Gray Bowie broke the bro code: he fell in love with his best friend’s girlfriend.For years, he hid his feelings?until one terrible night, it all came to a head.Since her life blew up in high school, Knox Holliday has spent her time honing her skills as a couture wedding dress designer. But, just weeks before her debut, a freak accident wipes out her collection. The culprit: her ex’s former best … best friend, Gray Bowie.Gray does everything he can to get her career back on track. As they work together, they find forgiveness and start to stitch together something that looks a lot like love. But, at the very moment they realize they have a chance for something real, her ex comes back to town, bringing opportunities Gray can’t provide.This time, Gray’s not going to step aside, so he can only hope Knox will hold onto his heart.She’s his dream, but will he be hers?
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Brodie and Rosalina heat up the pages in this cowboy/ princess romance!
An alpha cowboy & a smart, sassy princess collide in The Reluctant Boyfriend in Erika Kelly’s latest, and it’s fabulous! I was cheering for Brodie & Rosalina with every page. If you love stories with heart, steam & plenty of swoon, don’t miss this one!
Highly entertaining, sexy, fun and engaging adventure filled with interesting charters, witty banter, beautiful settings and thrilling passion….. was a fun read from beginning to end and so hard to put down. I really enjoyed this emotionally thrilling journey!
So when I started reading The Reluctant Boyfriend I realized there were other Bowie family members I needed to know about. Not to worry, all I had to do was keep reading and Erika Kelly did a great job of filling me in on what I needed to know about the other brothers. But, by the end of this story, I was definitely ready to go back and read their full stories. BTW, this is book 4 of this series.
Brodie Bowie has grown up in the Jackson Hole area. I have been to Jackson Hole and Erika took me back with her painting of words on the pages. He is all alpha male, intelligent, outgoing insightful yet caring. He definitely shows an entrepreneur spirit, but as I read more, I discovered he was hurting, and deflecting from things he did not realize were affecting him.
Rosalina Anais Isabella Villeneuve “Rosie” is a European princess caught up in tradition demands and turmoil in her country and looking for ways to diversify her situation. She is beautiful, smart, bright, and forward thinking. She is a leader, but she is also innocent. She sometimes suffers from not being able to see the trees for the shrubs…hahaha.
This is a story of two people who discover that life has so much more than what they believe to be finite. Their struggles to succeed are only eclipsed by their learning about themselves while with the other. Teamwork does work well when you are on a timeframe and sometimes outside input is golden.
Watching these two come together in so many ways, was refreshing and rewarding. Erika Kelly, you have put a great story on paper, along with lasting memories in my mind. My 5-star rating is not enough for this story, but that is the max they allow. Thank you for sharing and now I am off to read the other books in this series.
This is my first book in this series. I will definitely be going back to read the other stories! I love that the prince charming in The Reluctant Boyfriend is rough and rugged and the heroine is the princess. I have fallen in love with Brodie Bowie, he is so swoon worthy that it is no wonder there was instant attraction! The passion, joy, pain and anguish all come out. I think this may be my new binge worthy series!
Erika Kelly brings us two people who just want to be loved see how opposite they really are yet are in tune with each other. In The Reluctant Boyfriend we see Erika Kelly once again showing us another Bowie brother that is stubborn to believe love is impossible. Brodie is unlike the other Bowie men from his dreams and wanting to make the town better. I loved seeing these brothers together and even little Ruby making them all soft and gooey in their own way. Rosalina is one strong woman and so not your usual Princess. Loved her take charge attitude and wanting to be well normal experiencing ever American wild thing. All in all this was a great way to end this series seeing these men being loved all the way.
“I received an eBook copy from the publisher for the purpose of an honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own.”
This is the final book of the Bad Boyfriends series but the first one I’ve read. It is easily a stand alone but I have to go back to the other ones to find out how each brother fell in love.
Brodie and Rosie both have family commitments to meet. Neither of them intends to let their family down but their friendship and eventual love poses some problems to overcome.
I wasn’t sure about a Royal story but Ms. Kelly kept the Princess very normal, if not a bit nerdy and it really worked for me. Now I have to find the time to read the other books.
