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When Fate Breaks
Do you believe in fate?It’s a simple question…unless you’re a strict life planner and serial overthinker like Annie Jacks. It’s a good thing she finally has it all figured out. Now twenty-eight and two months away from her wedding, Annie has found herself moving into the home of her dreams with her fiancé. The only issue with the move? The house has an old dilapidated greenhouse in the backyard. With that dilemma top of mind, she finds a memento from the past she thought was long gone and realizes there's only one person for the job… And it just so happens he’s the last person she wants to call.
Blake Di Fazio is the opposite of Annie, carefree, easy going, and willing to trust fate at every turn. But when he gets an unexpected phone call that reminds him of the one time he should have intervened in life’s plan…He takes the chance to make it right.
Though it’s been six years since they have spoken, Blake travels from New York to Alabama to stay with Annie for two long weeks as he remodels the greenhouse. Alternating between the past and present, they relive the butterflies and wistfulness of growing up together while being thrust into the tension and longing that inevitably comes of their reunion. Will they find it in them to rekindle the fateful friendship they once had, and reveal the truths behind their final night together that sent them their separate ways? Or will they prove, once and for all, that
Life happens, people change, and fate breaks.
Blake Di Fazio is the opposite of Annie, carefree, easy going, and willing to trust fate at every turn. But when he gets an unexpected phone call that reminds him of the one time he should have intervened in life’s plan…He takes the chance to make it right.
Though it’s been six years since they have spoken, Blake travels from New York to Alabama to stay with Annie for two long weeks as he remodels the greenhouse. Alternating between the past and present, they relive the butterflies and wistfulness of growing up together while being thrust into the tension and longing that inevitably comes of their reunion. Will they find it in them to rekindle the fateful friendship they once had, and reveal the truths behind their final night together that sent them their separate ways? Or will they prove, once and for all, that
Life happens, people change, and fate breaks.
416 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 25, 2022
33 people are currently reading
1622 people want to read
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April 26, 2022My favorite book tuber is releasing her first book! So excited for her!
June 5, 2022
rating : 2 stars.
before i get to my actual review , i know that the author reads reviews im p sure ?? so i just want to tell her that hello ! please do not read this review . i shit post most of the time , and im choosing not to do a serious review bc this wasnt an arc . i will be ironically and sometimes unironically shitting on ur book baby !! pls click off unless u want to see that !! okay thank u i shall continue now 🫡
anyways , now that that disclaimer is out of the way , bonjour jane nation 🤭🙏 tis eye !! queen father !! new book i have a lot of thoughts abt , new review 😈 nikki ( who is the author of this book ) is a youtuber i frequent quite often , and though i disagree with most of her takes on like everything lol , shes p funny so i stay for the vibes 😁🤷♀️ when she announced that she was publishing a book , i knew from that moment on that it probably would not be my type of book . i love a good romance , tho her fav tropes r not sm my favorite . nevertheless , w the amount of hours ive spent watching her videos , it felt disingenuous to me , as a viewer , not to support her by reading this book . i was right . i , unfortunately , did not like this . i think the tropes and the story could’ve panned out differently and in a more satisfying way , but ultimately , this just fell flat . we shall talk abt it today , lettuce start ! 🥬☃️
writing.
writing and writing style - i was not picking this book up and expecting the grace of god when it comes to the writing style . however , jane nation , we know im a terrible and pretentious bitch . i take that title very seriously ! is it so hard these days to have a distinctive writing style ?? i mean no disrespect when saying this , but its just dull and boring at this point 🫠🫡 its just the same telling over showing , then like random inner monologues that droned on for too long bc the character of annie has nothing interesting to say 🫤 we need to study emily henry bc by god is she our only hope these days 😭😭 i can say that a few lines made me laugh out loud , but ultimately , that’s the only props the writing gets from moi 🫡👍 furthermoreeee , this book is unable to foreshadow . without foreshadowing , events and actions will seems blunt and out of place . for example , at the end when blake just got rich ?? like chill ?? i dont understand why authors cant just build up these little ‘ habits ‘ that benefit the characters in the future earlier into the book so the reveal will have at least a little but of payoff ?? bc now it seems out of the blue and unearned and its just to further benefit the story CHILL !! a poor writing decision will always be authors pick when choosing between that and a well written story and its SICK !!!
dialogue and scenes - this book has a real problem w dialogue . and by that i mean it’s not good 🫤🫤 yeah the amount of harry styles and one direction references… lord u can tell a white woman made this . like babe i know harry is very sexy i really do , ive loved him for all my life but god forbid 😭 it mostly comes in form of leah , who is annie aka the mcs bsf . but like the thing is… its not just that ?? everything she says is so unbelievably… jejemon LMFAOOO 🫡😭 everything that she says irks me fr like she says the most random , weird shit and NAWT in a cute way 😭 “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe something along the lines of: Oh, hi, Leah. Light of my life. Knower of all. Baddest of bitches–” its giving cw its giving i will call u a slur 🤭😇 and phew does this book have the urge to blurt out the characters full names every two seconds . the very terrible colonizer names that are evangeline ‘ annie ‘ marie jacks and blake alexander di fazio r forever melded into my brain but it was not w my consent oh spare me lord 😞😞 i would say im a strong gal having survived the spanish love deception n shatter me ( my brand is back yall 🙏 tsld and sm slander has a place in my account forever 🫶 ) , but that was an entire different kind of hurt . a girl thats been through a thing or two right here 🥹🥹
random filler/idk where to put this shit - okay so lets talk abt the timelines . i thought it was very odd how the start of the present timeline progressed so fucking quickly ??? its good to have a fast paced story but not necessarily when the reader was just thrown into it cuz now were all lost uh oh !! 😮 i just… idk . theres a way to write it like that but i dont believe that the author has the capability to write it well ☃️🧘♀️ as for the past timeline , i like rlly dont know why it would jump years and show quick , barely anything scenes of blake and annie growing up ?? then expect us to see some deep chemistry like they were FOUR be calm 🫤 it was very disjointing . but then as it progressed it got entirely too long . like it just dragged and they were so boring , but not necessarily less boring than the try hard angst in the present chapters , so i was just like,,, kay 😞😞 there r so many ways to do the past / future juxtaposing chapters thing… but this was not the way to do it
plot.
