Novel Review: The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance; Family, Friendship

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Release Date: May 3, 2016

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Teaser Tuesday. Wishlist Thursday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Andie had it all planned out.

When you are a politician’s daughter who’s pretty much raised yourself, you learn everything can be planned or spun, or both. Especially your future.

Important internship? Check.

Amazing friends? Check.

Guys? Check (as long as we’re talking no more than three weeks)

But that was before the scandal. Before having to be in the same house with her dad. Before walking an insane number of dogs. That was before Clark and those few months that might change her whole life.

Because here’s the thing - if everything's planned out, you can never find the unexpected.

And where’s the fun in that?

The Cover:

I really like the cover. I think it fits the book and the setting quite well, and I appreciate that the dogs are an important part of the book. It would catch my eye. Plus, the back cover, and the inside of the dust cover have different images, and I really like that.

Review:

Of course, I enjoyed this book. It took me a while to read, but it still pulled me back in every time I picked it up. A very fun read.

In the beginning, Andie is a little bit unlikable, with how set in her ways she is. How she treats boys, and how controlling she can be. She didn’t bother me too much, aside from a few of her choices in the later half, but she learned a lot by the end, and I believed it.

I didn’t expect the father-daughter relationship that was in this book, given the synopsis made me think he would be a much worse person. And he has his faults. But he’s also a great dad, and the close relationship those two re-form in this book was so enjoyable. They get along really well, and it was really fun to see their banter.

Andie also has a very close group of girl friends, and they are all there for each other in an instant. The conflict that happens there, while sad, is realistic and understandable. Sad, but it makes sense to me. They were still a lot of fun to read, their interactions and banter a lot of fun. Andie’s best friend and her boyfriend were also a solid couple through this entire novel, and they seemed the type that had met early and would be together until late in life. I really liked seeing that.

Now, the romance. Andie meets Clark, who is awkward and shy, but who turns out to be a best-selling fantasy novelist. And he’s great, I love Clark. The chemistry between the two was slow at times, but it was still very sweet, and I loved them. He fits in with her friends really well, and I enjoyed the bromance he formed with the other guy in the group. I love the honesty among the group, how certain ones had certain people they would go to to talk with.

There was also a second boy, a guy who Andie had fooled around with from time to time, and I thought drama would be caused because of it. I was pleasantly surprised when not only was there not drama, but that the other guy reacted really well. It makes me want to know more about him. I want him to have a book.

This was a lot of fun to read. Her books are always a joy, and I will be picking up anything she releases next.