The Guy For Me

by Marzy Opal

Liam O’Connell and Mabel Garcia have a lot in common.

Big dreamers. White chocolate lovers. Supernatural movies and TV shows enthusiasts.

Oh, and they’re both hopelessly in love with each other (but haven’t had the courage to confess it yet).

High school pen pals turned texting best friends, they’ve been inseparable for two years, their friendship packed with laughter and heart-warming banter.

But things are beginning to change now.

Mabel is getting impatient with her need to finally see Liam in person, and he’s too busy hiding behind his walls.

Every time Mabel asks him to hang out, Liam finds a way to dodge her attempts.

Until a chance encounter at the local bar leaves them with mixed emotions and unresolved feelings.

Can Liam get over his insecurities, or will he lose the girl of his dreams before he’s even had her?


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The Guy For Me is a cutesy, best-friends-to-lovers, college romance novella under 40k words. This story contains a shy, dirty-talking hero, an empowered, sunshine heroine, some strong language, and sexual content. Reader discretion is advised.

Genres: Romance, Friends To Lovers, Novella, Contemporary Romance, Plus Size, Fiction, Contemporary

140 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 31, 2023

About the author

Marzy Opal is a romance author who writes about empowered heroines, dirty-talking heroes, and everlasting love!

You can connect with her on social media. She's most active on Instagram and TikTok <3

Reviews

[rae ✿ · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was in need for a cute fun quick read and picked this up because it mentioned friends to lovers and pen pals but the nonexistence of friends and pen pals they just straight up made out in his car.

Here are some gold quotes:

- I’ve been horny for a month now. Liam insists we take this ‘slow.’ Any slower and I think my vagina will decay. HELP-

- My smile grows even more as I belatedly notice the helium balloons floating near his bedside end table, labelled ‘Happy 1 month anniversary,’ and the twinkling lights he’s garlanded around the room to create an ambiance for us 👁️👄👁️ not the balloons-

- “Liam, I’m so sorry, but that’s not a cock. That’s a fucking rifle!” I cry out. “You just walk around all day with that thing shoved in your pants?” 🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫

- My girl screams my name, flooding my cock like a waterfall. 🌊🌊

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[rach⭑ · Rating 5 out of 5]

5⭑

RASA ILY FOR BRINGING THIS BOOK TO MY ATTENTION. THIS WAS SO GOOD OH MY GOD.

Literally my fave tropes - secret penpals and friends to lovers????!!!!!!?!?!?? Yes please🤤🤤🤤

I loved the pacing of this novella, the development from being penpals to best friends to lovers was so well done. It didn’t feel rushed at all. I loved how well they communicated with each other and how much of a cute fluffy romance this was.

The plus size rep in both main characters was soooo good. Alexa play Big Boy by Sza 🤭🤭🤭

And the spice????? I’m on my knees for Liam🧎‍♀️🧎‍♀️🧎‍♀️ excellent 😮‍💨😮‍💨

This novella was everything I needed to come out of my reading slump. I feel like we were robbed of this being a full novel but either way I’m obsessed and I love it.

[sil ♡ the book voyagers · Rating 5 out of 5]

(ෆ˙ᵕ˙ෆ)♡ Excuse me MARZY OPAL???? You literally just wrote the cutest, softest romance novella ever. I'm obsessed. From start to finish, this book had me in their clutches and I was enjoying the ride so very much. I truly hope everyone reads this!!!

The Guy For Me:
♡ two best friends who are pen pals since high school who have also never met in person
♡ the heroine is a plus size lingerie model! she loves doing her nails and wearing heels 24/7
♡ plus size hero who is shy and soft but also a DIRTY TALKER >>>
♡ he's down bad for her and has been in love with her for over two years (the pining and yearning in this book? wow)
♡ he calls her "babe" "love" when they aren't anything yet and it's so pretty and he pays for her nails every month because he loves knowing he provided for her
♡ BEST FRIENDS TO LOVERS FANS, THIS ONE IS FOR YOU

[alana ☁️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 stars

it was cute but i feel that it was too simple, lacked a lot of things.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5

a novella whose premise is long standing pen pals ACCIDENTALLY meeting after years of being best friends and confiding in each other more then anyone else and inadvertently falling for each other through the years is a something I didn’t know I needed !!!

these characters, both as individuals and as a couple, just wen through so much in the short page count and I just couldn’t stop swooning. tack on some killer big body representation, a shy mmc, and some ole spice, and what else can to you ask for !!

[Shawnaci Schroeder · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5 ⭐️
- It’s rare to find a novella that feels like it’s a full story and I really loved that this felt like that. The miscommunication felt a bit unrealistic, but it was an enjoyable portion of the story because it added so much tension!
- Would have really loved less spice in this story. It felt like there were almost 50 pages of spice and with it being such a short story, that felt like a large portion of it!
- Loved that this was dual pov so I could really know how each character was feeling. Definitely will read more from this author!

[Eleanor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was super cute and comfy, the spice was superb, and I loved the plus-size representation in both MMC and FMC. What I didn't love was some of the dialogue and the overall high-school feel of their relationship; this felt very much like young puppy love. There is nothing wrong with that but I would have appreciated a more mature and deep connection and story.

