Review: Never Say Love by Carly Phillips & Lauren Hawkeye (Never Say Never #1)

Note: This ARC was provided by InkSlinger PR in exchange for an honest review.

Surprise! Bestselling authors Carly Phillips and Lauren Hawkeye have joined forces and are co-writing a brand new series entitled Never Say Never together! When the opportunity to read and review the first book, Never Say Love, came out of the blue, there was no way I was going to refuse, having read both authors's previous work before. The series appears to be about a group of four best friends who made a promise at the age of sixteen to never get married. Lo and behold, the series starter finds three of them getting together at the invitation to be groomsmen at the wedding of the fourth member of their group.

Nathan Archer has come a long way from the abusive years he spent at the hands of his stepfather. He's a hotel magnate who has a playboy reputation and a penchant for wanting control both in the boardroom and bedroom. He has no intention the promise he made along with his three best friends, but fifteen years later, at the wedding of Chase Marshall, Nate comes face to face with the one woman who makes him want much more--Chase's younger sister Eleanor. Ellie is the only woman who's made him feel accepted, but will she and her family ever believe him good enough for her, especially since he knows she deserves more.

I liked Nate and Ellie's story, with it's falling-for-your-best-friend's-sibling trope headed by an alpha male who appears ready to fight for the only woman who's ever meant to him and a woman who's loved one man since she was a teenager but isn't sure if he'll ever settle for a life with her. It's also a bad-boy-falling-for-the-good-girl romance and with the usual angle of the bad boy who's actually got a streak of "nice" and the good girl with a penchant for "naughty". There's a lot that feels familiar with the book as a whole, but I still was able to enjoy the characters and the story and finished the entire thing in about an hour's time.

I would have wanted some sort of resolution with regards to Nate and Chase's friendship, especially with the way they left things. As far as Nate's relationship with his mother is concerned, I think I preferred the way things panned out than had it gone in a more conventional direction. This way, it felt more in line with who Nate is and not belittle what he went through growing up. Nate and Ellie were such an intense but fun couple to get to know in this book, and while I wish we could have gotten more of a peek at the other supporting characters, I look forward to doing so as the series moves on. Four stars for Never Say Love. ♥

Release Date: 23 February 2016

Date Read: 22 February 2016

Learn more about Carly Phillips and Lauren Hawkeye.

Purchase Never Say Love on Amazon | B&N | Kobo.