Dear Letter Girl, I need to see you. When can we meet?Her response never came. My secret pen pal with a dirty mind has ghosted me. I’ve roped Jules, my sweet as pie next door neighbor, to help me track her down.There’s only one problem–I’m falling for her. The tortoise shell glasses, out of this world curves and delicious treats are making the search for The Letter Girl even harder. My notes … The Letter Girl even harder.
My notes were supposed to be a one time thing. A little too much wine and naughty thoughts on a winter’s night. I never thought Berk would write back. I wanted to tell him it was me, but the fear of rejection kept my lips sealed.
Now he’s enlisted my help to track down The Letter Girl and our search has him hot on my, ahem, her trail.
She’s the girl next door.
He’s my secret pen pal.
Truth is on a collision course with their hearts and it’s only a matter of time before one of them gets wrecked…
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The Third Best Thing is the third (duh!) book of the Fulton U series and we are finally getting to see how things will go between Berk and Jules. I haven’t read the previous books of the series but this is a standalone, so you won’t have any problem reading this book. But I need to make up for this because I know that I’ll like the couples of the first two as well.
In this book we get to know Jules (Julia) Kelland better. She used to live with Elle before she moved in with Nix and now she lives alone – even though sometimes her other roommate decides to get back home with a new guy. Jules loves baking and she loves giving her baked goodies to her friends who live across the street in The Brothel. There’s one guy in particular who likes to taste her muffins and donuts, and that guy is Berk (Berkley) Vaughn, one of the players of the Fulton U Trojans. Jules has a strong crush on Berk and every now and then she puts some dirty letters in his mailbox, but she never signs them. Berk seems to expects these letters with fervor, and he wants to find out who “The Letter Girl” or TLG is, since she writes him the things she’d love to do to his body and such.
Berk and Jules know each other and are friends, but despite she knows that he is sweet and not judgmental, she fears that if he knows she is TLG, they will stop being friends and she’ll be rejected like always and she will be laughed at for even trying to believe Berk would care about her. Jules is curvy, and she fears that her appearance may hinder her friendship with Berk, since he is an athlete and a man candy. She tries to be positive about her body, but it’s not easy when even your mother and your sister look at you if you were disgusting just because you aren’t skinny. I found this reason to be believable because well, it happens to many of us to feel “inadequate” for somebody just because we aren’t models. It’s terrifying that society imposes models that don’t represent real people, because what is important is not a person’s weight but their personality, behavior, etc. And Berk sees things about Jules that she seems not to notice and he likes her the way she is and the way her body is, which is refreshing.
While Jules is too self-conscious about her body and tries to cover it with as many layers of clothing as possible, Berk has other issues. He was abandoned by his mother when he was little, so his life that far was spent in foster home to foster home. Now that he is at Fulton U, he lives with his teammates at The Brothel and will probably be drafted to play football after graduating. Berk’s life looks promising, if only he would find out who TLG is. Berk is sweet and protective, the kind of guy with a big heart who helps anybody who needs his help, like Jules. Berk likes Jules’ sweets and deep under he feels like that isn’t the only reason why he keeps on knocking -ehm, breaking in- her house to steal her cookies. So when Jules invents that Berk is her boyfriend and that he will accompany her to her sister’s engagement party, he accepts without even thinking. Being together for a weekend strengthens their friendship and makes them realize that perhaps there can be more…
I think this couple was balanced. On one side we have Jules, who lives alone and loves to bake and to give her sweets to her friends because it’s a way to be liked by people. Even though Jules’ friends would like her even if she didn’t know how to bake, she loves to take care of their bellies and she offers them a lot of treats. She was mature and she gave me a “mom” vibe because of her attitude. After all, her mother had treated her with disdain her whole life just because she wasn’t skinny, so she grew up alone and learnt to take care of herself and others because that’s what her father also used to do. But of course Jules is still a 22 year old woman, and as she tells us, she is trying to face her issues like her therapist suggested, and this is why she starts writing letters to Berk. The letters were a way to embrace her inner sexual self, and it ended up working because Berk really wanted her to do the things she promised in her letters.
On the other side, there is Berk. Berk is the classic “next door guy”, with his muscles and innocent face. He isn’t judgmental but he has some soft prejudices against people because of his own experience. He was abandoned, this is why he has trust issues even if it doesn’t really seem since he’s friendly with everyone. He takes an old backpack with him everywhere as it was his most sacred possession, and we realize why at some point. Berk grew up with the fear of needing to leave his foster homes and that the other kids would steal what was his, so besides from that backpack, he doesn’t care about anything else. Berk didn’t have any strong parental figures in his life besides his mom, and grew up alone, but he is wise and knows he has to work hard to get what he wants. I guess that one of the reasons why he is attracted to Jules besides her sincerity and kindness is that Jules is very maternal to him. Despite some things that happen to them, she always tells him that she is there and she won’t go. But she has to let him in or they won’t be able to trust each other and love each other properly.
The building romance between Jules and Berk had the right timing in my opinion. They were funny and supportive of each other and I liked their dynamic, it was never forced and it felt natural.
If I have to guess on who the next book will be, I guess LJ and Marisa? But anyway, in the meantime I’ll read the previous two books. <3
One night after a few too many sips of wine Jules decides to poor her heart and her naughty desires into a letter to her crush… full well knowing it could only lead to trouble! Not only does she decide to write said letter, she then decides to deliver it to his doorstep.
She never expected Berk to write back to her, let alone set out on a mission to meet the woman behind the letters… but he does! Things are destined to blow up in her face now… or will they?
