Publisher: Entangled
Publish Date: Out Now
How I got this book: NetGalley
Kissing her best friend’s brother never felt so right…
Sela Sullivan is resolved to be the best maid of honor ever, even if it means tolerating the best man. Insufferable, too-handsome Luke Watters is not only the guy who humiliated her at a kissing booth in high school, but he also happens to be her best friend’s older brother. Positive he’s the same arrogant jock, Sela vows to focus on her duties and steer clear of the frustrating—and frustratingly tempting—Luke.
As a world-renowned extreme-sports photographer, Luke is used to undertaking life-risking adventures. But risking his heart for the beautiful Sela Sullivan, who clearly still hates him for his rejection all those years ago? He didn’t see that coming. Sela inspires a passion he’s never known, and the more time they spend together, the more he craves her. But can he prove to the maid of honor he’s become a man of honor?
*Blurb from Goodreads*
There are many times when a book blurb intrigues me enough to not do any other research about the book or publisher, and this was one of them. While I knew that I’d enjoyed Entangled books in the past, I did not know that the Bliss line was their “sweet” romance books, and because of that I was a little surprised by the book as a whole.
Sela wants to be the best maid of honor to her best friend Vanessa, the only problem is that the best man is the one man who she never wanted to see again: Luke, brother of the bride. As a teenager, Luke humiliated Sela and it was one moment she could never forget, or live down. Unfortunately for Sela, it didn’t help that her crush on Luke never really went away. Now, years later, Sela wants nothing to do with Luke, but is willing to put up with him for the good of the wedding.
Luke is a high risk photographer, taking pictures of extreme sports adventures. After an injury that is almost more than Luke can handle, he promises to spend more time at home during the wedding. However, the more time he spends with Sela, the more he realizes that the attraction he always felt, (despite her being his best friends little sister and his little sister’s best friend) isn’t going away anytime soon. But as the wedding gets closer to date, will Sela and Luke be able to work through their issues in order to be civil enough come ceremony time?
Again, the biggest let down with this book was it’s “sweet” romance. The sexual tension between Luke and Sela was off the charts. And by that I mean, it was probably one of the best books filled with the most intense sexual tension I’ve ever read! Because of that, I was totally bummed that the few sexy times we would have had, were fade to black. *cry* I wanted to read all about how they got around to working off all that tension, to how they resolved all their intense attraction between the sheets. If the rest of their story was anything to go by, it would have been off the charts!!
That being said, the rest of the story was great. I liked that this book had a lot of tropes I enjoy: best friend’s older brother AND little sister’s best friend. It was fun to read about these families that were so intertwined. Plus there was a little bit of friends to lovers going on, as well as some frenemies action. 🙂 At times it all seemed to get a little overwhelming, however I liked that Bielman was able to incorporate so many different themes without losing a lot of the bones of the story.
There were times when I was a little confused by just what Vanessa wanted for her bestie Sela. It seemed like there were moments she was doing everything she could to push Sela away from Luke, and other times she encouraged Sela to go for it. There seemed to be a little bit of a push and pull that I didn’t fully understand what she wanted for herself and her friend.
I liked the interactions between Luke and Sela’s brother Shane. I thought it felt real and genuine for the two of them to be concerned about a budding relationship between Luke and Sela. I liked Luke, especially since he couldn’t seem to get the girl he wanted, despite his killer charm. I hope he gets his own book, because if I’m ever in the mood for a sweet romance in the future, I’m going to be keep him in mind.
All in all this wasn’t the kind of book that I usually go ga-ga over, but I really enjoyed it. The sexual tension was off the charts, the story was cute and the characters fun to read. For those who like their romance a little sweet and innocent, be sure to pick up this book. For those who like a little spice in their romance, you might want to give this one a miss.
I give Kissing the Maid of Honor a C+.