Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 320 pages
Author: Melanie Jacobson
Publisher: Four Petal Press
Release Date: June 14th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

I don’t want a dating coach. Especially not one I’ve been in love with since junior high.

My roommates say I’m a workaholic. But when my boss temporarily suspends my extra lab time, my best friend and bossiest roommate makes fixing my love life her summer project.

My love life is non-existent, but makeover schemes and blind dates with her weird library patrons are not the answer. When she takes drastic measures and calls in her brother, Joey—one of Austin’s hottest heartthrobs—to consult, it’s my worst nightmare.

I fell for Joey when I was fourteen, and no other guy has ever measured up.

I’ll do anything to keep Joey from finding out—including putting up with a bombshell transformation—if it hides my true feelings when he looks at me. He rejected me once, and it nearly broke me. I’ll never give him that chance again.

Opposites attract in this swoony romcom. A brilliant geneticist versus a hotshot trendsetter she’s secretly loved more than half her life. Dive in for meddling roommates, quirky neighbors, Ahab the cursing parrot, found family, a sneaky matchmaker, and makeover shenanigans.

Betting on the Best Friend’s Brother follows characters introduced in Book 1 of the Betting on Love series but is written as a standalone.

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

THIS WAS GOOD.

I love when a book feels easy to finish in a day because you’re enjoying it that much. I’ve been liking this new series and happy that book two was a great read (the first is currently my favorite!).

Sweet Ava and Joey were the definition of opposites attract and it played well into their chemistry. I wanted even more of them and wish it didn’t take until about halfway to some more proximity moments. The dating coach aspects were fun and I love that Joey kept crashing everything Ava was attending. JUST CAN’T RESIST.

I loved Ava. I loved that she stayed true to herself and also looked at how her currently work/life balance was affecting her. Working through the past and adding some fun back into her life. Joey was such a sweetheart too!

I do wish there was less Ruby. I know she’s the instigator of the bet and Joey’s sister, but I daresay it felt like she was in the book more than Ava.

Also, I have to mention that kissing scene was FIRE. AND MY FAVORITE. Everything I love about a sweet rom-com. Bring on the steamy kisses.

Realllllly excited to see who’s story is next!

Overall audience notes:

• Contemporary Romance
• Language: very little
• Romance: kisses
• Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a father (recounted), parental abandonment (recounted)

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