overall plot, premise, and random shit - basically there was this guy , right ? blake . then theres this girl named annie . they fucked or they didnt idk idc , then they didnt talk ! now annie is engaged and she has this random ass green house 🤨 and blake loves to play w plants so she was like lemme call up that guy i may or may not have fucked 😄🤭 does any of that seem interesting to u ?? it does not to me !! 😅😅 and not to mention like… the synopsis of the book is so odd,,, it alludes to the fact that external factors staved off blake and annies happily ever after but no blake willfully chose to cut ties like dont be dense . this book rlly is a doozy and not for the critical readers oh poopsie 🙁🧘♀️
characters.
➷ annie - WOO CHARACTERS TIME YALL 🧘♀️😉 characters or chairs amirite ?? cuz these people r as much interesting as a chair 😄😄 do u get it jane nation ?? 😄😄 lettuce start w evange-fucking-line . first off— i know i already memed on her for the name awhile ago but LMFAOOO 😭😭 evangeline ass bitch SKFJNSFDJK that wouldve been my final straw 🫡🫡 anywho annie is portrayed as this girl who overthinks a lot . i get it !! trust me , i do !! i have anxiety im p sure ( i was in diagnosis then i realized therapy was expensive so i just stopped going 😄 ) , but like girl does not overthink… she actually does it once and thats it . SHE DOESNT THINK PERIOD ! a good way to write a character w no agency like annie is in typecast by andrea j. stein w callie,,, not like this where she is quite literally no thoughts head empty . FREE ME !! and when annie saying i deserve happiness and said happiness is cheating oh brother 😭 i just dont understand why writers think they need to justify their characters cheating on their s/o’s w the fact that theyre terrible people 😭😭 remy was perfectly fine and then , as it always goes , he turns into this complete douche out of the blue . u can make ur characters get together without sacrificing the merit of another , yk that right ?? ur characters will look shitty but either way , what they did was rlly bad anyways ?? and thats part of growth n realistic character development ?? why must we turn a character into a spawn of satan w no good motivations in the first place when we want to cheat 😭😭 that just also means that ur character is a weirdo w , again , no agency n self respect bc she tolerated his odd behaviour FOR FIVE YEARS ?? give me a break . did not quite like annie 🫡
➷ blake - blakey !! i cant stop picturing blake as travis barker and it freaks me the FUCK out 😭😭 he just gives that musty vibes yaknow ?? blake is just so boring and weird… as a character , as a love interest , as an everything . just cuz u got a tattoo for this girl does not mean u can be a boy obsessed trope . give it up ! blakes pov is so uninteresting and so unnecessary too… it adds nothing of importance to the story . i hated every time i saw blake at the top of the screen when starting a new chapter i fr was abt to skip . u couldnt be hot n boring like adam in tlh… damn 👎
romance.
➷ annieblake - oh god forbid these two whitie weirdos 😞 i will bring race into everything idc u are weird and white . PICK A STRUGGLE !! tbh… i just dont think annie and blake have much chemistry . they just interact and were supposed to nod along as if all the past chapters of them werent so wholly uninteresting and their now chapters werent riddled with pseudo-angst . very 👎👎 and by the way…. the “ listen— “ “ im good 👍👍 “ trope being in their relationship like be SERIOUS goddamn 😭😭 that entire situation was so contrived . i feel like their falling out was so ooc and it didnt justify them not talking for that long like idk… n they were too comfy w each other after it happened it feels like it only impacted them once the secret revealed . but maybe they moved on ( they didnt im giving the story the benefit of the doubt lol ) . anywho.. “You’re etched into my fucking soul. You may as well stay etched into my skin.” I GIGGLED N CHUCKLED N LAUGHED NOT GONNA LIE 😅😅😅 any romance book that has a line abt SOULS needs to chill BABE U ARE IN UR NEARING UR THIRTIES ! etched into my soul ass bullshit im crying . very weirdo people all in all
final thoughts.
