Natalie York is done with relationships. D-O-N-E. After her latest loverboy hits on her best friend, she's tired of playing games and having her heart broken. From now on, she's keeping things casual.
When Nat meets her sexy new neighbor, Aidan Hart, she decides his offer to be friends with benefits is perfect. Soon, Nat discovers perfection isn't all it's cracked up to be. Her ex reveals himself to be a slightly insane stalker, and, even worse, Nat discovers that keeping her heart locked up tight isn't working out like she planned. Either way, she's certain she's in for a bumpy ride.
Born and raised in Texas, C.C. Wood writes saucy paranormal and contemporary romances featuring strong, sassy women and the men that love them. If you ever meet C.C. in person, keep in mind that many of her characters are based on people she knows, so anything you say or do is likely to end up in a book one day.
A self-professed hermit, C.C. loves to stay home, where she reads, writes, cooks, and watches TV. She can usually be found drinking coffee or wine as she spends time with her hubby, daughter, and two beagles.
What a pleasant surprise! This was short, but certainly entertaining and it grabbed me from page one! CC Wood definitely knows how to write a dynamic, humorous, sexy romance! Loved it!
This was only a short novella about 100 pages or so but I seriously thoroughly enjoyed it!! It was short but it didn't feel incomplete, we even get the all important epilogue! Abate a small epilogue but we get one!!!
Natalie is spunky, fun, independent, and totally likable. Aiden is her next door neighbor, he's sexy, fun, and an alpha man (I wish he was my neighbor!). Nat has a fun circle of friends and a stalker ex boyfriend...which is where Aidan comes in after her ex shows up in the middle of the night to harasse her.
No matter how sexy and protective Aiden is Nat decides that she is D.O.N.E. with men however just maybe she and Aiden can be "friends with benefits" but naturally it eventually becomes much more.
As I was telling my girl Kellie G. this was a cross between (RL Mathewson) Neighbor from Hell and a mellow KA book...on a smaller scale. I'm very much looking forward to the next two books in the series, and hoping they'll be just as fun as this one was.
When the author contacted me with an ARC, I wasn't expecting anything great. I looked her up and found nothing! Well, now I feel like I discovered a star! I can't believe this was her first book. I even had to add it to goodreads myself! I recommend this story for anyone who likes Kristen Ashley, R.L. Mathewson, or Alice Clayton. If you liked the Neighbor From Hell series from RL, you will like this!
Natalie is a cool, down to earth girl who calls her friend "asshat", loves shoes, goes shopping at Supertarget, and generally seems like a normal, fun girl. She catches her boyfriend hitting on her best friend and dumps him. When he turns up at her door in the middle of the night, banging away, Natalie's new neighbor, hot, shirtless Aiden comes to rescue her.
I really loved the characters. The story was cute, nothing overly deep or angsty, but a nice love story and a little suspense. I rate this a 4.5 overall and a 3.75 for heat. The reason I took off a half star is really because it was too short! (But I rounded up). I enjoyed CC Wood's fresh, real voice. I just would have liked more details about everything!
The sex scenes were well written, and I love that the author felt no need to use language like "turgid manhood" and "venus mound". But the scenes, though hot, were too short and not frequent enough. Not that I need sex all the time in my books, but a few scenes seemed to fade to black or be skipped over too much.
This book could have easily been expanded to full length and it would have gone on my favorites list for sure. As it is, it is definitely on my favorite novella list if I ever make one. There were a few errors, but otherwise well done for a new author or even a seasoned one.
* I do not personally know the author, but I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review on my blog, Ana's Attic Book Blog. I was not compensated for the review
I seriously loved this little story. As the perfect (for lack of a better phrase) palate cleanser for reading some heavy books, Friends with Benefits is a sweet, hot, and funny novella. I finished this in one sitting and giggled out loud at several parts. Highly recommended read for when you need a quickie. [4.5/5 stars]
I was given to the opportunity to read these two novellas and I was so happy that I was given it because I absolutely loved this series.
C.C. Wood has a gift for making you fall in love with the characters and making their relationship feel right and not rushed in a very short amount of time being a novella. Often with novellas we are left wanting more or feeling it was too rushed. That is so not the case in this situation.
Both books were fantastic. In this book Nat and Aidan have lust at first sight so when they decide to have a friends with benefits relationship it seems like a no brainer but of course Aidan sees the light right away and Nat is being daft (silly woman) but once the cloud clears Nat can finally appreciate Aidan for all that he is which in my opinion near perfection. (funny, gorgeous, successful, loyal, protective...do I need to go on).
