this book was so incredible!! i am so thankful to netgalley for letting me read this book early! it was just such a fun and precious read. loved it so much!!!!

This is the ultimate cute, sweet summer.
I really enjoyed the story, the characters, and everything in between.
Colten and Tess are so so adorable together and reading about them falling in love is one of the best things I read this year,

Super recommended!!

DNF at 45% . Unfortunately I was left disappointed with this book. While the writing was very digestable, I did not feel a connection to either of the main characters. The romance element felt forced and unrealistic. I really struggled with how entitled Tess was. This is very well targeted towards the YA audiences and provides an escape from the typical summer romance stories.

I don't usually read young adult romance, but I was surprised of how much I liked this book. Friends to lovers in small town trope has always been one of my favorites, especially when it's small town guy x city girl.

I would say the main plot was more about Tess' journey and that includes finding love, friendship, and a found family in a town of nowhere where her ex-boyfriend left her. I love Tess' relationships with other characters especially Colten (of course) and his family! Would LOVE to try Earl's food.

Tess and Colten are absolutely adorable together. Though I have to say, I'm not a fan of the insta-love, but it was just an attraction between the main characters, they're secretly having a crush on each other and hesitating to confess. We kinda get both insta-love and slow burn at the same time.

Reading this felt like watching a Netflix romcom movie and I enjoyed it, definitely recommend this!

Thank you to Netgalley, Toad Tree Press, and Rayna York for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

I had to DNF this book about 25% of the way through. While I initially liked the plot of the story, rich girl gets stranded in small town by shitty boyfriend and gets a job working at a diner where sparks fly with the owner's son, I didn't connect with the writing style or the characters. Aside from what I was being told about the characters, I didn't feel like I knew them or their motivations. The writing style itself was a bit odd and juvenile at parts which is what ultimately made me stop reading.

While I may not have connected with this book, I don't necessarily think it's bad, it was just not the book for me.

I absolutely loved reading this book. I could not get enough of the characters, I kept going to the book every minute I had spare to see what would happen to the story. I was highly invested in the storyline and I really wanted for everything to work out in the end. And let me tell you this that this book made me feel really happy and was really heartwarming. An excellent read, a book I would buy for my shelves as I love having physical copies of books that I really really love.

Ditched at a gas station/diner by her (now ex) boyfriend, Tess is left with a gas bill and nothing else. With nowhere else to turn (there’s no way she’s calling her parents in Europe), the one shining light is the family who owns the rest stop. In exchange for her working at the diner, they’ll put her up in the attached apartment, feed her and forgive her debt. It doesn’t hurt that their son, Colten(an adorable mechanic), is always around…

I thought this was a fun, fast summer read. It delves into abusive parenting, what family means, and young love. There were parts that I really enjoyed (like the sexual tension and attraction Tess and Colten had for each other in the weeks after she arrived at Jasper Creek), but the final section of the book felt like a stretch for me. I’m all for happy endings, but this one felt too good to be true? I did appreciate the emphasis of following your dreams and not letting love hold you back.

There are some intimate scenes, but nothing too descriptive (it’s not a closed door romance so much as a door open just a crack).

The true stars are the supporting characters for me - Jeb (the grumpy diner regular), Naomi and Sri(Colten’s childhood friends) and Earl(Colten’s dad and amazing chef).

DNF at 15 percent.
I didn't like the writing, the dialogue felt awkward and the relationship between the main character and love interest was insta-lovey. Overall, it just wasn't for me.

This is a good book. The two main characters are Tess and Colten. Tess is a college student and Colten is a mechanic. Tess and her boyfriend were on their way to Disneyworld when they stopped at a gas station. Tess went in and her boyfriend left her without her purse or her phone. She quickly made friends and found a place to live and work. There was an instant attraction between Tess and Colten. Colten send her home to start college and Tess never forgot him. They fell in love.

Very slow start and hard to get into but it was an okay book by the end. A good book for anyone looking for a typical romance story.

➳ <i>Rate:  4,5/ 5 stars</i>

This was honestly so so cute. I felt so much for Tess and all she was going through. But this book was the definition of everything happens for a reason and the reason was incredible.

Tess found a family, found her place, found love and the journey was so cute and beautiful. I loved Cole so much. His whole family was amazing. These two together were adorable.

After Tess went back home and lived the life she deserved, she comes back to that small town and gets the final missing piece back. Gosh, that moment was so incredible! These two were just meant to be.

