Great read. Well-developed characters. Easy to follow storyline with low drama. Would highly recommend this book to anyone wishing to pass a couple of hours.

I truly love boss-employers romances and this one is a very well executed one in my opinion. So if you love this romance trope, go for it! The characters are fun to read about, the story is engaging and well paced, the writing is easy to read through and has me feeling like I’d definitely want to pick up more books by this author - especially the first 2 books written in the series for example.

The story has a good balance of character development, friendship & familie relationship development, engaging writing and most of all a believable and beautifully written romance!

The Story of Us by Jody Holford is a beautiful story. And if any single men are reading my review; this is a story of how to win a girl and she will love you forever!!!
I read several reviews and everyone was saying they loved Declan. Well when you read the book you will know why. He is one of the best male characters I have read. This is the first book in the series that I have read. In previous books, I think he was a player but realized he wanted to settle down and find what his friends had found. He was the owner of a bar.

Sophia was coming home after leaving for college to be on her own. Her family felt that she had abandoned them. She left after her fiancé breaks up with her and takes a lot of her savings. I really liked Sophia. She would have been perfect except I was very frustrated with how she reacted in one of the scenes close to the end. She overacted.

Sophia convinces Declan to hire her to manage the bar. As a side note the author created interesting scenes with Sophia and the bar. And the three dates Declan created were absolutely swoon worthy.

I want to go back and read the other books in the series but you wonder can they be as good as this one. Declan’s friends were funny, and I would like to know more about their stories.

This is a truly beautiful story.

Sexual content - 2 there was one physical scene with a few details
Alcohol - there was some drinking, Declan owned a bar,
Language -4 this was my only disappointment with the book. The F word was used 55 times. Waaaay more than was necessary.

I received this book from Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review.
You can see my full review at More Than a Review dot com where I rate the level of sex, violence, language and drug/alcohol use in books.

I picked this book because the blurb seemed interesting, as I love reading love stories. Plus, it has got good reviews from the Netgalley readers. However, this book didn’t work for me, unfortunately.

It’s too slow and repetitive. It’s all about why Sophie’s job is important and how Sophie and Declan feel for each other (and how desperately they want to touch/kiss/hold each other) the moment they land their eyes on each other, and it goes on and on and on. I’m not a fan of Insta-love so it never works for me. Plus, there’s no interesting incidents that add substance to the story. To be very honest, I skipped a few pages but didn’t feel like I was missing something.

It is interesting sometimes, but strangely, they are the scenes with secondary characters, like when Marcus confronts Declan, or when Adam teases Declan...or Sophie's moments with her mother and sisters, but it’s very inconsistent. I couldn’t connect with the main characters, and their connection didn’t make me feel anything. Disappointed.

#StoryofUs#HerBalist
I did not know this was a series. I will now read them all. Sophia Stombi was the adventurous one in the family. She left to be on her own and go her own way. She has done well but She made a bad choice and is coming back home. She is not ready to face her family until she has a job and a place to live. She gets a job from her brothers best friend Declan's bar called On Dec. When she goes to her parents house they immediately want her to work in the family's business. Declan feels things he should not feel for his best friend Marcus little sister. He breaks his own rules on dating. Sophia doesn't want to be protected and smothered by anyone. It's a great story of family, friends,hard decisions, and love. Thank you to Net Galley for allowing me to read thinks book.

Sophia Strombi never thought she would return home with her head held in her hands. Her pride though has her getting a job with longtime friend of the brother Declan James. Declan doesn't understand what is going on with Sophia or her need to keep it a secret she has returned home, but something about Sophia has Declan wanting to protect her. What will happen when secrets are revealed and how will her close knit family handle her being back?

I liked this a lot. It had a mixture of sweet, heartache, and slow burn romance. I wanted to smack Sophia's family initially but you got who they were and they did redeem themselves as the story went on. Declan was swoon worthy. wonderful read. Highly recommend.

Sophia Strombi never thought she would return home with her head held in her hands. Her pride though has her getting a job with longtime friend of the brother Declan James. Declan doesn't understand what is going on with Sophia or her need to keep it a secret she has returned home, but something about Sophia has Declan wanting to protect her. What will happen when secrets are revealed and how will her close knit family handle her being back?

I liked this a lot. It had a mixture of sweet, heartache, and slow burn romance. I wanted to smack Sophia's family initially but you got who they were and they did redeem themselves as the story went on. Declan was swoon worthy. wonderful read. Highly recommend.

