Manhattan is a stand-alone, small town, country romance in the Becker Brothers Series. Everyone knows not to fall in love with your best friend.But when your best friend is Michael Becker, it’s impossible not to.He’s everything our town knows a Becker brother to be: devastatingly handsome, charming as a thief, and the icing on the cake — a sentimental musician who’s never without his guitar.And … who’s never without his guitar.
And he was mine. At least, that’s what I’d convinced myself.
Our bond was born in elementary school, strengthened by circumstance and the promise to always be there for each other, no matter what. And the best thing about my life was being friends with Michael Becker.
Until it was the worst.
I watched him fall in love with someone else, and helped patch him back up when she left him behind. But when he drops the bomb that he’s moving to New York, I realize it’s my last chance to tell him how I feel. And I ask him to make one more promise.
One summer. One list of adventures to remind him that our small town has more to offer than memories of the girl who left him behind.
One last chance to tell him I’m in love with him.
And I’m just dumb enough to believe that maybe he could love me, too.
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This is the first book I’ve read by Kandi Steiner and it definitely won’t be my last ! I can’t believe I haven’t read anything by her sooner I’m kicking myself right now ! This book was AMAZING I really loved this story and I am going to immediately read all the others before this one because I love these Becker brothers ! I laughed I cried I wanted to throw my kindle a few times but it all came together in the end . My heart is still beating fast for all that Kylie endeared from afar being the best friend and thank god Mikey finally opened his eyes to what was right in front of him all a long . This was a beautiful friends to lovers romance and I definitely recommend!
****I voluntarily reviewed an advanced complimentary copy of this book ****
It has been a while since a book really consumed me. I was constantly thinking about Manhattan and couldn’t wait to get back to when it I had to stop. Words can’t express how much I loved this book.
Michael and Kylie have been best friends forever. They know each other better than themselves. They were inseparable since they were 8 years old until Michael got a girlfriend in high school. She knew she had to continue hide her feelings.
Now they have graduated high school and Kylie is determined to finally let him know how she feels before he moves. These two had the best chemistry and you could tell they would do anything for the other. I loved the slow build and the translation of their relationship.
Manhattan was my favorite book of the series. I can’t wait for more of the Becker’s brothers and see where they end up. These books are must read!!
ARC REVIEW
Sweet. Innocent. And yet powerful.
This brand new best-friends-to-lovers novel will steal your heart from the get-go and give you All. The. Feelings.
‘Manhattan’ by Kandi Steiner is book number three in the ‘Beckers Brothers’ series, and if you follow me, then you know how much I loved the first two books.
Honestly, I was not expecting Mikey’s book to be next but from what I had learned from the previous books, his story was gonna be emotional and relatable.
I mean how many times have we had our hearts broken? Loved someone who didn’t love us back the same way? Felt lost and broken after a heartbreak?
More relatable than this? It’s a promise to make you feel all your heartbreaks and first loves, first fights and first losses all over again.
I have read my fair share of books with teenager characters but this one is by far the best, the most mature and the most inspiring.
Mikey being a Becker is a perfect gentleman with a streak of trouble, he is sweet and caring, he is hilarious when he isn’t grumpy and super attentive.
He is going through his first heartbreak, the first time losing what he thought was the love of his life, and that made him bitter a lil’ bit broken. A shell of the boy we got to know in the first two books, and empty vessel for a big heart and a running mind that keeps screaming at him ‘Keep Moving!’.
He is lost, in the middle of a storm only he can feel and despite the efforts of all those around him, only one person is fierce enough to bring him back.
Kylie is a shy and nerdy girl who feels too much and tries too hard at times, she is oblivious of the power she has over people, oblivious to the fact that she could be something more if she dared to try, but she is also caring for those in need, loving towards the people that mean the most to her and an amazing best friend no one deserves.
She has had feelings for Mikey almost all of her life and yet both fear and hope always held her back from trying to be something more, from pushing the lines and getting finally what she wants. Until one day that broken boy shines a safety light in her direction, like a beacon to happiness, but first, there’s a whole troubled sea to get past.
This couple has an innocence about them that you will be teleported back to your own teenage years, make you see things the way they saw them and yet understand both Mikey’s and Kylie’s point of view without judgment and with a whole lotta love.
