Love, Unexpected

Lighthouse Lovers #5

by Shannon O'Connor

A runaway bride, a single mom and the love they least expected.

Alana:
When I run away from my dream wedding, I'm positive I'll never show my face again. I live in a small town and the last thing I want is to run into my ex fiancé. So hiding out at my parents summer house seems like the perfect cover, until I run (literally) into the contractor fixing up the house. She might just be fixing more than the house.

Harmony:
My only focus right now is to make my daughter happy and ease her life as I co-parent with my ex-wife. I have a good job, a small apartment and eyes for the homeowners daughter. Alana Thomas is an absolute mess when I find her. But for some reason, I can't help but fall for her.

Love, Unexpected is a runaway bride, bi awakening, single mom, femme/Butch, slow burn spicy sapphic romance. Love, Unexpected is book 5 in the Lighthouse Lovers series and can be read as a complete standalone.

Genres: Lesbian, Romance

180 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 9, 2025

About the author

Shannon O’Connor is a twenty something, bisexual, self published poet of several books and counting. O’Connor enjoys life’s simple pleasures: coffee, reading, traveling, and spending time with her new baby. O’Connor is continuously working on new poetry projects, book reviews, and more, while also diving into motherhood. She loves supporting local indie authors & shops as much as possible.

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/shans...

Reviews

[Stuffl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to admit that this was the first book in the “Lighthouse Lovers” series for me. It's a standalone book, although I think it's nicer if you already know the couples from the other books. It didn't detract from my enjoyment though! I really enjoyed Alana and Harmony's journey! The story is heartwarming and in the short time (about 180 pages) they were able to build a beautiful connection. They had chemistry, there were many moments that made me smile and also some that touched me. A good sexual tension built up and whew.... a great spice! I also found the portrayal of “alcoholism” very realistic. A nice comfort and steamy read.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Lez_be_readin_ya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alana and Harmony's story is wonderful; it's a fun, steamy, captivating, and well-crafted read. It's easy to follow and provides a delightful conclusion to a heartwarming series about finding love unexpectedly.

Alana, after escaping her wedding, finds herself falling for the handywoman renovating her summer home, a perfect refuge while she contemplates her decision to leave her former fiancé, Will.

I enjoyed Harmony's character, from her journey through sobriety to her interactions with her ex-wife and their endearing daughter, Millie. She is a delightful person and a perfect match for Alana after her relationship with Will, who was unsuitable, controlling, and prevented Alana from being her true self. Harmony brings out the best in Alana, and it is heartwarming to witness.

If you haven't already, I recommend starting the series with "Tour of Love" and enjoying the wonderful Lighthouse Lovers series. I'm looking forward to what is coming next in Lovers, and I'm excited to read more from Shannon.

Star rating. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice rating. 🔥🔥🔥

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this honest review voluntarily.

[Juniper L.H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book five people! This was the conclusion to a five-book journey. It was also the best one, and in a big surprise it was also the only one that I would say works as a standalone (or at least the best as a standalone). Wild considering it’s a conclusion! This was a good little book. Its relatively short and to the point. It was well written, and I enjoyed it.

Somehow despite all the drama, and there was plenty, this felt to me like a very drama-free book. Its hard to explain, other than that any drama is resolved nearly immediately and without any significant upheaval. The result was a very easy-reading experience that was generally just heartwarming and positive. Most of the characters in this novel were mature adults who possess great communication skills, which resulted in a great reading experience.

I don’t know if I would recommend this novel, or the series as a whole; by that I mean that there isn’t anything wrong with them, more so just that there are enough novels I would recommend before these ones that we might never get down to where these would be on the recommendation list. If you do read this series though, I strongly recommend that you have all five books on hand because they are absolutely best enjoyed together.

Thank you to BookSirens for providing a free ARC. This honest review was left voluntarily.