I liked this book, right up until the 90% mark. The writing flowed well, and I thought that Dec and Sophia were great together. I knocked it down from 5 stars to 4 because of the lack of heat. I don't need 20 page long intimate scenes, but to be lead right up to it, and then move on is not my thing. I was still enjoying Dec stepping up to be the guy that he didn't have to be, and although Sophia was a little immature, I liked them together. When the crap hits the fan, and Sophia treats Dec the way she does, I honestly almost quit reading there. That knocked it down to 3 stars for me. To accuse him of treating her the way her family had been treating her was completely uncalled for, in my opinion. He had done nothing but show her that she wasn't alone. Dec was the only one that had been there for her. I finished, because I wanted to see how it ended. The HEA was sweet, and although I felt like Sophia owed Dec an apology as well (he didn't get one), it still ended up being a good ending.
I reviewed an advanced readers copy of this book.

This is the third book in the Unexpected series. Each book can be read as a standalone and they don’t need to be read in order if the reader doesn’t wish to.

This is a contemporary romance set in a small fictional town in anywhere USA. I love small town romances. I love the coziness of small town life. I love that the neighbors know each other, and I love that each generation grew up with each other and has a close camaraderie with each other. The same can be said when siblings stay in town and cousins grow up with each other. A simple life with family and friends is a great life, in my humble opinion.

This book focuses on the relationship between Declan and Sophia and their happily ever after.

I loved Declan. He was funny, smart, sensitive, driven, as he was a business owner. He was a likable character.

I had the hardest time liking Sophia. She just irked me to no end. I thought she was selfish, rude to her family, ungrateful, and way too sensitive.

She always thought everyone was “judging” her, and I wanted to let her know she needed to get over herself and grow up.

I know this is really harsh as I’m usually not, but this character and another character, who I also thought was rude, just elicited this kind of a response from me.

Surprisingly, I liked Sophia’s family. I don’t think the reader was supposed to feel sympathy for her parents and family, but I really liked them. I thought they were caring loving people.

Despite my dislike of Sophia, I still enjoyed the book and I loved the story. I would read the other stories in this series as I liked those characters that the reader got to meet.

Just because I didn’t gel with one of the characters, doesn’t mean the book was terrible and I hope that the reader takes a chance on this book and this series.

I give this book 4 roses because I liked it so much.

Story of Us is perhaps my favorite of the series…so far!

I loved Declan and Sophia’s story. Sophia’s “secret” takes a while to reveal–there are clues along the way, but Ms. Holford doesn’t hit readers over the head with them. It definitely adds one heck of a wrinkle to their journey to an HEA, though, and certainly helps out with the apparent goal of putting readers through the wringer… 😉

(Tears! The last line of the epilogue brought me to tears! Sigh…well done, Ms. Holford 🙂 )

You don’t have to have read the first two series books to enjoy this one–the characters themselves give you the bare bones details of their stories that help you to understand why they give Dec the advice they do. It’s just enough of a teaser that if you haven’t read them, you’ll probably want to–just a friendly warning… 😉

Rating: 4 stars / A-

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

When Sophia Strombi left Brockton Point, she left to experience life and become her own person, but in doing that she instantly became the black sheep of the family, just because she didn’t follow their rule of staying in the family business and living her life as they dictated to her.

But now she is back and with a big secret, but rather than going back home and being swallowed up by her overwhelming family, she gets a job at her brother's best friends Declan‘s pub and is trying to start again. But nothing goes quite to plan.

This is the first book I have read in Jody Holford Love Unexpected series, and I have to say that I’m totally impressed by the book. And though I struggled with some of the characters in this book, mainly Marcus to tell you the truth, I really enjoyed Sophia and Declan’s characters.

Overall a good story and one story that you can enjoy as a stand-alone like I have done, or apart of the whole series. The book is well written and although it delves into family drama, its light-hearted and a total beach read.

Loved Declan and he really made this book for me. I love all of Jody Holford's books and look forward to what she comes up with next.

I really enjoyed this book. It was funny, cute, and well, romantic. So it checked all the boxes. There were a few issues I had but nothing too major. Overall, it was really good and I would like to read more from this author.

** I received an ARC of this from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

The best known bachelor of Brockton Point is Declan James. Declan is more than happy with his short relationships and working towards his career aspirations with no one in the way. Just as he is questioning if he wants his life to be all about business and if he's missing something, that something shows up on his doorstep in the form of Sophia Strombi.

Sophia is a hot mess though. She is just grateful to have a job at a bar, Dec's, and a roof over her head. She's also trying her best to bounce back from the hot mess that is her life. Even though she has returned to her hometown she isn't quite ready to face everyone, including her family. They were quite controlling when she lived her last and her independence means a lot to her.

Declan is the bar owner and Sophia's crush as a teen. This provides the backdrop of a lot of swoon worthy chemistry. They both have a lot to work out in order to even hope for a potential future together. The hurdles that are in the way are both realistic and a gateway for you to fall madly in love with this couple and start rooting for them.

