3.5 stars

I liked this gay retelling of Notting Hill - I mean, all that was missing was the house with the blue door!

Aubrey is the gruff book store owner and Blake the visiting American actor.

Now, I wanted to slap some sense into Aubrey - he was quite insufferable all the time, complaining all the time about what books people are buying and for what reason - dude, you're struggling to keep the doors open, let them buy them for door stops if it is what they want!

We don't really get to know much about Blake - other than he is hot - for a lot of the book, and wish we had more development there.

Actually, we don't really see our lovelies falling for each other much either. They hang out have sex and boom they are in love. I wish we got more of the why they liked each other, not just that they do.

We got more of the relationship with Aubrey's ex than the new relationship being forged.

So yeah, I did like it, but wish we got more.

That being said, this is Hayden Stone's debut novel, and i will read more in the future.

I had really high hopes for this one because it seemed right up my alley but it just fell short for me and I couldn't get into it. Might try again in the future.

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.

Aubrey – a cute and shy librarian and Blake – the hot shot amateur actor. What happens when destiny forces these two to cross paths, not once but multiple times?
Sweet and cute is how I am going to describe this book. I had so much fun reading this one. The story was simple and light-hearted with some really fun and quirky characters. I loved the fact that the author kept the chapters short and engaging which made the narration smooth and easy to follow. The language was lucid and everyday style which I enjoyed reading a lot.
The character development was good and I liked the supporting characters as well. The fact that there weren’t a lot of side characters overwhelming the reader was an added plus point.
For someone looking for a feel-good and light queer romance, I would definitely recommend this book.

TW : mention of death/illness/disability, homophobia (from a parent and also internalized), character being outed, possessive ex, alcohol use

Thoughts within the first pages :

• YAS there's a content warning

• Loooove the writing style

• Feeling hooked from the start

• What a great cast of side characters!

• Love the meet-cute(s)


Thoughts halfway through the book :

• What's up with all that bean trivia

• But whyyyyyy to this or that, repeatedly

• Feeling like the book is dragging on

Mixed feelings about this book, definitely 😅 I did love the epilogue 💛

<i> This e-ARC was provided by NetGalley, in exchange of an honest opinion. </i>

3.25 ⭐

<b> Content Warning: </b> Mentioned death/illness of a parent, reference to homophobic parents, forced outing, internalized homophobia, a possessive ex, and alcohol use

This book is about a bookseller from London, Aubrey, and a up-and-coming american actor, Blake. It tells us the story of their relationship and the ups-and-downs.

I enjoyed this book. It is an easy and fast read, where important topics are mentioned. In some parts, the development of the relationship seemed too fast, but even the characters acknowledged that.

My thanks to the publisher, Entangled, for the digital copy in exchange for review consideration.

This one is not my typical bag of romance tea. It's much more typical romance than I like to go for, and I've DNFed a lot of titles like this in the past. It's terribly convenient and full of cliches and not near snarky enough.

Yet and still, I liked it. I think the high steam level helped a LOT in that regard, but I also like overly sincere romance at times that is full of the types of one liners that make your heart melt.

For Readers Of: Waiting for Tom Hanks & Playing the Palace

My Rating - 3.5 Stars!

An Unexpected Kind of Love is a cute opposites attract romance by Hayden Stone.

Aubrey and Blake's romance is sweet from the start, with a good getting to know each other element. I enjoy that one's a grumpyish bookstore owner, the other an actor.

It's all perfectly enjoyable.

But...

There is a lot missing. I was expecting some tension about the fact that Blake is only in town temporarily. But, for some reason, that part is totally ignored. It would have added a lot to the story. But, even worse is that it is obviously missing, making things a little weird.

As well, I was expecting some conversation at least about Blake's sexuality. I guess the author was going after an actor who doesn't struggle at all with his sexuality. Which is ok, I guess. But I would have preferred that element to be discussed.

Overall, An Unexpected Kind of Love is a decent read. I enjoyed this Hayden Stone read, but am not sure who to recommend it to. It's a sweet, easy going romance but missing some development.

