Ben Miller met the love of his life the day he crossed paths with Elle James in their high school cafeteria. New to Beaumont, he took a chance when he approached her. Their first encounter was everything his mother ever read to him about fairy tales. He saw the girl who would be his forever. From the moment Elle James met Ben Miller they’ve been best friends. Everything they did, they did it … did it together, from late night study sessions, family vacations, throwing bottles off the water tower, going to prom and finally moving to California for college.
However, after the almost tragic accident where she nearly lost her twin sister, Elle’s life hasn’t been the same, and neither has her relationship with Ben.
One fateful decision changes the scope of Ben and Elle’s relationship. For one, it means a new beginning. For the other, it means change.
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~4.5 Stars~
Heidi McLaughlin was one of the very first Indie writers I read, and My Unexpected Love is exactly why she still remains one of my favorite writers. Her books are always heart melting and filled with so much emotion.
I remember Elle and her twin sister, Peyton, when they were just kids. I adored them like everyone else did. Now, both are on the cusp of becoming adults. I have to be honest and say I had mixed feelings about Elle. I knew she had been through a lot recently, but I found her to be selfish, especially where her best friend, Ben, was concerned. He has been such a support for her and her family, always rearranging his life to be there for her. She took him for granted, never seeing what was right in front of her. Finally, when Ben has had enough of his heart being broken by her, he leaves. When he pulls away, she is finally forced to take a hard look at herself. She doesn’t like who she sees. It is at this point, that I started respecting and liking her. I realized she wasn’t always this way, but it was what she became after dealing with pain and fear at that bottom of a bottle instead of leaning on her family and friends. Finally, with the help of her family and her own strength she is beginning to crawl out of her pit of despair. It isn’t easy, and McLaughlin illustrates her struggle. I admired Elle’s determination in finding Ben, asking for his forgiveness, and telling him how she really feels about him.
Ben is a girl’s dream…handsome, sexy, intelligent, loyal, and sweet. His devotion to Elle was incredible. I wanted them to be together, but I respected him even more when he made that break from her. He deserved happiness, and he deserved someone who would love and appreciate him. It took guts for him to leave everything and everyone he knew and loved and go someplace where he knew no one to pursue his dreams. He tried to forget Elle, but she owned his heart. His ability to forgive her was amazing…thankfully!!!!
This was a fantastic friends to lovers romance. I thought the pacing was spot on. The line that Ben and Elle crossed threatened their friendship and any hope for more, so it wasn’t going to be a quick or perfect fix. Elle had to fix some of her own issues before she could even think of a relationship with Ben. That was going to take some time. What I love about McLaughlin, there is always something more than just a romance. In this book, it was about growing up and becoming adults, which is never easy. As always, her theme of family and friendship is weaved throughout every page. My Unexpected Love was another winner from Heidi McLaughlin. Hopefully, we’ll get Quinn’s book soon!
***Read and Reviewed for Devilishly Delicious Book Reviews***
Love this series! Heidi pulled me in from the first chapter to the last one. Elle and Ben’s journey will pull on your heartstrings. Grab this AWESOME book to see how the journey plays out!
My Unexpected Love was so much more than I expected. I was a little cautious beginning this book. I remember the Elle from Forever My Girl. Her dad had died and her life would never be the same. I remember Elle from My Unexpected Forever. The little girl was growing up, having issues with her dad being gone and accepting Harrison and Quinn into her life.
The girl in Unexpected Love is dealing with the aftermath of her twin almost dying the same way their dad had died. Ironically, Peyton was back to living while Elle was crashing. If she wasn’t careful she was going to destroy the best thing that ever happened to her–Ben.
Ben has loved Elle forever. He won’t speak it out loud. She won’t listen. And when she speaks loudly of denial he runs. He leaves without a word. He disappears from her life creating a roller coaster of emotions that takes the reader on so many twists and turns. I was so happy to longer be young and discovering love.
My Unexpected Love brought back memories of being young and clueless. It was a joy being the wallflower watching Elle grow and become what she was always meant to be.
It’s a twin thing. Elle and Peyton are twins and share a special bond that no one around them fully understands yet they all appreciate it. Ever since Peyton’s life was threatened in a serious car accident things just haven’t been the same for Elle. While every one around her seems to move on, she’s stuck and it’s heartbreaking. Her BFF Ben has been by her side for years, but one night she makes a decision that sends their friendship into a tailspin. Ben loves her, but watching her self destruct is becoming too much to watch. What does Elle need to get herself back on track? What she needs is right there for her, if she’d just open her eyes.
