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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
This is a good story, and the character change the hero went through was interesting. I just did not like the heroine constantly bringing up the hero’s sexual past and that every girl wanted him. Still, it had the quirk and charm that comes with a Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward book. 4.5 stars.
Tropes: forbidden, brother’s best friend, another guy’s fiancé, rockstar (struggling), surprise pregnancy (but not really), friends to lovers, childhood friends to lovers
TW: death of a family member in the last, cheating
Tropes: forbidden, brother’s best friend, another guy’s fiancé, rockstar (struggling), surprise pregnancy (but not really), friends to lovers, childhood friends to lovers
TW: death of a family member in the last, cheating
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, Pregnancy, Alcohol
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
My least favorite Keeland/Ward book. I was turned off from the get go and skimmed my way to the end.
I didn't care much for the characters and the twist was OTP and too easy.
Wanted to love it. Just didn't.
I didn't care much for the characters and the twist was OTP and too easy.
Wanted to love it. Just didn't.
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
She cheats with him then spends the rest of the book slut shaming him. Just a whole lot of words to say nothing. This was a huge let down since I liked the first book very much.
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
When I read the description for this book, I got excited and immediately had high expectations. Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward are hit and miss with me regarding plot progression, but they definitely write well. My thoughts as I listen to the audiobook:
Chapter One: Okay, great set-up for this book. Already can tell I'm going to like Holden.
Chapter Seven: I'm enjoying the book so far but a few things have caused some annoyance. One, there is a scene where Holden is concerned about the health of a guinea pig after it eats a flaming hot Cheeto. Lala, for some reason, finds this hilarious. It's not funny. At all. I can take a joke but there's nothing funny about someone caring about whether a pet is okay after ingesting something it shouldn't. It's being responsible and caring. This scene wouldn't have annoyed me so much if Lala was laughing at the absurdity of a guinea pig eating a flaming hot Cheeto, but she wasn't. She was laughing at Holden's concern. Second thing, Lala goes to the store to buy a bunch of junk food and the cashier asks her if she really wants all of it after she puts it down on the counter. This is ridiculous. Why would a cashier ask someone that? Trust me; they've seen weirder. More ridiculous than that was Lala's need to lie, "I have six kids." Why does she care what a stranger thinks about her purchase? I could understand it more if she was buying a banana and lube but junk food? Third, Lala says she can't eat junk food when she's around her fiance because it makes her feel guilty. I was under the impression Lala was a strong heroine. This is weak heroine behavior. She can't eat what she wants because her boyfriend has a different diet? I expected better from her and hope this kind of thinking doesn't persist throughout the book.
Chapter nine: Holden and Lala make an agreement to check each other out for a minute. I rolled my eyes, but this was actually a sweet, tension-filled moment. It was endearing and I am anticipating their tension around each other to kick up after this scene. I like how Holden and Lala are discussing their attraction to each other instead of letting it be unspoken. It shows how close they are and how comfortable they are with each other.
Chapter 17: I was looking forward to the moment when Lala and Holden could finally give in to their feelings and rising sexual tension. I must say, the build up was executed perfectly. The tension built steadily and you could just feel the snap, crackle and pop in Lala and Holden's interactions. The moment they finally could give in to their desires and feelings, however, was a big letdown. Where's the passionate kissing?! There was none. Literally, none. I mean, there was kissing as they had sex, but no kissing beforehand? These two have had feelings for each other since they were young. Been pining for each other. Craving each other. And yet, they went to bed like an emotionless, passionless, one night stand. This was such a disappointment for me. I was waiting for Holden and Lala to attack each other's lips in a frenzy, letting all their pent-up feelings out at last. Which then would lead to frenzied sex. I hope this gets better. Their phone sex scene was hotter than their first actual sex scene.
Chapter 19: Okay, why has Lala lost brain cells now that she's having hot sex? Drunk Lala just declared she's horny to Billie and an elderly random passerby, so she's going to see Holden. She knocks on his door; he answers looking sexier than ever and she declares to him she's horny. It could be cute, and maybe sexy, but it comes off cringe. She's not being coy and playful; she's just drunk and acting like a fool. I was mostly enjoying this story, but I'm not a fan of how things have progressed since Holden and Lala gave in to their feelings.
Chapter 25: Like I said at the beginning, Keeland and Ward are hit or miss regarding plot progression, in my opinion. I'm not liking the progression of Lala and Holden's story so far. They've just agreed to go two weeks without sex because Holden wants to show Lala he can offer more than just sex. Every character in this book is convinced Holden can't, or won't, settle down, but it seems to me Lala should just have a conversation with him about it. She said she didn't know if he was able to settle down, but she never actually asks him where he sees the relationship going or what he wants. That's a pretty basic conversation in a relationship.
Chapter 34: This is the last chapter. The last portion of the book was slightly better than the middle. The song Holden wrote about his feelings for Lala was very heartfelt and I enjoyed the scene after Lala heard him perform the song. Besides that high note, I was mainly just letdown by the choices of the characters for the remainder of the book. It seems to me that a conversation or two could have solved the issues between Holden and Lala and it didn't make sense why they weren't talking. It was established they had good communication when they were younger and they had great communication at the beginning of the book as well. As soon as they decided to start a relationship, all their great communication went out the door. I can't help but feel like this was just a plot device, which is frustrating because it goes against what has been established for these characters.
