An Unexpected Kind of Love

An Unexpected Kind of Love

by Hayden Stone

Bookstore owner Aubrey Barnes likes his quiet, orderly London life, thank you very much. His shop may be struggling, his only employee is a menace, and his plumbing is one creaky pipe away from disaster, but he can handle it. Maybe. He cannot, however, handle the film company that’s thrown his Soho street into chaos.

And he definitely can’t handle the charismatic American actor Blake Sinclair.

Which is why he’s extremely reluctant to lease out his shop as a set for Blake's film, but it’s his one opportunity to save his business. Now he can’t get away from the distractingly hot actor.

Then Aubrey finds himself alone with Blake in a trailer, and what happens next turns London’s heat wave into an inferno that leaves him breathless.

Aubrey is not cut out for the high-profile life of dating a celebrity, especially an American actor who’s not even out yet. Good thing their tryst is absolutely not going anywhere.

Of course, when you expect nothing, that’s exactly when it starts to mean everything.

NERDY THOUGHTS

Overall, "An Unexpected Kind of Love" was an enjoyable read. The premise of an up-and-coming Hollywood falling for a dorky and somewhat grumpy bookstore owner was adorable and was littered with "Nottinghill" feels.

Told from only this character's point of view, the story introduced the main character Aubrey, who was an interesting character. Props to the author for this character's unique voice and distinctive personality. While it was refreshing for a character to have flaws and not fit the familiar love-interest mould, it was at times a challenge to warm up to Aubry or root for his relationship success.

The additional struggle was that the relationship conflict didn't carry a lot of depth or believability, and Aubrey's voice was at times so negative, that the romance struggled to deliver an uplifting boost of emotions.

Bottom line: A sweet and entertaining M/M romance.