[Bree · Rating 1 out of 5]

All I’m going to say is: This was a major miss for me and I struggled to get through it.

[♡Gabi♡ [life & work is chaotic hiatus] · Rating 3 out of 5]

cute, penpals-to-bffs-to-lovers, steamy novella 🥰

liam checked off all the book bf boxes and was so smitten and in love with mabel. 🥹

[Salma · Rating 3 out of 5]

cute little novella !!

there were a few things that I didn’t love because of personal preferences in books but this was still cute & a little smutty at the end !!

good little novella for in between books!!

[Dani (Daniiireads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tropes:
- best friends to lovers
- pen pals/texting buddies
- college

High school pen pals turned texting buddies, Mabel and Liam, have been best friends for years but have never met each other in real life—not for lack of trying on Mabel’s end.

Despite Liam’s constant excuses when it comes to meeting, the pair accidentally bump into each other in a college bar and Liam lies about who he is, leaving Mabel reeling and hurt by his actions.

After several days of giving him the cold shoulder, Mabel caves and decides to hear Liam out, and the pair make amends.

The Guy For Me was sweet, fun, and oof the steam!!! I loved Mabel and Liam’s so much!

[glavreads · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was such a cute friends to lovers novella.

anonymous (mostly) pen pals for two years who accidentally meet one night and thus ensues a very sweet, and surprisingly spicy little love story. liam was king of the simps and i LOVED it.

he was down soooo bad for her and both MCs are plus sized which was a nice change.

perfect palette cleanser

[ash✿ · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I’ll always come for you, Bel. In a heartbeat. Night or day. No matter the time. That’s my promise to you.”

This is such a sweet, short and funny novella. I have been squealing and laughing and giggling to myself the entire time.
And all the more better because it teaches us so much about self love🥺💗 that's a total game changer.

I love how confident Mabel is in her skin and how appreciative she is of Liam. And how Liam is so too sweet, like seriously the guy is too sweet for his own good. And damn he even blushes; m so swooned. How could he have such a past!? He deserves all the loves in the world.

There's just so many sentences and paras that you can just totally relate to.
And the smuts? Don't get me started on it! It's totally spicy!! And the dirty talks? God have mercy!

I'll be very honest, the book is a little too fast in everything that i feel like i started at 40% of the book. You know what i mean, like things went so fast, or maybe it's just me wanting more of it.
And the epilogue? It's one of the best epilogue i have ever read, makes me feel all giddy and sweet.

Ps. Guys, he reads smutty books to please her!!!! HELP!!! Thank you for the Arc <3

[Sydney Feinstein · Rating 1 out of 5]

it’s giving fanfic (derogatory)

[AvidReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful novella that have depth and substance and gives a much needed and powerful message in today’s world- Self love!

Half Pilipino heroine who is big on positivity, Mabel shined in the whole book.

I loved that in this story hero Liam was the one who had insecurities and Mabel inspired and uplifted him. He had a praise kink and she definitely delivered.
The book is mushy and cute and I enjoyed it very much.

Recommended.

I received an advance review copy and I’m leaving this review voluntarily.

[Ankita · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was really cute in the beginning. But it kind of reminded me of a softer version of Punk 57
At times i forgot that they were only 17/18

But eventually as I got into it. It was just okay.

If you like quick paced, spice, best friends to lovers , pen pals. You will enjoy this book.

[Zainab · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was such a soft, cute (steamy too) novella!

[dani · Rating 3 out of 5]

really sweet 🥹

[Deniz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ayyyyy çok tatlıydı ölücemm🥹🥹 Ve yeni bir kocam var. Hanımcı Liam O’Connell hareme hoş geldin aşko💝 Yani thick woman, big boy, friends to lovers, tooth rotting fluff and yummy smut👀

“Queen of my heart, I can never deny her. She owns me.”

Bir puanı bazı cümleler çok cringe olduğu için kırdım😣

[Sarah]

This was really cute but also very spicy.
Would recommend, even tho the mc’s are team Stefan and Elena 🤢🤮

[Ala · Rating 4 out of 5]

140 paged novella. Contemporary romance. Friends to lovers. Penpals. Delicious smut. Open door.

Mabel and Liam are highschool penpals turned best friends via text messages. They've been bestfriends for 2 years now, and they've both secretly got feelings for each other. But they've never met each other, up until now. Every time Mabel makes plans for them to meet in person, Liam finds a way to deflect— the reason being his sky-high walls.

Our heroine Mabel is a plus sized queen, who's all about fierce self-love and acceptance. She's a part time model, an Instagram influencer spreading body positivity and a college student.

Our hero Liam, is a sweet, and noble guy, who's an engineering student and loves to build things from scratch, and who just knows how to get dirty talking right (even with minimal experience, I'm shook). But he's struggled with body image since forever.

Circumstances bring these two together, and we get to read their super fun, and adorable love story, with Mabel doing wonders to help Liam overcome his insecurities.

I fell in love with Mabel right from her first letter to Liam.

Actually, I fell in love with the entire story at the prologue itself.

