Love, Unexpectedly by Susan Fox

In Susan Fox's Wild Ride to Love Series each book is about one of the four Fallon sisters adventures in love as they make their way to the youngest sister's wedding. I did not read the first book in the series, Sex Drive (the author published this book under the name Susan Lyons),  and it didn't seem to affect the storyline or experience for me. I  found this series online through my library and had no idea that it was  erotically comparable to 50 Shades of Grey {Perhaps if I had  known the title of the first book when I started reading! You can  imagine my surprise when I figured it out!}. Since each book can stand on its own, I reviewed them separately:

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Love, Unexpectedly {Book 2} -  Kat Fallon is a boutique hotel event  planner and easily seduced by flashy men with interesting careers and  superficial looks. Her boy-next-door neighbor, Nav, is head over heels  in love with her but can't seem to get out of the best friends  territory, nor does this photographer have the swagger Kat ordinarily  falls for. When Kat asks Nav to be her date to her sister's wedding, Nav  gains the courage to break out of the friend zone by surprising Kat on  her 4 day train ride home, posing as strangers. While Nav forces Kat to  see him in a different light, the anonymity of train travel helps both  of them open up and learn things about each other and themselves that  they hadn't previously considered.

Although  the premise of the story is a little cheesy, Fox does a good job of  making Kat and Nav's role playing on the train believable without  seeming too ridiculous. Nav's physical transformation parallels the  internal transformation of Kat as she learns how superficial and self  absorbed she can be with people {men as well as her sisters}. While it  would be easy to think of Kat as a shallow protagonist, somehow Fox  conveys her as naive and more self-absorbed than selfish. Once Kat  realizes how narrow-minded she has been, she tries to change her thought  processes and reacts more considerately. This allows the reader to see  her in a much more admirable light.

While  I can say a lot of nice things about this novel, it wasn't necessarily  life changing. A lot of it was long and drawn out where it could have  been much more concise. There are some great messages about being open  minded and avoiding superficiality, but not enough depth to make the  book a favorite. I was most disappointed with the end and how quickly  loose ends were tied up. There could have been more time spent on the  conclusion and less time spent on the chase.

Bottom Line: This is a cute love story that you might enjoy if  the premise sounds interesting to you. The characters aren't as  glamorous as those in 50 Shades of Grey, but the story is more realistic. ★★★/5

Next week's review: His, Unexpectedly by Susan Fox