okay this is a new to me author but I LOVED this book! Highly recommend for a new adult romance set in a country world.

I absolutely loved the romance and the love story of this book. As frustrating as it was to see the bad communication and the drama that happened with them, it definitely paid off.
I really liked the sense of family this book brings to the reader. The relationships and dynamics between the characters, the love they have for each other -not just the two love birds- is palpable through the pages and it really brings something different and beautiful to the story.
There are a lot of heavy subjects here, very graphic domestic abuse and an extremely toxic relationship. I think it was very brave and important that the book went to all these places, especially because of all the healing that gets done afterward.
In general, I really liked it, it was my first book by this author and I'd definitely read another one.

This is a well written, well told story that tugged at my heart. It shows how a person can be their own worse enemy, allowing miscommunication and stubbornness lead them away from what they really want.

Ultimately,I was unable to really get into this, even after stopping and coming back to it.

After having this book on my shelf for a long time I ended up losing interest on it so I won't be reading this one.

DNF @ 43%

*I received this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

The last few months I have been on a romance kick, specifically a southern or western romance kick. I requested this one because it sounded right up my alley. I do tend to like friends to lovers - romances. So, I went into this one, expecting a light, fun read. Unfortunately, there is more to this book than that.

The fact is, this book is about how the guy is leaving because he can't stand to be in love with his (girl) friend any longer when she isn't interested. Yet, days before he is to leave something happens and they sleep together.... which, you know, might be a sign that they have similar feelings. But, and here is what had me stopping -- the characters are stupid and strive on misunderstandings. I also was worried about a love triangle coming up, but I'm not sure since I didn't finish.

The thing is, I can't sympathize with characters who don't say what they are feeling and are vague, creating distance and not believing the other likes them even though they hug, cuddle on the couch to watch movies, and do everything together. Truly, they have like no other friends, which can't be healthy.

So, at the point I was at in the story where they both are sad and confused, I couldn't take it anymore. They put themselves into the position they are in and are being so oblivious. I can kinda see where the book was going too, so I wasn't interested in finishing.

What it Takes by Sonya Loveday is a friends to lover’s story of two best friends looking for the one and never realizing that they’d already had with each other. Slade and Gracen have been friends since a very young age and just were too afraid to say how they really felt because they didn’t want to ruin their friendship. Slade thought it would be better to move away to Montana because he couldn’t stand the thought of her finding her true love and him having to see it every day. What they didn’t know is how powerful first love can be for them.

I really liked these two characters and how much they truly cared and loved one another. At the same time they both didn’t have enough trust and confidence in themselves to believe that the other felt the same way and wanted the same thing. While they were separated they realized how good they had it but didn’t know how to reach out for the other because stupid pride kept them from making the first move. Unfortunately Gracen got herself into a violent domestic abusive relationship, which fortunately brought back Slade to Texas. I felt the angst and despair they both felt while apart and the genuine love when they got back together. Add a bit of suspense and this was an engrossing story to read in a short amount of time. I was drawn in by the beautiful cover and so glad I could read a wonderful and heartbreaking romance of young love.

I love best friend love stories and this book was no different.

Slade and Gracen have been best friends for as long as they can remember.  The only problem was that they'd loved each other for as long as they could remember too, except both were too scared to tell the other for fear of destroying their close friendship.  Everything changes when Slade decides he can no longer move on, nor can he wait or watch Gracen fall in love with someone else, and so decides to leave his home at the Owen's family ranch to work on a new ranch out of state.

I enjoyed both Slade and Gracen's characters and their relationship.  The love they both felt for one another, as well as the fear they both felt at acting on that love, was realistic.  I struggled a little though with the idea that as soon as Slade said he was leaving they both felt they could act, having spent years loving each other in secret.  It seemed like a real waste, given that, as a man of his word, they both knew that acting on their love wouldn't stop him moving away.

The introduction of Clint gave a new element to the story that I wasn't expecting, and also highlighted a very important issue (that I won't give away here but is something that everyone should be aware of).

I enjoyed this novel, it's a good piece of chick lit that I would happily recommend to others.  Published in May 2017 this is a new novel for you all to go out and get your mitts on! Enjoy!

