A young woman leaves the big city to start over in a small town as the roommate of an old friend and finds unexpected love (with lots of complications) with a man who has a past connection with her new roomie. Keep reading to get a tempting taste of My Bestie’s Ex by Piper Rayne, along with my impressions of this contemporary romance, then add this first installment in The Rooftop Crew to your bookshelf!
I can’t borrow him.
He’s not a sweater or a skirt.
He’s not even her favorite dress—the lucky one she wears on first dates. The one she probably wore on her first date with him.
In my defense, I didn’t know who he was. To me, he was a cool, calm, confident stranger. He was perfection for the entire hour and a half train ride while the concrete jungle turned into a rolling green landscape.
To an outsider, we probably appeared more friends than hopeful lovers. But my blush came quickly, and his dimples indented with every smile. We definitely shared a spark of what could be.
Too bad I didn’t know who he was before I fell for him, because he can’t be mine.
BUY LINKS: AMAZON (US) | AMAZON (UK) | AMAZON (CA) | AMAZON (AU) | AMAZON (DE) | BN | iBOOKS | KOBO | GOOGLE PLAY
MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:
Meeting The Rooftop Crew was like meeting my own set of friends as they’re a colorful and tight-knit group who’ve recently added one new member to their crew as a young woman decides to start over with a new job and a new place to live. She also starts off with an unexpected romance with the stranger she met on the train and who has a surprising past with her roommate that leads to all sorts of complications and hard truths.
Readers got to know a bit about Blanca Mancini when Ms. Rayne shared her three brother’s stories in a previous trilogy that charmed readers and showed the close connection these siblings have. While Blanca loves her family and appreciates their protectiveness, she’s ready to go out on her own. After quitting her job it’s a fortuitous meeting with her one—time friend that has her moving into the apartment complex inhabited by The Rooftop Crew which brings her new friends and a support system that feels like family. It also brings her a bit of heartache once she discovers that her new love is the ex-boyfriend of her roommate which has her making a difficult and frustrating decision. Blanca’s an immensely appealing heroine with a big heart. Her and her friend pick up right where they left off all those years ago and I admired how good of a friend she was when her heart was put on the line. She’s a smart and sassy heroine, giving as good as she got, and I enjoyed the fun and flirty interactions between her and Ethan. She and Ethan were crackling together and though they came from very different families they felt perfect together. Throughout most of the story they put a smile on my face but a small hiccup late in the story had me wanting to scream but happy that things were resolved quickly.
Ethan had a rough childhood, one where he ended up being the man of the house at an early age and sacrificing much for his sister, while his mother worked endlessly and his father drank. He’s risen above all that though, ready to leave his mark on the world, and is a bit embarrassed by his past which he keeps hidden. It makes him seem closed-off when it comes to getting closer to others and doomed his previous relationship with Sierra. Blanca’s different though and from the moment they meet there’s a definite sizzle. Fun and flirty interactions soon lead to more as they both start envisioning a future together...at least until his true identity comes out and Sierra offers an ultimatum. Ethan’s a true charmer, a great cook and kisser, who’s quick to form connections with his fellow train passengers. He’s funny but clearly has anger over his father’s past actions and current prognosis and I just wanted to hug him. When it came time to fight for Blanca he did just that in scenes where he endeared himself to her brothers while finally dealing with Sierra once and for all after her constant trash talk of him. He manned-up and it had me cheering him on every step of the way.
This was a quick and entertaining romance of coworkers who take a crackling journey to HEA. Their interactions put a smile on my face while providing a blush or two along the way courtesy of Ethan’s shameless flirtations. Add in the complication of his and Sierra’s past and readers will find bits of frustration here too that put Sierra in a bad light in my opinion. Along with a likable main couple who are delightful together, with a romance worth fighting for, comes an equally memorable cast of secondary characters. First up are Blanca’s brothers whose stories were told in The White Collar Brothers series where readers first fell in love with them and I enjoyed getting an update on each as they were all still in love with their well-matched heroines. When it came to The Rooftop Crew I found myself drawn to almost all of them. I could see myself in good girl Rian and am hoping that bad boy Dylan notices her obvious feelings for him soon. Then there’s bagel boy Seth and his war with another bagel maker that I hope to see play out soon. Add in police officer Knox, who’s quietly commanding, and I have yet another reason to look forward to the future. The one weak link for me was Sierra. I found her a bit manipulative when it came to Blanca trying to be a good friend and as she tried to look like a victim with her feelings of abandonment that have her flitting from one guy to another. When it came to Ethan she made him out to be the bad guy when it was her who was equally at fault. Her obsession with a foreign prince feels a bit over-the-top too but it fuels the next book in this series and is definitely a unique set-up for romance. Readers looking for witty banter and sweet and sensual encounters will want to grab this series as The Rooftop Crew starts to feel more like family.
My rating for this is a B+
*I got this book from the author for review in exchange for my honest opinion.
AUTHOR INFO:
Piper Rayne, or Piper and Rayne, whichever you prefer because we’re not one author, we’re two. Yep, you get two USA Today Bestselling authors for the price of one. Our goal is to bring you romance stories that have "Heartwarming Humor With a Side of Sizzle" (okay...you caught us, that's our tagline). A little about us... We both have kindle’s full of one-clickable books. We're both married to husbands who drive us to drink. We're both chauffeurs to our kids. Most of all, we love hot heroes and quirky heroines that make us laugh, and we hope you do, too.
No comments:
Post a Comment