This is such a fun, entertaining read! Emily’s story starts right off the bat with her boyfriend drama with Zach, who’s irritating her & won’t talk with her about where things are going. Meanwhile, Zach is busy getting his brother, Dylan, to help him with a proposal. It’s the last thing Dylan wants to do, being that he’s in love with his childhood BFF.

This new adult/contemporary romance is such a light read. I devoured it immediately! I love the dynamic & plot that @christyhayesauthor created! What a super start to this series! Emily & Dylan’s story is great!
Now I’m on to book 2, Zach’s story, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝘂𝗻!

For me personally, I'm not a fan of the whole cheating plotline so this book didn't work as well as it could have. I also felt like something was lacking throughout the majority of the book and I realize it was backstory and how we were just literally seeing these few weeks of these people's lives with very little context to the past besides that they've known each other forever. We didn't see Emily and Dylan really hang out at all or really see why they would have worked together so much better we were just told why. I could immediately tell though that Emily and Zack were not going to work out at all and things should have been ended far sooner.

This just needed more development for me personally and no cheating in the plotline. I did like how fast-paced this book was though and I was able to still read it even though I wasn't loving it.


Overall this just wasn't one for me but I know others will love it.

As a hopeless romantic reading this book was amazing and i was just sad to see it come to an end but hey such is life. I personally loved our characters and their back and front. I'd totally recommend this book to anyone

Stalling for Time is adorable. The friendship between Emily and Dylan is something I wish I had from that young of an age. This was a refreshing friends to lovers romance, and I couldn't stop laughing at what she wanted them to do. I was so grateful that I have the next 2 book to dive into right away.

This book was cute and such an easy read. My favorite part wasn’t even the love story though - I loved the girl friendships in this book.

All of the books in the series were 4 stars from me. They were very enjoyable and the covers were super cute and fun. So glad I was introduced to these on a book tour.

College student Emily has been friends with Dylan since they were kids and when she finds an engagement ring in his backpack she is surprised that he would propose to a girl he barely knows. She needs to stop him from making a mistake.
Dylan is in love with his best friend, Emily, only problem: she’s dating his brother.

This was a forbidden love/friends to lovers trope. My favorite romance is when you get both POV and Dylan’s sections were swoon worthy! Love him! It was a quick read and more of a closed door romance for those that don’t like too much steam. Emily’s friends also played a big role in the book, as well as Dylan’s brother. I’m excited that the next book is about said brother. I can’t wait!!!

In Stalling for Time, Emily and Zach's relationship is struggling, while Dylan. his younger brother, has had feelings for Emily for forever. To fix their relationship, Zach wants to propose and asks Dylan to keep the ring. However, Emily accidentally finds the ring and thinks that Dylan is about to propose to his current girlfriend. Emily then plans to stop Dylan from proposing, thinking he's going to make a huge mistake. This misunderstanding forces them to confront their feelings for each other.

I struggled with this book because I just didn't enjoy the characters that much. I just didn't think the characters were that realistic or relatable - the thought that college sophomores would get married just seems outlandish to me, although that may just be my own personal experience. I think Emily is just really petty and immature, and the fact that this is how she reacted to her friend maybe proposing just doesn't make her seem like a good friend.

I think overall, I'm just not the biggest fan of this set-up or how the characters went about things. This book just wasn't really for me 🤷‍♀️, but hopefully others enjoyed it!

Emily and Zach have been together for five years, since they were in high school. He is two years older and a star college football player. Their relationship revolves around his devotion to the game and not as much on them as a couple. It's just the way it has always been. Zach takes Emily for granted. And she is slowly starting to realize this is not what she wants.

Dylan is Zach's younger brother and Emily's best friend. Now, why no one has acknowledged that this should be a red flag is somewhat beyond me. Then again, they had all known each other from childhood, so that may have been blurred somewhat.

Only Dylan has been in love with Emily for years. And he's crushed when Zach confesses that he's going to propose after the football season is over and asks Dylan to hide the ring for him.

And then it complicates even more when Emily accidentally finds the ring and assumes Dylan is proposing to his new girlfriend, whom he hasn't been with that long. She becomes absolutely irrational over it all, completely oblivious to the fact that she is absolutely in love with Dylan. She concocts this crazy scheme with her roommates to find out the truth about Dylan's supposed impending engagement, instead of coming right out and asking her best friend the truth. I give props to her roommates for calling her out on being childish. I also appreciate how while they pretend to go along with the scheme, they are actually setting up everyone for the truth to come out so that they can all move on.

