It was hard keeping track of the many secondary characters, there were the five sisters, their parents, their husbands and children, and so many more. I had to go back several times at the beginning to find out which husband went with which sister.

All in all I didn't really connect with the MCs, nor with the plot of the story. It was like reading a telenovela.

Take a chance on me by Beth Moran

An interesting book full of interesting fun characters but it seems to jump about all over the place with so many points of view- it was easy to lose track/ interest. Has to potential to be a reasonable read but the plots all tangle together .

This was a lovely book on love, friendship and family. Lots of characters to get to know but an entertaining read.

This was a lovely, lighthearted read, with an interesting cast of characters.

I enjoyed the alternate point of views from both Emma and Cooper.

Thank you to Beth Moran, NetGalley and publishers Boldwood Books for the chance to read this book.

Gotta know before you go in that this isn't the story of Patrick Cooper &/with Emma Donovan - it's more a story with Patrick Cooper & Emma Donovan...amid the veritable horde of the other Donovan family members, which includes five sisters total. With that in mind, you might stand a better chance at enjoying this one which reads like a family saga/soap opera rather than a straightforward story much less a straightforward romance as the blurb implies
This book is very much a mess - I won't deny it. Emma's POV is in 1st Person, Cooper's (yeah, he goes by Cooper, not Patrick) is in 3rd Person which feels super-distant, too. That alone makes for a jumble when reading. Couple that with the 2-3-4-5 side plots going on and you land into a whirlwind. The 'marriage' bit itself only rears its head up closer to 40% in, and much of that start until then is exposure to the characters and what gets them there. And you're still not out of the woods even then - remember the 2-3-4-5 side plots going on? They take over, and Emma & Cooper together is almost non-existent on the page. The ending, too, is so not what you'd expect (I sure wasn't!)
Still, all this being said, I just could not put this book down! What's gonna happen to Emma & Cooper, and his unrequited crush on Bridget? What's happening with all the sisters? Where is this going/where will this go?
In that sense, the writing reminded me a lot of Jill Mansell's 'rambling' books (with a POV mess, though). The not-so-rosy plus dysfunctional family angle brought Marian Keyes' stories to mind (I often found myself thinking all this was taking place in Ireland, like Keyes' books, instead of Nottingham in England)
So if you like these 2 authors, give this one a go. If you don't know their styles, take a chance (yes, pun intended!) on this one because it's so unlike everything else out there, and it was rather unputdownable once you figured out who's who and what's what

This book has an original premise, albeit a headscratcher in terms of the motivation to marry the sister of who you actually like, but original nonetheless so you want to see where it goes. The main issue is that it's hard to keep track of, so I ended up feeling disengaged.

A good read but very complex set of characters and a lot of jumping around.

That said I enjoyed it and would recommend for a summer read

Loved the blurb for this book, but sadly didn't end up loving this one which was disappointing. I did not connect with any of the characters and the story with its multiple point of views left me a little confused and just not really interested in what I hoped would be a really cute, enjoyable and easy read. Thanks To NetGalley and publishers for this ARC.

This was the most amazing book ever. I love the married-at-first-sight thing and have even watched a tv show about it, but I definitely like the fact that we got into their heads.

This checked off everything I look for in a book. Was not disappointed. Really enjoyed this book. I will read more from this author. Must read

This was a nice book on love, friendship and family. I have to say it just didnt really hit with me. There were far too many characters, way too many stories which took away the focus of the whole book.

I tried my best to like this book, but I just couldn't. I was constantly irritated by the characters and I was reading just to finish it.

Sadly, I left writing a review to wait for too long, and I don't even remember the story in details anymore.

That's to say - a pretty unremarkable story that you probably won't remember a month after you've read it.

Firstly thank you to Netgalley, Boldworld Books and Beth Moran.

I thought this was a great story to introduce me to Beth Moran having not read anything by her before. Wow this did not disappoint! I loved how it perfectly displayed the logistics of a close knit family.

The story was well written and I’m looking forward to seeing what’s next!

There was far too many characters and sub stories running alongside, that it was difficult to keep track with who, was who, without keep going back and checking which isn't easy when your reading on your mobile kindle app.

I loved the idea of a large family of sisters but I think the plots got tangled up too much, I think there should of been one main story and kept the others for a different time as the sisters certainly were an interesting bunch.

This book had a lot going on in it. At times, it was extremely distracting. Not big on the bait and switch plot. This was a women's fiction story, not a romance. Which left me feeling disappointed in this book and the ending. Overall, an ok story. *I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and this is voluntary and honest review.

