A delightful book full of adventure, action, and thrills. Fun to read, engrossing world building, and very descriptive imagery made it feel like it was cinematic. It's hard to resist the story as it drives forward. Would recommend.

I honestly didn't finish this book - I just couldn't get into the writing style of the author. But I know many people who enjoyed this story,

AN UNEXPECTED KIND OF LOVE BY HAYDEN STONE
GENRE: romance, LGBT, fiction, adult, contemporary
This is really a unique kind of read. It is a sweet, hot and steamy sort of love story that is sure to undo its readers.
Aubrey Barnes, the owner of the Barnes bookstore, is struggling to run the shop and keep the family business running. He is a regular fellow without much happening in his life. He lives in a small dingy flat just above his bookshop and spends his time reading books. He has a menace of an assistant – Gemma. Suddenly the soho street (the one where his bookshop is located) changes. That’s when he meets our handsome actor Blake Sinclair for the first time at his shop as the later comes in to return a poetry book. Few sparks fly by but Aubrey is too involved in his life to nourish it any further. The film crew are flooding everywhere and the daily life is moving at a slow pace when he off of a sudden finds them offering a handsome pay in return for his permission to let them film in his shop. Torn between his desire to save his bookshop from the mayhem of the film crew and the handsome amount of money they offered he is unable to decide. His shop assistant then takes matters into her hands.
As the filming progresses Aubrey meets Blake for the second time in his vanity van and the fire between them ignites. They start falling for each other quite badly. But Aubrey is in a turmoil regarding whether he is suitable for Blake while Blake on the other hand isn’t ready to publicly accept their relationship. This leads to a roller coaster ride. So many emotions, so many advises, so many friends…………
This truly a moving book. Love is exhibited at its best. The characters portrayed were so lively.. I loved reading this book.

Ratings: 4.8/5

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of An Unexpected Kind Of Love.

I really enjoyed this book, as someone who works in a bookstore, Aubrey complaining about books being shelved incorrect is so relatable. This book had great pace and is a quick read. I loved the interactions between Aubrey and Blake. This might be the first book I’ve read where a main character is vegan and it’s actually talked about more than once.

I definitely recommend this book if you like romcoms with a touch of spice.

This is so gay, so cute, and SO meta, and I ripped through it in a haze of delight.

So get this, friends, it’s a romcom book about a grumpy bookseller who loves books but hates romcoms, who accidentally falls for an actor who’s filming a romcom in the bookseller’s bookstore. It’s Notting Hill meets You’ve Got Mail but queer af and a rollercoaster of emotions. It’s definitely a light and fluffy romcom-style romance, and fun to think about as its own adorable queer movie, honestly. It’s got themes of letting go of the past, queer chosen family, looking for the fantasy love but keeping it realistic, and the “grumpy one falls for a delight of a bright personality one,” which I’m a total sucker for.

I was looking forward to this one, but in the end it never hit its stride and rather fell flat. I DNFed it around the half-mark point.
I struggled so much with the missing character development. I never really got to know either MC. They were so bland at times, uninteresting even. All of it, not just the characters but also the story felt a bit disjointed and didn't make much sense to me. I needed more explanations, stronger development and a better plot structure.
In the end it was a bit of a mess and sadly boring too.

This had Notting Hill Vibes and that is why I picked it up. However, after reading it I have found myself questioning why I liked Notting Hill to begin with. This was an underdeveloped mess for me. I just didn't get why these characters were supposed to be together. Pass.

I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Yowsers! If you are looking for a February Valentines romance full of hot queer steam, pick up this book! An actor and a librarian equals HOT! The author did a great job with character development. This is a love at first sight genre, if that’s your go to you will be all over this one!
Overall, if the above is what you are looking for in a romance book…this is sure to please.
4.5 stars for well written romance

This was a great story that grabbed my attention quickly. The romance between the MCs was slightly turbulent but eventually transformed into a perfect romance.

This Notting Hill-inspired queer romcom was cute and fun to read and overall I enjoyed it, but unfortunately I don’t think it lived up to its potential.

Aubrey and Blake were both likeable enough but I don’t feel like we got to know them very well, either as individuals or why they liked each other so much. The instalove/attraction is off the charts fast: they jump into a physical relationship literally the day they meet and it seems like it becomes the main factor in everything they do: their actual personalities and motivations are left very underdeveloped.

I also didn’t love the writing; there were a lot of words and phrases that were overused. I’m not sure if that’s because this is a debut novel and his writing style is still developing, or because I read an ARC so there might still be a final round of editing to come. Regardless, everything started to feel very repetitive after a while.

All that said, this was a quick and easy read that’s light and fluffy and it definitely still had fun moments. If you’re in the mood to escape to England for a fast-paced queer romcom, this might just fit the bill.

Thank you to Entangled Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was so good. It was a bit of a slow start but it is worth it to get into. Loved the setting. This author has an amazing voice and writing style. Highly Recommend.

So cute! Featured it on a Book Riot list of 2021 rom-coms. I loved this queer twist on Notting Hill and the grumpy, loveable main character. Will be keeping an eye out for anything more by this author—they have a knack for writing heartfelt and easy to connect with romances.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. This was a cute, fluffy romance; that's what most of what I have to say boils down to. I thought it started a bit too suddenly (though I find it common in MM romance for there to be a graphic sex scene in the first few pages). I don't really enjoy this, as I prefer a buildup to make the relationship more satisfying, but that didn't stop this from being a fun read

Aubrey is trying to keep his family's London bookstore afloat, but it hasn't been easy. When a film company offers him a lot of money to use his store as a film set, it just might be the monetary boost he needs to keep the bookstore open.