Rating:    📖 📖 📖 📗

The main reason why I picked this book was the cover.I love this cover so much and I'm glad the story was also perfect.Gracen and Slade’s relationship was incredible, they make me swoon all the time.The story was heartbreaking but also sweet and romantic.A great read!

I really enjoyed this story! Cowboys, Texas, childhood best friends! There's nothing sweeter to me than stories about childhood best friends that find love. It gets me right in the soft spot of my heart every single time! I also had a bit of nostalgic feelings as the story had me reminiscing of my own childhood growing up in southeast Texas.

In this story Gracen and her father moved to the Owens Ranch in Texas when she was 5 years old. She grew up riding horses and swimming in creeks and doing all the things the Owen's brothers did. She was closest to Slade and they grew up thicker than blood. A bond between them that was unbreakable. They moved in each other's space like breathing air. But friendship was all they ever had. Gracen was convinced that she was on a journey to find the "right one" and though she deeply loved Slade, had fallen in love with him, she didn't believe he reciprocated the same deep feelings for her. On the flip side, Slade has been in love with Gracen for a long time but he doesn't think she feels that way for him - as much as she goes on and on about finding Mr. Right, he figures he must not be that for her. He'd rather have her friendship than nothing at all. Best friends for 16 years is not something he's willing to give up. So he decides it's time to move on and give her the space she needs to find whoever that right guy is, without him always being around. So he takes a job in Montana. That should be far enough away.

With Slade away Gracen allows herself to open up to the possibility of someone other than him. Though she's depressed and destraught and can't fully function without Slade there. He's been her rock for so long she's lost without him. Not to mention the conditions in which he left. She can't continue to pine after someone that in her mind, doesn't want her in the same way. The new ranch hand, Clint, is handsome and charming and he continues to gently pursue her until she finally gives in.

Yes, it was frustrating that Slade and Gracen didn't communicate better about their feelings, but after finishing the story I can understand their hesitation to "lay all their cards on the table". Having been friends for so long they stood to lose a great deal if they let romantic feelings in and things didn't work out. On the flip side, you stand to gain so much by just being upfront and honest. That's life though isn't it? Always learning lessons the hard way.

This story deals with physical abuse. It is scary and heavy. But it also deals with friendship and love and family and loyalty. I was definitely getting hit with a lot of feels! It was a fast read and every page had me wanting to come back for more. For my first book by Sonya Loveday I was quite pleased and I definitely see myself picking up some more books by her.

Top 5 Favorite Quotes:
"Your muscly muscles are hurting me."

"Princess, I already bow at your feet as it is."

My daddy had always told me a man's word was his honor. If a man couldn't uphold his word, what kind of man was he?

"A man ain't much of a man if he can try to darken someone like that...try to take their light."

"Family of our choosing is sometimes even better than the ones we're stuck with by blood."

Language: 2 (medium)
Mature Content: 2 (medium)
Final Rating: 4 stars

*5 Cheese and Crackers Stars*

ARC kindly received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Holy moly I loved this book. It's my first by Sonya Loveday but it won't be my last. I fell into this story straight away. I love me a sexy cowboy and hot damn, Slade! If there is a Slade out there, can I have him?

I enjoyed reading from both Gracen and Slades POV's in this and I felt like I connected with both of them. I love friends to lovers stories and this one was awesome. There is some angst and a lot of wondering and wanting to slap them upside the head so they get their act together, but the majority of this story is fun. 

There is a serious topic raised in the book and I feel that it was dealt with appropriately and written in the right way. 

I really enjoyed this book and seeing all the characters come together and I'm hoping we get a book for Lex as well.

Definitely recommend.

I requested this book a little while back, and I only now I time to get to it. I’m glad I did though, because this was a good read, even if I thought that the plot needed more development, especially in the last third.

I really enjoyed the writing, I wouldn’t mind reading more books by Sonya Loveday. The book is told in dual POV, and I felt like the voices were very distinct.

I liked Gracen and Slade, but I did want to club them in the head at some points during the book. But I loved their friendship and their connection. I only wanted both of them to be honest about their feelings and actually have a conversation about it. Instead, they don’t and sh*t happens, and it was sad and I didn’t quite know what was happening next, and I was hating certain people, and wishing for everything to be different. *sigh*

I liked the issues dealt with in this book, even when I was scared for Gracen. But I do think the plot should have been a little bit more worked on. I needed a bit more from the story, and I needed a little more from the resolution as well.

