Accidentally Yours

by Christina Lauren

Serendipity works wonders for a woman and her seemingly unattainable crush in a funny and flirty short story by Christina Lauren, New York Times bestselling author of The Unhoneymooners and My Favorite Half-Night Stand.

When marketing consultant Veronica accidentally crashes the wrong Zoom meeting and brutally critiques their presentation, she’s shocked to receive a job offer from the company’s intriguing CEO. Their professional email exchanges quickly turn flirty, but Veronica’s mind keeps drifting to her reserved but gorgeous new neighbor. As Valentine’s Day approaches, she’ll discover that sometimes the most improbable meet-cute can lead to the perfect match.

Christina Lauren’s Accidentally Yours is part of The Improbable Meet-Cute: Second Chances, stories for star-crossed lovers and hopeless romantics. They can be read or listened to in one sitting. Let’s do it again.

Genres: Romance, Novella, Short Stories, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Adult, Workplace Romance

93 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication January 20, 2026

About the author

Christina Lauren is the combined pen name of long-time writing partners/best friends Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings. The coauthor duo writes both Young Adult and Adult Fiction, and together has produced twenty New York Times bestselling novels. Their books have been translated into 30+ languages. (Some of these books have kissing. Some of these books have A LOT of kissing.)


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Reviews

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a cute novella, I really enjoyed it!
It was quick, fun, well developed and it had me giggling so much.

Veronica accidentally crashes a Zoom meeting and gives them some harsh criticism which leads the company CEO to offer her a job.. Their work e-mails lead to banter, which leads to flirting.. They don't know each other, but their connection isn't all that coincidental..

I loved Jude and Veronica, their banter was so good and they really had chemistry, which made the quick timeline much more believable. I loved their e-mails and texting and how well they matched each other's vibe, they were so adorable. I'm also glad we got some backstory.
We got to meet some secondary characters too and I really loved her sister, but Larry was definitely the star of the show. 

I really hated the miscommunication though.. That was such an unnecessary addition, it was honestly so stupid, which is why I took away a star..

*Thank you to Netgalley and to Amazon Original Stories for providing me with an ARC.*

[Casey Reads 🌸]

Excited for this one! This author is hit or miss for me, but I have seen good early reviews!

[Salma [Comment restriction]]

in love with this cover

[Luce · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favourite of all of the novellas.

A great storyline, the emails between the characters were hilarious and yet it didn't feel rushed!

Novella Ranking:
1. Accidentally Yours by Christina Lauren - 4.5 stars
2. Time Will Tell by Hannah Bonam-Young - 4.5 stars
3. Second Act Romance by Julie Soto - 4.25 stars
4. Death to Valentine Days by Catherine Cowles - 3.75 stars
5. A Play for Love by Trilina Pucci -3.25 stars
6. Valentine's Slay by Navessa Allen - 3 stars

I received an advanced copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5⭐️


Oh I LOVEDDDDD THIS!!!!! Unhinged zoom roast sesh, email flirting vibes, accidentally find out they’re neighbors PUHHHLEASSEEEEE. This is what I live for!! The kismet >>>

I was so giggly & had the best time listening to this!

So cute!!

Tropes:
Workplace romance
Neighbors to lovers

[Lindsay (pawsomereads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️
This was a cute and sweet romance. The miscommunication/lack of communication was a little frustrating and felt like manufactured conflict. It was still a nice story to read around Valentine's Day and I really enjoyed the dual narration for the audiobook.

[Sally May *✧･ﾟ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.75⭐️ Thank you Amazon Original Stories and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was meet-cute perfection. Top-notch, witty banter. I was invested from email one. It’s hard to give such high marks to a novella but this one had me giggling and Jude is an absolute gem 💕

[The Bern Book · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: ★★★½
ARC Review: Yes
I received an advance copy of this book from Amazon Original Stories via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Standalone or Series: Standalone
POV: First Person, Dual
Genre: Contemporary Romance / Short Stories
Vibe: Cute, Playful
Pacing: Medium
Third-Act Breakup: No
Spice Level: 🌶️
Cliffhanger: No
Reread-worthy: Iffy

Tropes:
✵ Mistaken Identity
✵ Close Proximity
✵ Workplace Romance

Synopsis: After accidentally joining the wrong zoom-call, Veronica is shocked to receive a job offer from the company she just berated online. Desperate for a job, she accepts a freelance position; intrigued by the company’s CEO.

