“What I Never Expected” by Jennifer Archer
A Women’s Fiction Novel About Love and Family
“Even though there were difficulties for the main characters, the love in this family came off of the pages. Jennifer Archer created characters in her book that are relatable and her storyline feels real.” -Green Gables Book Reviews
My Thoughts: What I Never Expected by Jennifer Archer interested me right away because of its beautiful cover. The soft blue feels soothing and the red heart made me feel like this would be a cozy, warm feeling, “pull me in” kind of book. I was not disappointed! Even though there were difficulties for the main characters, the love in this family came off of the pages. Jennifer Archer created characters in her book that are relatable and her storyline feels real. The book kept me busy reading and I’m looking forward to telling you more about single mom, Maggie and her son, Eliot! Five stars!
The Book: What I Never Expected by Jennifer Archer
Maggie is in a fairly new administration job at the local hospital. She’s happy in her job, maybe a little addicted to it, if you ask her son, Eliot. She is well-liked, responsible, and in line for another promotion in a few years. When she hears something about a patient that is in the maternity ward and realizes she knows the young woman, she’s unsure what to do. Liza, who just had the baby, used to date her son, Eliot. As Maggie counts back months, a thought takes root. Maggie knows hospital rules about confidentiality but she heads to the maternity ward anyway. As soon as she sees the baby, she knows she is right. She is looking at her grandson. He looks just like Eliot did when he was a baby.
Even though she knows she shouldn’t, Maggie goes to see Liza in her hospital room. Liza is shocked to see Maggie. She didn’t know about Maggie’s new job and purposely chose this hospital to avoid her finding out about her baby. She has already decided on adoption and doesn’t want anyone to try to change her mind.
Maggie starts thinking about her past. Back to when she was the girl in the hospital room, alone, her baby in the nursery. Her former boyfriend told her to put the baby up for adoption and he had moved on with his life. But, Maggie knew she couldn’t do it. Even though it would be a struggle with no family to help her, she was keeping Eliot. Now, back to reality, Maggie is facing another hard decision. But she knows immediately what is right. She has to tell her son that he is a Dad.
Eliot makes up his mind quickly. He will raise the baby on his own. He and Maggie get to work preparing for the baby boy, Will, to come home. Will is a joy and they immediately fall in love.
As Maggie sees Eliot with Will, she starts to question some of the decisions she made through the years. If she shares the full truth now with Eliot about his Dad, how will he respond? Will he be able to forgive her and can Maggie forgive herself?
I highly recommend this book! To learn more about Jennifer Archer’s books, visit her website. I’m looking forward to reading more of her books!
If you want to read What I Never Expected, you can order it here from my Amazon affiliate link. (An affiliate link means I may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you-thank you for considering purchasing here.)
