GRR Reviews Cowboys Never Marry Their Best Friend by Emmy Eugene

Jenna needed a do-over after her divorce, and she moved back home, and there she saw the Johnson brothers again, esp. Seth, whom she may have had a crush on, except Seth is best friend with her brother, so she was definitely off-limits for him... back then. // Seth runs the family ranch and his dog rescue program, which rehabilitate retired work dogs as well as take in strays and abandoned dogs, which kept him plenty busy. He wants resources to create "Edible neighborhood" program but never had the funding. Then one day his parents announced that every child is now a billionaire because his aunt just bought out his mother's portion of a business. Now he can fund ALL the projects he wanted... In his happy state... he kissed Jenna... Now their lives would never be the same...

I honestly didn't feel much love despite pairing them together. 3/5

GRR Reviews Keeping Cole for Christmas by Tuesday Embers

Abigail justed wanted a nice and quiet Christmas. Her veterinarian job is already tough enough... She has no time for frivolities... Even her fiancee Pierce hadn't seen inside her condo, as it's a somewhat long-distance relationship. Heck, Pierce won't even attend her family Christmas dinner. When her best childhood friend, and her brother's best friend Cole came back to town, she knew this Christmas will not be like any other. Abigail also wanted to save RT5, a three-legged cat that hadn't been adopted yet, but she knew she's too busy to have a pet. When Cole decided he wanted to be the person in Abigail's life, what will Abigail do? And what can Cole do to change her mind?

Enjoyed the cat, even though it's more of a symbol, as the cat itself didn't show much personality. Pierce is basically a placeholder, someone Abigail didn't have to let in very far into her life, as she won't butt into his. So why get engaged? Was it just... expected? 4/5

GRR Reviews Misunderstood by Katy Kaylee

Ryder Malloy was the star quarterback of his high school team, and best friend of Katie's brother, and practically second son of Katie's family. Until he wasn't. Katie gave up her V-card to him, only to learn later that Ryder had betrayed her brother, and apparently had sex with her brother's fiancee. Years later, Katie is now a PR agent, and her latest client is none other than the bad boy quarterback Ryder Malloy. Ryder apparently had a history of brawling and desperately needs an image makeover to land some endorsement deals. Katie found herself physically attracted to Ryder, but she can't reconcile the fact that Ryder betrayed her brother, and the Ryder she came to know... What if Ryder was simply... misunderstood?

While I like both characters, I have some problem empathizing with "stoic masochist" characters, i.e. the character who simply sit there, accept abuse s/he do not deserve, all the while staying silent, muttering "why fight, what's the point..."  And Ryder here is one such character. OTOH, the darkest hour and grand gesture are great. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Unexpected Gift by R S Lively

Molly and Caden had always fought verbally with each other, even though Caden is best friend with Molly's brother. Caden's also a brilliant neurosurgeon. When Molly's brother died with his wife in an auto accident, leaving their baby Posie behind, Molly and Caden are forced to unite to care for the child, unless the child's handed off to grandparents. Can the two just admit they really love each other already?!?!

The book felt a LOT longer than it is, and the story took a LONG time to start moving. The accident that forced them together wasn't until several chapters in, and the darkest hour was basically another "sensitive ears / fragile ego" along with "I'll hurt you because I think that's best for you". There are some good emotional scenes, but overall, it felt a bit disjointed. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Pretty Thing by J A Huss

Aiden grew up with Kali and Kyle, the twins, from eight all the way through high school. Aiden has always liked Kali, but Kyle had made sure Aiden knew Kali's off limits. But now Kyle's dead from a freak accident doing what he loved... Offroading. There is nothing stopping them from being together now... except Kyle's ghost... not literally of course. Aiden wanted Kali, Kali wanted Aiden. It should be simple, yet it is not. Both are too hurt to explore Kyle's messages left to each of them... They did get together one night, and momentarily, the pain was forgotten. It was good, and nothing to be shameful for... right? But how do you ask for forgiveness and permission from a dead man?

Hmmm... Interesting setup, and indeed, this one thing "Deathnotes" certainly took the whole thing over the top. It's not just brother's best friend romance, but a lot more... full of angst and still moments of tender sexiness. 5/5

GRR Reviews Falling for her Brother's Best Friend by Noelle Adams

Falling for Her Brother's Best Friend is exactly as its name says: brother's best friend crush leading to fling to a thing. The additional twists are nothing special either.