them playing dont stop believin but it being the og and not glee cast ??? oh this is a hate crime im so serious my tummy hurts . booo book
before i get to my actual review , i know that the author reads reviews im p sure ?? so i just want to tell her that hello ! please do not read this review . i shit post most of the time , and im choosing not to do a serious review bc this wasnt an arc . i will be ironically and sometimes unironically shitting on ur book baby !! pls click off unless u want to see that !! okay thank u i shall continue now 🫡
anyways , now that that disclaimer is out of the way , bonjour jane nation 🤭🙏 tis eye !! queen father !! new book i have a lot of thoughts abt , new review 😈 nikki ( who is the author of this book ) is a youtuber i frequent quite often , and though i disagree with most of her takes on like everything lol , shes p funny so i stay for the vibes 😁🤷♀️ when she announced that she was publishing a book , i knew from that moment on that it probably would not be my type of book . i love a good romance , tho her fav tropes r not sm my favorite . nevertheless , w the amount of hours ive spent watching her videos , it felt disingenuous to me , as a viewer , not to support her by reading this book . i was right . i , unfortunately , did not like this . i think the tropes and the story could’ve panned out differently and in a more satisfying way , but ultimately , this just fell flat . we shall talk abt it today , lettuce start ! 🥬☃️
writing.
writing and writing style - i was not picking this book up and expecting the grace of god when it comes to the writing style . however , jane nation , we know im a terrible and pretentious bitch . i take that title very seriously ! is it so hard these days to have a distinctive writing style ?? i mean no disrespect when saying this , but its just dull and boring at this point 🫠🫡 its just the same telling over showing , then like random inner monologues that droned on for too long bc the character of annie has nothing interesting to say 🫤 we need to study emily henry bc by god is she our only hope these days 😭😭 i can say that a few lines made me laugh out loud , but ultimately , that’s the only props the writing gets from moi 🫡👍 furthermoreeee , this book is unable to foreshadow . without foreshadowing , events and actions will seems blunt and out of place . for example , at the end when blake just got rich ?? like chill ?? i dont understand why authors cant just build up these little ‘ habits ‘ that benefit the characters in the future earlier into the book so the reveal will have at least a little but of payoff ?? bc now it seems out of the blue and unearned and its just to further benefit the story CHILL !! a poor writing decision will always be authors pick when choosing between that and a well written story and its SICK !!!
dialogue and scenes - this book has a real problem w dialogue . and by that i mean it’s not good 🫤🫤 yeah the amount of harry styles and one direction references… lord u can tell a white woman made this . like babe i know harry is very sexy i really do , ive loved him for all my life but god forbid 😭 it mostly comes in form of leah , who is annie aka the mcs bsf . but like the thing is… its not just that ?? everything she says is so unbelievably… jejemon LMFAOOO 🫡😭 everything that she says irks me fr like she says the most random , weird shit and NAWT in a cute way 😭 “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe something along the lines of: Oh, hi, Leah. Light of my life. Knower of all. Baddest of bitches–” its giving cw its giving i will call u a slur 🤭😇 and phew does this book have the urge to blurt out the characters full names every two seconds . the very terrible colonizer names that are evangeline ‘ annie ‘ marie jacks and blake alexander di fazio r forever melded into my brain but it was not w my consent oh spare me lord 😞😞 i would say im a strong gal having survived the spanish love deception n shatter me ( my brand is back yall 🙏 tsld and sm slander has a place in my account forever 🫶 ) , but that was an entire different kind of hurt . a girl thats been through a thing or two right here 🥹🥹
random filler/idk where to put this shit - okay so lets talk abt the timelines . i thought it was very odd how the start of the present timeline progressed so fucking quickly ??? its good to have a fast paced story but not necessarily when the reader was just thrown into it cuz now were all lost uh oh !! 😮 i just… idk . theres a way to write it like that but i dont believe that the author has the capability to write it well ☃️🧘♀️ as for the past timeline , i like rlly dont know why it would jump years and show quick , barely anything scenes of blake and annie growing up ?? then expect us to see some deep chemistry like they were FOUR be calm 🫤 it was very disjointing . but then as it progressed it got entirely too long . like it just dragged and they were so boring , but not necessarily less boring than the try hard angst in the present chapters , so i was just like,,, kay 😞😞 there r so many ways to do the past / future juxtaposing chapters thing… but this was not the way to do it
plot.
overall plot, premise, and random shit - basically there was this guy , right ? blake . then theres this girl named annie . they fucked or they didnt idk idc , then they didnt talk ! now annie is engaged and she has this random ass green house 🤨 and blake loves to play w plants so she was like lemme call up that guy i may or may not have fucked 😄🤭 does any of that seem interesting to u ?? it does not to me !! 😅😅 and not to mention like… the synopsis of the book is so odd,,, it alludes to the fact that external factors staved off blake and annies happily ever after but no blake willfully chose to cut ties like dont be dense . this book rlly is a doozy and not for the critical readers oh poopsie 🙁🧘♀️
characters.
