The rules of love and second chances are due for a major-league shake-up in a warm, witty, and unpredictable romance by the bestselling author of The Friend Zone.Ian “Bash” Sebastian and Ember Carlson were high school sweethearts…until their single parents got married. With one thorny twist of fate, a secret young crush went from on fire to off-limits. What could a new stepbrother do but bail? … stepbrother do but bail? Now, after almost four years, Bash has returned to Seattle, and he’s back in Ember’s orbit at End of the Line. EOL is the go-to college for second-chance scholarships. But what about love?
Sure, the old hurts are there. So is the attraction—and it’s more magnetic than ever. Still, they’re adults now, levelheaded and just fine with the friend thing. If only to make family dinners less awkward. But when they agree to start dating other people, moving on threatens to bring them closer together than ever.
Is it time to admit their past to their parents? Even trickier, their hope for the future? Because Ember and Bash deserve a love story of their own. With all their defenses down, can they make it a happy ever after?
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What an angst-fest of emotion! Bash and Ember have quite the history- sweet first love mixed with heartbreak and zero closure. I was worried in the beginning of the book as I read that dating others would be the main plot and they would just avoid the feelings, but thankfully the author dives into their messy relationship and the reader gets to hang on for the ride as they work through their issues. They have awesome chemistry and the flashbacks helped establish their foundation of friendship and romance as they explore that territory again. Themes of trust, healing, forgiveness, family loyalty, and personal autonomy made this book deeper than I expected and increased my reading enjoyment!
Disclosure statement: A complimentary copy of this book was provided from a tour group, publisher, publicist, or author, including NetGalley, OR was borrowed from the library, including OverDrive, OR borrowed from Kindle Unlimited, OR purchased. A review was not required and all views and opinions expressed are unbiased and my own.
I absolutely enjoyed reading this swoony and fun romance! Ember and Dash are adorable and have the best chemistry! I smiled so much reading this book and just loved their characters. Their rocky past and odd family dynamic made for a unique plot, but their connection was jumping off the page and I really liked this book.
This book is a sweet/clean romance with some mild innuendo and some semi-passionate kissing, but nothing that pushes it past PG 13 territory.
Just a Boyfriend was ridiculously cute and sweet story. It is a second chance romance with flirty, fun banter and all the feels. Ember and Bash fell hard for each other in high school and they were just about to announce their relationship to their friends and family, their parents announce that they ran off and eloped and now suddenly they are step siblings. As teenagers they couldn’t handle their emotions for the other and Bash leaves town to move in with his grandmother. Now Bash is back and the two are attending the same college. They try friends at first but neither got over the other and soon neither can run from what they are feeling any longer. I enjoyed these characters so much. I loved their connection, the quirks they knew about each other and their sweet love story. It is low angst and just as the first book was it is very clean romance, with little to no steam and I wished for a little more.
Audiobook: Joe Arden and Lauren Sweet have amazing vocal chemistry. They voiced these characters perfectly. Joe taps into the emotion of the character in such a unique way and Lauren’s sweet sound matched her character so well.
Bash and Ember were so sweet.
A little frustrating at times, as they just danced around each other for sooooooooo long.
But damn, the build-up was worth it.
It was nice to see glimpses of Jess and Logan throughout the story – as well as Ford FINALLY confessing his feelings for Keilani.
Joe is already one of my favourite narrators, so I loved listening to him as Bash.
Lauren did a fantastic job as well.
I loved Ember and Bash’s story. A little forbidden and a little second chance. I loved watching the two reconnect while trying to hide their feelings. I liked that they had a lot of people in their corner. It was slow burn, but I think it was neccessary as they both had to come to terms with both their pasts and their future.
Ian “Bash” and Ember were high school sweethearts until their single parents got married and Bash left to go to college. Now that Bash is back in town, he and Ember are dealing with all the old feelings and trying not to make it awkward at family gatherings. Will they finally come clean with their parents about their past? A funny, good read with step-siblings that were in a relationship before their parents got together.
I loved this book didn’t want to put it down!
Emotional heartfelt read
What a ride. You could literally FEEL the love and longing off the page. These characters were so well written I felt like I went on an emotional roller coaster. I just want more…sad it ended! Great read!!
Another great read from the series. What happens when suddenly your father marries mother from your girlfriend a lot of drama, suppressed feelings and on a hell of a love story. Bash and Amber’s story is unique and the story is worth reading for.
I volunteered to review an ARC of this book for NetGalley
This is my first read from Sariah Robinson. I enjoyed the characters and storyline. Even though, I found it a bit slow paced for me and different from what I usually read, I wouldn’t mind reading another one of Sariah’s book.
