“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!
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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| Here I am sitting in front of this open word document trying to find an opening into my thoughts about “In The Unlikely Event” (ITUE) written by one of my go-to authors L.J. Shen.
Yes I wrote “go-to” – which sounds like I would trust to always know what I am getting myself into. – well – forget about that thought … And while you’re at it – when you read the plot/blurb – you also might have thought that you would know all you need to know about the book – forget about that too.. L.J. Shen proves with this book that she is indeed a “go-to” author just for her writing style alone – but never ever think you would know what you were getting yourself into when it comes to the plot. Having said that – I have a question – It might sound totally random – but have you ever asked yourself what a cow, a piece of chocolate, a ghost and a napkin might have in common? Well even if you didn’t – when you finished reading this story you will have a pretty good idea what the answer is to that and it will leave you in a state of disbelieving that you actually read what you think you read – … trust me you did … This book really touches so many subjects and looks at them from all angles – and I do mean all angles – (which you will come to understand during reading too) – there were moments that left me in deep thought and moments when I laughed out loud – and I had only read the headline in that second … – There even was one moment that brought tears in my eyes and they weren’t even for the main characters. When I choose to read this book I really had no Idea what the plot would be about – and I am not into spoilers at all – but I feel that I still should give a trigger warning – because there definitely are triggers. Actually it also contained one of my triggers where I only make exceptions in rare cases – usually only when one of my go-to authors uses them. Rory and Mal are probably the most infuriating characters that I read this year – There were several moments when I thought “Is he serious” or “She did not just say that” – but it all made perfect sense considering the contract they had. The other characters in this book – and there is a lot of them are all so well developed and placed that in any other case you would feel that this is the start of a series and the author uses this to introduce the readers to them. But I am pretty sure that will never happen in this case – trust me – This plot has so many layers that not even the comparison to an average onion will do – because you will find yourself peeling from the first chapter on and you will not stop to do so until you read the final words from the author. If you look on the surface you see a “second chance novel” – but there is so much more hidden – I wouldn’t even know where to start or how to compare this book to anything I read. I can honestly say that L.J. Shen wrote a story unlike any other I read so far which again proves that it is still possible to do something fresh and new.
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