Today is my spot on @pridetours tour for An Unexpected Kind Of Love by @haydenstoneauthor. Thank you for my #gifted e copy through netgalley

I was very pleased to get an early copy of this as I am trying to read out of my comfort zone and try more of the romance genre. This was the best way to get into romance!

This was a story about a book shop owner called Aubrey, he is grumpy character that is stuck in his ways with a business that is not going so well. He gets a unexpected visit by a actor who wants to refund a book he didn't like. After some angry words and a little bit of flirting over several conversations. The actor Blake gets his film company to use Aubreys book shop as a set. Which starts off Aubreys and Blakes relationship. The rest you will find out by picking a copy of this story which is out now 😀

This book was the perfect cute, heartwarming, charming story that makes you laugh and smile.

Il be buying this book in physical form to re read this as soon as possible and I recommend to all 📚⭐⭐⭐⭐

Trigger warnings ⚠️
Conversations about death in the family, disability caused by an accident.

#bookrecommendations #bookreview #pridetours #haydenstone #anunexpectedkindoflove #bookstagramuk #bookstagrammer #bookromance

OH MY GODD why didn't I read this sooner? This was so adorable! Cuteness overloaded. The media and book references, Arctic Monkeys and Jane Austen?!! I'm weird and I like my book like this. The author did it right.

E-ARC provided by the publishers.

This was super adorable, but a bit too much on the cheesy side. It sometimes felt like a hallmark movie and landed as disingenuous. Overly the story was adorable, but it didn’t work for me.

The story is so good with a mixture of emotions, guilt, sadness, love, lust, and romance. The love story of bookseller Aubrey in London and an American actor Blake. They start loving each other so soon and that creates some doubt in Aubrey whether this will result in another heartbreak as Blake will soon return to the US. There are a lot of twists and turns. I really loved the way Blake expressing his love before strangers in the station singing a song for Aubrey. As an actor, he wants more opportunities to become a lead actor in the industry which he may lose when people come to know he is gay. Throughout the whole story, Blake is such a confident, cool guy but at some point, he wants to live up to societal expectations and he leaves Aubrey which is heartbreaking. I loved the character Lily who was such a good friend of Aubrey. The character Eli and Rayan was also different especially Eli who was the ex of Aubrey and currently in a relationship with Ryan and jealous of Aubrey and Blake.

I loved the narration and the lucid writing which made it a super read. At some point I was happy, at some I was sad and laughing at their jokes. I was traveling with the characters all along in Soho, Cumbria, Manhattan...

The relationship should not be measured on time. The connection we feel and the love, care, and understanding of each other is important which changes one's life.

I loved this! This book was so beautifully written - the characters were so well crafted but with flaws that made sense and the setting and conflicts woven into the story were immaculate and at no point did I feel like the writing or dialogue was cringe. This was a wholesome story, but don't be fooled, there is definitely some steam! The author got the balance between steamy scenes and character building just right for my reading taste and I cannot wait to get my hands on a final copy as soon as I can!

I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a quick and easy, queer romance read that has a lot of dimension and fantastic writing!

This debut novel from Canadian author Hayden Stone has all the makings of a fine LGBT romance.

A British bookstore owner, Aubrey Barnes, and a rising star, Blake Sinclair, enjoy a sweet meet-cute (or three) while the latter is on location in Soho filming his next romantic comedy.

While they quickly fall in love, a myriad of unfortunate circumstances seem destined to keep them apart, from an overstepping ex to intrusive paparazzi, to the nomadic lifestyle of a working actor.

And while their commitment to making it work is idealistic, it was equally endearing, and I couldn’t help but root for these star-crossed lovers.

My only major issue with the novel is that it can’t quite decide what it wants to be.

Vacillating between wholesome Hallmark flirtation and highly explicit content seemed inconsistent to me. That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy a little steam, but in this case, it just seemed out of place.

Even so, there is certainly a place for more sex-positive queer stories, and I’m sure many will enjoy this book regardless of the discordance in tone.

This is a cute story with a sweet romance. It had an interesting start that drew me in, but slowed down about halfway in and started to drag. I also thought it was odd that Aubrey and Blake didn't discuss some things before they became an issue, especially what they were going to do once filming was over. The guys just went full steam ahead until roadblocks popped up and caused problems, then tried to deal with them. It made the relationship feel a bit juvenile.

Aubrey is the main character and narrator. He's abrasive and doesn't seem to like most people. Aubrey is trying to keep his family's store afloat, even though the debt is killing him and stopping him from living a full life. I thought at times he was rude or stubborn just because, with no real reason behind it. Blake is the complete opposite, excessively cheerful and optimistic. I thought they were a bit too different, but did enjoy watching Blake draw Aubrey out from his dark cloud and have some fun.

The fights the characters had could have been avoided if they'd talked about the future at all and slowed the pacing down quite a bit. I know there needed to be some kind of drama and it made sense, I just wish it was written differently.

Still a fun read and a good debut from the author. I'll be looking out for other books.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. Thank you to Entangled Publishing and

I really enjoyed this story, it had a Nottinghill vibe and I love that movie.
The characters were just perfect, they were a great team and their chemistry was palpable!
I’d definitely recommend!

