My Unexpected Love

3.75 stars--MY UNEXPECTED LOVE is the second installment in Heidi McLaughlin’s contemporary, new adult BEAUMONT-NEXT GENERATION romance series- a spin off from the authors Beaumont Series. This is university students and best friends Elle Powell- James and Ben Miller’s story line. MY UNEXPECTED LOVE can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story line is revealed where necessary but I recommend reading HOLDING ONTO FOREVER for backstory and cohesion. Told from dual first person perspectives (Elle and Ben) MY UNEXPECTED LOVE focuses on Elle James as she spirals out of control in the months following the near fatal accident of her twin Peyton James (Holding Onto Forever). Unable to come to terms with the idea of losing her twin, Elle James life becomes a non-stop adventure of drinking and partying affecting both her grades and the close relationships in her life. Enter best friend and the man who is hopelessly in love with our story line heroine, Ben Miller. What ensues are the family’s attempts to seek help for Elle, and the fall-out when Ben, unable to bear the constant pain and rejection by the woman he loves, heads to New York in an effort to begin anew. Ben Miller has been in love with his best friend since the day that they met but Elle has been oblivious to Ben’s feelings forcing Ben to remain in the friend zone for close to eight years. Elle James’s knows loss first hand and the near death of her twin has affected our heroine more than she could have imagined. The relationship between Elle and Ben is a friends to lovers that is almost destroyed by Elle’s drinking and refusal to admit that she has a problem. When Ben is offered an internship in New York, his only hesitation is leaving behind the woman he loves. Elle’s immaturity and lack of responsibility threatens everything for which she has worked including her friendship with our story line hero. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate but mostly implied, without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text. The secondary and supporting characters are familiar and dynamic: Noah and Peyton, Elle and Peyton’s step-brother Quinn, their parents Harrison and Katelyn, Ben’s brother Brad, and fellow New York intern Talia. MY UNEXPECTED LOVE is a story of family and friendship, heartbreak and loss. There is a distinct lack of communication between our leading couple that leads to alienation and a loss of support –a support system that is no longer strong but fragile and broken. The premise is heartbreaking; the romance is passionate; the characters are energetic and driven.

A massive disappointment compared to any of the other books in the Beaumont Series, especially if you compare it to the previous part in the Next Generation series: Holding onto Forever. Every book in this series has been difficult for me to put down and has been finished in a day or 2 at max. The problem with My Unexpected Love was, that along with the fact that the plot was consistently annoying, I couldn't relate to any of the lead characters at all. The female lead in the most self-centred, selfish, envious and naive (a great combination) character in the series thus far, and the male lead is almost as naive but also lacks self-respect. After 6 chapters, I just didn't want to continue reading the book.. but got back to it a couple days later because I never leave a book half finished. What I do like about this book are the rest of the characters, and Heidi's writing style.