Reviewer: Rowena My Best Friend's Ex (Beta Brothers #1) by Hazel Kelly
Series: Beta Brothers #1
Also in this series: Friends with Benefits (Beta Brothers #2)
Publication Date: June 8, 2018
Format: eBook
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Point-of-View: Alternating First
Genres: New Adult
Pages: 420
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Series Rating:
I’ve always been good at sharing. You have to be when you grow up in a family like mine. But I never wanted to share Logan.
From the moment I saw him, my skin prickled and my insides burned, as if I’d found something I hadn’t realized I was looking for.
Unfortunately, I had to keep that to myself since, like all the kids my parents brought home, he was considered family from the moment he took a seat at our table. So from that day on, I did everything I could to force a familial bond.
Piper didn’t have to, though. She noticed immediately how special he was, and it wasn’t long before she was caring for him in a way I couldn’t, a way I wasn’t ready for.
A way that made me insanely jealous.
Night after night, I’d watch her leave my house and sneak over to the annex above our garage to visit him, and I’d stare at the small, curtain-covered window until my eyes burned with tears.
I wanted to be happy for them. After all, Piper and I had been best friends since I was six, and she was so content with him… at least, in the beginning. But it was hard because their relationship taught me that I wasn’t as good at sharing as I thought. I just never cared about anything enough to want it all to myself before.
Until Logan.
Not that I held it against them that they got together. I know better than anyone that you can’t help who you love. You can only help who knows about it.
And since he’ll always be off-limits, there’s no point in sharing my secret.
It doesn’t matter if my body screams for his touch whenever we cross paths.
It doesn’t matter that my heart swells to six times its normal size at the mere thought of that handsome loner’s shy smile.
It doesn’t matter if I think I could love him better than she did.
Because Logan Jones and I are never going to happen.
*This standalone contemporary romance features forbidden love, yummy fratboys, and warm fuzzies galore. Ridiculously happy ending guaranteed! Enjoy!
While browsing for titles to check out from Kindle Unlimited, this series caught my eye. I’m a fan of New Adult books, I’m a fan of the whole best friend’s ex trope so I thought that this would be a good fit for what I was in the mood for. I didn’t pay too much attention to the fact that they shared adopted parents but that didn’t even bother me in this book so it’s really a non-issue for me.
So this book starts off with our heroine, Zoey, moving into her dorm room to start her freshman year in college. She’ll be going to the same college as Logan, the guy that her adopted parents took in a couple of years ago. Logan hasn’t really been around but she’s been aware of him ever since he came to stay above the garage. He left for school early, claiming that he had summer stuff to do but really, he just needed to get away from his attraction to Zoey. They both spent a great deal of time trying to not be around each other out of respect to their adopted parents so in an effort to do that, Logan hooks up with Zoey’s best friend Piper. That relationship blows up and Logan goes away to college.
Fast forward to now, Zoey is now at the same college as Logan and Adopted Dad asks Logan to keep an eye on Zoey. That kind of job is just waiting for all kinds of shenanigans to go down. They are both attracted to each other, they’re both single, and they live close by with no obstacles in their way. What could possibly happen?
Everything can happen, that’s what.
Zoey and Logan definitely had great chemistry but their immaturity throughout most of the book got on my nerves so I didn’t LOVE this book. The book is a solid romance and when they finally get over themselves and their issues, I was happy for them but mostly, I just wanted to move on to the next book between their friends. Also? The title makes it seem like the conflict in this book was about the main character falling in love with her best friend’s ex and the real conflict was about them having the same adopted parents. They spent more time, especially on Logan’s end, trying to get past that then Logan and Piper’s old relationship.
Still, this was a fast read that kept my attention throughout. I was completely sold on the next book by the time I finished this one so I jumped right in. This isn’t the perfect romance but it’s still an enjoyable one with characters that you’ll want to be friends with.
Grade: 3 out of 5
Beta Brothers
You know…I never need a perfect romance but the one aspect of a romance I am picky about is how engaging a book it. If I am really into it than I am all in and I can get over the minor details that bother me.