Loved this book! Sariah Wilson is an automatic one-click author for me. Bash and Ember are great characters with enough flaws to make them seem real. Full of sweet and funny moments, this book is a must read!
Gooey and Delicious (PG-13)
I certainly hope that this is not the end of the line for this particular series. With its sweet moments and actual laugh-out-loud humor, I have greatly enjoyed the tales of Romance at EOL.
Bash and Ember were fun and sweet, yet written in such a way that they are identifiable to the reader.
Sariah Wilson is one of my favorite authors and well worth the wait. She never fails.
Bash has a second chance even if it’s just at being friends with Ember. She’s his first love, they ran into the complication of their parents getting married; so, he left without explanation. Now he’s back and still loves Ember. She still loves him but doesn’t think he wants her because he left without looking back for almost 4 years. Can they resolve their issues?
A Sariah Wilson book is like a cup of hot cocoa with extra marshmallows.
This is a really sweet romance. Ian and Ember fall in love in high school. Their romance is cut short when Ian’s father marries Ember’s mother. Boom….they’re step siblings! To escape his feelings for Ember, Ian moves across the country to live with his grandparents. He graduates high school and gets recruited to play football in college.
Flash forward a few years, Ian and Ember find themselves on the same campus. Despite the years apart, the spark between them is still strong. Ian and Ember are inherently likable and there is a great set of secondary characters. There’s enough angst to keep things interesting but not enough to weigh the reader down.
A nice romance for a long winter night.
Just a Boyfriend is Book 2 in the End of the Line series by Sariah Wilson. Characters from Book 1 do make small appearances throughout but it is not necessary to have read the first story in order to follow along here.
Bash and Ember are dating in high school when they learn that their parents eloped. An unfair comment by Bash’s father leads to their break up and he moves away. Fast forward a few years and they are now adults and attending the same college. They start to become reacquainted and the feelings they once had for another resurface.
There was good chemistry between both characters and it was nice to see a storyline from Ms. Wilson that was a tad bit spicier, although certainly far from being too racey. The disappointing part of the story was their parents, especially Ember’s mother, who seemed to like to railroad Ember. I felt that Ember and Bash should have firmly stood up for themselves earlier on in the story.
It truly takes talent to weave an unforgettable swoony romance filled with humor and mix it with an impossible family situation, that could be icky, but definitely isn’t in this case, and this author has it.
Bash and Ember have some very tricky hurdles to tackle, especially as they each realize that the sizzle and fire is still alive and well after several years apart, which makes it impossible to be friends, let alone stay apart any longer. I loved watching the characters struggle through their growing attraction, while attempted to appease their families. A lot of growth occurs, mainly as both Bash and Ember recognize that they’re both adults and can jump after their respective hopes and dreams.
There were so many things that I loved about this book–from skydiving to math lessons to rekindling a fading ember–and getting caught! Sariah Wilson’s books are amazing and entertaining, and I can always count on her to supply an amusing story, with lots of butterfly-inducing romance, that manages to stay on the clean side of the line. I can’t wait for more of this deliciously swoony series!
Content: mild+ romance (steamy clean, some innuendo)
*I received a complimentary copy from Montake Publishing, through Netgalley. All opinions expressed are my own and were voluntarily given.*
I love Sariah Wilson, this book is about Bash and Ember second chance romance story, they were together until their parents got married and he left. Now he is back and the forbidden chemistry between them is still there. The audiobook is phenomenal, I suggest you get it, the narrators did a phenomenal job, Lauren Sweet made all Ember emotions come to the surface in her voice, while Joe Arden was his amazing self and became Bash, nailing every emotion and thoughts from the character.
This is the second in The End of the Line series. You don’t have to read The Friend Zone first but Logan and Jess have cameos so it’s nice if you know who everyone else is.
I loved Bash and Ember’s story. They had a rocky start and quite a few obstacles to overcome but they might just make it.
5 stars!!!
Just a Boyfriend by Sariah Wilson was such a delight to read. The first person perspective from each of the main characters was enjoyable and refreshing. I would definitely recommend this book.
Sariah Wilson once again inserts her trademark wit and snark in this delightful story of second chances. And boy can she write a steamy kissing scene (keeping it clean)! The plot reminded me of Jennifer Peel’s My Not-So-Wicked Stepbrother, a clandestine relationship and at times it reminded me of some of Kitty Bucholtz’ work too. I found this book to be engaging and hard to put down.