Tempting the Best Man (Gamble Brothers, #1)

by Jennifer L. Armentrout and J. Lynn

[The Romantic Comedy Book Club]

Buried in my TBR list, I finally had a chance to read Tempting the Best Man and it was so worth the wait!

Maddie would rather run head first into a wall, have a root canal, quit her dream job at the Smithsonian, ANYTHING other than be stuck with Chase at her brother’s wedding for the weekend. Having avoided him since “the incident”, she is determined to hold her head high as she faces off with the her brother’s best friend, the man she has been in love with since she was ten years old. The plan is cut short when she blows a tire and Chase comes to her rescue. Thinking the worst is over, she discovers there is a mix-up with the wedding guest cabins and guess who she has to bunk with until the issue is resolved. Wonder why the cosmos have nothing better to do than to torture her, Maddie is determined to survive the weekend unscathed…until the past becomes the present, throwing her entire being into a tailspin.

Chase insists nothing is happening between him and Maddie. A brief slip in judgement, he just wants things to return to normal and there is no better place to start than at his best friend’s wedding. With his brothers by his side, he is ready to spend a relaxing weekend surround by friends, family, and bridesmaids…until the first desk clerk reveals his new sleeping arrangements. Briefing debating how comfortable he can get sleeping in a Porsche, Chase is forced to face the truth when the past refuses to stay where it belongs.

The first book in the Gamble Brother’s Series, I found myself laughing out loud more times than I had expected. J. Lynn packed laughs, sizzle, and romantic comedy worthy swoon moments in this quick read. Finishing in one sitting, the story brings you in “at the middle” instead of at the beginning. The reader is given glimpses into their time together as children and while it initially only hints at the friendship changing moment initially, it doesn’t wait long to tell you what happened. Maddie’s sarcasm is one for the ages and her internal monologue kept the giggles coming. The two sides of Chase made you fall in love with him as you got deeper and deeper into the story. Above all else, the build up between the two was electrifying and when they finally connected, I think I dropped the tablet! 

Full transparency - this is a fun, predictable, easy to read steamy romance. The back and forth between Maddie and Chase, the cliche reasons for keeping their distance, the inevitable hook up, and the misunderstanding to pull them apart is all there but I will definitely say the ending was unexpected. 

As the first book Jennifer Armentrout wrote under her pen name J. Lynn, Tempting the Best Man was a kick off to a series that, from what I have read, only gets better! I can’t wait to see what happens with the other Gamble boys - Chandler and Chad, you’re next!