This is legit one of the cutest books I've ever read. Like, I'm not someone who actually reads novellas (except when they belong to a fantasy), bcoz I always get this feeling that they're rushed (due to the lowered page count) and like I didn't have enough time to explore and fall in love with the characterss. It always ends up feeling like insta-love, and I'm not the biggest fan of the trope. But this was a novella well done. I felt like I had known the characters for quite a while and I was super invested in their HEA.

And it really didn't hurt that the smut in here was just delicious. Liam knows what he's doing y'all.

[Nádia (weebna) · Rating 2 out of 5]

While this book presents an endearing banter that catches your attention, unfortunately, the rest of the storyline lacks coherence and clarity.

The female main character stands out as a positive aspect, earning this book a modest 2-star rating from me. However, beyond this, the story becomes somewhat perplexing.
The male lead fits the typical attractive guy mold, but his past trauma from school affects his self-worth, which is relatable and understandable. Initially, I was rooting for their potential relationship for a few chapters. Unfortunately, my enthusiasm waned when he chose to lie during their very first encounter.

As the plot unfolded, the story took a downhill turn for me. The situation worsened when I discovered that the male lead was portrayed as extremely inexperienced in both physical intimacy and general human relationships. However, as the story progresses, he magically transforms into a seemingly flawless partner after they get together. It left me questioning the plausibility of these sudden changes.

Given the book's brevity, I understand the limitations in character development, yet I couldn't help but feel it had the potential to be better with more depth and exploration.

[melhara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is supposed to be a best-friends-to-lovers romance but I'd say this is more of a body-positivity romance.

The story opens with Liam O'Connell participating in his 12th grade English class assignment of writing letters to students at another school. He receives a letter from Mabel Garcia and so begins their penpal friendship. After highschool and for the next two years, they continue to stay in contact via text but neither has ever seen each other in person. Every time Mabel suggests that they meet up, Liam would bail, until they finally bumped into each other at a bar. Can Mabel help Liam overcome his insecurities?

The best-friends-to-lovers aspect was pretty lacking, as we only read one letter exchange and don't get to experience any of their chemistry as 'friends' aside from being told that they enjoy writing to each other, have a lot in common, and are very supporting friends.

3-stars may be a bit generous for this book, but this was still a cute yet spicey novella and I liked that Mabel is a plus-sized Filipina model who helps Liam embrace and love his own body and large physique.

*** #10 of my 2024 Popsugar Reading Challenge - A book by a self-published author ***

[bookishyasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars but it truly is a 5 stars on the novella rating scale.

I am a changed woman.

I am reborn.

Omg how can someone manage to write such a short story and still make you fall in love with the characters, have good chemistry between the love interests, amazing quotes, good swoony moments and impeccable smut ?

I don’t have the answer but the author has it. The Guy for me was so cute and wholesome yet so very smutty. The relationship between Mabel and Liam was so honest and pure and genuine.

I loved that Liam was a shy guy on the outside but a real dirty talker in the bedroom, and Mabel, you gotta love her confidence man! I appreciate her so much, that I want to je her !

Yeah, if you’re looking for a novella with a nice plotline behind it and characters that you still feel like you see evolve combined with really good smut, this is the one for you!

[c ও · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best friends to lovers trope? Pen pals? It could not have been better tropes

Marbel is a very positive and confident person. In her life she realized that all kinds of beauty standards are beautiful and that the problem is the society and not the body image itself. She therefore tries to show her real self as much body reality as possible.

Liam is thoughtful, shy and loves to design and build things. He did not have an easy past and is therefore rather reserved.

When both characters write to each other for the first time at the age of 18 due to a school assignment, they both quickly became best friends. Quickly both felt more for each other but were not sure if the other feels the same. What happens now when 2 years have passed, both are now 20 years old, still best friends, write on a daily base but have never seen each other? Does love have a chance for both of them?

[Velarisbooks(rhys’s version) · Rating 3 out of 5]

7/10

120 sayfalık kısacık bir friends to lovers novella❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥Liam ve Mabel lisede ing dersi için olan bir mektup programı sayesinde tanışırlar. Ve başlarda sadece eğlenceli olan bu şey derin arkadaşlığa dönüşür. Yıllarca devam eder. Ama hiç yüzyüze görüşmemişlerdir. Çünkü Liam’ın toplumda karşılaştığı önyargılar onu korkutur ve buluşursak beni istemez ve onu kaybederim diye düşünerek sürekli bahanelerle geçiştirir. Ta ki o güne dek 😂😂❤️‍🔥


Güzeldi keyif aldım Smut sahneler biraz fazla olsa da keyifli bir okumaydı. Zaten kısa olduğu için ne olduğunu anlayamadan bitti 😂😂

[amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

read April 6, 2023 - April 6, 2023: 3 stars

[Lella · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this. I really did. But some of the writing was giving bad fanfiction vibes 😭 I just have one quote to summarise my two-star rating:

‘That’s not a cock, that’s a rifle!’

[hana ⋆୨୧ ₊ﾟ · Rating 5 out of 5]

liam o’connell u gorgeous man

[monica • · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 this was really cute and cheesy and sexy, I definitely recommend this novella.