Title: Falling for Her Best Friend
Included in: My Funny Valentine Collection
Author: Camilla Isley
Genre: Romance
Publishing on: February 14, 2023
Publisher: Dragon Realm Press
Source: digital
Pages: 250 (approx.)
Synopsis:
A friends to lovers fake dating romcom!
Lori desperately needs a date to her best friend’s wedding. Especially since Aiden—fair, blond, everybody’s All-American dream—is the lost love of her life.
Enter Jace—her tall, dark, brooding other best friend—who reluctantly agrees to step in.
Jace has always been too wild for Lori—the personification of danger and excitement. But when he starts acting like the sweetest, most attentive boyfriend… Lori doesn’t mind playing pretend. In fact, the more she pretends to be in love with him, the more it feels like she might be catching feelings for real…
My thoughts
(Spoiler free)
Falling for Her Best Friend, the latest romance by Camilla Isley, appears in the romantic comedy collection of full length novels, My Funny Valentine, releasing on Valentine’s Day. And I had so much fun reading Lori, Jace, and Aiden’s story!
“Never have I ever…” Tracy Dillon pauses for suspense, studying me with a malicious glint. “… Been in love with my best friend!”
Camilla Isley, Falling For Her Best Friend
A dare.
And it must be the ten shots I already have in me that make me accept the challenge. Because next, I look at Aiden, not even caring that his girlfriend is sitting right next to him, and down the eleventh shot of the night.
I drink.
He doesn’t.
Lori, Jace, and Aiden have been best friends since their freshman year in college. Lori has been secretly in love with Aiden while Jace has been secretly in love with her. It’s quite the mess. But now Aiden is getting married—and not to Lori. Of course she turns to her other best friend, her confidant on all things Aiden for the past fourteen years. Another thing that adds to the mess: the three friends share a medical practice together, as well, so there’s no avoiding each other when things get even more complicated.
What I liked about this romance:
- Great opening! It starts with the above quote, and it immediately caught my attention.
- I sped through this one, completely entertained.
- I enjoyed the characters and their relationships with each other, and I loved the flashbacks to their college years.
- This one has a dual point of view, which is always a bonus in romance for me.
- One particular scene had me yelping with laughter, completely taken by surprise.
- The romance is sweet and heartfelt.
What kept this one shy of 4+ stars:
I had to suspend disbelief to buy into the story that these three have had feelings for fourteen years that weren’t acted upon when they’re best friends, work together, and are often imbibing.
The story became extra syrupy sweet towards the end. I appreciated the romance of it, but it was a little much for me. BUT this is a story in a rom-com valentine collection, so extra sweet should maybe be expected.
Overall, I had so much fun with this one, as I always do with a Camilla Isley romance. They’re always guaranteed to provide warm, fuzzy feelings and make me smile.
Thank you to Camilla Isley for providing me with an advance copy.
(All quotes are taken from the advance copy and are subject to change in final print.)
My Rating:
Apple | Barnes and Noble | Kobo | Amazon
Currently, Falling for Her Best Friend is included in the Romantic Comedy Collection My Funny Valentine, which includes various other full-length romance novels by the following authors: Taryn Daniels, Susanne Ash, Elsie Woods, Cindy Ray Hale, Camilla Isley, Lucinda Whitney, Kaci Lane, Susan Mellon, Holly Kerr, Brittney Mulliner, Grace J. Croy, Carolyn Miller, Meredith Resce, Sally Johnson, Crissy Sharp, Laura D. Bastian, Susan Stradiotto, & Leah Omar. The collection is available for pre-order for 99 cents! Camilla’s story is worth that (and more), alone, so snatch this one up!
About the Author
A Song For A Book
There was one song that was mentioned specifically two times in the book, and it was a great fit, so I have to highlight “You Belong With Me” by Taylor Swift, which is still one of my favorite Swift songs ever.
…If you could see that I’m the one
Who understands you
Been here all along
So, why can’t you see?
You belong with me
You belong with me…
Have you read Falling For Her Best Friend? Or did you add it to your tbr? Let me know in the comments!
Happy Wandering!
I love that you pair up a song with the book! It’s such a cool addition to the review. This one does sound super cute, and you’re totally right about that initial quote catching attention! I didn’t think that’s how it would start but knowing that, I am also super intrigued. Great review!
I love a good opening scene! It’s so important to set the tone for the rest of the book. And I’ve been making book playlists for years. It’s kind of an obsession. 😃 I hope you enjoy this one if you decide to pick it up!
I have never read anything by Isley. This sounds cute, though you say the three were in love with each other? So, love triangle?
No… no real love triangle. I was trying hard to avoid spoilers, but maybe I should have mentioned that. 😃 I’m a fan of Isley’s. I recommend starting with Opposites Attract, which is free everywhere, I believe. It was one of my favorites. And I also love her holiday rom coms!
This does sound like a cute one for Valentines Day…though you do have to wonder if they’ve liked each other for that long, why something hasn’t happened between them before now.
Yeah, fourteen years is a long time!
Oh, yeah. I bet things would have happened with all that together and drinking. It does sound good, though.
Especially through the college years! All those hormones. 😂 It was a fun one, though!