Unzipped

Lauren Blakely

Lauren Blakely Books

About this ebook

Wanted: Dating coach to help hot nerd win back the woman of his dreams...

Picture this - I’m ready to win back the love of my life, and I’m going big this time. We’re talking boom box, sing her name in the rain, let the whole damn neighborhood know I'm good and ready this time around. After all, if you're going to grand gesture the ever-loving hell out of a second chance, you need to pull out all the stops.

There’s only one little problem.

My college girlfriend isn't the one who shows up when I play my "I'll do anything to win you back" tune.

The woman who flings open the second-floor window tells me my ex doesn’t live here anymore. But she'll help me win her back. Anything for romance, anything for a guy so willing to go big for love. And that's what I want at first. Until I get to know my new “romance coach” and discover she’s funny, clever, and keeps me on my toes. And boy, do I ever need that.

Now I don't want to win anyone else’s heart. I want the woman who's been helping me all along.

Trouble is - she thinks I'm in love with someone else, and when we take off on a road trip, everything I think I know about women is about to be unzipped and turned inside out.

*Unzipped is a standalone spinoff in the Lucky in Love series of standalones*

 

Ratings and reviews

A clueless romantic and a flirty script writer. The makings of a HEA! UnZipped by Lauren Blakely was an honest to god, feel good, loved every moment of it story. It’s the 'meet-cute’ to end all ‘meet-cutes’. So simple and yet so darned funny!! Kyler Sutcliffe, or Tom as he comes to be know as, is at an impasse in his life. He thinks he lost ‘the one’ way back in college when he way unceremoniously dumped by Cassie, his then girlfriend. Now, eight years later, he’s done what she suggested back then. He’s got his act together, he’s got a great job that he loves and all is right in his world. Except for that one thing. He doesn’t have the girl. But, he’s determined to change all that. He knows where she lives and he’s got a plan to win her back. Go big or go home! Is his motto and that’s what he sets out to do. He’s gonna wow her back into his life and himself back into her heart. He’s got ‘the song’, he’s got the boom box and… After singing his heart out, he discovers that Cassie isn’t even home. Infact, he’s at the wrong house entirely. Finley Barker, loves comedy. She lives and writes it, and sees the funny side in everything. It’s her world, but that world is hanging out by the edge of its teeth! So, when a priceless piece of comedic genius falls into her lap by way of Tom, she knows just what to do. This guy is hopeless in love and she is determined to set him straight. Lessons in how to be the perfect boyfriend, a road trip with stops along the way, fun, laughter and a montage of movie scenes expressing their feeling and Tom and Finley don’t know where pretend ends and reality takes over. Will they side off into the sunset together or will the be forever searching for their missing half? Gosh, I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed this book. It was super, super good and so much fan to read. A humorous, delightful warm-hearted story from start to finish.

Audio review The audio book is narrated by Andie Arndt and Joe Arden, who did a great job. I particularly liked Joe’s performance of the hapless and clueless Kyler (Tom). The camaraderie and banter between Tom and his brothers gave me quite a few laughs. Both Andi and Joe gave light hearted performances that complemented the story. After an excessive “grand” gesture to get the woman Kyler believes he is in love with goes embarrassingly wrong, he meets and becomes friends with Finley. They bond over having unusual names and in fact she decides to use his middle name Tom, instead of Kyler. Tom is clueless as to what happened with his college girlfriend and took her comments to heart and changed his life. Now he believes it is time to seek her out and let her know he has changed and is ready for love. Finley can see he has no clue what he is doing and so she offers to help him achieve his objectives. Finley is a comedy writer, who enlists Tom as a sounding board/muse and writes some TV episodes based on Tom’s journey. It soon becomes apparent that Tom and Finley share more in common than just roller coasters and film quotes. The connection between Tom and Finley was at times cringe worthy but some of their conversations had me in tears of laughter. These two are meant to be. I was intrigued by the premise of this story and it was as I expected, sweet, charming and a little predictable. Certainly worth a read or a listen too as it will be a smile to your face.

My favourite heroines are the quirky adorable type that totally embrace their brand of crazy 😍 It’s the type I admire the most and want to be; so as you can imagine I totally and utterly adore Finley. Cute and sassy, Finley embraces life and positivity, her dream to make people smile via her writing. She has a situational comedy on a network that is her literary baby; only it is hanging on by a thread and Finley is struggling to find a new direction to take her characters. Enter Tom aka Kyler, who has come in search of his first love in order to feel the connection he had with her and hasn’t been able to replicate since. Having lost his mother at a young age, his romantic references come from 3 older brothers and cheesy ’80s rom-coms. His mindset on the grand gesture to win the girl only it doesn’t go quite to plan when he encounters Finley rather than his ex, Cassie. The events following their hilarious first encounter include a lot of cheesy movie quotes, hilarious female comedians and a fast fall for both of them. Unzipped played out like a sit-com in my head; imagine a Ross and Rachel scenario with the will they won’t they along the way. The only problem is Finley’s previous relationship ended due to the feelings her ex harboured for his ex. Top that off with her initial encounter with Tom being in pursuit of another woman and you can’t help but understand Finley’s incapability to comprehend Tom’s feelings for her. There is a wonderful cast of peripheral characters that in true Lauren Blakely style you want each and every individual story and there are a few plot threads open within Unzipped which would allow the possibility to become reality. From road trips to roller coasters, Unzipped is a thrill ride of swoon.

About the author

A #1 New York Times Bestselling author, and #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling author, Lauren Blakely is known for her contemporary romance style that's hot, sweet and sexy. She lives in California with her family and has plotted entire novels while walking her dogs. With fourteen New York Times bestsellers, her titles have appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestseller Lists more than 100 times, and she's sold more than 2.5 million books. In December  she'll release UNZIPPED, a sexy new standalone romance. To receive an email when Lauren releases a new book, sign up for her newsletter! laurenblakely.com/newsletter