The Reluctant Boyfriend is Brodie and Rosie’s book. Brodie is yet another athletic wonderboy of the Brodie Clan. He is a wonderful, but somewhat oblivious hero. He’s suffered some manipulation from his mother and is a bit closed off. Rosie is royalty, but her passion is chemistry, more specifically making perfume. She is so loyal and loving, but has recently been betrayed, so she has decided to regroup. These two have an interesting first meeting, I loved the banter and the barter for flowers! Slowly they realize the chemistry they have is special and significant. There are so many obstacles, but with the help of family, they are able to see things more clearly. The author’s descriptions are spot on and Brodie and Rosie’s emotions are felt through the pages. I loved imagining an old wild west town and creating new attractions with Brodie. I also loved to watch Rosie as she created perfumes and scrambled to make everyone happy, including herself. It was great to see the rest of the Brodie Clan with their loves! You can’t forget precious Ruby and Squawk. Amazing read about family, loyalty, and learning to let go and be yourself.
4.5 Stars!
I loved the idea of a modern day romance between a princess and a commoner and The Reluctant Boyfriend, a sweet and steamy romance, delivered! This Standalone is the fourth book in the Bad Boyfriends series and features Brodie, a perpetual bachelor with deep seated trust issues. His love interest is a fugitive Princess, Rosalina, from a fictional monarchy, who’s torn between family and love. The story is so well written and made me feel deeply for Rosie, who was facing a dilemma knowing she was duty bound to honor, and honestly not knowing how it could be resolved in a HEA ending.
Princess Rosalina Anais Isabella Villeneuve is the Hereditary Princess of St. Christophe, located in the Alps. Her passion is the family business, House of Villeneuve, which has produced the most expensive perfume in the world for over ninety years, and is the reason she studied to be a chemist and trained to be a perfumer. But Rosalina is fully aware that her family expects her to marry and produce a male heir to continue the lineage of the throne, due to the agnatic (or semi-Salic) succession, that does not allow women to rule. Her parents are humoring her by letting her work at the business for now, they tend to dismiss her ideas for new lines, until she assumes her role.
“You’ve shown your true character, and I thank God every day you did it before we got married.”
Rosalina has accepted her duty and fate; she knows she’s going to marry Marcel, who she considers her best friend. They grew up together and have known each other since childhood; Marcel’s father is the king’s right hand man and their business manager. That was until Rosalina accidentally overhears Marcel and her personal assistant, Fabiana, and realizes they’ve been cheating on her. Calling off their engagement and knowing she has an appointment scheduled with the wedding dress designer in Calamity, Wyoming Rosalina decides to escape there, to get away from Marcel. Her mother isn’t happy knowing Marcel cheated on Rosalina, but she tells her to take some time and then come back to plan the wedding. But the Queen makes it clear Rosalina must do the right thing, for everyone’s sake.
“It breaks my heart that such an intelligent, talented woman is not able to run this country. That a man, who is most certainly not her equal, has more power and will make the decisions that impact not only St. Christophe but our family business.”
Brodie Bowie knows things will never be the same with his brothers, one just got married and the other two are planning their wedding soon, he was upset they’d fallen in love and wanted to settle down. After seeing how happy they are, with someone to share their lives with, he can understand why they would choose to, not that he has any intention of doing so. Brodie has never been in a committed relationship, he’s never wanted a wife or family. His parents split up when he was younger and his mother left Wyoming to move to New York, abandoning him. Not his brothers, but him. So yeah, he might have some trust issues. When he’s informed Princess Rosalina is staying at their family B&B, he’s not impressed and dismisses her, thinking she’s some demanding heiress. Until he meets Rosalina and every misconstrued idea of her flies out the window. Rosie’s not at all what he imagined. Brodie discovers she’s an intelligent, thoughtful and strongminded woman, and the more time he spends with her the more he hates the idea her going back home, and assuming her role, with Marcel. It looked like there’s no hope for a HEA ending for this couple; duty, family and distance made it seem insurmountable.
“I think, when your parents dismiss your ideas, they make what you do seem inconsequential.”
A story with all the right notes
Book 4 in the Bad Boyfriend series, you can easily read this as a standalone. Like most series of this type, characters from the previous books do carryover, however, and as usual, I feel that having read the earlier books would add to the experience here.
I’ve been loving this series so it’s another case where I picked it up without bothering to read the blurb. I was pretty surprised to find Brodie’s lady was an actual princess, as well as a perfumer and a chemist. After Rosalina, aka Rosie, gets blindsided by her fiancé’s cheating, she needs some time and space; visiting Calamity gives her the opportunity to get the distance she needs, and she finds much more than she expected. After a lifetime of going along with her obligations, I really felt for her as she struggled to balance her duty to her family and country with truly living her own life. Brodie goes on a journey of his own here as well; after seeing his brothers find their soulmates, he comes to realize just how deep the emotional wounds from his childhood actually are, and he has to decide if getting the same kind of connection to Rosie is worth the risk.