It's the first time that I have ever spend so much of a book rooting for a breakup in the leading couple. But you know that they aren't good together and could learn a lot after the fact. Zach can learn to better manage his priorities. Emily can definitely mature. They were young with they first got together all of those years ago.

And you want each of them to find happiness. For Emily, you know it will be Dylan. She needs to be with her best friend. For Zach, we'll have to read the second book to find out how he fares.

And though the brothers have gotten themselves into a debacle that could rival Bobby and JR Ewing, you hope that they can eventually get past it and try to repair their once close relationship.

In spite of my annoyance with the characters, I still enjoyed this book and devoured it in one sitting over the weekend. I'm eager to read the next book in the series to see what comes next.

Thank you to the author and Prism Book Tours for providing me with a requested copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Stalling for Time

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
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Story Notes

Christy Hayes offers readers a revised version of her previously published books that needs more revision and plot to really make a good story.

I don't remember being so filled with angst in my college years but maybe it's because I didn't have steady boyfriend at the time. But this story takes angst and long-suffering to a whole new level. It tells of Emily, Zach and Dylan, college students who are in a unexpected love triangle. Zach and Emily have been dating for years but Dylan has loved Emily since they were little kids. Zach is an excellent football player who is leading his team to victory for the season but has little time for his girlfriend of 5 years. But when his coach starts talking about the future, Zach sees the need to propose to Emily to cement their relationship. Not immediately, but after the season is over. He asks his brother Dylan to keep the ring he bought and help him plan an over-the-top proposal. Too bad Dylan doesn't want to do either. Dylan is loyal to his family but is dying inside at the idea of Emily never being his. He's never said anything but was hoping to have a chance in the future. When an accidental kiss happens, Dylan cant help feeling relieved and guilty about the truth coming out. But will Emily make the safe choice and stay with Zach or will she reach out for the one she really wants, Dylan. There is so much more going on in this book than can be said in a summary. I didn't like the love triangle idea that went on for entirely too long nor the more than PG-13 descriptions that were included. This was billed as a "clean rom-com" but I wouldn't put it in that category. Maybe "less explicit" rom com. But there was definitely more described and said than I wanted to read. Also I didn't like the idea of them portraying Emily and the brothers as "Christians" since they clearly didn't act as Christians. It was a cute read but I can't recommend it highly to others because I really think people will be offended and uncomfortable with the sexual dialogue that happens. I've got the next two stories to read and hopefully they will get better.

I received this temporary complimentary E-book from the author via NetGalley in order to provide a fair and honest review. I will receive no fiscal compensation for this review and the opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.

I really enjoyed this book! I don’t read many books about this age group but it’s such an important time in one’s life, finding yourself and gaining independence. I enjoyed following Emily along as she learned to speak up for herself and demand respect.

Dylan is sweet and has loved Emily for so long. It was interesting to watch him wrestle with his loyalty to his brother and his love for Emily. It’s a difficult decision for him and I appreciate that the author didn’t make it a quick, easy, perfect love story.

It ended in a way that made me want to start the next book right away so I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Emily was dating Zach, Dylan's big brother for almost five years. But her feelings for him started to fade away. He never really listened to her or gave her any time. She was afraid to break up with him in fear of losing Dylan, her best friend. On the other hand, Dylan loved his best friend for a long time. And watching her with his brother was painful for him. One day, Zach asked him to guard an engagement ring he bought for Emily. Thus the misunderstandings began. When Emily saw the ring accidentally, she thought Dylan's gonna propose to his current girlfriend. So, she planned something with her friends to prevent Dylan from making a mistake which didn't work by the way and when she finally decided to talk to him, it led to a whole lot of more complications because they almost slept together. After so much emotional turmoil, she finally broke up with Zach. She and Dylan told him the truth. But in the process complicated a lot of relationships. They started dating though!🙄

This was a super, easy breezy book. Not a lot of spice or action which I prefer, but a nice and clean romantic comedy.

Looking forward to books 2 and 3.

