Reviewed by Lady Macbeth
TITLE: Caleb
SERIES: Unexpected #10
AUTHOR: Cora Rose
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 318 Pages
RELEASE DATE: April 24, 2026
BLURB:
I don’t let anyone in… I can’t afford to. But he’s the first person who makes me want to try.
My new roommate, Caleb, breezes into my life like unexpected sunshine lighting up the darkness. My secrets and sharp edges are built to keep people out.
But when he wraps his warm body around mine—needy and trusting—something in me cracks open and unfurls.
And the deeper Caleb sinks into my chest, the more I know I should push him away before he sees too much.
Before it’s too late. Because in the end, I know the truth will break us both
REVIEW:
I’ll never thank the author enough for giving us this story! I loved Whit very much, but having the other pov brings this story to a new level. I really needed Whit’s to fully appreciate their story.
Whit is a college student about to graduate: as an act of rebellion against his demanding parents, Whit decides to take a roommate in and he meets Caleb. Since that very first meeting, Whit is equally attracted and horrified by him. Caleb is huge, messy, loud, easygoing, he’s literally Whit’s opposite. But he’s also beautiful and sweet and Whit is unexpectedly charmed by him, even if he tries very hard to resist him. Until Caleb gets sick and things go completely sideways.
The “gayness from the fever” will always be one of the best tropes ever written: Caleb’s need to have Whit close, his demand of cuddles, his aversion to clothes, all these things make those three days in bed together a delight to read.
Whit has no chance to resist him and little by little he finds himself entangled in a relationship with Caleb, absolutely not knowing how he got there. It started with Caleb’s feverish words and his cousins’ assumption but then they just kept being close, laying embraced on the couch, Caleb sitting on Whit’s lap, holding hands, a million little tender moments that open cracks through Whit’s armour.
If Caleb finding out the truth from his pov was heartbreaking, reading it from Whit’s was devastating: it had a very angsty build up with Whit desperate because he didn’t find any solution but, at the same time, unable to let Caleb go. Even if the reader knows what’s coming, the piercing pain is unavoidable.
I’m not lingering on the physical scenes because I believe we can all agree that they were awesome and Caleb’s neediness was perfection .I also still think I would have loved to see Whit groveling a bit more.
Instead I need to say I adored Whit’s opinion about Magnus: he had a high opinion of his friend and there was also affection under his cold attitude.
The author warned us that she took some liberties and that the two stories don’t align perfectly. I noticed some differences but they honestly didn’t matter at all. The result is a great story and I’m so grateful she decided to write it.
Highly recommended.
[I don’t think that it’s necessary to have read Whit first to enjoy Caleb, but if I were you, I wouldn’t miss any of these two beautiful books]
RATING: 
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