Author: Kendall Ryan
Publication Date: 14 November 2017
Publisher: Evil Eye Concepts, Inc
Series: Room Mate, 3.5
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Recommendation: 17 and up
Rating: 5 Stars
~ I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review ~
Book Description:
From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Kendall Ryan comes a new story in her Room Mate series…
I might be a typical guy, but these last few years, my love life’s been anything but. From crazy ex-girlfriends to one night stands who are stage-five clingers, my relationships go bad faster than the milk in your fridge. The only constant has been my best friend Maggie.
Fresh off a bad breakup of her own, I invite Maggie to my guy’s skiing weekend knowing she needs an escape from reality. But then something funny starts to happen. I start noticing things about her that I never noticed before.
She’s beautiful and doesn’t know it, she’s funny without even trying, and now she’s suddenly single for the first time in forever.
Sharing a hotel room with her proves to be the tipping point in our very platonic friendship. Suddenly I want to put my hands, my mouth, and my ... other parts ... all over her gorgeous body. I want to claim her, make sure no man touches her ever again. But then her groveling ex shows up, and Maggie’s torn.
Am I ready to screw up the best relationship I’ve ever had for a shot at something more?
**Every 1001 Dark Nights novella is a standalone story. For new readers, it’s an introduction to an author’s world. And for fans, it’s a bonus book in the author’s series. We hope you'll enjoy each one as much as we do.**
My Review:
What a sweet little story this was. This was such a wonderful friends to lovers romance and I particularly loved this one because there was no series drama between the two. Yes there was the fear of the unknown, the fear of hurting the friendship, but none of the trying to get over each other by falling into someone else. No painful moments between the two to get where they were always meant to me, none of that anxiety that makes me uncomfortable when reading romances.
Maggie and Sam have been friends since college and one of them has always known that they were meant to be. Instead of ruining their best friends status the 'knower' hides their desire for the other and promises themselves that life has to go on and if that means keeping the other in their life then they will do what it takes, but that need is always simmering there under the surface.
I loved the strength of both of these characters. That Maggie isn't the kind of Heroine to put up with anyone else's shite and that Sam is strong enough to be her pillar when she needs it. I loved both of their maturity levels, their willingness when the 'light turns on' to talk when needed and not play games with each other. These two seem so real, I can see them being people I know, people that I am rooting for as I watch them come to the realization that love can start with friendship and that another person can know you more than you do yourself.
This is a novella so it is a totally short and sweet story, a quick sit down and not get back up until you are done kind of book. If you haven't read any of the Room Mate stories no worries, you won't be lost at all, this is truly a standalone within the series. If you are a fan of the series you will adore this little book in conjunction with the others!
~ HAPPY READING ~
Excerpt:
Every now and then, Sam would shoot me a sympathetic look, knowing that I had no idea what they were talking about, but in truth, their company was a welcome break. Between what the woman in the shop had said and the lady on the plane’s insinuation, my mind was going a mile a minute and I was beginning to look at Sam in a way I definitely shouldn’t be.
Okay, so, yeah, he was sexy. That was a no-brainer.
I shot him a furtive glance, taking in the corded muscles of his forearms and the lock of dark hair that constantly flopped onto his forehead. And sure, he was sweet and attentive. He looked after me and made sure I always had a fresh drink and that I wasn’t cold or hot. He held the door for me and pulled out my chair when we went to restaurants. Hell, he’d been looking forward to this trip for months and he’d sacrificed an entire day just to make sure I got here safe and didn’t spend my time sulking.
Still, that didn’t mean he had feelings for me. He hadn’t argued when I’d mentioned us being like brother and sister or anything.
No, this whole line of thinking was ludicrous. Sam was a good friend. That was all…wasn’t it?
After all, Trevor had loved me once and he never did any of that.
Admittedly, that wasn’t the best example, but it proved my point all the same. In Sam’s shoes, Trevor never would have missed the chance to hit the slopes with his friends. He hadn’t even skipped the business trip that fell on my twenty-fifth birthday years back.
But Sam was there, my brain supplied helpfully.
Again, not an indication that he had feelings for me. People were just different. Sam was one of the good ones. And if he liked me surely I’d have known by now. He’d have told me or…something.
“Is that your phone?” Sam turned to me and I blinked, only realizing that I’d been so encompassed in my own thoughts that I’d totally zoned out.
“What?” I asked, confused.
“Don’t you hear that vibrating noise? I think it’s your phone.”
I listened hard and then heard the low, gentle hum he was talking about.
“Yep, probably you-know-who again.” I sighed, but fished the phone from my tiny handbag all the same on the off chance it was a family member with an emergency.
It wasn’t Trevor, though. He had called—I had seven new missed messages from him since I’d left for the airport, but I also had three missed calls from my friend Deanna. I hadn’t spoken to her in more than two weeks because she’d been away on a long-awaited safari, but now more than ever I really needed to hear her voice.
A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of more than two dozen titles, Kendall Ryan has sold over 1.5 million books and her books have been translated into several languages in countries around the world. She's a traditionally published author with Simon & Schuster and Harper Collins UK, as well as an independently published author. Since she first began self-publishing in 2012, she's appeared at #1 on Barnes & Noble and iBooks charts around the world. Her books have also appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists more than three dozen times. Ryan has been featured in such publications as USA Today, Newsweek, and InTouch Magazine.
Visit her at:
www.kendallryanbooks.com for the latest book news, and fun extras
