ARC Review – Unexpectedly You by Lily Santana

This is a complex read with a blinding sexual attraction between an older woman and younger man. ~ Slick, Guilty Pleasures

Description:
Emma LeFleur’s vintage beach home is close to foreclosure. With a business struggling to take off, she has no choice but to turn to her neighbor, sexy and arrogant real estate investor Mitch McKenna—the man whose reputation she’s spent the past six months pulverizing.

Mitch offers her a deal that will save them both: if she’ll convince her neighbors that she’s 100% behind his controversial condo project he’ll save her home. As a prominent leader in the community, Emma’s the only one who can help him salvage the project and keep his employees from getting laid off.

But the chemistry between Emma and Mitch burns surprisingly hot, complicating their deal in a way neither had anticipated. Mitch unearths the long-buried siren within Emma, who’d forgotten how good it is to feel sexy, alive.

As Emma begins to turn public opinion in Mitch’s favor, she’s drawn to him in a way she can’t deny. And Mitch finds himself wanting to prove to Emma that he’s not the player she thinks he is.

Review copy provided for an honest review

This is one of those books that I wasn’t sure what to expect when I read it. I just felt after reading the synopsis that there was more to the story and boy was I right. This is a complex read with a blinding sexual attraction between an older woman and younger man. They both have some hurts in their past that lead them both to over think every move, they are both quick to judge, and they both seem to have no filter on their mouths. However, it was hard to deny the unmistakable attraction and feeling of rightness when they are together. Unexpectedly You is the right title for this book because neither the hero nor the heroine ever expected to find the other in their crazy mixed up world.

There is something so completely sexy and hot about enemies to lovers stories and this book is that and then some. Emma LeFleur has made it her mission to make Mitch McKenna’s life miserable and ruin his development in her hometown of Bella Del Mar. She’s bested him on several occasions but with his project headed towards bankruptcy he knows he has to take a stand.
These are some complicated characters and while I liked them, they made it hard at times. Emma is a widow of almost two years. She’s 35 with a 17 year old daughter, yep do the math she was young when she got pregnant and married. She loved her husband with ever fiber of her being and getting past his death has been hard, of course the town doesn’t make it easy as they are constantly reminding her what a great guy he was. What they don’t know is he left her and their daughter in a huge financial bind, one she’s not sure she’ll be able to recover from. Because she married young, she never dated much and although he’s had one date since her husband’s death it didn’t go well. She really has no clue how to be that woman. Her daughter is pushing her to move on and she knows she needs to but she just can’t figure out how.

Mitch McKenna is trying to get his real estate development company off the ground but he’s been hit by one setback after another. He has PR problems which he blames Emma for and he is less than nice to her at every turn. He is frustrated and angry and he hates that he might not be able to keep in crew and pay them much longer. It’s obvious this project is important to him and most people figure it’s because of the money he hopes to make, but is that all it is?

From their first confrontation the disdain these two feel for each other is tangible but you know that fine line between love (or lust) and hate? Yep, that describes these two perfectly. They are on complete opposite sides of this problem, but when Emma realizes she needs major help she turns to Mitch and they strike a deal. While Emma is bound and determined to make Mitch miserable during their association, she begins to see a different side to him and she begins to wonder if she’s been wrong about him. Meanwhile Mitch makes Emma realize her sexuality didn’t die with her husband and watching her transformation was pretty amazing. However Mitch isn’t the only one who notices it which leads to some really interesting confrontations and some very heated moments between Mitch and Emma.

I love books that are written around small towns and this one was no different. While Emma and Mitch take center stage, I very much enjoyed the other characters even when they were butting in and being hard to deal with. It added so much to their story and while there were a few residents I would have liked to slap, most were comical and intriguing.

Both Mitch and Emma had some obstacles to overcome and somehow among everything else in their lives, they managed to do it. Unexpectedly You is a perfect romance filled with healing, hope, trust, and some sizzling sexy fun!