➷ annie - WOO CHARACTERS TIME YALL 🧘♀️😉 characters or chairs amirite ?? cuz these people r as much interesting as a chair 😄😄 do u get it jane nation ?? 😄😄 lettuce start w evange-fucking-line . first off— i know i already memed on her for the name awhile ago but LMFAOOO 😭😭 evangeline ass bitch SKFJNSFDJK that wouldve been my final straw 🫡🫡 anywho annie is portrayed as this girl who overthinks a lot . i get it !! trust me , i do !! i have anxiety im p sure ( i was in diagnosis then i realized therapy was expensive so i just stopped going 😄 ) , but like girl does not overthink… she actually does it once and thats it . SHE DOESNT THINK PERIOD ! a good way to write a character w no agency like annie is in typecast by andrea j. stein w callie,,, not like this where she is quite literally no thoughts head empty . FREE ME !! and when annie saying i deserve happiness and said happiness is cheating oh brother 😭 i just dont understand why writers think they need to justify their characters cheating on their s/o’s w the fact that theyre terrible people 😭😭 remy was perfectly fine and then , as it always goes , he turns into this complete douche out of the blue . u can make ur characters get together without sacrificing the merit of another , yk that right ?? ur characters will look shitty but either way , what they did was rlly bad anyways ?? and thats part of growth n realistic character development ?? why must we turn a character into a spawn of satan w no good motivations in the first place when we want to cheat 😭😭 that just also means that ur character is a weirdo w , again , no agency n self respect bc she tolerated his odd behaviour FOR FIVE YEARS ?? give me a break . did not quite like annie 🫡
➷ blake - blakey !! i cant stop picturing blake as travis barker and it freaks me the FUCK out 😭😭 he just gives that musty vibes yaknow ?? blake is just so boring and weird… as a character , as a love interest , as an everything . just cuz u got a tattoo for this girl does not mean u can be a boy obsessed trope . give it up ! blakes pov is so uninteresting and so unnecessary too… it adds nothing of importance to the story . i hated every time i saw blake at the top of the screen when starting a new chapter i fr was abt to skip . u couldnt be hot n boring like adam in tlh… damn 👎
romance.
➷ annieblake - oh god forbid these two whitie weirdos 😞 i will bring race into everything idc u are weird and white . PICK A STRUGGLE !! tbh… i just dont think annie and blake have much chemistry . they just interact and were supposed to nod along as if all the past chapters of them werent so wholly uninteresting and their now chapters werent riddled with pseudo-angst . very 👎👎 and by the way…. the “ listen— “ “ im good 👍👍 “ trope being in their relationship like be SERIOUS goddamn 😭😭 that entire situation was so contrived . i feel like their falling out was so ooc and it didnt justify them not talking for that long like idk… n they were too comfy w each other after it happened it feels like it only impacted them once the secret revealed . but maybe they moved on ( they didnt im giving the story the benefit of the doubt lol ) . anywho.. “You’re etched into my fucking soul. You may as well stay etched into my skin.” I GIGGLED N CHUCKLED N LAUGHED NOT GONNA LIE 😅😅😅 any romance book that has a line abt SOULS needs to chill BABE U ARE IN UR NEARING UR THIRTIES ! etched into my soul ass bullshit im crying . very weirdo people all in all
final thoughts.
them playing dont stop believin but it being the og and not glee cast ??? oh this is a hate crime im so serious my tummy hurts . booo book
May 26, 2022
Super cute contemporary romance! Caught me in the feels several times and I even shed a few tears 🥹
May 28, 2022
4.5⭐️
I honestly cannot handle the miscommunication trope but it’s fine ugh 😩 like the whole situation was so messy & chaotic I was literally so anxious reading it.
Okay besides that, I LOVED THIS BOOKKK!!!!! I’ve been watching Nikki’s book reviews on youtube for almost a year and was SO excited to dive into this book, her first one, and it didn’t disappoint!!!
I was a bit mad at first and really hesitant if I continue reading it or not because of certain choices the characters made but I’m genuinely glad I didn’t dnf it since everything eventually DID make sense at the end!
I honestly cannot handle the miscommunication trope but it’s fine ugh 😩 like the whole situation was so messy & chaotic I was literally so anxious reading it.
Okay besides that, I LOVED THIS BOOKKK!!!!! I’ve been watching Nikki’s book reviews on youtube for almost a year and was SO excited to dive into this book, her first one, and it didn’t disappoint!!!
I was a bit mad at first and really hesitant if I continue reading it or not because of certain choices the characters made but I’m genuinely glad I didn’t dnf it since everything eventually DID make sense at the end!
May 31, 2022
This (and I mean this in the absolute best way possible) felt like watching a car crash in slow motion. Two cars that you’ve never wanted to see crash more in your entire life or without the most amount of wreckage possible. Because it was me. I was the wreck. I was on the verge of a emotional breakdown essentially the entire time I was reading this. The attention to detail and the way she weaved all of them together, whether it was dialogue or keepsakes or feelings, between the past and present was honestly masterful I was speechless. I couldn’t stop reading because I NEEDED to put all the puzzle pieces together and see the (not to be dramatic) epic, sweeping big picture. The angst? The nostalgic visceral bombs that went off in my chest? GORGEOUS. Bluish-purple is my new favorite color, baby’s breath are my new favorite flower, dr. Pepper is my new drink of choice, and don’t stop believin will be playing on repeat. Blake is my new favorite book boyfriend the amount of times he reminded me of Jess Mariano and his WHY DID YOU DROP OUT OF YALE??!! speech was uncanny. He has one half of my heart and Annie has the other, they own me now. This will also probably be the one and only book where the miscommunication trope actually worked for me. Was it still absolutely devastating and do I hate the time they wasted? of course but I was so emotionally connected to these two young, dumb and in love blind idiots I couldn’t bring myself to hate them for it. Also, a used bookstore called the Book Nook??? I see you Nikki, very clever I loved it and I love you💋
June 7, 2022
this was so bad. the writing is so choppy and gave me a headache. i felt like i was reading a book my kid wrote (my kid is 5). don’t waste your time on this there are so many other good books to read and this isn’t one of them.
June 2, 2022
When I tell you this book made me cry… it made me cry. I was a little iffy first picking it up because I had never read a childhood friends to lovers or a second chance romance. But let me tell you that.. those two tropes go together so well. Heartbreak filled me in this book. Tears and emotions raked all through me. Happiness and anger.. Also smiles. I smiled all through this book when I wasn’t crying or screaming for them to communicate! But I absolutely adored this book.