What a delightful m/m, grump/ sunshine romance! Aubrey is a curmudgeonly bookseller trying to save his family's indie bookshop in London when in walks up-and-coming Hollywood actor, Blake. Their connection is instantaneous. I loved how supportive each of them were of each other. they were an amazing team. And their chemistry- WOW. This book got spicy! I especially loved the grand gestures at the end.
The only drawbacks for me were that Aubrey seemed to care a whole lot about how his parents felt about what he did with the bookstore, yet he never ever talked to them during this whole story. Also, some of the timeline didn't make sense. It seemed like either flights were instantaneous or they were talking about time in a way that did not make sense to me.
Overall, a good read that gave me all sorts of warm, fuzzy feelings.

The premise of this romance sounded great, but didn't deliver in the ways I hoped it would. If you're a fan of Notting Hill, you'll definitely be on board, but my overall neutral feelings about that film translated to my feelings about this read.

Finally making my way through some ARCs and decided the best way to get over a short book slump was with a quick romantic read - and I was right. Sort of. This certainly wasn' t my favorite queer romance read of the year, but it wasn't my least favorite either. Like my rating, this book just fell in the middle for me.

Those who love 90’s rom coms will get serious Notting Hill vibes in this witty, quirky, sweet and sexy book about what happens when two very different worlds collide. This MM romance between the bookseller and the actor is a fun, light read with smart main characters and just enough steam to make you blush without getting too graphic. You will definitely spend a lot of time smiling. Whether you’re looking for a great beach read, or you want a good rom com but your tv and streaming services are out of commission… this is a good book to pick up.

A very cute romance story. I had very high expectations and it was enjoyable. However, it did feel like it was rushed, and I did expect more from it. That being said, I liked the characters and the setting. An easy read I believe lots of people will enjoy.

This was a let down.
I have no other way to put this, I loved the first third of the book and enjoyed it a lot. However by the halfway, to 2/3rd of the book I found myself bored.
This will be a short review as it wasn't a memorable read in any way. I loved romances with actors or singers being involved so I was really looking forward to it. It felt disconnected, by the end of the book I felt that both me and our MC's knew nothing about each other or me them.
It was very much a surface level book that did not make you attached to them in anyway.
By the end *SPOILER* they never addressed that one of them would be leaving to another country in a couple of weeks. *END SPOILER*

It felt meh, no substance, and I could not bring myself to care about them when so many conversations were never touched on.
2/5 Bookarina.

Thank you so much, Entangled Publishing, LLC, Entangled: Embrace and NetGalley, for the chance to read and review this book in exchange of an honest review!

Aubrey Barnes is a bookstore owner and he loves his quiet London life. He can handle his shop struggling, his own employee, his disastrous plumbing, but he really can't hand the film company in his Soho Street. When he agrees, only to save his business, to lese out his shop as a set for the charismatic actor Blake Sinclair, he definitely didn't predict what would happen next.
When he and Blake find themselves attract to one other, everything gets more and more complicated, mostly because Blake isn't out yet and Aubrey doesn't want to life a high-profile life of dating an actor.
What will happen to them?

I loved reading An Unexpected Kind of Love! The story is funny, full of hilarious, moving and sexy moments, with relatable and complex characters, who are very different from one other, but complete each other in a wonderful and cute way. I was really involved in the story, I loved the characters and the writing style and this was such a funny and sweet read I basically devoured it!
Such a sweet and swooning romance!

I'm afraid Stone's writing is too fanfic-y for my taste. It isn't necessarily bad but it isn't particularly strong or convincing writing. Fans of fanfictions will probably like this better than I did.

I didn't enjoy this. It felt unrealistic and I couldn't stand the MC telling the story, he came of annoying, self-centered. The first sexual encounter came completely out of the blue and felt totally of character for the MC. I was confused by the bit about authors behaving bad only - was this a criticism or a show of support for fellow authors.
It was all these minor things that kept adding up and I was no longer enjoying the book by 30%.

This was very cute and wholesome! I really liked Aubrey and Blake and the whole dynamic between them. The writing was great too, and I actually found myself laughing at a few moments. It did feel as if the relationship happened way too fast and by the halfway point it felt kinda messt? Idk, but I still liked this book and might be interested to read the next one.

This is such a sweet opposites attract romance. Aubrey is a bookseller who is truly stuck. After his mother became to ill to manage it, he basically inherited the family bookshop. The store is doing - ok - but is really hanging on by a thread. In the face of chains and e-readers keeping the store going is not easy. When a movie wants to use his shop as a set - he isn't interested even with the large amount of financial compensation he's going to receive. But when his shop assistant signs the contract anyway - the production invades - along with Blake who has been stopping by the shop to try and connect with Aubrey.

Blake is a B list actor who playing the best friend of the lead actor in the movie. He isn't a huge success yet - and uses a lot of his earning to help support his family and younger sisters. He isn't closeted - per se - but he isn't publicly out. But he is pretty much the opposite of Aubrey - sunshine personality, adventurous, spontaneous.

The story is told entirely from Aubrey's perspective - but we still see Blake so clearly. As Aubrey grows to trust both Blake and himself - you see a true growth of character. This also comes from Blake as well - when you can see the pressure of his family coming to bear on him. Both Blake and Aubrey have a lot of weight from their family expectations - and find a way to deal with that - but still be together is the overall story of the book.

I really enjoyed this - even though some parts frustrated me - it was extremely well written and a lovely love story.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, but these opinions are all my own.

Started off really cute until the super graphic sex scenes. Not for me, did not finish. It seemed like it really was going to be lovely but the scene scenes boarded on pornographic.