Emma had enough bad romances and is going on a "man-fast" for six months. No dating, no sex, no opposite sex. She needed to concentrate on her new business, a tea room with two of her best friends. Not even Noah, her first crush, and her brother's bestie. Noah is a business shark, and definitely not nice, and domestic. In fact, Noah had not even recognized Emma when he first saw her and tried to seduce her... UNTIL she realized it's him... and he didn't recognize her... i.e. just as a floozie he can pick up at a bar. Sure, it's been seven years, but really? Now Noah feels like an ass and wanted to apologize, but Emma 's on a man-fast... or will she make an exception?

At two hundred pages, the story is short. Both Emma and Noah are damaged enough to NOT act on instant attraction, and their history was a bit of meh. She expects him to recognize her even though he hadn't seen her in 7 years... and is a little buzzed, and she's bitter about that, because she had a crush on him? That seems like a really... childish grudge and excuse not to engage.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Woman, jilted yet again, can't fall for her brother's bestie and her first crush, esp. he didn't recognize her at first after 7 years...

Tropes: Brother's best friend, fling to a thing, jilted, scarred

Overall Rating:  3/5

GRR Reviews Christmas Lovebirds (Have a Hart) by Rachelle Ayala

Christmas Lovebirds managed to draw a nice parallel between the two lovebirds and the human couple by giving them fated mates story worthy of a PG-rated swooning.

Melisa wanted her brother Connor's ex-best-friend Rob Reed for a long time. Unfortunately, Rob slept with Connor's girlfriend and is no longer welcome anywhere near the house. Rob went on to be ER doc in San Francisco and when Melisa had a little accident caused by her lovebird, she came nose to nose with Rob again... and she still had a hankering for Rob. Rob, however, cannot possibly get it on with Melisa... Her family still hated him... and Melisa clips her lovebird's wings... barbaric! When Melisa lent her bird to the Christmas Toy Drive, Rob accidentally ended up with the bird as his own lovebird has a similar name. The two birds get along famously... and Melisa... get along with Rob... and found out she didn't get the real story about Connor and Rob (and the girlfriend). Will Melisa give Rob a real chance, or are they (both the birds and the couple) doomed to spend the holidays apart?

Awwww... the birds are cute, both characters have proper character arcs, and there are even long-kept secrets with twists. I do have a SLIGHT bit of doubt about house birds living in the wild in San Francisco but came back, but it's a novel, right?

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Will the pair of lovebirds unite a pair who wanted each other but forced apart by circumstances and family pressure?

Tropes: pets, brother's best friend, doctor/patient, family secrets, family pressure

Overall Rating:  4/5

GRR Reviews Treat her Right (Treats to Tempt You Boo by Serenity Woods

"Treat Her Right" is about working through life's problems, and a bit of serendipity and taking chances when the time calls for such.

Maisey Graham needed to prove she's not as ditzy as her reputation, and when she saw her brother's best friend, the local doctor Joss Heaven working out at a gym, she knew exactly what to do... do a photo shoot of sexy guys eating chocolate truffles to promote her confectionery shop. Joss is having a bit of family problem in addition to his job stress. His mom is already in a wheelchair, and his dad is getting dementia. And Maisey's brother had warned him off Maisey before. But when chocolate melts on his hard chest, Maisey could not resist a taste... and that's trouble indeed.

The stories are not too long, at 200 pages, and there is certainly a lot of temptation in forms of hard bodies and soft sinful chocolate and truffles. Best enjoyed with nibbles of some good dark chocolates.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Woman who need a way to promote her confectionery shop needed a hot guy... her brother's best friend, the hot Dr. Heaven...

Tropes: brother's best friend, family pressure, co-worker, fling to a thing

Overall Rating:  4/5

GRR Reviews Choices (New Beginnings Book 1) by Michelle Lynn

Choices is about a woman who needed to figure out what she wanted in life, and in love, and choosing between two men, and two choices in life. The theme is universal, and nicely executed, but I feel the "darkest hour" wasn't quite dark enough, and the ending was a bit long.

