An Unexpected Kind of Love by Hayden Stone

Narrated by Gary Furlong

When I mentioned Hayden Stone’s début novel, An Unexpected Kind of Love, in our February Picks, I wrote that the romance plotline bears a similarity to that of the movie Notting Hill – a film star and London bookseller fall in love. That much is true – but the situation is a little different here; it’s not a travel bookshop (and it’s in Soho rather than Notting Hill) and the actor is an up-and-comer rather than an established star. It’s a light-hearted listen that benefits considerably from a fantastic performance by Gary Furlong, but the single PoV doesn’t do the story any favours, and the eleventh-hour conflict is not only unconvincing, it doesn’t really go anywhere. I liked the overall tone of the story; the author’s bio says he’s lived in the UK and it shows, because there’s a distinctly British feel to much of the dialogue, but in the end, the book was a disappointment.

Twenty-three-year-old Aubrey Barnes has taken over the running of the small Soho bookshop owned by his mother after ill-health forced her into early retirement. He loves her dearly and is desperate not to let her down, but the place is struggling and the prospect of failure is a continual looming presence. So he’s not too pleased when a guy comes into the shop in order to return a book of poetry he bought a few days ago because, he says, the author’s social media activity has revealed him to be a total dick. The fact that said guy is hotter than the July heatwave – and that Aubrey is strongly attracted to him – just adds to Aubrey’s frustration.

When someone from the film crew working just down the road approaches him about the possibility of using the bookshop for filming, he’s resistant and worried about possible damage and loss of earnings. But the decision is taken out of his hands by his no-nonsense friend and assistant Gemma, who tells them yes; and when Aubrey finds out what they’re offering to pay, he reluctantly agrees to the deal. He goes to the set to hand over the signed contracts, which is where he again meets hot-book-return-guy, Blake Sinclair, one of the actors in the movie. They seem to keep bumping into each other; a literal bump into each other on a coffee run, the returned book and now this… Aubrey for once allows his impulses to gain the upper hand, one thing leads to another, and suddenly he and Blake are on unexpectedly intimate terms. *wink*.

The plot from here on in is pretty much what one would expect, with Blake and Aubrey chatting via text, going on dates, hanging out, making out etc. so I won’t re-hash it. But I did have a number of problems with the book, including a third-act break-up which could easily have been avoided, a ridiculous Grand Gesture near the end and, most damningly, the lack of character development or any real exploration of exactly why Aubrey and Blake fall for each other in the first place.

I liked the first two meet-cutes (the third one is bizarre – a blowjob at 10% in? Really??) and the getting-to-know you phase of their relationship is sweet, but while Aubrey’s personality comes across fairly strongly, we don’t really get to know all that much about him, and Blake is woefully underdeveloped. Aubrey is grumpy, prickly, cynical and sometimes a bit of a complainer, but I liked his snarky attitude and his voice is very authentic. (Although I can’t tell how much of that is down to Gary Furlong, who brings Aubrey to life so perfectly). He’s a bit self-conscious and finds it difficult to accept that someone as gorgeous as Blake could possibly be interested in him, but Blake’s obvious interest and persistence slowly win him round. Blake is sweet (and hot) and clearly cares for Aubrey, but the story really needs his PoV to round out the romance and provide some emotional depth. Some authors are skilled at writing single-PoV stories that flesh out the love interest so we feel we get to know them despite never getting into their heads, but that’s not the case here unfortunately, and as a result, Blake is rather two-dimensional and remains rather distant.

I was also very bothered by the fact that they fail to have one – no, two – very important conversations early on. Not once does Aubrey ask Blake if he’s queer or even if he’s out (and nor does Blake volunteer the information), and not once do they discuss the fact that Blake will be going back home after the filming is wrapped. It’s on Aubrey’s mind for sure, but they never actually talk about what it means for them as a couple. And Aubrey seems to be yet another in a long line of contemporary romance small business owners who has no idea what he’s doing – no business plan, doesn’t have a decent website or do online sales; all he really has going for him is a love of books! Yes, this is fiction, but it’s a common trope in contemporary romances (just think of all those cupcake shops!) when characters somehow run businesses but never seem to do anything vaguely “business-y” or have any business sense.

Finally, I’m getting into spoiler territory so:

It will come as no surprise, then, when I say that the very best thing about An Unexpected Kind of Love is, hands down, the narration. Gary Furlong gets Aubrey’s waspishness to a T and he sounds so natural – and not at all like a character in a book – that I could have imagined having a conversation with him and how his responses would sound. It’s all those little touches – the sighs, splutters and giggles, not all of which are in the text, but which he adds at appropriate points and times perfectly – that go into making a performance that helps paper over some of the cracks in the story and storytelling, and which make it such a treat to listen to. I think it’s also down to him that I liked Blake as much as I did; on paper, he’s bland, but in Mr. Furlong’s expert ‘hands’, he’s warm and funny, confident and attractive. It’s a wonderfully animated and accomplished performance all round and yet more proof, should it be needed, that he’s one of the best romance narrators around.

An Unexpected Kind of Love had a lot of potential, but ultimately failed to deliver. If you’re looking for something light-hearted and the issues I’ve mentioned aren’t ones that worry you, Gary Furlong’s performance alone is worth the price of admission. But even he couldn’t fix the poor characterisation or disguise the stodginess of the middle section and the silliness of the ending.

Caz