by Becky (link)
Genre het, romance, drama
Pairings Isaac/Nikki, Taylor/OFC, Zac/Kate
Length prologue and 20 chapters (in parts)
Status Completed
I had seen mixed reviews of this story before I finally found time to sit down and read it; in fact, when I originally edited the first few chapters for Becky, I had somewhat mixed feelings about it. Unexpected Beautiful seems to never be quite sure if it’s a romance or not, and in the end, I’m not so sure about it, either.
The story begins as the ultimate fangirl fantasy–a fan travels to Tulsa solo, begins to fall in love with the city, and stumbles into Taylor’s path (with a little help from a cute Tulsa native who doesn’t realize the girl he’s just met is a fan). That setup is a little too cheesy for me, and the main character comes off as too much of a self insert, too. However, I think that cheesiness is part of the plot. We’re meant to think this is all of our dreams come true, but if we keep reading, we’ll see why it isn’t at all.
Finally, the foreshadowing that Becky has crammed into practically every chapter begins to come true. The cracks in Taylor’s lies begin to show, and eventually the truth comes out. With all that foreshadowing, the reveal isn’t exactly shocking, and I feel like Becky could have leaned even more into just how dysfunctional Taylor is. I am all for stories about dysfunctional, toxic characters, and Unexpected Beautiful seems to stop just short of really satisfying that need.
In the end, it feels like I’ve read bits of several different stories. There’s romance, dysfunction, hints of a deeper and darker backstory, attempts at framing the story as being written by the main character and even a bit of romance with an original character. In such a short story, set over the course of just two weeks, none of those elements quite get the attention they deserve, but it can’t be denied that Becky has some unique ideas that beg to be told.
Review by Bethany (website)