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A review by rlbooks8
How to Date Your Brother's Best Friend by Julie Kriss
4.0
3.5 stars rounded up
Lots of steaminess in this read, but balanced with a sweet romance that packed a nice punch of emotion. I liked that Holly (h) and Dean (H) had somewhat of a familiar history with each other since they met when Holly was 14 and he was her brother's best friend (no romantic feelings on his end until they meet later). It gave the fast development of their interest as adults a foundation that still allowed for growth and development as they learned who they were in a context of being a bit older and also as a couple. Written in first person, dual POV. No ow/om drama and neither were virgins (there are some references to each of their past sexual histories and open discussion, but H had been celibate for a bit before starting something with h).
They choose to pursue their chemistry because of the sparks and as a dare to see if something could last longer between them then Dean's typical hook-up only situations. There is some sneaking around a bit too since Dean's reputation isn't the best. Given how horny they were for each other, I was surprised at how supportive and sweet they were together too. Both nudged the other to pursue their dreams which was esp lovely since each was a little lost. Mental health representation was handled nicely I thought with Dean having a bit of a tragic past and being the type to shut down. I loved that therapy was presented so positively.
The ending is HFN with a very short jump ahead and them continuing to be together. It made sense that there wasn't a further out epilogue for this one and the next book is Holly's brother's so guaranteed basically for these two to be side characters in that book. I liked this, but I didn't love it, the author's writing style doesn't quite work for me despite me enjoying her characters and premises. I'm glad though that I picked it up because it suited my mood perfectly so thank you to my friends who read and reviewed it so highly.
Lots of steaminess in this read, but balanced with a sweet romance that packed a nice punch of emotion. I liked that Holly (h) and Dean (H) had somewhat of a familiar history with each other since they met when Holly was 14 and he was her brother's best friend (no romantic feelings on his end until they meet later). It gave the fast development of their interest as adults a foundation that still allowed for growth and development as they learned who they were in a context of being a bit older and also as a couple. Written in first person, dual POV. No ow/om drama and neither were virgins (there are some references to each of their past sexual histories and open discussion, but H had been celibate for a bit before starting something with h).
They choose to pursue their chemistry because of the sparks and as a dare to see if something could last longer between them then Dean's typical hook-up only situations. There is some sneaking around a bit too since Dean's reputation isn't the best. Given how horny they were for each other, I was surprised at how supportive and sweet they were together too. Both nudged the other to pursue their dreams which was esp lovely since each was a little lost. Mental health representation was handled nicely I thought with Dean having a bit of a tragic past and being the type to shut down. I loved that therapy was presented so positively.
The ending is HFN with a very short jump ahead and them continuing to be together. It made sense that there wasn't a further out epilogue for this one and the next book is Holly's brother's so guaranteed basically for these two to be side characters in that book. I liked this, but I didn't love it, the author's writing style doesn't quite work for me despite me enjoying her characters and premises. I'm glad though that I picked it up because it suited my mood perfectly so thank you to my friends who read and reviewed it so highly.