Merryn Porter is serving as a bridesmaid in her friend Serena’s wedding when the tree the wedding party is getting pictures taken under suddenly collapses.  She pushes Serena and her husband out of the way, only to be knocked down by the heavy tree.  She’s lying there in pain, wondering what to do, when Luke, the man she thought she’d never see again, appears and demands she come with him.  She goes, even though she’s sure something’s not right.  Merry has always loved Luke.  Will this finally be her chance to show him how much?

Leap of Fate is a story with a very cool premise that somehow doesn’t fully live up to its potential.  The opening scenes really caught my attention, and Antonia Pearce did a good job of building the urgency and mystery at the beginning.  I liked the sometimes-vulnerable, sometimes-bold Merry, and Luke’s alternately autocratic and tender behavior worked very well in the context of the story.  The past the two characters shared made the pacing of the story (and the sex) believable.  With all these positives going for it, Leap of Fate had me almost all the way to the end.  Unfortunately, a couple of things took me out of the story.  The first was a seemingly gratuitous anal sex scene.  In my opinion, it just didn’t fit with the story at all and felt tacked-on.  The other thing I couldn’t get past in this story was the ending, which felt a bit contrived.  I love a happy ending as much as the next girl, but the ending of this one pushed the bounds of credibility in my mind.  Still, Ms. Pearce had me intrigued for much of the book.  If you like second-chance love stories with an unusual twist, you’ll probably like Leap of Fate.