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When Kayla Lawrence wakes up in her best friend’s arms after a night of hot sex, she wants to pretend that it never happened. He’s not just her best friend. He’s also her partner. But as much as she loves Joshua Tanner, he’s not the type to commit. She’s not sure where their relationship is going after their night together.Joshua has wanted Kayla since the moment they met. He’s loved her almost as long. Waking up in her bed was his dream come true. Now he just has to convince Kayla that he’s relationship material.

99 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 26, 2011

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Thayer King

29 books182 followers

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5 stars
262 (37%)
4 stars
233 (33%)
3 stars
135 (19%)
2 stars
39 (5%)
1 star
22 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
Profile Image for Mei.
1,897 reviews476 followers
May 11, 2012
Meh... Both h&H's behavior was that of a 16 years old! They were supposedly owners of a successful business, but I don't know how they could manage it since they couldn't manage one another. They were in love, they keep telling it to each other, but it seams they are deaf for all the good it does! And the secret??? Shall we talk about the secret?? Noooo... you have to read the book to find out. Maybe you'll not be disappointed as I was!
Profile Image for Laverne Brewster.
1,394 reviews18 followers
August 12, 2017
4.00 Stars. Short. Sweet. An enjoyable friends to lovers story. Even with interruptions, I read this 100 page gem in about three hours. After reading and or listening to angsty stories, this short lighthearted low drama story fit the bill. Joshua "Josh" Tanner and Kayla Lawrence have been friends in love with each other since college; after graduation, Josh convinced Kayla to start a graphics design business together. About two years into the start of their business , Josh and Kayla share a passionate night of sex following a few drinks while celebrating Josh's acquisition of a large business account for them. The next morning, Kayla is embarrassed and Josh is hurt and confused by Kayla's defensive and accusatorial reaction. They continued their sexual affair despite negative input from Dawn, Kayla's cousin/good friend and despite her mother's distain and without regard to Josh's brother, Evan's advice and warning. Kayla went on a couple of meaningless dates and Josh's ex-girlfriend caused a scare; but in the end Kayla and Josh married, made plans to sell their homes and buy one as a family and furnish a nursery for their expectant child.
564 reviews1 follower
April 23, 2020
Hmmmm....

I read Winning Dawn first, months after I bought it and Friends. I liked Winning Dawn much more which is surprising. It almost feels like they were penned by different authors. Friends begins with sex...And it never missed an opportunity for what else..more sex. There is a lack of character development and Joshua's obsessed weird behavior with Elena was awful and nauseating. I don't know how these two reached a HEA. Can't see how love grew out of that. It's always either/or with me and King. for example I loved The Girl Across The Hall but I didn't care for My Storm.
Things that make you, Hmmmm...😐
Profile Image for Mspraise50.
1,597 reviews65 followers
October 24, 2015
I had heard so many great things about this author and this story, This was my first read by this author. I decided to read this story about Kayla and Joshua.

Well I am sad to say I was very disappointed with the story. This book is full of sex and short on story-line. This is just my opinion. I am sure there are plenty of folks whose view will differ to mine and that is cool. If this kinda of content is how you like your stories then this is the book for you.

I decided to try book 2 Winning Dawn was a much better read!
Profile Image for Deloris.
971 reviews42 followers
January 27, 2012
I loved the way their friendship turned into the perfect relationship once Kayla gave it a chance. Josh was the ultimate playboy who always loved his best friend . Then they had an amazing night of sex but it was more than that it was the beginning of something wonderful. I loved the way the romance unfolded between them and when I finished this book I was ready for the next chapter for Evan and Dawn's story.
Profile Image for BreakingtheEpigraph.
1,294 reviews14 followers
May 27, 2024
Friends to Lovers

Best friends since college Kayla and Joshua have crushes on each other but neither has ever revealed their feelings. Kayla Lawrence and Joshua Tanner have been business partners and one night after celebrating a business success one thing will lead to another…There are some things that I did not understand Joshua’s motives behind waiting for Kayla to have more experience, but lying when someone showed interest. Other than that, I enjoyed this story.
Profile Image for S.B. Gabriel.
10 reviews1 follower
July 4, 2013
After a couple of drinks one night, Joshua succumbs to his feelings for his longtime friend and business partner, Kayla. She enjoys their night together, but is so shaken by discovering their intense mutual attraction, as well as the force of Joshua’s sex drive, that she tries to have their relationship go back to what it used to be.

Joshua’s desire intensifies after their first tryst and he’s not willing to end their physical relationship, even though he’s afraid of revealing to Kayla that he’s actually in love with her. Not being open about their feelings leads to many misunderstandings between Joshua and Kayla. They both have their moments of being angry and hurt, but in the end take their commitment to the next level.

The best friend trope is handled well here, although the whole bit about Joshua waiting for Kayla to lose her virginity to make his move because he’s so well endowed that the pain he caused during his first time traumatized him, is rather a poor excuse for not revealing his feelings sooner in their 7 year friendship.

The writing works for the story. The language for the love scenes is graphic and full of the superlatives that the genre demands.

Joshua has a sex drive well suited for his physical attributes and the novel demonstrates it with the frequency, length, and graphicness of the love scenes. There’s some awe and fear of rejection in the mix, since Joshua had concealed his love for Kayla for so long he could hardly believe that they were finally coming together as a couple. The scenes were more spicy than emotional, though.
Profile Image for Theodora Taylor.
Author 210 books2,299 followers
November 8, 2011
Description: Kayla wakes up after a night of hot sex with her best friend, Joshua. A whole lot of drama ensues.

