Cover Image: Between Friends

Between Friends

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Member Reviews

Quick and easy romantic story.
The characters were alright, a little bit boring and bland. But it was sort of cute story anyway.

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This was a pretty good book. The story was well paced. I really liked both Tessa and Jordan. I hadn’t read this author before so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was not disappointed!
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

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The book was really cute and I loved reading about the characters and how their relationship developed. The writing wasn't really what I'm into but I enjoyed it nonetheless!

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****Review*****


sweet story.

Friend for years and then they notice each other, big brothers and best friends. I love a good romance and this held all the things a like, a happy ending and love.
Thank you to Netgalley/Elsa Miles for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

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Tessa and Jordan, having grown up together are the best of friends. Although, years ago, Tessa had a crush on Jordan, with the help of her older brothers she's put it behind her. Or so she thinks.
Jordan, having always been best friends with Tessa, never saw her this way.
Having just broke up with his latest girlfriend due to his friendship with Tessa, he accidentally walks into the bathroom when Tessa is showering and sees more than he's comfortable with. He starts to think that maybe his ex as right. Not wanting to ruin a long standing friendship and in order to counteract his attraction to her, he acts like kind of a jerk as do the many WOMEN who come in and out of his life.
Although I loved Tessa's character, I was ambivalent when it came to Jordan. I wanted to like him, but he made it really hard. All-in-all, I would recommend this book.
Thank you Elisa Miles and NetGalley for allowing me an advance copy for my honest feedback.

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I just did not enjoy this one. Jordan was a total jerk, treating Tessa like crap (and letting his endless parade of women do so as well), all because he was too afraid to face his feelings for her. And Tessa mostly acted like the kid she was accused of being, endlessly pining after Jordan and letting him treat her horribly. Not a good example of a healthy relationship, to say the least.

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I thought that this was a good read. The plot was good, the characters likeable and their chemistry was great. I liked the sexy tension that builds between them as the story flows and developers, also the drama right from the start to the book. It’s the first book I’ve read by this author and it was a good read. Will look up author in the future. Happy reading!

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Heat Factor: It's that "I can't resist anymore - wait, how did we end up plastered to your door with my skirt around my hips?" kind of thing.
Character Chemistry: On the one hand, they're magnetic to each other; on the other hand, he doesn't treat her well.
Plot: I saw my best friend naked and now I'm having all these FEELINGS.
Overall: It worked for me, but it definitely isn't going to be for everyone.

In a twist of cover marketing gone right, I picked up Between Friends because of the old school cover. The series is actually called Old School Romance, so Miles is clearly doing something here. But even though this looks like something from the '80s, it's a contemporary romance.

Tessa and Jordan have known each other forever. Jordan's best friend is Tessa's oldest brother, but since their families are all still at home in Wyoming, Tessa and Jordan end up being best friends while they're living in the Bay area.

Jordan's girlfriend started fighting with him about his secret feelings for Tessa, and they break up. He thinks she's nuts, and from a reader perspective there does seem to be no thought of hidden feelings on either side until Jordan accidentally sees Tessa naked and is floored. Until that point, Jordan thought of himself as her nearly-ten-year older brother-ish. At this point, we enter the angst-ridden territory of I-don't-want-to-ruin-our-friendship-so-I'm-going-to-destroy-it-anyway-by-trying-to-ignore-my-feelings. Because that always works.

Jordan's agony of futilely denying his feelings and his untamed jealousy absolutely did it for me. I have a soft spot for heroes with an absolutely terrible EQ.

That said, Jordan is absolutely terrible to Tessa. Absolutely. Terrible. He does a number of hot-and-cold, keep-her-at-arm's-length things to Tessa in his attempt to keep their friendship (snort), but the worst is that he uses another woman as a band-aid, and he doesn't just date her. And he does this stuff at the same time he and Tessa are peeling themselves off each other. The other woman knows Jordan isn't interested in exclusive, long term anything with her, but still, it's pretty gross that he sleeps with Tessa, has a meltdown, and sleeps with the other woman the next night. Or at least the other woman's car spends the night at his house. What I'm saying is this hero is definitely not going to be for everybody.

Usually with these stories, both protagonists spend some time in existential crisis because of jeopardizing the friendship. So I enjoyed that in this book, Tessa embraces the change:

“You’re not mad?” He grunted as she kicked the bag dead center.
“To the contrary,” she huffed between kicks, “I’m excited.”
Tessa could practically hear the warning bells peeling in Jordan’s head.
“Excited?” His voice was guarded.
Tessa stopped and placed her gloved hands on either side of it to peer at him around the bag. “Yes! Jordan, I have never felt so hot in my entire life.” … She slowly perused his body and shivered. “I can’t wait until we have sex.”

I also liked that she called him on his BS when he said he was trying to protect the friendship when it was clearly already totally broken:

“If I have to be the one to preserve our friendship, I will.” His face had turned to stone.
She threw her arms up in the air.
Jordan followed every bouncing move.
“What friendship? We don’t speak or do anything a fraction of the time we use to. It’s already changed our friendship. It can’t get any worse.”

But delusional heroes grappling with feelings are such a delightful thing.

Of course, with all the crap Jordan pulls there has to be a grovel. While the grovel starts well, when it came to the point, I was not satisfied with the depth of it, which is another point I'd flag for readers who might already be turned off by Jordan's repellent behavior.

This was good for an angsty, I-don't-know-what-to-do-with-my-feelings-but-I-have-so-many, friends to lovers romance, but readers shouldn't have illusions about the hero.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

This review is also available at The Smut Report.