My Thoughts: I love love love the Improbable Meet Cute Series and I was very excited to see Christina Lauren participate in them again! This short story was so cute, and I loved the premise of the accidental meet cute via a Zoom meeting. I found their communications back and forth to be hilarious and full of very witty banter. This one is super short, at only 93 pages, and I felt like this story could have really thrived as a full length novel. Being so short, I didn’t get to see the normal emotional connection between the characters that I usually know and love from Christina Lauren books. I did like this one and believe it is worth a read, but I wish I got to see a bit more character development.

Definitely pick it up and see for yourself!

View my reviews for the rest of the The Improbable Meet-Cute: Second Chances Collection here:
Time Will Tell
Second Act Romance
A Play For Love - RTC
Death to Valentine's Day - RTC
Valentine's Slay - RTC


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[Jill (readinginpjs) · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was SO CUTE!!
very reminiscent of their previous Valentine’s story (The Exception to the Rule which I also loved 🥰)
so much email banter 😍

thank you to Brilliance Publishing for the ALC.

🎧 narration was great, dual + duet sometimes - each narrated their pov + the emails back and forth were duet-style.
Dominique Salvacion was the perfect Veronica, & Andrew Gibson was exceptional as Jude!

📖 Accidentally Yours by Christina Lauren
📚 part of the Improbable Meet-Cute: Second Chances collection
💜: contemporary romance (mf)

*Connect with Me*
🤍 Instagram 🤍 Blog 🤍

✦ tropes & stuff:
💌 all the email banter
🏠 neighbors with "hidden" identities (from each other, not us)
💻 tech company CEO mmc
🌟 marketing professional fmc
💞 dual narration + dual 1st person pov

🎧 audio| ⭐️: 5 | 🌶️: closed door - only a kiss |

[Maaike · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute read. But also half of the book reminded me way too much of my own marketing job and work from home issues while the other half of it reminded me that I am really starting to hate how Christina Lauren seems to always write the FMC as a hot mess and the MMC as a hot guy who stumbles through life and still succeeds.

[Melissa (honeybee.reads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, nothing special. I just didn't like that the FMC was a hot mess and obviously the MMC was a hot successful guy. It is getting redundant with these authors.

[Emilie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5 ⭐️

[er · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this as an arc!

Accidentally yours follows Veronica and Jude, the two of them “meet” each other when she crashes his company zoom meeting on accident and gives him unsolicited marketing advice.

This was a cute novella, I liked the emails/text messages element. I wish it was just a smidge longer so we could see just a little more of these two characters. The banter between the two characters was great, I loved their sense of humor and it really felt like they were hitting it off. I would’ve preferred no miscommunication but oh, well. It was still cute and fun.

[Elisabeth Stup · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers and the author for the e-ARC in exchange for honest review.

Oh my gosh, this was SO CUTE! It's hard for me to give novellas 5 stars because I sometimes feel like the story deserved a full book but this one was so well done and really felt complete!

The banter, oh em gee, the banter! I live for good banter and this book had it all!

All in all a cute Valentine's story that you can read in under an hour and the best banter I've read in a while! Add to your TBR immediately!

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 rounded up.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this gifted audiobook.

This was a cute and funny romance between Veronica and Jude. She accidentally crashes the wrong Zoom meeting and meets Jude. Their story is primarily told through email exchanges as Jude wants to hire Veronica as a marketing consultant for them. I laughed multiple times. The audiobook was well done and added to the story.

