Between Friends by Sandra Marie

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Title: Between Friends
Author: Sandra Marie
Series: Romance for all Seasons #5
Published by: Indie
Release Date: February 1st 2019
Format: eARC
Pages: 179
Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Romantic Comedy
Source: the author
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2019 New Release Challenge, Lenoreo's COYER Winter 2018
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon ✩ B&N ✩ Kobo ✩ iBooks
My rating:

Blurb:

She's the adventure he never expected.

Rae is about to spend another Valentine’s Day alone… and hopelessly in love with her best bud. Tired of everyone pairing off while she stays at a standstill, she considers making a big move, putting a lot of those trusty miles between her and her unrequited.

All Tommy knows is that he’ll do anything to keep his best bud from up and leaving, and he’s pulling out all the punches for her favorite—okay, third favorite—holiday.

But will playing Romeo epically backfire on him? Or will it be the thing that makes him realize that maybe friendship just isn’t enough anymore?

My Review:

I received a free copy through the author in exchange for an honest and unbiased review/opinion.

4.5 stars — I’ve been staring at this review for what feels like forever, and I honestly don’t know what’s got me stalling.  I absolutely ADORED these two together, and Tommy totally made my book boyfriend list, even as I wanted to smack him upside the head sometimes.

I mean seriously, Tommy really was a bonehead sometimes.  But I couldn’t help but love him, with his hilarious sense of humour, his genuineness…he was just straight up affable.  And while I didn’t understand his need for adventure and addiction to adrenaline, even that was kind of endearing on him.  He was like a bad puppy dog that you couldn’t help but want to snuggle.  But more than ALL OF THAT, I LOVED how much he truly cared for Rae.  He may have been blind, but even before he figured out his feelings, he only wanted the best for her…and he always tried to do what he could to make sure she was happy.

And damn, his crapstorm of romance was perfection.  I loved that he went all in once he decided he was going to do this for Rae.  From the first gifts, to the date itself, everything was just spectacular.  I don’t want to give anything away, but I loved all the little nods to different romance movies.

Rae was bold and confident and sassy and almost badass, and conversely she was also a HUGE romantic who was vulnerable and slightly insecure.  I LOVED that.  So often the badass heroine scoffs at love and romance, and I SO needed a badass heroine who was a secret romantic.  I wasn’t expecting it, but it fit.  I will admit that I wasn’t always sure how I felt about her continued pursuit of men on the dating app, but at the same time if you believe she’s truly given up on Tommy and is trying to move on, then it makes sense.

And then there’s the two of them together…*sigh*   They were perfect.  Their banter was one of my absolute favourite things about the book.  You could FEEL their friendship chemistry dripping off the pages.  They made me laugh so much, and I had to refrain from highlighting a whole bunch of things that without context wouldn’t have been as funny.  And their chemistry once they finally did go from friends to more?  Swoon!  The kissing scene was so hot!

Honestly, they reminded me of my hubby and I in a few ways (though definitely not all ways).  Even from physical stature, I loved that Rae was attracted to him even though he was more sleight, but that she went after bigger men because she was insecure about her own size a bit.  She was me in so many ways — trying to be body positive, and mostly succeeding in loving herself, but having moments where you just can’t beat back those insecurities, you know?  And they had so much fun together!  That reminded me of my hubby and I too.  My husband’s friendship is what I prize most in the entire world, and I honestly don’t know (and wouldn’t want to know) what my life would be like without him.  He gets me.  Just like Tommy gets Rae, and vice versa.

As always, I loved the glimpses of other characters from this series, either ones whose stories we’ve already read, or those whose stories are yet to come.  Gavin’s role in this book has made me fall in love with him already, and I can’t wait for him to get his HEA.  And I ADORED Rae’s family.  The timeouts seriously made me howl.

So yeah.  Another hit.  It’s not like I’m surprised, but it’s just nice when you get what you were looking for and more.