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This is the story of Tessa and Jordan. They grew up on Wyoming farms together and have been friends ever since, or at least that’s what Jordan thinks. Tessa has always loved Jordan but this story highlights the friends to lovers journey for these two.
The banter between these characters is awesome and it definitely contributes to the slow burn nature of the story.
Jordan and Tessa are both awesome, likable characters who show a little bit of growth in the story.
The one part I questioned was that if these two were such good friends wouldn’t they be better at talking things out?

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Between Friends sizzles with 90% of the book being equivalent to foreplay. The relationship between Tessa and Jordan is so relatable. The girl who knows how she feels and isn't afraid to tell the guy she wants to try. The guy who isn't ready to committ and is too blind to see what's in front of him. I loved the heartache and story up until the last chapter. I expected Tessa to make Jordan work for it a bit more than rose petals. Everything she was put through and she caved so easily. Even ending like it does, I enjoyed the book and couldn't put it down. I can easily picture the hot vet and the naive little sister growing old together. You find yourself rooting for them throughout the book and I find myself aligning with Kelly, Jordan's sister, in the second half of the book. Knowing the looks she is sending Jordan are the same I am giving off as I read about his ridiculous choices of female companionship. Jordan isn't a bad guy, and for once, the main character doesn't want to change him or fix him. That was a huge relief not to have to go through.

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Tessa and Jordan are really good friends. She has long since gotten over her teenager crush on him. Things are going great for them until Jordan walks in on her naked. Suddenly, those old feelings come rushing back, and Tessa suspects Jordan feels the same.

Jordan's ex left him because she believed he had romantic feelings toward Tessa. As much as he tries to deny them, he slowly begins to come to the realization that his ex might have been right. Seeing Tessa in her altogether certainly helps speed the process along. Jordan just isn't sure that it's worth risking their decade plus friendship over. Find out what happens in BETWEEN FRIENDS.

BETWEEN FRIENDS by author Elsa Miles is about romance blossoming, as you probably guessed, between friends. I love the old-style cover art. The couple really look like they are moving into new territory, from friends to lovers. Tessa and Jordan are so perfect for one another, but they have a lot of things holding them back. It just takes them, mostly Jordan, a bit to get past some of those obstacles. The ending is so worth it though. I give BETWEEN FRIENDS a 3.5 star rating.

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4⭐️
I loved this! I wasn’t crazy about the cover but the story was great. I loved watching them trying to figure this out. I got all the feels in this story.
I kept a smile on my face for most of this book! But parts of it made me crazy and sometimes I was so mad at Jordon I could scream. But man was he gorgeous.
I highly recommend this book. ♥️
Great read • Lovable characters • Hilarious • Fun • Frustration(in a good way) • Sexual tension • Jealousy • Love • HEA

This was a Netgalley book and all opinions are my own.

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I know that you should never judge a book by its cover, but when I saw this one and it immediately reminded me a of a certain series set in a high school with twins in it that I used to read as a young teenager, then I couldn't resist. Between friends sets itself as an Old School Romance, the romance is the story, rather than some other plot that carries much of the story with a romance burning alongside.
I actually really enjoyed this read. Tessa and Jordan have been best friends for years, but never lovers. Of course, everyone else thinks that they are going to end up together and although they are against that, to begin with, it soon becomes clear that they have always really been in love.
I liked the way that the romance unfolded, with both Tess and Jordan trying (and failing) to resist the pull between them. I did think that Jordan could have been slightly nicer at points. I sometimes get a bit tired of the virgin and the player making a perfect match. I don't mind the male character has been around a bit if the heroine also has. It's just small niggle though and it didn't really stop me enjoying this fun friends to lovers romance. Sometimes all you need is a bit of Old School Romance and I'd be more than happy to check out others in this series.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Talk about slow bbbbuuurrrrnnnnnnn. I love this story about 2 longtime best friends and their road to a happily ever after. Jordan is your average run of the mill romance book character. He is hot, has a great job but does not want to feel tied down yet.. He enjoys short term relationships with females to get what he needs without a full blown commitment. Then comes the night he see's his best friend, Tessa, naked after a shower at his house. This changes everything for Jordan and he doesn't know how to feel about this turn of events. He tries to distract himself with other females but he cant unsee Tessa. Tessa has had a longtime crush on Jordan but she pushed that to the side when he became her best friend. This is until the day she walked in to see him making out with another female and then fully naked. These two were on a crash course to figuring out how to keep their friendship work while keeping their feelings at bay. While Tessa knew right away that she loved Jordan he couldnt wrap his head around it until it was almost too late. I loved the slow burn between these two and how they fought so hard to keep their friendship intact without involving sex. I can not wait to read the other books in this series.

Thank you netgalley, and Elsa Miles for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

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This just did not do it for me. It is classified as a humor romance- there is nothing funny about it. I don’t know who annoyed me more, tessa or Jordan. The heroine was weak and the hero was not really nice. Thank you to netgalley for the arc but I do not recommend this one.

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Two friends oblivious to the truth, that when it stares them in the face they try everything, even acting like adolescents to try to deny everything. Once you open the door, in these situations, you cannot shut it. The ending ruined the book for me.

I received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.

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A sweet and funny story of two best friends falling in love. I love the connection between them that was there from the very start and you could just tell that their love was meant to be. A truly enjoyable read. The ending felt a little abrupt to me but other than that I loved it and definitely recommend.

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Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was a decent friends to lover romance. Tessa and Jordan have been childhood friends and are blind to the sexual attraction growing between them. One night turns into something else and Jordan allows his fears to push Tessa away. While I appreciated that Tessa makes him work hard to earn her forgiveness, I did feel the back and forth went on a little too long.
Nothing remarkable but entertaining nonetheless.

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