Being a professional golfer has always been my dream. But there are parts of the job I hate. Interviews. Tournaments that make me wear skirts. Being nice to Beau Devereaux. I hate that one—and him—the most.
Since we were kids, he’s had a special way of getting under my skin. As adults, it’s only gotten worse. My best friend’s brother will always be the most infuriating man on the planet in his bright, tight, and outlandish golf shirts and his stupid beard covering his annoyingly chiseled jaw.
Which is why it’s my worst nightmare that I’m paired with him for a golf tournament in Las Vegas. But I’ll do it if it means I get my career back on track after my injury. Good PR can’t hurt, right?
“Shelby LeBlanc, Beau Devereaux get in fight on 16th green.”
“Did Shelby LeBlanc and Beau Devereaux get married in Vegas?”
Yes, we did. And yes, we did.
I don’t want to stay married, but I said I wanted good PR, and somehow this is giving it to us.
It’s fine. This marriage isn’t for love. It’s for our careers.
Except the looks he gives me now are filled with heat, not disgust. The childhood nickname he calls me doesn’t have the same bite. And seeing him shirtless around the house? A woman is only so strong. Now I’m starting to hate how much this feels right. Because this marriage might’ve been unexpected, but now I’m wondering if Beau and I were always meant to be.
(ARC Read)
I had a bit of a love-hate relationship with this book… and by that, I mean I spent the first half wanting to lovingly shake Shelby until she opened her eyes.
Shelby is the blackest black cat I’ve read in a long time, and she drove me absolutely crazy for the first half of this book. She’s fiercely independent, emotionally closed off, and once she decides someone belongs on her permanent hate list, good luck changing her mind. I wanted to reach through the pages and tell her to just listen for five minutes. But that’s also what made her journey so rewarding—every little crack in that armor felt earned.
Beau Devereaux, on the other hand, was impossible not to love.
He starts off as the cocky, attention-loving flirt with the loud golf shirts and an ego to match, but underneath all of that swagger is a man who’s so clearly gone for Shelby long before he realizes it himself. Watching him slowly get flattened by his own feelings had me grinning the entire time. Once he finally stops fighting it, he’s patient, protective, fiercely loyal, and somehow manages to be both ridiculously sweet and outrageously filthy. The slutty little glasses? The possessiveness? The fact that he’ll literally crawl to her on command? Beau Devereaux can absolutely keep the marriage license.
My favorite part of this entire book, though, was the hate banter.
“You are the most infuriating man on the planet.”
“Which is interesting, since you’re the most stubborn woman I’ve ever met.”
These two wake up every day looking for new ways to get under each other’s skin, and every interaction is comedy gold. Whether they’re trading insults, bickering on the golf course, or Shelby deciding the best way to handle an argument is to physically launch herself at Beau in the middle of a tournament that’s being live-streamed to everyone watching… I was laughing. Their chemistry is just as explosive during the arguments as it is behind closed doors, and that’s what makes the enemies-to-lovers romance work so well. You can feel how much they’re fighting their attraction every step of the way.
“But all I’ll say is, and I think any woman watching will back me up on this, sometimes when you’re husband is an ass, no matter if it’s day one or a thousand of your marriage, you need to jump on his back and punch him a bunch of times.”
I also loved that this wasn’t your typical sports romance. Professional golf isn’t a sport we see nearly enough in romance, and having both main characters competing at the highest level made it feel fresh. Shelby’s experience as a woman fighting for respect in a male-dominated sport added another layer to the story, while the Vegas marriage of convenience forced them into exactly the situation they both dreaded: actually getting to know each other.
The spice absolutely delivers, too. The tension has been simmering for years, so when they finally give in, it’s explosive. Beau knows exactly how to push Shelby’s buttons in every sense of the word, and their scenes together are equal parts scorching hot and incredibly fun.
“You play dirty, wife.”
“I play to win, husband.”
And Chad?
Absolute garbage. No notes.
Unexpected Shot delivers everything I love in an enemies-to-lovers romance: razor-sharp banter, electric chemistry, a drunken Vegas wedding, marriage of convenience, forced proximity, and character growth that feels earned. I laughed out loud more than once, fell completely in Beau’s corner, and had an absolute blast watching these two turn twenty years of mutual irritation into something neither of them saw coming.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to see if Beau Devereaux is accepting applications for a second wife.
Release Date: July 30th, 2026 (TODAY!)
Thank you to Chelle Sloan and The Smuthood, Inc. for the ARC read!