But still, it was a pretty good story, and I want to read the book that I’m sure will follow, because I want to know what happens with Lex, Slade’s brother, he was such a great character too.

Gracen and Slade have been friends forever. Never crossing the line of more than friends. When obviously they both wish they were more, even though they deny it. This is the first book of Loveday’s I’ve read. It was good, it just didn’t really get to me. It didn’t tug at my heart strings and I had trouble connecting with the characters.

The writing was really good. But also, I felt the story didn’t flow as well as it could have. I think the reasons behind Slade leaving and Clint jumping in wasn’t as dramatic as it could have been. I think we really needed more of Slade and Gracen to understand their chemistry.

Overall, I think the idea was a good one. There was just flow issue’s for me and not connecting with the characters. Which, is one of my biggest things while reading.

I give this Three Boundless Stars.

This story will make you believe in love and happily-ever-after and that it is real.

Gracen and Slade have been best friends forever, but Slade can no longer stand by and be just friends. When an opportunity out of state comes up Slade jumps at the chance as a way to distance himself from Gracen. Unfortunately, this separation doesn't go well for either of them.

This was a great read and even though there was a lot of sadness in this story, it only brought Gracen and Slade closer together. This is my first book by this author and I couldn't put it down. I look froward to reading more by her.

I couldn't put this book down! Major book hangover! Look out because it will suck you in, make you laugh, make you cry, make you bang your head against the coffee table and ask Gracen and Slade: "What are you thinking?!" I love good friends to lovers stories and Ms. Loveday did not disappoint. Buy the book. You will be so glad you did. I am about to go buy some of her other titles. I am fangirling over this author. Truly,

I am such a huge fan of Sonya Loveday and her latest novel What it Takes was as fabulous as I expected! Gracen is turning 21 and looking for Mr. Right, however, the man she considers Mr. Right is her longtime best friend Slade. He also considers her the one for him but doesn’t think she would ever have feelings for him other than friendship, which is why he takes a job in Montana to put space between them in hopes of moving on. Just when you think they are going to live happily ever after, Slade leaves anyway – leaving behind the family farm, his brother, and the love of his life – leaving the question of whether they are really meant to be together in if they will find their way back to one another.

Gracen and Slade’s relationship was incredible. It seems I’ve done a lot of reading lately involving friends realizing that they feel more for one another, but this was unique. Gracen had moved to the Owens’ Ranch when her father took a job there, but after his passing, she had no one. Slade and Lex’s Uncle declared her family so she kept living on the ranch. Gracen and Slade had been best friends for years although she was realizing that she felt more for him than that. Unbeknownst to her, Slade had always felt the same. Romance aside, however, they had an easy, effortless bond and relationship from beginning to end.

The bulk of the plot focused on Gracen and Slade’s friendship and potential romance but there was much more. Slade struggled with leaving his family behind and the ranch that he had grown up working on. Gracen struggled with finding her own peace and happiness separate from Slade. Mixed in with all of that were brotherly issues between Slade and Lex, ranching issues, learning to work with new people, and also trusting one’s initial gut reaction to people.

Domestic abuse is part of this novel. It was relevant to the plot, built suspense, and was handled by the author with the utmost respect. I feel as if one of the most important lessons in this novel pertaining to domestic violence is the significance of how different the character was prior to being abused, as the abuse became more frequent, and until it ended. Sonya Loveday captured the changes that can occur within people when in abusive situations and how personalities can be completely transformed when in unhealthy situations. Moreover, she captured the emotions and changes within those that know the victim, and the importance of each person realizing the need to heal in order to try to achieve normalcy again.

What it Takes is a well-written and touching novel about romance and recovering from tragedy. The novel instills hope and praises the bonds between friends, family, and significant others. Not to mention, there is an incredible dog named Lucy that is wonderful!!! I loved this novel and especially loved the ending, which gave me hope that this may possibly be a continuing series (crossing my fingers). Once again, I have nothing negative to say about Sonya Loveday and her writing!

*Thanks to NetGalley for providing a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review!