Reading this book, if you enjoy:
-Accidental Zoom Meeting Crash Meet-Cute
-Email Exchanges
-Workplace Romance
-Neighbors-to-Lovers
-Magnetic Connection
-Hilarious Characters

[Anna (annareadit) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the story, but as someone who keeps a clear line between work and personal life, it was a bit strange to read...

Thank you to Amazon Original Stories and NetGalley for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5-3.75 stars: This was really cute and funny.I need a full book on these two!

[Sylvie {Semi-Hiatus} · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley.

2.5 out of 5 stars.

[ThianeJansen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Proof that things can be cringy and cute

[Katie]

This is so cute. If you want something short and sweet this is perfect. A little workplace romance, a little you’ve got mail. So good on audio with dual narration!

I love Christina Lauren books, esp when they throw in random pop culture like Hot Fuzz.

Thank you to NetGalley and Brilliance Pub for an advanced listener copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Kaitlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven’t found a full length CL book I love yet but I adore their novellas so much. This was cute, fun, full of silly banter and romcom moments. I absolutely love an accidental hidden identity/“penpal” situation. I adored this.

[Chelsea (thatbookishteach) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so cute, and the banter between Veronica and Jude was great. I love the coincidence we find out, even if you do suspect it early on. Perfect length but I would have happily read more about these two after the date.

[Erin (erinsreadingroom) · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Improbable Meet-Cute: Second Chances is a series compiled of six romantic novellas written by some of the genres most notable authors. Each love story distinctively stands out on their own with ease whilst staying true to the same cohesive narrative, guaranteeing that there’s something for every reader of the Romance genre to binge and enjoy.

💌 Accidentally Yours by Christina Lauren (5 stars):
Accidentally Yours was a joyous experience from beginning to end that left me feeling giddy and wanting to kick my feet like a teenager. The magnetic connection and undeniable chemistry between Veronica and Jude felt explosive and instantaneous. I would’ve gladly read a full-length novel surrounding these two fun and witty characters that find themselves realising that sometimes fate intervenes and that their perfect match was existing within the same living quarters. This sweet novella was the perfect story to kickstart this series of original stories, and I’m looking forward to seeing what else awaits from the rest of the authors.

⏳ Time Will Tell by Hannah Bonam-Young (5 stars):
Time Will Tell was a beautifully crafted tale that divulged into the themes of grief and loss with apparent love and care. The way that Georgia and Callum connected through their loss and the way their bond was forged by the discovery of a secret love story that deserved to shine in the light decades prior made for a compelling (and ultimately bittersweet) story. The way that the characters manage to balance their grief with banter-filled dynamic left me grinning from one chapter to the next, and I absolutely loved getting to witness the strong bonds that both families share with one another. I adored every aspect of this journey as I once again find myself wishing that I could’ve experienced this concept as a full-length novel, whilst at the same time feeling nothing but satisfaction and joy in how this sweet novella concludes.

🎭 Second Act Romance by Julie Soto (2 stars):
Sadly I didn’t connect with Second Act Romance as deeply as the first two stories despite the electric connection that is shared between the two main characters. For a short romance novella there seemed to be very little emphasis on the romance and more so on the explanation surrounding how a theatre production works and all of the necessary jargon for reader understanding. This would’ve been fine (and more fun to learn about) had the book been longer with more wiggle room in the word count… but ultimately I feel like I was missing opportunity to focus more on the characters as a budding couple as opposed to the build-up towards their current professional lives. I was in awe at the clear passion and enthusiasm that the author imbued into story surrounding the production, but in this circumstance it was unfortunately wasted on me with what I was expecting from the story as a whole. The magnetic final act was what pulled the entire story together for me as both Bex and ‘C.J’ save the production and finally get their chance at the romance that they missed out on eight years prior.

🪽 A Play for Love by Trilina Pucci (5 stars):
A Play for Love is easily my favourite novella within the series thus far as it has delivered on everything that I had been looking for from beginning to end. This was a giddy, feel-good story that felt both earnest and honest in its exploration between two people that missed their chance at love, and whom therefore made sure to take full advantage when their second chance opportunity arose. The witty dialogue and cheesy actions from side-characters left me grinning throughout the entirety of the story to the point that I probably looked insane. The sparks that ignited between Rory and Oliver was undeniable with their keenness to not waste another moment making me want swoon like a cartoon character with hearts in my eyes. Their chemistry felt limitless and their story played out in my mind like a movie.