The fact that they have been best friends since they were eight, the fact that this is all set in a small country town famous only for its Scooter’s Whiskey, the fact that every character is special, that we get glimpses into past stories we have read and glimpses for the future, these all make this book feel like a good ol’ movie you can’t help but watch over and over again.
Have you ever felt a warm and fuzzy feeling, the feeling of being safe and happy and carefree just by watching an image? Well, that is exactly what this book will give you.
This is a book about losses, lost love, new-found love, heartbreak but most importantly it is about courage and being brave enough to take the leap, to risk everything to be happy, to suffer in order to get your HEA.
It will make you see the world a little brighter, push you to cross boundaries and follow your dreams whatever they might be.
So to quote the country band LANCO, they are gonna be the greatest loves story that town had ever seen.
“He tasted familiar somehow, like my favorite candy or the toothpaste I’d used my entire life.”
With Manhattan, Kandi Steiner delivers the next beautiful installment in the Becker Brothers Series and I devoured this book with every fibre of my heart and soul. It’s a slowburn best friends to lovers story that plays with your emotions like Michael Becker plays his beloved guitar.
I love each and every one of the Becker Brothers. They are something special, they are just … more. Michael is no exception. Even though he’s the youngest brother, you won’t be able to save your heart from falling for him, hard. Such a beautiful by his first love broken soul, looking for a way back into life.
I love the way Kylie loves Michael and how she tries to open his eyes again to the beauty of the world, the beauty of love and trust.
“I felt his rapid heartbeat reverberating through me, matching my own heart’s rhythm, a new song coming to life inside us.”
Manhattan is a soul touching story with all the elements a romance reader’s heart wishes for
“If he wouldn’t choose me, then I have no other choice but to do it myself.”
Manhattan by Kandi Steiner is book three in her Becker Brothers Series. Every book is about another couple and can easily be readas stand alones.
Manhattan is Mikey and Kylie’s book.
Both are just graduated highschool when Mikey declares he’s about to leave for NYC. His hometown is too small for him. Kylie, his best friend since forever is stunned, just like his family. She’s determined to show him what he’s going to miss if he leaves. They spend one last summer together.
Manhattan is a na book about growing up,finding love and your way in life.
It’s a beautifully thought out, beautifully written and beautifully told, touching story that gave me all the feels.
I recommend this slow burn, 4,5 stars.
Next up is Jordan’s book.
I really loved this sweet book. Kylie and Mikey have been friends for ten years and she has loved him all of those years. Even when he was in love with another girl and pushed to the back burner, she still loved him. And when that girl broke his heart, she was there to help put it back together. I normally prefer books with more mature couples and even though Kylie and Mikey are 18 years old, this book isn’t a teenagery, melodramatic read. It’s about two people on the cusp of “real life” and learning about who they are, who they are to each other, what they want for themselves and whether or not that includes each other. It brings back all those feelings of your first love and all the possibilities that lie ahead when you’re 18 years old. This book can be read as a stand alone but I suggest that you read On the Rocks and Neat because 1) they are fabulous books and 2) they are the stories for two of the other Becker brothers that you’ll meet in this book. This is a must read book and series!
Manhattan is book three is the Becker Brothers series. Michael (Mickey) is one the Becker brothers. Each brother get their own book so they can be read as a standalone. Mickey has gone through a bad breakup and her wants to start over in New York. He’s best friend Kylie (Ky) doesn’t want to let him leave. Ky has had a crush on Mickey since forever but Mickey doesn’t know. These two are great down to earth characters. This story has so much wrapped into. I loved how mickey’s eyes finally opened and they moved from friend to so much more. It’s a slow burn the had me wanting it to move a little faster at some points. This story has the perfect amount to angst and romance rolled up into a good read.
I’ve just finished and I was not at all ready for Mikey . Holy smokes, so this is the third stand alone book in Becker brothers series and by now I should already expect that Kandi is gonna deliver a massive emotional blow, right? WRONG! Manhattan was sooo much more than any of us could ask for! Kylie and Mikey are my favorite duo from this series. I was totally crazy about them from the previous books and I finished the book with even greater obsession.
