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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
This book was fun I was dreading the moment when Asher gave up his career for Mark, but when it didn’t immediately happen after Miami, I thought they worked really well and seemed more realistic.
5 stars
I always love these two authors. It is always fun to read the characters they have written, these opposites (if on the surface) are no different. Swoopy and Floofy hair and all.
I always love these two authors. It is always fun to read the characters they have written, these opposites (if on the surface) are no different. Swoopy and Floofy hair and all.
Absolute perfection! Lively banter, drunk texting, enemies to lovers. This book has all the best tropes and they were used brilliantly! Highly recommend!
Sarina Bowen never disappoints, and I'm a fan of Blakely as well.
A very sweet story at its core. I loved the dynamic between the two men. A nice bit of clandestine drama, a tiny sprinkling of angst, a lot of humor. (and sure, if sex is your thing, that was good too). Fun times.
Did not so much love one of them being Mark, but that has everything to do with my ex and nothing to do with the story. LOL
A very sweet story at its core. I loved the dynamic between the two men. A nice bit of clandestine drama, a tiny sprinkling of angst, a lot of humor. (and sure, if sex is your thing, that was good too). Fun times.
Did not so much love one of them being Mark, but that has everything to do with my ex and nothing to do with the story. LOL
**All The Bubbles**
To understand why I'd start a review with an "All The Bubbles" statement, well, you simply need to read this amazingly heartfelt story to find out. It was very nearly a one sitting read but I made myself slow down and savor the growing friendship and romance between Mark Banks and Asher St. John. It's an utterly perfect read and I loved how their attraction grew from a "fling" to a much more connection. More caring Best Men for Mark's pregnant sister Hannahs' nuptials, to Asher's best friend Flip, could not exist.
The proverbial icing on the wedding cake comes about when Hannah and Flip dispatch their "Best Men" to Florida to arrange the reception, and the two quickly get past any thought "what if" and move towards a new stage of making the very best of their limited time together. There's much joy when the rest of the wedding party and guests arrive, including Mark's ex-wife and their much-adored daughter Rosie. Rosie’s six-year-old energy exudes from the page, and she quickly becomes pals with Asher. For Asher and Mark, navigating their feelings for each other gets even more complicated. While circumstances push them apart and their "expiration" date approaches, both men will face a reckoning of what they truly feel and what they need from each other.
The delightful cast of characters, the oh-so-witty dialogue, the sparks between Mark and Asher, the family dynamics, and no joke, spreadsheets and floofy hair, all make for a great read. 5 Huzzah stars!
* I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
To understand why I'd start a review with an "All The Bubbles" statement, well, you simply need to read this amazingly heartfelt story to find out. It was very nearly a one sitting read but I made myself slow down and savor the growing friendship and romance between Mark Banks and Asher St. John. It's an utterly perfect read and I loved how their attraction grew from a "fling" to a much more connection. More caring Best Men for Mark's pregnant sister Hannahs' nuptials, to Asher's best friend Flip, could not exist.
The proverbial icing on the wedding cake comes about when Hannah and Flip dispatch their "Best Men" to Florida to arrange the reception, and the two quickly get past any thought "what if" and move towards a new stage of making the very best of their limited time together. There's much joy when the rest of the wedding party and guests arrive, including Mark's ex-wife and their much-adored daughter Rosie. Rosie’s six-year-old energy exudes from the page, and she quickly becomes pals with Asher. For Asher and Mark, navigating their feelings for each other gets even more complicated. While circumstances push them apart and their "expiration" date approaches, both men will face a reckoning of what they truly feel and what they need from each other.
The delightful cast of characters, the oh-so-witty dialogue, the sparks between Mark and Asher, the family dynamics, and no joke, spreadsheets and floofy hair, all make for a great read. 5 Huzzah stars!
* I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
I did not get into this book expecting sweet tooth-rotting fluffy romance, but damn I’ve never been happier to be proven wrong!