Michaela Matthews just wanted to be happy, but her rich blueblood family and her fellow snobby boyfriend are pushing her in a different direction. Both she and her brother are being groomed for positions in the family law firm, and her mother had been planning her wedding to boyfriend Ethan since they were children. And she did want to marry Ethan... but not yet. Michaela knew that if she married Ethan, she'll be stifled into being a society wife, and little else. Now that she's going to law school in New York, she wanted to experience life on her own. When she chose to defer her school admission for a year and became a receptionist, her decision was not well received. She was surprised to see Jason Marks, a friend of her brother, there to comfort her. Jason made something out of nothing. He's now a successful bar owner, far from the unwanted foster kid he once was, but he did not believe in love... Until he saw Michaela, who fell apart in his arms and cried. But Jason was not ready to give her his heart when he knew she wasn't quite over Ethan...

The book could have simply gone fo the inadequacy trope for the MMC and be lazy and let Ethan be a snob that made the choice "obvious", but the author did not take the easy way out. Ethan was sympathetic enough to make Michaela's struggle real. On the other hand, the darkest hour feels really drawn out and ended up being not that dark, and the tension wasn't as high as it could be.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Young woman from rich family struggles in choosing between obligation to her family and her own happiness

Tropes: family pressure, triangle, brother's best friend, different worlds

Overall Rating:  4/5

GRR Reviews The Billionaire Princess (The Sherbrookes by Christina Tetreault

The Billionaire Princess is a contemporary romance between two rich people with their own problems. My problem with this book is neither characters are that deep. Sara seems to be driven by hormones and ready to believe the worst of everyone, even people she trusted.

Sara Sherbrooke, of the Sherbrooke clan, was practically an American princess. Her father ran for Senate. Many of her brothers and cousins are billionaires. But when she was bitterly betrayed by her last lover, who turned out to be a plant by her father's political rival, she gave up on love. She did not expect to find herself willing to try again... with her brother's best friend, Christopher Hall. Chris is a self-made billionaire and owner of Hall Technologies, and knew Sara from college when he and her brother Jake were roommates. While attending Jake's "secret" wedding in Hawaii, Chris managed to get Sara's attention, and they had a brief fling. But neither was sure they wanted more. She wasn't quite ready to trust, he doesn't want to betray his best friend. When both supported a new education initiative, they needed to work together, and their attraction can no longer be denied. But how will they deal with their respective baggage to really build a future?

The darkest hour was basically the FMC listened to a pundit, then imagined the worst about the MMC, and started behaving like a hormonal teenager, and cut MMC off without any explanation nor expecting any from the MMC. MMC's grand gesture was to prove the pundits are spouting crap and FMC was making a big mistake by throwing their relationship away. Such plot basically says women are emotional creatures who cannot be relied upon to make logical decisions until someone pointed out how stupid she had been behaving. Is that supposed to be empowering?

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Previously betrayed rich woman found a worthy man, but she was weary of trusting any one, much less her brother's friend

Tropes: betrayal, scars, commitment-phobe, brother's best friend, fling to a thing

Overall Rating: 3/5

GRR Reviews Make-Believe Wedding (The Great Wedding Giveaway) by Sarah Mayberry

Make Believe Wedding is about consequences, secret pining, and a guy that's just too nice to be true.

Andie Bennett had been pining after Heath McGregor for a very long time, but Heath is her brother's best friend, and also her boss. Heath only saw her as the tagalong little sister and an electrician under his employment, not a potential romantic partner. After attending yet another wedding, Andie gotten drunk and apparently filled out a ticket for the great Wedding Giveaway of Marietta (MT) where she put down Heath's name as if they were engaged! She thought she tossed the ticket... Except... She won!?!?! Heath, being the great guy he was, suggested that perhaps he and Andie can get engaged for real, and break up later. Just to save her face. Except... pretend engagement and marriage often ended up turning real indeed...

I have no problem with the secret pining, but NOT getting engaged is going to humiliate Andie, which was why Heath decided to help her out by getting engaged? That really makes no sense. And like SEALs romance, Marietta, MT is apparently the fictional romance capital in the US where people go get hitched or something. The romantic push-pull is fine. I just wish the motivation would make a little more sense! Heath was just "too nice"!

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Guy comes to rescue of woman who needed a fiancee after accidentally winning a dream wedding (she wanted him all along)

Tropes: fake engagement, unrequited love, brother's best friend

Overall Rating:  3/5