4.5 - "You’re my favorite!" Stars!

I am loving the books in The Wedding Date series. Book three; Just This Once gives us a mix of Brothers-Best-Friend & Friends-to-Lovers, with a few added surprises in regards to the tropes used, and I absolutely loved Sean and Molly’s story because of it.

The wild crush of her youth was almost completely tamed these days-and had been for years. Sure there was the occasional flare-up, but she knew better than to give it too much room to breathe…

Being forced into close proximity with Sean, when he forcibly evicts her layabout roomie, and then moves himself in to stop him reappearing again, brings to the fore all sorts of long ignored feelings in Molly, especially when he has a penchant to walk around in shorts and nothing else...

She remembered what it had been like… the last time they lived together… no way could she go back to that.

This is a guy she has idolised since her early teens, and has managed to ignore her attraction to him over the years due to keeping things strictly in the friend-zone, it’s also helped that she has known unequivocally that Sean has only ever seen her as a sort of pseudo surrogate little sister due to her pretty much living with his best friend Max(her brother) in their college dorms and becoming part of his social circle of friends and acquaintances as they have grown and moved onto adulthood.

"Only you…"

"…Don’t you forget it."

"Never."

It doesn’t take long for those very defined lines that they have both had in place to start blurring when Molly decides to push back in regards to their new living arrangements, and use her womanly attributes mixed with a heavy dose of flirtation to try and force Sean to move out, but instead of cutting and running, he has an involuntary manly reaction to her sitting in his lap, and pretty much gives the game away in regards to the fact he may also see her as more than ‘just-friends’ too.

"Our friendship is too important to risk screwing up with… screwing…"

This is one of those ones where both characters have a classic case of not seeing the woods for the trees. They are perfect for each other, despite their differences in upbringing, social standing, salary bracket and so on, and I loved going through the wringer with them as they both worked out, what you as a reader see from very early on.

"Are you going to let me go..?"

"...I’ve been trying… But the truth is, I’m not sure I want too anymore… I’m not sure I even can."

Entertaining, emotional, funny and sexy, this book ticked all the romance reading boxes I have, and I loved every minute of reading it. Looking forward to book four; The Decoy Date, this is Brody’s book, and I am itching to sink my teeth into it!

"The knitting isn’t working…"

Holy hot and sexy Sean! After meeting him in the first two books, I could not wait for this one!

Molly...the little sister of Sean’s best friend, Max.
A big no-no.
They’re just friends.
GOOD friends.

GAH. They love each other SO MUCH... as friends.

Their relationship is sweet, fun, and so friggin adorable.

And then...

Then he moves in with her.
The awkwardness began.
And the ogling.
And those lines started blurring.
Then the knitting began... (Read it, you’ll understand.)

Their chemistry was full of sparks - I absolutely loved these two together. Their story has passion, humor, and plenty of spice.

This was yet another fabulous read from Ms. Kelly! I’m a big fan of her writing and storytelling skills!

Gah!

I have been, not so patiently, waiting for this story since meeting Molly and Sean in May the Best Man Win way back in 2016. Two years was a long time to wait, as their story was the one I was most excited for.

Although, the wait was long it was well worth it. Mira Lyn Kelly did not disappoint. Just This Once was everything I wanted for Sean and Molly and so much more. No one writes sweet and sultry quite like Ms. Kelly and this story was all kinds of sweet and sultry.

Ms. Kelly kept me on the edge of my seat with this story! The will they or won't they certaintly kept the story entertaining, nevermind the quick witted dialogue between our hero and heroine. I do enjoy a story when two best friends find themselves catching feelings.

I felt ever every emotion pour off the page and couldn't wait for the final outcome. This was certainly my most anticipated story but also my absolute favorite of the series and it makes me super excited for the next installment!

The Story in a Nutshell: When Sean sees that a freeloading roommate is taking advantage of his best friend Molly, he takes charge of the situation by kicking the roommate out and moving into her apartment. Molly loves hanging out with Sean but that’s only because he lives in a room in one of his father’s luxury hotels but now that he’s moved in with her she’s afraid that the crush she had on him years ago might just come back with a vengeance. As for Sean, he’s worked really hard NOT to see Molly as anything more than his best friend.



