What happens when two best friends decide to date each other as an experiment? BAD AT LOVE is a STANDALONE friends-to-lovers romance from the NYT bestselling author of The Pact.She’s bad at love, but he’s even worse…Marina is hot, blonde, and wickedly smart, but when it comes to men? She’s hopeless. Between her quirks and her lack of filter, there isn’t a man in Los Angeles that will stick … Los Angeles that will stick around after the third date.
Her handsome, charming friend Lazarus has the opposite problem. Everyone wants to be the sexy Brit’s girlfriend, but he gets bored and moves on quickly.
There’s only one way to figure out why neither of them has cracked this love thing– they’ll date each other. On paper, it’s the perfect experiment. But in reality, things between Marina and Laz get complicated quickly.
They might be bad at love, but they are even worse at being friends.
Note: This full-length romance is a complete standalone with no relation to any other books and was inspired by the Halsey song “Bad at Love.” It does contain ample amounts of profanity, filthy language and graphic sex scenes.
Sensitive readers should be advised.
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Love this couple…one of my most favorite!
Two bestfriends – Laz that jumps from woman to woman, never letting anyone get too close, and then you got Marina on the other side that can’t seem to get past the third date.
Take these two, add the brilliant idea of the two friends dating each other to help them self learning about love. Could it work,or is it a recipe for a disaster?
***singing a little “Bad at Love” by Halsey***
One of the things I love about Karina Halle, is that her characters aren’t perfect. They have their flaws, their heartaches and problems. Her stories feels natural, real life like and they are emotional. At least her writings touch me, she sparks a lot of emotions. Not only the happy kind, but also the sad ones. I have cried more than once while reading Karina Halle books. This one isn’t any exception.
And a big pluss in “Bad at Love”; all the TV series and literature references Karina uses. I love when authors gets a little “nerdy” and use stuff like that in their books.
(You’ll understand when you read the book!)
What else is there to say?
I enjoyed this book from start to finish (even with the few tears that came).
Go find your wierdo!
When Marina meets Lazarus she is attracted to him, but he has a girlfriend. They become best friends. She is a serial dater not making it past third dates, granted she is a quirky girl very into Bees. Lazarus is a Rocker and has girls falling in love with him but he always breaks up with them. Marina and Laz decide to date each other to help figure out the other’s problem. Marina has the funniest dating stories. Great story of friends to lovers. Loved it
***5 ‘Maybe Scooby is Right’ Stars***
So. Much. Goodness!
The words, the truths, that were laid out in this friends to lovers journey were all kinds of awesome and had me going from doing the goofy swooning grinning thing to having my heart ache in equal measure. The feels in this one were real and on point and kept me turning the pages until the very end and growling when there were no more words to read.
Marina is something of an enigma. She’s clueless and yet doesn’t see the world through rose colored glasses. She has her insecurities and yet is comfortable in her own skin. And despite how bruised her heart is still holds on to hope of a happy future. She is awkward and even had me doing the wide eyed thing as some of her actions, but it was damn hard not to love her in all her quirky glory.
Laz has the whole soul searing poet rock star thing going on and combine that with an unlimited amount of charm and you have a man who will melt panties and break hearts with just a smile. But even though he gives pieces of himself to others, he never gives anyone everything, not even himself. For all of Laz’s outward appearance and bruised soul, the man has a huge heart and a solid sense of honor that had me wanting to dig out the darkness inside him and truly let him shine.
Laz and Marina’s friends to lovers journey to their HEA was a slow burn one and filled with quite a few emotional landmines on both sides of the coin that was balanced out with lots of laughter, heart and smexyness. I loved how insync they were with each other when we first see them as just friends and how their relationship, and their knowledge of each other, grew and it became more and more apparent just how well they fit together. Unfortunately that other shoe had to drop, and while I knew it was coming, when it did it was intense and boy did it crack them both open wide. But the grovelling was top notch and they ended up right where they both belonged.
Bad at Love is a well written, character driven friends to lovers romance that, while does edge towards the sweet side, addresses some pretty heavy topics that may be triggers for some, but are presented in such a way that is respectful and helps to drive the story and lend a deeper understanding into the psyche of the characters. And as for those characters. I loved and adored Laz and Marina but there is a good number of secondary ones that have me crossing my toes that they may one day get their own HEA’s, especially if it means getting glimpses of how Scooby and Noah are doing.
