Review: UnWritten by Chelsea Cameron

UnWritten
Chelsea Cameron
Release: July 10, 2014
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Children's librarian by day. Romance novelist by night.
British single father.
Someone else is writing this love story...

Blair Walton isn't your average curvaceous tattooed children's librarian. She's also one half of bestselling romance author, Scarlet Rose. Along with her BFF Raine, she spends her nights writing books so steamy, she's afraid they would shock her Southern conservative grandmother to death . . . if she knew about them. That's why she and Raine write in secret.

On deadline for their latest book and out of ideas, Raine suggests (demands) that Blair find a guy and "do some research". Declan Bennet has all the qualifications: He's British, looks fabulous in a suit, has glorious blue eyes and gets bonus points for being an amazing single dad to his adorable son, Drake. But what starts out as a research project quickly turns into something much more. And Blair's not the only one with secrets.

Review by Goldilox:

Unwritten is a sometimes funny, sometimes steamy, always entertaining contemporary romance from author Chelsea Cameron. This one is a standalone, so readers looking for something quick and fun with no 'series commitment' will especially appreciate it. Although there are definitely a few emotional moments in the book, UnWritten remains mostly a lighter read.

The main character here is Blair, a children's librarian who is covered in tattoos. Everything about Blair is a juxtaposition and she felt like a fresh character. She writes romance novels with her best friend, Raine, and their relationship was a very realistic and relatable friendship. They felt like they could be real people to me, joking with each other like real best friends do, nagging each other, teasing each other, and being very blunt with each other. Their chemistry was almost as great as Blair's chemistry with the love interest, Declan.

Declan is hot, blond, and British. And his version of bringing Blair 'flowers' was absolutely genius. Let me just say for anyone who is trying to woo a book lover: read this book, steal this idea. Declan and Blair's relationship was a sexy and steamy romp that was explicit enough to be hot but not so much to cross out of the contemporary romance genre. I personally could have used a *little* more explicitness and still not been scandalized, but that's just me! I wish Declan had been developed a little more though. Blair and even Raine were very full, round characters to me and I wanted a little more from not only Declan, but he and Blair's relationship as it progressed. His young son Drake was written really well, totally adorable and lovable and still true to how a real child his age might act.

One of the aspects of this book that I found really intriguing was the inside look readers get at Blair and Raine's life as writers. In fact, UnWritten feels almost like a love letter to authors, reviewers, bloggers, book obsessors, and the like. All of the comments made between Blair and Raine during their writing process felt very "inside knowledge", like the reader would fully understand the terms and the process. That, along with the fun contemporary references sprinkled throughout made this book feel very modern.

UnWritten is a fabulous standalone romance for lovers of contemporary. It would make a great beach read or a good palate cleanser between heavier books. I don't always enjoy lighter reads because they often lack substance, but UnWritten is solid and realistic, with enough emotional punches to the gut to be taken seriously. Highly recommend to lovers of modern romance!

Recommended for fans of: tattoos, classic children's books, British men, contemporary romance, hotel sex, adorable kids, and writing/reviewing books.

This review is based on an advance copy of the book provided by the author.

    

  4 / 5 stars