“Sometimes, I think life brings us people we’re supposed to meet. Like there’s something we’re supposed to learn.”

An Unexpected Kind of Love was just the delightful cute yet very steamy rom-com queer novel that I needed. Centered around the story of Aubrey Barnes, the owner of a small London-based bookstore, and American C-list celebrity Blake Sinclair, the two suddenly find themselves in a whirlwind romance when Blake's rom-com movie decided to do a bookstore shoot in Aubrey's store. Anything with the themes of books and bookstores will always get to me, and it just made the story even more enjoyable. I really loved the casual mention of popular books in this book, especially the other queer books.

Aubrey and Blake's story is very trope-y - from the opposites attract, insta-love their relationship took on, the quirky friends and acquaintances, the hovering ex-partner, and the dilemma of how their relationship would survive. Nevertheless, it was still a very indulgent read, and I really enjoyed how Aubrey and Blake's relationship evolved. They are just a really adorable couple that you can't help but immediately love, and they just provided enough cuteness and drama into this story.

The only things I didn't particular enjoy about this book were:
1. Some scenes and conflicts were a bit too rushed, such as Blake suddenly leaving for an audition out of nowhere, and the way they tried to save the shop from ruin. I would have really loved for the latter to be explored more, but instead readers got a measly page or two towards the end. This book was definitely pushing towards LGBTQAI+ acceptance, so I was a bit disappointed that Blake's story turned out the way it did. It was just a really sudden casual thing that happened, and that was resolved rather too quickly for my liking.

2. While the characters were enjoyable, I couldn't help but notice that they were a bit shallow at times. I could have loved if they were explored even more deeply, especially the side characters who seemed to play really huge roles.

Despite that, I still really enjoyed this book a lot, and would highly recommend it to other readers who just needed that cute yet spicy romance.

Oh my goodness I loved this book. An Unexpected Kind of Love is on the lighter side of rom-coms with lots of snark and smiles.

While there are some heavy aspects to the book, it focuses on the crabby British bookshop owner falling head over heels for a handsome up-and-coming American actor. Both Aubrey and Blake are absolutely adorable. It was easy to become invested in their story - I just wanted Aubrey to be happy!!

I was also so thrilled to see disability representation in this novel. As a wheelchair user, the way Ryan was portrayed made my heart happy.

I gave this book 5 stars on my goodreads! Many thanks to NetGalley for providing a digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is a super sweet and fluffy book! It’s great if you’re just looking for some lighthearted goodness. The story centers on a cynical, unlucky in love British bookshop owner who has a meet cute with an American actor filming in London, and things stem from there. It has themes of found/chosen family, moving on from the past, and a little bit of insta-love/attraction.

Personally, I really love British rom-coms because I find them to have some truly fantastic sarcasm and retorts and this one didn’t disappoint or disprove my theory that if I was ever a rom com lead, I would be the British, grumpy, and sarcastic one!

Overall, I think this an easy read if you’re looking for something light and sweet.

Read if you like: grump/sunshine, books featuring book lovers, celebrity romance, tropey-rom-coms

⚠️TWs: Mentioned death/illness of a parent, reference to homophobic parents, forced outing, internalized homophobia, possessive ex (all listed at the beginning of the book!)

3.5 stars

This was a really sweet, hopeful story about a grumpy bookshop owner falling for an actor who's doing some filming right outside his shop. I was pleasantly surprised by how character-driven this book was, and really enjoyed the characters' development.

I really liked both characters. I can relate to Aubrey, the slightly grumpy, struggling bookshop owner who is trying to keep everything from falling apart. He has to learn to let go of his past, allow himself to feel, and trust that things will eventually work out. It's a tough journey for him, but I loved how he threw himself into the adventure that was Blake and their relationship, and ultimately learned to trust in their future. It was a journey full of setbacks (in the form of an ex that he has to learn to let go of), but it never turned into a full-on angst-fest, he just grows gradually throughout the book.
Blake was also really adorable. I loved his larger-than-life personality full of smiles and dimples, and I loved how he helped Aubrey grow. I just wish his development would have been given a bit more time, because he also has a lot to deal with, and his struggles with his homophobic father and his own issues as a result of that could have been given a bit more time to be resolved for me.