~ Copy provided by the author/Social Butterfly PR & voluntarily reviewed ~
Delicious, is what this book is. Two lovely characters, a little broken but enchanting. This is a friends to lovers book but very convincing because IMO they were in love all the time. I think they were just unsure of pursuing the love and afraid of losing the beautiful friendship they had.
Marina and Laz first meet when Marina and Naomi assisted to their friend Jane’s band show. They were friends with Jane, who was the drummer. Laz was the singer and songwriter, and Jane’s stepbrother. Marina was instantly attracted to Laz but Jane put the kibosh on the attraction, telling Marina that Laz is a manwhore. So Marina settled for second best, being his best friend, platonic.
Four years later, Laz is a serial dater. He dates a woman for one to three months, then breaks up and takes up with another. He always takes the blame and is sad about the break up, then uses the break up woes as creative fuel for his poems. Marina has problems retaining a guy. By the time she gets to the third date, something happens that the guy disappears, never to be seen again. It has gotten to a stage that she’s extremely nervous when the third date comes around.
Laz adores Marina, she’s quirky, clumsy and adorable. His nickname for her is Bumble. She’s a beekeeper and is passionate about bees. After one very hilarious and disastrous third date, Laz decides to give Marina dating advice. Likewise, Marina thinks Laz should man up and get into a relationship that lasts, not use it for creative material once it breaks up.
They decide to fake date, so Laz can monitor Marina’s behavior and point out mistakes. These fake dates were hilarious because all they did was bicker like children. But what happened in time is that they succumb to the love that is deep within their souls for each other. They have several family situations in which they support each other. Their friends act like it was about time they did something about the love vibes they always had. The most surprised about the love that developed were Marina and Laz themselves. They’re a little broken up, but Laz is worse. Both their fathers are alcoholics. Marina’s father killed her mother in a car accident, drunk driving. He went to jail for some time, and is still alcoholic after his jail stint. Laz’s father left him and his mother placed him in a boarding school. He hardly saw her during his school years. This caused abandonment issues in Laz and this affects the relation with Marina, especially when he learns the truth of his father’s abandonment.
I loved that through all the book, Laz loved Marina and was devoted to her. I felt he was biding his time for when she was ready to be with him. He had his doubts about being good at love, about being good enough for her, but his feelings were deep and sincere. Marina was the best character. She was sweet and funny and kind and joyous. Her passion about bees was heartfelt and at times hilarious, especially when she did the bee waggle dance. Even though her father was responsible for her mother’s death, she still helped him recover. She had a big heart and was always first in line when a friend or Laz needed help. When Laz had problems, she rushed to his side. Even with the funny moments, this story was very romantic, sweet and tender.
4.25 stars
“Wild and free and full of light. I want to be a part of that light in your eyes. I want to be the cause of it.”
I was in the mood for a fun and light contemporary romance, and knowing that Karina always delivers, I decided to read this book. Let me tell you that I was not disappointed. I am a very difficult reader, and I am especially picky with contemporary romance novels. So it isn’t that easy to grab my attention, and keep me interested until the end. But Karina did such an incredible job with the characters and the story she created for this book. It was just such a fun read, and I loved that Laz was a Poet and that Marina was a Beekeeper. They are best friends but both of them are bad at love in a different way. Laz is switching girlfriends every few months, and Marina can’t get past the third date. So Laz proposes that they date each other as a test to see what they are doing wrong, and how they can be better at dating. I loved this idea so much, and I already knew feelings would be involved pretty fast. What I loved about this book is how everything developed in a very organic way.
“Marina, I’ve never wanted anything, anyone, in this whole bloody world as much as I want you.”
What made me love this book the most were the personalities of the two main characters . They were the opposites in some ways, but also had a couple of things in common. I absolutely loved their friendship. Marina is the sweetest girl: she is nurturing, positive, loyal and has such a kind heart. She is the forgiving type and will help anyone who needs it. Plus she is a Beekeeper, which is so awesome! I need more unusual occupations in books. I loved all the fun and weird facts she would cite about bees at the most random times. Laz, is a Poet and is also is the lead singer in a cover band. Plus he has a sexy British accent, which I LOVE! He was this fun guy, but also has an other side that he doesn’t share with anyone. There were a couple of heartbreaking scenes and my heart went out to both Laz and Marina. I do love how they supported each other. These two were made for each other, and I couldn’t get enough of them. Bad at Love is such a great friends-to-lovers contemporary romance, with very hot and steamy sex scenes. I highly recommend this book.
