“I’m a virgin. And you need to relieve me of that.” What respectable guy could say no to that? Yeah, she was my best friend. But she was also the hottest chick I’d ever known. I thought it would be simple. I thought we’d have a good time, then pretend like it never happened. It turns out, I was an idiot. Now, she wants nothing to do with me, but I’m determined. I’ve spent the last five years … but I’m determined. I’ve spent the last five years without her and I refuse to waste another day. I have a solid plan. All of my figurative ducks are in a row. I’m going balls to the wall, and I’m not stopping until I win back the only girl I’ve ever loved.
Too bad for me, Devyn Summers was sitting on a secret that nothing could’ve prepared me for.
*Deal Breakers is filled with lots of laughs, a sexy romance, and an overflowing swear jar. It’s the first installment in the Dealing With Love series, but each one can be read as a standalone.
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I enjoyed this book.
I loved this book and was sorry when I reached the last page!
I loved how you wrote the (son) character in the story
Yeah, this was cute. I’ve read all three books in this set and if you like one, you’ll like the others, no question, even if you read out of order (though you should read in order if possible). A nice, light, sexy little story where you can see the ending coming from a mile away, but who cares? There’s no denying I was entertained.
This was a wonderfully written friends-to-lovers book. I’m not a fan of virgin stories so I hesitated about reading it. But I really liked it. The writing was so good that I could feel the love and heartbreak these two experienced. This story had me in tears and chuckling throughout. And the ending left me with a smile.
Overall, this was a very emotionally charged novel that has captured my heart. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to romance enthusiasts.
I’m a total sucker for a best friends to lovers story and this one hit all my sweet spots! Loved it!
Devyn and Riley forever!! This book couldn’t have been any better!! I absolutely loved everything about it and read it in one very fast sitting!! The book divides into two sections college and 5 years later. I can’t even begin to tell you how good this book is!!
This is the first book in the series but can be read as a standalone. You won’t want to after you’ve read it!! Deal Takers and Deal Breakers follow respectively.
First I have to say that this is the first book I have read by this author and it will not be the last. OMG I have never laughed and cried and screamed so much while reading a book. I absolutely loved this story and could not get enough of Devyn and Riley.
Devyn and Riley meet in college and become best friends. Devyn is a serious and smart girl taking her education serious while Riley parties and has fun taking it day by day. Secretly Riley cares for Devyn but because he knows how serious she is about school he knows there will be nothing but friendship. So it is a HUGE surprise when after graduation Devyn asks Riley for a favor that he is totally blown away by what she asks him to do. Never in his wildest dreams did he expect Devyn to ask him to take her virginity. She wants one night with no strings attached and Riley agrees to do it.
Only after that one night of magic Riley runs away from Devyn because he wants more than a one night with her. He loves her and wants to be with her but at the same time he is scared to death so he does what he thinks is right and leaves her behind.
Fast forward five years when they run into each other and Riley still feels the same for Devyn as if it were the first day he met her. Only this time he is determined to get his girl and keep her no matter what he has to do. But Devyn is keeping a HUGE secret from Riley and when he finds out what will he do? Will he walk away from her again? Or will he stick to his guns and fight to get Devyn back in his life for good?
*Warning* This review contains spoilers!
I knew I was in for a good read when I read this:
“I can tell this girl is different though—she’ll be a challenge—but I’d bet my entire academic scholarship that the reward will be so worth the effort.”
And I was right.
I have so many emotions running through me right now it’s hard to find the words that will do this story justice.
I bought it on a whim when I saw that book two was free. I’m patting myself on the back for doing so.
Reading the college years I was taken back to days when I had guy friends like Riley. Sweet, flirty but so much fun.
It was like reliving my late teens all over again – but that’s where the similarities end.
I knew that the one night they spent together would change things…. how could it not? And Riley had me in all sorts of knots making the night so perfect for Devyn.
The chemistry was off the charts, like, hot-as-all-hell, panties-incinerated attraction. So deliciously good that I kept reading until 4am (I may be a zombie in a few hours but it’s worth it!)
Add in all the other parts- second chance, happily ever after and (of course) a few curveballs and you have one helluva good read.
I’m desperate to read the next one but I need to sleep! Great book, buy it! Lol
Thank you Laura Lee, I loved it
Deal Breakers by Laura Lee is book One in the Dealing with Love Series. This is the story of Riley and Devyn.
