Title: Best Fake Fiance
Author: Roxie Noir
Series: Loveless Brothers #2
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary romance, Small town romance
Pace: Medium
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2019

One of the things that I really enjoy about Roxie Noir’s writing is that she writes beautiful contemporary romances which also have an undercurrent of hefty issues and mental health challenges. It gives the story a little bit more nuance and higher stakes, whilst still having that happily ever after, ride off into the sunset enjoyable feeling that I adore. In the case of this story, it is Charlie and Daniel dealing with custody issues and feelings of self worth. Plus, they’re negotiating the friends-to-lovers trope, along with a fake relationship / engagement. So many things at risk, but a beautifully cute and enjoyable story that I just didn’t want to put down.

I spent the majority of this book concentrating on Daniel’s daughter Rusty. She is just adorable, and with her custody being a potential sticking point, the majority of my reading meant that I was really stressed that Rusty would end up going to Crystal. Particularly with some of the mistakes that Charlie makes and Daniel’s inability to be flexible. It did mean that Rusty was more than a bit of a show stealer, but I absolutely love when someone’s child does this in a romance. Plus, Crystal is actually kind of evil, and more often than I would like, evil people actually do win the day.

Daniel is a bit of a stick in the mud, and although I understand having to reign in some of our wilder tendencies when you have a child, he is a bit restrictive at times. I love that Charlie and her less-than-organised ways help to balance him out. Even though in some instances, her unorganisation takes her too far in the opposite direction and causes more chaos. I don’t overly love how Daniel constantly yells at Charlie for her mistakes, especially when some of it is through Rusty’s decisions, not hers. However, as a parent, I also get it – I tend to get particularly aggressive and yelley when I’m worried about the safety of my child. Whether it’s caused by their actions, my own, or someone else’s.

As someone who always has to be hyper-organised and on top of everything, I kind of loved experiencing the freedom of disorganisation through Charlie. I mean, some of it would be really difficult and hard to deal with. But, I also love that she is able to live in the moment a lot more than I can. Plus, it leads to some random hilarity. Particularly when she does things like accidentally leave her phone in the cereal isle. Or forgets the day of the week. Alright, I tend to forget the day of the week frequently, but I also then check my phone frequently so I don’t forget the things that I need to do.

Not only does Noir write great romances with truly flawed individuals, she also writes wonderful sibling relationships. Each of the Loveless Brothers might annoy the absolute heck out of each other, but they also have one another’s backs. I’m sure anyone who has a sibling can relate – my sister has annoyed me more than anyone in the world. But, if someone crosses either one of us, we’ve got each others’ backs and will not back down from supporting one another.

Image source: Goodreads

Title: Enemies with Benefits
Author: Roxie Noir
Series: Loveless Brothers #1
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary romance, Small town romance
Pace: Medium
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2019

This was a bit of an enemies to lovers trope of a romance, but with a whole lot less hate and vitriol than I would expect from such a story. It was a lot of fun and definitely a story that I absolutely adored, but I actually could have done with a little bit more angst, and less… childish aggravation towards each other. Plus, Eli and Violet never quite work on their past issues, they just… lust their way out of them. It was a great novel, and I can’t wait to read more. And I love that the background to Eli and Violet’s antagonism of each other is explored in their own motivations. I would just love to have read a little bit more about them talking through their differences.

Eli is a little bit cocky right off the bat, I don’t mind the cockiness to a degree, but I honestly wish that he figured out a way to communicate much better than he did. It just seems to be a bit of a universal issues with some of the men in reality and literature, they are not quite able or willing to communicate their thoughts and feelings. Half of the issues that Violet and Eli face in this story stem from the fact that he doesn’t actually tell her where he stands and just assumes that he can manage it on his own, or Violet will figure it out. A little painful to read about, but also thoroughly enjoyable. It means that the couple getting together is not quite so simple, and their challenges aren’t due to any wrongdoing on their behalf, but really just a lack of talking things through.

To compound Eli’s inability to communicate properly, Violet was just a little too trigger happy in believing the worst of Eli. Her assumptions about his motives and willingness to judge to a negative conclusion became a little frustrating throughout this. it might be understandable with her and Eli’s history, but it as frustrating at moments. Probably because it’s a flaw I share, so reading about someone who is just as likely to shoot herself in the foot with assumptions had me shaking my head in sympathy. It was also, again, a great point of conflict between the couple to exacerbate the other moments throughout which puts pressure onto their relationship.

Whilst I loved Eli and Violet and their journey to finding a happily ever after, I also loved to shake my head at their boss. He was honestly a total fool throughout the entire thing. And their coworker who was constantly sabotaging people? Frustrating and, truthfully, he made their boss look even more like an absolute fool. Then, there’s the cast of the rest of the Loveless Brothers. They are all a little quirky and fun in their own right, and I can’t wait to read more of their stories!

Image source: Goodreads