Unfamiliar

by Erica Cope, Komal Kant

Hailey Peters has always held onto the familiar. From the way she wears her hair, to dating her childhood friend-turned high school sweetheart--she sticks with what she knows, and she’s convinced herself that this is what makes her happy. Chase Lancaster doesn’t play by the rules. He’s a classically trained pianist who rocks out in a punk rock band every weekend, and isn’t afraid of taking chances. When they are assigned to co-write a song for their college music class, Hailey can’t imagine anyone she has anything less in common with than Chase. She is a sweater-wearing, neat freak, and he is disheveled and rough around the edges. As they spend time together, they both find a place in each other’s lives—a place where they challenge each other to be different and to embrace the unfamiliar. Hailey never planned for a Chase Lancaster in her life, and she is about to find out that this walking contradiction will change her forever.

Genres: New Adult, Romance, Music, College, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Young Adult

260 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 5, 2014

About the author

Erica Cope lives in the Midwest with her husband, three children, three dogs and three cats (she has a thing for the number three).
She has an unhealthy addiction to coffee, a bad habit of binge watching shows on Netflix and eating pretzel M&Ms for breakfast.
When Erica isn't writing you can find her pretending to play her guitar, reading or baking something delicious.

www.ericacope.com

Reviews

[Komal Kant]

Okay, so this is happening! UNFAMILIAR will be released in about a month. Erica Cope (Author of the Lark trilogy and PIECES OF ME) is co-writing the book with me.

Usually, I do a fact thing, right? So, let's do this.

1. Erica came up with the initial outline for the plot. She had already thought up names for the main characters, Chase Lancaster and Hailey Peters.

2. Since UNFAMILIAR is a book that revolves around music, Erica thought it would be a fun idea to have an actual song created for our book. She knew a guy in a band and asked him, and he said yes! Squee!

3. The guy in the band, whose name was coincidentally Chase Petersen, agreed to write a song for us. His pop punk band, Get Busy Living, starting working on a song titled 'Unfamiliar'. Erica and I did a lot of squealing.

4. We even did a custom photo shoot for the cover of the book where Chase from the band got to portray our "book Chase" and Erica's sister portrayed our Hailey. This was also my first trip to the US!

5. As Erica and I began to work on UNFAMILIAR, a real-life love story began to unfold. Maybe we'll write a book about it one day. ;)

[Ash · Rating 4 out of 5]

So.... I am sitting here....trying to think of what to say about this book.

the problem with that is....I have no idea what to say

I keep writing and deleting things. This is a hard review to write, and I am not quite sure why

I really liked this book. After reading the description, I thought this was going to be a cute, lighthearted, easy going and laugh worthy read.

It was....

but it also wasn't

it was also sad, kind of tragic, crazy and beautiful

I will mention its kind of a love triangle if by triangle I meant this girl is so comfortable in her long term high school relationship that she doesn't know what to do when she meets the adventurous Chase...

Its a story of moving forward in life. Starting over. Making changes. I actually really enjoyed this book, and I think people should definitely give it a chance.

also! you know how you read books that have to do with music and you see lyrics from fictional bands that you really really really REALLY wish were non-fictional? There is a song in this book near the end AND ITS A REAL SONG, BY A REAL BAND....If I read it correctly, one of the authors is engaged, or married to one of the band members. I fangirled. LOVE IT!

[Sheryl C. Nash · Rating 5 out of 5]

*4.5 stars*

Sweet and swoonworthy

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (3/19/2020)! 🎁

[Denise Shank · Rating 4 out of 5]

My second favorite from Erica Cope is Unfamiliar. She pairs with Komal Kant to bring the story alive of two unlikely people and their collision into a life so precious they feel undeserving. Once they figure out that happiness is within arms reach and not too late to grab they go for it and allow unfamiliar feelings to become familiar.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a pair these two make! I love the dynamic each author brought to this story and how they were able to build such different, yet such complementary characters. This love story has such an unique and engrossing plot that keeps you wondering if there really will be a happily ever after (SPOILER ALERT: there is)

[Angie]

Great work by this pair!

Another great book by Erica Cope! This is my first experience with Komal Kant but it has made me want to check out more of her work! Unfamiliar grabbed my emotions and held them throughout the story! I love it when a book can make me laugh out loud but also bring tears to me eyes! I'd love to see these two authors pair up again!

[Erica]

UNFAMILIAR just went LIVE! Eek!