Overall reaction to the book? You know what I really loved about this book? How silly and fun Sean and Molly were together. I’m talking goofy faces, voices, and jokes that made them seem so real to me. Most friends to lovers romances that I’ve read leave out those ridiculous moments that you assume go on between two people who have been best friends for a long time. Friendship is more than just being there for each other and clearly Mira Lyn Kelly wanted to show the less serious moments between them as well as show the growing attraction. I really loved their friendship’s quirky moments as much as those hot and heavy scenes.


But I had issues with Just This Once. The plot was fine and like I said, Sean and Molly’s quirky friendship had me a bit jealous but I had a hard time buying that Sean, a grown a** man would let his PARENTS control who he was with and why. Yes, he was rich and the heir to a chain of hotels but this is a contemporary romance and yet here was Sean who could find work elsewhere if his parents cut him off financially but he let them have their way and manipulate his love life by throwing “suitable” women at him. Come on dude, grow a spine! You’re an adult with options, not a child dependent on his parents for everything! Geez.


Actually, thinking back on Sean and Molly they were a tad immature. I had moments of wondering if I had picked up a New Adult novel because of their silly logic and behavior sometimes. Sean was way too patient with Molly’s insistence that they keep their budding romance a secret, she didn’t have any real reason after a while to keep it quiet and she got way too upset at Sean over trivial things like him defending her against the snobs in his parents’ social circle. It was their lives and no one’s business. I don’t recall previous characters in this series being that way. But the one thing that had me going “What the actual…” was towards the end.



Click It or Skip It? All in all Sean and Molly came off more like kids than adults and while their friendship was aces, the way they handled their romance felt like I was reading an adult romance between two 15 year old kids.

Review scheduled for Oct 2

Friends to lovers is my favorite trope, so I am both easy AND hard to impress when reading books of this theme. Having not read book 1 of the series, which evidently introduces us to Sean and Molly, I was meeting them with a clean slate.
I loved their humor and connection to each other. The years they’ve known each other adds to the chemistry that I felt while reading their story. I adore strong, funny women characters and Molly definitely fit that bill! Sean is not a product of his upbringing at all, being far from the entitled snobs his parents are. He’s a dirty talking, funny and sexy guy...who’s also very easy on the eyes! What girl could resist that?
I finished this book in one sitting, it was just too great to put down! Loved the dialogue, the pacing was perfect...I never felt the need to skip ahead (I admit to doing that when a story slogs along to much). Great use of secondary characters, too! Just This Once is everything I expect and enjoy from a Mira Lyn Kelly book!

I received an ARC for an honest review...all opinions are my own

Molly and Sean's story was cute! I thought Sean was an interesting character in the last couple of books. He comes into his own in this one! Loved Molly, her indecisiveness fit her character but it was a tad annoying!!

Molly Brandt has had a thing for her best friend Sean for years; he's always been the guy to pick up the pieces when things in her life go array, been the shoulder she's needed when someone broke her heart, and now that she has attracted a freeloading roommate it's him who steps in and hands them an eviction notice. She is beyond thankful to be rid of the roommate, but then Sean informs her that he's moving, and that brings about a whole new issue... having him sleeping in the bedroom next door is sure to be torture!

Just This Once is a delightful friends to lovers romance that comes with emotion to tug on the heartstrings, drama to keep things exciting, and sizzling chemistry to spawn a case of the swoons! I really enjoyed this one, the story line was engaging, and the characters were well crafted and easy to connect to; in no time at all they lured me in and had me rooting for them. If you are in the market for a feel good romance, loaded with swoons and feels, then I highly suggest you check this one out, you won't be disappointed with what you find!

I requested an advanced copy of this title from NetGalley, and I am voluntarily leaving my honest and unbiased opinion.

Mira Lyn Kelly's book "Just This Once" was a flirty beach read. Reading it was like the foreplay that was front and center in the book....you know that the ending is going to be good but the anticipation is what made it the most fun. Mira Lyn Kelly threw in a couple twists toward the end of the book, which added a new element to Sean and Molly's happily-ever-after.
**The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because of all the swear words. Sean and Max swore like sailors.**

I loved this story so much! It was everything I love in a romance, brought together by some truly wonderful writing. A definite keeper!

