Marrying My Brother's Best Friend by R. S. Elliot

Marrying My Brother's Best Friend:

A Single Dad, Accidental Baby Romance
(The Billionaire's Secret, Book 4) 

Author: R. S. Elliot

Publication Date: February 19, 2021

 

 

Available Now: Kindle

 

 

If you've been following along my reading journey, you know I am very much an advocate for reading a book series in the intended order. 

 

Most of the books I read tend to be part of a larger universe, where characters and story lines intermingle in a way that makes sense for the overall arc of the series and allows the author to get their readers to buy in. 

Full disclosure: I read the first three books in the Billionaire's Secret series some time ago, strictly for pleasure, which is why I'm only posting a review about book four of the series, Marrying My Best Friend's Brother. However, as always, I suggest checking out the first book in the series and make your way through to really get the full emotional impact that R.S. Elliot provides readers of the series. You can check the series out here!

 

Fake It For Me: A Grumpy Boss, Secret Baby Romance

 

Surprise Marriage: An Enemies to Lovers, Accidental Marriage Romance

His Secret Baby: A Second Chance, Accidental Pregnancy Romance

Now for my review... 

I am the type of reader who truly invests in a story, in the characters, and in the universe an author creates. In the current climate of authors self-publishing, a reader never truly knows what type of story they are walking into. The covers of romance novels are absolutely meant to draw the eye, most of them featuring scantily clad god-or-goddess-like models in various states of undress or physical entanglement.

Am I also the type to be swayed by a hot as sin cover? 

Yes, I sure the fuck am!

 

That being said, R. S. Elliot has been hit and miss for me, depending on the series. I loved all three of the previous books in the Billionaire's Secret series, but was not so sure about all of the books in the Billionaire's Obsession series - I've currently just finished the boxed set and I loved Beauty and the Boss as well as Teacher and the Boss. 

 

I really had no idea what to expect from Marrying My Brother's Best Friend when I received an advanced copy, but I loved the premise.

Synopsis:

Aaron
My best friend’s little sister was always off-limits.

That’s especially true now that she’s my lawyer.
I need her to help me keep custody of Ava.
My daughter is the most important thing in my life.
Between being a single father and running a Fortune 100 company, there isn’t room for anything else.
Certainly not with Sarah.
Her brother would kill me if I ever touched her.
Not to mention, she would violate her legal ethics getting involved with a client.
But old feelings aren’t so easy to suppress.
And ending up in bed with Sarah is only the start of the complications to my life and my heart.

Sarah

Aaron Moore is a grade-A jerk.
At least, that’s how I remember my older brother’s best friend from high school.
It didn’t stop me from crushing on him back then, though.
Only now, he’s a client.
He also isn’t the person I thought he was at all.
A determined businessman. A dedicated father. A passionate lover.
Once we cross that line, there’s no going back, despite what it could cost me.
But forces work to keep us apart and take what’s most important to him.
Only I have a secret…one that will change everything and that I won’t be able to keep hidden for long.

Of the four books in this series, this is the one that had my heart absolutely aching. Seeing both main characters struggling so hard against their feelings for one another in order to ensure the well-being of a child had me in tears more than a few times. The investment in Aaron and Sarah was so, so real for me. I found myself having to put the book down for a bit with every obstacle and twist in the story line, but I am happy to say that all of my anxiety over the mountains this pair had to climb was rewarded in the end. 

R. S. Elliot truly does emotional stories well. This is not an author that simply cranks out a book series to make money. There is no rushing over the small details and getting straight to the steamy love scenes. You are introduced to the characters and provided with in-depth backgrounds, relatable side characters that help move the story along, and a well-thought out plot with believable roadblocks and satisfying payoffs by the time you reach the end of the book. 

I would definitely recommend adding R. S. Elliot to your list of authors to follow, and make sure you start at the beginning of each series to get the most out of your reading!

A copy of Marrying My Brother's Best Friend was provided by BookSprout in exchange for an honest review. All opinions regarding the story are my own.

Love & Other Chaos - Jackie Walker

 

Love & Other Chaos

Author: Jackie Walker

Publication Date: December 17, 2020

Available via: Kindle, Paperback

 

One of the things I love most about reviewing books for my blog is finding new authors. I am usually very skeptical when it comes to reading a new series by an author I have never heard of, mostly because I feel comfortable with the writing style of familiar authors and have already formed an emotional attachment to the characters and the universes they have created.

After seeing my review of the latest book from of my favorite go-to authors, Pippa Grant, I was offered a review copy of a debut novel from an indie author, Jackie Walker. 

Love & Other Chaos is a teacher/parent romance, but also features a few other sub-plots that move the story along. The title is actually appropriate for this story, because there is A LOT happening, so much that the first half of the book really had me guessing as to how this story was going to end (yes, I realize most romance novels end with a happily ever after, but I try not to anticipate anything because the last time I did, one of my writer friends killed off her main love interest and I was in tears for 3 days). 

Here's an excerpt from Love & Other Chaos, which is what had me interested from the start:

"Damn my best-friend and her manipulation tactics. She just dared me to kiss Brody while she films it for a social media challenge. She knows I can't resist a dare, especially when coupled with reverse psychology. I'm weak like that. Plus, I'm a little buzzed right now. Fricking margaritas. I'm going to do it, aren't I? I'm going to kiss my best guy-friend, who also happens to be my son's teacher. What could possibly go wrong?"

Unless you're living under a rock, you've seen this social media challenge on Tik Tok, which usually features a girl surprise kissing her guy friend, who usually takes a moment or two to realize what is happening before he reacts and kisses her back. Most of the videos I have seen show a positive reaction, and was for me, an interesting premise for this story.

However, Love & Other Chaos doesn't stick to the same old script, and adds in a lot of other real life shenanigans that most of us can probably relate to, including being a single mom dealing with an autistic son, taking care of elderly grandparents, as well as a sprinkling of revenge after Cara experiences some workplace harassment. 

For me, this book had a lot going on, almost too much, in the beginning. I did not feel as connected with the story or the characters until I hit Chapter 11, when the friendship between the main characters is tested by the social media experiment Cara's friend Helen dares her to carry out on an unsuspecting Brody. 

Other than that, I enjoyed the depth of characters Walker put on the page, especially enjoying the relationship between teacher Brody and Cara's son, Miles. Walker didn't skip over details when talking about what it can feel like when a parent is learning to cope and help a child who is autistic. Miles is shown first as a fourth grader during the prologue, and then aged up to current day, but he is colorfully written and has his own story told alongside his mother and his teacher. 

I can see how this book could be the start of a series, as Cara's brother and friend Helen are relied upon to help the sub-plots move forward, and I am interested to see what stories Walker will craft for them.

If you are looking for a new read, you can find Love & Other Chaos for free if you have Kindle Unlimited. 

Here's a few other places you can interact and follow the author to find out what she has coming out next:

Goodreads

Facebook Author Page

Instagram

Amazon Author Page

A copy of Love & Other Chaos was provided by the author for review.