I loved this book. It's a great love story between Colten and Tess. She starts out being stranded by her boyfriend who steals her car but that leads to her falling in love. She falls in love with the town, the people she meets, and Colten. I love a good happy ending and this one did not disappoint.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy.

Cute, sweet and fun young adult romance. Great character development and a well-plotted storyline with your rich girl/small town trope. I think young readers will love this book!

There was a slow start to Rayna York's The Right Kind of Unexpected, but it was a nice read. It felt a bit slower on pace and the characters were difficult to adapt to. I enjoyed the novel, but it wasn't for me.

Tess is stranded at a gas station when her boyfriend Dax takes off with her car, wallet, phone and other things. Colten is a boy around Tess’s age who works in the garage attached to the gas station. His parents, the owners of the gas station and diner next door offer Tess a waitressing job and a place to stay for the summer.

If I had read this when I was 16, I would have absolutely loved this. However, I am 22 and have (I'd liked to think) matured my taste since then. I did, though, stay up until 3 am to finish this in one sitting.

The plot was pretty basic. I could see where the plot was going from page 1, but it didn't diminish my enjoyment (that much). I liked the first half of the book. I enjoyed reading about her working at the diner. The Reed family was so sweet and I love them. Then, we get a time jump, I personally dislike them. In this case, it didn't feel like it'd been 4 years since she left. More like a few months. As for the ending, I didn't care for it.

Tess and Colten had some nice tension at times. It was insta-lovey though, which I dislike. They lacked chemistry and felt very much teen fling vibes even though they're adults. Also, I don't really like books about people who refuse to date for fear of breaking up and I hate lying/being mean to break up for the other person's sake.

Tess was an okay character. Some of the things she said to her "poorer" friends annoyed me. I feel like a normal person wouldn't just spout stuff like that. She dumped her entire life story on Colten in the first 24 hours after they met. I feel like we should have gotten to see Tess' backstory instead of her info dumping us.

Colten was a little annoying in the first half of the book. Constantly refused to be attracted to her and also he was weirdly obsessed with shitting on her because her parents are rich (and did this constantly).

The side characters were fun. I loved Jeb and Twyla. But, I'm gonna be honest, at times I didn't know who some characters were.

Overall, I'd recommend this to older young adults, but it was just ok for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Toad Tree Press for the e-ARC.

This is by far THE BEST SUMMER READ with SMALL TOWN SETTING I've read this year!

I love how the plot and storyline is the unusual one, so it's really refreshing. The writing is really good and got me immersed into it, it mades me feeling like I'm the one who also stranded in a stranger city and get through the journey with Tess and Colten. Both MCs are so adorable too, I love their characters, it's so easy to fall in love with them and their interactions that build a very good chemistry seamlessly and naturally. I really like how they works their flaws to be a better person. And how heartbreaking it is their fallout and the time skip is, but I really like how it's turn out!

Also kudos for the author for creating great characters in Jasper Creek, from the Reed Families, the youngsters of the town–especially Colten's friends–that were raised and grew up together, the grumpy dine in old man, and everyone in town that brought the charms of small town alive!

Overall, it's a heartwarming and refreshing coming of age and the magic of summer love story that will turn your emotions upside down. Just don't hesitate to pick this one up and go along with the ride!

P.S: and remember “Wherever you go. Come back to me....”

Thank you to NetGalley and Toad Tree Press for this copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

4.5 stars. This book was so cute. Perfect for the summer. When Tess's boyfriend leaves her stranded what is she to do?

I absolutely loved all the characters, and want to be best friends with all of them in real life. The details were perfection, and it was like I was watching it all take place right in front of me. I have already recommended this to a few people.

Thank you NetGalley, Xpresso Book Tours, and Rayna York for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This one's a simple summer beach type of book to read. It's possible to read this in one sitting, though I couldn't do it since I was a bit too busy with other stuff.

Anyway, I liked the book. I found Colten and Tess a bit annoying at times, but they somehow made up for it at the end.

A really good book. I fell in love with the characters, but i got mad with some of them too though. The plot of rich girl in a small town is one that i really love, and it wasn't different here.

Very cute, a nice, easy romance read. Really enjoyed reading this one! The characters were well written, the storyline was well-paced, and it was the perfect amount of cheesiness to be cute - an addictive read.