Review: Best Friends with Benefits by Candy Sloane (Most Likely To #1)
Note: This ARC was provided by Entangled Publishing in exchange for an honest review.
Best-friends-to-lovers is probably my number one favorite trope in the romance genre, regardless of whether it falls under women's fiction, young adult, new adult, LGBT+, paranormal, contemporary, regency, and so on. There's something about the idea of two people who already have the trust, respect, and genuinely liking each other aspects worked out and it's the shift from sharing a platonic but affectionate love to falling for a more romantic and intimate kind of love that makes it so interesting. Will the friendship survive the change in the relationship? How will two people traverse the subtle and not-so-subtle differences with the new status they now have? Best Friends with Benefits, the Most Likely To series starter from author Candy Sloane, asks and answers those questions and more with the hot-as-hell story of best friends Valerie Barkin and Alec Rogers set during their tenth year high school reunion that also introduces an array of interesting characters I can't wait to read more about as the series progresses.
From the time they met freshman year as part of the school band, Valerie Barkin and Alec Rogers formed a friendship that survived a rejection after graduation and ten years of not being in the same place. They stayed in touch, although Alec's being the lead singer and guitarist for Grammy-winning rock band Chronic Disharmony has the rest of the world knowing what he's been up to, and while Valerie is happy for and proud of him, this Alec is different from the Alec she met fourteen years ago. Somehow, at their very core, they're still just "Al and Val" and are still able to confide in one another in a way they never would with anyone else. The one thing Alec doesn't tell Valerie is how much he still wants to be more than friends with her, but after she turned him down ten years ago, Alec is hesitant to give in to his feelings for her, believing isn't the man she needs. And then a game of seven minutes in heaven to ignite the attraction that's been simmering between them. The question is: is what they share for one weekend or is it forever?
Major squee-worthy story and characters combined with steamy moments that had me fanning myself make this one of my favorite series starters so far this year and it certainly sets the bar high for the rest of the Most Likely To series. I really loved Alec and Valerie because they really grew in ways they hadn't been able to prior to seeing each other and the rest of their fellow classmates before. Even with the respective successes they've achieved, they both carry insecurities within them that make them far more vulnerable than they would lead others to believe. While the situation with Alec's father may seem unresolved to some, I think I actually prefer the way he found closure when it came to his relationship with both his parents. That last chapter prior to the epilogue had me grinning like crazy and it was just so "Al and Val". I'm now wondering who could be up next in the series, though there are quite a few that piqued my interest, so I'm definitely looking forward to whoever it may be. Best Friends with Benefits gets five stars. ♥
Release Date: 14 March 2016
Date Read: 13 March 2016
Learn more about Candy Sloane.
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