Unexpectedly Hers
Jamie Beck     
December 2021 Releases

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Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Sterling Canyon
Book: 3
Heat Level: Hot

By day, bashful wallflower Emma Duffy works at her family’s bed-and-breakfast. By night, she secretly pens erotic romance hot enough to melt the snow in their cozy Rockies town.

But Emma’s real life is about to heat up when her mother books the entire inn to a professional snowboarder, hoping the publicity will put them on the map. In a karmic twist of fate, that guest is Wyatt Lawson, the man with whom Emma had shared the secret one-night stand that became the inspiration for her novel and its dreamy hero. Worse, a film crew is documenting his comeback just as her debut is about to hit the shelves. Emma’s only saving grace is that Wyatt doesn’t remember her—and hopefully he never will.

When Wyatt arrives in Sterling Canyon for several weeks of intense training, the last tumble he expects to take is falling for a girl, especially one as shy as Emma. Unlike groupies with their hidden agendas, she isn’t using him—or so he believes…until the film crew uncovers Emma’s pen name and steamy novel.

Wyatt’s comeback run can withstand a fall or two, but can his heart recover from this crash and burn?

Other books in the series:

We first meet Emma Lawson in Accidentally Hers the first book in Jamie Beck’s Sterling Canyon series. Emma was always the “good girl” of her two best friends, Avery and Kelsey. She helps her mother run the family inn and takes food to the care center. But Emma is hiding a secret; one that could turn her whole world upside down. And now that secret just happens to be knocking on her front door in the form of snowboard extraordinaire Wyatt Lawson.

Wyatt stumbled into Sterling Canyon hoping to get his career back on track after taking time off to help his brother recover from a horrific snowboarding accident. He needs to be laser-focused to make the transition from slopestyle to freeriding “big mountain” competitions, especially with a camera crew led by dictatorial journalist Mari documenting his journey back to snowboarding. What he didn’t count on was a distraction in the form of a sweet innkeeper.

I was super excited about this book. With her friends Avery and Kelsey settled down with their fiancées, it was only right that it was Emma’s turn. She was the quiet one who I really admired for being the mediator in her friend group, which was especially hard with two strong personalities like Avery and Kelsey. For me, this book was good. Not stellar, re-read every couple months fantastic, but a good conclusion to the series nonetheless.

Because they already knew each other intimately (even if Wyatt seems a bit remiss in remembering that particular fact), the chemistry between Emma and Wyatt was like a slow simmer that seemed to grow as time passed.

“Wyatt, then. What can I do for you?”

“What are my choices?” His slow smile caused her spine to stiffen as she steeled herself against the empty flirtation. He held up his hands in surrender somehow sensing her discomfort, which embarrassed her. “Just kidding. It’s going to be a long month around here if you don’t relax a little. I don’t bite…unless I’m asked.”

Then, like any good not-watched pot, it turned into a full-grown boil, explosive and hot.

“Emma.” He came right up to her and cupped her face “Stop thinking for a few minutes. Just let go and give me control.”

And just like that, she dropped her shoes to the floor and gave in to his kiss.

Wyatt had a great mouth, with full ips and a very skilled tongue. Within seconds she’d abandoned all sense of right and wrong and let herself melt against him, her arms looping over his shoulders. A fallen woman…but, at the moment, a very happy one.

Whew! Don’t we all just want a Wyatt in our lives to loosen us up every once in a while? He provides some levity and sexual tension to their encounters that Emma refuses to acknowledge due to her secret. However, she had no problem getting involved with Wyatt and his family problems, sometimes in ways that rubbed me the wrong. Granted, her nosiness was just the kick in the pants Wyatt needed to mend some relationships.

Stubborn, thy name is Wyatt. There were points when I just wanted to shake him for not getting his head out of the sand. Shouldering some guilt over his brother Ryder’s accident, Wyatt hopes they can reconnect through the making of the documentary. Because Wyatt was moving at full-speed ahead, it took him a while to come to the realization that maybe being around snowboarding is not what is best for his brother. Their relationship was one filled with lack of communication but ultimately turned out to be one of my favorite parts of the whole book.

Despite my early annoyance with Emma, Jamie Beck did a wonderful job of allowing her to grow throughout the book. It’s not easy going after her dreams when Emma’s mother has constantly told her to make her family proud and not trust men. Considering Emma’s dreams are centered around men, one in particular, it was very difficult for her to learn to fight for what she wants.

Emma and Wyatt’s relationship was by no means easy, but when life hands them a second chance, they stuck to it like a blanket of fresh powder to the ground.    

~ Megan