Nikki if your reading this, you did such a good job at this story. You made me fall in love with these characters. You made me cry 😭 but in a good way, I promise. You made me believe in fate! 5/5 I absolutely recommend this book! ❤️
Nikki if your reading this, you did such a good job at this story. You made me fall in love with these characters. You made me cry 😭 but in a good way, I promise. You made me believe in fate! 5/5 I absolutely recommend this book! ❤️
April 6, 2023
let’s ignore how I completely forgot to make this book as read & rate it when I read it back in 2022😭. anyways firstly thank you to the author for sending me a copy of this book 💗 absolutely adored and really liked this one
May 27, 2022
This is my first and probably only Goodreads review I’ll ever write but I’ve been watching Nikki on YouTube for a long while and was so excited to read her book baby! And… I absolutely loved it!! I literally could not put this down, the need to know what happened next kept me in my reading chair all day. I loved the past and present POVs and I laughed, cried, and swooned multiple times. The Polaroid in the baby’s breath… IYKYK.
“You’re a part of me, Evangeline. You always have been and always will be. You’re etched into my fucking soul. You may as well stay etched into my skin.”
Congratulations Nikki, and thank you for giving us a bit of Evangeline and Blake in our lives <3
“You’re a part of me, Evangeline. You always have been and always will be. You’re etched into my fucking soul. You may as well stay etched into my skin.”
Congratulations Nikki, and thank you for giving us a bit of Evangeline and Blake in our lives <3
May 2, 2022
I’m so excited
March 20, 2024
Negatives first.
The first thought I had when reading this book was about the writing of the first few chapters. I think the characters were so young yet spoke very mature for their age. It would've been more realistic to see their interactions at age 6 sound more like a 6 year olds conversation, it felt as if they were 16. Although, since this was only the beginning of the book, it didn't take away from my feelings of the entire novel.
My main issue is that I didn't like her relationship with Remy. I understand we aren't supposed to like him but it would've been more realistic to portray him as a regular guy that was just not a good match for her instead of a total jerk that we were supposed to hate. Not something too bad but just a thought to give the story more depth. It didn't take away from the fact that Annie is a cheater though and as soon as she made the phone call to Blake, she wasn't being a loyal partner towards Remy. I think having more depth to Remy would have made her decision between choosing which future to pursue more interesting, or maybe even less love triangle and more heartbreaking but realistic to let someone good go when they're not compatible. whereas there was no real decision since Remy was so rude so this read more like a typical romance (still a great read though).
As far as the positives go, I enjoyed the integration of Blake and Annie's families. The small details of Blake's father and his lottery tickets being tied into the ending was a nice touch and a great way to wrap up the issue with Annie's father's shop in my opinion. I especially loved the fact that their fall out was for a legitimate reason unlike other romance books where the main characters don't talk for years due to a simple miscommunication (The people we meet on vacation I'm talking about you). This was actually the most satisfying and real part of the book. Blake's story with his father and Annie's story with her fiance was the right amount of plot for myself personally.
The book was pretty fast paced which is a must for me as a reader. It was interesting the whole way through and I'm impressed with Nikki seeing as this is her first book. Can't wait to read anything she writes in the future.
The first thought I had when reading this book was about the writing of the first few chapters. I think the characters were so young yet spoke very mature for their age. It would've been more realistic to see their interactions at age 6 sound more like a 6 year olds conversation, it felt as if they were 16. Although, since this was only the beginning of the book, it didn't take away from my feelings of the entire novel.
My main issue is that I didn't like her relationship with Remy. I understand we aren't supposed to like him but it would've been more realistic to portray him as a regular guy that was just not a good match for her instead of a total jerk that we were supposed to hate. Not something too bad but just a thought to give the story more depth. It didn't take away from the fact that Annie is a cheater though and as soon as she made the phone call to Blake, she wasn't being a loyal partner towards Remy. I think having more depth to Remy would have made her decision between choosing which future to pursue more interesting, or maybe even less love triangle and more heartbreaking but realistic to let someone good go when they're not compatible. whereas there was no real decision since Remy was so rude so this read more like a typical romance (still a great read though).
As far as the positives go, I enjoyed the integration of Blake and Annie's families. The small details of Blake's father and his lottery tickets being tied into the ending was a nice touch and a great way to wrap up the issue with Annie's father's shop in my opinion. I especially loved the fact that their fall out was for a legitimate reason unlike other romance books where the main characters don't talk for years due to a simple miscommunication (The people we meet on vacation I'm talking about you). This was actually the most satisfying and real part of the book. Blake's story with his father and Annie's story with her fiance was the right amount of plot for myself personally.
The book was pretty fast paced which is a must for me as a reader. It was interesting the whole way through and I'm impressed with Nikki seeing as this is her first book. Can't wait to read anything she writes in the future.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 4, 2022
Adorable second chance romance that will make you want to build a greenhouse.
🌱 Little side story. I started to watch Nikki's booktube channel around a year ago. I like her energy and find our taste in books similar. I am enormously happy about her, not only because she is now a published author, but also because the book is pretty awesome!
