A plan for revenge brings together two immensely likable people in a fake relationship that turns surprisingly romantic in this New Adult tale full of fun and flirty exchanges. Keep reading to get a tempting taste of Frat House Confessions: Ridge by Bethany Lopez, along with my impressions of this contemporary romance, then add it to your bookshelf. In honor of this first installment in the Frat House Confessions series make sure to fill out the form below for the chance to win a prize pack containing a signed print copy of this book too!
She has a broken heart and revenge on her mind...
Last year Karrie was riding high. She had a boyfriend she loved, a softball scholarship, and the best roommate a girl could have.
When it turned out her man was a lying, cheating ballsack, she may have gone off the rails a bit.
Now, it's a new year and Karrie's ready to build herself back up and move on to bigger and better things.
Still, a little revenge would go a long way in helping the healing process.
He's got a plan for revenge that will suit them both...
Ridge is used to being the BMOC. Sergeant of Arms of his frat and the ability to land any chick within snapping distance has made life pretty easy for him.
His home life is another story. He and his brothers are in the middle of a battle between his socialite mother and asshole father.
Ridge is looking for a stand-in to placate his mother and her matchmaking ways, and he has a feeling he's just met the girl he can perfectly mold.
This makeover has nothing to do with love and everything to do with Karrie and Ridge using each other to get what they want. What starts as a ruse soon becomes an attraction they cannot deny.
When it's all said and done, they'll both have more to confess than a need for revenge.
EXCERPT:
Ridge:
I was sitting there, chuckling and shaking my head, when I felt someone come up next to me and pat me on the arm.
I looked up and to my right to see Caitlyn, one of the Delta groupies, standing there with an armful of clothes and a smile.
“Hey, Ridge, how’s it going?” she asked.
My eyes flitted to the closed dressing room door, before coming back to rest on Caitlyn. We’d hooked up a couple times, but when she’d tried to move us toward a relationship, I’d quickly put a stop to it.
Not only did I not do relationships, but Caitlyn was almost as entitled as I was, and I needed someone who was a little more grounded. Who’d put me in my place and not let me walk all over them. Someone who’d call me on my shit and not get offended when I called them on theirs.
A mental picture of Karrie popped in my head, but I ignored it. Karrie and I would never work. First of all, she was hung up on her asshole ex, and second of all, she was simply a means to an end.
Not at all girlfriend material.
Guilt slammed through me at that stray thought, but I ignored it and answered the girl hovering over me.
“Can’t complain,” I answered, intentionally not continuing the conversation in hopes that she’d get the hint and leave me alone.
I looked back down at my phone.
“I heard Delta’s planning a rager for after Homecoming … something about making over girls into the perfect Delta groupies. Crush should have asked me to come be an example, not Bella. I’ve been hanging with Deltas for the last four years,” she continued with a pout.
I sighed and brought my gaze back up to her face.
“It was Crush’s deal, Caitlyn, I’m not involved in his shit.”
She smirked and replied, “That’s not what I heard. Word on the street is you picked a girl for a makeover, too. Drake’s girl.”
“Word on the street?” I scoffed, standing up and stretching, and shooting her a bored expression. “Your source is wrong. Karrie is more to me than a game Crush is playing with the rushes. And, she’s not Drake’s girl … She’s mine.”
Just then, the changing room door swung open, and Karrie walked out wearing a tight-fitting tube dress that showed off her curves, leaving little to the imagination. By the sweet grin on her face, and the way she crossed to me and put her arm around my waist, tucking into my side, I knew she’d heard everything Caitlyn and I had said.
“Hey, babe,” she cooed, pulling me tight. “I hope I’m not taking too long.”
I looked down at her upturned face and felt my heart accelerate.
“You’re worth the wait,” I said softly, my eyes falling to her lips as I remembered our kiss.
“Aww, you’re so sweet,” Karrie said, turning her attention to Caitlyn and repeating, “Isn’t he so sweet?”
“The sweetest,” Caitlyn replied, her tone implying I was anything but.
“And you are?” Karrie asked, one hand resting on my abs, causing me to flex.
“Caitlyn.”
“Hi, Caitlyn, I’m Karrie, Ridge’s girlfriend.”
I would have laughed at the shocked look on Caitlyn’s face, but I was too busy enjoying the feel of Karrie’s hand on me. I found myself wishing there was no barrier between that hand and my bare skin.
Caitlyn recovered and let out a disbelieving laugh.
“Ridge doesn’t date,” she said, like she knew the first fucking thing about me.
“Well, that’s obviously not true.”
Caitlyn looked to me, as if expecting me to prove her right and call Karrie a liar.
Instead I wrapped my arms around her and kissed the top of her head.
