The Bookish Babe: My Unexpected Forever

The Bookish Babe is one of today's stops on My Unexpected Forever Blog Tour. The tour is hosted by GCR Promotions.

Series: Beaumont #2
Category/Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: 9/2/13
Format: eARC
Source: Received from author for review
Rating: 4 stars

I expected a life of music.
I expected to raise my son.
It took one look to make everything change.
I never expected happiness.

I never expected to find her.
I never expected to feel desire.
I never expected I’d be a family man.
I never expected to be loved.
I never expected to fall in love.

They say you should expect the unexpected, I didn’t realize my unexpected would be the forever kind.

Late last year I fell in love with a story, Forever My Girl. In that story, rock star Liam returned to his hometown to help lay his best friend Mason to rest, ended up reconnecting with his former girlfriend and found a forever love. Liam began making his life in Beaumont, and this drew his band mate Harrison to town. What we might suspect in Forever My Girl is that Harrison is quickly falling for Mason 's widow Katelyn. The happiness, anguish, and guilt of a new love after tragedy is at the heart of My Unexpected Forever.

If you don't know this by now, here's something that fairly obvious: I am a big crybaby. You give me a love story that involves second chances or love after loss - among other things - and I will be completely on board, reading with one hand, wiping tears with the other. I will eventually lose it, which usually involves me doing the ugly cry at 1am, trying not to wake anyone up. This is what happened with My Unexpected Forever. My biggest fear, other than something happening to my kids, is losing the man I've been with since I was eighteen years old.

Through Katelyn's story, McLaughlin conveyed the horror and despair of what I would imagine it's like to lose the person you've loved what seems like your whole life. She didn't gloss over Katelyn's mourning and feelings of despair, guilt, and being overwhelmed. The struggles of learning to go on, and raise children without their father. Though I've never been in her situation, I could identify with her feeling and with her struggle to balance being a mom with being a woman.

But My Unexpected Forever is not only Katelyn's story, but also Harrison's. Harrison James is a drummer in a famous rock band, and a single father. I love that McLaughlin balanced his quiet but confident rocker persona with a man who's never been in love - save his son - and who has feelings of inadequacy. The way he loved and cared for his son made my heart squeeze. The way he loved and cared for Katelyn and her daughters made my heart flutter. In this story, Harrison shines. He is a brilliant example of the type of man and father that makes readers swoon.

My Unexpected Forever had a bit of a slower pace, but in this case, it's not only necessary, but it works. Grief and love have stages. Learning to move on isn't a giant leap, but many, many small steps, sometimes back. I loved that McLaughlin takes us back in time in Katelyn's life, to significant moments in Katelyn's and Harrison's life so that we know them completely. This is a story of second chances (Katelyn), first chances (Harrison), and the sad and beautiful parts of life.

Favorite Quotes:

"I know you've lost your husband. I know every day is a battle for you because you miss him. I'm not trying to take his place with you or the twins. I just want to fit into your life." ~eARC, 32%

"You're not what I thought you'd be," she says as her lips graze my neck. What I am is losing my resolve not to spin her around and watch her come undone from my touch. Her body is the one drumbeat I can't master, but I'll never give up trying. ~eARC, 65%

He looks delicious, edible. I have to tear my eyes away, demand that I focus on anything but him. He's a temptation. A risk. He's my reward. ~eARC, 68%

The Beaumont Series

(click on cover for GoodReads page)

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About the author:
Heidi is the author of USA Today, Digital Book World, Amazon and Barnes & Noble Bestselling novel, Forever My Girl

Originally from the Pacific Northwest, she now lives in picturesque Vermont, with her husband and two daughters. Also renting space in their home is an over-hyper Beagle/Jack Russell and two Parakeets.

During the day Heidi is behind a desk talking about Land Use. At night, she's writing one of the many stories planned for release or sitting court-side during either daughter's basketball games.
Connect with Heidi at:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | GoodReads

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