Taj McCoy has easily become one of my favorite authors because she knows exactly how to win the hearts of her readers! She writes friendships so well! I love how supportive her girl gang is and let me tell you the way I laugh! I feel like I’m talking to my own friends because it’s so relatable. Now don’t even get me started on the food! Taj can make your mouth water! Honestly it’s her real characters and their real life dilemmas that get me every time. These characters are beautifully flawed and these men love them for it. I love the plus sized rep and just the vulnerability of finding the right man for you. This one hit me at the right time and I loved so many moments!! Thank you for this ARC!

Sometimes we go looking for love in all the wrong places when our Prince Charming has been right in front of us the whole time but we’ve been too blind to see it. That’s what we get with “The Good Ones Are Taken.”

When Maggie’s bestfriends Savvy and Joan make her the maid of honor for both their weddings the pressure is on for her to find a date. After dealing with a terrible break up there aren’t many contenders that could successfully fulfill the role so she looks to online dating as an option. But of course her bestie Garrett wouldn’t hesitate to be her stand in date if things don’t work out during Maggie’s manhunt. Which he’s secretly hoping it doesn’t.

After many failed attempts with online dating the universe finally showed up and showed out‼️ Maggie meets this handsome heart surgeon at the gym just when she thought all hope was lost. He appeared to be everything a woman wanted and also the perfect date to her friends wedding. But when Maggie’s best friend admits he’s in love with her she’s now torn between the perfect guy and a friendship she’d hate to ruin with a guy she can’t live without.

The pacing was really slow in the beginning but the dialogue and humor throughout the book made up for it. Loved the connection between Maggie and her friends and we can’t deny the chemistry between her and Garrett. From the beginning I kept thinking he’s the one stop looking for what’s already there sus. The blow up between her, Blake, and Garrett was a highlight moment and to me where the pacing really picked up.

Overall, I enjoyed the plot I’m big on the friends-to-lovers trope, the spicy scene was giving but was killing me with the “that’s my good girl” phrase, and the supporting characters were very relatable. The author tied everything together so well leaving us with such a heartwarming ending. Fans of Jasmine Gulliory would love this one. Special thanks to the author, @hearourvoicestours , @netgalley & @_mira_books_ for my advanced copy‼️

Rating: 3.5/5

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing (MIRA) for my ARC copy! This review contains my personal thoughts and opinions.

I really enjoyed "The Good Ones Are Taken". I loved the MMC Garrett and the friend-group dynamic. I also enjoyed the intertwined parental element and how they were all there for advice. McCoy's writing style kept me invested and made it easy to envision what was going on throughout the book.

However, the MFC Maggie was insufferable. If it weren't for Garrett and Maggie's friends holding her accountable, I would have struggled to make it through the book. At her big age, the behavior was very questionable. The only thing I found remotely endearing about her was her love for food and how unashamed she was about it.

Overall, it was a good, quick read. Despite Maggie being a piece of work, the strength of the secondary characters and McCoy's engaging writing style makes it a book worth diving into.

Rating: 4/5

If you’re a fan of friend to lovers, and romantic comedy. You will love this book. It’s also kind of a slow burn but it was worth it.
Maggie still single in her late 30s is looking for the perfect guy but of course she’s having a difficult time and on the verge of giving up. When she meets Blake, a handsome doctor that seems too good to be true. Sometimes what’s for you is right under your nose. Cue her best friend Garrett who finally confessed his love for Maggie. But will it be too late??
Whew child this love triangle is something else and of course you have to read it to see what happens. I also really loved the friend group highlighted in this book. For me a friend group can make or break even a love story.
Overall, this book was good! It was cute, hilarious and I enjoyed the ending!

Maggie has a blossoming career as a tax attorney and a great group of friends, including her best friend for over 20 years, Garret. Maggie has commited to her friends Savvy and Joan that she will find a date to their destination wedding. This means putting herself through some gruelling, though hilarious first dates with matches from her online dating profile.

I thoroughly enjoyed Maggie and her friends. Their conversations were so believable and I loved how supportive the women were toward eachother.

thank you to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

#netgalley
#TheGoodOnesAreTaken

Taj McCoy is in autobuy author for me and after reading this, it hasn’t changed! I ate this up!

Maggie thought she found her forever but things didn’t workout. She is now back to trying to date again with the help of her friends. Maggie meets someone online but also might realize her best friend Garrett might be the one for her.

You will have to read to find out. And trust me, you will want to find out 🥵🥵🥵!

When a book can make me laugh and smile, it will always be recommended!