It was a delightful read, every second of it!
Both Asher and Mark are adorable, if a little ridicoulous at times (it adds to their charm, as far as I’m concerned). They have great chemistery, which is always a must, but the real magic’s in the sweet moments peppered in between as their feelings for each other grow.
I’m still feeling floaty! **They are so damn sweet and just so romantic! They honestly just get more and more adorable as the story progresses.
While I love me some hot moments, it’s all the sweet ones peppered all through that made me it hard for me to put the book down from how much they made my heart flutter!
It was just delightful, absolutey delightful!
It was a delightful read, every second of it!
Both Asher and Mark are adorable, if a little ridicoulous at times (it adds to their charm, as far as I’m concerned). They have great chemistery, which is always a must, but the real magic’s in the sweet moments peppered in between as their feelings for each other grow.
I’m still feeling floaty! **They are so damn sweet and just so romantic! They honestly just get more and more adorable as the story progresses.
While I love me some hot moments, it’s all the sweet ones peppered all through that made me it hard for me to put the book down from how much they made my heart flutter!
It was just delightful, absolutey delightful!
I really enjoyed the collaboration between Sarina Bowen and Lauren Blakely in creating this charming, fun, and steamy, opposites-attract romance. Mark is a single dad and is very close to his sister. She asked him to be her best man for her wedding, and her fiancé asked his best friend, Asher, to be his best man as well. When they need Mark and Asher to take care of the details of the wedding for them, Mark and Asher are suddenly thrown together making plans. They are complete opposites with Asher being athletic, stylish, and a free spirit to Mark's adorkable nerdiness. They both are attracted to each other, and their banter is hilarious. But when Asher learns that Mark is bi, the flirting between them gets even hotter. They agree to a 'no strings' affair that is hot, and passionate, making them both secretly question why they can't have more. Unfortunately, both their lives are complicated, so they end up moving on with their lives, but never forgetting the other. When they meet again, their lives are still just as complicated, but they can't ignore their fiery attraction or stay away from each other. Will they be able to sacrifice for each other or will they have to finally break it off for good? Mark and Asher just really melted my heart. They are a cute and endearing couple with explosive chemistry, and watching these two men open up and fight for their love was so beautiful. I especially loved them both with Mark's adorable daughter. Bowen and Blakely do an amazing job developing Mark and Asher's relationship, and their romantic feelings, allowing us to feel all the desire, chemistry, and their close connection. I was totally captivated by this irresistible, heartwarming, and sizzling romance!
Review originally posted at https://smexybooks.com/2022/01/review-the-best-men-by-sarina-bowen-and-lauren-blakely.html
I’ve been trying to be good this year and not request every single book I see that looks interesting. But apparently, I have zero willpower because as soon as I read the blurb for this romance between two best men at a wedding and realized it’s enemies to lovers AND opposites attract AND there was a touch of forced proximity, I just couldn’t help myself.
This book opens with the bride’s brother Mark Banks rushing to make her engagement party. He’s not super excited about attending since his drunken text marathon where he thought he was only messaging his little sister but instead sent it to the group wedding text consisting of him, Hannah, her soon-to-be groom, and her groom’s best friend/sexy as hell wingman. He might have called her wedding a bad idea and the wingman superhot with floofy hair. All he has to do is apologize and get through the night. Right?
Asher St. James is the superhot wingman with the floofy hair. As an old-school friend of the groom-to-be, he’s right in the middle of the wedding planning. He’s charismatic, charming, fun-loving, and enjoys all the good things in life. This includes teasing Mark Banks about the texts he sent while drunk on whiskey.
These two couldn’t be more different. Mark works in finance, enjoys chess, shares custody of his little girl with his ex, and is all polo-shirted up. He’s always known he was bi-sexual but has never had a chance to explore that side of his sexuality after getting his college girlfriend pregnant and then marrying her in short order. Now he is divorced but leads a hectic life of co-parenting and work. Asher is single, gay, and working to build his photography business after a career as a football player in Europe. He’s a bit messy, and can never get anywhere on time, but he’s comfortable with his life.