The only thing that was a bit of a let-down for me was how quickly it all happened. They know each other for less than a month before they exchange "I love you"s, and while on the one hand I really liked how they just embraced the craziness of it all and threw themselves into it so fearlessly, a part of me kept thinking "but...". But still, it worked for them, and there's something to be said for such hopeful characters who just go for it.

All in all, this was a really sweet and entertaining story, full of loveable characters and banter, and I am looking forward to reading more by this author.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for a copy of this book.

I wish I'd enjoyed more this story. The writing was really good, but only Aubrey's POV got the story a bit unilateral. We didn't know for a fact what Blake was feeling or thinking. I missed seeing Blake's POV, mostly after that situation towards the end. I also missed better development involving the characters around Aubrey, especially about his parents.

Aubrey & Blake were really cute, even though their relationship escalated a bit quickly but that's ok for me. But I didn't like Aubrey selling himself short ALL THE TIME. I mean.. c'mon man! If a guy is with you, he must really like you so enjoy it! Aubrey spent a loooot of time in his own head, putting himself down and that really bothered me.

Anyways, I did like Aubrey's big gesture and how the two of them really sorted everything out. Their steamy scenes were *chef's kiss*

Thank you to the publisher and @netgalley for a copy of this book. This was such a cute M/M romance. I love Aub as the grumpy bookstore owner who was so opposed to change and love. I adore how Blake and Aubrey met and how quickly their connection developed. I felt bad for Aubrey and his desire to breakaway from Eli who keeps a hold on him. This was such a sweet romance and I just adored Aubrey so much.

I received a free ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts are my own.

You know, I'm that person who cannot never say no. I'm that person who does not like telling when I don't like something. People pleaser? Or whatever it is called. And I definitely do not like to write reviews for books I didn't really like that much. But here we are.

First of all, An Unexpected Kind of Love was not what I first thought it would be. I did expect a grumpy bookstore owner meeting a dazzling actor, they having a rough road to love and happiness etc. Yes, in a sense I did kind of get that. But maybe a little too much even?

You know how there are phrases that kind of never does make sense but still appear multiple times in some books, like "sucked their teeth" for example. Well, I don't really mind those if it's not repetitive too much. But honestly, Aubrey gulped so many times that I was sure he was going to drown in his own saliva. It really started to bother me how many times he did that, whenever he was with Blake. I know we all gulp but I doubt that happens to that extent. Too much.

The story was okay for some parts. At the beginning and at the end. The middle part was kind of bothering in a way. It all makes sense and yet it doesn't. Their relationship for example was super hasty, if you can even really say it was a relationship at first. It was never really said if they were together or not. But I feel like they accidentally pumped into each others couple times and next thing you know, their pump lead into a blowjob. Maybe I'm a little prude then, but I don't really think that happens. You don't randomly give a blowjob to someone you've pumped into couple times and then be all sorts of addicted to that person.
But I did love the ending, that really warmed my cold little heart! And the way Aubrey grew through the story. His development really was something! And in a really good way at that.

But I think Aubrey was a little too grumpy. I know he said that he's Aubrey "no fun" Barnes, or something like that, but no one can hate and dislike everything. I mean I'm that person who is grumpy af but Aubrey took it to a whole another level.
Blake then. Yes, very dazzling starting actor there. Who really likes beans apparently. Though to me he seemed like he really didn't have his own personality and thoughts etc. Pretty bland as a character to me.

What I also liked was how Aubrey's ex was at the story as well. And how he kind of had to learn how to deal with his previous relationship as well. There is also Gemma, who works at the bookshop and another friend of Aubrey's whose name I cannot get in my head right now. Lucy? Alice? Argh, don't remember. But those two were kind of left behind. Yes, they aren't the main focus, I know that. But I feel like they still had a quite big role in their story to deserve a little more character building than what they got.

