Best Friend's Brother
Nothing hotter than your friend's sibling!
I don’t have a particular allegiance to the various brother tropes (though if pressed, I think brother’s best friend is more interesting because the tension of a brother realizing he either respects and trusts his best friend and his sister as individuals or he secretly doesn’t, which has a lot of further-reaching implications), but they’re popular enough that eventually I got tired of trying to find another suitable roundup that could include all the many books I want to recommend. So here we are, three best friend’s brother books! Not to be confused with brother’s best friend (the heroine is always the possessive in these trope names, I’ve noticed), which is DIFFERENT.
It Takes Two by Jenny Holiday. The second book in the series (read my review of book 1 here) now sees the couple from book 1 getting married and a new bridesmaid falling in love. This time, it’s Wendy (ambitious lawyer with abandonment issues) and Noah (Wendy’s BFF’s brother, lawyer, did some abandoning back in the day), who haven’t seen each other in years.
The central plot of the book revolves around these two dummies competing to organize the best bachelor/bachelorette party (they end up in Vegas for this…. I’ll let you fill in what probably happens there, as by law it must stay there), but the emotional core is Noah understanding why Wendy’s so upset with him and determinedly proving he’s changed since high school and wants to make a true go of things.
I love when the heroine’s the holdout, and though I’m less enamored of a second chance love story generally, I really love this series and Wendy’s just my kinda heroine.
Rating: 4/5
How hot? 🔥🔥🔥🔥
From Lukov With Love by Mariana Zapata. This was my first-ever Mariana Zapata, and I think that definitely colored my perception of the pacing, because when I saw Yulin Kuang (pre-order her debut romance here!) referred to it as a “trollishly slow burn” I didn’t fully realize what she meant until like halfway into the book where the two characters had barely spent two consecutive pages with each other at a time. With a Mariana Zapata book, EVERYTHING is slow burn, not just getting to the steamy stuff (and there’s plenty of steam… 98% of the way into the damn book).
Jasmine Santos is a figure skater nearing the end of her competitive eligibility, is out a skating partner, and is close to giving up. Her coach makes a suggestion at the eleventh hour that she can’t POSSIBLY give into, but… what choice does she have? Her best friend’s brother, Ivan Lukov, is himself looking for a new partner, and despite the fact that he hates her, she hates him, and they’ve never skated together, he’s the best, and if she wants a shot at being that too… she agrees.
I always prefer it in Mariana Zapata books when the characters are equals, or at least are aligned on the same goal for roughly the same reasons. Unlike, say, The Wall of Winnipeg and Me, where the heroine is his assistant and then fake girlfriend (still liked that book, but it hits differently). In this, they’re partners, and especially for a writer who likes to draw things out as much as she does, that’s ensures that you’re going to see them together more often than not.
Rating: 4/5
How hot? 🔥🔥🔥
Small Town Hero by Olivia Hayle. Jamie hasn’t been back to her hometown of Paradise Shores in years, has barely spoken to her old friends (including her best friend), and is back for a less triumphant reason than she’d hoped. She’s on the run from her abusive ex and the father of her child, and trying to rebuild a life free of his manipulations for herself and her daughter. This means getting a job, because she hasn’t had her own money in years, which puts her directly in the sights of Parker, her estranged best friend’s brother, her old crush, who owns the Yacht Club restaurant and needs a waitress.
Parker is used to getting everything he wants, and if he’s being honest, he’s wanted Jamie for years. He knows some rough stuff happened since they last spoke, but he’s willing to be patient, he’s great with kids (of course he is), and once he’s in, he’s all the way in. But before Jamie can accept him into her heart, she has to do the work to make sure she can accept her own.
I thought this book did a tremendous job treating an abusive ex with the nuance required- Jamie may believe some awful things about herself, but that’s the nature of abuse by a partner. They gaslight you into thinking it's your fault, you should have known better, you’re worthless. Of course, especially when you add in protecting a shared child into the mix, it’s more complicated than “just leave him.” Of course you start alienating your loved ones who he doesn’t want you to support you. I also thought there was a good balance of Parker wanting to be the white knight and fix everything but having to learn that that isn’t always what Jamie needs, and sometimes the most heroic thing you can do is listen and be there for someone.
Rating: 4/5
How hot? 🔥🔥🔥
Next week, I’ll be recommending marriage of safety (a subset of marriage of convenience) books!
What should I be reading next? Let me know in the comments!