Read and reviewed in exchange for a free copy from Netgalley. This was a very interesting read about the idea of raising a baby as platonic friends. Although I found the book too long / slow, Wiles interpersed the story with elements of anthropology skilfully, and I was invested in Robin, Kessie, and Zora.

This book was good but I probably am not the target audience for it tbh
Enjoyed the writing,not overly keen on the characters
I just think it was not the right demographic for me,which is no ones fault 😎

In The Unexpected, Kessie and Robin have been best friends since childhood, but as they reach their mid-thirties, the pressure of their biological clocks begins to weigh heavily on them. Kessie is single while Robin’s partner is unsure about starting a family, leaving them both grappling with the challenges of motherhood and friendship.

When one of them unexpectedly becomes pregnant, the dynamics of their relationship shift dramatically. Kessie finds herself navigating feelings of motherhood for a child that isn’t hers, while Robin steps in as a supportive friend, leading them to question how far one should go for a loved one. The book explores themes of family, friendship, and the many forms motherhood can take.

Through their journey, Kessie and Robin confront their dreams and the realities of their situations, ultimately redefining what it means to be a family. This poignant story offers a heartfelt exploration of the complexities of relationships and the unexpected paths to parenthood.

Read more at The Secret Bookreview.

3.5/5.

The Unexpected is a novel about two friends who come together when one of them has a baby, finding themselves navigating a scenario they hadn't imagined. Robin and Kessie both want a baby, but Kessie is single and can't afford the great donor, and Kessie's boyfriend is noncommital about a baby and their future. When Kessie gets pregnant, Robin is the birth partner, but after the birth, they explore the world of kinds of motherhood and relationships.

From the blurb, I assumed this book would be similar to This Love by Lotte Jeffs, about queer families and parenting outside of the norm, and it is, but it feels more like a beginner-level version of that. In some ways, it is more like an involved long read about navigating co-parenting as friends than a novel, because that element is basically the entire plot. That probably makes it ideal for people wanting to read about that, but I found it a bit lacking for my taste, with the first part of the novel seeming to just be about people unhappy with society's expectations of family, motherhood, and heterosexuality. I think my own and people I know's own less conventional relationships mean that the book just feels a bit too much like it leans on 'wow, you don't just have to have a heterosexual marriage and have babies within that' without being much beyond that. The ending is quite focused on the legal troubles of co-parenting outside of this structure, which again, is a good thing to explore but still feels like it could've been an article.

The Unexpected isn't a bad book and I think there's a lot of people who will take powerful things away from it, but I don't really think it is aimed at queer people whose relationships with others are already outside of the image of societal convention this book strives to get away from, so for me it was just an okay read with a pretty cute-sounding baby.

A pair of best friends find themselves in an unusual situation. Both want children but one is single and the other's partner doesn't want a baby. When one of them falls pregnant they decide to raise the baby together. It's an interesting look at an unconventional family set up but unfortunately the writing just didn't grip me and I really struggled to get through it or connect with any of the characters.