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Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Review Tour: 3 Reviews: My Unexpected Forever by Heidi McLaughlin


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.

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Review
At this point, I have read this book more times than I can remember. I can probably tell you what happens on any given page. And I’ve found that each time I’ve read it, I fall a little bit more in love. And I really didn’t think that was possible.

I’ve seen so many reviews that say that there were parts where they wanted to smack/shake/slap Katelyn and make her open her eyes. I didn’t feel that way at all. I honestly felt my heart break for her. Heidi did an amazing job of making the audience feel her pain and understand how she is trying to cope. I cannot imagine the pain of losing my husband AND still having two kids to take care of. I found that I cried often when it came to Katelyn. Sure, I got a tad frustrated with her at times, but I always understood why she was so resistant to Harrison. I think right in the beginning Heidi was able to make us see where Katelyn was coming from when she says:

“I don’t care that the way he looks at me makes me feel wanted.
I don’t care that the way he looks at me makes me feel desired.
I don’t care that the way he smells makes me want to crawl into his skin until I’m enveloped in his scent.
I don’t care because he’s not Mason.”

Right there, we get the perfect view in to Katelyn and where she is starting. But beyond just being so broken for her, I was so in awe of watching her strength and watching her grow. She is such a strong character and I loved seeing that.

Now Harrison. If you don’t end this book totally and 100% in love with him, I need to know how you did it. He is so perfectly imperfect. He definitely has the bad boy/rocker appeal going for him. I mean, he’s in a band, he has tattoos, and he has a motorcycle. What is there NOT to love about that? And then he is romantic and he is sweet and he is an amazing father. The thing is – he isn’t just an amazing dad to Quinn. He quickly becomes an amazing Dad to Elle & Peyton without any of them realizing it. He made me swoon. He put together a broken girl. And he was oh so patient. My God, I think I love him. He is, without a doubt, my current #1 favorite male in a book so far this year. He has so many amazing qualities about him.

If you loved Forever My Girl, this one will blow you away. Just when you thought Heidi McLaughlin couldn’t do any better, she does. We get to see a lot of Josie & Liam even though the story isn’t about them. It is refreshing and amazing. I just want more, more, more of that Beaumont group!
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I went into My Unexpected Forever with high hopes and Heidi definitely delivered. I only put it down because I had to go to work.

I LOVE hot drummers, I even married one, so I was really excited to read Harrison’s story. I was looking forward to seeing his relationship with Katelyn flourish. It was refreshing to read a rock star book where the main character wasn’t the lead singer. Don’t get me wrong, I love Liam but Harrison holds a special place in my heart. I enjoyed seeing the progression of Harrison and Katelyn’s relationship, the ups and downs, and their relationships with each other’s kids. There were times I wanted to yell at them, but I was very happy with how everything was wrapped up in the end.

Make sure you read this one when you have time to read it straight through because you are not going to want to put it down.

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My Unexpected Forever is an amazing addition to the Beaumont Series.  I just love a series that focuses on a different character(s) for each story because each one has something special and different to offer.

My heart broke for Katelyn and her girls after Forever My Girl and I was eager to see if she would get any closure or even find love.

 Harrison was a gentleman from the beginning. A tattooed super hot one at that!  It really touched me that he took time from his life to help Katelyn however he could.   They say patience is a virtue and boy did he have that big time!  I think that's what attracted me to him from the beginning. He knew he wanted Katelyn but knew that it would take so much for her to move on.  I even didn't mind Katelyn's icy demeanor because I would never want to be in her shoes, a young widow with twin girls.

The build up of their story is oh so sweet and stunningly slow.  I can't even put it into words, but the other day, I said it felt like I was drinking the warmest, silkiest smooth cup of hot chocolate.  It was comforting, sweet, innocent, seductive and angsty all in one.  I felt each emotion with them.  For me, if a book has me all wound up before we even get a real sex scene, that author is damn good!  I couldn't put it down and felt butterflies and had goosebumps so many times.  I was even extra lovey dovey to my husband too!  He may have been slightly suspicious, so I started to tell him about the book and he's all, Ok, got it, enough said.  LOL!

Another home run for this series is the emphasis on family.  How they all include their children in everything, refer to them as 'family', and look out for one another is both realistic and heartwarming.  There were so many scenes that focused on the kids and they were just as good as the adult scenes.  For myself, reading about kids can get boring or annoying because let's face it...that's a reason why I read, to get away from the craziness of my life.  But these kids make the story!  I love seeing the continuations of the other character's stories and how they all intertwine.

I'm going to admit that this has to be at the top of my list of reads for 2013!  The connection, the love, the sexual tension and Harrison shoots it right to the top of that list.  It's different and Harrison and Katelyn are so unexpected.  Brilliantly done, Heidi McLaughlin!!!  Here is a small excerpt of one of my favorite parts of the book:

"I like Katelyn a lot, but sometimes I feel that I can't be enough for her"
"Why? I think you're a great dad"
"Quinn, you make being a dad the easiest thing I've ever done, but that's not it.  I don't think she likes my tattoos and I'm very different from her husband."
Quinn rolls his eyes, he's far too smart for his age.  "I think you tattoos tell a story, maybe she should learn to read."

xo, D



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About the Author
My grandma once told me that I can do anything I want, so I am.

Originally from the Pacific Northwest, I now live in picturesque Vermont, with my husband and two daughters. Also renting space in our home is an overhyper Beagle/Jack Russell and two Parakeets.

During the day you'll find me behind a desk talking about Land Use. At night, I'm writing one of the many stories I plan to release or sitting courtside during either daughter's basketball games.

I'm also an active reviewer on The Readiacs - a site I own with my best friend and uber special beta, Yvette.

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Stalk Her

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