Anything Could Happen: A gloriously romantic novel full of hope and kindness

Back then, Lara was a fresh-faced young fashion journalist spending a few months working in New York and trying to live her best life. One night her colleague drags her to a bar for a drink and she meets Ben, a graphic designer on holiday with some mates. Their connection is instant and all consuming, both of them thinking 'This is the One', they arrange to meet that night - but fail to connect. Fast forward nineteen years and Eliza is an angry young woman confronting her father about why he left her and her mother when she was only small. Her father drops a huge bombshell that shakes Eliza to the core - he is not her father. Lara has been lying to her for her entire life. When Eliza does eventually connect with her real father, Ben, it also causes repercussions in his marriage. Can Ben and Lara uncover what actually happened in New York, can Eliza forgive Lara, can Ben and Eliza develop a relationship and make up for lost time? I love Lucy Diamond novels, never twee, always about people's feelings, about messy families who drive you up the wall but you still love them, and this is no exception. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

A very enjoyable story about missed chances, along with a few hurt feelings which stopped some matters being resolved a lot earlier. Lara and her nearly 18 year old daughter have a good life, but Eliza is feeling a bit lost without her father (Lara is divorced) and goes to confront who she thinks is her father, only to find out he's not her biological father and her mother has kept a secret about her birth all these years. The rest of the story is about Eliza finding her real Dad, Ben, and upsetting the apple cart with his marriage, although to be fair it was on the rocks anyway. Eliza is very determined to reconnect with her father, who is delighted to find out he has a daughter, but equally upset that he missed all her earlier years. Lara and Ben have a lot to sort out too, as their 'relationship' was only one day whilst they were both in New York and events transpired to part them, but is the spark still there, after the hurt feelings are sorted out? A very easy-reading story.