Overall, this is a well-written book. If you like the premise, I suggest giving it a shot. You may not mind the direction the plot goes. I look forward to reading the next book in the series, as this book sets the next one up well.
Chapter One: Okay, great set-up for this book. Already can tell I'm going to like Holden.
Chapter Seven: I'm enjoying the book so far but a few things have caused some annoyance. One, there is a scene where Holden is concerned about the health of a guinea pig after it eats a flaming hot Cheeto. Lala, for some reason, finds this hilarious. It's not funny. At all. I can take a joke but there's nothing funny about someone caring about whether a pet is okay after ingesting something it shouldn't. It's being responsible and caring. This scene wouldn't have annoyed me so much if Lala was laughing at the absurdity of a guinea pig eating a flaming hot Cheeto, but she wasn't. She was laughing at Holden's concern. Second thing, Lala goes to the store to buy a bunch of junk food and the cashier asks her if she really wants all of it after she puts it down on the counter. This is ridiculous. Why would a cashier ask someone that? Trust me; they've seen weirder. More ridiculous than that was Lala's need to lie, "I have six kids." Why does she care what a stranger thinks about her purchase? I could understand it more if she was buying a banana and lube but junk food? Third, Lala says she can't eat junk food when she's around her fiance because it makes her feel guilty. I was under the impression Lala was a strong heroine. This is weak heroine behavior. She can't eat what she wants because her boyfriend has a different diet? I expected better from her and hope this kind of thinking doesn't persist throughout the book.
Chapter nine: Holden and Lala make an agreement to check each other out for a minute. I rolled my eyes, but this was actually a sweet, tension-filled moment. It was endearing and I am anticipating their tension around each other to kick up after this scene. I like how Holden and Lala are discussing their attraction to each other instead of letting it be unspoken. It shows how close they are and how comfortable they are with each other.
Chapter 17: I was looking forward to the moment when Lala and Holden could finally give in to their feelings and rising sexual tension. I must say, the build up was executed perfectly. The tension built steadily and you could just feel the snap, crackle and pop in Lala and Holden's interactions. The moment they finally could give in to their desires and feelings, however, was a big letdown. Where's the passionate kissing?! There was none. Literally, none. I mean, there was kissing as they had sex, but no kissing beforehand? These two have had feelings for each other since they were young. Been pining for each other. Craving each other. And yet, they went to bed like an emotionless, passionless, one night stand. This was such a disappointment for me. I was waiting for Holden and Lala to attack each other's lips in a frenzy, letting all their pent-up feelings out at last. Which then would lead to frenzied sex. I hope this gets better. Their phone sex scene was hotter than their first actual sex scene.
Chapter 19: Okay, why has Lala lost brain cells now that she's having hot sex? Drunk Lala just declared she's horny to Billie and an elderly random passerby, so she's going to see Holden. She knocks on his door; he answers looking sexier than ever and she declares to him she's horny. It could be cute, and maybe sexy, but it comes off cringe. She's not being coy and playful; she's just drunk and acting like a fool. I was mostly enjoying this story, but I'm not a fan of how things have progressed since Holden and Lala gave in to their feelings.
Chapter 25: Like I said at the beginning, Keeland and Ward are hit or miss regarding plot progression, in my opinion. I'm not liking the progression of Lala and Holden's story so far. They've just agreed to go two weeks without sex because Holden wants to show Lala he can offer more than just sex. Every character in this book is convinced Holden can't, or won't, settle down, but it seems to me Lala should just have a conversation with him about it. She said she didn't know if he was able to settle down, but she never actually asks him where he sees the relationship going or what he wants. That's a pretty basic conversation in a relationship.
Chapter 34: This is the last chapter. The last portion of the book was slightly better than the middle. The song Holden wrote about his feelings for Lala was very heartfelt and I enjoyed the scene after Lala heard him perform the song. Besides that high note, I was mainly just letdown by the choices of the characters for the remainder of the book. It seems to me that a conversation or two could have solved the issues between Holden and Lala and it didn't make sense why they weren't talking. It was established they had good communication when they were younger and they had great communication at the beginning of the book as well. As soon as they decided to start a relationship, all their great communication went out the door. I can't help but feel like this was just a plot device, which is frustrating because it goes against what has been established for these characters.
Overall, this is a well-written book. If you like the premise, I suggest giving it a shot. You may not mind the direction the plot goes. I look forward to reading the next book in the series, as this book sets the next one up well.
This was an audiobook read via audible. Decent narration and definitely one HOT story!
Her Brothers BFF
His BFF’s little sister-off limits
They crushed on each other growing up
Reformed Playboy
Will they / Won’t they
Her Brothers BFF
His BFF’s little sister-off limits
They crushed on each other growing up
Reformed Playboy
Will they / Won’t they
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I am very behind on my reading. This weekend, I am not in the right mood for reading. My health is not great either.
Anyway...
The Rules of Dating My Best Friend's Sister is not entirely entertaining. It was long. A really long story. Both Miss Ward and Miss Keeland wanting to put so much aspect into the story. There are drama, comedy, swoony moments and heart breaking moments.
I myself feel, too much of everything and yet the main plot is not enhanced. The characters remain shallow until the end.
Anyway...
The Rules of Dating My Best Friend's Sister is not entirely entertaining. It was long. A really long story. Both Miss Ward and Miss Keeland wanting to put so much aspect into the story. There are drama, comedy, swoony moments and heart breaking moments.
I myself feel, too much of everything and yet the main plot is not enhanced. The characters remain shallow until the end.