Tag: Hazel Kelly

Review: Friends with Benefits by Hazel Kelly

Posted December 21, 2018 by Rowena in Reviews | 0 Comments

Review: Friends with Benefits by Hazel KellyReviewer: Rowena
Friends with Benefits (Beta Brothers #2) by Hazel Kelly
Series: Beta Brothers #2
Also in this series: My Best Friend's Ex (Beta Brothers #1)

Publication Date: August 8, 2018
Format: eBook
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Point-of-View: Alternating First
Genres: New Adult
Pages: 442
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Carter's been crazy about Nina since the first time he saw her emerald eyes, but his fratastic reputation landed him in the friend zone before he even had a chance to say, "How you doin'?"

So when Nina suggests they become friends with benefits, he can't believe his luck.

After all, once he's gotten in her pants, winning her heart should be easy... right?

**This is a full-length, standalone romance novel with no cliffhanger, no cheating, and a heart-swelling HEA.

Friends with Benefits is the second book in Hazel Kelly’s Beta Brothers series and the story picks up right after the first book ends. It features Zoey’s roommate and Logan’s best friend as they fall in love with each other while trying very hard not to.

Nina is the pretty girl that all the boys try to hook up with so she’s no stranger to hot guys wanting to bang her. Unfortunately, she’s also no stranger to hot guys breaking her heart. Needless to say, she’s over hot guys and the heartbreak they bring her.

Carter is a hot guy who has been crushing on Nina since he first laid eyes on her. She won’t give him the time of day but because his best friend is dating her roommate, they’re around each other a lot so they become friends even though Carter hasn’t given up hope of changing their status to …more than friends. After a night of hanging out, Nina is set to walk back to her dorm room but she’s tired and Carter is tired but doesn’t want her to walk home by herself so he offers up his bed for her to crash on and he promises to drive her home in the morning. She ends up agreeing and before either of them know what’s what, they’re having a lot of sleepovers and they’ve fallen into a friends with benefits relationship that they keep from everyone.

This book was just as good as I hoped it would be after meeting both Carter and Nina in the first Beta Brothers book. I adored both of them and loved seeing them grow together in love. It was really cute to see Carter crushing hard on Nina and striking out at every turn. It was also really cute to see how much he grows to love her over the course of their romance. It was fun, it was sweet and also a little angsty. I wasn’t expecting the angst but welcomed it.

As much as I enjoyed Carter and Nina, they also frustrated me with different things but in the end, I completely adored them and was happy with the ending. I need to read more Hazel Kelly. She’s great. I definitely recommend this book if you’re in the mood for a fun romance between two friends. This was a good one.

Grade: 4 out of 5

Beta Brothers

four-stars


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Review: My Best Friend’s Ex by Hazel Kelly

Posted December 20, 2018 by Rowena in Reviews | 1 Comment

Review: My Best Friend’s Ex by Hazel KellyReviewer: 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
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
three-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

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

three-stars


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