~ 4.5 Weirdo Stars ~
“You’re like moonshine on the darkest night. You shine a light on who I am and make me want to be a better person.”
Bad at Love is quirky, fun and smoking hot. I honestly didn’t expect to devour it as quickly as I did. Halle’s writing is effortless and easily sucks you into the world that she is creating. From the moment I meet Laz and Marina, I feel in love with them. All the signs are there and you can’t help but pull for them, knowing that they belong together.
Laz and Marina had an instant connection when they met and you can tell that they are attracted to each other but they ultimately end up friend zoned and become best friends. Fast forward four years later and they are single at the same time and things begin to change. What should have been a test relationship to help each other get better at dating ends up showing these two just how compatible they are for each other and shines a light on their true feelings.
Sometimes it’s hard to stand out these days in a best friends to lover story because its been done several times. While it seems simple, what stood out for me is how quirky and weird the two of them are.
“Find your weirdo. Once you do, everything else falls into place.”
Laz is that broken musician and poet who bleeds sexuality and sensitivity. It’s one of the reason’s why he’s a serial monogamist. He’s always faithful but they never last long. He wants to be with someone but he just doesn’t know how. At least not for the long haul. But once things turn serious with Marina and he risks losing her completely, he realizes that he could be good at it. He just needed the right person.
Marina wants the ultimate package. Love. Someone to hold her and love her. But her awkwardness scares a lot of people away. Her passion for her bee business isn’t always received well. I found her absolutely adorable. I embraced her weird and loved every moment of it. Laz does the same thing and it melts my heart. I just love quirky characters and Marina has to be one of my top favorites in the past couple of years.
If you are looking for a fun and quirky read that will make you laugh and melt your heart, then Bad at Love is the book for you. Plus, you can’t go wrong with a brooding musician/poet falling for a quirky bee keeper. It’s sounds so wrong but it’s oh so right.
New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Karina Halle has written a standalone romance inspired by one of my favorite songs, Halsey’s “Bad at Love”. The novel aptly named Bad at Love also, explores why two friends haven’t found love yet.
Marina is hot and blonde, basically a walking wet dream, not mention she is smart. Total package, right? So why can’t she keep a man past the third date? It could be that she hasn’t found one willing to put up with her lack of filter and strange quirks.
“Let me in. Let me be here for everything, all the good, all the bad. All your light and all your dark.”
Her friend Lazarus has a different problem. Women flock to him, probably due to the sexy British accent that he has going on. The problem is that he gets bored with them. He wants a woman with substance and personality, not a floozy who will do whatever he wants.
“I wish it was as easy as this”
“As what?”
“You and me. Talking. I wish the guys I dated got me the same way that you get me.”
He grows silent for a moment and I look over at him. He’s frowning, his attention focused on the road. “Maybe you’re just dating the wrong guys,” he finally says.
Laz and Marina are both looking for love, but it keeps alluding them. In a moment of brilliance, or ignorance depending on how you look at it, they decide to date each other, you know to help the other figure out how to find their perfect match. It doesn’t take long for things to get complicated between the two.
“I love you. I’ve always loved you. And I am absolutely, brilliantly in love with you.”
YES!!!! This was brilliant! Karina never fails to bring the intensity and realness to her words and I especially love this one because I love Halsey and “Bad at Love” is one of my absolute favorites. Not only did she take my favorite song and bring it life she gave a me hot guy with an accent. And not just any accent but my weakness, the British accent. Lazarus was my dream guy I swear, no one has written a guy that comes as close as him to being my ultimate fantasy. And then there is Marina. Beautiful, smart and quirky! She is everything I see in myself. These two were so perfect together.
I love this book so hard!! I love Laz. I love Marina. I love them together. Thank you, Karina, for this book and these characters, for bringing to life my song, and for just flat out being awesome!! Absolutely FIVE stars for this one!