[Finding Sky Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶🌶🌶
Burn: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Book Title: Love, Unexpected
Series: Lighthouse Lovers Book 5
Author: Shannon O'Connor


Things I loved:
• Sapphic Romance
• Butch/Femme pairing
• Single parent
• New beginnings
• Respect and clear consent between MCs
• Amazingly detailed Spice scenes

I truly have looked forward to Alanna's book for so damn long my goodness. I found I related to aspects of her story from the snippets we get throughout the other books and so I could not wait to get her full POV and it didn't disappoint. It was incredibly to watch her go through that crippling anxiety of making such a difficult life altering decision, to finding her voice and standing up for herself and what she truly wants, not for what everyone else wanted for her. That was incredible to see such character development.

I really loved Heather too, the energy she gave off was just so calm and comforting in a way? I loved that we have a female MC who is a handy woman- LOVE, butch presenting-LOVE, a single mum-LOVE and wore cool punny shirts. Even better. It was nice to show the depth she had in her past with her struggle with addiction too, and even with her relationship with her ex wife and how they co parent. It was refreshing to see all of these things represented in a book together.

I really loved them together as a couple. Keep in mind that these books are insta lust/pretty much insta love so they are fast paced. But with that in mind I love that you still get relationship development and communication throughout. It doesn't feel like too much is missing at all. I just really enjoyed it.

I loved the prologue, getting to see a glimpse into how all the other couples were doing and into the future of Alanna and Heather made me so excited. The whole series swept me off my fit and I love love love all of them!!



✨

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 5 in the Lighthouse Lovers series ends on a lovely update featuring the couples from the previous books. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is Alana’s story which starts out the end of summer, more precisely on her wedding day, that we have been teased with throughout the series. Alana finally makes some important decisions and we are introduced to Harmony and Millie along the way. This was a fitting and engaging conclusion to the Lighthouse Lovers. I recommend reading them all and in order.

[Mark taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

A runaway bride sapphic romance

Love, Unexpected is the 5th book in the Lighthouse Lovers series by Shannon O’Coonor.

A series of small time Sapphic romances set in a small town with all the previous stories about the bridesmaids for Alana’s wedding.

However, as you can guess by the title of the book and the synopsis the wedding does not go ahead and Alana meets Harmony a. Young mother who is doing renovations on the house that she runs off to.

Love, Unexpected is a quick read at only 180 pages, however Shannon O’connor does well in giving the characters and the romance to develop along the way, without sudden changes in character of Alana and Harmony.

This may be the case as someone who has read the series in order, however the book does seem to have enough context that Alana’s actions do not seem out of the blue, if this is the first book you have read.

Like all the other books in the serres this is not a closed door romance and there is one reference to a slip and slide which will stay with me forever.

Having said that, the relationship between Alana and Harmony is done in such a way that feels real, as each of them deals with their own issues.

Harmony with a child and a divorced wife, along with her alcoholic addiction which she has not had a drink for 5 years, but still struggles with it day to day. Seemed to be part of her character rather an add on to give Harmony another character tick box,

As for Alana, the way she seemed to be trying to find her real self after being trapped by social conventions in what was expected of her, Did feel really enjoyable to read.

All this makes Love, Unexpected by Shannon O’Connor a really enjoyable sapphic romance to read.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alana Thomas is a twenty-eight year old interior designer who is engaged to be married to Will in Lovers, Maine. They have been together for five years, but Alana is nervous for the wedding and the fact that she isn’t getting what she needs from their relationship. When Alana is introduced while in makeup for her wedding, she is telling her wedding party that she isn’t ready to get married. Suddenly when no one is looking she bolts from the wedding venue and escapes to her parent’s summer house nearby.

Harmony is a thirty-four year old remodeling contractor who is five years sober, has an ex-wife and a six year old daughter, Millie. Harmony and her ex share custody of Millie with Harmony mainly taking care of Millie on weekends. Harmony and Millie are at the wedding venue while Harmony is doing some work when they overhear about the runaway bride. The next week Harmony finds Alana at the Thomas summer home when she shows up to do remodeling work. The book tells the story of the relationship that develops between Alana and Harmony.

When I began reading this story I immediately connected with both of the main characters. Their stories were engaging and I wanted both of them to succeed in overcoming past obstacles. The book also several sexy scenes that sizzled. I recommend this quick read to others interested in a story about finding love where you least expect it.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

The final book of the series and I loved it. This is about the last of the friends group Alana who runs away from her wedding on the day to hide out in one of her parents holiday homes that’s getting renovated.

