Becky Chalsen Debuts With “Kismet”

I love introducing you all to debut authors, and this one is no exception. Becky Chalsen and I had the most fun chatting on YouTube ahead of her first book’s release and now I get to tell you all about Kismet [Buy Bookshop Amazon].

Kismet follows Amy as she heads to Fire Island for her twin sister Jo’s wedding. Amy is less than pleased about her sister planning her wedding on their 30th birthday, aka the 4th of July, but she’s rolling with it by going into full-blown type A mode. You can tell pretty early on that something is up between Amy and her childhood-sweetheart-turned-husband Ben, but no one else seems to know.

But that’s not the only secret Amy is keeping. When Jo’s husband’s best man shows up, Amy is shook to see someone from her past. She vows no one can know about her past with Emmett, but that’s easier said than done when you have an entire week of pre-wedding events to get through… and there are some feelings involved.

There is a lot of family drama in this story, especially between the sisters. As someone with a couple of sisters myself, I enjoyed the journey they go on of life getting in the way of their relationship and finding their way back together. Amy’s secret is a heavy, albeit kinda obvious, one, and it’s nice to see those kinds of stories represented and talked about more nowadays.

Becky does a good job of setting the scene in Kismet, probably because it’s a beach town she’s loved visited herself for years. The story is filled with little details and events that actually happen around the 4th of July on Fire Island. However, I did want a little more from some of the characters and the pace felt slow at points. For a debut, it’s pretty solid and I’m looking forward to Becky’s next book.