All in all there is a lot of smut in this book, for sure! And I did have a nice time reading it. It has it's moments of love and funny things. But at the same time I really did have some problems with the relationship not really having a proper build up and sometimes it did feel that Aubrey was getting a little too obsessed. They also never did have a talk whether Blake had come out or not, which I think would be rather important to have at the start of things. The ending though did make it worth reading. I really loved how it all ended and to see Aubrey really grow and mature towards the end. Almost like becoming a whole another person.

This was a charming, quick read. I wasn't a fan of the instant attraction and that's probably why the rest of the relationship progression felt a bit shallow. I did manage to finish the book which is a good thing. I wish the author spent more time in developing their relationship but instead it just felt too surface level. Like I said I didn't hate the book, I did find moments I really enjoyed. This is the author's first book so I am looking forward to seeing what they put out next.

This queer romance has so many of my favorite things! A grumpy MC! A hot, charming LI! A crumbling bookstore!
For real, as an LGBT+ reviewer, this warmed my queer heart so much and is exactly what I want in a book like this. I can't wait to recommend this to everyone I know.

3.5 Stars rounded up! Everything 16 year old me wished I had back then ha. My favourite rom-com, Notting Hill, but queer and steamy! Not exactly, but the premise is pretty close, giving us a young, introverted, post-breakup bookseller in London getting a second chance at love after several meet-cute moments with a handsome American film star who happens to be filming on his street. They even crack a Horse and Hound joke!

The first 50% had me hooked. Aubrey and Blake are both likeable in their own ways and we start to get some background info on each to begin understanding their individual hang ups and insecurities. With Aubrey being the protagonist, we get a lot more insight into his character, though I would have loved to see more into what makes Blake tick. I love the book references and time spent in the bookshop, as well as the banter and wittier moments between the boys. I was not a fan of the ex-boyfriend, the manipulation, and the overly needy side of Aubrey it brought out. His increased need for reassurance lessened my enjoyment a bit in the second half, but the book gave a good ex to dislike.

My only real criticism was the amount of telling over showing that we got in a very short window. We reach ILYs incredibly quickly without enough depth of character to believe it. Tons of compliments and “you’re so amazing”s without any actual conversations about why or what they both love about one another, so … I’m kind of left with a lust and sex motivation. There are definitely sweet and romantic moments; i just would have liked more time building the couple up instead of the unnecessary angst thrown in.

𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒍𝒆 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘

𝑨𝒏 𝑼𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆
𝑩𝒚: @haydenstoneauthor
𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒓𝒆: Romance, LGBT, Fiction
𝑷𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝑶𝒏: August 9th 2021
𝑷𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒓: @entangled_publishing
𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎: 🔥🔥🔥🔥 / 5
@𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒔 𝑺𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒆: 3.71
𝑴𝒚 𝑺𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒆: 💕💕💕💕 / 5 𝒅𝒐𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔

Thank you to @netgalley and @entangled_publishing for providing me with this E-ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

Ⓟⓡⓔⓜⓘⓢⓔ:

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. 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. 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. Will Aubrey survive these next few weeks of filming or will Aubrey's world be turned upside down?

Ⓜⓨ Ⓣⓗⓞⓤⓖⓗⓣⓢ

What a fantastic debut from Hayden Stone. I adored this queer romance novel so very much. I fell in love with Gay bookstore owner Aubrey Barnes from the moment he appeared. I can see how some people might find Aubrey to be an annoying character because he spends a lot of time in his own head wrestling with worries and having some low self-esteem but that’s what I loved about him. It showed that he is human and it felt so much like me.

There’s also a queer, disabled side character! Which I just loved! It’s hard to find stories where these two paths intersect, but it’s always special when they do. Eli, however was not my favorite character. I detest people who are rude, who only think of themselves and their happiness. What he does to Aubrey and Ryan is incredibly heartbreaking.

If you are looking for a new queer fiction novel that carries lots of steamy romance scenes look no further. This is the book for you.

“There are two kinds of people in the world: people who put things away as they should, and arseholes who shelve books with no respect for the alphabet.”

WOW I really enjoyed reading this book! It was unique and I love the slow build of the romance. I also enjoyed the celebrity life too. I will have to keep this author on my radar!