Okay if you know me you will know I don’t normally read romances especially ones with love triangles. However this book surprised me and I read it from cover to cover. It was such an easy read that I found myself fully immersed in and the love triangle between Emily, Dylan and Zach was just right. Maybe the end was a little bit too cheesy for me but when you get that earth shattering kiss which makes you realise everything you went through in life was worth the right kiss with the right person then they deserve the happy ending.​

This was a fairly cute little romance. Although I wished they had more depth, the characters were pretty likable. The feeling of being stuck between a rock and a hard place was tangible, watching Emily struggle with her feelings was very relatable and I liked that we followed her emotional journey to discovering that a relationship goes both ways, and partners need to lean on each other, not just one being the support system for the other.

However, I think there definitely could have been more to the plot. A lot of time was spent in angst which was a little frustrating for what is being marketed as a New Adult book. The book was also a bit PG-13, very cute romance that wouldn’t be out of place on a Young Adult bookshelf. Since I enjoy a lot of YA fiction that was alright with me.

Overall this was a good little read which has helped me to get out of the reading slump I’ve slipped into this month!

What a quick, cute romance read! I loved the banter between Emily and her roommates and though at times I wanted to shake Emily, I was happy with the way the story turned out. Emily is dating Zach, a prominent college football played and he's the typical overbooked athlete. He has so much going on that it's tough for him to make time for Emily. Zach's brother Dylan is Emily's best friends, but we learn that there may be something special between them as well. There's a love triangle aspect here which made the book interesting! There were some parts that I wasn't a fan of, but overall it was cute! If you’re looking for a contemporary romance with a YA feel this is the book for you!

Such a sweet friends to lovers trope.I’d like to think I’m over teen romance but sometimes it does feel nice to read about young love and a time when your only challenges in life are relationship/friendship problems. Ah! To be young and to be in love 😅 This is a story about two best friends Dylan and Emily who have been the best of friends since forever. They are each other’s confidante and support system but there’s a catch(coz it just can’t be a perfect love story without a hiccup right?). Emily is dating Dylan’s brother Zach & Dylan has had to bury his feelings for Emily and act like her side kick all the while so as to not jeopardize his friendship with her and his relationship with Zach. But when Emily finds an engagement ring that Zach was planning on giving Emily in “Dylan’s” bag, she starts questioning everything.It leaves her completely perplexed knowing her bff is going to propose to a girl he just started dating and is hell bent on stopping him from doing it. But is it just a friend looking out for another friend or if there are feelings beneath all the that is what we discover.

This book took me by surprise but in a good way.I think I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would. It’s sweet and simple fluffy romance that just flies by. It’s got drama to pull you through the narration, endearing female friendship who are super supportive and a very beautiful portrayal of healthy romantic interest. Pick this one up if you’re looking for a light and fun read you can breeze through in no time.

Dylan and Emily....I felt like this book had more possibility to be great than it actually was. I wish we could have seen more of there amazing friendship and less of her talking about it to other girls. I didn’t feel their chemistry because the book was more about her relationship with Zach and other peoples opinions than her life with Dylan....it just didn’t sizzle and felt blah.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publicist, and the author for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I think this was an enjoyable read, but it was very mediocre for me. There was nothing that really stood out, however, the story was cute and the characters' had a cute friends to lovers relationship.

I really did enjoy the two characters, Emily and Dylan's, journeys. Both of them were good friends, and to see that develop into a relationship was quite heartwarming. I also enjoyed the side characters, including Zach (Emily's former boyfriend and Dylan's brother) and Emily's three roommates. All of them added an extra layer to the story. I hope the author will write stories about them too, I'd love to read those.

Two thing which I felt like could've been improved were the lack of humor and the miscommunication trope. I feel like nobody really ever 'talked' to each other, they just made assumptions and then used the assumptions to make decisions leading into a very messy situation. I do understand it adds flair to the story, but sometimes it's too much. Also, I wish there could've been more humor, I feel like that would've definitely made the story better.

Overall, its a 3 stars; enjoyable but not something I'd reread.

Well this was the sweetest little romance. I’m excited to read about the other characters in the rest of the books.

I loved the friendship between Emily and her roommates. It makes me want to live in an apartment with my best friends.

I thought that the plot of a girl dating two brothers was really fresh and something not often written about.

I also really appreciated the small mentions of Emily’s faith in God. As a Christian I found this very refreshing.

If I had to say something was missing for me, it would be humour. I love my romcoms with a side of laughter. But the sweetness made up for the lack of laughs for sure.