There are plenty of secondary characters to help round out the story, and I enjoyed the chance to touch base with Brodie’s brothers and their ladies. And can I say I loved that the author made Vanessa a real person instead of a two dimensional stereotype; I’m sort of hoping she gets her own hea at some point. Speaking of more stories, I was a little sad going in that this was the book for the last Bowie brother, so I’m overjoyed to find that we haven’t see the last of Calamity and these characters.
Like a good perfume, this was a story with all the right notes. From emotion, to characters, to touches of humor and heat, to a setup that had me turning those pages quickly to find out how everything turned out, it’s a entertaining, engaging read. 5 stars
B2B Kelly
Loved Brodie and Rosie! Princess Rosalina is supposed to get married and produce a male heir. She just wants to create her perfumes for the family business. She catches Marcel, her fiancé , and her assistant in a compromising position. She decides to go to Calamity to get away. There she meets Brodie. He is the last brother to fall and he plans to never give his heart away—that is until he meets his Rosie. Can these two worlds find a way to be together? 5 fairytale stars
This book ends on a high note to what has been an amazing series. I loved this book and I loved Rosie & Brodie. It was the perfect conclusion.
This book had it all. It was charming, sweet, hot, unpredictable and fun. It was different, and I liked this sort of different.
THE RELUCTANT BOYFRIEND is a story of family, friendships, duty, betrayal and love. The premise is engaging and captivating; the romance is sizzling and steamy, the characters are strong-willed, energetic and fun. Overall this is an entertaining, spicy and heartwarming story of life, love and happily ever after.
I absolutely LOVED this book. Having never read anything by Erika Kelly I wasn’t sure what to expect but was blown away by her. This is such a great story. I absolutely fell in love with Brodie from page 1 and continued to fall head over heals over him. Rosie is equally memorable both in her role as Princess Rosalina and the talented chemist/perfume maker Rosie. The story was engaging and kept me interested from the get go. I loved the role reversal that took place here with her being the princess and him being the commoner. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun, sweet, sexy read filled with a lovable Alpha male and the princess who saves him.
Beautiful journey to find love while battling the issue of duty versus dreams. Rosalina is expected to marry and produce an heir to continue the monarchy in her country. Just as these wheels begin to move, she finds out the man she thought she loved is cheating on her. This sends her to Calamity for a dress fitting which ends up leading her to a new variation of a flower which puts her in the lab to make a new scent. Meeting Brodie Bowie is unexpected but he shares her passion for new ideas which makes them great partners. Brodie is an idea man but has got a reputation for not following through. As he begins to work with Rosie, it forces him to look deep at the direction his life is taking. As he watches her battle desire to be a perfumer with the duty her family requires, he realizes that maybe he hasn’t made all the best decisions. These two incredibly talented and driven people become the perfect balance to help each other follow their true passions. I enjoyed the challenges that they both faced and how their relationship wasn’t easy even though their chemistry was electric. I voluntarily read an ARC of this book and this is my honest review.
THE RELUCTANT BOYFRIEND is the fourth instalment in Erika Kelly’s contemporary adult BAD BOYFRIEND focusing on the Bowie siblings and family. This is Princess Rosalina Anais Isabella Villeneuve, and Brodie Bowie’s story line. THE RELUCTANT BOYFRIEND can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous instalment is revealed where necessary.
Told from dual third person perspectives ( Rosalina and Brodie) THE RELUCTANT BOYFRIEND follows the forbidden relationship between twenty-five year old Princess Rosalina, and Brodie Bowie. After catching her fiancé in the arms of another woman, Princess Rosalina heads to Calamity, Wyoming under the guise of a wedding dress fitting, in search of something different and new. Meeting cowboy Brodie Bowie stirs something deep within our story line heroine, something she is desperate to experience but knows could destroy the family back home. What ensues is the building relationship and romance between Brodie and Rosalina, and the potential fall-out as Rosalina’s time in America draws to a close.
Rosalina knows duty comes before love but finding the man she was to marry lusting after someone else sent Rosalina in search of something new and exciting. A chemist and perfumer by trade, Rosalina discovers the perfect flower and fragrance in Calamity, Wyoming but perfection is pushed aside by the people back home. Brodie Bowie is quickly falling for the woman who is currently hiding in Calamity Wyoming. Having watched his siblings fall in love Brodie struggles with wanting it all with a woman who may never be his to call his own.
