Rating: 3.75 stars
Buy Links: 
 Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novella


Daniel Wyn is a guy who likes his routine and leaves nothing to chance. He plans out his wardrobe at the start of the week, determines his daily menu a month ahead of time, and keeps a regimented and specific schedule. Daniel always thinks everything through many steps in advance before making any decisions. So when a hot guy catches his eye entering the subway car as Daniel is set to leave, he shocks himself when, on a whim, he decides to stay on the train and try to meet the guy.

That one rare moment of spontaneity sends Daniel on an adventure he never imagined. As it turns out, that mysterious stranger (who is named Nathan) is being pursued by a man with a gun who is intent on stealing whatever is in Nathan’s bag. Before he knows it, Daniel finds himself on the run with Nathan, fleeing a seemingly endless army of dangerous, gun-wielding men with crew cuts determined to stop them. As the guys attempt to outrun the bad guys, they realize they like each other quite a lot. They also learn what it is in Nathan’s bag that the men want so badly, and why the fate of the world depends on them making sure it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.

Chance is a really fun, high energy story that I enjoyed quite a bit. It is a shorter book, but it packs quite a lot into a few pages, taking us on a whirlwind ride that kept me entertained throughout.

The book opens with us seeing a regular day in Daniel’s life. This guy is about as regimented as it is possible to be and he thinks through every decision to all possible ramifications before taking any action. He is adorably over the top (the whole story is laced with a bit of absurd humor and amusing asides), and I found him endearing despite the fact that he would drive me nuts in real life. Then Daniel does something he has never done before, and that is take a chance, act on a whim, and follow a hot guy on the subway. And of course, that one action blows his life up into total chaos, but in kind of an awesome way, as long as you ignore the guys trying to kill him. Author Archie Hellshire takes us on a wild, breathless ride as these guys are all over the city, getting in and out of trouble as they try to avoid the bad guys and figure out just what they want with Nathan. It is fun and exciting and high energy.

Daniel and Nathan are nice together, though this story isn’t really focused much on character and relationship development. We get a good sense of Daniel and all his issues, but we learn next to nothing about Nathan. He mostly comes across as a generically nice, hot guy who is good under pressure. We know Daniel finds Nathan attractive, and the guys do manage some brief kissing when they can stop a moment and catch their breath, but their relationship doesn’t go much beyond two guys we are told like one another who seem to get along well in a crisis. It isn’t necessarily a huge problem, as this book is short and more than packed with the suspense side of things. But we really don’t get much in the romance department here, at least at this point in the series.

As I said, there is some nice humor here and the story doesn’t take itself too seriously. There are lots of amusing moments, many at Daniel’s expense, and the tone is light and fun and very entertaining. I particularly liked Daniel’s friend and co-worker Mildred, an 87-year-old private investigator who kicks some serious ass and can hold her own against just about anyone. It is amusingly crazy and fits perfectly with the tone of the book.

I read Chance as part of New-to-Me Author Week for our Reading Challenge Month and I enjoyed Hellshire’s writing quite a lot. I am really looking forward to more books in the series.

This review is part of our Reading Challenge Month for New-To-Me Author Week! Leave a relevant comment below and you will be entered to win one of six $20 gift cards to NineStar Press. Commenters will also be entered to win our amazing grand prize sponsored by Dreamspinner Press (a Kindle Fire filled with Dreamspun Desires/Beyond books, plus a 3-month subscription!). You can get more information on our Challenge Month here, and more details on New-To-Me Author Week here, including a list of all the books in this week’s prize. 

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