*3.5

It’s a cute story and I like it very much. I love a cute friends to lovers novel and it’s what it is. But I’m really unhappy with Maggie’s friends. They just want her to find a date for their wedding, more than they want her to be happy. I really dislike their attitude.
However the story is cute and Maggie and Garrett had good chemistry.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

Wow, just wow! This is my first Taj McCoy novel and I am glad that I had the chance to read and enjoy it before the views of others were floating around. This friends-to- lovers romance was just what the doctor ordered. Fun, funny, descriptive, and extremely satisfying. This was a five star for me, I was just hoping that Maggie would have realized some thing's a bit sooner than she did. 10/10 I would recommend!!!

***Thank you to NetGalley and Taj McCoy for the opportun ity to read and review this gem.***

When I read the synopsis for this book I thought it sounded cute but as I read it there were times where I was annoyed. The beginning of the book was a little too repetitive for me with Maggie continuously talking about how she was single and unhappy and how there were no good guys out there after her ex broke up with her. At first it also didn't seem like her friends wanted her to actually be happy with someone but rather just find a date for their wedding and they seemed to be unconsciously rubbing their happiness in her face with their relationships and impending weddings. It also didn't appear as though she was as happy for them as she should have been because she was single which was a little bothersome.

Once she found someone who she seemed to be feeling everyone she talked to about Garrett, the best friend, were putting ideas in her head that he liked her and when she confronted him about it and he admitted he did and she admitted she liked him too and they crossed the line of more than friends I thought we were going to get more of that and it wasn't written that way which made me more annoyed. At that point I felt there was no need to continue to date the other guy and just go with what you know and your heart.

Overall it was a nice story and had a HEA which I want in a romance but there were times where I felt it was dragged out unnecessarily so for those reasons I gave it 3.5 stars. If you are a fan of Zora Books Her Happily Ever After then you would probably like this one too as there are a lot of similarities between the two.

Thank you to the publisher Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

The story line was good and it had it's cute moments. I believe at one point we all want love and sometimes don't know how to go after it or scared to seek it when it's right in front of us. This story portrayed that and I appreciated that POV. I would recommend this story to others and thoroughly love the cover, will purchase a physical copy when it's released.

I wanted to love this one so much. But I had a tough time getting into the book. The FMC really annoyed me. I related to her love of food and needing to be fed to remain happy. But when it came to the decision between her best friend and the doctor, it was an obvious choice and her approach just truly pissed me off.

Maggie and Garrett have been BFFs for 19 years- their entirely adult life-and now that friendship is under threat because Maggie's found her "dream guy" in Blake the doctor. Well, maybe not. The impending weddings of her girlfriends have sent her off looking for her own HEA and that might be Blake. Or it might be Garrett. Admit that you know how this is going to work and enjoy the novel for its look at friendship and food (Maggie loves to eat). Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Good characters, a familiar trope or two, and nice storytelling make this a fine read.

Maggie wants to find her Prince Charming and a date to her friends' weddings so she tries online dating. As the maid of honor in both weddings, she is tasked with finding a date along with bridal party duties. After finding frogs, she meets a handsome doctor that might be the one.

Meanwhile, her male best friend Garrett points out all the red flags and encourages her to keep looking for the right match. Maggie just wants him to be happy for her but things come to a head when Garrett admits he can't if he's not with her. When he blurts out his feelings, Maggie has to choose between a friendship and a seemingly perfect guy.

The Good Ones are Taken is a friends-to-lovers rom-com that is perfect for spring reading. Taj McCoy knows how to hook a reader into a slow burn romance that will make you blush, giggle and root for a happy ending. The characters are like your best friends IRL. Pour a fruity adult beverage, open the windows for a breeze and enjoy this cutesy comedic book.

Happy Early Pub Day, Taj McCoy! The Good Ones are Taken will be available Tuesday, April 23.

Disclaimer: An advance copy was received directly from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins. ~LiteraryMarie

It was a slow start but once we get to the “meat” of the story you can’t help but cheese throughout the book because you see everything aligning as it should. Maggs looks like she’s getting what she want and hopefully it’s WHO she truly wants.

I’m not sure if this one just wasn’t my thing it took me awhile to get through it because it didn’t have that much excitement to me and there wasn’t much chemistry. Granted there were a few parts that made me smile because it was cute but it didn’t hold my attention and wasn’t something I felt I needed to hurry and read to finish

Thanks hearourvoicestour for the ARC

Maggie is still recovering after her last break up. She has been unlucky in love and every guy she meets is a dud. Her 2 best friends are getting married soon and are pressuring her to get a date for their weddings. They sign her up for a dating app, and the guys she meets are all walking red flags. That is until she meets a heart surgeon at the gym. On paper he is everything she could want, attentive, smart, independent, takes care of himself, and successful.

