Beach Side Beds and Sandy Paths (Beds #2) by Becca Ann and Tessa Marie

Blurb: Written by Cassie Mae and Theresa Paolo under the pen names Becca Ann and Tessa Marie

Ryan Parker has loved his best friend for the past ten years, and after a weeklong ski trip, he finally got bumped out of the friend zone. Things seem perfect, until Ryan finds out his mom has a second family, and his half-brother, Brett shows up on his porch. When Ryan gets invited to spend his spring break with Lexie at a beach house, his grandparents suggest Brett go with to provide them with more bonding time.

Lexie Boggs fell in love with her best friend. After the best four months of her life, she’s ready to spice things up in her relationship. The beach side bed seems like the perfect place to seduce Ryan, except he seems off lately. His temper boils at the surface, and having Brett around isn’t helping.

When they all get crammed in the beach house, Lexie tries to mend the growing rift between the two brothers, while Ryan tries to forget his brother even exists.

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4 stars

This one took a nice turn from the last one.  I loved how the physical relationship evolved. The decision to take a relationship at that age to the next level has so many variables and the teenage brain generally is not mature enough to make those decisions IMO.

But Lexie and Ryan’s parental background comes with growing up early and they have had to deal with things a normal teenager usually doesn’t.  Their relationship gets physical very fast but it makes sense to me.  The authors made the decision an emotional one instead of a purely physical and I love how Ryan was able to see that he wasn’t ready yet and he would be doing it for the wrong reasons.  It was an eye opening moment for his character and I admired that he had the restraint he did.  Most teenagers are guided by their emotions and jump in without really thinking.

I also was happy that it was Lexie who was pushing for it.  Although, I kinda got mad at her because she was pushing for it without really listening to Ryan’s side.  If she was the guy in the relationship I would feel the same way.  But she redeemed herself in the end, thank goodness. I was on the verge of not liking her at all.

I think Ryan’s had more growth in this book than Lexie this time around.  He was dealing with a brother he never knew about and the expectations the grandparents have for him are a bit overwhelming understandably.  He had a hard time dealing with that and their new physical relationship.  His feelings were written beautifully in this book.  He really stood out for me in this one.

Bottom line: go read this book.