{"id":41136,"date":"2019-03-18T08:26:42","date_gmt":"2019-03-18T12:26:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=41136"},"modified":"2019-03-18T08:36:34","modified_gmt":"2019-03-18T12:36:34","slug":"arc-review-story-of-us-love-unexpected-3-by-jody-holford","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=41136","title":{"rendered":"ARC Review: Story of Us (Love Unexpected, #3) by Jody Holford"},"content":{"rendered":"

Buy:\u00a0 <\/strong>Kindle Ebook<\/strong><\/a> |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Synopsis<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Declan James has been Brockton Point\u2019s most ineligible bachelor\u2013\u2013happy with his short-term relationships and focusing on his business. But now that his closest friends have found their happily-ever-afters, he can\u2019t help but wonder what that might be like. And then Sophia Strombi shows up on his doorstep.<\/p>\n

Sophia\u2019s life is\u2013\u2013well there\u2019s no other word for it\u2013\u2013a mess. She\u2019s grateful to have some work at her brother\u2019s best friend\u2019s bar, and a place to stay. Since she\u2019s working hard to get her life back on track, she\u2019s desperately trying to ignore the fact her boss makes her heart pound in a good way. Wait\u2013\u2013no. That\u2019s not good at all.<\/p>\n

Besides, she has a huge secret she\u2019s keeping from everyone\u2013\u2013one that\u2019s a life-changer.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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Review <\/b><\/h4>\n

3.5 stars<\/b><\/p>\n

This is a seriously swoony read \u2013 a brother\u2019s best friend romance with a great twist, and a determined romantic hero that will sweep you off your feet!<\/p>\n

This is the third book in the Love Unexpected<\/i> series, but it is my first read by this author. The characters from the previous books are a part of this story, but the book can easily read this as a standalone.<\/p>\n

Sophia left her home town and her controlling family ten years ago to attend college and make something of herself, following her dreams rather than working in her family\u2019s restaurant. She\u2019s achieved a lot, but a recent relationship breakdown has left her life a mess, and she\u2019s returning home to get herself together. That starts with a job and somewhere to stay, and she finds both when she arrives at On Dec, the pub run by Declan James, best friend to her older brother, who is only too happy to help her out.<\/p>\n

Dec was once known as a player, but all that has recently changed. He\u2019s watched his best friends find their HEAs and settle with family, and he\u2019s keen to find that for himself. So when little Sophia Strombi shows up on his doorstep looking all grown up, his instant attraction to her sparks something inside of him and he is suddenly all too keen to explore his feelings.<\/p>\n

Sophie crushed on Declan as a teenager, and he\u2019s even more gorgeous than she remembers. At first she can\u2019t quite comprehend his attention, and though he doesn\u2019t want to frighten her off, he\u2019s right out there with his intentions.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t seem all that affected to me.\u201d
\n\u2026 \u201cI\u2019m not allowed to be.\u201d Her words went breathy. Declan clenched his hands into fists. <\/i>Do not touch her. \u201cAfter all, you don\u2019t fu— mess around with employees. Plus, I have the added hands-off bonus of you being friends with my brother. I\u2019m sure you don\u2019t see me that way.\u201d
\nJesus. She couldn\u2019t be more wrong. He stared at her lips. \u201cI shouldn\u2019t. But trust me, I see you, Sophe.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The chemistry between these two is electric, but Sophie is in a really difficult situation having just come out of a relationship and dealing with all sorts of personal issues. She doesn\u2019t feel ready to explore anything with Declan, and doesn\u2019t make it easy on him. But that just gives him perfect opportunity to woo her like a champ, and he proceeds to do exactly that.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what\u2019s going on, either, but I damn sure know that the <\/i>attraction between us is a hell of a lot more than an <\/i>itch to be scratched.\u201d He squeezed her shoulders, giving her a little shake. \u201cI\u2019ve been attracted to women before, Sophia. This is different, and you damn well know it. We can dance around it, ignore it entirely, but don\u2019t fucking diminish it or tell me it\u2019s nothing. It\u2019s complicated as hell for all the reasons you just said, but that doesn\u2019t mean it isn\u2019t real.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He\u2019s sweet and swoony and beautifully supportive, and as Sophie opens up to him and shares all that\u2019s going on with her…<\/i>

<\/span>Spoiler<\/div>
she\u2019s pregnant! And that brings a wonderful dynamic which brings so much to the story!<\/div><\/div> …he continues to have her back without question, and it made me fall even harder for him! He\u2019s everything you could possibly want in a man, and the romance is just gorgeous!<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just a guy, Sophie. And you\u2019re a grown woman who turns me on, makes me laugh, and makes me wonder what it\u2019d be like to call you mine. To be the shoulder you lean on, the reason you smile.\u201d He leaned in close, ran his lips along the shell of her ear. \u201cTo make you <\/i>feel.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Another spoiler \u2013 related to the first

<\/span>Spoiler<\/div>
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\u201cI was freaked at first. But I can\u2019t stop thinking about it. The baby. You. How amazing you\u2019ll be as a mother. How lucky this kid will be to be adored by you. How much I want to be a part of this because it\u2019s you.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Oh swooooooooooooooooooooon! <\/div><\/div>\n

They have their hurdles, but everything between them progresses naturally, and I loved watching it happen. It moves quickly, but the feels are definitely there, they are passionate with each other but strangely the sex scenes are fade to black, though we do get to see them basking in the afterglow.<\/p>\n

But while Sophie is enjoying Declan, she still has serious issues with her family to confront, as well as figuring out her life going forward. There are arguments, realisations and a whole lot of confrontations as it all gets sorted out and this story is as much about her journey as it is about the romance, and both unfold alongside each other really nicely.<\/p>\n

There is a happy ending and the book ends in a great place, with an epilogue which finishes off the story really sweetly.<\/p>\n

Such a sweet read, I really enjoyed it.<\/p>\n

3.5 stars.<\/p>\n

An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.<\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Love Unexpected<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"\"\u00a0\u00a0\"\"\u00a0\u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n

Let It Be Me (#1)<\/strong>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Kindle Ebook\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

Never Expected You (#2)<\/strong>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Kindle Ebook\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

Story of Us (#3)<\/strong>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Kindle Ebook<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Buy:\u00a0 Kindle Ebook |\u00a0 Paperback Synopsis Declan James has been Brockton Point\u2019s most ineligible bachelor\u2013\u2013happy with his short-term relationships and focusing on his business. But now that his closest friends have found their happily-ever-afters, he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":40778,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","yasr_overall_rating":3.5,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"Product","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[443,9],"tags":[59,967,968,48],"class_list":["post-41136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-brotherbest-friend","category-romance","tag-arc","tag-jody-holford","tag-love-unexpected","tag-review"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Story-of-Us.jpg?fit=200%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-aHu","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=41136"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41136\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/40778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=41136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=41136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=41136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}