I really liked that this story was set around the fact that a woman had donated her eggs to help infertile women rather than a sperm donor. Having a ten year old boy turn up on her doorstep claiming to be her son, has Dale McGuire reassessing her life and what she wants going forward. Both main protagonists have trust issues and it is interesting to see them work through them. My slight quibble is that I feel that the part that Ash played in Becca's situation could have been expanded upon.

I had only read one book from this author, A Royal Romance, and due to the poorly sensation that it left in me I have passed the following books that she has written. Now, this book as piqued my curiosity mostly by the positive reviews thas is having. And although I have liked rather more than the aforementioned, it has not been completely fulfilling for my tastes. I think that the story is too sweet, sugary, even syrupy, the characters are stereotyped in excess and the resolution is incomplete. For those who look for a romantic story with a bit of drama this book might be ok.

I have really enjoyed all of Frame’s books. I enjoy her characters, especially the butch ones. I also enjoy books with Moms/Children and everyday issues. I always laugh out loud a few times while reading her books. I was also surprised that this book was a new idea. I did question several times the likelihood of such an occurrence, but I am willing to buy in. I enjoyed that I have not read a book with a similar or same premise. For me, this was new and refreshing. I have several of Frame’s books in both ebook and audiobook format. Her books are always worth a second read or listen. Pick this one up, you will not be disappointed.

Jenny Frame has once again written a romantic and sexy story.

Dale and Rebecca really are good characters that from the first moment they meet you'll find yourself hoping they get together. Jake is the making of this story

I was hooked from the first chapter, there were times where I was so engrossed I found my jaw tingling as I was clenching my teeth with the thought of what may happen to Rebecca.

Would I recommend this book, yes, it was enjoyable

Unexpected
By:Jenny Frame
📚💕⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💕📚

Two women together is better in this intense F/F read.

Dale and Rebecca come together by the love of Rebecca's 10 year old son in the most unexpected way. I enjoyed this book it had some very emotional parts that made my heart hurt at times and feel all warm and fuzzy at other times. These two will show compassion, love, trust and even jealousy throughout. The writer is very descriptive and does a wonderful job letting the reader be a fly on the wall to get a intimate view of what could easily be real life. She lets us feel how messy it is but worth all the sacrifice to end up as a loving family.

Thanks to Netgally for letting me read and review.

I am surprised how much I liked Unexpected. It is the fifth published book by Jenny Frame, and she has really grown as an author and storyteller. She remains true to herself and continues to write in her style (butch-femme relationship dynamics, vivid imagination, strong happily ever afters...), but her writing is more mature and confident than before, with all elements done quite properly. The main and secondary characters are very good, the plot is interesting and really holds one's interest all through. Only one thing about the plot was a bit of a let down for me -- not all subplots were resolved entirely (bribed Mike, used Nika, user and main villain Ashley). This is just a minor flaw and the story has not lost anything important, but I like to have all loose ends nicely wrapped up.
I recommend this book, and am looking forward to the next book by the author.
4.25 stars

How do you reconcile with fate? That's exactly what Becca and Dale must face when their lives abruptly collide. Dale reluctantly comes into Becca's world when their son seeks Dale out. Yes, you'll have to read it to find out what that means exactly, and why. Neither wants this fate, but it's here nonetheless. The two of them will have to reconcile old fears and face that they are now irrevocably intertwined, like it or not. Watching them grow and change then fall in love was slow and sweet. Dale's Scottish colloquialisms and slang are both hilarious and charming at once. It's a pleasure to be able to read a book fully immersed in its culture rather than an Americanized version. I'm sure you'll be charmed by them as they were with each other.

genre: contemporary romance
length: 70,500 words, 20 chapters + epilogue
main characters:
Dale McGuire, 36, car repair business owner
Rebeca Harper, late thirties, freelance commercial photographer
setting: London and the village of Plumtun, Croydon
- a beautiful and very interesting romance about two women from different backgrounds linked in a very unusual way
- some great minor characters
- an exceptionally good book, kept me interested from start to finish
- highly recommended to all romance fans
cover: excellent, well related to the plot
book rating: 5 stars
eARC by Bold Strokes Books via NetGalley

I was going to make some corny joke about how unexpected this book was, but I will save you all from that. I have read almost all of Frame's books, and they have been really up and down for me. It almost feels like Frame has been trying to find her perfect zone as a writer, but had not quite gotten there yet. Well, that is until now. For me, this was by far Frame's best book yet.

