This was spicy and sweet as well as funny and unique. We have Anna and Max who just happen to be in the same place many years after childhood. Max and Anna always picked on each other as kids and had names for the other so when Anna sees him she immediately wants to mess with him. Well she’s a dancer and decides she is going to strut her stuff just to show him that she is not that little girl anymore. It works and they end up having the best sex but they both declare it’s a one time thing. That’s until they are both called home for different reasons though at the same time and that can’t be good. Right?

This book combines the classic trope of a brother's best friend with the excitement of an opposites-attract storyline. Our protagonist, Anna, is a free-spirited belly dancer who dreams of performing in Las Vegas. She contrasts sharply with Max, a rigid business consultant who thrives on setting and sticking to rules. Anna's childhood crush on Max went unnoticed, but now that she's grown up, Max is irresistibly drawn to her when he sees her performing at a local bar.

Their relationship starts with an impulsive and steamy encounter in a storage closet, leading to a summer romance governed by strict rules to keep emotions at bay. The book features a series of passionate hookups, including one particularly implausible underwater scene that left me questioning its feasibility without the risk of drowning.

While the chemistry between Anna and Max is palpable, and their physical interactions are intensely described, the story lacks depth. The main characters fail to develop a mature, emotional connection beyond physical attraction. This superficiality in their relationship makes it hard to root for them as a couple.

Furthermore, the plot misses a significant conflict to drive the narrative towards a compelling climax. The story feels flat and directionless, without a major hurdle or challenge for Anna and Max to overcome together. This absence of a solid narrative arc makes investing emotionally in their journey difficult.

When I finished reading One Night Stand Ever After, it immediately made me want to pick up the rest of the books in the series. Anna is a dance instructor and dancing troupe member whose troupe is disbanding. She's out celebrating their final day together when she runs into Max, her brother's childhood best friend. Their chemistry is immediate, and they agree to explore it together with a one night stand. After they hook up, Max leaves her to enjoy the company of her friends, and they both think that's the end of it.

When Anna's grandmother needs a hip replacement, Anna returns to her small hometown to run her grandmother's diner while she recuperates from surgery. The last person she expects to run into is Max, who is back in town to assist his own estranged grandmother with a business development plan for the town's main street. The two decide to secretly continue their liason for as long as they're both in town, and you can probably guess the rest.

This is a solid choice for someone who is looking for a low anxiety romance. Yes, they're sneaking around together and they both have their own goals that threaten to keep them apart, but they end up deeply caring for each other and they choose their feelings over their plans. This book combines small town romance and elements of the brother's best friend trope, and it's really well done. I definitely recommend it for fans of both.

ahhh the first arc that i was HEAD OVER HEELS the first chapter 😂 i loved this so much- it reminded me of my favorite romcom with a side of spice. Anna is so free with her life and confidence and i think that’s something a lot of us long to be - confident and sure of ourself. Max is so sweet and I just loved him so much - i COMPLETELY understood his need for rules, for boundaries from his childhood and my heart swelled for him when him and his grandmother had the conversation. I wish the ending was a bit more or there was an epilogue bc the last 2% felt abrupt but i loved it all the same.
Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book!
All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was my first read by this author and it won't be my last! It was funny, sexy, sweet, and I couldn't put it down. I immediately went and got the first two books after finishing.

I really wanted to love this one, but it unfortunately fell a little flat. It had all the elements of a book I would love: brother’s best friend & small town, but the tropes themselves didn’t make up for the main characters lack of chemistry (beyond sex). I also felt that the characters lacked depth,,, Max and Anna both had something that seemed to encompass their entire personality that distracted too much of the plot (eg: Max’s foot fetish and Anna’s burlesque/belly dancing). 😂

Lastly, I wish we saw more of their interactions when they were teenagers so their future relationship would be more believable.