This was an amazing romantic novel and I can't wait to read what comes next in this series!

A very nice, but slightly predicable love story. Sophia returns to her hometown with her life in shambles and her family not enthusiastically welcoming her back. She arrives on the doorstop of Declan's bar, a family friend, looking for a job at his place. Quickly a romance builds between them with obstacles along the way that they need to get through. I liked both Sophia and Declan, but some of the surrounding stories with the family drama just didn't ring believable and was a bit over the top. But a good read and a nice romance novel.

Declan James was happy with his life. He owned his own pub/bar, On Dec. Life was good and he was single. He had been thinking that it might be time to settle down when the found the right woman. He had never done long-term relationships but his friends were happy in their relationships/marriages and he wanted that same kind of happiness for himself. He wasn't in a rush but now that he was in his early thirties, owned his own home ad business, it seemed like the right time.

Sophia Strombi left home at 18 to make her own way. She was a strong-willed Italian family who wasn't happy with her decision to leave and not work in the family business. She went to college, got her degrees, was successful in business, was engaged and then her world feel apart. Now she had returned home for support and love and place to recover. She had a secret that, when discovered, would change her life and the lives of those around her.

Declan was a catch for any woman and Sophia had crushed on him as a teenager but now they were both grown adults and there was chemistry between them. Was it worth the risk if them being together ultimately ruined a friendship? Would her family and his friends accept them as a couple or were they doomed before they started?

This was a beautiful, sweet romance with lots of emotion and drama. My one complaint is the continual use of the f-word. I felt that it detracted from the story rather than enhanced it. Unfortunately, for that reason I wouldn't feel comfortable recommended this book to my friends. I did appreciate that the sex scenes were descriptive and were mostly behind fade to black.

I was given an arc copy of this book and I willingly offer my honest review.

Sophia is back in her hometown after finding out that her fiance was already married and managed to loose her job at about the same time. Now she is back trying to pick up the pieces and her brother's friend Declan is trying to her out any way that he can. He never expected to fall for her. But shes got things to do and the weight her family expectations can make things complicated.

Man! I was not a fan of Sophia's father. I mean I can get why he would push for her to be in the family business but he didn't have to give her that hard of a time. Sophia has always had someone there to push her this way and that and she wanted to break those ties. Clearly with how close knit her family was, it was going to be hard clearly from what she was going through. They felt they knew what was best and she just wanted some space to grow. It was interesting seeing how she was going to handle the pressure of being back and getting a job that wasn't what her parents approved of. I enjoyed the romance that when on in the book. Overall it was a pretty good contemporary romance I really enjoyed reading it.

Sweet, sexy and swoony. “Story of Us” is an absolutely beautiful romance that keeps you captivated from the start. I loved everything that this book contained- the characters feelings, the challenges- tough topic, was handled beautifully and really made this a must read book. First book by this author but won’t be the last.

Sophia Strombi returns to her hometown after her business and personal lives implode spectacularly. She hasn't been home for 10 years after the weight of her family's expectations about her role in the family restaurant led her to run far, far away. Now she's back and begging her older brother Marcus's BFF Declan James for a job in his bar.

Declan James was that boy in high school and hasn't changed as a grown man. A bad boy with a cute smile and a smoking hot body he has reputation as a ladies man, but lately as his friends have found 'the one' he feels increasingly like he is missing out. He doesn't want to give little Sophie Strombi a job, especially since he's been very careful to avoid thinking of Marcus's little sister as a woman for quite some time, but he can see she is desperate and the Strombi's are as judgemental as ever.

This was okay, but it didn't rock my world. How Declan ever got a reputation as a ladies man I don't know seeing as he acted like a shy, insecure nerd for most of the book. Similarly, the Strombi men seemed to have this dictatorial attitude "Do this, do that, don't do the other" and berate Sophia for her choices (because it was necessary for the plot) and then cave and become pussy cats at the end. I thought there were too many things which were only in the book as plot devices to force issues - eg Sophia can't go home to stay because she and her family are at loggerheads.

I've been having a bad time of it recently so maybe it's me and not the book, but I just didn't feel invested in either Sophia or Declan, looking back I didn't even finish the first book in the series so maybe this series isn't for me - I have loved other books by Jody Holford.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

There are some authors who know just where to strike to make a s direct connection with readers. Jody Holford is one of those authors. Story of Us stole my heart. Sophia and Declan are a beautiful mess in need of emotional healing. With baggage a mile wide and faith a yard back, hope seems not to be in their corner. Until fate sets it's sights on forever with these two wary hearts. Their journey feels a bit like walking on broken glass, the pain is instant, the damage seems brutal, but the comeback is worth all the misery endured.