• The Boy Friend
5
The Boy Friend Book Cover The Boy Friend
Mika Jolie
Contemporary Romance
April 23, 2017
328

According to the law of attraction, women and men can’t be friends.

Contrary to this myth, my friendship with Coriander Phillips does not rest on unrequited love or un-actualized lust. We’ve been inseparable since the day I pulled one of her pigtails and she punched me in the gut.
She’s hilarious, fun to hang out with. Together, we’re like peanut butter and jelly, spaghetti and meatballs, wings and beer. A match made in heaven.
She’s the bomb.
Did I mention she’s smokin’ hot? I’ve checked her out…maybe once or twice. Hey, I’m a guy.
Seriously, no awkwardness, no secret yearning for our relationship to escalate beyond the purely platonic. I’m the boy friend—the loyal shoulder she cries on, the dispenser of coffee, sympathy, hugs, advice, and affection with no expectations.
Until the invisible line between friends and lovers became blurry.
Now I want more. I want her.
All I have to do is convince her we can be more than friends.
Right?
If only it were that easy.

Do friends make the best lovers?

I added this book to my TBR list when Mika Jolie did a takeover in a readers’ group that I admin for. My TBR is ridiculously long, this went to the bottom, of course, and I didn’t think I’d get to it for a while. But flipping though my Kindle, it grabbed my attention and I decided to go for it. I had no expectations, but was more than pleasantly surprised!

It sounds a little cliche- can a guy and a girl really be friends without attraction getting in the way? And then, of course, when that happens, someone usually ends up falling harder than the other person, or the feelings aren’t returned. Inevitably, the friendship breaks down. But that’s not exactly how Mika wrote it. And believe me, her way is MUCH better.

Dean Morello is a player. He’s a nice guy, successful in business, and super easy on the eyes. But there’s no doubt about it, he is a huge manwhore. Somehow, though, he’s managed to keep the same best friend for over two decades. Coriander MoonChild Phillips is an artist and a teacher, and as she turns twenty-eight, she comes to the realization that she’s ready to settle down. She’s looking for love and babies and the whole HEA. Dean is taken aback at first. But, as her best friend, he decides he’ll help her out in her search for the perfect guy. After all, he’s known her best for twenty years. It goes without saying, that he knows just what she needs.

But as he slowly comes to realize, what she needs, at least in his mind, is him. And he does a pretty piss poor job of showing her that she should need and want him back. Then one night, friends gather, some alcohol is involved and a kiss happens. It sends both Cori and Dean reeling. Unsure of how to deal with it, they put it aside, until they just can’t avoid it anymore. The sexual tension between them has grown to fever pitch. And then the perfect night happens.

Going from friends of 20 years, to lovers overnight is overwhelming and life-altering.  And not all parties are able to cope with this change. All too soon, feelings are hurt. Misunderstandings take place, hearts are broken and friendships are severed. Can Cori and Dean figure out how to put it all back together? What is it that they ultimately want from each other? Is there, in fact, an HEA in Cori’s future? And if so, with who?

This book had me sighing and smiling and laughing and sobbing. Cori and Dean are wonderful. I love their friendship. I love their romance. I love their banter and their arguments. Their friends are terrifically written supporting characters and I am crossing fingers for some sequels. But really, this book is a must read. You won’t be disappointed.