DadReadsRomance

A Cozy, Cute, and Sexy Contemporary Romantic Comedy

Medium Used: 100% ebook via Hoopla

Ratings out of 5

Overall Rating:
💜💜💜💜 (4/5)

Sweetness Level:
🍪🍪🍪 (3/5)

Steam quality Level:
🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵 (5/5)

Steam quantity Level:
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ (5/5)

FMC Likability:
🖤🖤🖤🖤 (4/5)

MMC Likability:
👓👓👓👓 (4/5)

Plot Engagement:
📚📚📚 (3/5)

At least 1 bad dad:
💯 (yes)
#NSFW

Content warnings for this book

Click to Review CWs per Elise Kennedy's website:

Off Page
Bi-phobia, Fatphobia, CPS called

On Page
Allergic reaction (EpiPen), minor injury of a child (brief), claustrophobia, panic attack, fatphobia (brief), bullying, autistic sensory overwhelm, parental dismissal of feelings, addition of new family members, scenes featuring kids, mention of wanting kids, alcohol use, cursing, sexting, Oral and penetrative sex, rough sex, light choking, sex toy play, cum play, road head.

Spoiler Free Review

Unexpectedly Bookish is a contemporary romantic comedy that tells the falling in love story between Pearl¹, a self-described “fuck-up”, and Reed, a successful architect who is leaving his career to open a bookshop. Reed finds the perfect building for his bookshop in the fictional small town of Fairwick Falls, Pennsylvania where his best friend Luca loves with his 6 year old daughter, Annabelle (AB), and sister, Pearl. The story is dual POV and set in the fictional small town of Fairwick Falls, Pennsylvania. It is the fourth book in Elise Kennedy's Fairwick Falls series but can be read as a stand alone (I have not read books 1-3).

I found the way the story paces the relationship development between the main characters to be novel². As Pearl and Reed's “IRL” romance blossoms gradually, IMPOSSIBLYBOOKISH (Pearl) and HEMINGWAY_CANSUCKIT (Reed) are engaged in an anonymous digital romance that began a few months before the start of the story. The first half of the book has “fast-burn” spice and affection via Bookish and Hemingways anonymous messaging. I found the spice in Unexpectedly Bookish to be better than most romantic comedies and the quality of the characters and plot were merely at par so the early spice was a positive despite my preference for slow burns.

The book is on the longer end for the romcom genre (406 page kindle edition). I'll note much of that additional length is due to the quantity and length of the spicy scenes. Another reason though may be that the plot was trying to do a bit too much. Everything it does I welcome, if not actively seek, in my romcoms but it felt like too much was put into the “romance trope salad” instead of the “plot main course”.

^{1 The relationship in this book is hetero and monogamous but Pearl is bisexual
2 dad joke intended}

What I liked about this book

• Both Pearl and Reed are shown having positive relationships with AB.
  
• Pearl is a plus sized grumpy bad bitch goth. Reed is a glasses and sweater vest wearing neurodivergent-divergent friendly to all nerd.
  
• The main characters both have relationships with side characters that matter to their character arcs and the overall plot.
  
• MCs are in their late 20s, acting like it, and facing struggles related to being in their late 20s.
  
• A townie in a townie bar says 'Yinz' 🖤💛.
  
  

What I did not like about this book

• Aspects of the writing were a bit jarring to me, for example multiple times Pearl's thinks something like “I have such a praise kink”.
• Reed has the body of a typical MMC. It is not dwelled on but in a book that otherwise really tries to break the mold of the typical romcom MCs making Rees a normal height felt like a missed opportunity.
  
  

Spoilers Review

Click to Review Spoilers

What I liked Spoilers

• Pearl gets “baby-fever horny” from seeing Reed interact with AB.
• So many spicy things I have not seen enough of including mutual masturbation, dirty talk before and during, sassy teasing, cunnilingus from MMC POV, vibrators in the bedroom, and grinding through clothes / underwear.
• An MMC that's a boss that realizes it is pretty fucked up to be attracted to your employee, let alone date them.

What I didn't like Spoilers

• Pearl and Reed have a third act fight. In general I am not a big fan of the third act relationship drama but particularly in this story the circumstances felt like character assassination for both of them. Both have been so accommodating, supportive, and understanding of the other one up to that point it just feels like it's forced in there because “romcoms need a third act fight”. At least it wasn't a contrived misunderstanding.
• While I like the fact both Pearl and Reed have challenges and relationships to resolve in the third act neither one has particularly exciting or interesting resolutions. It gets real clunky with the fight and the primary character struggles for each of them had really only been told not shown up to that point. Pearl is a “fuck-up” but we've only seen her be really great at things. Reed's “never free to be himself only ever being the person his parents / people want him to be” but we have only seen him being himself in Fairwick Falls since the start of the book.
  

Tropes As I said above this book is a bit of a “romance trope salad”. Here is a list, I probably forgot some: – Pearl implied to have been a bit of a childhood bully to Reed – FMC younger sister of MMCs best friend – Enemies to friends to lovers – Forced Proximity – Roommates of convenience – Assistant & Boss – We are already in love anonymously online – MMC crush on FMC since childhood – Nobody gets me but you – They kissed me but do they actually like me? – Oh you thought that the roommates was forced proximity, hahaha now they're trapped in a closet

This Book Reminded Me of

• The C*ck Down the Block by Amy Award in the way it is a light cozy read.
• The FMC and MMC dynamic in Maneater by Emily Antoinette.
  

Who should read this book?

1. People seeking cozy romcoms with plenty of spice.
2. People who enjoy the grumpy goth FMC with a soft heart paired with a the nerdy cinnamon roll MMC.
   

Elise Kennedy's Website

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^{#BookReviews #UnexpectedlyBookish #EliseKennedy #Books #Romance}