FORTUITY (Transcend #3) by JEWEL E ANN

“If I stay, I might forget I’m not supposed to want you to kiss me.”

Fortuity by Jewel E Ann was mesmerising, compelling, addictive and had everything we love in our romance. This is a story of second chances and living with grief and heartbreak. It’s about family connections, strength in adversity and love. So much about love. Jewel E Ann is a magnificent Author who grabs your heart and doesn’t let go until the last word on the last page. It’s a marathon and a journey of emotions where by the end you feel an exhausted sense that every word and every action got you to the finish line feeling an overwhelming sense of joy and satisfaction. If you’ve already read the Transcend duet you know exactly how excited we were to begin Fortuity, and we were not disappointed, rather it was so much more than what we were expecting. If you haven’t read the duet, this book can absolutely be read as a standalone.

‘This girl. She’s life. She pumped my heart when I didn’t think it could keep beating. She filled my lungs when I thought I’d taken my last breath. She crawled up my face and showed me I still had a smile.’

So if you were #TeamNate at the end of the Transcend duet by Jewel E Ann, you finally get his story. And what a tremendous story it was. Nate already owned our hearts, well this time he had us come over all unnecessary, melting into puddles on the floor. Being a forty-six year old single dad of the gorgeously sassy ten-year-old Morgan, we loved finding out what came after the Transcend duet for the pair of them and we revelled in their close relationship and the wonderful connection they had. It was truly a joy to read. Nate seemed less burdened and weighed down, freer if you will. He had an easiness about him which we just loved, this whilst still living with grief. He feels and he’s not afraid to show it. Especially when it comes to the new temporary neighbour, Gracelyn. However, Nate and Morgan are currently at the last pit stop before finally travelling home, so what happens when love goes up against time? It’s all about timings and who places first in the line of responsibility.

‘Hearts are meant to beat and keep us alive. They’re also there to love, not sit on a shelf in timeout, or in your case, a strikeout. When the time is right, get back in the game and let that heart of yours fall in love again. Okay?”
It already has…

Gracelyn finds herself the guardian of her ten year old nephew after tragedy strikes. A single forty-one year old woman suddenly has to learn how to be a ‘mum’ and it sends her on a journey where she has to make decisions that will not only affect herself but also Gabe. Gracelyn has loved and lost and guards her heart with a will of steel. She will not entertain the possibility of finding love because being tethered to a man from her past keeps her heart bound tight. Gracelyn was a terrific heroine, she had sass and a massive heart. She made us laugh till we had tears. She was without question a formidable opponent for Nate. The battle of wills and hearts. We loved every minute of their friendship, their intense attraction, their fear of falling in love and their bravery of jumping despite that fear.

‘This is it. This is what it looks like to love someone deeply…madly…to the depths of your soul. So much it rips your fucking heart out of your chest to let go.’

Fortuity affected us on every emotional scale possible. It made us cry, laugh out loud, cringe as well as swoon. The chemistry was scorching and the humorous and flirtatious banter was just delicious.  It felt so all-encompassing, we couldn’t stop reading, fully invested in the magic of the words and the sheer anticipation. We’ve read a lot of wonderful slow build romances this month and this is definitely sitting pretty in the top of the list! Jewel E Ann has an incredible talent for integrating a sense of realism in her stories and such a unique way of timing; when you’re sad she makes you laugh, when you think it’s safe it’s really not and when you think all is lost she cleverly proves otherwise. In Fortuity the message was clear and we were reminded of the words by Thirty Seconds to Mars: “I will never Forget, I will Never Regret, I will live my life”

“How did we get here?”
“It’s complicated.”