Jackie Butler is the co-Vice President of Marketing and one of the highlights of her work day is the gorgeous shirtless man who jogs by her office window each day. She has no intention of every speaking to him, as she is still not dating anyone after her ex-husband cheated on her and their subsequent divorce. Her work bestie, Vince Carson, encourages Jackie to take a chance and ask him out. Realizing his attraction to Jackie, Vince decides to "coach" her through the dating process with the idea of bettering her skills. One kiss later and they both have feelings they don't know how to process.

This is a short, but fantastic story that keeps you engaged. It would would make for a great movie!

4 out of 5 stars.

Second chances, friends to lovers, a few dating lessons, a bit of spice, and a discovery that love takes risks and trust to grow and become something amazing.

Vince and Jackie will discover what they are looking for was there all along. Embrace your desires, live life, and be open.

I thought this was cute. Nice friends to lovers story with a little office romance mixed in. The only thing I didn't like about it was the fact that for a close as the two were they clammed up when their feelings were on the line.

I'm glad it worked out but man I thought they were going to screw things up!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34308352-eye-candy

This book was so entertaining. I was drawn into the story from the beginning and was involved until the end. The characters were complex and interesting. I found the story to be well paced and engrossing throughout the whole book. I was invested in the couple throughout the book and felt all the emotions through both the highs and lows of the story.The side characters were such an integral part of this story as well. This is the love story i needed to read at this time. If you want an entertaining and well written book this is it for you

Friends to lovers is a trope that is well-loved (and well-hated, hate to loved) by readers, and I am no different. I'm such a sucker for friends to lovers in books and in real life. Jac and Vince have both been burned in their respective relationships in the past, have been there to see each other go through it, and have been the shoulder to lean on throughout the years. They've built a foundation of friendship and deep platonically (at first) intimate relationship that built up deeper feelings...for each other. That's what I love about this trope and these two have been through thick and thin together throughout their lives and friendship. Watching these two slowly fall for each other was like catnip. The YEARNING was *chefs kiss*

This was such a fun friends-to-lovers romance! I had a great time reading it. I loved Jackie and Vince’s friendship and watching it grow into more. Vince was such a good guy and I couldn’t wait for him to share with Jackie about his feelings, there was a really great build to it all. I thought the details were really good, I loved the mild drama and steamy scenes and the bits of emotion I got. I thought this was fast-paced and fun with great banter and dialogue and so many entertaining scenes. It’s just one of those books that had me smiling. A feel-good story for sure!

This was a decent story and I somewhat enjoyed both the hero and the heroine, Vince and Jacqueline. However, nothing really stood out making it a great book.

I loved the author's Billionaire Bad Boys series and when I cam across the blurb for Eye Candy, I knew I couldn't miss out on it! Even well-laid plans can always backfire and Vince finds that out the hard way! LOL! But, there's always a silver lining, and he gets one too! I loved watching the progression of the relationship between Vince and Jackie! I can't wait to read the next in the series!

I really liked the premise of this book and was looking forward to a steamy and funny story.

Jackie and Vince have been co-workers and friends for a while but they don't realise their feelings for each other until Jackie starts dating the sexy mystery man who is jogging by her office every day.

Generally I liked Jackie and Vince as characters but for me there wasn't much chemistry between them and from the interactions you couldn't tell that they have feelings for each other. For me this was a big issue why I didn't like the book as much as I could have. It took quite long as well until something between them happened.

I understand that in a friends to lover story they start thinking about their friendship once they started dating or had sex but for me this was too much. They were struggling and thinking all the time, this was too much drama for my taste.

Generally the book was enjoyable and I will continue reading this series.

Eye Candy is a perfect friend to lovers story that follows best friend's Vince and Jackie through their journey of friendship and love. Though both have now since divorced for different reason's their easy friendship starts to take a turn for into the direction of love. With Jackie going out with another man, what's Vince to do but help train her for her date. With a simple act of a kiss comes for the earth is shifted and their lives changed forever. Who was to know that the person you are meant to spend the rest of your life with has been under your nose the entire time. For some people transitioning from friends to lovers is easy but for Vince and Jackie's it's not without its hiccups. They do however get their happily ever after. I can't wait to see what transpires with Davis' story next!

This was a fun quick read and I super enjoyed it. I read the audiobook and definitely recommend it. It's perfect to get lost in for a couple of hours.

