Falling for your best friend couldn’t get any sweeter.Tall, handsome, and eternally optimistic Noah has dated a string of gorgeous women. His best friend Elle has outlasted them all. Of course, he has no idea she’s been in love with him for years. Why would he? It’s not like she’s going to tell him. After all, she’s short and awkward, and as he’s fond of reminding her, has a sour disposition. … he’s fond of reminding her, has a sour disposition.
When Elle takes off on her annual ten-day vacation with her family, Noah comes to a startling realization. She’s the woman who is by his side day in and day out, whose office is across the hall, and whose house is around the corner. She has called him on his shit when he gets too cocky, and he has held her in her arms when her heart was broken. Absence must make the heart grow fonder because while she’s in Germany with her parents, he realizes that everything he has ever wanted was right there all along. Now he’s on a mission to make her realize that romance won’t ruin their friendship, but platonic friendship is ruining their relationship.
This funny, sexy, slow-burn romance will have you laughing, cheering, and rooting for adorable Elle and hot, swoon-worthy Noah. Full of heart, laughs, and plenty of heat, if you like feisty heroines, hot, yummy heroes, or sweet and sour treats, you’ll love following Elle and Noah’s will they-won’t they road to romance.
Sour is a funny, sexy, standalone romance from Jennifer Woodhull, author of The Dating Alternative.
more
As a fan of friends to lovers romances I gobbled this one up. From the first page to the last I discovered many charming moments in a tale that made me smile. From its sweet and sensual banter to its laugh out loud interactions the main couple of this story shined and kept me fully invested in their slow-burn romance. Was it a perfect romance? No it wasn’t, as it went on a bit too long and showed its main couple to be a bit too overreactive at times. Despite these small issues though I still enjoyed this book and can still picture these two friends as a very happy couple.
Elle Bailey considers Noah Adler her best friend, the one person always on her mind and the first person she wants to share things with. After a recent trip abroad, one that left her unable to communicate with Noah, she realizes that things have gotten even more intense between them. For her, friendship has evolved into love…but it’s a love she’s afraid to voice as she doesn’t think she’s worthy of this sweet and sexy man. Her low self-esteem is holding her back and leaves readers hanging on in anticipation as Noah makes his burgeoning feelings quite clear throughout the story. Elle’s a likable heroine who loves her family and whose interactions with them were endearing. She’s a funny heroine too, one who’s flippant and quick to laugh at herself. She’s someone you can see yourself being fiends with and I was rooting for her every step of the way to see herself as wonderful as Noah sees her.
Noah’s a delicious hero, one whose feelings for his friend caught him by surprise. He’s always felt close to Elle but her recent time away makes him realize just how important she’s become to him and how desperate he is to claim her as his own. In some ways Noah’s plans for Elle and their future are a bit overbearing, a bit too presumptive, but his joy in wanting to make her feel cherished was equally endearing. Once he realized his feelings he was set on his path, methodically going through each step in the path to HEA that he just needed to convince her of. Though it’s a bumpy ride to HEA, it’s one that made me smile in a pairing that crackled.
On a whole this was a delightful tale that was a slow-burn full of sweet and sexy interactions. The story may have started out carefree but when their feelings were finally revealed the story took on a more heartfelt turn that invested me even more fully in each word and deed. This was my first time reading a book from Ms. Woodhull, but definitely won’t be my last due to her clever crafting of friends becoming lovers!
I loved watching Noah realize his feelings for Elle, how he fought to make her his! They definitely didn’t have an easy road to their HEA, but the ending made it all worthwhile!!
A new to me author, another new author to start following!!
This is a story of friendship, this is a story of love and hope and also about fear, fear of the unknown and fear of change.
This is the story of Elle and Noah, best friends, ride or die friends. When does friendship develop into more? Read this story and see how it unfolds.
This story gave me all the feels. It was filled with heart, heat, a bit of angst and hope. A prefect cocktail for a love story.
Elle is independent and fiery. She is also vulnerable and was hit with some self esteem issues that most women have. Am I enough? I could empathize completely!
Noah, oh my me….what a dreamboat! Swooniness personified! But he too has his fears and uncertainties.
Noah and Elle’s progression in their relationship flows brilliantly! I couldn’t put this story down. Just when I thought, YES, YES! Ms. Woodhull would bring a bit of a twist and made you crave to read more!
I cannot wait to read some of Ms. Woodhull’s previous stories and see what comes from her next! Loved this story!
Disclaimer: This review MAY contain spoilers.
This is an adorable friends-to-lovers romance. I liked the themes addressed in this book.
The characters were okay. I started out really liking them and then I ended up being somewhere in the middle. Not hating them, but not loving them either. I enjoyed reading about them well enough while I was reading the book because they were entertaining. I don’t necessarily think that they are memorable though. The thing that I had issue with while reading this was the two main characters’ voices. At first, I enjoyed their voices. I liked their personalities and I was able to grasp their motivations quickly. The characters weren’t entirely depthless, but it felt like the majority of the book was them internally monologuing about being in love with the other. I mean, people think about other things in their lives even when they are in love. It made the plot seem a little too forced for my liking. Other than that, I liked the plot overall. The pacing was good and the story unfolded well.
I enjoyed the side characters in this one. I loved Elle’s family and I would have loved to read more about her brother. I also really liked Ian’s character.
The romance was decent, but I honestly would have liked more physical moments between the two main characters. I think that the author did an excellent job of writing their close relationship. These two have been best friends for six years and it is evident in the writing. Their deep connection really rings true, but it sadly only ever felt like friendship. Sure, they both wanted the other, but the romantic chemistry felt off. It didn’t pack that punch that I was looking for. The romance worked, but it could have been way more passionate.
I ultimately really liked the way the ending played out. It was satisfying and it honestly surprised me. I wasn’t expecting everything to work out the way that it did.
I was a little disappointed with the editing of the book. There were so many punctuation and spelling errors that my head started to spin as a result. It’s not a super huge thing normally, but the frequency was astounding to me.
Overall, this is a delightful, fast-paced friends-to-lovers romance that was entertaining and kept my interest. It has a hero that knows what he wants and a heroine that learns to embrace her fears and let go of her insecurities to get her happily ever after.