Review: A Brit Unexpected by Brenda St John Brown

A Brit Unexpected by Brenda St John Brown
Series: Castle Calder #2
Published: April 10th, 2017
Publisher: Self-published
250 pages (eARC)
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Acquired this book: From the author in exchange for honest consideration
Warning: May contain spoilers
{GoodReads || Buy this book: Amazon US ~ Canada || Chapters/Indigo} 

How do you know when a fake relationship turns into a real one? #AskingForAFriend

Claire is not:
- A natural athlete
- Very good with mornings
- Greyson Vaughn’s real girlfriend

But she pretends to be his girlfriend on television. And Twitter. And the gossip websites that question Every. Single. Thing. about his movie star existence. Including the question on everyone’s lips — #WhosThatGirl?

Enlisted by her grandmother to act as Greyson’s “mysterious English girlfriend” during a weekend at Castle Calder, Claire agrees to help the Hollywood hottie combat rumors of stalking his pop-star ex. She needs a distraction — from grad school, bills and her dull-as-dishwater love life — and, well, it’s only for a weekend.

Until Greyson asks her to continue the ruse through his upcoming London premiere. And another trip to Castle Calder for a sexy weekend escape. Where there are no cameras and no reporters. Nothing but the two of them and a “fake” relationship that’s starting to feel very, very real.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in the Castle Castle series, A Brit on the Side. I loved Bea and Jasper, plus the story made me wish I knew a family like the St Juliens and could visit/stay at a place like Castle Calder. I was excited to return to Castle Calder in A Brit Unexpected. I’m happy to say I loved this standalone companion even more than the first book.

After his high-profile ex-girlfriend starts spreading falsehoods about Greyson that could hurt his career, both he and Claire get roped into a fake dating scheme in an attempt to help Greyson’s public image. What starts off as a wary, tentative arrangement quickly turns into something more.

I really loved these two. Claire had a great voice; she’s relatable, and her inner monologue was hilarious. I especially loved the creative (very British) expletives and alternatives. I’ve always had celebrity crushes and imagined what it would be like to date this actor or that singer, so this book appealed to me on that level, but it was more than that. Without being full of angst like a lot of books with a similar premise, it was a relatable story about two people who had reservations and made mistakes, but grew separately and together. Because Claire and Greyson seemed so real, it made them easy to root for.

I think one of the things that made this book so unique is the fact Claire is British, when usually these types of books feature American girls, who often view celebrities differently. I’ve heard countless times that Brits don’t get as star-struck as North Americans do (like, for instance, I know I’d make a complete fool of myself if I even met a celebrity crush, let alone got to date them...there would likely be tears and babbling and redder-than-a-tomato blushing). A lot of Brits are like *oh there’s Benedict Cumberbatch on the tube, no big deal* or *I just passed Tom Hiddleston walking down the street, how cool* whereas North American girls would be more likely to do a scream-faint-stalk combo. So I loved that while Claire had her moments of fangirling and being awe-struck by Greyson, she wasn’t the fall-all-over-yourself fangirl. Also, a lot of ‘real person dates a celeb’ stories have endless drama and ‘but other girls are so much prettier, why would he date me?’ and constant thoughts about the celebrity’s status. There was very little of that in A Brit Unexpected, which was refreshing. A Brit Unexpected is an absolute delight. Fast-paced, funny, and sexy, this book is a refreshing change from the norm. It’ll definitely be one I recommend often to people looking for a well-written, engaging romantic comedy. 

A Brit Unexpected is an absolute delight. Fast-paced, funny, and sexy, this book is a refreshing change from the norm. It’ll definitely be one I recommend often to people looking for a well-written, engaging romantic comedy.

Buy A Brit on the Side: Amazon US ~ Canada || Chapters

Read my review of A Brit on the Side

Have you read A Brit Unexpected? What did you think? If you haven't read it, do you plan to? If you could go on a date with any celebrity, who would it be?

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