Harmony the contractor (Handywomen) who has been hired by Alana’s parents to renovate the house finds Alana hiding out. I connected with Harmony so much who is going through recovery for alcoholism, 5yrs sober & is recently divorced from her wife but gets to see her 6yr old daughter Millie in the weekends.

Their first encounter had me in stitches, Harmony was threaten by Alana with a weapon (won’t spoil this) but I found myself laughing through out the book beginning with that. Loved how Alana’s attraction grew for Harmony being her first encounter with a women. Loved Millie who said the funniest things at that age & who could forget, all of Alana’s BFFs who were also there to support her through it all.

Loved that at the end of their journey they all found their HEA. It was also sad to say goodbye to the Lighthouse series & their group of friends.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love, Unexpected is the final book in the Lighthouse Lovers series, and it wraps things up nicely. The previous books cover the months leading up to Alana's wedding day from the perspective of her friends, and this one takes us from the wedding day forward.

Of course, things don't go as expected when Alana becomes a runaway bride, escaping to a home that's being remodeled on her family's property. It's there where she meets Harmony, single mom and sexy contractor who is working on the home. Like the other books in the series, the two quickly develop an attraction to each other and things progress from there.

The story itself felt a little disjoined to me, more so than the previous books, and the ending—despite multiple epilogues updating us on where each of the couples are—felt abrupt to me. I wanted to see this one wrap up a bit more before getting to the point of epilogues, but it was a satisfying end to the series regardless.

I received a free ARC from BookSirens, but my review is unbiased and left voluntarily.

[Emily G · Rating 4 out of 5]

The way I'd been wanting Alana to dump that fiancé of hers since several books ago! I'm glad she finally gets her own story and her chance at real love. And what a story!
If you've read the previous books you'd already be familiar with the cast of characters and you'd be rooting for Alana too. It really is a lovely story, with just the right amount of spice. I really enjoyed it. Could've read it in one sitting if I didn't have to deal with real life.
Even if you haven't read the first four books, you can still read and enjoy this one, in my opinion. But it's even better when you're already invested, really.


I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Looby Lou · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book starts with Alana finally doing what everyone could see she needed to do right from book 1 and that is leave will. Only she does it in style by running away from her wedding and going awol.

Holing up in one parent’s empty summer houses she gets a stick when she finds it’s not fully unoccupied. Harmony is there doing renovations and the two slowly get to know each other and suddenly the house has a new toaster oven. No third act breakup to spoil the story and two lovely characters who deserved more than they’d got in life so far.

Lovely end to the series. The epilogue was brilliant. We got a glimpse into all 5 couples and where they are now ending up with Alana and Harmony.

[Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moving, touching (in many senses), and very enjoyable

I have loved this entire series of stories, all set around the town of Loving, Maine. This one was quite poignant at times as the author's blend of humour, passion, and real-world problems was masterful.

The main characters (Alana & Harmony) were well-drawn. The supporting characters (especially Wrenn, Maeve, and Millie) were just right.

The whole story was consistent (not just within itself but across the whole series) and very enjoyable.

Anyone who followed the series will like the epilogue (and anyone who hasn't read the other books should do so now!).

[Dulaine Roode · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a conclusion to this series.

I once again love the chemistry between the FMC's. Alana and Harmony.

They have the same type of chemistry that all the other couples in the series seem to have with each other.

That easy going love, that doesn't require you to work too hard to feel it. Just hard work to get to be together without all the outside forces trying to prevent it.

I really loved the whole series.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Kim Montgomery · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the fifth book in the Lighthouse Lovers series. It can be read alone but the entire series is terrific so you really should read them all. I have been waiting for this book from the beginning. As always Shannon did not let me down. This book is sweet, romantic, and funny. Oh, did I mention it is extremely hot. The way Alana bonds with Harmony’s daughter Millie melted my heart. This is a book you do not want to miss. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Heloise · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Don’t I want someone who wants to hold my hand?" I have loved this series and I have been so excited for Alanas book throughout. I loved how we got to see her step away from her people pleasing tendencies and put herself first. I love that we get an update with everyone In lovers and their lives. Introducing the new character Harmony and her struggles and Alana handling them so well. My only negative is i didn't love the nickname. A lovely way to end this series.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a nice way to close the door in this set of characters. It was a beautiful ending seeing everyone happy in their life’s and enjoying themselves to the fullest.

