Tempting the Best Man (Gamble Brothers, #1)

by Jennifer L. Armentrout and J. Lynn

[Cocktails and Books]

This was one of those novellas where you wish the story was much, much longer because you don't want to leave the characters. You need more angst, more love, more something so you can spend a few hundred more pages with them.

Madison Daniels has been in love with Chase Gamble, her brother's best friend, since practically the age of 5. Maddie practically wears her heart on her sleeve when it comes to Chase, but she knows she has to move forward, especially given the way their last "encounter" ended. But the problem is that every time she's with Chase, she remembers all the reasons she feels the way she does about him.

Poor Chase doesn't know what to do with all the feelings he has stirring inside him anytime he's close to Chase. He always thought he was protective of her because she was his best friend's sister, but deep down he knows it's more than that. The problem is, Chase had a poor excuse for a role model in his father, a man who repeatedly cheated on their mother and flaunted it in front of her face. He's convinced he's just like his father and vows to never enter into any kind of relationship.

So you can imagine, with this baggage these two have what it would be like to be forced together at a wedding for Maddie's brother. To add insult to injury, a reservation snafu has them staying together in a 1970's Love Shack. Can you imagine the fireworks that go off when you have two people who are meant to be together pushing and pulling between fighting their attraction and going with it? It's fabulous.

For a short read of 129 pages, this story packs a punch. The author has created characters that are flawed and so loveable that you don't want to let go of them when you get to that last page.