My Unexpected Serenity – Harlow James ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Harlow James has done it again, creating a world that you have no choice but to become invested in. My Unexpected Serenity is book one in her new series, California Billionaires, and Shayla and Wes’s story of accepting your past mistakes and learning to open your heart to others kicks it all off with a bang.
Wes is trying his best to make up for his past mistakes, running his family’s billion-dollar hotel empire and fighting his demons on the side, means there is no space for a woman in his life. Until he runs into Shayla, quite literally, a woman he can’t escape from and is everything he’s not used to from women in his world. Shayla has been brought up by a mother who is adamant a woman cannot be happy without a man, and she’s determined to prove her wrong. When handsome Wes asks her out, she’s hesitant, because despite their attraction, she knows that he could be the one man who could hurt her the most, if she gave him that power. But Wes proves that he’s just as anxious about a relationship as she is, and together they slowly enter into the world of love together. But Wes has been keeping secrets, something Shayla doesn’t deal well with, so how will she react when they are revealed?
Wes’s strength was underneath the surface, he was quiet but when you got his possessive side, it was like a whole different person. His past is hinted at throughout, giving glimpses as to why he is so worried about opening up to a woman, but my heart broke when it was all revealed. I felt for him, because he was learning from his mistakes but was constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop, and for everything to fall apart. He kept his secrets hidden for understandable reasons, living in the limelight is bad enough without a difficult past, but he knew that it could ruin everything if he told Shayla, which is why he kept them for so long. But he loved Shayla hard, he saw what he wanted and went after it, for once fighting for something he wanted after so long pushing that to one side.
Shayla’s tenacity and feistiness were one of my favourite things about her. At no point did she bow down to the elite world Wes was a part of, and the minute it looked like he was trying to win her over with materialistic items, she called him out on it. She was honest with him from the start, telling him why she was so hesitant about starting a relationship but also how much different he was to every other man she’d met, which is why she gave him a chance. I loved her determination to work hard for her future, never letting anyone, especially her mother, derail her plans. Her friendship with Chloe was brilliant, the exact person she needed in any scenario, to be a shoulder to cry on or to give her a push to go after what she wanted. Shayla fell for Wes deeply, because he taught her how to trust someone other than herself or Chloe, and rely on someone to be there for her, when for so long it was just her.
Set in the beautiful town of Santa Barbara, Harlow brought his world to life in a way only she could. I felt like I was hiking with Wes and Shayla in the mountains, running along the beaches and going for ice cream with them, it all felt so real. I cannot stress to you enough how much I loved these secondary characters. Hayes, Waverly, Chloe and even the mysterious Silas, they all contributed something to the plot, and I need more from Hayes asap, he was the perfect opposite to Wes’s seriousness, his jokes and banter with Waverley made me laugh out loud often in scenes with him in. I am hoping we see more from Chloe as the series progresses too! Harlow knows how to intrigue you from book one as to who the rest of the series will be about, and after the bombshell at the end, I am going to be on waiting on the edge of my seat until book 2 is released.
My Unexpected Serenity is my favourite standalone by Harlow that I’ve read so far, these characters were so real, and I just wanted to dive into their group and become friends with them all. Harlow has set up this series so perfectly, leaving breadcrumbs throughout as to who the future couples will be, but also making you feel for Wes and Shayla in different ways. An incredible start to the California Billionaires series!
Thank you so much to Harlow James for the advanced copy of My Unexpected Serenity, I can’t wait for whatever’s next! Click the cover below to buy on Amazon or read for FREE on Kindle Unlimited.
My Unexpected Serenity, book one in all new California Billionaire romance series from Harlow James, is LIVE and FREE to read in KU!!
What to expect:
Broken and Swoony Billionaire ☑
Sassy and Independent Heroine☑
Hilarious Best Friends ☑
Poignant and Captivating story☑
All the California vibes ☑
An ending that will have you dying for the next couple in the series ☑
Get ready for a billionaire romance that packs the laughs, emotion, and of course, the heat!
BLURB
I sent her a basket of cheese. But in my defense, it was gourmet cheese… you know, the expensive stuff.
How did Wesley Morgan, hotel billionaire and recovering alcoholic, end up sending a woman a basket of cheese?
Well, it was only one of two morsels of information I knew about Shayla Mitchel that I thought would get her attention.
The bartender across the dimly lit club took me by surprise the moment I saw her, but then I ran into her twice more upon my return to Santa Barbara, California, and that’s when I knew I didn’t stand a chance.
You see, I never expected Shayla. I was on a mission to correct my mistakes and make amends for the choices I made over six years ago, and then we crossed paths and turned down a road we both never saw coming.
And of course I couldn’t fall head-over-heels for an easy woman.
No.
I had to be drawn to the sass and poise of a girl who doesn’t believe in love, at least the kind that comes from a man like me.
Now she’s all I can think about. All I never knew I needed. But she’s putting up a fight and testing us both.
Can I convince her to let me in? Can I convince myself that we both deserve happiness?
But most importantly, can I convince her that sometimes good people can cause irreparable harm before they can cultivate good?
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