FALLING FOR MY BROTHER'S BEST FRIEND
by PIPER RAYNE
Let’s say you’re an independent, self-sufficient woman who runs the family company and you find yourself falling for your little brother’s best friend. Now, more than ever, you need to count all the reasons why you need to abandon falling.
Abandon Falling #1 – He’s a womanizer. Hasn’t had a serious relationship a day in his life and changes women more often than he changes his sheets.
Abandon Falling #2 – He’s never serious. He cracks one-liners, mostly at your expense.
Abandon Falling #3 – When things go wrong, he seems unfazed and always remains in control. It’s so annoying.
Abandon Falling #4 – He has tattoos. Lots of them. Everywhere. Not to mention, he owns a tattoo parlor. (Damn it! Why doesn’t that sound like a bad thing anymore?)
Abandon Falling #5 – There’s a growing list of how different you two are. You can’t get along for fifteen minutes—a lifetime together would land one of you in prison.
Keep repeating those reasons and drown yourself in work. Pretend you don’t notice his good qualities or how enticing he looks without a shirt, and do not, I repeat, do not agree to live with the man while your place is being repaired from flood damage.
Trust me, even the strongest of us can only forego temptation for so long.
I will preface this review with this: I didn't hate this book. There wasn't anything wrong with this book from what little I read, but this DNF review is a product of my over-eagerness to try new authors this year. This story has the kind of synopsis that made me want to pick it up and read it, even knowing it was a fourth book in a series. I LOVED the sound of it. This book was also billed as a standalone within a series, yet I do not feel that it was written that way. This is simply my perception on it. I felt like I was playing catch-up the minute I started reading the book instead of me learning about who they were and why there was some wariness about falling in love. The conversation was already ongoing, and I was in the background trying to put the pieces together, so there wasn't an initial connection or any real introduction to who the characters were or why we were supposed to love them together. I am very frustrated with myself because I know this is my fault. It's the fourth book in the series and I should have just followed my personal rule of never jumping into a story within a series, even after being told it's a standalone. Not many authors can write a standalone within a series and still give me their characters' buildup and growth moving forward - not necessarily just building from the past books. If I didn't need the background or the depth of a storyline and the characters, and I wasn't worried about a surface read, this could/would be a great book to jump into because I enjoy books about falling for a best friend's sibling. It's one of my favorite tropes because of the forbidden aspect of it. Unfortunately, this one didn't work for me in that aspect.
This book is about two people that fooled around after a wedding (previous book), and he wants her but she does not want him, and it's her brother's best friend. BONUS! I love that kind of story...but I didn't feel drawn into their plight when I first got into the book because I had nothing to hold onto. By the third chapter, we are already "making the other jealous" by hanging out with others, so it started to follow a known path that I have seen countless times. I don't like a cliche story, especially when I have already read it many times before. Give me something to make me want to keep reading their story, something unique. Here's where my problem lies: if this is supposed to be a standalone in a series, give us their buildup and give us their original hookup that shows the draw and the fire. Give us the steam and the growth of these two characters so a newbie can actually fall for the characters and their plight. I want to be drawn to them and be excited for their promised HEA. I didn't feel like I was actually introduced to them in that way. This story worked primarily off background knowledge, of which we were not privy to walking into this story.
The characters were already built. The background was already laid. The story was already set. As they should be with an established series, right?? Right. I know this. I accept this. I understand this. But it felt like I was literally walking into an on-going scene and I had to figure out what was going on. This is not the way to start a standalone in a series, especially when they gave me background info on other characters in stories prior to this. I don't want those details in this story if you're stating this is a standalone. Make the discussion about this story, but don't give me background on other characters in previous books when it doesn't enhance the current story I'm reading. Again, my fault for jumping into this book being billed as a standalone. I get it. I do. I really, really do.
The meaning of a standalone, to me, is the importance and relevance of the love story at hand. It is the build up of the characters, and the growth of their relationship at the forefront, not the background. We may have met them previously, but the actual steam and the reason for their relationship is written in the current book and I think I missed out on that somehow with this one.
I'm so frustrated, and it's all my fault and I should have known this. I honestly take the blame for this, so this isn't a "mad" review. This isn't me being angry about the story or the writing. It's just me waving the proverbial white flag, knowing I shouldn't have jumped in. I'm not saying this is a bad book or that it's not one I can eventually finish, but I will say the way I entered the storyline was definitely on the wrong foot. So, I'm honestly hoping I can put this book on the back burner and come back to it eventually - after reading the first three books, so I have some background to work with and some character development to anchor their story.
So, my biggest gripe is I'm mad at myself for jumping into an ongoing series, even claiming it's a standalone, and not being able to 'feel' the story as it was intended. Lesson learned, and I know this is ultimately my fault.
Here is the FULL SERIES on Goodreads for anyone that is interested. Here is the FULL SERIES on Amazon as well.
~BEE
~MEET PIPER RAYNE~
Piper Rayne, or Piper and Rayne, whichever you prefer because we’re not one author, we’re two. Yep, you get two USA Today Bestselling authors for the price of one. Our goal is to bring you romance stories that have "Heartwarming Humor With a Side of Sizzle" (okay...you caught us, that's our tagline). A little about us... We both have kindle’s full of one-clickable books. We're both married to husbands who drive us to drink. We're both chauffeurs to our kids. Most of all, we love hot heroes and quirky heroines that make us laugh, and we hope you do, too.
~CONNECT WITH PIPER~
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