Riley and Devyn were once best friends but things went wrong when they slept together and when Devyn said words of love. Riley was taken back and didn’t handle it as he should which caused the break in their relationship. Now in their present day he is working to move to prove his feelings and finding out the secret that Devyn has been keeping.
4 “Balls To The Wall” stars
A perfect night turns into an imperfect truth, which makes the boy nervous and the girl fearful and thus starts the story.
Riley McIntyre meets Devyn Summers and he is mesmerized!!
“Riley! Stop staring at my girls!”
“Tell your knockers to stop staring at my eyes!”
Devyn shifts him firmly into the dreaded “Friend-Zone” which gives them lots of time to spend with each other, knowing and growing together. Then come the ultimate favour that Devyn asks of Riley .
“OKAY, here’s the thing. I’m a virgin. And you need to relieve me of that.”
Well, being a good friend that he is, Riley steps up to the plate and pulls out all the tricks in his bag and gives her the Deluxe First Date/Cherry Pop package. Needless to say he’s an expert, she’s naive and the screams could be heard all over Ashland. They stick to the plan, but then why does Riley feel like a heel in the morning and she feels like crying? Well because somewhere between the coupling of their lower parts the upper body,namely heart, decides to get involved.
“That night…it meant something to me. I know that wasn’t part of the deal, but I know you felt it too. For whatever reason, you obviously weren’t willing to acknowledge it and that hurt. After everything we’d been through…we knew each other better than anyone, yet you chose to run. It hurt.”
He leaves for Boston, she’s dealing with the aftermath and before you know it, 5 years have passed !
The story fast forwards to the second chance pilgrimage. Riley is determined to get Devyn back in his life, but there’s a tiny bit of a problem….actully not that tiny . About 3 feet, parrot-mouth, smartypants in the making !!
Yep…Yep…Yep
Did you know condoms are only 97% effective , it says so right on the packet !!!
I read the book in one sitting, it’s hilarious, swooney, sexy and downright smart. Nathan is cutest Freehanger if there ever was one. That child needs a filter. He’ll definitely be highly educated with all the swear jar money in the bank funded by his uncle Drew and his buddies Brody and Daddy Riley. That boy is set for life !
“Momma says you have to put a dollar in the jar when you say a bad word.”
“Drew is single-handedly funding Nathan’s college education.”
Go pick up the series, you’ll laugh and have fun.
I went into this one completely blind. I had no clue what I was getting into. If I were to give you one sentence, it would be… Here is a second chance, friends to lovers, surprise book. Yep, all three wrapped into one book. I wasn’t let down.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The story itself is great. However, the first part of the book went to fast. I needed more of these two together in the beginning. I couldn’t feel their connection, which made the second half of the book a little harder to feel. I did eventually feel it, but not like I would have had there been more development in the beginning.
This one is cute and has its funny parts. It wasn’t overly emotional. It was the perfect light read I have been enjoying as of late.
action packed keeps you on the edge but true love prevails
4 stars
Great start to a series by Laura Lee. Deal Breakers is a friends to lovers, college age book and does a great job of setting up the characters from the next books as well.
Devyn and Riley had instant chemistry but as luck would have it, he finds himself in the friendzone. Until one fateful night when his friend needs something a little unorthodox, she wants him to be her first; not because she’s in love with him or any of that nonsense but simply because she’s tired of carrying her vCard around. It’s a one night deal, no entanglements, no feelings allowed…I mean what guy turns that down, right?
Now normally things devolve into drama and emotions but both Devyn and Riley are both pretty kickass in their own right and they’re far too busy for pesky feelings. Nope, just kidding, things completely fall apart after their own night together and these former best friends don’t talk for five years! When they finally reconnect, Riley realizes there’s a lot he’s missed out on.
I liked the book but struggled with the characters a little. Riley flat out kills me with his manwhore ways and it took him a long time to grow out of that; Devyn also handled things a little immaturity, IMO only calling him once in alm those years when she’s hiding such a big secret! But while I had a couple issues with this first book in the series,I still very much enjoyed it and look forward to all this friend group has to offer! I see amusement and swooning in my future.
