Dean

Unexpected, Book 9

By: Cora Rose

Narrated by: Liam DiCosimo, Alexander Cendese

The path to self-acceptance has always felt like an uphill battle for me.

It's hard not to feel that way when the most important people in my life decided long ago they can't accept me as I am, that they don't want a gay son, a feminine son, a boy who likes pretty things.

Caring for myself from a young age has come with a lot of hardships, but finding myself bruised, homeless, and sleeping in my car just about tops the list.

Fortunately, the person I least expect offers to take me in and share his home with me.

My boss, Dean, may be twenty years older and have a son my age, but he's still the sexiest man I've ever met. (Mechanics, amiright?) He's also incredibly sweet and thoughtful and apparently, quite protective of me. He may even be a bit possessive…

But best of all, he genuinely seems to like and accept me just as I am.

The only problem is that Dean is straight. And living with my very hot, very straight boss just might be the thing that kills me.

©2025 Cora Rose (P)2025 Podium Audio

Lmao

I loved this book! I’m now starting the other spin off and I cannot get enough! Dean is such a perfect sweet man! Avery is so funny!

Worth The Credit!

I hadn’t read Dean yet despite this series being one of my favorites, and waiting to experience the story via audiobook was definitely worth it (and a coveted Audible credit).

Liam DiCosimo and Alexander Cendese were the perfect choices, their voices fitting the characters and complementing each other so well. There were so many moments that their inflections brought to life and highlighted Cora Rose’s gift for hilarious internal monologues. Podium always does solid audio productions, and there are no hiccups or weird mistakes that can take a listener out of the story.

Dean and Avery are the poster couple for age gap/boss employee relationships. While those are two dynamics that IRL could be seen as power imbalances, despite Avery’s longtime crush on Dean, he is actually the one that seemingly has the most power. Tough, tattooed, mechanic Dean is WEAK for Avery’s skirts and crop tops.

I loved his willingness to accept Avery’s femme side while fully embracing he was with a man. And braiding his hair for motorcycle rides? Swoon. I want them to adopt me and I honestly don’t blame Kit for wanting to be around them all the time.

Avery has been used to taking care of himself for so long, and watching him trust Dean and start to lean on him was so sweet. He was a perfect mix of sassy and caring.

It was fun to see the characters from the Unexpectedly Twisted Series show up, since I’d already read those books I fangirled a little when Bane showed up on the page. Same with Whit, which was my first Cora Rose book ever, and will always hold a special place in my heart for idiots to lovers.

Dean and Avery 🥰

I was super excited for this book to come out. Its definitely worth the credit!! This story has all the feels sweet, funny, creepy, and so very HOT 🥵🔥🔥🥵 Highly recommended!!!

Just the tip!

The 'Unexpected' universe always delivers.
Dean, the widowed mechanic and Avery, a cute femme boy make a great couple.
This is a low angst story of bi-awakening and personal acceptance, with plenty of spicy action and cute moments. A classic work based/Age gap romance.
As with all the other books, there are some character cameos and story set ups which I really enjoy. But you could still enjoy this as a standalone.
Great narrator combo too.

I will venture in to the Unexpectedly Twisted and Our Exception series so I can enjoy more of the side characters that all this series has introduced me to.

Dean & Avery

These two got together right away in the storyline which I can appreciate. All the pining Avery did just built up the story to let us all cheer when he finally gets his dream, Dean. Dean was a sweetheart from the get go and I really enjoyed these two quickly falling for eachother.