🌱 It is a second-chance romance book that follows childhood friends Annie and Blake. She is in a good place in her life, getting married in a few months, and has just moved into the mansion her fiance has inherited. With a new home comes a neglected greenhouse that deserves some love. She instantly knows that her childhood friend Blake would be a perfect candidate to give it a new life. There is only one problem, they have not talked for years.
🌱 The story is told in two timelines - the present day, where Blake agrees to come and fix the greenhouse for Annie and her fiance, and flashbacks to years before. Slowly, throughout the story, we learn what happened between these two friends that tore them apart.
🌱 I made a mistake starting this book on Sunday evening, so I had to suffer all day Monday, not knowing how the story continues. This story easily made me fall in love with the characters. The only thing that I was not a fan of was the miscommunication trope. It is nerve-wracking to know the answers and wait for the characters to catch up.
🌱 Do yourself a favor and add this to your Summer Romance TBR! I feel that Nikki is going places! ❤
🌱 Little side story. I started to watch Nikki's booktube channel around a year ago. I like her energy and find our taste in books similar. I am enormously happy about her, not only because she is now a published author, but also because the book is pretty awesome!
🌱 It is a second-chance romance book that follows childhood friends Annie and Blake. She is in a good place in her life, getting married in a few months, and has just moved into the mansion her fiance has inherited. With a new home comes a neglected greenhouse that deserves some love. She instantly knows that her childhood friend Blake would be a perfect candidate to give it a new life. There is only one problem, they have not talked for years.
🌱 The story is told in two timelines - the present day, where Blake agrees to come and fix the greenhouse for Annie and her fiance, and flashbacks to years before. Slowly, throughout the story, we learn what happened between these two friends that tore them apart.
🌱 I made a mistake starting this book on Sunday evening, so I had to suffer all day Monday, not knowing how the story continues. This story easily made me fall in love with the characters. The only thing that I was not a fan of was the miscommunication trope. It is nerve-wracking to know the answers and wait for the characters to catch up.
🌱 Do yourself a favor and add this to your Summer Romance TBR! I feel that Nikki is going places! ❤
June 14, 2022
Nikki.. you KILLED THIS! Oh my god. I fell so freaking in love with both Annie and Blake’s characters and relationship.. the storyline was so interesting and I was constantly engaged in both the past and present storyline. This was amazing and I would read it over and over again. It was so beautiful. Thank you <3
May 26, 2022
I loved this book so much. The childhood friends to lovers aspect, the time jumps, the dual POV, the tension - THE Blake Di Fazio. That is all :') I got a total mix of Love and Other Words and People We Meet on vacation in all the best ways. Dying for more to read this so I have more people to talk to about it
May 1, 2024
Update on 5/1/24 - Second Read:
I decided to reread this book because I really enjoyed it the first time and I am so glad that I did! I thought that it was really good and that the story felt real. I could totally imagine these scenes playing out. The chapters flow smoothly and I kept wanting to read it to see what happens next. I appreciated it more the second time because I could appreciate the flashback scenes and their significance in the present timeline more. Make sure that you check out this book! It's a very cute story with good life lessons and for all of the fans of the friends to lovers trope, you won't be disappointed.
First read:
I just finished reading "When Fate Breaks" on my Kindle last night and it was so good! I read this book in a day and couldn't put it down!
I really enjoyed the story, the incorporation of the flashbacks, and the current timeline POVs. Sometimes in books it could be annoying to incorporate various timelines/flashbacks but I think it worked in this book and made it stronger. I loved the little nuggets that were sprinkled in that tied into the flashbacks.
I also loved the two main characters and the growing chemistry that developed throughout the story. They had some great dialogue and just enough spice. I love me some flannel 🥰!
This book played out in my head as I was reading it almost like a movie which doesn't always happen. I kept wanting to read it and it was really hard to put down. When I finished it, I had a big smile on my face. 🙂
I really enjoyed reading this book and will definitely buy the physical version (which I only do if I really enjoyed a book).
Way to go, Nikki! Congratulations on your debut novel. I can't wait to read more books from you.
🌱 + 🧭= 💕
I decided to reread this book because I really enjoyed it the first time and I am so glad that I did! I thought that it was really good and that the story felt real. I could totally imagine these scenes playing out. The chapters flow smoothly and I kept wanting to read it to see what happens next. I appreciated it more the second time because I could appreciate the flashback scenes and their significance in the present timeline more. Make sure that you check out this book! It's a very cute story with good life lessons and for all of the fans of the friends to lovers trope, you won't be disappointed.
First read:
I just finished reading "When Fate Breaks" on my Kindle last night and it was so good! I read this book in a day and couldn't put it down!
I really enjoyed the story, the incorporation of the flashbacks, and the current timeline POVs. Sometimes in books it could be annoying to incorporate various timelines/flashbacks but I think it worked in this book and made it stronger. I loved the little nuggets that were sprinkled in that tied into the flashbacks.
I also loved the two main characters and the growing chemistry that developed throughout the story. They had some great dialogue and just enough spice. I love me some flannel 🥰!
This book played out in my head as I was reading it almost like a movie which doesn't always happen. I kept wanting to read it and it was really hard to put down. When I finished it, I had a big smile on my face. 🙂
I really enjoyed reading this book and will definitely buy the physical version (which I only do if I really enjoyed a book).
Way to go, Nikki! Congratulations on your debut novel. I can't wait to read more books from you.