The Good: Kayla and Joshua not only have hot sex, they seem very well-suited for each other. Also, Joshua’s brother is very intriguing and well set-up for his own book. And I loved that the two main characters had founded a design firm together.

The Bad: Joshua is a bit of a slut — even for an erotic IR character. Also, the tone of the book is a bit judgmental. For example, whenever one of Joshua’s exes show up at the office, his staff jokingly calls it a Code W. The “W” stands for Whore. And this is just one example of slut-shaming that doesn’t feel like it should have any place in an erotic romance. There’s also a twist with an ex-girlfriend that is well-executed.

The Naughty: Unprotected sex, Virgin, Erotic.

Editing issues: None that I’m remembering.

Publisher: Sugar and Spice Press

Length: Category

Final Grade: C

Happy Reading,
Theodora from IRBookReviews.com
Profile Image for Mel.
414 reviews3 followers
April 17, 2022
EROTIC romance is my top favorite genre, I'm super glad to FINALLY see a multicultural bwwm writer give me what I've been searching for in this genre. This is my first time reading a book by this author and most definitely not my last. Spicy is an understatement, this book was downright raunchy at times and I LOVED every word of it! Whew, it was SO yummy! I wants me some more of this book. And the twist, I wouldn't have guessed that one. My only downside was length, I would have loved for it to be a lot longer. Luckily, I'll see a bit more of Kayla and Josh in Dawn and Evan's story. I knew, without doubt, that those two would get a book next when Kayla first witnessed their interaction, glad to see that I was right. I'm waiting on the edge of my seat for Dec. 10th to see those sparks flying between Dawn and Evan!
Profile Image for UnusualChild{beppy}.
2,571 reviews59 followers
November 17, 2014
synopsis:
kayla and joshua have been friends since college, and now they are business partners. when kayla wakes up one morning in joshua's arms, she thinks that she's ruined everything, because she knows that joshua won't commit. joshua has wanted kayla since the moment that they met, but one thing or another has kept them apart. now that kayla has opened the door, joshua is determined not to let it close. he works hard at convincing kayla that he is not a player and that what they have is real.

what i liked: the history between the two; their friendship relationship was already established, so that made things a little bit more believable.

what i didn't like: the execution of the story. i didn't like either joshua or kayla.
Profile Image for SheReadsALot.
1,862 reviews1,268 followers
February 2, 2012
I get frustrated when there are winning parts that can add up to a dynamic equation but it falls short. This story definitely did not fail in the steamy department. I don't think the full extent of Kayla and Joshua's friendship was thoroughly explained in the story, where the author knew exactly what was going between the two but didn't let the reader in on the story as well. It left me wanting to understand what was so damned great about the other person. The so called 'villain' was 2 out of 10 at best on the villain meter.

Story has potential...enjoyed the idea's the author had, execution was a miss.
48 reviews3 followers
January 14, 2015
Good Things Do Come In Small Packages!

I originally read this book and Winning Dawn a while ago but I decided to write a short review. Ms. King did the damn thing with this book. Loved both Joshua and Kayla. I can't believe you packed such a perfect story in seventy plus pages. I wanted more only because you hate to have the great stories end. This is on my top five favorite novellas. Who am I kidding, number one right here. I have read this book so many times and I still love it. Need more books like this.
Profile Image for Brandi.
622 reviews31 followers
May 8, 2012
Waited a long time toread this book. not sure how I feel about it yet. And days later, I am still wondering how I feel about this book. It was just missing something for me. The two characters have know one another since collee but you don't get this great connection from them. I don't know? and I think there are other who feel the same way. I might have to read the second book.
Profile Image for Angelia.
489 reviews64 followers
January 29, 2012
This was my first book by this author and I MUST say it was truly an enjoyable read.....Kayla and Josha have been best friends for the longest and now they are finally taking their relationship to the next level.....GREAT STORY......
Profile Image for Angelina Black.
161 reviews5 followers
February 2, 2016
Friends to Lovers

This was a good read for the most part. I just wish they would have spent a little more time developing their romantic relationship. Josh did seem to have a slight problem but alls well that ends well. I would recommend this story to others.
Profile Image for Rita .
1,678 reviews
April 14, 2016
Good Read

Josh was working my nerves for a minute. He has got some serious issues, especially when you hear the Elena problem. Didn't see that coming. He finally shows some feeling for Kayla. Good story.
114 reviews
February 9, 2019
Cute friends to lovers

Josh and Kayla best of friends and in love with each other a classic romance trope. I enjoyed this short read, felt it could have had a few more layers to it and the ending felt a bit rushed but overall it's in my all time favs collection so...
Profile Image for Jackueline Graves.
241 reviews1 follower
December 19, 2020
Good story

Kayla and Josh are best friend and co-owner of a design firm. One night after landing a big deal they cross the line into lovers. Good story except for the crazy ex girlfriend, she was crazy. Author did a nice job of creating likeable characters
Profile Image for Annette.
3,171 reviews9 followers
August 6, 2015
I was a little leery about this one at first but the author spun it well, another great read!!!
1,592 reviews2 followers
October 23, 2020
Excellent

Another great read from Msn King. Good storytelling the pages turn themselves much too quickly. I really enjoy her writing. I recommend.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews

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