Review: His Unexpected Grandchild

I'm not gonna lie, the initial reason I picked up His Unexpected Grandchild by Myra Johnson is because of the word "grandchild."  Even if the couple in this romance were on the young side, chances were more than favorable they were going to be in their 40s (I can't recall if the author actually comes out and says it, but I got the impression they were pushing 50).  Also, I was intrigued by the plot description.

Lane Bromley used to be a hot-shot, up-and-coming lawyer, but after his wife dies he takes their infant daughter, Shannon, and moves into the mountains of Montana to live off the grid. Shannon left home the minute she could and communication with her father has largely been non-existent until she shows up one day with her toddler son, Tate, in tow. She was married and her husband, Steven, died in a motorcycle accident right before Tate was born. Shannon is struggling to the point that she voluntarily commits herself (it's not clearly spelled out, but basically severe depression) leaving Lane to take care of his grandson.

The story opens with Lane dropping by to see one of the local veterinarian's in Missoula, Dr. Julia Frasier. Lane recognizes he's a bit out of his depth, plus having no way to know when Shannon will be "better," he feels it's time to talk to Steven's mother.  One small fly in the ointment, Julia is still grieving and had NO CLUE her son had gotten married, let alone that she had a grandchild.

There are over 2 million children in the United States being raised by grandparents and yet it's something we rarely see addressed in romance novels (probably because we'd then have to read about "old people"). To add more realism to the conflict, Julia is firmly a member of a sandwich generation. She's struggling to keep the family veterinarian practice afloat while her father's health continues to deteriorate and her office manager mother needs to pull back on her work hours. Now she's got a grandson she didn't know existed which just heaps on more stress when she's barely hanging on by her fingernails.

Unfortunately the great conflict is lost in a very flat romance. This is an inspirational romance featuring Eunuch Christians. Lane and Julia immediately start butting heads over what's best for Tate, Lane being able to offer some stability and a work schedule not running him into the ground, and Julia having concerns about how isolated Lane's home is, the man doesn't even have reliable phone service! Somehow when they're not bickering about this (yes, it's understandable bickering) they supposedly catch feelings and fall in love. How? Good question. I have no idea. I can't stress this enough people, just because a story is just-kisses there can and should be tension and chemistry between the romantic couple. There's none of that here.

Since this is an inspirational romance, I want to mention The God Stuff. On my scale of 1 to 10 (1 being squint and it might be there to 10 the author is trying to convert the reader) this is around an 8. Both Lane and Julia have lost their faith but at the drop of a hat they pick it up again leaning in on the whole "God has a plan" thing and prayer. This felt especially jarring with Lane who quite literally moved off the grid after his wife's sudden and tragic death - all of the sudden his mentally ill daughter shows up with a toddler and that has him rushing right back to faith?  Sorry, not buying.

Mix in one rescue dog and Tate who speaks in Romancelandia Plot Moppet and the dynamite conflict just wasn't enough to carry the story as a whole for me. A+ conflict meets a very blah romance.

Final Grade = C-