🌱 + 🧭= 💕
June 6, 2022
OH MY GOD WTF. I felt like I was watching a movie live in my head while reading. Went way beyond any expectations that I had going in to this it was so special. I was so happy to be able to support Nikki and enjoy what she was able to create. I love all of the little clues and constant questions that I would have and see, making me keep reading to find them out. Ugh Annie and Blake had so much history and were absolutely perfect for each other. This is gonna be a book and story that I think about for a while because of the attachment that I have to it. Praying that other people will take the wonderful chance to read this too and hopefully we will see more from Nikki in the future. She should be so proud of what this came to be<3
Read
June 25, 2022Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2022
I cant finish this. A child narrator that talks as if theyre an adult is just silly. And it starts in the first chapter when shes 4. After about 50 pages Ive had enough. And the entire fact that she called someone that she hasnt spoken to for 6 years to fly across the country to fix her greenhouse is contrived. This could have been written so much better. Why first person narrative at all? Its a questionable choice for a book that jumps back and forth from present to childhood past. The writing is choppy and basic as if it is written by a middle schooler or as if this is a first draft. All these 5 star reviews arent saying nothing; empty platitudes. Dont believe them
I cant finish this. A child narrator that talks as if theyre an adult is just silly. And it starts in the first chapter when shes 4. After about 50 pages Ive had enough. And the entire fact that she called someone that she hasnt spoken to for 6 years to fly across the country to fix her greenhouse is contrived. This could have been written so much better. Why first person narrative at all? Its a questionable choice for a book that jumps back and forth from present to childhood past. The writing is choppy and basic as if it is written by a middle schooler or as if this is a first draft. All these 5 star reviews arent saying nothing; empty platitudes. Dont believe them
May 30, 2022
"If you walk away from me right now, I need you to know that it’s entirely your choice. That if it were up to me, I wouldn’t spend another day without you by my side.”
🌿
Ahhh, hi friends. Okay soooo I finally found a book that gave me the same vibe as Love and Other Words and I am obsessedddddd. Here are some thoughts about When Fate Breaks
🌿
-I love friends to lovers so much, especially childhood friends to lovers. It just always is my favorite way to fit in the "It's Always Been You" trope.
-Blake is...literally the new love of my life. So sweet and funny. Also, I adore emotionally vulnerable men in books.
-This book jumps back and forth between the past and the present, which is something I am beginning to like a lot as a framing device.
- I love Annie as a main character. She is very relatable for me because I am a huge overthinker/overplanner.
- The romance was super sweet and a pretty good slow burn. I wish there wasn't any cheating butttt it didn't bother me all that much. Blake and Evangeline were the perfect opposites attract situation while still playing off each other super well.
-There is miscommunication butttt I honestly thought it still worked out in a believable way.
Finished at a 4/5 but i think if you normally don't like friends to lovers/ HATE miscommunication you probably won't like it. :)
🌿
Ahhh, hi friends. Okay soooo I finally found a book that gave me the same vibe as Love and Other Words and I am obsessedddddd. Here are some thoughts about When Fate Breaks
🌿
-I love friends to lovers so much, especially childhood friends to lovers. It just always is my favorite way to fit in the "It's Always Been You" trope.
-Blake is...literally the new love of my life. So sweet and funny. Also, I adore emotionally vulnerable men in books.
-This book jumps back and forth between the past and the present, which is something I am beginning to like a lot as a framing device.
- I love Annie as a main character. She is very relatable for me because I am a huge overthinker/overplanner.
- The romance was super sweet and a pretty good slow burn. I wish there wasn't any cheating butttt it didn't bother me all that much. Blake and Evangeline were the perfect opposites attract situation while still playing off each other super well.
-There is miscommunication butttt I honestly thought it still worked out in a believable way.
Finished at a 4/5 but i think if you normally don't like friends to lovers/ HATE miscommunication you probably won't like it. :)
May 27, 2022
Book Review: When Fate Breaks by Nikki Witt
4.5 🌟
Fav quote: “Never feel ashamed or unvalidated in the way you feel,” he continues. “You’re allowed to feel. You’re allowed to hurt. It’s what makes us all human at the end of the day.”
Ok so firstly, this is Nikki's debut novel and her writing is amazing. I was interested to see how I'd feel about this book, because I watch a lot of Nikki's videos so I betting that her book would have some of her tropes that I'm not personally a fan of cough *slow burn* cough. However, this story really exceeded my expectations and I could not put it down.
A quick synopsis is that our main character Annie has just moved into a new house with her fiance and it has an old greenhouse that she wants to restore. Annie decides this is important enough to contact Blake, an old friend she hasn't seen or heard from in 6 years. It quickly becomes clear Blake and Annie have a long past together and something has kept them apart. Is two weeks living under the same roof enough time to finally get to the bottom of all the things left unsaid?
Overall, this book was almost a 5 star read. My biggest issue was this book contains to miscommunication trope, which I can't stand because I spend too much time wanting to shake the characters. However, I acknowledge that's my own personal hang up and shouldn't take away from how good this book is. It really makes you reevaluate your life choices and whether you are too busy trying to please others that you forget about yourself.
Also, last thought - I'm pretty sure Blake Di Fazio is my new book boyfriend
4.5 🌟
Fav quote: “Never feel ashamed or unvalidated in the way you feel,” he continues. “You’re allowed to feel. You’re allowed to hurt. It’s what makes us all human at the end of the day.”