Anyways, I did like this book enough to finish it. While it may not be for me - it may be for someone else. 🙂 thank you Entangled for the eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a quick and fun read, perfect for summertime! While I do wish some of the plot lines had been a little bit more flushed out, I definitely enjoyed how easy this was to read and how well it flowed. The true hero’s of the story were obviously the grandmothers, with their knitting and meddling alike. Anna is the type of woman I wish I was with her confidence and her ability to bring people of all kinds together and bring music and laughter into their lives. Max was a great brooding love interest who she also brought out of his shell and he grew into a much better person by the end. Check this one out if you’re looking for an easy-breezy cover girl read this summer that will also hit you in your feels!

Very cute book, developed characters, could have had a bit more back story on both but still very fast paced and kept my interest

Are you the kinda girl that likes to cuddle up with a good Hallmark movie, well this is your Happily Ever After spicy version of a Hallmark movie. Meet Anna a free spirit fun loving belly dancer Anna and in coming Max a straight narrow rule follower business man. Anna used to have her sights on Max as her brother's best friend but never caught his eye, years later she runs into him at a bar and a steamy one night stand begins the start of this complicated relationship with two very different people. This is mostly set in a small town when Anna returns home to help her family. It flows quickly and I wish it had an epilogue the way it felt rushed and ended but is still a fun easy going cozy read with laughter and spice.

Although this is the third book in the series, I read it as a standalone. It’s a small town romcom, and I really enjoyed Max and Anna’s connection. These two couldn’t deny their chemistry and the forbidden aspect of best friend’s sister made it that much hotter. Anna knew what she wanted without shame, and I loved that. Max was simply hot. This book is very spicy and it was written so well! They were both great in the steamy scenes. If you like the sneaking around, brother’s best friend tropes, you’ll like this one.

Anna Rivera has lived the life in her burlesque troupe and she is determined to go out with as much fanfare as possible. Yet when she sees her brother’s best friend in the crowd – Max Cooper, her childhood crush, she is stunned. However, Max is in for a surprise as he knows that Anna is off-limits but the connection between them is electric. They are both determined that this will just be a little hook-up and that’s it. When Max and Anna find themselves stuck in their small hometown together, it becomes hard to fight their attraction. Soon they are sneaking around until Anna leaves for her next gig.
There was plenty of chemistry between the characters but at times, I wished for a bit more depth in their relationship. I always enjoy the brother best friend romance and this ticked that box. The secondary characters were enjoyable and the small-town setting, made for a good read. Whilst part of a series, this can be read as a stand-alone.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

👙👠𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗡𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 by 𝗔𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮 𝗨𝘀𝗲𝗻👠👙

🌶Wow. The spice right from the start?! Bold. Also, I couldn't stop reading.

💦ＳＷＥＥＴ ＡＮＤ ＳＭＵＴＴＹ

🥞There was such a heart-warming story under all that spice 🥵 that I actually shed a few tears when it came to the family discussions near the end. Both the FMC and MMC showed so much growth. It was a fun, easy read and I was pleasantly surprised!

ᴛʀᴏᴘᴇꜱ:
☆Dual POV
☆Small Town Romance
☆Brother's Friend/Off Limits
☆Opposites Attract

This is the third book in the 𝑼𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝑭𝒊𝒓𝒆 series, with each one being a Standalone. I read this perfectly fine without needing to have read the others.

ʙʟᴜʀʙ:
Anna Rivera is the spontaneous, adventure-seeking burlesque/belly dancing woman who is determined to end her time in New York with a bang. In walks her teenage fantasy, brother's best friend, Max Cooper. Max is an up-tight, suit-wearing, control freak who knows Anna has been off-limits forever.

However, they can't deny their electric connection. A one night stand with boundaries, rules & expectations is the best solution, right? But fate plays dirty...

Both Anna and Max find themselves back in their small hometown together, failing to resist the spark between them. All the consequences in the world might not be able to stop this fling they've started.