The relationship between Brodie and Rosalina is one of immediate attraction but Rosalina knows her time in America will come to an end. Falling in love was never in the plans but an emergency back home forces Rosalina out of Brodie’s life, and possibly into the arms of the man who broke her heart. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate, without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.
We are reintroduced to Brodie’s brothers Fin Bowie and Calli (The World’s Worst Boyfriend #1); Will Bowie, Delilah and Ruby (the Heartless Boyfriend #2), Gray Bowie and Knox Holliday (The Careless Boyfriend #3); Rosalina’s parents Prince Albert and Princess Sophia and her sister Genevieve, as well as Rosalina’s former fiancé Marcel, and her assistant Fabiana.
THE RELUCTANT BOYFRIEND is a story of family, friendships, duty, betrayal and love. The premise is engaging and captivating; the romance is seductive and steamy; the characters are strong-willed, energetic and fun. THE RELUCTANT BOYFRIEND is an animated, spicy and heart warming story of life, love and happily ever after.
Less than perfect has never hurt so good. The wait is over, but the fun has just begun. With The Bad Boyfriend series, Kelly doesn’t shy away from charming. She captivates with delectable characters that wrap themselves around a heart. The Bodie Brothers are clueless when it comes to romance, but all in when it comes to falling in love. From the first hello to the final goodbye, Rosalind and Brodie are a match made out of the unpredictable, but the sweetest kind of heaven. The Reluctant Boyfriend is the perfect example of why I am hooked on this series. SWOONWORTHY READ!
OK, I’m not sure why the book blurb on this one talks about Gray Bowie because this is definitely Brodie’s HEA. Brodie has been feeling just a little bit lost, more so than usual. His brothers are all paired up and have found their “one.” He doesn’t really get it. I mean, there are so many choices, why limit yourself to just one? Enter Princess Rosalina…
Rosalina has had her entire life planned out for her. She knows exactly what her duty is to her family and her country. She was happy with that life, she felt it was fulfilling and she was more than ready to get on with it. Notice that is all in the past tense? Yeah, she was fine until she found her fiancee and best friend in a compromising situation. Her family grants her a reprieve for a few weeks and she hightails it to Calamity, WY. That’s how she and Brodie meet and she soon realizes that once you meet a Bowie brother your life is likely to be forever changed, especially if they realize you are their “one.”
It took me a little longer to connect to Brodie and Rosie, but once I did I can honestly say their story is good. It wasn’t my favorite of the four brothers, but it was still engaging and entertaining. This is a wonderful story of loving and loving hard, making it all work somehow, and finding your HEA.
Wow. This was an amazing and thorough royal romance. I truly loved it and couldn’t put it down. It was vibrant and fun and energetic. There were some steamy scenes.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
This is one of those books that you have been dying to read but then you know its the ending of an incredible series. I have to fall in love with every single Bowie brother and their other halves. This author really knows how to make you feel like a part of the family.
I was surprised to find Brodie the most playboy of the brothers falling for a princess, she sort felt out of place for a lot of the book. These brothers are hardcore athletes from the midwest and to throw in this princess it was a little strange. After some time getting toreally see Rosie we realize she just wants to create perfume and help expand her country’s signature perfume. Rosie is only in America for a short while she has to return to her country to take announce her engagement before a very important vote. While her time is running out Rosie experiences life as a normal woman and falls head over feet for Brodie. I love these two together they were both so reluctant to have a relationship knowing it was ending but they could not deny their attraction to each other. I love how free and easy they were together and Brodie man he really fell so hard. Great read and loving the newer characters who will have a book next, it’s not a Bowie but they are still from Calamity.
4 STARS
Princess Rosalina, aka ‘Rosie’ is more than just her title, she has a deep desire to do more than be the dutiful daughter and do something with her raw talent. When Rosie meets Brodie after she finds out her fiancé is cheating on her, she just wants to check off a list of experiences before she decides her future.
I loved both Rosie and Brodie, they made quite the pair. They have two very different personalities that just mesh so well. This story had a great mix of sweet and sexy.
The Reluctant Boyfriend is the fourth book in the Bad Boyfriend Series, which can be read as a standalone. I highly recommend reading this book as it is a MUST read! The Reluctant Boyfriend by Erika Kelly will join the ranks of the BIBLIO-ELITE!!!