I will not be giving feedback to this title as I am not interested in the concept anymore. Also, I won't be able to read the further books in the series so it doesn't seems fit to read this.

I would definitely recommend this book! It was a really fun and witty read. I had never read Jessica Lemmon before but I really enjoyed this book and her writing style.

This book is about Vince and Jackie who work together but are also close friends. Jackie is slightly obsessed with the hot guy who jogs past her window every day. Vince gets slightly annoyed by this because he likes Jackie and wants to the be the one she notices. His grand plan is to help her get hot jogger guy to show her he isn't that great and she should date Vince instead. Turns out hot jogger guy is pretty great which backfires on Vince, however Jackie is already falling for Vince with all the time they have spent together. Neither of course communicates with each other so there is obvious blunders and miscues.

Was a great read overall!

I love it when Jessica Lemmon starts a new series especially one that involves two people denying the attraction. Vince Carson has gone through heartache and pain when his ex just dumped him and the one person that he trusted has always been Jackie. The thing is that when he finds out there is competition it is the push he needs right now. Jackie is exactly what he needs in his life for she completes him as a friend, co-worker and yes sexual partner. You can right from the beginning the chemistry between them and Jessica Lemmon did it beautiful bringing them together. What I loved the most is yes there is sex but Jessica Lemmon shows us more about their friendship. These two together were great to read and boy cannot wait for more of this series by Jessica Lemmon. Loved it.

“I received an eBook copy from the publisher for the purpose of an honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own.”

Received an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

Well that was adorable, albeit a little frustrating. Vince and Jackie are absolutely perfect for each other and are clearly in a relationship, even if they don't want to admit it. They're hiding under the guise of "best friendship." That is until Vince realizes that he's feeling some very non-friendly feelings for Jackie and decides to help her land the guy that she drools over when he runs past her office window every day.

While the whole "I'm going to coach you to get the guy" trope does come across a little forced, Lemmon quickly pushes that aside as Jackie and Vince actually realize that what they have is stronger than just a joke. Of course this scares them both. Having both survived divorces (Jackie with a cheater and Vince with a wife who just grew apart), they're both understandably worried about jumping into the deep end so quickly. And of course, they have to self-sabotage, otherwise where would the fun be?

I liked the cast of characters they assembled around the main couple. Kayla was adorable and Davis clearly has an epic love story coming his way. Even Riley was a hoot. All in all, a good read with just enough heat to keep things interesting (especially that stair scene, goodness).

I could see where this one was going fairly early on, but I still enjoyed the read.

Friends to lovers is one of my favorite tropes, so when I read the blurb for Eye Candy, I immediately requested it through NetGalley. It took me a while to finish, mostly because the flu is running rampant in Texas this year and I got hit hard. Then I had a follow up sinus infection for fun. But once I didn’t feel like I was going to die anymore, I dove into the book. Parts of it moved slower than I liked (namely: Jackie’s infatuation with JT before realizing he was a massive turd and moving onto Vince) but overall, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing these two broken people piece their hearts back together.

Hot guys falling in love who can not love this type of story. They are all dealing with something different and a challenge on resisting love. Each of the women that they fall in love have their own reasons for resisting them. The great thing was the challenge that they each presented them.

Not bad. A cute friends to lovers romance with a few hang ups.

With duel POVs, we get to see both Jackie and Vincent muddle through their feelings as best friends (and co-workers) who want a little more but are afraid to make the leap. Which of course brings us the shenanigans.

It was a humorous and light read and overall enjoyable, but didn’t really make a huge impact on. The miscommunication was driving me a bit mad and I just didn’t really connect with Jackie or Vincent (I found them to be a bit immature). That being said, there were cute moments and I’m looking forward to the rest of the series, including Davis and Grace’s story (oh the teasing!).

"Our friendship is important. All I can hope is that I haven’t ruined what we have for a stab at what we could be."

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Review: Eye Candy by Jessica Lemmon

July 26, 2017 By Helyce 4 Comments

Eye Candy by Jessica Lemmon (Real Love #1)
Contemporary Romance
July 25, 2017
Loveswept

Reviewed by Helyce

From Goodreads: Jacqueline: As an adult woman–and the vice president of a marketing firm–I shouldn’t be waiting by my office window to ogle the mystery man who jogs by every morning at 11:45. Sure, he’s a gorgeous, perfect specimen of the human race, but I can’t bring myself to hit on a total stranger. However, my best friend-slash-colleague Vince Carson thinks I should do more than talk to the guy. In fact, he’s borderline obsessive about “getting me laid.” (His words.) But the more time we spend together, the more it’s clear: The one I’m falling for is Vince.

