This is a full-length stand-alone novel. You are cordially invited to witness the union of Jenna and Kenneth… Isn’t it every woman’s dream to marry the perfect guy?Mr. Tall, Dark, Rich, and Handsome, the one who wants me at the altar with him, is that man.It’s what my family wants.For a long time, it was what I thought I wanted, too.Then I met Brandon, a ruggedly handsome guy with inked up … Brandon, a ruggedly handsome guy with inked up sleeves, who turns my dreams into flames of heat.
At first glance, Brandon is everything that I never knew I wanted.
But after becoming best friends, I realize he might be everything I never knew I needed.
I’m torn between what my family wants and following my heart.
If I make one wrong choice, I risk losing it all.
***This is a NO cheating stand-alone second chance, friends-to-lovers romance.
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Great story. Thank you for writing this series
The partnership between these two authors is just amazing. It’s been my third read from them and I really enjoyed this book. They have a way with words like no other and I’m looking forward to the next book they’ll write together.
Jenna thinks she has it all. A good solid job, a great family and a wonderful boyfriend. But when she meets Brandon, she feels that instant connection and she starts to doubt her relationship with Kenneth. She doesn’t know what to do and her feelings for Brandon start to grow. But both will do anything to not reciprocate to what they feel but it’s easier said then done. The more time they spend together, the more it gets harder not to give in. But life isn’t always what it seems and when something finally seems to happen, Jenna will have to decide what she really wants…
*Definitely a 4-4,5 star read for me**
I absolutely loved Cruel & Beautiful and really enjoyed A Mess Of A Man. Naturally I had high expectations on this story too. Needless to say, this book was well written because I didn’t expect anything less from these great authors.
We’ve met Jenna in both previous books as Cate’s best friend and Ben’s sis-ter. We got a glimpse into her life and knew there was something going on regarding her love life in those books. Now we finally get her full story and I was really excited for this.
The Story:
Jenna has the perfect boyfriend. Tall, dark, handsome and most importantly – especially to her mother – he’s rich. The perfect husband material. Of course she says yes when he asks her to marry him. Who wouldn’t? Though her thoughts trouble Jenna because she can’t seem to forget a certain someone with strong arms, tattoos and gorgeous eyes.
Brandon is everything that Jenna’s guy isn’t. He’s not rich, he doesn’t have the perfect family background and no high society status. So why can’t he get Jenna out of his head when he so obviously doesn’t fit into her life?
Since the day he met her, he has troubles to let go of her even though she was never his to begin with and there hasn’t been anything more than friendship between them.
Jenna has to make up her mind soon because he can’t keep waiting around for her forever. He isn’t the guy to wait for anyone but Jenna seems to have him wrapped tight around her finger.
The question now is, what will Jenna do? Can she cut Brandon loose and be happy with Kenneth? Or will she give in to her desire towards Brandon? Can she overcome the pressure from her mother and finally do what she wants and what her heart tells her to?
Thoughts:
The beginning of the story felt a bit rushed because I couldn’t warm up to the idea of her crying herself out on a stranger’s shoulder.
Jenna felt lonely and since she always had to be the strong one, she sud-denly broke apart at this stranger’s import car repair shop. With her best friend far away dealing with the loss of her husband and Kenneth gone a lot because of his job, she obviously felt the urge to talk to someone about her feelings.
I mean, I couldn’t imagine crying at a strangers shoulder, but anyway she became best friends with this stranger without any further ado.
There might have been some instant connection between Jenna and Brandon that they felt the need to keep spinning around each other despite every-thing but I just didn’t feel it.
Color me surprised when years passed and Brandon was still waiting around for Jenna! I mean there wasn’t even a chance at that point that they would eventually end up together. So, why wait?
Anyway, I get that Jenna liked Brandon a lot because she could be herself around him and he had no expectations she had to fulfill. He listened to her and since she felt lonely she obviously clinged to him as he was the only one around.
I could’ve been wrong since it had been a while when I read C&B but I pegged Jenna for a strong and independent woman who doesn’t let others dic-tate her life. Kind of. In this book though, we got to know her softer side. I just didn’t think that she would also be so indecisive and doesn’t have the balls to stand up to certain people.
I wasn’t really happy with the constant back and forth between Jenna and Brandon. The constant comparisons didn’t help either because after a few times I just questioned why she still had no clue as to who she liked to be with. And what was so wrong with being seen in public with Brandon? I was really annoyed at Jenna because she didn’t treat Brandon nicely.
Brandon was a good guy. He helped his mother finically and he did every-thing for his younger brother. Brandon cared a lot about Jenna and she al-ways came first no matter if it hurt him because he was selfless enough to be there for her whenever she needed him.
To sum this long review up:
The writing was great, as always. The book was as emotional as we know their books to be from these authors. I enjoyed the second half of this book more than the first and I cried some happy and some sad tears during this read.
The story held some topics of society’s standards and the pressure it per-tains – the pressure and anticipation of our surroundings and the need to fit right in and impress others. It’s about the lengths we would go for our loved ones to make them happy.
I was really happy to see my favorite characters of the previous books in this story again. It made me want to reread their stories.
I liked Brandon a lot and I loved the epilogue but he can’t push Drew from his top spot on my book boyfriend list. =P
P.S.: I love Brutus!!! *haha*
Sometimes it’s not all that hard to convince Brandon to come over to Jenna’s, “cake, huh? I guess I can come over for some cake, as long as I get an extra large piece.” Jenna doesn’t mind asking for help when she needs it, “how to properly suck a ***k. Like really do it right.” I liked this book really loved Brandon he had some patience where Jenna was concerned.