BIG THANKS TO BRITTANY & ENTANGLED PUBLISHING FOR THIS ARC!

This was my first read from Amanda Usen and it will not be my last. I really loved it. This was a quick, funny and SPICY read about Anna and Max who reconnected as adults. This story shows just how much opposites can attract.

I really wish there was an epilogue about what happened next for them and where they are now.

Thank you NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the ARC of this title.

Posted to Goodreads and Amazon

Eh, they knew each other as kids and have a one night stand. Then it keeps continuing but neither character really develops the relationship or share more of their background (that gets hinted at). It's an opposites attract book, she's a belly dancer and he's a businessman but it lacked any depth other than how far his member can go.

Thank you to Netgalley, Entangled and Ms. Usen for the opportunity to read an ARC of this title. An honest review was requested but not required.

This was not for me. There was hardly any plot, just a series of hookups (VERY DETAILED hookups) but with barely any emotional connection I felt completely uninvested in the two main characters' relationship. Max and Anna spend 50% of their time on their work projects and 48% of their time on hooking up which leaves very little time for getting to know each other, growing together, emotional investment, etc., etc., etc. Also there is a foot fetish on his part, which, ew. I found myself skimming through each intimate encounter which resulted in a skim of about half the book.

I liked the grandmas but it wasn't enough to save the book for me. Even the advertised "older brother" trope was a bit of a let-down. YMMV but this one wasn't for me.

⭐1/2 stars rounded up to 2 for the grandmas.

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read this digital ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

TW: death of a significant other, substance abuse, foster care, cancer diagnosis

This was my first book from this author. I really loved it. It was a cute romance book. The main characters knew each other when they were younger and end up seeing each other again many years later and lots of things happen. 🤪

Lots of spice! This is a standalone book from a series. I need to read the other 2. Highly recommended. Quick read.

I deliberately took my time reading One Night Stand Ever After to ensure I could write a thorough review. The story was sweet and incredibly spicy; while I did enjoy the spice aspects, the plot was different from what I'm used to. I found the plot to be a bit lacking in that it was easy to be distracted from reading this book but I would like to give the author another chance in the future and see her other work! Sweet, spicy read!

3.5 Stars
This book surprised me, but I actually found myself enjoying the Hallmark-but-make-it-spicy vibes.
This is book 3 in a series about the members of a burlesque dance troupe, and although I had NOT read the first two before going into this one, I feel like this held its own as a standalone and I didn't feel like I was missing things from the others.
I HATE this cover, like I would NEVER pick up a book with this cover on a normal day, BUT the small town vibe was cute and equally matched the one night stand spice vibe.

- This book starts off with a very steamy one night stand, and then embarks on a cute small-town adventure.
- The fact that this plot is about Anna and Max both helping their respective grandmothers to save their small town businesses is so classic and I fell for its charm too
- I didn't find myself hating either of the characters - although their charade of "not caring that much" got old super quick
- The fact that Anna is a dancer made my little heart so happy - she was chasing a passion and helping others while doing it.
- Levi was an okay character, but honestly I think his significance was greatly overshadowed. That and his rotten attitude toward their secret relationship was just annoying.

Ultimately, I was surprised with how much I enjoyed this.

One Night Stand Ever After by Amanda Usen was a wonderful rom-com.
This was my first read by this author and I was not disappointed - it was quick, quirky and so much fun! The plot was pretty good, kept me engaged and invested in characters and story?
I now have to read One Night Stand with Benefits!

Thank You NetGalley and Entangled: Brazen for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

“One Night Stand Ever After” effortlessly captures the essence of forbidden romance, delivering a delightful blend of humor, heat, and heart. Amanda Usen crafts a story that’s equally enchanting and exhilarating, making it impossible for readers to put down. Anna and Max’s journey is a tempestuous whirlwind of desire and dilemmas, one that proves love can spark in the unlikeliest—and steamiest—of places.