I enjoyed this book. It was fun, sweet, sad & very sexy. I enjoyed watching Bo & Sadie fall back in love, deal with the private side of a very public life & felt sadness when Sadie’s secret was finally revealed. I loved her best friend Ana & the rest of their group, they were a hoot when together & had each other’s back during difficult times. The fact that Bo & Sadie dealt with the same problems her beloved grandparents had when they were young was a great story from the grandmother. I especially liked her spunky character, she was loving, sweet, strong & very supportive of Sadie. The animosity between Sadie & Luna was another direction I enjoyed, as both women learned that there was more to the other than each thought. All in all this was a really enjoyable read. Definitely recommend.

I love Melanie Johnson' writing style. The realistic drama that unfolds had me captivated . This is the 3rd book in the series and even though the storyline is a little slower than the first two it is still very interesting. Sadie's character is strong, hardworking and beautiful who gets a chance to be a lead in an action movie. Bo is a childhood sweetheart from Sadie's past that reappears in her life to help her with the stunts for the movie. The tension between them adds to the drama as the reader is slowly led through their history. Sadie must come to grips with her past and be honest with Bo if she wants them to have a future. Special thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for giving me a chance to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Once Upon a Bad Boy is an adorable read and I don't mean that in a snarky way I was just that adorable. Sadie the lead is super quirky and cute and I loved everything about her character. She wore her heart on her sleeve and it was just the sweetest thing! She made me love the book even more then I should.

I loved this breath-taking second-chance romance!

Oh Sadie, my heart went out to this girl! She seems like she's got the world by the tail - her career is taking off without relying on her family's vast resources and she's got the best set of girlfriends the world has ever known - but like the rest of us, she has a few deep secrets and she's still nursing a decade-old broken heart. Working with Bo brings all the heartache rushing back to the forefront of her life.

There are so many layers of emotions to this story. Sadie's family history, Bo's family, the reasons behind what happened after Prom, all of it is exquisitely described in a way that will tug your heartstrings and make you feel the loss of what might have been as much as Sadie and Bo feel it. On top of all that, the pressures of the film-making business are never too far away, and come into play in an unexpected way that forces all the secrets to be revealed.

This is the third book in the Sometimes in Love series, and it's every bit as masterfully written as the first two. It's great to read about such a wonderful network of friends, how they support and defend each other through thick and thin. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

This book dragged on for me.. Very slow going.. And honestly, neither Sadie nor Bo deserved a second chance. For one thing, Bo and his wicked sister Luna had severe jealousy issues. They were angry over the material things that Sadie grew up with. And it carried on to adulthood, which to me is very petty. Bo's reason for leaving was trite if he loved Sadie, he would've been there for her regardless. Sadie was immature and her reasons with my body, my choice shtick was annoying and her excuse for not telling Bo what happened, They acted like children throughout most of the book. I dare you, I double dare you ..round and round with it was just juvenile. And the bedroom scenes were lame. The author described all the scenes when there was no penetration taking place. But when the actual penetration took place, you wouldn't know it. Because the next thing you know, the time had passed, it was either hours later or the next day and they were waking up. It also took too long to get that point as well. All that sexual tension and when the moment hits, it was skipped over. Bo should have corrected his sister long ago. And he just excused her for not passing on the message from all those years ago. The problem they had were never really addressed. Just tidily wrapped up at the end of the book. This is my honest opinion and I voluntarily read this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

2.5/5⭐️

This final in a trilogy about bffs finding love was just so-so for me. While the writing in all three was fine (my favorite being the second one), I found the characters selfish and not particularly mature for their ages (30ish).

This was the second chance story of Sadie and Bo, who met at 7 and 8 respectively, began an affair at 16 and 17, broke up at 18 and 19 and met again by chance at 29 and 30. There is a social class issue (Bo’s family works for Sadie’s wealthy grandmother) and a secret that Sadie failed to share with Bo after he broke up with her (prom night). And quite frankly, if they had this epic young love story, why did he just walk away (out-of-the-blue, at the first hint of trouble) without explanation and in turn, why did she just let him? The same goes for the fact that it’s been ELEVEN years since they’ve seen each other, and yet the first time they’re alone together they have hot, steamy times??! Really??!

