No Chance is a solid read. It isn’t groundbreaking stuff, but it’s interesting, and I was happy when the main couple reunited. If that’s not a sign that the book works, then I don’t know what is.

Eight years ago, Skylar James met Gabe Maddox at a resort. She was a supermodel trying to get a moment of peace; he had been wrongfully imprisoned and had just been released from jail. Because he had no idea who she was, Skylar was able to be her true self around him. They really hit it off, and for the next three weeks fell madly in love with each other. They impetuously got married. Unfortunately, Skylar never told Gabe about her job, and when her extremely disapproving father found out, they abruptly broke up.

Now, in present day, Skylar has tried to move on by helping up-and-coming young models in the industry. Her young friend Kendra is a promising model, but has a rebellious streak in her; she has a tendency to disappear for a while and then suddenly come back. Recently Kendra went on an interview and no one’s heard from her since. Worried, Skylar goes to the address of the photo shoot, which turns out to be an abandoned warehouse, and is suddenly kidnapped.

Skylar’s frantic father enlists the help of LCR, an agency of elite operatives who rescue victims. Too bad for him that the best agent they’ve got also happens to be Skylar’s ex-husband, Gabe Maddox. Dad swallows his pride and asks for Gabe’s help, and Gabe vows to get Skylar safely back and completely sever ties with her once and for all.

The progression of emotions that Skylar and Gabe go through felt pretty real to me; this also means that since they are extremely unhappy for 95% of the book, I was also frustrated with them the entire time. The little flashbacks of their short time together didn’t do much for me in terms of romance, and I never saw them truly fall in love. Very little is given to us about those three weeks that they supposedly spend in bliss, and I never felt that intense connection between them, although they talk about it and think about it all the time.

The force that initially drives them apart is worthy of the most dramatic soap operas. From the beginning the premise fell flat; Skylar’s father is really a piece of work, and once he admits it all, his subsequent waterworks throughout the story are truly ridiculous. The villain is pretty vile, but the suspense surrounding him simply didn’t seem very suspenseful. The story moved quickly enough, but I just didn’t feel engaged.

The writing is very nice. I generally liked the characters, although I thought Skylar’s innocence and naiveté was taken a little too far. Her eyes also have a tendency to well up uncontrollably, although I tended not to blame her, what with all the earth-shattering news she receives in a short amount of time. I don’t want to spoil too much, but I was a little disappointed that Gabe didn’t try harder to connect with Skylar. I was a little appeased by the fact that he admitted it himself. I was pretty happy when these two finally came together at the end – because they’d seriously suffered.

No Chance is fun, if not particularly memorable. Although I didn’t feel like I wanted to read the book again, I also didn’t feel like I’d wasted my time. There were a couple of secondary characters that caught my attention, and I will definitely keep an eye out for their stories.