I loved all the characters in this book and felt the book at such a nice pace for such a short read. I loved it and Nat and Aidan so they a get a for sure
Is it Hot in here or is it just me? I was never a big fan on reading novellas but I think I changed my mind. The only problem I ever had with them is that they are too short. I am usually one that likes a full out novel. Then again when I started reading this I started to think differently. I realized that novella's are great for when you don't have the time to spend you whole day reading and you just want a pick me up. This is absolutely one that you would want to pick you up. (LOL)
Where do we start? Natalie *Nat* is hysterical. I guess I found her funny because she is a complete smartass just like myself I might add. I guess I felt a kinship there. She seems to have some trouble finding a man that is not a complete psycho. That is UNTIL Mr. McHotness moves in next door. Yes, I said Mr. McHotness I am sorry I can't think of a hotter name for him my eyes are still scorched from reading this book. (He he) Mr. McHotness aka Aidan if it must be, is exactly that hot gorgeous and a manly man that exudes testosterone.
Nat meets Aidan in a kind of crazy way. She is having issues with psycho Jack and let's just say Aidan diffused that situation quickly. Nat (Natalie) has a best friend Cat (Catherine) lol kind of like Dr. Seuss. Cat is the very opinionated friend that is a commitment phobe. She talks Nat into walking on the wild side and instead of a relationship to try the friends with benefits. After convincing herself that she can do this without getting attached she jumps right in and has the time of her life, until her heart starts feeling otherwise. Can she manage to keep going on with the F.W.B. or does she want more with the hot hunk? I guess you are going to have to read to find out! Sorry people I can give away all the juicy details and that is exactly what they are. But read quickly because the pages ignite.
Nice, short, steamy little read. I just happened onto C.C. Wood and her novellas, and boy am I happy I did!
Summary: Natalie has given up on men after her previous boyfriend made a move on her best friend. Now three weeks later she's wondering if it is her, and that's why she keeps dating the duds. After a not so fun encounter with her ex begging her to take him back, Nat meets her next door neighbor, Aidan, who came to her rescue. Aidan is seriously hot, and just so happens to want a casual relationship with Nat. Natalie, has always been one to get attached and be in for the long haul, but judging by the sizzling chemistry a mere kiss can cause between them, she decides she should give Aidan's proposal a shot. Almost immediately into their relationship, Aidan spends a lot of time with Nat, in and out of the bedroom. Never having done this before, Nat isn't sure this is the norm, but liking his company, goes with it. After an unplanned and terrifying encounter with her ex, Nat must face the feelings she has grown to feel for Aidan in a short period of time, and Aidan decides maybe he wants more than a f**k buddy, after all.
Despite the story being so short, I really learned a lot about the key players, and quickly became ensconced in their unfolding romance. It wasn't rushed or choppy in the least. Ms. Wood seems very adept at writing concisely, yet thoroughly. I loved it. Natalie was sweet, spunky, and smart, and Aidan was intelligent, thoughtful, and sexy as hell. So glad i stumbled onto this novella and the others she's written. I will be reading them all!! <3
Where should I start with Friends with Benefits unless I would like to bash my head against the table again... Misleading title and blurb aside, I just couldn't fully comprehend what exactly attracted Aidan and Nat to each other. Or what was the point of stalker ex other than to cram so many plot twists and dramatic scenes into one little story. As to the ex issue, I didn't get why someone who was so clearly obsessed with her, would try to have sex with her best friends. Well, my only reasoning was C.C. Wood has tried to speed up things to show us how strong bond those two women had. Eh.)
Let me start out this review with a disclaimer that I chose to read and review C.C.'s books after meeting her at Wicked Girls Book Weekend. C.C. was probably one of the sweetest, coolest, smartass woman I have ever met. From go, she was welcoming and so down-to-earth that I just knew I wanted to read her books and pimp the mess out of her (if they were any good...hehe). Of course, I wasn't even remotely disappointed.
loved this story! can't wait for the next one to come out...so much fun to read, lots of action, lots of twists and the great secondary characters promise more goodness to come! do yourself a favor and read this one soon - it'll make you smile
Friends with Benefits had great character development, an interesting, sexy storyline and a swoon-worthy male!
Natalie has recently been burned by her latest boyfriend and retreats into a carton of ice cream and the Golden Girls. She really is the girl next door; she’s a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl when given the choice and loves a good shoegasm (loved that!) and is practical yet fun. She isn’t looking for any type of relationship because her last relationship was a complete belly flop but she isn’t a one night stand type of girl either. Aiden turns out to be Mr. In-Between; he becomes her friend with benefits!