Vince: Jackie Butler’s got it bad for some pompous, over-pumped A-hole who struts his stuff past her window. That doesn’t bother me. I know she deserves nice things. What does bother me is that she friend-zoned me big-time last year, so I can’t ask her out myself. But what if I set her up with Mr. Steroids? Then, when he breaks her heart, I can swoop in and save her like the nice guy I am. Everything’s going according to plan . . . until we share a ridiculously epic kiss. And suddenly anything is possible.

I don’t think I paid too much attention when I read the blurb for this book, not that it matters really, because I love Lemmon’s writing; but when the story begins, Jackie is anxiously awaiting “Mr. Hot & Sexy running dude” to jog past her office window. She’s so excited I thought running guy was the hero. I was so wrong, and happily so!

In Eye Candy, we meet Jackie and Vince, co vice presidents at a marketing firm. Their different work styles and approach to marketing concepts complement each other and make for a very successful team. It doesn’t hurt that they are best friends out of the office, spending evenings and weekends at each other’s homes, having movie and pizza nights Both Vince and Jackie are divorced. Jackie’s husband cheated on her, and Vince’s wife just up and decided one day she was moving on. Vince was devastated and since Jackie knew what he was going through, she reached out, spent time and was there for Vince. Having divorce in common might have brought them together, but their relationship is so much more.

Both Vince and Jackie have approached post divorce dating differently. Unbeknownst to Jackie, Vince has had a few one night stands to get past his divorce, while Jackie tried online dating to no success. Jackie has since given up on men, but allows herself the daily viewing of the God-like Adonis who runs past her window. She claims that’s enough for her, but her friend Kayla starts encouraging her to ask the runner out. Jackie’s not sure, but when Vince also encourages her, she figures why not and takes the leap. Vince’s encouragement has ulterior motives though. He’s hoping to be there to console Jackie when running dude shows his true colors and breaks her heart.

The plot device Lemmon uses here to encourage our protagonists to move from friends to lovers is one that I’ve seen before. Both Vince and Jackie are aware of an attraction but due to their failed marriages they are unwilling to explore anything more than friendship. They can’t see past their insecurities and decide that they are happy with the as is, status quo of being platonic friends. Vince takes things one step further, however, when he begins to act as Jackie’s coach, going out on pretend dates and have kissing practice. I loved this part of the story–Vince dating Jackie under the ruse of acting as coach, while Jackie easily goes along. It is clear to everyone that they have great chemistry, but after each date and some scorching kisses, they go back to just being friends.

Though the initial scheme was that both Jackie and Vince would find someone to date, focus on Jackie and JT come to the forefront pretty quickly. Jackie is smitten and quite proud of herself for taking the plunge and asking JT out. She likes JT, and we watch her gain some confidence in herself after each date. Vince on the other hand isn’t interested in anyone but Jackie; he’s just waiting for JT to screw up…and he does opening the door for Vince exactly as he thought it would.

Lemmon puts a twist on the friends to lovers theme by giving us a bit of a love triangle. While JT has a starring role in the beginning, he quickly moves out of the spotlight as focus shifts to Vince and his pursuit of Jackie. I loved Vince. He had it rough having to fake date and pretend kiss Jackie when it’s really all he wanted to do. But they’d been good friends first, and shared a lot of their vulnerabilities with each other after their divorces, so Vince knew not to push. He knew Jackie had to make the realization that they belong together in her own way, and in her own time. Of course, there are bumps along the way because nothing ever goes as planned in a romance, and while a bit predictable, I still very much enjoyed Vince and Jackie’s story.

While not entirely unique in plot, I always enjoy Ms. Lemmon’s contemporaries. They are truly the perfect balance of humor and emotion with characters that are easy to fall for. I loved Jackie and Vince. The scene where they both give in is so well done, you could feel the longing and want and had me thinking, “just do it already!”. She also easily provides a segue into the next book. I’m very interested in Vince’s buddy Davis who makes several appearances as he encourages Vince to go after Jackie. Davis too is divorced, only we have no clue why–and he is a mess about it. Davis’ story is next in Arm Candy out in September.