❤️‍🔥 Death to Valentine’s Day by Catherine Cowles (4 stars):
As an avid fan and devout reader of all things Catherine Cowles, Death to Valentine’s Day was yet another strong release that delivered on the swoon-worthy romance paired with the anxiety-spiking high stakes that this author is known for. I will admit that I was a little concerned initially with this story being a novella as somebody who is familiar with the method and approach that Cowles takes to her storytelling. However I was immediately put at ease with the inclusion of the ‘ex boyfriend’s older brother’ inclusion which introduced a seamless and believable connection that I felt like I could grasp with my own two hands. The chemistry between Maia and Decker was undeniable from that very first kiss and I’m truly impressed at how intense their connection reflected through the pages. I am yet again put to shame with my inability to accurately guess the identity of the villain prior to its reveal, but ultimately it’s the not knowing that makes part of the reading experience for me. Catherine Cowles is a tried and true author of mine which is further proven through this fast-paced and unputdownable novella.

🪦 Valentine’s Slay by Navessa Allen (4 stars):
Valentine’s Slay was a fast and thrilling read that had me questioning the direction of the plot (in the best way) until the truth was swiftly unveiled. The opening of the story was an unforgettable introduction that I will be scarce to forget for a very long time with its ability to make me question whether I should be laughing or feeling concerned in response to the circumstances being presented. The connection between both main characters felt effortless from the very beginning and I adored the way that Noah strived to be the best support system for Emma after her harrowing and traumatic experience. The fact that he immediately stepped up and proved to be the perfect partner and her equal whilst expecting nothing in return was wonderful to see, and it doesn’t hurt that he’d been quietly yearning for her on the side since they were in high school. This was my first read by Navessa Allen and it will most definitely not be my last. Maybe it’s finally time that I find out about the hype surrounding Light’s Out after loving Valentine’s Slay.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars across the board (save for one) for the second installment of Amazon's meet-cute short stories. Perhaps I'm a curmudgeon and don't enjoy meet-cutes, perhaps these just weren't that good??? Not sure. What I do know is that they didn't feel very cute and I didn't like them. 😇

Accidentally Yours by Christina Lauren
I didn't love this, not going to lie :'D I didn't like all of the email/texts format, and I definitely didn't like the FMC.  


Time Will Tell by Hannah Bonam-Young
Not off to a great start here, I'm going to be real. What's with all of the email correspondence??? I get that these are short stories about meet-cutes, but does that mean there can only be 16 seconds of face-to-face interaction? Zero connection to the characters here and I didn't love the plot. 2.75 rounded up.


Second Act Romance by Julie Soto
I liked this novella ever so slightly more than the first two, but needless to say it still didn't hit the mark. The theatre stuff wasn't overly appealing to me, but I thought the chemistry between the two main characters was at least more enjoyable to read.


A Play For Love by Trilina Pucci
Again, 2.75. I didn't like the chemistry between the characters, and I just don't think the story succeeded as a novella. 


Death To Valentine's Day by Catherine Cowles
Okay, so I think this was my favorite of the whole bunch, I'm going with a 3.5 here. It wasn't quite a 4 star read, but I do think most will enjoy this one. I enjoyed the chemistry between the characters and the plot was actually pretty interesting. The rivalry between brothers was fun to read (even though one of them is clearly a d-bag) but the murder mystery component put an interesting spin on it too!


Valentine's Slay by Navessa Allen
2.5 I've never read anything by Allen up until now, and I believe it will remain that way from here on out :'D This was cheesy and I didn't like the concept of the story at all. 

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read the advanced digital copies.

[Kristin - The Literal Gal · Rating 5 out of 5]

[Death to Valentine's Day]

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘢 𝘓𝘢𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘯, 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘮𝘢𝘻𝘰𝘯 𝘖𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘈𝘓𝘊. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.