Then there is Garrett, her college best friend. They have always had a special bond, and have kept it relatively platonic for the last 2 decades they have known each other. Garrett encourages her she can always do better and has criticism for every guy she meets. When Maggie and him finally confront the feelings and chemistry that has always been there between them, she must decide between the perfect guy on paper, or the perfect guy in her life.

This was a single POV friends to lovers that really worked for me. Garrett was honestly the ultimate book boyfriend. The chemistry between them was off the charts, so was the mutual respect. The story was very well paced and flowed so well. I got so invested in the characters and their love story. I have nothing but wonderful feelings about this book, and am definitely going to go back and read some of the author's backlist.

When Maggie's best friend admits he's in love with her, she'll have to decide whether it's worth giving up something good for something that could be amazing in this laugh-out-loud friends-to-lovers rom-com.

After a bad breakup, Maggie wants to find her Prince Charming, but all she’s finding are frogs. When her best friends, Savvy and Joan, apply pressure and demand she find a date worthy of attending their respective weddings, she agrees to take her own advice and try online dating. Since she's the maid of honor for both weddings, her bridal party duties are massive, but both brides insist that Maggie prioritize finding a date. After an onslaught of maybes, noes and hell noes, she’s close to giving up, when she meets a handsome doctor at the gym who just might be the one.

Meanwhile, her college bestie, Garrett, throws salt in everyone’s game. At every turn, he points out the red flags and tells Maggie to keep looking. Things come to a head when Maggie demands that Garrett be happy for her, and he finally admits that he can’t. Not when he’s not with her. When he blurts out his feelings, Maggie’s world is turned upside down. Now she must choose between the perfect guy and a friendship that is the foundation for everything she’s ever wanted.

My Take:
I often start my reviews by noting if the premise of the book has been achieved or not. In this case, it is. In fact, if you read the description and said, "yes, this book speaks to me," you will not be disappointed. The Main character, Maggie, gives me Molly from "Insecure" energy and those in the dating pool may get triggered, but I enjoyed this book. Please note that this is a Black romance with spicy love scenes-a treat on all accounts.

I loved this book so much!! It was so fun and so relatable and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it!! I’m in love with the characters and their development through the story and the reflection they go through. It really made me stop to think about my own life!! Highly recommend if you are feeling fed up with your own dating life to find inspiration from this book! Thank you for the free copy NetGalley!!

The Good Ones Are Taken by Taj McCoy was a really enjoyable read. I stayed up reading later than usual on several occasions because I wanted to see how it was going to end.

I loved the themes of family and friendship interspersed throughout the story, as well as the main character’s body confidence. I got frustrated that she couldn’t seem to see the clear right choice of who she needed to be with! But again…I’m realizing that is the nature of a romance novel haha. And it did keep me reading!

I don’t want to give away too much, but if you like a little spice and you’re a fan of the “friends to lovers” trope - this book is for you!

Whew it’s like Taj know me and she telling my business 🙄 lol ! This book is so relatable because it’s so many of us navigating dating and these dating apps 😭! lol I really enjoyed this story . Maggie didn’t pay enough attention to what she had in front of her all this time ! Because I knew from the beginning what it was , not too many men will go the lengths that Garret did for GP ! Such a cute love story ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ !

ARC Review
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Releases April 23rd, 2024

The Good ones are taken follows Magnolia Jones who is recently out of a relationship and looking to find love. She decides to take her best friends Savvy, Joanie, and Beth’s advice to get on Tinder to start dating again. Maggie also has a male best friend (Garrett) who she met in college and has him following her on her dates, in case anything goes wrong, which they ultimately do until she meets Blake at the gym and they hit it off and go on a few dates (without Garrett). Throughout the book it becomes very clear that Garret is in love with Maggie but has never had the guts to tell her (20 years). it’s between Blake the brain Surgeon and Garrett the Sports Journalist… who will she pick.

Honestly, this book was very predictable. It was cute and i loved that the characters were in their late thirties and had solid careers and friendships. Everything just worked, it just didn’t give me any of the feels i like from romance books. I’m also in my messy book era, so this just didn’t hit for me. It is very well written, if you’re looking for a sweet story, with a great group of friends and characters with great jobs, this is the book for you.