I’d give this book 10 stars if I could. Fantastic read! I want much more of the Donovan family!!! In fact I wish they could adopt me. This book is warm and inviting and hooks you all way through. I loved it and couldn’t wait to finish it but didn’t want to finish it because I miss the characters! Must read!

I have read just one other book by the author, and I must admit that her narration style appeals to me. I liked reading this book purely from the point of view of the way the story was written. I expected the plot to focus on one woman and her decision to marry someone she has never met. The picture in the book is far more comprehensive than that. Our leading lady ( sort of) is one of five girls, and each of her siblings has something going on. There is no happily-ever-after per se, all relationships need work, and this particular highlight comes across quite vividly. The variety of issues made the book deeper in parts which I appreciated. The central plotline was not as effective in holding my interest. Till the very end, I do not see much of an acknowledgement about what Patrick does with his test. It is not easy to condone the actions of the two people who are handling the project. Neither was thinking straight and were not convincing in how far they let the story go. It made them seem too flaky, and that was not how their family/friends saw them.
The book is supposed to be about a woman who is worn down by many bad dates and decides to participate in a matching scheme that marries her to an 'unknown' person. This is supposed to have some vetting, but mostly there are a few loopholes in that scheme.
I liked the SisterApp chain and the family, as well as all their interactions. It is easy to read, heartfelt and the reader can get emotionally invested. The wedding and the aftermath was not my favourite part. I would still pick up another book by the author because I know that I will be able to read it in almost one sitting.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

Disappointed by this, it just didn’t seem to meet the expectations I had from the synopsis, far too many characters to keep up with, I kept losing track, too much going on in one book, no real light or happiness based on the suggestion the blurb gives. Not one for me

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

This didn’t live up to the blurb. It was all too much story with too many characters and I kept forgetting who people were. Slightly disappointed

It’s not actually that often that a romance book can keep surprising me – Take A Chance On Me did exactly that, though.

I was offered an ARC by Netgalley in exchange for a review. All opinions are strictly my own.

The story
Meet Bridget’s sister, Emma Donovan – eternally single maker-of-cakes for many a happy couple, whilst never making it down the aisle herself.

Emma has four younger sisters, all of whom are married or getting married, and an Italian mother who can’t understand what is ‘wrong’ with her eldest daughter, who seems to be stranded on the shelf. Despairing of her own ability to find a suitable husband, Emma agrees to be part of a compatibility project to get married at first sight.

Meanwhile Cooper is struggling to get over his crush on Bridget and seems destined to stay firmly on the shelf too. Perhaps it’s time his fate was taken out of his hands…

Is happily-ever-after just about daring to take a chance, or do you need some extra magic to make love last?

The opinion
Look, I’m going to be honest: I thought I knew exactly what to expect from this book. Guy likes girl, girl doesn’t like guy, guy struggles, guy moves on. As I mentioned in the intro, though – that’s not quite what happened. If anything, this book offered a complete subversion of that narrative. And you know what? I’m not mad about it.

More than anything, what I really liked about this book, was how utterly human the characters were. They make mistakes, they mess up, and they just keep on trying. And if at times, that meant I was left with completely conflicted wishes for what was about to happen? Well, that’s really more of a me-problem, isn’t it?

As you know from the very beginning that Cooper has a crush (well, let’s be real: is kind of hopelessly head over heels in unrequited love) on Emma’s sister, and that Emma was initially really attracted to Cooper’s friend… Well, romance has a tendency to solve conflict with more conflict, from time to time. Luckily, in the case of Take A Chance On Me, the author didn’t take that easy way out. Which, sure, left me waiting for the other shoe to drop for like 95% of the story, but also… Was a pretty big relief to me, because I actually liked the characters, and I didn’t want them to make the kind of mistake they wouldn’t be able to take back?

Another choice that seemed slightly off, when compared to other romance books: the narrative style. Where chicklit isn’t a stranger to short phrases, many exclamations and brief paragraphs, Beth Moran actually opted for a slightly more natural style: longer phrases, almost stream-of-consciousness-like, and a switch between first person for Emma and third person for Cooper that I enjoyed way more than I anticipated.

The rating: 3.5/5
Did I thoroughly enjoy this book? Absolutely. Did it also leave me with a kind of melancholic feeling, sad and happy for the main characters at the same time? Yes. And did I kind of wish that Beth Moran would’ve just written a separate book for each of the sisters (similar to Kate Hewitt’s The Sisters of Thorntwaite-series)? Check. All in all, though, this was a really fun read, and the perfect kind of thing to fly through on a spring day.

-Saar