[R.A. Krauszer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read

I look forward to being able to read more from this author. Kept me guessing through the whole book how it was going to end.

[ysar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hailey’s life is all about making a plan and sticking to it. It’s how she’s managed to get by since her mother left and her father fell off the wagon, and so far it’s working out just fine. Only she didn’t plan on her boyfriend staying back home while she went off to college, and she didn’t plan on not being able to get into all the classes she wanted. She didn’t plan on having to be partnered with a tattooed slacker in her music composition class, and she certainly didn’t plan on falling in love. Seems all her careful planning has led to the unexpected.

Judging Covers: I admit it. I only picked up this book because of the guy on the cover. For once, a character is portrayed by a guy with gauges and real tattoos, not just some stock photo with Photoshopped tribal shit…although I suspect that skull bit might be Photoshopped, convincing as it may look. In any case, the couple on the cover come across as more genuine than the usual models, like the authors really cared about the perfect portrayal of their characters, and that’s exactly why I decided to give the story a shot.

The Verdict: I was initially a bit put off by the characters’ prejudices. Hailey struck me as a control freak, not a complete snob, but her initial reaction to Chase was enough to have me second guessing my reading choice. His reaction to her was no more redeeming, though I suppose at that point, he was just feeling defensive. Obviously, I stuck it out, though, and within a couple more chapters, I was definitely intrigued. I could understand Hailey’s need to control everything — after all, that’s pretty much the only reason she turned out as well as she did. I could even understand why she stayed with boring Braxton for so long. And a part of me felt really awful for Braxton as well. I mean, they were going through what pretty much every couple does when college puts some distance between them, but with his family situation and the fact that he seemed oblivious to Hailey growing up and away from him, it was just sad.

Now Chase, on the other hand… I really, really liked him, mostly because of the way he would occasionally tease Hailey. It was a fun side that kept him from being some broody rocker guy. However, I did expect him to be a bit edgier than he really was. I mean, the synopsis said he didn’t play by the rules, but aside from being in a band and having some ink, he was pretty straight-laced. He wasn’t a big partier, didn’t skip clases, didn’t really do anything I would call breaking the rules. So yeah, while it was refreshing to read about a tatted up guy that wasn’t a walking stereotype, it wasn’t what I expected.

I was also pleasantly surprised by the way things went down with Braxton. Granted, I kind of wanted to slap Hailey for handling things the way she did, but where it probably would have been easy to throw some ridiculous conflict at them, the whole thing happened more like it happens in real life. People make mistakes, hold on when they should let go, hurt people by trying not to hurt them. It was a nice touch of realism that doesn’t play out in fiction that often.

All in all, it was a really sweet love story, if a bit predictable. But that’s why we read romances, right? We want to see opposites attract and happily ever after play out without too many real-life issues getting in the way. And Unfamiliar delivered that, complete with some miscommunication, a little angst, and a lot of realizing that what people think they want isn’t necessarily what will make them happy. I do wish that the story had gone on a bit longer, but only because it would have been nice to see these two really together for a while instead of just working toward it. I guess that just speaks to how much I enjoyed the story.

[Trudy Spangler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am late to the party on this book. But it was a great quick read. I liked the story between Hailey and Chase. But would have liked it more if Hailey had been decisive on who she wanted.

[E · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you want to know what's better than a new release from your favorite author? A new release from TWO of your favorite authors packed into ONE freaking amazing book!

Let me start off by telling you a little back story (I'll make it short... Kind of). I've always been a reader but these last few years my reading has increased A LOT. I usually search around Amazon and look for my next favorite book. I came across Komal's book Falling for Hadie. Although it is the second book in the With Me series, it can also be read as a stand alone. Saying I fell in love with it is putting it lightly. I was crying like a baby when it ended not only because of the way it ended but because there were no more pages. Needless to say, I became a Komal Kant fan. I followed her Facebook page and she had a contest going one day to win In the Shadows by Erica Cope. It's the second book in the Lark series so I made sure to read Lark first (These books shouldn't be read as stand alones). I was thrown into the world of light and dark Elves and IT. WAS. AWESOME!

Basically, these ladies write amazing books and when I found out they were writing a book together I went fan girl crazy.

With all that said, I had huge expectations for this book but when I started reading, my thoughts on who wrote this amazing story were forgotten temporarily. I was sucked into the lives of Hailey and Chase with no chance at escaping. The characters lives were projected into my mind as a real story unraveling before my eyes. My attention was captured with no hopes of release.

