An Unexpected Love Story

Book Review:

Title: An Unexpected Love Story
Series: Falling Into Happily Ever After Rom Com #1
Author: Ellie Hall
Release Date:  January 15th, 2021
Genre: Romantic Comedy

Catherine + Kellan = forNEVER, or so I thought.

Let’s not talk about how I was let go from my job and had to take a position as coffee-girl at a publicity firm. We definitely won’t discuss their newest client and how he was the former love of my life. However, it’s fair to mention that Kellan Connelly is now my fiercest adversary.

I’ve spent the last decade playing it safe with book boyfriends—avoiding frustratingly attractive and three-dimensional guys like him.

When my roommate finds the Boyfriend Book, a silly relic leftover from my teens, it prompts a dare; go on five dates and pick one to be my Valentine. I can’t say no, especially if it means proving to myself and Kellan that I’ve moved on.

Despite braving the dating jungle, none of the guys comes close to being my one true love. Except Kellan. He’s infuriating, confusing, catnip…and it turns out he has a secret.

With a love letter and a plane ticket in hand, can I leave my baggage behind and decide between love, hate, and the lies I told to protect my fragile heart?

Book Review:

*Sigh* I love rom coms! I think they’re my favorite genre because they combine two of my favorite things: humor and adorable, swoonworthy romances. Ellie Hall’s An Unexpected Love Story is a perfect example of this! It features a second chance romance with sweet side characters and lots of hilarious dialogue and inner thoughts.

Catherine doesn’t think her life could get anything worse. She’s already been fired from her dream job, and she’s had more book boyfriends than real ones. But life just laughed in her face because that’s when Kellan walks back into her life. Catherine hates Kellan Connelly, and she’s not about to forgive him now. So when her roommate dares her to date five guys and pick one to be her Valentine, she reluctantly agrees. This way she can prove to herself and Kellan that she’s completely over him. But what happens when none of the guys come close to being her true love except Kellan.

As a fellow book lover, I understand some of Catherine’s obsession! I loved the scene where she was just going to read for a little bit, and then stayed up way too late and overslept. I could definitely relate to that feeling. I also felt for her as she finally dealt with some unresolved issues in her life. A lot of times in these types of books, I can get so frustrated at the characters because the answer is incredibly obvious. But in An Unexpected Love Story, I could actually feel and understand the hurt on both sides. 

Catherine and Kellan were connected because he was her best friend, Claire’s brother. When they were in high school, Claire died in a car accident. Catherine and Claire weren’t speaking at the time of the accident, so Catherine has a ton of guilt over it. There’s a lot more to the story, but you have to read the book to find out the rest. Let’s just say Kellan made a lot of mistakes. But I felt like they were all realistic mistakes especially because his sister had just died. 

Throughout the book, Kellan is adorable as he tries to earn Claire’s forgiveness and trust back. One thing that I thought was super cute was how he didn’t just want to “win” her, but he wanted what was best for her. He saw how the anger and guilt was ruining her life, and he wanted her to be free of that. Also, it was soo cute that he was the only one who called her Cat and Catnip. I thought that was adorable!

Kellan and Catherine had a long road towards their HEA, but it was sweet to watch them fall in love again. They had a lot of help from Catherine’s roommate, Hazel who has her own book too! It looks like a fun one with their neighbor, Maxwell. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes rom coms and is looking for a fun pick me up!