In the Likely Event - Review

In the Likely Event

By: Rebecca Yarros

Publication: August 1, 2023 by Montlake

348 pages

Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Military

Source: Personal Kindle Library

( Goodreads | Amazon Currently On Sale )

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Goodreads description--When Izzy Astor gets on a plane to go home, she isn’t expecting much. It’s the usual holiday travel experience: busy, crowded, stressful.

Then she spots her seatmate, who is anything but ordinary. Nate Phelan sports dark hair, blue eyes, and a deliciously rugged charm that Izzy can’t resist. Their connection is undeniable. Izzy never believed in destiny before, but she does now.

Just ninety seconds after takeoff, their plane goes down in the Missouri River.

Their lives change. They change. Nate goes on to a career in the military while Izzy finds her way into politics. Despite a few chance encounters over the years, the timing never feels right.

Then comes a high-stakes reunion in Afghanistan, where Nate is tasked with protecting Izzy’s life.

He’ll do anything to keep her safe. And everything to win her heart.

I've only read Rebecca Yarros's fantasy books Fourth Wing and Iron Flame. Her writing was impressive enough that I wanted to check out more books. And I got In the Likely Event when it went on sale. Historically, I don't read as many adult contemporary books. But I see that transition coming.

In the Likely Event is told in then and now chapters alternating points of view between Izzy and Nate. As the description says, Izzy and Nate meet on a flight when they are seatmates. Izzy is terrified of flying, and this flight is Nate's first. Izzy is headed back to college and Nate is off to basic training. The two start a conversation while waiting for the plane to take off. And then the plane crashes into the Missouri River shortly after takeoff. Nate and Izzy pair up to help other passengers off the plane and get to shore. When Izzy is taken to the hospital with some internal bleeding and a ruptured spleen, Nate is whisked off to basic training. They lose contact but continually wonder about the person they had such an intense connection and encounter with over time. 

In the now, Izzy is a lawyer working for a senator doing some charity work while trying to get a girl's chess team out of Afghanistan in 2021 when the American troops are exiting the country. Thankfully, even though some of these events have a political nature, the characters had no political commentary. No agenda or narrative was pushed. Events were just recorded as they happened in a way that didn't feel like the author was trying to push the reader into feeling one way or the other about the events. All authors could take note of this. I much prefer this method over any agenda being pushed--even if it's an agenda I might agree with. Nate is now in Special Forces and tasked with protecting the Americans on this mission. Specifically, he has been assigned as Izzy's bodyguard. Their history is palpable because their last encounter before this one didn't end well. Yet the reader doesn't know what happened. 

The "then" chapters are sprinkled throughout the book, building from their first meeting until that last one that leads to three years of no contact between them. Izzy is now engaged and working in a field she always hated. Nate is finding it hard to believe she hasn't changed. To make matters worse, Izzy is on a personal side mission while in Afghanistan increasing the danger she will face. 

Guys, I loved this story. It is a retelling, or at least inspired by, Ladyhawke. Two star-crossed lovers are destined to meet briefly, repeatedly, but they can't spend much time together before being whisked away again. The tension and hope build and build. I didn't understand why Nate never felt like the timing was right for them. And then I didn't understand why Izzy was not okay with waiting for him. Yet, I really had to stop and put myself in her shoes. Literal years went by with no timeframe to guess when they might actually be able to be together for more than 9 days at a time. For like years. I mean they might go an entire year with that short time together. Living like that long term is impossible. And I can see how I wouldn't be able to sustain that or the hope needed to see the light at the end of the tunnel. 

There were also a lot of pop culture references as well as book references. Sometimes this bothers me because it can date a book. Other times, I don't mind when the readers aren't referencing things as present pop culture. The references made were already out of date which makes them okay in my opinion. 

Favorite quotes:

-Go figure we'd meet again like this. We'd always had a habit of colliding at the worst times and in the most inconvenient places. It was almost fitting that it was a battlefield this go-round.

-I took the hint and retrieved my own book out of my purse, flipping to the bookmark in the middle of chapter eleven of Jennifer L. Armentrout's Half-Blood.

-"Very Jess Mariano of you."

-...the way I see it, there are all kinds of wars. Some are just more visible than others. It won't exactly be the first time someone has swung for me, and at least this time I'll be armed.

-"I mean, there was totally room on the door, but I loved the rest of it."

-"She'll be safer with me." "Because you're in love with her?" Torres questioned. I shook my head. "Because Jenkins isn't willing to die for her."

-That was all we were together: one giant, crossed line that neither of us belonged on the other side of.

-"What changed?" "It became one of the lesser traumatizing things I've seen," he said softly. "But if I do get them, they're usually that I can't get you out, or that you slip away in the current. Never gets past that, though. I'm perpetually battling to get you to shore."

-It was impossible to give away a heart I'd never gotten back in the first place.

-I could almost taste the butter pecan. It was a lifetime ago, and yesterday, all in the same breath. That's what Nate was to me. As far away as a lifetime and as close as yesterday, as near as twelve inches.

-"I'm capable of a lot of things, but unfortunately for my own sanity, I seem to be incapable of not looking at you."

There were maybe three on-page sexual scenes that were descriptive, but not the worst I've seen or the most descriptive I've seen from Rebecca Yarros. But I'm telling you in case you care. Cursing was also present. Not so much that I felt like it was excessive. 

And there was one "twist" that I didn't see coming that makes me look forward to doing a re-read on this one. 

In the Likely Event starts out pretty quickly. The plane crash isn't in the first chapter, but it does happen quickly. And I was hooked on Izzy and Nate's love story. I can definitely see myself re-reading this book in the future as I'd like to see the signs of that twist coming. And I really just loved this story. In the Likely Event gets 4.5 Stars. Have you read In the Likely Event? What did you think? Let me know!