Book Nerd: Unexpectedly His by Maggie Kelley

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Unexpectedly His by Maggie Kelley

I am a proud owner of a first-generation iPod, the original, clunky white one with the scroll wheel. Yeah, that’s me. My husband surprised me with it one afternoon years ago, and I still consider it one of the sweetest, most romantic gifts I’ve ever received. The music of my life is in there. My parents’ anniversary party playlist, one for my newborn baby, there’s even a list for a cross-country road trip.

Every story, every life, has a soundtrack...and while I couldn’t begin to share every song housed in my first-gen player, I can share some of the songs that inspired me as I was Unexpectedly His. Yeah, got a playlist for that, too. Here’s a peek.

1. Happy Birthday –Marilyn Monroe. Okay, this one is easy peasy. For me, Marilyn—sweet, vulnerable, insecure, sexy, maybe even a little sad—captured Marianne perfectly. Once I latched onto that idea, I ran with it.

2. Iggy Azalea - Trouble featuring Jennifer Hudson. Yes, I saw this for the first time on American Idol (I’m sorry, but yes, I watched it) and the song absolutely encapsulated how MA felt about Nick. Sure, he’s trouble—arrogant, presumptuous trouble—but red flags can be a good sign, right?

3. Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk and Runaway Baby. Totally Nick as a player, and I am in love with Bruno Mars. Crazy, crazy talented.

4. Mr. Wrong – Cracker. A great band and the lyric, “Baby, come and spend some time with Mr. Wrong” spoke to me. For Marianne, Nick Wright was totally wrong. Except that he was totally right. ;)

5. All Shook Up and A Little Less Conversation- Elvis. A Little Less Conversation is used in the casino scene and it fits so perfectly that I laughed aloud every time I read it…a girl’s gotta get her kicks somewhere, right?

6. Classic – MKTO. I heard this song on the radio during a road trip. It was the first song on the playlist and absolutely how I think Nick sees MA. She’s a classic. In the book he describes her as a girl who didn’t need to “dream of something better. This girl was better.” As soon I heard this song, I knew that’s how Nick felt about her.

7. True Colors – the Phil Collins version. MA needs to embrace her true colors and no song offers that message as eloquently as this Cyndi Lauper tune—especially when Phil Collins sings it.

8. That’s the Way Love Goes – Janet Jackson. Sexxaayy

9. Let Love Rule – Lenny Kravitz. This is what MA learns to do, and yes, Kravitz.

10. Ain’t No Sunshine – Bill Withers

11. Somewhere Over the Rainbow – Eva Cassidy. Both these songs bring to mind Nick’s feeling about his home without MA. And there were many references to the ruby shoes and home and dreams…and oh, Eva Cassidy had so much emotion in her voice. Beautiful.

12. Ed Sheeran’s X Album. Because he is Ed Sheeran, all modern romance in a red-headed package. His video for Thinking Out Loud? Swoon. Town.

BIO

After ten years of survival, aka working, in Hollywood, this former actress and current author of sexy contemporary romance is living happily-ever-after in Pittsburgh with her longtime sweetie, and their two punky kids. When not carpooling to birthday parties or testing her gourmet cooking skills by throwing a frozen pizza into the oven, Maggie daydreams about sneaking off to Vegas or Napa, or even just the movies. A love of red wine, Italian food, and music round out her list of life's greatest joys. Oh, and Tuesday night karaoke, totally underrated fun.

BLURB

A match made in Manhattan...
By-the-book Marianne McBride wants to prove she's more than a computer geek in a pair of horn-rimmed glasses. But how did she end up hiding in a cake, waiting to sing "Happy Birthday" to Nick Wright, a sexy and arrogant serial-dater? Not exactly part of her plan. Especially when she finds herself kissing the birthday boy, and then running like hell...
Nick falls for no woman. No strings, no commitments, and no relationships. Not even with the sweetly curvaceous bombshell from his birthday. But then he's hit by a bombshell of his own. He needs to find the perfect faux fiancée, or kiss his key to the executive washroom goodbye. Fortunately, his matchmaker sister has the perfect girl in mind.
Now Nick and Marianne have to pretend they're in love for six weeks. No dating. No sex.
And definitely no acting on the wickedly-hot chemistry that could ruin everything...

INFO