In the end, I just didn’t feel much for these characters.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for the ARC. The opinions are strictly my own.

Melonie Johnson is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. This is the third book in her Sometimes in Love series and it was just as great as the first two.
Sadie is an actress who has finally landed her big lead in an action movie. She find out their stunt coordinator is her former boyfriend/love of her life, who left her heart broken years before, but of course the Sparks are still there.
This was a great story that had me going back into a world of friends that I have enjoyed in her previous two books. As with her other books there is some truly great supporting characters. You have your comedy, drama, and got romantic scenes all wrapped up in this book. I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend.

Absolutely loved this novel! Excellent character development, the storyline was fluid and kept me in suspense and wanting to learn more about the characters.

I loved this series and was super excited to start Once Upon A Bad Boy. Melanie has written some amazing characters and storylines in this series that I knew this was going to be a fast enjoyable read and it was!!

I received an e-arc of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
This book is apparently the 3rd in a series but I found it good enough as a standalone which is lovely because I didn't feel that I needed the other 2 to be able to follow along.
For me the book started a little slow and I really had to push myself to stick with it, but I'm glad I did because I really enjoyed the ending.
Sadie and Bo had a lot of hot chemistry which definitely helped the story and although sometimes Sadie fell a little flat for me, what she went through emotionally in her past helped save her character from being boring.
I think this book is a nice summer read and I plan on reading more from this author.

I really liked the hero, Bo, but didn't like Sadie. The heroine just seemed dull and boring to me. I couldn't relate to her. Overall, an okay read.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

I was so excited when I saw that Once Upon a Bad Boy was up for review on NetGalley. I had read the first two books and loved them. I was expecting to love Once Upon a Bad Boy. For the most part, I did. But there were parts that I didn’t like. The parts that I didn’t like did figure into how I rated this review.

I liked Bo. He didn’t hide behind walls or keep secrets from anyone. I did feel bad that he was trying to buy his half of the business from Vic and he kept getting put off. I liked how he tried to keep his feelings for Sadie under wraps.

I couldn’t connect with Sadie, and I didn’t think she was relatable. I couldn’t get a feel for her personality. She came across as flat, which sucked for me because I liked her in the previous books. The only time I saw her come to life was when Bo pushed her buttons.

As much as I didn’t connect with Sadie, I did feel that she and Bo had sexual chemistry by the spades. That tension cranked up each meeting until it exploded into an oral sex frenzy. Speaking about sex, the author had Sadie and Bo do everything but have intercourse until the end of the book. It was refreshing.

The romance angle was a bit up and down for me. There were times where I could see Sadie falling back in love with Bo. But then, there were other times that it was almost nonexistent. That drove me nuts.

The end of the book was interesting. I didn’t expect what was revealed. I also didn’t expect Bo’s reaction to it. But, I liked how the author took something that is frowned upon and turned it into something positive.

I really didn't care for this book. I just couldn't get into in and won't be reading any more books by this author. Sorry to say, I'm just not a fan.

Sadie reconnects with her old boyfriend!

Actress Sadie Gold is so ready to do something other than play a rich girl on a soap opera when she gets the lead for a new movie in her hometown of Chicago. Sadie is ready for it to start when she has the first table read where most of the major actors go through the script when Sadie meets the stunt coordinator Bo Ibarra for the first time since high school. Sadie and Bo dated during high school even though his father managed the stables at her grandmother’s estate. Sadie and Bo wanted to keep their rekindled relationship quiet because Sadie knew that people would think she only got the job because she and Bo were dating.

Sadie wanting to keep stuff quiet comes back to bite her later in the story but it is handled very well.

