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A review by amym84
May the Best Man Win by Mira Lyn Kelly
4.0
This one is verging on 4.5 for me.
I really liked the fact that everything kind of starts out revolving around this group of friends and acquaintances and weddings. And of course proving that the world really is a small place, it seems like Jase Foster and Emily Klein are fated to be paired up at all of their mutual friends' and / or acquaintances' weddings. This wouldn't be such a bad thing if Jase and Emily didn't have a past that involves them not being able to stand one another because, admittedly, both Jase and Emily find the other one attractive. And constantly being thrown together at weddings does nothing to keep them out of each others' minds.
I liked this kind of frenemies to lovers story. The past issues between Emily and Jase are hinted at quite a bit before everything is finally out in the open, but once the past between them is more or less settled, it kind of takes a back seat to deeper personal issues - mainly on Jase's part. I kind of feel like maybe the conflict should have focused on one or the other. I felt like once the past between Jase and Emily is talked about, it's almost as though it's forgotten, and then we too quickly move on to deeper-seated issues of Jase's.
If you're a romance reader, you'll know that there's a kind of formula of events when reading one. May the Best Man Win definitely follows that path, but I thought Mira Lyn Kelly did a really good job with pacing everything out so it didn't feel like Jase and Emily were suddenly in love with one another and then just as suddenly torn apart by one or both of their hang-ups. Typically, I find when this is the case, the ending leading into the HEA can feel a bit rushed, but not here. Mira Lyn Kelly handled it all so well. The progression was spot on to make every event / moment truly count.
Of course, the secondary characters play just as important a part as the main characters since typically these are the characters who will go on to be featured in their own books down the line. I think it's safe to say that Jase's group of friends is the main center point of this, and I really liked all of them.
May the Best Man Win was a sweet, romantic, somewhat steamy read, and I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I really liked the fact that everything kind of starts out revolving around this group of friends and acquaintances and weddings. And of course proving that the world really is a small place, it seems like Jase Foster and Emily Klein are fated to be paired up at all of their mutual friends' and / or acquaintances' weddings. This wouldn't be such a bad thing if Jase and Emily didn't have a past that involves them not being able to stand one another because, admittedly, both Jase and Emily find the other one attractive. And constantly being thrown together at weddings does nothing to keep them out of each others' minds.
I liked this kind of frenemies to lovers story. The past issues between Emily and Jase are hinted at quite a bit before everything is finally out in the open, but once the past between them is more or less settled, it kind of takes a back seat to deeper personal issues - mainly on Jase's part. I kind of feel like maybe the conflict should have focused on one or the other. I felt like once the past between Jase and Emily is talked about, it's almost as though it's forgotten, and then we too quickly move on to deeper-seated issues of Jase's.
If you're a romance reader, you'll know that there's a kind of formula of events when reading one. May the Best Man Win definitely follows that path, but I thought Mira Lyn Kelly did a really good job with pacing everything out so it didn't feel like Jase and Emily were suddenly in love with one another and then just as suddenly torn apart by one or both of their hang-ups. Typically, I find when this is the case, the ending leading into the HEA can feel a bit rushed, but not here. Mira Lyn Kelly handled it all so well. The progression was spot on to make every event / moment truly count.
Of course, the secondary characters play just as important a part as the main characters since typically these are the characters who will go on to be featured in their own books down the line. I think it's safe to say that Jase's group of friends is the main center point of this, and I really liked all of them.
May the Best Man Win was a sweet, romantic, somewhat steamy read, and I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.