Something Unexpected: Book 3.1 in the Fake Engagement Collection

by Jenny Rabe

How do you convince a guy you’ve moved on? Follow your ex to a wedding of course!

When Rachel’s bestie needs a wedding date, she enlists her ex for the job, knowing how perfect they are for each other. To ensure this is more than just a setup, she follows them to the big event with an old college friend, Dave.

There’s one thing Rachel didn’t account for – Dave’s crush.

During their week of secret matchmaking, Dave can’t get Rachel out of his head. He tries to bury himself in work and play along as she plays cupids, but he’s too distracted, his feelings for Rachel growing deeper every day.

And he has doubts about her “matchmaking”. She can’t truly be over her ex. Why else would she follow him all week?

To find out who Rachel ends up with and see some familiar faces, read Something Unexpected, Book 3.1 in the Fake Engagement Collection.

140 pages, Paperback

Published July 1, 2021

About the author

After going on over 150 first dates, Jenny has a a wealth of dating experience. She lives with her husband and three kids near the mountains, drawing inspiration from the constant ups and downs of relationships. When she's not writing clean, swoony romances, she's following some other dream to make a difference in the world.

Check out her inspirational romances under the penname of June B. Anderson.

Reviews

[Jessica LC Weller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tropes:
*Fake Relationship
*Fake Engagement
*Grumpy/Sunshine
*Emotional Scars
*Best Friends and Best Friends
*Lovers in Denial

Main characters, Rachel and bestie Christine, and Dave and his best friend/employee Toby are the characters in this novel. Toby still pines for Rachel, though they’ve been broken up for about 6 months. With a wedding in sight for a friend Alexis, Rachel schemes to play matchmaker for ex Toby and Christine with a fake relationship and engagement. Emotions and romantic feelings begin to fire up. Who will end up with whom?

While I didn’t connect with the characters in this novel as much as I have in some of Jenny’s other books, that’s not a bad thing. I have simply enjoyed other books more. I’m still giving this book five stars as it kept my attention, had characters who had depth, included banter and love, and a solid plot. I feel people who enjoy clean and sweet romance will enjoy this book. This book is part of a series.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy Jenny Rabe's writing style. It flows well and makes reading the story easy. There is no having to go back to understand something, and the characters are unique enough to keep straight without any problem.
Rachel shows character growth, but I wasn't crazy about her. She seemed confused about her feelings and manipulative although I think she truly wanted what was best for her friends. Dave was very good-natured about all of Rachel's schemes.
In spite of my hesitations about Rachel, I enjoyed reading Something Unexpected and would recommend it to clean/wholesome romance readers.
I received a complimentary copy and am sharing my opinion of this clean romance.

[Vicki or Dennis Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very well written and edited story that kept my interest. I have not read any other books by this author, so I had no expectations on the characters. You take two guys that are besties and two girls that are the same - start adding in some ex's in there and things just might start to rock the boat. I was literally dumbfounded when the location was Rigby, ID. One of the last places that I would want to live, but to each his own. (I live relatively close to Rigby, so I know the community). This is a sweet and clean romance but seems geared more for YA. I would recommend the book if you like this genre.

I received an ARC copy of this book, but this is my voluntary and honest review.

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sadly, I quickly became bored and disappointed with this book. The plot is almost non-existent and there was very little character development. Rachel is a fickle, immature woman who doesn't know when to walk away from a relationship that wasn't working. Why Dave (or Toby) put up with it is a mystery to me and I found her behaviour toward Toby to verge on emotional abuse. Her continuous inability to walk away and let nature take its course with Toby and Christine drove me crazy as well.

I received an ARC and voluntarily offer this review.

[Tabitha · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading the rest of this series, this book was indeed something unexpected. I enjoyed not knowing it was coming, and then to get a story from another point of view AND some awesome explanations and funny moments, bonus! The love triangle was a little sad but remembering why I liked the other books, and knowing at least how that love story ended, made me excited to finish this one and see how things turned out.
Clean romance, good chemistry, fun humor, weird family but the good kind of awkward mostly haha, and a definite closure on the previous book. Read in order!

[Marilyn Burrows · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent story. It’s two sets of very close friends. The two girls are very different, but have such a close bond. They are almost like sisters. They both are in the beauty business the guys are also close friends. They are in the construction business. They are all friends and begin to notice the other sex differently. Their experiences are heart warming, and sad too. But it’s a fun and funny book

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cute novella. Her best friend needs a date for a wedding. In order to make it happen she has to spend a week working with Dave who is Toby’s best friend. Toby is her ex. Toby is still pining for Rachel and in an effort to hopefully win her back he agrees to fake date her best friend Christine. However, unbeknownst to Rachel (or Toby), Dave has wanted to date Rachel for a while.

Loved this story. Looking forward to reading more details of Christine and Toby’s story in Something Borrowed.

[Shelley Cundick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rachel, the sassy sidekick from Something Borrowed, is taking center stage in this fun novella. This time we get to hear the story from her perspective. A fun, quick read, but definitely read Something Borrowed first.

[Bonny Rambarran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best friends who totally are messed up. They fall in love - with the ones boyfriend. HOW on earth can this turn out good? Be surprised and read this book. An amazing book.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All thoughts and comments are my own.

[Cassandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good read. I didn't connect with it like I have her other reads but still a solid story. Great character development. Like always I love how she makes the characters so real and have depth and not just fairytale like. If you like clean reads you will like this.

[The Swoony Awards]

Eligible for a 2021 Swoony Award, to nominate/vote click here: https://tinyurl.com/y593ce67

[Jeanette · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun read! I love Jenny’s books. They’re perfect when I need a quick, light, romantic read. And it’s CLEAN! Her characters are fun and Rachel is a spunky drama queen. Keep ‘em coming, Jenny!

[Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed how Rachel's interfering with Christina's relationship with Rachel's ex twists and turns. I recommend this story for the young adult reader.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so glad this was written from Rachel and David's pov. I loved this! Such a great story! Loved the characters.

I received an advanced copy of this book and am voluntarily sharing my honest

[Melissa Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you love Hallmark movie, you’ll love this book. It’s a short, easy read that will keep you turning those pages. Hallmark needs to hire the author to write their movie scripts.