Blake is a rising star in the American film industry, but he has a secret: he's not out as bisexual to his family or the public. He finds himself drawn to Aubrey and they have undeniable chemistry, but he's only in London for a couple of weeks while filming. It's just a fling… until it's not.

An Unexpected Kind of Love by Hayden Stone was a really fun read! It has a grumpy/sunshine romance, a bookstore setting that I loved, and some steamy moments! I flew through this one and really enjoyed it. Content warnings were included at the beginning of the book (thank you!) for: mentioned death/illness of a parent, reference to homophobic parents, forced outing, internalized homophobia, a possessive ex, and alcohol. So keep those CWs in mind!

The rawness that is captured in this story is simply magical. We find a bookseller, Aubrey, who is struggling financially and in the love department. He feels his life is not what it once was. He is trapped with grief over losing his boyfriend and home.

Serendipity ensues and we meet Blake through run ins that he keeps having with Aubrey. They both are magnetically drawn to one another.

Their love story is intense and very fast. We have only the perspective of Aubrey throughout the book and his narrative is spot on.

I loved the mix of a London boy and an American boy finding love. I would have loved to have seen a little more character descriptions of personality and appearance a bit earlier in the novel. This is totally a personal preference. I dont like waiting long to really know what the character im reading about looks like. Im a mental picture kind of gal.

Overall, this was a fun fast read. Thank you Entangled Publishing and Netgalley for the advanced copy. These thoughts are strictly my own.

In this romance novel we follow Aubrey, a British bookshop owner and Blake, an American actor. These aren't the most likeable characters but they were enjoyable, if not lacking in some areas.

I picked this up because of the interesting description and that it seemed like it had a lot of potential. Though I quickly realized this wasn't what I had expected.

The writing also wasn't my favorite. I can see there being more potential in the author's next works seeing as this is a debut book but this one just wasn't it. I wasn't a fan of the way the relationship was portrayed and I think the writing style played a good part in this.

This novel is also insta love which isn't one of my favorite tropes. There was also pop culture references as well which isn't my cup of tea in books usually.

Take my review with a grain of salt seeing as this wasn't quite made for my demographic at all. Of course, this did make the book less enjoyable for me.

Overall don't get me wrong, there were a few positive aspects as well, the humor wasn't bad, and might be something to pick up if you want a sweet mlm instalove romance. Everyone has different tastes!

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

what an incredible debut novel. i read this book 8 weeks ago, and still cannot stop thinking about it.

grumpy, cynical, very serious and stuck in his ways, is aubrey barnes - owner of a struggling indie bookstore in london. much to aubrey's distaste, a film crew rolls into town and turns the streets of soho into the set of a rom com.. the audacity! aubrey is even more grouchy and irritable than usual. that is, until he repeatedly bumps into the undeniably gorgeous actor, blake sinclair.

this book is everything i love in a romance novel; queer af, heartwarming, charming, hopeful, cute, joyful, a bit steamy, and just all round lovely. 🏳️‍🌈

i honestly wish i could read this book again for the first time.. i can't stop think about aubrey and blake, and the lake district.

PLEASE MAKE THIS A MOVIE!!

When Aubrey, an independent bookseller reluctantly accepts the offer of turning his London bookstore into a filming set for a new Hollywood movie, he meets the rising star Blake Sinclair.
After a series of unplanned events bring them face to face, Aubrey finds himself falling head over heals for Blake.
what starts as a mere fancy soon develops into something more. However, Blake only has a few weeks in London, after which he has to go back to the US. As Blake and Aubrey spend more and more time together, they learn that they have to work on their individual problems, and as the time draws on they soon have to decide on the future of their relationship.

Characters:
Aubrey is an independent bookseller, who runs his family business. Part of the reason why he is so grumpy is that he sort lost confidence after breaking up with his boyfriend/best friend.

On the other side, there is Blake Sinclair. The hot-as-hell rising actor, who is very beautiful and very confident.

Trope:
This is a Grumpy- sunshine romance

What I liked about the book:
I liked the London summer vibes.
I liked how different the characters of Blake and Aubrey were. Somehow, their differences added so much to the story. It's sort of like they completed each other.

b> What I didn't like about the book:
The book felt a little bit too long for me. The second half of the novel dragged on a little bit.
Most of the book was spent on irrelevant stuff instead of actually focusing on the main point.

Thank you to Netgalley and Entangled Publishing for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to @pridebooktours for #gifting me a copy of this for the book tour!

My rating: 4 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

My thoughts: I loved this one. I loved Aubrey and Blake so much. I was rooting for them throughout the whole book. I also really loved the other characters, Lily and Gemma were fab!! I loved the relationship Aubrey and Blake had. Also if you are into steamy romance books then I'd recommend this one!!

Synopsis from goodreads: 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.

This book was awesome. I love a good gay romance but this was a great gay romance. The characters were amazing and I liked that they are not perfect. It makes them more real. Blake is my favorite person now. I also love the background plot along with the romance. It compliments each other very well.