It's a story beautifully told from both Hailey and Chase's perspectives. Hailey is an 18 year old college freshman trying to keep every detail of her life in order even when the realities of her life threaten to deconstruct her carefully put together system she still tries to keep it in control in every way. That is until tattooed muscled hottie Chase comes crashing into her life. At first they can't stand each other, you may even say they hate each other but soon that changes.

Chase is in a pop-punk band and he is a total contradiction. He was raised with his life being lined up for him but he went against the plans his parents set and became who he wanted to be with no cares of his parents wishes.

Overall, I'd say this book is a MUST READ! It exceeded all expectations. You can count on me reading it again.. and again... and probably again and again. The chemistry between the two was captured perfectly. I was laughing and at times getting frustrated. I may or may not have called Chase a douche a few times but he always redeems himself. Hailey definitely has her moments too but as the story comes to wrap up it was all worth it. They are an ideal book couple. They aren't perfect and that's exactly what makes them perfect... If that makes since to you at all.

[John Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Control and familiarity are big parts of Hailey Peters' life. At age nineteen, she's had the same boyfriend for 5 years, puts everything in whatever planner she's currently using and dresses in a way that makes other teens think of her as a junior librarian. She's clueless as to how she comes across to others, especially guys. After all, she has Braxton who is safe, steady and predictable. In addition, his family pretty much adopted her after her mother took off and her father dealt with his feelings of loss by drinking and gambling away the money left for Hailey's education by her late grandmother.
When she heads off to college at a school an hour away, she's obligated to live on campus by the terms of her scholarship. At first Hailey thinks she should focus on a business degree, something that should lead to a safe, secure and predictable job in the future, but she also decides to take a music composition course because deep down, she loves to play piano and guitar as well as sing. On day one of the class, she spots this heavily tattooed and imposing guy. When the instructor assigns a joint song writing project, Hailey freezes momentarily because she's unable to roll with something so new. By the time she snaps back, everyone has paired up except for Chase, the guy whose tats and size intimidated her.
Thus begins an evolutionary journey for both of them. Each is a lot more than they realize, but neither is initially willing to go there. What results is a snarky back and forth while Chase slowly recovers from his cheating ex-girlfriend and Hailey begins to spread her wings. It's by no means easy for either of them and they hurt each other in the process. What happens by the end of the story is both satisfying and really feel-good. This is a very good book for school and public libraries to add if they have teen readers who like spark between characters and really well scripted romantic tension.

[Mackenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unfamiliar was a good read. It wasn't a sweet, heart-warming book. It was really closer to a heartbreaking book until the end but it was a good story that held my interest and the characters were well written and evoked real emotions.

There were a few reviews that I read before reading this book that tore Hailey to shreds for stringing along two guys. Because of these reviews, there was a part of me that expected to be annoyed by Hailey. Honestly, I was at first, but then I started to really think about her situation. She was in the middle of an impossible quandary. No matter what she chose to do, she would hurt people she cared about and feel terrible. I'm not saying she made all the right moves but she made understandable choices in a high-emotion, no-win situation. So I say give the girl a break. Eventually she made her way to the right (though still painful) choices. So basically, it's a good book but go in with a forgiving and understanding heart.

[Justyna · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice and fast read. I didn't like Hailey much but I totally loved Chase. Not sure if that combination would work in a real life, but hell, that's only a story :) And it was great and refreshing that the story had no sex in it. I also have to admit - I think the cover photo is great: frankly speaking - one of the best I had in my hands. Looked so intense and real :)

What I didn't like was:
- Hailey, a stodgy girl with an OCD, playing guitar on stage, using elaborate riffs... hahaha... how convenient she was there and she knew how to play
- forementioned girl falling hard for an unknown piano man and not recognizing him at all because he didn't have his glasses and a tux on... lol
- writing about some serious money problems, yet adding some lines about a new haircut and buying clothes... if I didn't have money I wouldn't hit the store, that's for sure.



