Ethan Fitzell has been avoiding his stepsister Jenny since their parents got married, but when she shows up at his apartment uninvited, he’s forced to face the fact that her absence has only made his heart grow fonder…
Jenny
I always liked him.
But when our parents got married, things got confused. As if being a teenager isn’t confusing enough.
All I knew was that the feelings I had for … confusing enough.
All I knew was that the feelings I had for him weren’t okay.
I’ll never forget the anxiety I felt the night I ran into him at a party that had gotten out of control.
I saw him standing around with the popular kids as soon as I walked in the door.
And he saw me, too. He always saw me. It was talking to me that he avoided.
I watched his buddy spin an empty wine bottle on the butcher block while my friend Brandi rummaged in her oversized purse for the two bottles of hard lemonade her older sister gave us.
When the spinning bottle stopped, I realized everyone was staring at me.
“Looks like you’ve gotta kiss Jen,” some jock said to Ethan.
I felt the color drain from my face, taking the moisture in my mouth with it as a suffocating panic grew in my chest. I was going to be found out.
Ethan laughed it off. “Yeah, that’s not happening. She’s my sister.”
“Not really, though,” his buddy insisted.
The eruption of laughter and jeering sounds made the dim kitchen feel like a jungle full of predators, and I was sure my cheeks were going to burst into flames.
“Don’t be stupid,” Ethan said, tilting a can of beer over his mouth.
When his friend spun the bottle again, Ethan glanced back at me one more time and wiped the back of his hand across his lips.
I’ve been wondering what it would be like to kiss him ever since.
**Author’s note: This is a full-length, standalone romance novel with no cliffhanger and no cheating. It is intended for a mature audience and has an ending that will leave you smiling so hard it hurts.
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We can’t pick our family…
and sometimes we can’t pick who we fall in love with!
Such a believable story!
The innocence and the sarcastic vibe I get from these main characters had me smiling all day long.
Thank you for brightening my day and giving me a new book boyfriend in Ethan!
This was such a heart-warming read that filled me with all the fuzzy feelings along with some seriously hot scenes and also many funny conversations that made me laugh out loud to myself. This was a first read by this author but I can promise it won’t be my last, especially when I feel down, I will pick one of her books to give me hope and a positive outlook on life
Really cute story about a couple who knew each other in high school. Then, they were different as night and day. Their parents married each other making them step siblings. He got in trouble and went away to boarding school.
Fast forward a few years and she needs a place to stay in NYC for an audition. She shows up at his place and old feelings come back full force.
Opinion
This was a great read. Super sweet romance between two souls who belong together. The ending made it that much better.
Absence definitely makes the heart grow fonder for Jenny and her stepbrother Ethan in this fantastic forbidden, funny, and sexy read. The sizzling hot chemistry between these two wonderful characters is brought to life by the talented narrators making it a joy to listen to. I loved it!
I had high hopes for this one based on the blurb. Unfortunately, it just did not deliver for me. The whole concept is binge worthy but in this case, I found myself skimming just to get the book over with. I just didn’t feel the connection and development I was hoping to find. It is hard for me to put a finger on it but it was just missing an element. Not to mention the amount of dashes (-) inserted into this story. It seems that I’m not the only who thought that based on other reviewers. It could have been something great but it just missed its mark.
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It’s steamy but somehow you still feel kind of gross reading it so I just stopped…
Love a good step brother romance…and this is good! The cover alone is worth the price
It was a good read.
I enjoyed the journey between the two main characters.
Decent stepbrother/stepsister romance. After his father and her mother marry they are separated for years when he is sent away to boarding school and never returns home. Reunited when she needs a place to stay things get complicated by warring emotions and hidden feelings emerge.
The back and forth of guilty desire is overly drawn out. The father is portrayed as a militant asshole but then has a mild mannered reaction to the love that transpires. My favorite character ends up being the co-worker Woody. Who opines “it’s easy to over complicate stuff, and you don’t get any extra points in the end for making life harder than it needs to be.”
I wanted to like this book but honestly there wasn’t much of a story. They became step sibling when he was 16 and she was younger. He ignored her but she adored him. He got sent away to school for getting in a fight. Fast forward…he is living in NYC and she is an aspiring actress. His dad gives her the key to his apt without telling him so she can stay with him while auditioning. They are still attracted to each other but try to fight it. Lots of sex but the story goes flat
This was a very enjoyable book. I just couldn’t put it down until I was done. I love a book like that. Ethan grew up to be a wonderful man that earned him his girl. Jen she got her man in Ethan. I really wonder what their lives would have been like if they started dating before their parents got married. Oh well sounds like it worked out better this way. Thank you for the wonderful story, I really enjoyed it.
An easy read, will read more by this author
Sweet step-sibling romance
Jenny Layne and Ethan Fitzell went to the same high school. Since the death of his mom, Ethan’s never seen anyone more beautiful until Jenny, but things get a bit awkward when his dad marries Jenny’s mom. Now they’re step-siblings and he’s feeling guilty over wanting her. Their relationship is an impossibility so going away is the best thing.
When Jenny goes to New York for an audition and begs to stay at his apartment. With Jenny back in his life, Ethan’s unrequited feelings resurface. As they spend time together, both Ethan and Jenny realize they can’t resist the attraction. They’ve loved each other all along, and Jenny finally gives the gift of her virginity to the man she’s always wanted. I love the reconnection and how each bolsters the other in their career pursuit, Jenny in her acting and Ethan for his art. It’s a really enjoyable and entertaining read.
Great story that left me wanting to jump into other books by this author.
Stepbrother romances are my favorite books to read. Hazel wrote a fantastic book that I couldn’t get enough of. I absolutely love Ethan and Jenny. The two of them together are adorable. I love their bantering and how they both supported each other. Omg…they are too perfect. Loved this story so much. Amazing book.