Okay, so this is a small town, best friends to lovers, sort of a coming of age story. Mikey has still not recovered from his first heartbreak that left him shattered and lost. He lost his spark. Kylie has been his best friends since they have been eight, so quite a long time. She has a very bubbly personality – she is a bit nerdy, but friendly and has a huge heart that’s full of love for everyone…but mainly Mikey. These two were super adorable but also super annoying (I mean that in the best way possible) – there were so many times I wanted to just smack them on head to make them open their dam eyes! I got quite invested into their relationship so when Mikey would do something stupid I really felt like hitting the person closest to me.
Manhattan has a great build-up towards the climax, not too fast, not too slow – just the right pace for the characters. There were few heavy moments, few lighter moments and abundance of super adorable moments. It was a very unique story, unlike any other friends to lovers stories I’ve ever read. It has a very familiar and homely feel to it, if that even makes sense.
If you are sucker for emotional smut stories, then please don’t hesitate to dive into this one when you can! Manhattan deserves at least 10 stars!
Kylie and Michael have been best friends for years but after graduating high school Michael is looking for change. Kylie doesn’t want anything to change but can she convince him in time? Kylie has always had a secret crush but will she tell him before it’s too late?
Whoa, Michael and Kylie’s story took my breath away, along with the chance to do anything else cause I didn’t put this down until the very end.. I bawled and bawled, but it’s all good! I might be a softie but this story put my heart through the ringer! Kandi Steiner can and does give us a story that has all the feels!
A very cute journey with a hint of slow burn, friends to lovers story.
Kylie was in love with her best friend, Michael for a long time but he was definitely oblivious. A girl who had been his rock for all his life, watching him falling in love with another girl and also moving away. I felt bad for Kylie at first for this one sided love, but watching her making him realize how much she meant to him, showing the beauty of their hometown, not to let him go before trying to make him stay was convincing. I was rooting for them.
I appreciated the infectious good mood, the spark of innocence in the air and how the author managed to bring the main character together. In the way to tell him she’s in love with him, Kylie is going to think about more for herself, about her dreams and less about her “attempt” to make him stay.
Michael was about to see what was in front of him and this wake up call was kinda fun to watch. To realize how he let her down, the only person that would always be by his side. Focusing on what really mattered, to see the real deal.
Their journey was cute, swoony and all the feels! Michael and Kylie might took a while to finally open up, I struggled sometimes with the back and forth past-present and the way their relationship went to best friends to lovers. I would have liked to see Michael work a little bit to win Kylie over.
However, it was a beautiful journey, which would definitely melt your heart! Enchanting and heartwarming!
{I received this as ARC in exchange for an Honest review}
I love this book. Kandi brings all the feels with this beast friends to lovers romance. Mikey and Kylie share an unbreakable bond. That bond has been tested but they always come back to each other some way some how. They were brilliant. I love the depth of both of these characters. Watching Mikey fall in love with Kylie was so wonderful. He is so blinded by the hurt his ex put him through that it took him awhile to finally see Kylie how she always wanted him to see her. Kylie’s love for Michael is so pure. She will do anything for him even if she hates it. I love that she calls him out on his crap and makes him wake up. They are absolutely incredible together. I loved watching them fall deeper in love together. This story is so beautiful. We still get that Becker mystery that brings all the angst. It was so much fun to read. I finished this in one sitting. I completely recommend this beautiful story!
With „Manhatten“ Kandi Steiner gives us the broodiest and youngest brother in the Becker Brothers series. You already meet him in „On The Rocks“ and learn alot about his journey. You also get a few glimpses in „Neat“ of Kylie, Mikey‘s childhood best friend with whom he has a special relationship since they were eight years old and suffered from the loss of one if their parents.
This story was sweet and beautiful and with so much emotion that I cried a few times and my heart hurt for both of them.
Kylie is one of my favorite heroines in this series. She‘s strong, kind and wears her heart on her sleeve except for the fact that she is in love with her best friend.
Mikeys story was one I was very very excited about and Kandi did not disappoint me. Her writing was exceptional. I also loved how we got to know a few more things that happened with the Father and I hope we get alot more information about that in book 4.
5/5 Review.
