed, I was teary eyed, I gasped, I sighed, I whisper yelled, so many different emotions reading this book. It was beautifully written, the audio and performance was Amazing, It was Angsty and emotional and funny and a wonderful experience. I enjoyed it so much from the very beginning till the end. L.J. Shen you are truly awesome.

Disappointing ending

EVERYONE lied to Rory, EVERYONE betrayed her. I get that this is a romance and happy endings, no matter how ridiculous, are mandatory. But why couldn’t Rory be angry, at least for little while? It would have been a lot (immensely, enormously, immeasurably) better if she was allowed to succumb to a realistic melt down like 99.9999% of all other women. Instead she gets to be angry at her mother who sacrificed everything for her but hurt her self-centered, selfish, myopic Irish poet!...the same person who treats her like trash, as well as those around him because he feels sorry for his pathetic self.

No, Rory, a mix between Mother Theresa and Mary Magdalene forgives everyone without any angst...sigh. Oh, and she gets to live in a tiny village where everyone hates her because her beau is a pig and only cares about himself.

The story was great until the end, the plot was great, until the end, the performances were great throughout.

Find something else to listen to

Honestly don’t waste your money. I know people can have different opinions but how anybody would like this book is beyond me.

Outstanding!

What an explosive story! But most of all what an outstanding performance by the narrators!!! They really brought it to life!

I fell in love with Aurora and Mal but even more with Ireland if that's even possible. The "notes" from different side characters was a really nice touch in the story that gave us a glimpse into their point of view while clearing up certain things. This story is full of drama and a well deserved HEA.

Thank God for sexy, confident, charming, flirty, gorgeous Irish men that know what they want and go for it!

Excellent!

Loved it. loved the quirky parts...the cow, the napkin, the notes... loved Joe Arden's Irish accent and Savanah Peachwood was excellent as ever. l

In The Unlikely Event that you can stay awake

Wow ... well, where do I start. Imagine that feeling when you're just coming out of anesthetic. And a fly lands on your nose and just stays there. But you're still too paralyzed to do anything about it.

That's better than listening to this book.

Good story awful accents by female narrator

This was a great story and the female narrator is fine when speaking in her American accent but OMG her Irish accent was atrocious as was her British accent. Unfortunately when she was narrating it took away from the story. The male narrator however was great and it was so nice to hear his proper Irish accent.

Entertaining

I really enjoyed the narration and the story had some great funny parts. I found myself guessing what was going to happen and I predicted correctly.
Overall a good book.

In the Unlikely Event this isn’t a load of rubbish

I normally like L J Shen’s books, and although they are of a certain type ie, quite full on with pretty graphic sex, the storylines and characters are normally pretty good, with top notch narration (apart from The Rake - dire!) However, this was a real disappointment ☹️
The accents were just terrible…. TO THE COMPANY THAT PRODUCES THESE AUDIOBOOKS, PLEASE USE NATIVE SPEAKERS UNLESS THE NARRATOR CAN DO EXCELLENT IMPERSONATIONS! It can quite literally ruin a listen.
The storyline was ok ish, but the main characters were not to Shen’s usual standard. Found them really annoying and juvenile.
The sex scenes were all a bit OTT, particularly the gratuitous chocolate bar scene. I’m very open minded, but it was very un sexy. It felt a bit like a shock value afterthought.
I really had to push my staying power on this one, and nearly gave up on several occasions. Whereas, I can’t wait to continue reading a good LJ Shen, like the Boston Belles series (apart from The Rake😁), Perseverance did not pay off this time. Felt like I’d wasted hours I will never get back.
Lots of authors now seem they are all about quantity and not quality.
Disappointing, so can’t recommend.

Absolutely amazing

wow.

I adored this book on paperback but listening to it but heightens the emotion, the laughter and the love.
the narrators were exceptional, that irish accent...😍

Not for me

Couldn’t wait for this to finish but not in a good way. Predictable story and an odd switch up of voiced characters partway through from a woman with a male irish accent to the male with a woman’s american accent. Neither main character is particularly likeable and the female’s a little whiney.
I’m no prude but there is some extremely crass and unnecessary sexual dialogue; I was cringing when listening in the car when I stopped at traffic lights and roundabouts desperately trying to turn the sound down. Waste of money for me.

What a twist at the end!!!

I finished this in just over a day. I was so hooked and couldn’t stop listening. Joe Arden does a brilliant Irish accent and narrated this book perfectly. Savannah Peachwood was fab as usual and the little cameos from Shane East and Muffy Newton were perfect.

The story was a stroke of genius!! It was such a beautiful and heartfelt story that made you want to keep listening. I couldn’t fault this book in any way. For me, it was perfect, absolutely perfect. There is a huge plot twist at the end that you do not see coming but once it is revealed you then realise that the twist was apparent through out the whole story.

Pure genius from LJ Shen. She can not write anything other than pure magical and stunning stories. I loved everything about this book.

😍

I’ve listened to a lot of L.J. Shan’s books and have enjoyed them all, but I can say hands down that, so far at least, this is by far my absolute favourite!
I’m also curious to know more about Summer and to see if she meets her Richard Gere :)

Fabulous

Such a great entertaining story of love and so funny
loved the notes from the cow, the napkin and of course the chocolate bar.
Best book ever
Loved it

Great story cringeworthy accents

The story line was really good. Took a few unexpected turns and the characters were well written. The performance however was dodgy. The accents were quite distracting from the story.