The bonus updates in the epilogue worked nice to let us know where everyone we have grown to love was at in their journeys and while it was sad to see this series end it was also ended on a hopeful note.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Joann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was another great one in the Lighthouse series. I wish I lived in that town in Maine. This story was about Harmony and Alana. I thought it was a sweet story of immediately chemistry and finding who you are all over again. I thought it was well written and a fun read. It had some hot scenes and very loving scenes. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Martez HB · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love, unexpected is a great quick read.

Harmony is honest to god smoking HOT. (Fanning self). I enjoyed very second of reading about her.

Alana, the run away bride came into her own quite quickly with the love and support Harmony.

I received an advance review copy, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Kimberly Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alana and Harmony's story is perfection. It's a fun, steamy, captivating, and well-crafted read. To say I loved it is an understatement.
Harmony and Alana's story is beautiful. The chemistry between these two was undeniable. I loved the prologue, getting to see a glimpse into the future. The whole series is just absolutely amazing. I can't recommend this series enough!

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this story, it was a little romcom-esque story about a runaway bride and her families new handy women. There was a little bit of drama but happy feels throughout the whole story. I caught myself smiling at the interactions between the two main characters often. I do wish we could have gotten a little bit of character development between Alana and her family (mainly her mother) towards the end of the story but overall loved the story and will definitely be picking up any other books by this author.

[Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good addition to the series

Sweet love story. The characters are well developed. and likable.. Thanks for a good summer read. This book also brought us up to date with the characters in the other books.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love, Unexpected by Shannon O'Connor is the fifth and final book in the Lighthouse Lovers series. It is my first read by this author. It is a quick, fun, novella-length book. Love, Unexpected works as a standalone, though it contains spoilers for the previous novels in the series. Although many of the characters appear in the earlier books, not being familiar with them isn't confusing or a hindrance to this story. There is a lovely epilogue to conclude all the romantic storylines with happily-ever-afters.
The writing style is clean, simple, and easy to read. At times, I wasn’t sure whose perspective I was reading, even though the chapters were labeled to indicate the narrator. Maybe that was just me reading too fast and forgetting.
Harmony is a contractor who recently relocated to the small coastal town of Lovers, Maine, near her ex-wife and daughter. She is a recovering alcoholic who attends AA meetings, and I appreciated how O'Connor portrayed her struggle to stay sober and be a good parent. Her daughter is an adorable addition.
Alana is an interior designer who leaves her fiancé at the altar and hides out in one of her family’s homes. After being a people pleaser resulted in her wearing a wedding dress prepared to marry a man she no longer loves, she finds herself making a life-altering decision.
Alana and Harmony meet when Harmony is remodeling the home to which Alana escapes. The attraction is fairly immediate, but they take things slow considering both of their experiences with relationships.
This toaster over romance is sweet, and clear communication is the key.
I enjoyed this low-angst, steamy book and would be happy to read more by Shannon O'Connor.
#toasterover #selfdiscovery #singleparent #divorced #startingover #smalltown #Maine #coastaltown #communicationiskey #runawaybride #contractor #interiordesigner #lowangst #HEA #epilogue #steamy *Bonus: detachable shower head solo masturbation scene.
I received a review copy from BookSirens. This is my honest opinion.

[Marina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Unexpected is a delight to read. Told with dual point of view, the author lets us get to know the two main characters and explore their connection alongside them. The book touches on alcohol addiction, and while that is a serious subject, it shows how the people who love you will make minor adjustments in their own lives to support you, without even being asked. Alana is a wonderful character who comes into her own as the book goes on, finding her joy and strength and claiming the love she deserves. Harmony is resilient and loving and you feel how strongly she loves her daughter. This book felt very refreshing to me and was a joy to read. 5/5!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Bethany Franklin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another fun Lighthouse Lovers read. I found both characters to be likeable and relatable in their own ways. It was a really fast read for me. I liked the interactions between main characters and with their respective friends/ family. I also liked that Alana was able to find herself with support from Harmony.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.