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A review by eesh25
My Unexpected Forever by Heidi McLaughlin
3.0
3.25
I wanted to give this book a higher rating. I still do. But I can't ignore the fact that the only thing that really worked well for it was Harrison. He was a great guy, a refreshing character and his relationship with all the kids was heartwarming.
And yes, this is a book about a single dad. I love those so much. Harrison is a rockstar and the father of an eight-year-old boy, who he loves very much. The mother is not in the picture. Never really was. Her sole contribution was dropping off the baby, nine months after she drugged and took advantage of Harrison. Then there's Katelyn, a mutual friend, mother of two, and also someone who lost her husband almost a year ago. Harrison wants to be with her but she's not over her husband and has already made assumptions about the kind of guy Harrison is, based on the tattoos and, you know, the rock band thing.
A very unfair, and wrong, assessment, if you ask me. Harrison is a sweetheart. He's quiet and shy and somewhat broody, but so considerate. How could someone not like him? But other than him, not many things about the novel worked.
The writing, for example, was okay for the most part. But then there were times that it lacked details and you couldn't picture the scenes because of how vague it was. Some scenes were a bit abrupt. There were also a lot of flashbacks. Yes, they did give us useful information and helped flesh out the characters more, but some of those flashbacks could have just been a paragraph of someone thinking instead of a whole scene.
Also, since I didn't read book 1 (I tried and couldn't get past chapter 2, because it was ridiculous), I didn't give a shit about the many things that were added for the benefit of the fans of book 1. I get why those things were added but I think we could have done without all that, focusing on the current story.
I also got really annoyed with Katelyn sometimes. It wasn't too bad, but she didn't treat Harrison very nicely. I also don't think Harrison, in the end got the full apology that he deserved. And, last but not least, the book fell into the 'same old-same old' category with the conflict near the end. It wasn't original. A sub-plot added later on also felt rushed, like the author wanted to add more to the book but abandoned it in the middle, so it was left incomplete.
But despite all that, I did enjoy the book, largely because of Harrison. I loved him on his own, as a character, as a dad to Quinn and as a friend/father-figure to the twins. If it wasn't for him, the book wouldn't have been half as good.
That's all for this review. I wouldn't call the book a "must read" but if you're in the mood for something light and are a fan of the genre, you should check it out.
I wanted to give this book a higher rating. I still do. But I can't ignore the fact that the only thing that really worked well for it was Harrison. He was a great guy, a refreshing character and his relationship with all the kids was heartwarming.
And yes, this is a book about a single dad. I love those so much. Harrison is a rockstar and the father of an eight-year-old boy, who he loves very much. The mother is not in the picture. Never really was. Her sole contribution was dropping off the baby, nine months after she drugged and took advantage of Harrison. Then there's Katelyn, a mutual friend, mother of two, and also someone who lost her husband almost a year ago. Harrison wants to be with her but she's not over her husband and has already made assumptions about the kind of guy Harrison is, based on the tattoos and, you know, the rock band thing.
A very unfair, and wrong, assessment, if you ask me. Harrison is a sweetheart. He's quiet and shy and somewhat broody, but so considerate. How could someone not like him? But other than him, not many things about the novel worked.
The writing, for example, was okay for the most part. But then there were times that it lacked details and you couldn't picture the scenes because of how vague it was. Some scenes were a bit abrupt. There were also a lot of flashbacks. Yes, they did give us useful information and helped flesh out the characters more, but some of those flashbacks could have just been a paragraph of someone thinking instead of a whole scene.
Also, since I didn't read book 1 (I tried and couldn't get past chapter 2, because it was ridiculous), I didn't give a shit about the many things that were added for the benefit of the fans of book 1. I get why those things were added but I think we could have done without all that, focusing on the current story.
I also got really annoyed with Katelyn sometimes. It wasn't too bad, but she didn't treat Harrison very nicely. I also don't think Harrison, in the end got the full apology that he deserved. And, last but not least, the book fell into the 'same old-same old' category with the conflict near the end. It wasn't original. A sub-plot added later on also felt rushed, like the author wanted to add more to the book but abandoned it in the middle, so it was left incomplete.
But despite all that, I did enjoy the book, largely because of Harrison. I loved him on his own, as a character, as a dad to Quinn and as a friend/father-figure to the twins. If it wasn't for him, the book wouldn't have been half as good.
That's all for this review. I wouldn't call the book a "must read" but if you're in the mood for something light and are a fan of the genre, you should check it out.