Unexpectedly Yours by C. Chilove is a great enemies to lovers romance.
This was a super fun and enjoyable read.
I was immediately drawn into this story and didn’t want to put it down.
The characters had such great chemistry. I adored them.
The drama, romance and forbidden love made this book unputdownable.

Carrah has spent her entire life attempting to please her family and working at their beauty business. She finally decides to put herself first and enters a writing contest. It seems like her dreams may be coming true when she wins the contest and a book deal. She reaches out to Christopher the son of her family's biggest competioin. He has also moved away from his family's business by becoming an entertainment lawyer. Their road to working together starts out rocky but it soon becomes obvious that bigger feelings are involved.

I enjoyed this book. Carrah and Christoper had great chemistry. I also enjoyed each of them on their own and liked the amount of character growth they had. The family issues did get a little frustrating. Overall this was a good and quick read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unexpectedly Yours had so much potential, but it left me wanting more. The premise was compelling—a forbidden romance between members of two rival Southern Black Elite families—and the gorgeous cover immediately drew me in. However, the execution fell a bit flat for me.

The story follows Carrah, a brilliant chemist working at her family's cosmetics company, Noir, while secretly pursuing her passion for writing. Landing a major book deal allows her to leave her high-stress family job, but she struggles with guilt and fear of disappointing her family. Enter Chris, her secret entertainment lawyer, and a childhood acquaintance she always avoided because of their families’ long-standing feud. Chris’s family owns the rival cosmetics company, making their budding romance even more forbidden as they navigate a web of family secrets and societal expectations.

While I enjoyed the setup and the complex family dynamics, the pacing felt uneven. Much of the drama—especially the reveal of the families’ history—was crammed into the final pages. An epilogue or more exploration of the aftermath would have provided better closure.

Also, a bit more spice in the romance would have elevated the emotional stakes and kept me more engaged. Despite these issues, the book's themes and characters held my interest, and I appreciated the unique setting and cultural depth.

This book gets 3 1/2 stars (rounded up to 4) from me. Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a well-done enemies to lovers romance. The animosity continues well into the book—it was a serious obstacle that wasn’t resolved easily. The book is high-angst with a strong family and community feel.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

A cute and quick enemies to lovers that is a Percy read for a rainy day. Enjoyed seeing the characters begin to interact and get close. There were sooo many side characters that it was easy to lose track of who was who.

Unfortunately, this was a dnf for me at 39%. I was just not invested enough in this story, and I found there to be way too many side characters for me to keep up with everyone and try to remember who they all were. Also, the FMC tended to act like she was in high school still when she didn’t get her way, and she was supposed to be 27 years old.

I think the enemies to lovers story for Unexpectedly Yours could have been fun and exciting but unfortunately it fell flat for me.

At first I was excited for the bickering and the banter but it just felt more and more childish and I had a hard time imagining them as extremely successful professionals versus high school enemies to lovers. Therefore it was hard for me to connect to the main couple.

I truly believe that this is a situation that the book just isn’t for me but many others will really like it. I say if the blurb catching your attention, go for it!

ARC provided by publisher via Netgalley. Thank you for the opportunity to read and provide my honest thoughts.

This was a fun read that showed us a glimpse into the workings of two Black-owned cosmetics companies!
Secrets and harsh pasts keep Chris and Carrah circling in their social circles, but maintaining their distance. Carrah dreams of a writing career but doesn’t want to leave her family without her STEM knowledge. Enter Chris, someone who may be able to help her!
Can two rivals work together, on a separate project, and keep their feelings out of the way? Read this and see!

Two families have formed an ugly, fraught relationship over the years. The son and daughter of their opposing families have found a deep connection that never should have been. The ups and downs of their budding relationship are all centered arouh=nd the family hatred. Will the family bondage of the family loosen enough to allow them to survive as a cou[le?
An emotional tale like Romeo and Juliet in a modern setting.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Try as I might, Unexpectedly Yours didn't impress me at all. There were too many characters to keep track of. And with so many characters, the primary ones weren't developed enough. All of the characters were indistinguishable from one another. And the generic cast just diluted the whole narrative.

Though I do enjoy the enemies to lovers trope, I don't think that the cosmetic/fragrance angle was the best backdrop for this story.

In any event, I didn't care for the novel and DNF'd at 33% A one star (I didn't like it) for me.

I received a DRC from Forever (GCP) through NetGalley. This review is completely my own and reflects my honest thoughts and opinions.

Thank you to NetGalley, Forever Publishing, and C. Chilove for the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is a forbidden love, childhood/youth enemies to adult lovers story. I particularly liked the New Orleans history and culture that was integrated into the story by these old guard families and would love to read more stories with this background and influence.

This story would be a really good fit for someone that needs to see their leads push outside of the boundaries their families have set for them.