Ok so firstly, this is Nikki's debut novel and her writing is amazing. I was interested to see how I'd feel about this book, because I watch a lot of Nikki's videos so I betting that her book would have some of her tropes that I'm not personally a fan of cough *slow burn* cough. However, this story really exceeded my expectations and I could not put it down.
A quick synopsis is that our main character Annie has just moved into a new house with her fiance and it has an old greenhouse that she wants to restore. Annie decides this is important enough to contact Blake, an old friend she hasn't seen or heard from in 6 years. It quickly becomes clear Blake and Annie have a long past together and something has kept them apart. Is two weeks living under the same roof enough time to finally get to the bottom of all the things left unsaid?
Overall, this book was almost a 5 star read. My biggest issue was this book contains to miscommunication trope, which I can't stand because I spend too much time wanting to shake the characters. However, I acknowledge that's my own personal hang up and shouldn't take away from how good this book is. It really makes you reevaluate your life choices and whether you are too busy trying to please others that you forget about yourself.
Also, last thought - I'm pretty sure Blake Di Fazio is my new book boyfriend
May 30, 2022
5 stars!
Do you want to read tension-filled moments about childhood friends who are reuniting?
Do you want to see adorable mementos that are perfectly woven into other parts of the alternating timeline?
Do you want hilarious side characters who you feel just as drawn to as the main characters?
Then, make room in your schedule to read this because once you start you won’t be able to put it down!
Evangeline/Annie Jacks…an over-thinker after my own chaotic brain. Is it just me or did you also feel like her decisions in those particular *moments* made sense?
Blake Di Fazio…that boy knows how to grow a VINE and deliver a LINE because damn if I wasn’t silent screaming whenever he made a confession.
This story is going to sit with me for a few days and I’m already feeling the book hangover. I will be sending you my therapy bill, Nikki.
Do you want to read tension-filled moments about childhood friends who are reuniting?
Do you want to see adorable mementos that are perfectly woven into other parts of the alternating timeline?
Do you want hilarious side characters who you feel just as drawn to as the main characters?
Then, make room in your schedule to read this because once you start you won’t be able to put it down!
Evangeline/Annie Jacks…an over-thinker after my own chaotic brain. Is it just me or did you also feel like her decisions in those particular *moments* made sense?
Blake Di Fazio…that boy knows how to grow a VINE and deliver a LINE because damn if I wasn’t silent screaming whenever he made a confession.
This story is going to sit with me for a few days and I’m already feeling the book hangover. I will be sending you my therapy bill, Nikki.
June 29, 2022
Okay…wow. I love Nikki and her YouTube videos — we have very similar taste in preferred tropes, genres, and authors. That being said, I went into this book (obsessed with the cover btw) with an open mind as I wouldn’t want my opinion on the story to be based off of my feelings about the author. I didn’t allow myself to place any certain expectations out there, but let me just say I LOVED THIS BOOK. Practically everything about this story I loved and I definitely found myself rooting for the relationship between Annie and Blake more and more as it went on. I loved them both a lot and having the story not only switch between the past and present, but also be dual POV made it even better. Way to go, Nikki! Glad this book now resides in my little book nook :)
February 1, 2023
this book is easily one of the favorite romances!! I would give it 4.5/5 if I could. It has some funny lines in it as well and I loved the premise of the greenhouse. I read this on my kindle and all the parts that were suggested highlights were such good quotes!!! it had solid, good themes of love, romance and finding happiness in life without being cheesy. The last 30 pages or so made me smile and the ending is very satisfying- it had the perfect closure to wrap up the story. I need a Blake in my life!!!
March 2, 2023
This book had me feeling so many things! One of them being that if a man goes by Remy… why tf would you ever give him the time of day??? So glad I was gifted the perfectly annotated version by bestie Mads!!! Not too bad for the authors debut novel!! Blake was such a great male MC. Truly ADORED him. I also loved Annie except when she kept beating around the damn bush! It was also giving Love and Other Words vibes… and I ate it UP!
May 29, 2022
OMG!!!!! This book was amazing!!! This is my first ever review and I just had to write a review for this book. This book made me laugh, smile like a crazy person, and feel sooo sad to the point where I almost cried! When I found out one if my favorite booktuber was releasing a book I knew I had to read it! I can’t express how much I loved the characters in this book!!! Like Blake 🤭 I can’t wait for more books coming from this author.
4.75🌟
4.75🌟
May 31, 2022
" You're etched to my fucking soul. You may as well stay etched into my skin. "
I've been in a slump lately and this book is exactly what I needed to get out of that slump. I knew from the beginning that I'm gonna love this book considering it took less than a day for me to actually finish it. I'm not really into the past-present storyline yet I didn't have any trouble while reading this.
I've been in a slump lately and this book is exactly what I needed to get out of that slump. I knew from the beginning that I'm gonna love this book considering it took less than a day for me to actually finish it. I'm not really into the past-present storyline yet I didn't have any trouble while reading this.
March 12, 2023
Great book, very sweet. Some unfortunate errors in words and stuff but nothing another beta reader or editor couldn't fix. The story was good.
March 13, 2023
100/10 AMAZING! I loved every second of this book! The characters had a lot of depth and how their story circled back was perfection. It’s one of those books that hurts so good!
February 15, 2025
Started and finished in an afternoon.
It gave me all of the Rory/Jess feels from Gilmore Girls - Emotional damage 💔
It gave me all of the Rory/Jess feels from Gilmore Girls - Emotional damage 💔
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