This novella by Christina Lauren was an absolute treat. Accidentally yours had me laughing out loud and kicking my feet. I was listening while I was driving and at one point I missed my exit because I was so invested in this story. I love Christina and Lauren’s sense of humor and how they let their “nerd” shine through their writing. As a fellow “nerd”, it’s so much fun.

Veronica is trying to start over after losing her job and accidentally crashes the wrong zoom meeting. While in the meeting, she gives some unfiltered marketing advices. The company’s CEO then tracks her down and convinces her to help him. Their constant emails quickly get flirty. At the same time, she keeps running into her gorgeous neighbor. What’s a girl to do when she goes from zero possible relationships to two?


Check it out if you like...
✨ Workplace Romance
✨ Digital Pen Pals
✨ Neighbors

📚Book: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
🎧 Audio: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
🔥Spice Rating: 🤍

🎧 𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼...
Dominique Salvacion and Andrew Gibson narrated this fast paced, fun novella in duet. I am not super familiar with either narrator, but now I want to be! I loved their voices together and they were a perfect fit for these characters. I highly recommend you grab this one in the audio format.

Spice Rating
🤍 clean romance
💗 closed door/ fade to black
❤️ spicy content (a few detailed scenes)
❤️‍🔥 explicit, play-by-play (major part of the plot)
🖤 graphic, more than vanilla

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

*audio

TW: TBI

“Someday I will find my banter king.”

“He argues with flat earthers for Chr!st’s sake.”

“I suspect we have all the time in the world.”

“Even if you’re a wolverine, and I’m a buckeye, we can coexist in harmony.”

Thanks to Brilliance Publishing and Christina Lauren for my ALC of this one.

Christina Lauren is always a good choice for me. I never thought I’d be into romance until I read one of their books. I read 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑼𝒏𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒚𝒎𝒐𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔 and never looked back. Lol.

So it’s no surprise I loved this one. I quickly came to adore the main characters.

Their meet cute, no meet DISASTER, was hilarious.

I loved how authentic both characters were and how naturally their connection progressed.

The negotiations for freelance marketing consultant funny too.

I loved how mature both parties were and how there was no major miscommunication that wasn’t easily resolved. It was lovely, sweet and comical.

[Elizabeth Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Veronica accidentally hops into a zoom work meeting with the hot guy from her building where she critiques his entire presentation. Neither he aka Jude or her realize they've met before and they begin to build a relationship over emails.

I found this one to be quite fun. I loved the chemistry between Veronica and Jude and I loved that he was never offended or anything and really seemed to care what she thought. Right from the beginning.

The miscommunication trope is never my favorite so I don't love that that was used here, however it was resolved in a reasonable time frame so it didn't bother me as much as it normally would.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon for the ARC to honestly review.

[vickie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars ⭐️

really cute read. short story arcs like this are pretty hard to review since we can’t really dive super deep into the plot or characters since it’s so short. like most of these short stories though, the book is pretty simplistic and predictable but not necessarily bad.

I really liked the coincidence / invisible string vibe that Veronica and Jude have, like they were always meant to be together one way or another. the was pretty cute if you’re looking for a short story with romance and banter. HR wouldn’t really approve of the romance though.

[Amanda Chartrand · Rating 5 out of 5]

Huge thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an early copy of this short story collection! I LOVE when Amazon gets authors together and does little collections like this! 😊

Sooooo this was adorable and felt like a full love story told in just a few chapters. No shame…I read this in one sitting 😂. This had a lot of tropes that I love done well! I loved the characters and loved the romance and banter! This really packed a lot of quality content into the short format it was given. 5⭐️, well written, no complaints, and I applaud 👏 the authors because I was already a fan! 😊

[Larareads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Amazon Original Stories and NetGalley for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Actual rating 3.25 ⭐️

This was my second book that I read from Christina Lauren and it was really good. I loved the writing and the characters were sooo cute. If you love banter than this novella is for you!!!