Carrah never expected anything more from Chris than legal guidance to negotiate a contract to publish her book. She's a chemist who had been single minded about her career until her mother fell ill and then she won a writing contest. Here's the thing, Chris might be an ace attorney but his family owns a rival cosmetics company and he, admittedly comes off as a bit snotty at first. Fans of the genre know that these two are going to build a working relationship than becomes a friendship and then more. Can their families do the same? Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. This is a fun read with good storytelling and characters you will root for.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
C. Chilove is a new author to me, but I had heard of her in connection to other Black romance authors I’ve read, and Unexpectedly Yours sounded promising. This book overall delivers on the juicy family drama and forbidden romance I anticipated.
Carrah is a relatable, well-drawn heroine, being caught between her family’s expectations and what she truly wants. Being from a wealthy Black family who made their name with their cosmetics company, she’s expected to join the family business, but she’s on the precipice of seeing out her writing dreams, having just won a writing contest, which guarantees a book deal.
Chris, meanwhile, is an entertainment lawyer, but his family also happens to run a cosmetics company who are Carrah’s family’s biggest rivals. This made for an intriguing set-up, with Carrah and Chris already being connected, and having a lot standing in the way of even their professional relationship. And as they spend more time together navigating these professional aspects, their chemistry grows, and the stakes opposing their relationship rise along with it. One aspect that made me a little nervous was the explicit lack of any contraceptive use in the sex scene, as that could potentially signal a surprise pregnancy, but fortunately it did not. This was accompanied by a brief mention of their respective STD statuses, although the usage of the word “clean” in reference to testing negative for them bothered me. While not a massive part of the plot in the grand scheme of things, it’s become a hot-button issue in some segments of the romance community, so this bit really stuck out.
Relatively minor criticisms aside, I enjoyed this overall, and am open to reading more in a similar vein from Chilove in the future. I recommend this to readers interested in a fairly steamy contemporary romance with a generous helping of family drama.

This was a quick easy read. Carrah is a chemist in charge of research in her family’s cosmetics company. But secretly what she really wants to be, is an author. When she finds out she won a contest and could possibly get published she turns to the one person who can help her figure it all out, the son of a rival family Chris. Chris is an entertainment lawyer, and the son of the owners of a competing cosmetic company. As Chris helps Carrah try to figure out the publishing world sparks fly despite the fact they know they shouldn’t be together. And eventually both will have to choose the hate of the past or the promise of the future.

Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for the advance reader copy of Unexpectedly Yours by C. Chilove!

Carrah and Christopher are from families with competing businesses. They have both had mutual friends for years but minimally interacted with the other. Both have to live with pressure from their respective families to advance and contribute to the family business. However, Christopher has pursued a career as an entertainment lawyer and Carrah, has secretly been working toward her dream of becoming a writer. When Carrah finds herself on the verge of landing a book deal, she suddenly finds herself turning to Christopher to help her.

I loved the premise of this book!!! I was immediately drawn into this story and didn’t want to put it down. I love a good enemies to lovers & forbidden romance story and this one kept me hooked. The two main characters are written with such wonderful chemistry. I love how naturally these two were brought together by the premise of the story and I enjoyed their romance as they got to know each other more and wrestled with their growing attraction.

Definitely for any readers who love forbidden romance, enemies to lovers, and slow burns!!

Carrah Andrews is trying her darnedest to step out of her family's shadow and aspires to be an author. The stakes are sky high but Carrah needs help if she wants to be a published author. Under the an alias, she seeks help from her family's rival Chris Chenault to achieve her goal. Falling for him was not part of the plan. The chemistry was evident from the first time you see them together. This certainly gives Romeo and Juliet vibes with their feuding families and hatred towards one another that was influenced by their families. If you want a forbidden love with a side of self-discovery, I would recommend this one!


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This is a cute one! Sometimes hard to stay focused with the many characters thrown in, also a tad cheesy at times so 3.5
Overall, a sweet story in the Shores.

I ate this book up!

The drama between the families, the enemies to lovers and forbidden love made this an unputdownable read. The drama kept me turning the pages and the romance swooning.

Perfect quick read.

Carrah Andrews is employed as a chemist at her family's cosmetics company. She has always prioritized her family and friends, putting her own aspirations aside. When her mother becomes sick, Carrah dedicates herself to her mother's recovery and rekindles her love for writing. Upon receiving a book contract offer, she seeks a contract-savvy lawyer and approaches Christopher Chenault, whose family runs a competing cosmetics business.

Under her pseudonym, Carrah schedules a meeting with Christopher. His initial reaction is one of displeasure, as their families' rivalry has kept them from being friends, despite a long-standing acquaintance. Moved by her manuscript and personal journey, Christopher agrees to assist her. Their mutual friendships make encounters frequent and unavoidable.

As they work together, Chris and Carrah realize their mutual attraction, facing a difficult choice: whether their budding relationship is worth the risk of family discord.

Unexpectedly Yours by C. Chilove can be a bit cheesy at times, but it ultimately delivers a charming and enjoyable reading experience.