Then comes the request for them to travel TOGETHER ahead of the wedding party to Miami to make sure all the last minute details are in order. An offer neither of them can refuse. Which means they will be all alone, in a guest house, spending time together and y’all…. that’s when all the good times begin.
While this is billed as enemies to lovers, I didn’t really get that vibe at all. More like a ‘holy shit, you’re hot and I shouldn’t think of you that way’ vibe. I think their sniping at each other was more not really knowing each other and a whole lot of pent-up lust. But then they do spend time together and their desire for each literally explodes all over the page. For real, this book is seeeeexy. Whoa, buddy is it sexy.
There is a lot of fun banter between the two and some extremely sweet moments when they are processing the fact that the short-term fling they agreed to is something they both want to last for far longer. I enjoyed each of their character growth as they find their way together. I’m glad I knew ahead of time there would be a HEA because there were a couple of scenes where I wanted to shout at them to just sit down and talk it out. The ending was satisfying and since this is labeled as the first book in the series I’m hoping to see this couple even more settled and happy in the future. (I keep seeing stand-alone, but a girl can hope.)
I enjoyed The Best Men and happily recommend.
Final grade- B
I’ve been trying to be good this year and not request every single book I see that looks interesting. But apparently, I have zero willpower because as soon as I read the blurb for this romance between two best men at a wedding and realized it’s enemies to lovers AND opposites attract AND there was a touch of forced proximity, I just couldn’t help myself.
This book opens with the bride’s brother Mark Banks rushing to make her engagement party. He’s not super excited about attending since his drunken text marathon where he thought he was only messaging his little sister but instead sent it to the group wedding text consisting of him, Hannah, her soon-to-be groom, and her groom’s best friend/sexy as hell wingman. He might have called her wedding a bad idea and the wingman superhot with floofy hair. All he has to do is apologize and get through the night. Right?
Asher St. James is the superhot wingman with the floofy hair. As an old-school friend of the groom-to-be, he’s right in the middle of the wedding planning. He’s charismatic, charming, fun-loving, and enjoys all the good things in life. This includes teasing Mark Banks about the texts he sent while drunk on whiskey.
These two couldn’t be more different. Mark works in finance, enjoys chess, shares custody of his little girl with his ex, and is all polo-shirted up. He’s always known he was bi-sexual but has never had a chance to explore that side of his sexuality after getting his college girlfriend pregnant and then marrying her in short order. Now he is divorced but leads a hectic life of co-parenting and work. Asher is single, gay, and working to build his photography business after a career as a football player in Europe. He’s a bit messy, and can never get anywhere on time, but he’s comfortable with his life.
Then comes the request for them to travel TOGETHER ahead of the wedding party to Miami to make sure all the last minute details are in order. An offer neither of them can refuse. Which means they will be all alone, in a guest house, spending time together and y’all…. that’s when all the good times begin.
While this is billed as enemies to lovers, I didn’t really get that vibe at all. More like a ‘holy shit, you’re hot and I shouldn’t think of you that way’ vibe. I think their sniping at each other was more not really knowing each other and a whole lot of pent-up lust. But then they do spend time together and their desire for each literally explodes all over the page. For real, this book is seeeeexy. Whoa, buddy is it sexy.
There is a lot of fun banter between the two and some extremely sweet moments when they are processing the fact that the short-term fling they agreed to is something they both want to last for far longer. I enjoyed each of their character growth as they find their way together. I’m glad I knew ahead of time there would be a HEA because there were a couple of scenes where I wanted to shout at them to just sit down and talk it out. The ending was satisfying and since this is labeled as the first book in the series I’m hoping to see this couple even more settled and happy in the future. (I keep seeing stand-alone, but a girl can hope.)
I enjoyed The Best Men and happily recommend.
Final grade- B