Dear grouchy neighbor: I’m considering your offer and need clarification before proceeding. Despite being an artist, I think you know that as a busy New Yorker, I am also practical and straightforward.That said, I need to make sure you know that this could never turn into anything serious. I don’t care if you’re trying to get over your ex-girlfriend or hoping she’ll eventually want to get back … want to get back together with you—just don’t project your messy feelings about her onto me.
Because, despite your resemblance to an underwear model, I won’t be falling for you. Ever.
Yours, with clear boundaries,
Bernadette
p.s. I’d like to be very clear that regardless of whether or not we do this, nothing will change my feelings for your dog (and we both know she loves me too).
Dear nutty neighbor: As a lawyer, I must clarify that I never made an offer. It was a suggestion regarding the possibility of a non-permanent, no-strings-attached arrangement between two consenting adults whose beds are separated by a wall.
As a man who shares your disdain for messy feelings, I applaud your confidence in your ability to not fall for me. Hold onto that. I’d also like to make it clear that I don’t care if you want to get over your crush on your boss or if you still hope he’ll realize you’re the woman of his dreams. That said, I definitely wasn’t thinking about my ex-girlfriend when I kissed you in the laundry room, and I’m quite sure you weren’t thinking about your boss.
As a dog daddy, I’m glad you’re so taken with my girl. But if you try to steal her I will get all Liam Neeson up in your pretty face.
As a busy New Yorker, I think clear boundaries are hot. I have one hour free to blow your mind tonight. So turn off Netflix, put down that glass of wine, and let’s do this.
Yours for now,
Matt
This is a 75,000 word sexy romantic comedy novel
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This book surprised me! I so enjoyed it!
I’ve had really crappy luck with Kindle Unlimited books lately. I’ve also had crappy luck with new-to-me authors lately. So when I saw this KU book by a new-to-me author, I was skeptical to say the least. But the blurb was good and the other reviews were good, so I gave it a try, thinking that if it sucked, I’d DNF quick if necessary. Imagine my absolutely joyous shock when I actually ended up LOVING the book! Yay, Kayley Loring!!
Here’s what I loved:
Slow-burn romance:
I adore a good slow-burn romance, and this one fit the bill nicely. When the story starts, the heroine, Bernadette, and the hero, Matt, aren’t in relationship-seeking mode. She’s a little hung up on her boss and he’s reeling from a recent break-up with his former live-in girlfriend. So there wasn’t immediate, overwhelming romance-y feelings between them which I really liked. It gave them a chance to become friends and really get to know each other before the sexy times started.
Bernadette:
In the very beginning, I kind of thought Bernadette was going to be one of those tongue-tied-around-gorgeous-guys type heroines who was clumsy and weird and always a little awkward around people. I’ve seen that kind of heroine more times than I can count lately. But she really wasn’t like that at all. She’s a creative free-spirit, but she’s also smart and snarky and organized and great at her job. Her ability to verbally spar and hold her own with Matt was AWESOME.
And honestly, I also loved that Bernadette lives in New York City and is a proud stay-at-home-and-watch-Netflix kind of gal. I can TOTALLY relate to that.
Matt:
Matt’s a little bit grumpy and sullen in the beginning of the book, but that’s really only because he’s a bit messed up about his recent break-up. Once he gets over that, he’s a genuinely nice guy and y’all know how much I love a nice-guy hero. Watching the sullen, grumpy, kind of uptight lawyer fall for the fun free spirit was really kind of delightful. (And not much delights me, folks. I’m pretty grumpy and sullen myself.)
The side characters:
This book had great side characters. Bernadette’s parents were awesome, Aunt Dolly was awesome, Daisy the dog was awesome…are you seeing a pattern here? The side characters served an actual purpose in the story and didn’t merely exist to move the relationship between Matt and Bernadette along, and I really appreciated that.
Odds and ends:
The pacing of the story was perfect, I didn’t notice too many egregious typos and errors, the sex scenes were nice and spicy, there was tons of fun, witty banter, and the characters acted like grown-ups 99.9% of the time. These are all things that helped move this book to my keeper shelf.
So, long-story-short, this was a fun read and I’m super glad I took a chance on it. This book is proof that not all KU reads by new-to-me authors are toxic. It helped remind me to always keep an open mind, just like my mom taught me. (Thanks, Mom. And thanks, Kayley Loring!)
And for more rants, raves, book lists and other fun romance-y stuff, don’t forget to check out the Romance Rehab blog: http://www.romancerehab.com/
4.5 stars. This was such a funny and cute book. She is so adorably funny, like a ray of sunshine, and kind of flies by the seat of her pants, per say. She is a free spirited author, that is an assistant to a famous author and he is the serious lawyer. These two meet when she sees and falls in love with his dog, Daisy. Of course he acts like a complete tool, all’s good though. He ends up being her neighbor’s nephew and is staying in her neighbor’s apartment next to our girl. He just got out of a break up, so his defenses are up a bit and of course she has a secret crush on her boss. These two have so much great chemistry, opposites, yet so alike too. Anyway, instead they set up a no strings agreement with each other….on notes…passed under their doors. I just adored these two…well three counting the sweet and pampered furry princess.
For me this was a safe read, neither are with anyone else after they start their no strings “arrangement”, but for many of my reading peeps, it could be safe with exception. His ex-girlfriend tries to get back into the picture…but no, just no, he says as much. And her boss finally decides he likes her too…again…no, just no, she knows Matt is the one she wants. These two do not want anyone else but each other. She does push away quite a bit, which was the only thing I didn’t love about the book, but finally she admits that she fell for the insanely hot neighbor. They are separated for about a hot second, but they are still not with others. There was an epilogue and hea.
fun opposites attract rom com
Come back to bed is the first book I’ve read by Kayley Loring and it proved to be an enjoyable experience. I think Mackenzie Cartwright and Teddy Hamilton were great picks as narrators as they really brought the characters to life and kept the story moving along in a fun fashion. I thought the characters were well thought out with realistic flaws and strengths. If you are looking for a lighthearted story this book would be a great choice.
I received this book via Audiobook Obsession.
I absolutely loved every minute of this book! I love the whole roommates to lovers kind of stories. The characters had great chemistry. I especially loved the Aunt and the guests at the dinner party.