AnnMarie – Alphas Do It Better Book Blog
Okay I really enjoyed this and it had so much potential but I felt like the character and the relationships needed a little more developing like I would have liked to have seen more.
It was really cute I did like the characters and the book was really nice and easy to read. I can’t wait to read more from Laura Lee.
I’m a big fan of friends to lovers romance and the new adult genre, Deal Breakers by Laura Lee was a good romance about friends that cross the line from friendship to more.
I liked Riley and Devyn’s story. Devyn ha a problem. Namely, her virginity. So she propositions her friend Riley to help her get rid of said problem. He eventually agrees, but when Devyn accidentally slips and tells him she loves him while doing the deed, he panics in the worst way. Years later Riley is back, but Devyn isn’t the same girl. She has a new man in her life a huge secret. I loved this couple’s connection and their chemistry and while I enjoyed the storyline it did feel a bit rushed at times. Despite this I was still drawn in by the romance and characters and Laura Lee gives plenty of great romantic moments, swoon, and delicious steam. 4 stars.
Deal Breakers is a cute friends-to-lovers, second chance romance. Riley and Devyn become best friends during college, even though he had a thing for her from the first time he met her. Their senior year, Devyn asks Riley to take her virginity… and they both realize that they’ve been in love with each other all along. But rather than man up, Riley freaks out and ghosts Devyn.
Five years later, Riley is a manwhore who still regretting the one who got away… and decides that he’s going to do something about it. While he’s determined to make right the biggest mistake of his life, Devyn now has a boyfriend… and is keeping a big secret from Riley.
This story is fairly easy, quick read about a playboy and his best girl friend. But I would have liked to have gone deeper with who Devyn and Riley are as people, what makes them tick, and their relationship. I hated that Devyn didn’t really have a good reason for keeping the news about the baby from Riley; she could have done more than try to call once and not leave a message. Yeah, he ghosted her, but I thought that her level of hate for him was a bit severe. But then again, I’ve never been ghosted by my best friend after giving him my V-card and being left with a souvenir of the night. Still, there are a lot of swoony moments as Riley breaks down Devyn’s walls and proves himself to her.
Once Devyn and Riley do get back together, the whole ending is just a rush to the end. I felt like there was a missed opportunity there to see them really adjust to being a bona fide family together. The best part of this book was little Nathan and his potty mouth. The kid cracked me up!
In the end, Deal Breakers is a low-angst story that ticks off the boxes of most contemporary romance tropes. If you are looking for an easy-to-read story that you don’t have to think about too much, this one is definitely one to check out.
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
This was my first book by this author.
Riley and Devon have been friends since college and even though Riley wanted more than friendship he knew that she was adamant about being just friends.
Until their final year and she asked him to take her virginity. Everything changed after that night. They both went their separate ways. But Riley leaving behind more than just his heart.
Now years later they meet again and things are not what Riley expected it to be. Has he lost his chance to get the only women he ever loved back or will this be their chance to have their happily ever after
I enjoyed the story kept me reading till the end, but there was no over the top drama no angst nothing exciting happened for me. So it was just an okay read for me
This seemed to be a classic best-friends-to-lovers kind of love story. What I didn’t count on was him, Riley, freaking out and running away as soon as he finally got the girl of his dreams. Which is what happened here. I was however proud of Devyn, the girl, that she didn’t run after him, all desperate to get him back. When their one night together left her with a forever reminder of it, she sort of attempted to contact him, it didn’t work out, and now it’s five years later. Riley never forgot Devyn, pretty obsessed about her, and he finally decided to do something about it. He didn’t count on her having had his baby though. I loved their interactions, and how they tried to make things normal for their son while navigating through their new reality. She has a steady boyfriend at this point who is in love with her and wants to marry her. Riley respects that and refuses to do anything that might tempt her to cheat. However, he won’t stop fighting for her either. I loved the whole thing. The story was solid, the characters well developed, and we got a very happy ending. What else can you ask for? PS Bratty kid alert, though, I have to say
10/07/2020 I enjoyed “Deal Breakers” (nook) but I was also a bit disappointed. I liked the fact that Riley and Devyn were friends for years because it added depth to their relationship. However, if Riley realized that he did love Devyn, he should have searched for her sooner. I think that five years was too long.
I actually rate this book as 3-1/2 stars.