Review: Lost in Chance by Lize Jacobs

Posted January 18, 2016 by Lola in Contemporary, Coyer, Review, Romance / 16 Comments

LolaReview

Lost in ChanceLost in Chance
by Lize Jacobs

Blurb:
Recently divorced teacher, Chrisna, is stuck in her small-town life in South Africa.
One day, she angrily tells her best friend that she would like to throw her wedding ring off the top of the Eiffel Tower. So her friend gifts her a five-day trip to Paris, for her thirtieth birthday, to do just that.
Unsure of whether she would actually be able to do it, she sets off, unprepared for the life-changing adventure, quirky new friend, and romance that await her, as she gets lost in chance.

My Review:
I received a copy in exchange for an honest review

Lost in Chance is a fun and romantic read. It’s long enough to tell the full story and didn’t feel rushed. In fact I would say it feels a bit slow at times, the weakness and the charm of this book lies in seemingly normal scenes of daily life that become more. An airplane travel leads to a new friend, being stuck in the elevator of the Eiffel Tower is an opportunity to sing and a concert visit turns into a meeting with someone. The concept was a fun one, Chrisna travels to Paris to throw her wedding ring from the Eiffel Tower and it turns into a journey to find herself.

While I enjoyed this book I also felt like I was crawling through the book. It didn’t hook me and I didn’t have the urge to keep reading, so my progress was very slow. The last 30-40 pages or so where very good though and it did make the book end on a positive note for me. Those last few chapters really changed me opinion of the book as a whole for the better.

Lost in Chance is a story about travel, about finding yourself, about letting go and about making the most of the moment. Especially the last part of the book strikingly illustrates these themes and I liked the overall message of the book. I did have some issues with Zenalda at first and how she pushed Crisna to become someone she wasn’t, but as the book progressed I realized that those pushes made Chrisna come out of her shell and she did figure out who she was and wanted to be. She learned to let go of the past, enjoy the moment and do what she wanted.

The characters are likeable and quirky, although like I mentioned before Zenalda could annoy me a bit at first, by the end though I really liked her and saw how good of a friend to Chrisna she had become. I liked how she opened up to Chrisna eventually and didn’t hide behind her facade. Chrisna was a bit of a bland character at first, she’s very unsure of herself and doesn’t know what she wants out of life and Zenalda set out to change that, but I wasn’t quite sure about her method as she was a bit pushy at times, but maybe that was exactly what Chrisna needed. These two form an unique friendship and at the end of the book they felt like close friends, who had been through a lot together.

Chrisna lands in a lot of weird situations and tries new things and I wasn’t sure at first if this was who she really was or if she tried to be someone she wasn’t. It confused me and I didn’t like Zenalda her pushing to do all those things, but in the end it all worked out and I felt like Chrisna a found who she was and was more confident in her own skin. It was impressive to see the change in her, although it felt a bit fast how quickly she changed.

I also liked how all characters came from different countries and ended up here together. Zenalda is from the US and on vacation to Paris. Chrisna is from South-Afrika and every time she talked in her native language I had fun trying to figure out what her words meant, as Afrikaans sounds very similar to Dutch, but it’s different enough that I wasn’t always sure of the meaning. There is some Afrikaans and French text, but even if you don’t understand either language you can still follow the conversations and meaning of the sentences as it get’s explained or it’s obvious from the context.

There is a bit of romance, there is not a lot of drama and it the relationship progresses nicely, if a bit fast. I didn’t really care about Tyce and I felt like this book was more about Chrisna and her change, but the romance did fit into the story well. At first I didn’t quite feel the connection and the spark, there is a scene towards the end that changed things and I thought they did make a cute couple. Things move quite quickly, but there are these scenes where you still get a feel for their relationship and how they get to know each other.

To summarize: Lost in Chance is a fun and cute romantic comedy. Chrisna takes a trip to Paris to throw her wedding ring from the Eiffel tower, but along the way she find a new friend, romance and most importantly herself. The pace is quite slow and the story was a tad boring at times, it didn’t quite hook me. The last 30-40 pages where really good and I felt that’s where the strength of this novel was. Things fall into place, Chrisna let’s go of things and finds who she wants to be. Zenalda seemed a bit pushy at first, but in the end I do think she really helped Chrisna find herself and learn her to live in the moment. The romance was cute, but it did move a bit quickly. There are some sweet scenes and they made a cute couple.

3-star

Links:
Goodreads
Amazon
B&N

Do you like the use of foreign languages in a book?

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16 responses to “Review: Lost in Chance by Lize Jacobs

  1. Aw, that sounds nice. It reminds me a bit of Thirty Days to Thirty by Courtney Psak – a funny romance where the main character finds new friends and love and themselves while on a mission to do something. I mean, it’s very sweet and light. I can understand why it takes longer to finish πŸ™‚ I’m like that, too. Great review! I like it when books have phrases in another language; it feels exciting and intriguing.
    Jee Ann recently posted…A New Year for Stories and “Black Blood” by John Hennessy ReviewMy Profile

    • I haven’t heard of that book, but from your description is sounds pretty similiar to this one with the mission to do something and finding new friends, love and themselves alogn the way. The foreign language phrases were done well in this book and it gave the main character a more authentic feel. I know how no matter in which language I speak (dutch or english), sometimes a word in the other language slips in.
      Lola recently posted…Review: Lost in Chance by Lize JacobsMy Profile

    • Not sure if it was the pacing or me, but I had a hard time getting into it. The ending really left a good impression. It was cute, with some depth, but once I put it down I didn’t have that urge to keep reading. It was a fun one overal and I liked the quikry characters.
      Lola recently posted…Review: January by Audrey CarlanMy Profile

  2. I love how you described this as “seemingly normal scenes of daily life that become more.” That sounds like such a beautiful, promising kind of book, but I can also see how it could make for a less engaging book if not done quite right. And I actually love foreign languages in books! But small bits of it, not so much that I’m confused, just enough to give the book a little more flavor. I’m in the middle of this one series set in France, so there are little sentences or words here and there in French, and I use the translation on my Kindle and feel like I’m learning something lol.
    Kristen @ Metaphors and Moonlight recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Random Books on My TBRMy Profile

    • Yes it was a very unique and beautifull book at times with how those daily life scenes where given attention. At times it felt a bit dull, but on other moments it really had the right impact. It shows how those normal scenes can have a bit impact as well. I am looking forward to see what this author will write next.
      If the foreign words are done right it can really add something to the book I think, as long as the author doesn’t overdo it. The author definitely had the right amount of foreign words in this one.
      Lola recently posted…Review: January by Audrey CarlanMy Profile

  3. Yes, sometimes its nice to grab a book that isn’t overly dramatic or challenging, but sometimes there isn’t quite enough spice and they can go slow. I love that the heroine is from South Africa. I went to school with a guy from there and I loved his accent and it was fun to figure out his occasional lapses into Afrikaans. I don’t mind foreign words or phrases in a book. It’s fun to figure out the meaning and no big deal to look it up if I’m dying to know. πŸ™‚
    Sophia Rose recently posted…Brooklyn On Fire by Lawrence H. LevyMy Profile

    • It was nice to have a fun book like this, even though it didn’t fully hook me and started a bit slow, I am happy I gave it a chance. It was so interesting that the heroine was from south africa, it added a fun twist to the book. And Afrikaans is pretty similiar to dutch so it was fun to figure out what everything meant. I think the foreign phrases where well done in this book and in a way you could still figure out what they meant and add a foreign feel to the book.
      Lola recently posted…Review: January by Audrey CarlanMy Profile

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