What’s the worst thing about wanting a sexy NFL football player? Everyone else wants him, too.

After catching my boyfriend getting deep-throated by a skanky cage girl, I’ve learned my lesson – never date a professional athlete. Never. Besides, I have more important things to worry about, like not blowing my shot to make it as a broadcast reporter. I won’t let anything get in my way, not even the new “it boy” of the NFL and my hot-as-hell neighbor.

What's the worst thing about getting death glares from his new neighbor? It doesn't make him want her any less.

I’ve worked my ass off to make it to the pros. The last thing I need is the complication of a relationship, especially since my last one was a total train wreck. But I can’t stop thinking about the feisty girl next door with the smart mouth. And I’d love nothing more than to show her what to do with that mouth.

Friends with benefits might be the best idea he’s ever had. Or the worst

Kissing Madeline is a companion novel to DEAREST CLEMENTINE and FINDING DANDELION. Each book is a stand-alone.

Kissing Madeline is the last book in the Dearest series by Lex Martin and it was by far my favorite book in the entire series. It follows Clem’s cheating ex-boyfriend Daren as he gets his life together and falls for Clem’s friend Madeline.

Madeline needs to find a place to stay because she caught her boyfriend cheating on her in their home and she wants out pronto. When she moves in with her friend, she finds out that another cheater, someone who hurt one of her friends lives next door and she’s not exactly thrilled about that. She’s really not thrilled that at work, she’s being forced into doing little sports segments with her next door neighbor and avoiding him is extra hard now. Things take a turn when they start getting closer and Madeline starts hating Daren less. They start spending time together but can’t be public about their relationship because Madeline would lose her job if they’re caught. It doesn’t stop them from seeing each other and it doesn’t stop them from falling for each other but it does make it hard on both of them.

This is my favorite book in the series. I wasn’t prepared to like Daren as much as I did. I knew that he was sorry for everything that went down with Clem and I know that he still felt guilt over his part in all of that so I didn’t exactly hate him but I didn’t know that I would come to love him so much either. Seeing him fall head over heels for the girl that couldn’t be with him was a lot of fun and it was sweet and I enjoyed seeing him and Madeline grown closer together in love. Their bond was evident in the way that they were with each other and I loved that no matter how hesitant Madeline was, he wasn’t. He was all in with her from beginning to end and even when he was being a complete bonehead about things that he should have been upfront about with Madeline, I didn’t hate him. I understood his actions even though I wanted to smack some sense into him.

Like the previous books in this series, there was a lot going on in this one. There was all of the stuff that Daren was dealing with, his family issues, his role on his team while in his rookie season, and everything that came with Madeline. There was everything that Madeline was going through as well. Her job, her last relationship, her trust issues when it came to another professional athlete taking residence in her head and her heart. So Lex Martin had a lot to tackle in this story but I thought she handled the load really well.

The romance between Daren and Madeline felt real and it was a lot of fun to be apart of. I loved seeing them grow together, get struck down and then fight to be together again. I was completely gripped in what was going on and I also carried some anxiety knowing what was to come but pushing through all of that to get through the story. Daren does a lot of growing and so does Madeline. Seeing them fight through the barriers to be together and coming out strong made the ending so much more satisfying for me and I really enjoyed this one. I definitely recommend.

Grade: 4 out of 5

Dearest Series