Oh, and I almost forgot:

I really liked Get Busy Living's song :)

[Brenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well if being judge-y is something that is a good thing than this book is full of good things. Right off the bat our two main characters hate each other because they are both acting like pretentious assholes. Well Hailey was being pretentious and Chase was being an asshole. Just because some one dresses a certain way or likes a certain type of music does not give anyone the reason to be a jerk. So going further than the first chapter I figured I wasn't going to be too pleased with the rest of the book. Eventually the characters started to loosen me up, but there was a fair amount of beating around the bush, which normally doesn't bug me but in this book it did because it seemed like that was all they did. I kinda enjoyed this book but i wouldn't read it again. It was just a bunch of pointless conflict.

[Stargazer_daydreamer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Such an amazing book. I loved it. I love Chase so much. He is so boyfriend material. He is a passionate, caring, also stubborn kind of guy. I would never let him go or someone like him. Hailey is great and the way she was is understandable but I'm glad she decided to listen to her heart at the end. Tessa and Jonathan were awesome.
I cried when Chase drunk dialled Hailey and told her he's in love with her. That was just too cute and then she hung up like what???!
I love how they didn't even need to sleep together. I only realised they hadn't in the epilogue and still I was in love with them and totally ship them.
I wish there were more pages and wish this wasn't a stand alone book though :(
Oh well, once again I love Chase so much!

[GeorginaTheBookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

WHAT A LITTLE TREASURE THIS BOOK IS! omg omg I loved LOVED this book! I read this in one day because I could not put it down! I was obsessed and I think I still am! xD

this story revolves around Hailey and Chase. Two people that are completely different but are so RIGHT FOR EACH OTHER! you have Hailey, a little stick in the mud kinda snobbish who is comfortable with familiarity and then you have Chase, a musician who is determined to make his band big and live his life according to him! (god im in love with chase btw!) they get paired up for a music project and well you have the making of a pretty epic love story with lots of twists and turns!

I recommend to everyone!

[Veronica Franco · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars for Sure i loved that i could picture the REAL Chase as the fictional one, Komal has been one of my favorite authors since the beginning when i heard that she was partnering with erica was just the Cherry on top.

So lets talk about the book, this is a journey for both parts is about discover who they are, and who they want to be. but is also about accepting what they already are setting the judgement aside... i loved i just wish it had a longer epilogue, because is one of those books that leaves you wanting more...
in a good way

[Julie Reveles (Juls ~ ILST BLOG) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book!! Felt so bad for Chase at times with the way his family treated him but liked that they finally came around! Loved Tessa and Jonathan as friends! Loved Chase! Felt so sad for him at times. He totally brought tears to my eyes at certain parts in this book! Loved how his and Hailey's relationship started! It was too funny how everyone called her a librarian! I did feel bad for Braxton! He was just going through so much that he didn't know how to get control back! So good!! Looking forward to reading more from these authors!

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was familiar with Komal Kant by name only and hadn't heard of Erica Cope before reading this book, so it was interesting to see what the two authors came up with together and I was not disappointed! They came up with a unique and intriguing plot and I didn't want to put the book down. Such a great storyline and characters. I really hope to see another joint effort by these two amazing authors!!

[Nikki Reeves · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a sweet little book. From the moment Hailey and Chase met each other there was insta connection. I loved how their relationship grew over time and how they became closer. I knew from the get go Chase had a little secret! I also love how Hailey finally grew into the girl she should have been instead of just holding back because it was familiar! I recommend this for anyone looking for a cute quick read.

[Jamie Krankota wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprise, Surprise

So this was a book that I downloaded because it was free.
When I read what it was about it sounded cute so I went ahead and clicked on it.
It had been in my library for awhile.

I have to say I'm really glad I did. This was a great story. I found myself always wanting to know what was going to happen.

[Loida · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I'm really giddy with this book. First of all this is a very wholesome one. The story is sweet, cute and I shed a little tear here and there. I could use a longer epilogue though coz I want more of hailey and chase.

[Karessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Book! Great Characters! Great Storyline! Chase and Hailey get partnered up in music class. Their 1st meeting is a little rough...Will they learn not to judge a book by its cover??? You'll have to read to find out!

[Melissa Cheslog · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well written young adult novel. It took me a few chapters to get into the story but I was glad I stuck with it. Very good story about being yourself and finding yourself. The plot moved very smoothly. I would recommend this book to fans of this genre.

[Mihlean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5 stars

It's not that I didn't like this book, not at all. I think it was sweet, but I didn't really LOVE it either, you know?

Sometimes I felt like the fights were a bit pointless, but I still really liked the plot.

[P.A. Warren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! Review to come!

[Purple · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

Put me to sleep.

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

review to come