Aiden is yummy! He reminded me a little bit of a Kristen Ashley male character because of his strong, domineering, bossy nature. No, I did not fall off my chair because he was a romantic or said the sweetest things but he definitely got my heart racing a couple of times.
I did have a couple of issues with this one that kept it from the 4-5 range. First, I felt there were too many character descriptives in the beginning (height, clothing). I like to get a sense for characters but with the length of this novel, I felt they were a bit too much. There were also some editing issues that stalled my reading a couple of times. Overall, I would have liked it to be a little longer. I was really into it and enjoying Natalie and Aiden and then it was done. I needed more of Aiden!
This book is a nice short, sweet read for 99 cents on Amazon! Definitely worth picking up!
For a novella and an author I had never heard mentioned on any of the blogs I follow, I was really impressed with this one. I thought Wood did a fantastic job of setting up the story and introducing the reader to the various characters. Nat caught her boyfriend trying to hook up with her best friend and kicked him to the curb. Well, the old boyfriend wouldn't take "get the eff out" for an answer and kept bothering her. His incessant banging on her door and hollering led to the introduction between Nat and her new neighbor Aidan when he showed up to reinforce her request to "get the eff out." So Nat and Aidan start hanging out and one thing leads to another. Things between the two heat up pretty quickly and, by Wood's description, Aidan is HOTT (and her ex is psychotic.) I really enjoyed the story and how it progressed. I was impressed with Wood and may have to check out the second novella in the series. On another note, maybe it's cause I recently watched True Blood, but I pictured Aidan looking like Alexander Skarsgard. And that made the story SUPER enjoyable. Haha.
A fun and sexy read! After catching her boyfriend making a move on her bestie, Cat, Natalie tells him to take a hike, but it seems jack won't be giving up so easy. One night jack shows up at Natalie's house drunk and wanting to talk, a neighbor (who she had no idea existed) comes to her aide..Who'd have thought this by chance meeting would turn into something neither one of them saw coming. Natalie and Aidan didn't think having an FWB relationship could turn into anything more than that...until... Thank you CC for writing and sharing such a fun and smexy story and I cannot wait to read Frenemies next!
I can't believe how much I loved this read! There have been sooooo many times I wished the girl in the book would tell the guy where to go and Nat really gave it to her ex! She said and did everything I wanted her to and more. I was so freaking happy! She is a firecracker and her and her bff Cat cracked me up. To be honest I didn't expect much because of the length of the book and I still wish there was more because it was so freaking good but it really surprised me that it was a very cute read. Purchasing book 2 now.
Loved it, loved it, loved it. I am such a huge fan of R.L. Mathewson and when I started to read reviews that C.C. Woods books were very similar I had to check it out. I wasn't disappointed. As with the Neighbour From Hell series once I started I couldn't stop. I read all four books in one weekend. Cute love stories with just the right mix of emotion, drama and sex. The stories were short but each had great a great epilogue. Look forward to seeing what else comes from this author.
....Should I go on? C.C Woods is now one of my new favorite authors, I really recommend her books, I will be starting to continue on with the series with FRENEMIES which is Cat´s love story.
Friends with Benefits is a cute, hot, thrilling little read. Can I just say that I absolutely LOVED Aidan? He was exactly what Nat needed him to be in every possible way. And the two of them together? Talk about some sparks... not to mention it was sweet on top of it.
A short, sweet, funny light hearted read. This book is a very similar to RL Mathewson's Neighbour from Hell Series (Which I loved!).
Sometimes it is nice to read a book that doesn't seem to take itself too seriously, it is a read for the lazy arvo or a time when the usual 'broken' characters are a bit much to take.
This was very sweet short read. All I can say is wow what a neighbor Aidan turned out to be ;) Natalie is a independent woman great job great friends and a crazy soon to be ex. What was suppose to be friends with benefits went much further in lightning speed... This is a must read a real good true love story....I am pleased with how it ended but would not be against a book 2 :)
I wanted to read this book for a while, and I'm so glad I finally did! It's a really well written book, and the story line is good and hot. I loved the characters, and the dialogue between them, it was funny and realistic. I would totally recommend this book if you're looking for a good story that has some heat, and doesn't leave you with the popular cliffhanger ending.
3.5 stars......a really quick, light hearted but highly enjoyable read. I loved the central characters and in a few pages the author was able to grab my attention and hold it. This book offers a great balance of romance, comedy and a bit of drama thrown in as well. Recommended of you fancy something light, low angst and entertaining.