The Third Best Thing is a sweet heart-string-tugging romance destined to have you swimming in feels and swoons throughout! These two young love birds have had a rough go at things, been let down by the ones that they love, and so their ability to trust others is a little fractured. But in each other they find something so beautiful and fulfilling, their union fixes all the broken parts left behind by their pasts, and gives them the missing link they were craving all along. I loved watching this couple fall for one another, the progression of their relationship felt natural, their love for one another palpable, it was such a touching tale. I highly recommend you get your hands on this one, it’s pages hold a tale certain to squeeze your heart in all the right places!
I requested an advanced copy of this title from the publisher, and I am voluntarily leaving my honest and unbiased opinion.
When I started reading this story, I could not put it down. I read the book in one day. This author is an awesome writer. I can not wait to read more of their books. Keep up the great work. You should definitely read this book.
“I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.”
I had been patiently waiting for the story of Berk and Jules and Maya Hughes has more than delivered with this story. I have so many emotions running through me right now about this beautiful heartfelt story of these two lost souls. Berk may be the next bright football star from Falton University but his past is always there ready to pounce on his hopes and dreams. No worries as he always has his backpack with him “just in case”. Julia has had it rough in life, not financially broke but emotionally broke. When you were less than perfect as a child it’s obvious you will be a less than perfect adult according to her mother and sister. Her one outlet or refuge was that she shared a love of baking with her father growing up. She lost him at a young age but his recipes and dreams live on in her heart and mind. When the going gets tough, she bakes. Julia lives in the run down house across the street from Berk’s house that he shares with fellow students from the football team. They share a love of her baked goods but secretly they share a desire for each other. What they don’t know is that love of baking, a few very hot love notes shared secret admirer style and some long buried feelings of needing to be accepted and love is going to send them spiraling on the road of self discovery and hopefully arriving at the love station. I wish there was a higher rating system than five stars for this story that has left me emotionally spent!
I had been patiently waiting for the story of Berk and Jules and Maya Hughes has more than delivered with this story. I have so many emotions running through me right now about this beautiful heartfelt story of these two lost souls. Berk may be the next bright football star from Falton University but his past is always there ready to pounce on his hopes and dreams. No worries as he always has his backpack with him “just in case”. Julia has had it rough in life, not financially broke but emotionally broke. When you were less than perfect as a child it’s obvious you will be a less than perfect adult according to her mother and sister. Her one outlet or refuge was that she shared a love of baking with her father growing up. She lost him at a young age but his recipes and dreams live on in her heart and mind. When the going gets tough, she bakes. Julia lives in the run down house across the street from Berk’s house that he shares with fellow students from the football team. They share a love of her baked goods but secretly they share a desire for each other. What they don’t know is that love of baking, a few very hot love notes shared secret admirer style and some long buried feelings of needing to be accepted and love is going to send them spiraling on the road of self discovery and hopefully arriving at the love station. I wish there was a higher rating system than five stars for this story that has left me emotionally spent!
“I know there’s so much shit out there about women and their bodies and I don’t want you to think I don’t see you. I love your curves. I love your thighs and how strong they are when you wrap them around my waist.”
I was so looking forward to this book and so excited that I don’t even know how to express my happiness after reading it. the third best thing is so much more than i expected, berkjules made me sigh, cry, fall in love with them all over again and made me wish I have one of the brothel’s boys in my life.
jules *sigh* what can I say about jules? my love for jules was at first sight, from the moment she appeared on tswm, I was instantly drawn by her, she’s just so charismatic and fierce and oh so talented, I loved seeing her development, and how she came to love herself more, — shout out to how it showed, something that should be obvious but that is not, as self love its not something easy to come through and that with the help of a professional and a support system you can get the necessary kick off.
berkley vaughn… is simply perfect, I love how sweet he was, the way he wears his heart on his sleeves, never backing out from his feelings and I think that’s beautiful, their chemistry is truly out of this world, it was so beautiful to see their relationship developing and how everything just went naturally, I really don’t have exacted words to describe the amount of love that I have for this two. I know the year it’s only starting but its already one of my favorites.
I have so many other things to talk about it but I caaaaaaan’t, I’m just sad that I have to wait so long for marisa and lj’s book but then again I can always reread this one and is something I’ll probably be doing a lot.
*arc kindly provided in exchange for an honest review
What an absolutely amazing book and I have to say, by far my favorite Fulton U story so far! The Perfect First solidified my love for Berk and The Second We Met made me love Jules and be extremely excited for their story. The Third Best Thing made me fall head over heels in love with these two and their romance! There is so much I love about this book. The characters, the chemistry, the emotion- it owned me and gripped my attention from beginning to end.
This book and its main characters are so special. I knew coming into this story that I would love Berk and Jules – I loved Berk from the second I met him in The Perfect First and I fell in love with Jules just as fast in The Second We Met. I didn’t know how emotional their story would be though. They’re both complex, raw and real and the way they come together is so beautiful. The way they see each other for who they truly are, not just what they look like or what sport they play, was so heartwarming. I absolutely loved the fact that Berk and Jules fell in love with each other for who they were on the inside. Maya Hughes did an amazing job with this book especially when it came to the emotions being portrayed by the characters. I felt them, and I understood their situations on a different level because of the attention to detail.
I absolutely love this series and have loved every single book in it so far. I cannot wait to read more by Maya Hughes and The Fourth Time Charm. I’m so excited for LJ and Marissa’s story!