Unpredictable is a breath of fresh air- a charming, low drama love story about two people who find their soulmate when they least expect it.. This book is like a big chunk of yummy cotton candy, voluminous and filling, yet light and fluffy, sweet and tasty, and it goes down easy.
After reading the beginning, you might be worried this book might be a bit more tragic and dramatic than it actually is- as we quickly discover our heroine, Juliana, is mourning the (likely) death of her missing fiance. We immediately sense her sadness, the hollow impact of grief- and that she’s working herself too hard as a way to avoid confronting her own unhappiness. Shortly after, we encounter Harrison- the former NLF player and color commentator who learns his daughter is engaged, and his reaction is less than ideal. An unpredictable moment in time brings Harrison and Juliana together in a steamy one-night stand but sweet, and while they both feel there is something there, Juliana is struggling that this is her first sexual encounter since losing her fiance, and Harrison isn’t interested in pursuing something when Juliana is hung-up on the mysterious Ryan. Again, unpredictable life intervenes- their paths cross professionally as Juliana is hired to plan Harrison’s daughter’s wedding, who coyly throws them together to do much of the work. And, after spending some time together, they decide to explore this relationship. Her connection with Harrison not only pushes Julia to confront her own unhappiness, to reawaken her desire to truly live, but it also inspires her to start to do some of the hard grief work of moving on- and the decisions she’ll need to make to truly do that. And, for Harrison, he learns to embrace love again.
For a book that has some mainstream tropes, Jenna really avoids actually playing into them- and I found this so refreshing and authentic. While the baggage of our character is acknowledged, the focus isn’t on grief, or guilt, or the taboo of the age gap at all. We have an age gap relationship that despite a few casual mentions of their age difference isn’t actually taboo or an issue to anyone. We have a mourning character/second chance story that really doesn’t focus much on the past relationship and the “moving” on aspect is acknowledged but not overly agonizing. We have a secret/forbidden spin as our couple hides their relationship from others, his daughter in particular- yet this doesn’t backfire. We have two characters burned by love, unopened to relationships, yet they quickly let this go as their relationships blossoms. Even at the end when I feared this was gonna go hard drama, it didn’t. The tropes are reduced to mere circumstance, plot contrivances aren’t needed- because Jenna just lets this charming relationship shine.
The drama is pretty low all around- we have a few heated moments, but for the most part, the love story develops as a leisurely place without a lot of heavy obstacles or emotional roadblocks. I haven’t read the other books, so I found some of the friend chapters to be less interesting and to slow down the book a bit for me- but only because I don’t know those characters or their story (you don’t need to)- but I did find Juliana’s friendships to be great. Kudos for showing empowering and supportive female friendships! And Harrison’s relationship with his daughter made me fall even more in love with him- and was the best way to develop his characters.
But the star relationship, of course, is Harrison and Juliana. I loved Juliana- her vulnerability, strength, willingness to confront her feelings. And Harrison is almost too good to be true- in fact, there were times I felt like we weren’t getting as much depth from him as Juliana, not exploring his emotional psyche as much. That’s okay- I still adored him- he’s kind, supportive, open. The chemistry here is just so refreshingly sweet and mature - yes, there is fire- but there is more so sensitivity, communication, authentic connection, tender care. The relationship is just so damn healthy and supportive- so charming and sweet.
I truly enjoyed nomming on this sweet as candy story, my first Jenna Hartley read but certainly won't be my last. Sometimes you just need a romance that is smooth, sweet, joyful even. Jenna delivers on all those fronts.