This is a sweet, family-style romance. While the chemistry was not jumping off the pages at you, it was such a feel good romance that I didn't mind. I was absolutely sucked into the story from page one, and enjoyed every second of it.

There are two main characters Dale and Becca. Both characters have flaws, but there is valid reasons for them. They are really likeable characters especially Dale. At times Dale was almost to good to be true, but I was so caught up in this fairy tale type romance, I didn't care. There also were a few kid characters in this book. I think Frame does a good job of writing kids in lesfic. She did well in Courting the Countess, and again in this book.

My only small complaint, the crazy ex storyline, I didn't like. You are in the POV of an awful women named Ash. It does not take up too much of the book, thank goodness. I know Frame did this for a little excitement, but I was enjoying the romance and didn't want this to interfere. Luckily, the way the conflict occurred, was handled well. I could feel a sigh of relief come out of me. It did not ruin the book and I am so grateful.

This is easy to recommend to sweet romance fans. I have a feeling a lot of people are really going to like this one. As I said above, I believe this is Frame's best by far. I look forward to reading more books of hers like this.

An ARC was given to me by BSB for a honest review.

Unexpected is written in the third person, mostly from the perspective of Dale and Rebecca, a minor third perspective from Ashley, a reporter.  

Not only were the main characters likeable, so were the supporting characters, well, except one or two of them.  I enjoyed reading about Dale and Rebecca, as well as Jake, Dale's friends and niece.

The plot was enjoyable, although I could've done without the part with the reporter.

I thought that the slow-burn romance between the two main characters was a good pace.

This is a heartwarming love story. Look forward to reading more books from this author. Thanks.

This is one of the best books written by Ms Frame. Given her previous work, I wasn't sure how her work would translate into contemporary romance and I was extremely pleased.

The two leads work well together even though you wouldn't think these two would mix under 'normal' circumstances but they do with the premise. Some unusual family drama; which I think deserves its own follow-up novel, only make the story more intriguing.

A little sappy for my taste but excellent story telling :) These two are right up there with Georgie and Bea.

<i>I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books in exchange for an honest review.</i>

For various reasons, this is a difficult review to write. Partly because I'm writing immediately after finishing the book and . . . stupid book made it difficult to see.

Title of the book is 'Unexpected'. That was definitely an unexpected result. Finding myself with wet eyes. Unexpected.

Book stars Dale McGuire and Rebecca Harper - though there are three point of views. With the third point of view that of Ashley, bitch reporter (in many many ways). All three are near the end of their third decade of life on Earth, though the only one whose age I know is Dale - 36.

There's a mix of cultures here - Dale, Scottish, and from the East end of Glasgow (which I think is supposed to imply something like the working class section or something, I don't know Glasgow), Rebecca 'Becca' Harper - English, and as Dale noted, even though Rebecca currently lives in a run down house, she's still 'posh', or upper class.

Both of the main characters, and I'm not including Ashley in 99% of this review, have 'issues' that they faced long ago, and the ramifications of those issues still haunt them. I don't want to give everything away, of course, so I'll just note that Dale is quite good at picking up women (without trying), but doesn't believe she's good enough to be in a relationship because of her past; while Rebecca can't allow herself to be in a romantic relationship because her trust was broken long ago, and the woman she was with after that couldn't stand the idea of children. And Rebecca needed children.

Which is how Rebecca and Dale meet up. They didn't bump into each other in a bar, dance floor, or the like, like Dale normally ends up meeting women, no, they meet up through a little fella named Jake. 10 year old Jake. Jake, you see, has seen how . . . poorly his mother, Rebecca, has been recently and has gone looking for help. And has turned to Dale - just turning up on her doorstep (well, at her place of work). For, you see, Dale got a little bit of extra money about 11 years ago when she donated eggs to a fertility clinic. And Jake, with his massively high IQ, had hacked the place and gotten Dale's name. The 36 year old who never thought she'd have children or deserved them has a ten year old demanding help from her.

Naturally Dale, knowing Jake's family must be worried about him, rushes him back to his house in a small village nearish (by about 20 minutes by car) to London. The mother she meets there, Rebecca, wants nothing to do with Dale and demands that she leave.

Dale had made a promise to Jake though and . . . well, complications ensue. Not just because of that promise, of course.

Meanwhile, in a side thread, Ash is hooked up with the daughter of an owner of a newspaper - and circulation is down. Ash is going to need to come up with a big story to justify her existence and big salary. So she's hunting around for a story and 'lucks' upon a photograph that shows Victoria Carter -the Carter story, that Ash broke, 'made her'. If she could just track Victoria down again . . . she'd be set.