Melonie Johnson has written a series that covers a group of friend that is there for each other even though they don’t see each other all the time which is the mark of a true friend.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Loved this book. Melonie has written several books I have read and this did not disappoint. A strong woman working to prove herself, a determined guy trying to rise above having nothing and a passion that spans more time than they should have lost.

Once Upon a Bad Boy by Melonie Johnson is the third in the Sometimes in Love series. Generally I’ve found that in series, particularly by newer authors, the stories get better as the authors work on their craft. For me, this was not true with this book, unfortunately. I really enjoyed the last two books so I was excited to read Sadie and Bo’s story. Teenage loves who went their separate ways, they reconnect years later when Sadie is the female lead of the movie that Bo is the stunt coordinator for. Overall, I found that their story was very thin. There were so many other aspects that if Ms. Johnson had fleshed them out would have made this a much better story, I’ve also found that when the story primarily revolves around the intimate life of the characters, the story is weak. For me, that should be something that enhances the story, but for most of this book, it is the story. And I wasn’t a fan of the handling of Sadie and Bo’s teenage pregnancy storyline-it really made me rethink both these characters and did not put either of them in the best light for me. However, I really hope the next book is about Luna. I really liked her character.

Thank you to St, Martins press for an advanced e-copy of this book for my review.

The third in a really fun series. Sadie and Bo were a great couple and a nice wrap up to the series. Lots of fun, sexy, romantic parts. Great dialogue. I would recommend!

Sadie Gold is ready for something big after her soap opera tour. She wants to be taken seriously and not just seen as a rich, spoiled and very well connected. When she is finally offered a part in a hit movie she is thrilled. Right up until she meets her stunt coordinator. 

Bo Ibarra is hot, sexy and Sadie's first love. After a decade the sparks are all still there. But they broke up for reasons that are still in play. The wrong side of the tracks, money, love is never easy. And on top of all of the issues they need to get past, Sadie has a secret she has been keeping all these years and now it's out and there may be no way to find their way back to each other this time.

I loved the friends and other characters. Melonie Johnson is really good at writing love stories that feel real. And funny. I'm sure we will be seeing much more from this series.

NetGalley/June 25th, 2019 by St. Martin's Paperbacks

I had not realized when I began reading this that it was the third book in the series, but I was able to follow along without much issue. This is a second chance romance and I found it quite enjoyable. Sadie is an actress who is desperate to prove herself as a serious actress worthy of important roles. She gets her chance to make that dream a reality when she is cast as an action star in a new blockbluster. Things could not be more perfect, until she runs into a familiar face from her past. The stunt coordinator who is sent to train her is none other than her first love. She's determined to not let heartbreak from her past derail her future. Bo wants nothing to do with Sadie. He is still nursing past hurts, but is nothing, if not a professional. As they work together, feelings from their youth return and the lines between professional and private lives blue. Can they move past the angst and hurt from their past and find a way to have a future together?

Welp, I had no idea this was the third book in a series, but I'm not even mad because my first experience with Melonie Johnson's writing was a good one. I thoroughly enjoyed immersing myself into Sadie and Bo's lives.and I'm anxious to get through a few on my TBR list so I can go back and read the first two books! But back to Sadie and the Bad Boy....

As an actress, Sadie Gold just wants to prove herself to be Hollywood's Sweetheart. She was also Bo's sweetheart at one time. These two haven't seen each other in years, but now that Sadie's landed the role of a lifetime as a bad ass action chick, guess who shows up as her stunt coordinator?

Oh yeah. Second chance romance trope, baby. One of my very favorites. These kinds of books always bring the feels because there's a lot of angst surrounding an old breakup. Call me crazy, but I live for that angst because it makes the sweet just that much sweeter.

Not gonna lie though, I really liked a lot about this book, but there were some things I wasn't all that excited about. I felt like parts of it (namely when Bo and Sadie were apart) sort of dragged on, and I got a little bit bored around the 70ish percent range, but I'm glad I stuck it through because it all worked out in the end and I ended up adoring this book.

Looking forward to reading more in this series in the future!