Thank you for receiving an ARC in exchange for a honest review
Wow. Kandi Steiner does it again.. This friends to lover story is so filled with love and heartbreak, sweetness and angst, passion and regret. In full Kandi style, she can make the reader feel everything the characters do. Can make the reader bawl their eyes out and laugh at the same time – well its true in my case anyway. Each emotion prickled my skin.. the tear clogged my throat.. the emotion in this story are real and each one felt deeply by the reader.
Michael is such a sweetheart.
The Beaker brother are everything. But Michael and Kylie’s story has a special place in my heart. I have a soft spot for friend to lover romance stories, but this one easily takes number 1 spot. Easily fitting into my top 10 reads of 2019.
What a fantasitc way to finish off my year of fantasitc stories, some of the best this year coming from the ever talented Kandi Steiner. Cannot wait to see what next year holds… including the conclusion of the Beaker Brothers series. Jordan Beakers story will no doubt be fabulous as well… (and releases so close to my birthday )
Full review to come on the blog once we have internet again
I just fell so hard for this book
This book was so much more than I could ever have asked for. I’m so in love with everything.
Manhattan is the third book in the Becker brothers series and focuses on the youngest brother.
Mikey stole my heart, he’s been through so much pain and heartbreak that you just can’t help but feel for him. He’s recovering from his recent heartbreak at the start of this book and this man, he’s so emotional and passionate and I love that about him but what I love the most is, his love for his best friend. I love their relationship, its adorable and I wish I had that.
Kylie, this woman is incredible. She has a heat of gold and has so much patience it’s unreal. Wanting what she can’t have breaks her heart but she won’t and doesn’t give up. This girl is determined and feisty and I love to see it.
Since their first meet in a playground they’ve been inseparable doing everything together. Going through the sad times, the happy times and all the other times together as best friends. Kylie will do anything possible to get her best friend to be happy and Mikey would do the same. It’s been absolutely amazing watching these two.
Kandi really did amazing bringing this Becker’s story to life. Every minute is a treat.
Manhattan is a fun and adorable romance. A best friends to lovers romance that because so much more than just two friends falling in love. It was sad, emotional and a great read. I can’t wait for Jordan’s story to come along.
5 Nelly Stars!!
Aaahhh!! This bad boy right here had me sobbing at 4 AM when I finished the book. Because how can you not? Specially that whole last chapter! Kandi, is literally the queen of emotional turmoil, so get ready to have your heart swoon and bleed! Unrequited love is such a beautiful, painful, emotion and she wrote us some amazing, heart-wrenching scenes to experience between two childhood friends who might as well have been lovers.
“I was the classic, country, girl-next-door, slightly-nerdy and not at all girly wallflower of Stratford, Tennessee, who tutored the delinquents and made sandwiches for the homeless.”
Kylie! I love Ky SO much!! She is such a strong, thoughtful, and very selfless being! She is truly one of a kind! And oh my god, she has such a big heart to be able to help Mikey through everything since they were kids. I love their history! I couldn’t even think how Mikey never saw Ky as something more than his best friend after all those years. But as they say, guys are idiots, so there’s that. She obviously would put up with everything for Mikey but I love it when she stood up for herself and her heart at those trying times. It was so tough, I could feel her pain. How she’s trying to heal and get her old Mikey back all the while Mikey is pushing everyone away.
“He looked so handsome, so devastatingly handsome, like a rare, leather-bound book on the top shelf, just out of reach.”
I don’t even know what happened between him and Bailey but I hated Bailey so much the minute I learned her name! I mean, how can you leave a Becker?? A sensitive, loving, gentleman such as Michael Becker?? Well, that was Bailey’s biggest mistake, huge! God, how my heart broke for Mikey! And how it broke more whenever Mikey unintentionally hurts Ky in the process of his withdrawal too. But when he did see Ky (thanks to a cheeky old lady and a cherry red bikini), it was as if he realized how much he had missed out on Ky when he was dating Bailey. I understand Mikey and his decisions, it’s what I would do, all the way to that thing that totally ruined him and Ky, it’s just how love is. Stupid and selfless. Last chapter is going to crush you hard, damn that’s like my favourite chapter because it was oozing with so much love and history between them and Ky.
We also get another piece of the puzzle of their Dad’s death in here and it continues and I am guessing would finally be solved in Jordan’s book (last book of the Becker brothers!). I love this world Kandi have built with the Beckers, and I will surely miss them when it ends!
