TLC Book Tours Book Review: The Great Unexpected

About The Great Unexpected

Hardcover: 384 Pages

Publisher: Park Row; Original edition (June 25, 2019)

A curmudgeon and his eccentric new roommate join together to plan an epic escape in this charming, poignant tale.

Joel lives in a nursing home, and he’s not one bit happy about it. He hates being told when to eat, when to sleep, when to take his pills. He’s fed up with life and begins to plan a way out when his new roommate, a retired soap opera actor named Frank, moves in and turns the nursing-home community upside down.

Though the two men couldn’t be more opposite, a fast friendship is formed when Frank is the only one who listens to and stands up for Joel. When he tells Frank about his burgeoning plan, they embark together on a mission to find the perfect escape, and along the way will discover that it’s never too late for new beginnings.

Filled with colorful characters, sparkling humor and deep emotion, The Great Unexpected is the story of friendship, finding oneself later in life and experiencing newfound joy in the most unexpected places.

Purchase Links

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Review:  There are books that some people shouldn't read. This probably was one I should have said no too, but I'm glad I didn't.

I mean it is about 2 guys in a nursing home.

That was the hard part for me, coming off 10 years of caregiving for my parents. Most books that have death in them right now trigger some pretty ugly emotions in me.

This book triggered them a lot, but it also made me laugh too. I have to admit while reading this, I wondered what kind of nursing home these guys lived in. I never personally dealt with any but most I know of here in the US don't have a revolving door of roommates, especially if its more of an assisted living facility over a full time care home.

I loved the premise of this story that was both sad and joyful, but reality always made me creep in with questions, especially about Joel.  Why didn't they let Joel leave if he only had a mini stroke? Gordon Lightfoot had one and he still tours extensively. The caregiver in me though was always questioning.

Frank and Joel are two characters that will stick with you.  They are compared to "the odd couple" and in some ways I can see that. They were definitely foils for one another. The both needed each other, or at least Joel needed Frank. There's was a friendship born out of need.

The best part of that friendship is the unlikeliness of it. These men are from opposite ends of the spectrum. Joel a family man and former mechanic and Frank an actor that happens to be gay.  Yet for some reason they become friends, good friends. 

These two men were amazing characters and so was this story. It was full of the feels for me and was definitely worth time spent reading it.

The ending however will take your heart..toss it on the floor and trod on it.

Rating: 5 flowers

About Dan Mooney

Dan Mooney is an amateur filmmaker and air traffic controller, and a friend to many cats. He wrote his first piece of fiction for a child-operated local newspaper at age ten and has been writing ever since. He lives in Ireland.

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