I didn't read the first two book in this series and they may have been the reason why I didn't really see the chemistry with these two. We have Molly who has always had a crush on Sean her brother's best friend, and she thinks that she is finally over it and then he throws her roommate out who was taking advantage of her and she realizes that nope she still has crush. Sean is under pressure from his mom to get married and his family are snobs so the woman that Sean tends to go out with have pedigree, look a certain way but he isn't feeling it. I think that bugged me because he is a grown man and these two had too much interference in their lives they needed to put their foot down.

I love this book! I read the first book in the series, May the Best Man Win, and loved it. I didn't realize I missed the second book, but they are working okay as standalones. I can't tell you how many times this book made me laugh out loud! The length was great too, because I felt like I had to be getting close to the end - and my Kindle said I was only halfway through - yay! I hate when a book wraps up too fast when it's this good. I still read it in about a day and a half because it was so good I couldn't put it down. Friends to lovers is one of my favorite romance themes and this book was just perfect. I hope there's plenty more of Sean and Molly in the next story

I found myself struggling with this book. I didn't feel any chemistry between Molly and Sean. I felt myself skimming to see what was going to happen. I didn't was to DNF, so I skimmed to see what would happen.

This is a classic friends to lovers story with a little rich guy/poor girl mixed in. I liked the characters but the story seemed fabricated. Did Sean like her all those years or not? Sometimes it seems he did but suppressed it; other times, it was like a new discovery. He also never acted rich and wasn't called upon to do all the typical events, yet it is a big deal to create the climax of the story.

"Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review."

Loved this book very much. It had just enough comedy & sweet romance and the storyline was great! I highly recommend!

This was a really cute read and a perfect read for one of those lazy days where you just want to enjoy a great happily ever after read. Molly's character was a lot of fun and full of spunk. I liked Sean and was happy to see him finally realize he should go after what he wanted and not what his parents wanted. Seeing Sean and Molly interact in each scene was so much fun and though I hadn't read the first two books in the series I didn't have trouble jumping into this one. I did enjoy the glimpses of the other couples though so I definitely want to go back and read the earlier books.

Mira Lyn Kelly's Just this Once was fantastic! I love the relationship between Sean and Molly. I loved seeing them overcome the obstacles of life and family to be together.

I liked this best friends to lovers book. Sean and Molly are best friends. When she was 15, tragedy happened and that left her to live with her brother Max and his roommate, Sean. Sean was always there to comfort her, make her feel better, always ready to make her laugh. She was always in love with him but, knew it was always one sided.

Sean comes from wealth. His parents have set the worst example for him as far as marriage goes. They both have never been faithful to each other, and its more about reputation than anything as far as marriage goes. He definitely does not want that at all.

Molly has a terrible roommate who takes advantage of her. Sean is not having it, kicks him out and moves in. She thinks she has her crush on Sean secured and pushed away, but he is making it hard for her. Really hard. This book had some funny parts. I laughed out loud, I enjoyed their banter. When they finally got together, it was Hot and steammmy. They had to really work out on their own if they wanted to be together. Molly's insecurities came creeping up to the surface when Sean's mom was around. Honestly, if it were me, I would feel the same way also.

Sean doesn't mince his words, “yeah, you straddled my lap, Moll. I’m a guy. What the eff did you think was going to happen?” I liked this book, I loved Sean the man would do anything for his girl.

I have always enjoyed Mira Lyn Kelly’s books, right from her Mills and Boon days! This book was everything I remember loving about Mira’s style of writing.

This book has everything I love in a book; fantastic writing, hugely likeable characters, witty banter and dialogue, coupled with hot and sizzling chemistry.

I loved everything about this great page turner, and was all in all a fantastic read. I’m now going to read the other books in this series!!!

I hadn't read book one, and while I don't think it mattered I would like to read it now.

Molly and Sean have been best friends for years. She is finally over her crush on him, but when he moves into her apartment to get rid of her useless room-mate, she starts to fall for him again. She knows it won't go anywhere, as he has a list of what he wants for his future wife and that's not her - or is it?