And yes, the two plot lines converge . . . eventually.

Of note:
<b>sex</b> - occurs and is graphic.
<b>characters</b> - there are more people of importance than those I've already mentioned, including Sadie (next door neighbor to Rebecca), Val & Sammy (Dale's friends; along with their kid Mia), and Trent - Rebecca's lawyer and ex-lover. This is in addition to Rebecca (and Jake), Dale, and Ash (and Ash's girlfriend who I haven't named).

Rating: 4.55

August 7 2017

I liked the idea for this book, definitely a smart story line. This book did have everything in it with romance, family, evil villain and mystery. I did find this book to be a good page turner where I was intrigued to see what would happen in the story.

I did find Becca was difficult to like in the beginning however I did find she grew on me as time went on. I felt that Dale had a personality change a few chapters in and found it to be sudden instead of gradually which would have been more realistic.

The ending was quick and this was a classic U-Haul story. I would have liked to have known what happened to the evil villain in the end as we did have her POV throughout the story.

Love this book. Two people that had secrets and uncertainty in their lives was brought together by a 10 year old boy. As time went the walls in both lives started to crumble and the unexpected became expected.

Dale is a woman who loves her women, fast cars and her freedom. Underneath is a sad, thoughtful woman who longs for acceptance and family.

Becca is a woman who looks hard and unapproachable from a dark past and is trying the best she can to make a life for her son and soon to be little girl.

Jenny Frame writes an amazing story about how these two souls come to intertwine in the oddest way, but connect through the children. I was so impressed how Dale kept coming back because of a son that truly needed her and a soon to be born baby that would be her daughter as well.

It was an honest telling of what people must fear about having children taken away from them, yet at the same time how there are amazing people in the world who truly do want to help others.

Trent turns out to be a lovely person and I really hope she finds love and another partner soon.

I highly suggest this book for a great read. I'd love to see another book with these characters and Trent.

One of my favorite tropes but with a lesbian couple instead? What can I say, I loved it!

Whilst I had my challenges with some of the writing in this novel, the story itself was unique and enjoyable with a very happy ending.
Becca and Dale might not know they are made for eachother but they are but not in a way the reader is expecting.

This book deserves 10 Stars and I can confidently say it's the best I've read in a very long time. When a ten year old boy turns up at Dale's garage claiming to be her son life will never be the same. She has lived a life full of women and cars and no responsibility but that is all about to change. Pregnant Rebecca Harper is hiding a family secret and keeps everyone at arms length. She is terrified when Dale comes on the scene. Will she ever be able to trust?
As they get to know each other the attraction is electric and I so wanted it to work out for them. Dale is totally adorable and I defy anyone to resist falling in love with her as they read this beautiful story. A gorgeous butch with a heart of gold she surprises everyone around her, including Rachel. Jenny Frame has written the most amazing love story with the most intensely passionate and sexy love scenes. And I'll admit to a few happy tears - trust me you won't be able to hold them back either!

I was given this ARC by Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books in return for an honest review.

My previous foray into reading a Jenny Frame novel didn't go extremely well, and so I've sorta stayed away from other stuff by her a little bit. But, I definitely found myself sucked into this one and pulled along on what was a very cool journey in it.

It's the story of Dale and Rebecca (or Becca, I do wish that just one of those two names had been chosen to be what she was called in the non-dialogue text). Dale's the owner of a bunch of mechanic shops, whose life is going along okay. And then she gets a visit from a ten year old named Jake calling her Mum and asking if she will come and help his Mummy because they're not doing awesome.

That'd be Rebecca, Jake's Mom and Mom to be of a little sister (genetically too) for Jake. And indeed Jake seems to have found his two moms. (Although I also found the fact that it was kind of Fait Accompli and was never questioned to be a little weird, paperwork or not paperwork).

They both have large looming pasts and Rebecca's especially plays a big role in the story as she doesn't trust easily.

We also get introduced to Trent, Rebecca's former girlfriend and current lawyer, who was a character that I slowly got to like. And Sammy and Val, Dale's friends and co-workers (and so many other things like faux-siblings and faux-parents) who I liked right away and now want another whole story on them (or perhaps there is already, have to look into that)).

And then there was Ashley. We only sorta get introduced to her and some of her life. To me she felt a little half done as a character. Perhaps I missed another novel that she was in too?

Overall it was an enjoyable book. Not too heavy with some interesting characters and an okay (if not revolutionary) plot.

I got this galley through Netgalley on behalf of Bold Strokes Books