I loved this book. The heart breaking feelings Elle is dealing with and can’t seem to find a way out of made me want to reach through the book and hug her. I wanted to make things better for her. Everyone around her is trying to help her, but I wanted to jump into the story and help her too. Such a strong story of finding yourself and your way out of a struggle. Heartwarming for sure.
So much love for the Beaumont series and a huge fan of the Powell-James clan. Elle may not have been my favorite of the next generation, but Ben was worth it. What a good guy. Heidi creates great male characters that are just this side of sweet but still swoony. It was a good story, but lacked the edge we usually get with the “can’t have it, yet” but you know it’s coming. Elle is just not the easiest character to develop. A bit spoiled and used to getting her way. Ben, well, he’d do anything for her… so we’ll matched, there…but certainly not balanced. Ben’s gonna need some balls to keep that girl in check.
Is Quinn next?? Cause we need some Quinn!!!
I liked this one. Elle and Peyton are twins. Elle is the party girl. She’s sometimes is a mess and sometimes makes poor choice but that’s what makes her character seem real. Ben has been Elle’s best friend forever. He wants more but she has friend zoned him. I was frustrated for Ben and so rooting for Elle to wake up and notice that there was a great man in front of her. This one has up and downs and is an emotional read.
I’m a fan of the author, Beaumont series and Generations so I couldn’t wait to read this book! I do highly recommend reading the series, so much backstory, plus it’s a great read.
If you like a friends to lovers, angsty story, look no further…Book 2 has you covered! Ben & Ellie have so many ups and downs, miscommunications, struggles but their solid friendship holds them together…
Almost losing a sibling, especially a twin can be so hard. Ellie can be a bit much at times but you feel for both the main characters.
Great writing, def recommend! 4.5 stars!
Elle is stuck in an endless circle of partying. Elle feels like everyone thinks her twin is the perfect one and she is having a hard time living up to that. This has her spiraling into depression.
She is so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she does not see there is a man right in front of her that thinks she is the perfect one…in every way.
“It’s funny how the most important part of your life is standing right in front of you…you just have to turn around.”
Ben is the perfect addition to the Beaumont clan. He is sweet, kind and loving.
This group has and will always hold a special place in my heart. The dynamic of their family is unique and I don’t think I will ever get enough of them.
Some could read this as a standalone, but to truly appreciate everything and everyone you really need to devour all of Beaumont.
So this is another 10 for Heidi, and obviusly a MUST READ BOOK!!!
This is spoiler free, so you can read it without any danger 😀
“It’s funny how the most important part of your life is standing right in front of you… you just have to turn around”
With this quote, by Uncle Liam, we start this new journey. Yeah, I know it, we just have a journey with this amazing characters not too long ago, but as I said before we were going to care about a new character *Ben*. So Elle is the other half of Peyton, but this story shows us a new side of her, how is her life after the accident of her sister. She’s going through too much, but she has Ben in her corner, so she has to be ok, no?
“At some point, you give up. Not emotionally, but physically, and you take your tired and sore legs up the stairs, one step at a time.”
This was something happening literally, but again it was a metaphor, sometimes you can keep up with a situation and you just give up, but Ben is so strong that is so sad to see him suffer, not just for his best friend but for the love of his life. He is this amazing guy, this awesome friend that you just want to hugh him and make him feel better (thats the kind of writing Heidi does, you really feel for her characters).
We are able to see this characters fight and grow all along, but in the progress they’re going to make mistakes:
My Unexpected Love “He places his arm around my back and pulls me to his body just as his lips press against mine.”
This was a 360º turn, I was excited, finally what I was waiting for but is was something more, something that would change everything, something that would create so much space in the story, but it was necessary, it was a wake up call.
Sometimes you need to lose someone important to understand how important it was, but you’ll always have someone by your side to help you to take the best decision, this was not about Peyton but I really love his relation with Elle, they just are the kind of sisters I want to be with my own sister.
Elle and Ben had the time to understand who they were without the other. Elle is this amazing girl wanting to be perfect and scared to lose everyone she loves, she wants to feel numb to forget how easy is to lost someone you love. Ben is this guy you really want in your life, not just because he’s handsome, but because he is a loving man, an amazing friend, a great brother and an concerned man that thinks about how other people will feel with his decisions. But together they’re their best versions, they’re complete, not that we have to have someone to be complete, but we really need someone to be by our side to make us better, to learn and to grow everyday.
