Book Review — My Unexpected Forever (Beaumont #2) by Heidi McLaughlin

Everything in me is saying give up; that I don’t need her, but I do.
I need her like I need to breathe.

• Buy MY UNEXPECTED FOREVER (Kindle) – see reading order below
• Buy MY UNEXPECTED FOREVER (Paperback)

My Unexpected Forever told a beautiful, emotional story about love and healing. It was never rushed and focused just as much on family bonding as it did on romance. It was both sexy and heartwarming. Seriously, there’s just something about a bad boy rocker who is also a loving, caring dad that is absolutely heart melting!! I finished the book with happy tears in my eyes. Loved it!

It is important to note though that this is the second book in the Beaumont series and despite it being about a different couple, I would not consider it a standalone. Book #1 in the series, Forever My Girl, must be read first otherwise you will be missing a lot of context and character familiarity.  If you want, here’s my review of it. The couple from the first book, Josie and Liam (and their son Noah), play a huge role in this book. Not to mention the fact that the heroine of this book, Katelyn and her twin girls Peyton and Elle are introduced early in Forever My Girl  following the loss of her husband Mason, so that whole core group of characters play an essential role in this book. Basically, the series must be read in order to fully appreciate it.

The story here follows Harrison, the drummer in Liam’s band who since moving to Beaumont has found himself drawn to Katelyn. He’s been a single dad ever since his three day old son he knew nothing about was dropped on his doorstep and since them he’s devoted himself to be the best dad he could be for Quinn. He wasn’t looking for anyone, but sometimes love is unexpected like that.

But Katelyn is still mourning the sudden death of her beloved husband, Mason, who she had been with since she was 15. His loss left a giant hole in their lives and she’s not yet ready to offer her heart to anyone else. Not to mention that with his tattoos and rock star life, Harrison is the polar opposite of Mason and just not her ‘type’. But Harrison understood that and was willing to wait for her. He knew she needed time and didn’t want to rush her in to anything despite desperately wanting more.

But when the band goes on tour, their families all join in. Liam, Josie and Noah go, as well as Harrison and Quinn, and, as their new manager, Katelyn is also on board along with her two girls. Over the tour, bonds solidify and are built up and it becomes clear that the feelings between them aren’t going away so… they decide to give their unexpected love a chance and maybe bring some healing to their two broken families.

“Imagining a life with her is as easy as breathing. I just have to find a way to make it happen without putting too much pressure on her.”

I absolutely love reading about heroes with kids. They just bring out this beautiful extra measure of protectiveness and caring that never fails to melt my heart. And Harrison was about as loving and caring and protective as you get. Seeing him with the kids just melted me over and over again.

I supposed he’s too big for me to carry, but in my eyes he’s still my baby.

And I have to say that I how flexible they all were. Their kids were the center of their worlds. In another book, I have no doubt that the idea of a rock tour with relationships and kids would be used as a major source of drama but these guys just took it all in stride. Separation was not an option and tour had to happen so they just all did it together. I totally loved their attitude. It gave the story such a wonderful family feeling.

Now, given Katelyn’s more hesitant, timid side, I wavered back and forth a little on how I felt about her. On one hand, I kind of wanted her to hurry it up and get with Harrison but on the other, I honestly loved how loyal she was to Mason. I knew he was gone but a part of me totally understood how she wasn’t yet ready to let go.

The story is told in alternating POV chapters between Harrison and Katelyn and for the most part takes place in present day but in many of the chapters were flashback scenes from both their lives. We saw Katelyn’s memories of Mason and how dear he was to her and we saw how Harrison ended up with Quinn and how that changed his life.

“You can’t replace Mason even if you tried, but you can find happiness and love if you allow yourself to.”

I wish I could offer her a place to sleep… on my chest. I could hold her in my arms. Rub her back until she falls asleep. I’d never let her go. I’d never let her nightmares haunt her. I can make things better for her.

I actually really liked the slower pace of their relationship. It allowed them to genuinely bond first. Nothing was ever rushed and more than anything was how much I loved how respectful Harrison was of Mason’s memory and place in the family regardless of his physical presence. He respected Katelyn’s love for him and never once tried to replace him. He just loved her enough to want a place in her life as well.

That being said, Katelyn did have moments were she just plain, flat out messed up but she was scared and as frustrating as it was at times (especially the last time), I did understand it. She had loved Mason with all her heart, they’d been high school sweethearts and a cruel twist of fate had ripped him away from her and their family. Of course she couldn’t move on. And here she was fighting the feelings of falling in love with Harrison while still feeling loyalty to the man she had loved her whole life. She had a lot of growing to do over the book and also had a lot of other areas too where she needed to learn to open her eyes a little.

“I don’t think she like my tattoos…”
Quinn rolls his eyes. He’s far too smart for his age. “I think your tattoos tell a story, maybe she should learn to read.”

Harrison and Quinn’s realtionship was one of the highlights of the book for me. They had such a special, beautiful, tight bond. It was precious and heartwarming and was one of the most wonderful father/son relationships I’ve seen in a book.

The romance was incredibly slow building but there was so much more to develop than just their relationship. There were three kids to think about and bond with and there was so much healing to go through and trust to build before the romance could be taken to the next level. I actually enjoyed the pacing. It was slow but steady and felt right given their situation.

The ending was absolutely gorgeous!!!!! It was a 5++ star ending to me. I read this book start to finish in one sitting ending at 5AM still glued to my kindle with happy tears in my eyes and my heart filled to bursting. It was honestly one of the sweetest endings I’ve ever read!!

The story centers around strong themes of family, bonding, healing, friendship, and love. I truly love these characters and would highly recommend this series 🙂

4.5 – 5 stars!!

• Buy MY UNEXPECTED FOREVER (Kindle) – see reading order below
• Buy MY UNEXPECTED FOREVER (Paperback)
  

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** SERIES READING ORDER **

Book #1: FOREVER MY GIRL — Kindle | Paperback – Liam’s story

Novella #1.5: MY EVERYTHING — Kindle | Paperback – Nick’s story

Book #2: MY UNEXPECTED FOREVER — Kindle | Paperback – Harrison’s story

Book #3: FINDING MY FOREVER — Kindle | Paperback — Jimmy’s story

Book #4: FINDING MY WAY — Kindle — prequel (Liam)