“I never saw a reason to date, then I met Karrie.”
Caitlyn’s eyes narrowed, and I knew she was pissed, like I’d just said she wasn’t good enough for me.
Which, honestly, was true.
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MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:
At the end of a rough week for me personally I was lucky to have this gem of a romance land in my lap and I was instantly captivated by the immensely appealing characters and the slow-burn romance of the main couple. Revenge may be the reason these two got together at first but it’s a deeper connection that forms that has love flourishing in a romance that put a smile on my face. From the first page to the last readers will find themselves equally enthralled by the fake relationship that becomes oh so real by the turn of the final page.
A year ago Karrie was on Cloud 9 with a softball scholarship and a boyfriend she truly loved. When he dumped her with no reason she was left angry with her self-esteem bruised. She withdrew and spent time licking her wounds, but discovering he was even more faithless than she originally thought has her wanting to exact deeper revenge. To help her do that she agrees to a fake relationship revolving around a Pledge Event put on by the Delta Frat with sexy, rich boy Ridge. It’s a relationship that takes a sensual turn in a carefree journey full of warm and fuzzy feelings. Through it all Karrie’s a very likable heroine, someone easy to relate to as she’s a straight shooter who doesn’t sugarcoat the truth. She was hurt by her ex, lost her way for a bit, but is clearly ready to put herself out there again and I enjoyed her strong will and slight snark that made her and Ridge a formidable pair. As friends, she and Ridge are fun and flirty with interactions that jumped off the page. The more time they spend together the more solid they look as a couple and the more I was rooting for them as they made each other better.
When readers first meet Ridge they may assume he’s your typical arrogant frat boy...yet that couldn’t be further from the truth. Ridge is a truly good guy, likable, with a strong sense of protectiveness towards his brothers...and towards Karrie the closer they get. His less-than-perfect past, a past with an overbearing mother more concerned with appearances and an abusive chronic-adulterer father, has nurtured that protective side and the glimpses we see of it here endeared him to me. His main concern is for his brothers, and with the youngest starting college next year he doesn’t have to deal with his parents much longer. One of the few remaining events is the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday that has his mother matchmaking and him coming up with a plan to keep her out of his life. His plan is to bring a fake girlfriend home...and meeting Karrie at his frat’s party has her the perfect partner in crime as they’ll be helping each other get exactly what they want. He needs a fake girlfriend, and a way to overthrow his frat’s president, while she wants to make her ex jealous and show how far she’s moved on. From the moment he sees Karrie there’s clearly a connection, no subterfuge between them as they’re both very honest with each other as they grow from friends to something deeper. Throughout their journey Ridge is a delightful hero with unexpected layers beyond his rich boy facade. He may be clueless a time or two but on a whole I found him to be a hero with a big heart and caring soul and I loved how perfect he was with Karrie, showing her her true worth while she showed him that there was more to him than his money and his looks.
With each turn of the page I found a little bit more to love. From the crackling banter, exhilarating interactions, to the carefree flow of the story, the main couple’s journey of friends to true partners is one that kept me utterly entertained. Ridge and Karrie are an unforgettable pairing, each giving as good as they get, supporting each other no matter what in a romance full of heart and soul. Surrounding this likable main couple was an equally appealing cast of secondary characters that have me excited for the future. Ridge’s brothers Wes and Brody had a difficult upbringing too and it’s clear that they have bruises still lingering and I wanted to hug all three for everything they’ve survived. Ridge is a good brother to them and it spoke volumes to me just how protective he is of them and it made him an even stronger hero. I was also drawn to the three sisters Ridge has discovered as his father’s infidelities become even more known. The sisters are equally likable and just as strong-willed as seen in the series of books already written about them and the glimpses readers get of them here. One last character that I found delightful was Karrie’s roommate Mina, a sassy heroine who tells it like it is and who’s a good cheerleader for Karrie’s fake relationship. I hope to see more of her as the sizzling interaction between her and Trap is more than obvious. Readers looking for a sensual and charming New Adult romance will get all that and more courtesy of this unforgettable main couple and their slow-burn journey to HEA.
My rating for this is an A-
*I got this book from the author for review in exchange for my honest opinion.
AUTHOR INFO:
Bethany Lopez is a USA Today Bestselling author of more than thirty books and has been published since 2011. She's a lover of all things romance, which she incorporates into the books she writes, no matter the genre.
When she isn't reading or writing, she loves spending time with family and traveling whenever possible.
Bethany can usually be found with a cup of coffee or glass of wine at hand, and will never turn down a cupcake!
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Thank you so much for reading and reviewing Ridge! Your review made me smile and I'm so excited that you enjoyed Karrie and Ridge's journey!
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