Heidi is an amazing writer, and I wasn’t able to believe that I won an ARC for this book, but I’m so grateful, we can find perfectly unperfect characters in this book, we find secrets *why Elle disappeared so much at the hospital*, and we find love, the best kind of love: family love, friends love and love from the one you love. So be prepare, how this is going, we’re going to be so in love with this whole new generation as we’re with the 4225 West amazing guys and they lovely wifes.My Unexpected Love
Another great yet angsty read by Heidi McLaughlin. One incident is someone’s greatest wish, until it backfires… When you realize you’ve lost something you’ve always wanted. Elle spirals out of control until she hits rock bottom, and finally figures out how to redeem herself. Ben, such a sweetheart, realizes he needs to live his dreams and letting go has possibilities. Love this series.
3.75 stars–MY UNEXPECTED LOVE is the second installment in Heidi McLaughlin’s contemporary, new adult BEAUMONT-NEXT GENERATION romance series- a spin off from the authors Beaumont Series. This is university students and best friends Elle Powell- James and Ben Miller’s story line. MY UNEXPECTED LOVE can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story line is revealed where necessary but I recommend reading HOLDING ONTO FOREVER for backstory and cohesion.
Told from dual first person perspectives (Elle and Ben) MY UNEXPECTED LOVE focuses on Elle James as she spirals out of control in the months following the near fatal accident of her twin Peyton James (Holding Onto Forever). Unable to come to terms with the idea of losing her twin, Elle James life becomes a non-stop adventure of drinking and partying affecting both her grades and the close relationships in her life. Enter best friend and the man who is hopelessly in love with our story line heroine, Ben Miller. What ensues are the family’s attempts to seek help for Elle, and the fall-out when Ben, unable to bear the constant pain and rejection by the woman he loves, heads to New York in an effort to begin anew.
Ben Miller has been in love with his best friend since the day that they met but Elle has been oblivious to Ben’s feelings forcing Ben to remain in the friend zone for close to eight years. Elle James’s knows loss first hand and the near death of her twin has affected our heroine more than she could have imagined.
The relationship between Elle and Ben is a friends to lovers that is almost destroyed by Elle’s drinking and refusal to admit that she has a problem. When Ben is offered an internship in New York, his only hesitation is leaving behind the woman he loves. Elle’s immaturity and lack of responsibility threatens everything for which she has worked including her friendship with our story line hero. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate but mostly implied, without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.
The secondary and supporting characters are familiar and dynamic: Noah and Peyton, Elle and Peyton’s step-brother Quinn, their parents Harrison and Katelyn, Ben’s brother Brad, and fellow New York intern Talia.
MY UNEXPECTED LOVE is a story of family and friendship, heartbreak and loss. There is a distinct lack of communication between our leading couple that leads to alienation and a loss of support –a support system that is no longer strong but fragile and broken. The premise is heartbreaking; the romance is passionate; the characters are energetic and driven.
I really enjoyed “My Unexpected Love” by Heidi McLaughlin. This my new favorite series and it’s off to a great start. There were definitely parts of the story where I wanted to strangle each of the main characters we the passive aggressive behaviors that left me frustrated by their “decisions”… but isn’t that real life?
I’m so glad that this amazing series will continue on through the eyes of the next generation… can’t wait to see how it evolves along the way.
This is a great series to read if you have read the original Beaumont series – it can stand alone – but would be so much better if read afterwards… not to mention that the first series is amazing, so why wouldn’t you read it!
Happy reading…enjoy!
I absolutely loves this book and couldn’t put it down! I spent the reading and enjoyed every minute of it!
3.5 stars
Poor, Poor Ben. I just want to hug him and keep him forever. Unrequited love is torture. It’s both ecstasy and excruciating. Ben knows this first hand. Years of being in love with his best friend isn’t easy. It seems the only way to survive is to leave.
It’s angsty and hurts your insides. My Unexpected Love is the second of the series, Beaumont- Next Generation. I somehow missed it was the second book and jumped in. My recommendation is to read book one (Holding Onto Forever) first. I was lost and playing catch up. I am especially at a disadvantage because I haven’t read the original series these spin off of either. So for maximum enjoyment and understanding, I highly recommend immersing yourself in the Beaumont world starting at the beginning.