“That one, seemingly insignificant exchange between two eight-year-olds was what did me in. Michael Becker grabbed my hand, and we somehow found a friendship in the hollow darkness of the pain we both shared. The rest was history.”
*Thank you Kandi Steiner and Social Butterfly PR for my e-ARC in exchange for my honest review and opinions.*
“And on the drive home, I prayed to God that I wouldn’t completely shatter my heart in an attempt to keep that boy in my life.”
The Becker brothers are back, with Michael being the protagonist of the time.
Kylie and Michael have been friends for years. A friendship that began with a cruel similarity, with the two facing mourning for one of their parents. From the age of eight they are inseparable. Now graduated from high school and with a variety of possibilities for the future waiting for them, it had all to be one of the happiest times. But the news that Michael will move to New York will shake Kylie.
The truth is, she always loved him. But he never saw her that way. If she thought the pain of seeing him fall in love with another girl and cut ties for two years was unbearable, finding out that he will leave and she will lose him again will be even harder. And so, she forms a plan to convince him to stay in town. And maybe with her too.
Michael has lost the passion for life. Since his ex-girlfriend left, changing their plans, he doesn’t know what to do. Emptiness and pain are his constant companions. Going to a place where nothing reminds Bailey is the best solution. But a request from his friend will delay the departure.
And so, Kylie embarks on a journey to make Michael reconnect with the past and become who he was again. But helping someone who refuses help will put her fragile heart at risk.
Michael so far is the brother who aroused the most mixed feelings. I understand his pain, but I found him selfish, spoiled, and a terrible friend. Kylie always supported him and was thrown away. Now that he is in a bad place, he allows her to return. And as much as she tries to cheer him up, he always blames her. In the final part, where he chooses to meet with the past to have a closure and not the person who has always been by his side, made me want to slap him.
Kylie is polite, good friend, selfless, loving and strong. One of the best female characters I’ve ever come across.
The mystery surrounding the Becker family continues and with the discovery of the patriarch’s computer password the anxiety intensifies.
The book is well written, romantic, funny, with a bit of drama, a Snow White-style girl, and a kind of annoying guy who redeems himself in the end. Another good book in the series.
Five swoony, tear-stained stars!
Another great read by the amazingly talented Kandi Steiner. She really put her foot in this story.
Mikey and Kylie’s story is a true slow burn. Longingly loving someone since early childhood and and not having those feelings reciprocated, Kylie makes a last ditch effort to convince her best friend to stay in their homey little town.
The adventures they set out on make you laugh,cry and everything in between. The family dynamic is strong within this series and this one has no shortage of little quips from the rest of the clan.
I enjoyed their tale immensely and recommend that everyone give this Becker boy a shot because he is oh so worth it.
Poor Michael. His girlfriend has up and left him and he is in a bad place. After dropping a giant bombshell on his family, he’s determined to move on, but only by leaving the only place he has called home. To say that doesn’t go over well is an understatement.
Unbeknownst to him, his best friend Kylie is determined to make Michael see what he has in front of him. Including herself. Kylie and Michael share a bond that was formed when they were just little kids. And despite the fact that the two grew apart, thanks to the ex-girlfriend, she knows that she can make him see things her way.
I loved these two so much! As a couple, but also as friends. In my mind, their friendship was the thing that mattered the most in this story. I love a relationship that is based on a solid friendship and that was what they had. It just needed a little repair and some adventure to bring it back.
This is such a sweet story. There’s plenty of love going around the the Becker family and it was Michael’s turn to feel it. His and Kylie’s relationship was years in the making and when it finally came to fruition it was wonderful. It’s an emotional journey with a few laughs thrown in and plenty of swooniness to go around.
5
I’ve been waiting for this book ever since the beginning it was announced each Becker brother was going to have their own book! I’ve always been curious about the youngest brother—Michael. I thought Logan was my fave but I love this one a smidge more.
This is a best-friends to lovers story… The storyline isn’t something I haven’t read before but this one is like those decadent chocolate cakes where the caramel filling in the middle is what sets it apart from the rest.
I love this book! I have to say that this is the best of the Becker Brothers so far. I wish there was a longer epilogue and another one that gave a glimpse of their future. I’m a suck for those.
I’m definitely going to get a paperback copy of this one!