Thank you to Lauren Blakely, Sarina Bowen and their respective teams for the advance reader copy of The Best Men. This m/m romance releases on January 25th!
Two of my favourites working together, what more could a girl ask for! From the minute this was announced I was very excited about it.
I am a member of Lauren Blakely’s review team, but I stand by my reviews remaining honest and true.
“Bestselling authors Sarina Bowen and Lauren Blakely team up for the first time in an enemies-to-lovers, opposites-attract, irresistibly sexy standalone romance between the best man and the other best man!
In my defense, I was left alone with a bottle of single-malt and a life-long penchant for protecting my baby sister. Still, that’s no excuse to send ten drunk-texts on why her hasty marriage would be a mistake.
If only I had just texted my sister. But nope. I accidentally sent the message to her, her groom, and his super hot wingman.
I also used the phrase “super hot wingman,” so I’d like to die now.
Instead, I have to plan a wedding with the aforementioned hottie and share a too-small guesthouse in steamy Miami.
Three days in the sun with the cocky, charming former athlete who likes to push my buttons? Fine, two can play at that let’s-infuriate-each-other game.
Until Asher ups the stakes with one wildly sexy suggestion. A no-strings fling, then I go back to my single dad life in New York, and he returns to his star-studded one.
Sign me up.
But the more nights I spend with the other best man, the more I want days too, and that just can’t happen. Especially when I find out the real reason why…
Contents Include: First times, a secret to-do list, champion-level flirting, fast cars, #eggplants, and two men who look good in formal wear.”
Check out my more detailed thoughts below…
- Characters: Our heroes are Mark and Asher, and they are very different from each other. Mark works on Wall Street as a trader. The recently divorced, bisexual, single dad comes across as a bit uptight. We meet him after a night of drinking and some accidental bitchy texts. Asher on the other hand is a much more outwardly open gay man. He is a retired premier league footballer. The boys are both going to be a best man at an upcoming wedding, for Mark he will stand by his sister, the bride and for Asher his best friend, the groom.
- Setting: The story starts in New York City but is not long before we are whisked away to Miami, Florida for the destination wedding. The plot gets rolling as the best men have to go down to Miami early to set up the wedding. The Miami wedding is being held at a gorgeous mansion and of course, the best men are sharing the guest house. The few days in Miami were the perfect opportunity for these two to give in to their whims.
- Pacing: The beginning had me hooked and hooked quickly. I loved the choice of having the fallout of Mark’s big drunken mistext be the opening scene. The pacing is what surprised me most about this book. Where Lauren and Sarina took it was surprising. They pulled apart the issues and emotions of long-distance really well, which made for some awesome character development.
- Romance: There was so much sexual tension, I loved it. Mark is immediately attracted to Asher, but they feel the need to uphold their frienemies relationship for a while. I loved their banter back and forth, all the times they spoke in inuendos. It was nice to see them find it easy to open up with each other as they spent more time together. The weaker aspect of this relationship for me was that I did not buy into Asher’s relationship with Mark’s daughter. The aspect of a single dad romance that has the lover fall for the child, not just the parent felt like it could have been flushed out better. Asher and Mark’s relationship was lovely and I loved so many of the little touches from the fast cars to the Bridgerton-esuqe show they binge-watched together.
The Best Men receives four out of five stars.
You can pick up the story here.
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Thank you again to Lauren, Sarina, and their teams for the review opportunity. Thank you for reading and supporting my blog!
