[ARC Review] Love Not at First Sight by Sarah Ready

Release date: 7/20/21
Format: eARC
eARC provided by: Sarah Ready via Social Butterfly PR
Full details and links to purchase are here.

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Love Not at First Sight is the second book in Sarah Ready’s Soul Mates in Romeo series. Veronica absolutely does not want a soulmate, thank you very much. Miss Erma, Romeo’s resident soulmate finder/matchmaker, can just keep Veronica’s soul mate’s name to herself. But when Veronica’s soulmate comes to Romeo - and is none other than billionaire playboy Frederick Knight - Veronica knows she will do anything to avoid running into him. Veronica’s had enough of playboys and their come ons. So to avoid accidentally running into Frederick, Veronica packs up her hiking gear and takes to the trails. But her hike doesn’t go as planned, and soon Veronica ends up trapped in a cave with a stranger named Sam. After days trying to find their way out, Veronica and Sam end up relying on each other, then liking each other, then even loving each other. But once they get out of the cave and back to safety, Veronica realizes Sam isn’t the man who she thought he was in the dark of the cave; in fact, he’s the last person she can allow herself to love. Both Sam and Veronica have a lot of past baggage to work through on the way to their happily ever after. But Miss Erma is never wrong when it comes to soulmates. . .

I read through Love Not at First Sight in one sitting - I just couldn’t put it down. I was very interested in the whole premise of falling in love with the last person you want to be in love with - completely unaware that’s who you’re even falling for the whole time. I also love the misunderstood playboy trope, so this book was right in my wheelhouse. 

I found both main characters to be completely relatable. Veronica had very good reasons to be distrustful of playboys, and I love that she came full circle on that journey. I also loved Sam’s whole story, from geek to billionaire to misunderstood player. It was clear early on how well both Veronica and Sam worked together, and how perfect they are for each other, and I loved how Sarah Ready took these two characters from strangers to soulmates. 

I find Sarah Ready to be one of those authors whose writing I just get lost in. I picked up Love Not at First Sight and the next thing I knew, I was at a happily-ever-after and it was several hours later. This story was so easy to read; it just pulled me in like I was right there with Veronica and Sam in Romeo, New York. 

Although this is the second book in the Soul Mates in Romeo series, readers definitely don’t need to read the first book, Chasing Romeo, in order to understand what’s happening in Love Not at First Sight. There are characters from the first book that make an appearance in the second, and Miss Erma’s special soulmate ability is a plot device running through both novels, but readers can definitely love and appreciate the plot if you haven’t read Chasing Romeo. 

With a slow build romance and plenty of character development, Love Not at First Sight is a fantastic new contemporary romance to add to your TBR pile.