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Her Best Friend's Lover
Dale loves women, and they love him. His love life is a revolving door. No one special, no one stays, except Lauren, his best friend. She's a sweet beautiful, talented woman. His rock, the steadying influence in his life. So why is he starting to see her differently, where are these lustful thoughts coming from?
Guys don't sleep with their best friends.
Lauren has loved Dale for five years, from the moment she saw him. She loves his smile, his walk, his deep, sexy voice. But he isn't in love with her. She's his pal, his confidant. Until one hot, steamy night.
Guys don't sleep with their best friends.
Lauren has loved Dale for five years, from the moment she saw him. She loves his smile, his walk, his deep, sexy voice. But he isn't in love with her. She's his pal, his confidant. Until one hot, steamy night.
226 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2003
153 people are currently reading
1126 people want to read
About the author
Shiloh Walker
202 books2,436 followersHello... thanks for swinging by. I don't log into Goodreads much, so if you have questions, please visit my website to email me through my site.
Thank you!
My other me.... J.C. Daniels
And an experimental me that I put to sleep. J. Dallas
Bio...
Shiloh Walker has been writing since she was a kid. She fell in love with vampires with the book Bunnicula and has worked her way up to the more...ah...serious vampire stories. She loves reading and writing anything paranormal, anything fantasy, and nearly every kind of romance. Once upon a time she worked as a nurse, but now she writes full time and lives with her family in the Midwest.
To contact the author, please visit her website!
Thank you!
My other me.... J.C. Daniels
And an experimental me that I put to sleep. J. Dallas
Bio...
Shiloh Walker has been writing since she was a kid. She fell in love with vampires with the book Bunnicula and has worked her way up to the more...ah...serious vampire stories. She loves reading and writing anything paranormal, anything fantasy, and nearly every kind of romance. Once upon a time she worked as a nurse, but now she writes full time and lives with her family in the Midwest.
To contact the author, please visit her website!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 165 reviews
July 25, 2016
I read this during two sessions at the dentist, and thanks to the numerous and almost endless sex scenes, it was a quick read. However, what happened between the sex scenes probably cost me a few million brain cells. There are some things that cannot be unread.
Lauren and Dale have been best friends for five years, ever since they became neighbours. She fell in love with him at first sight, so there has never really been a reason for her to date other men. Dale shags his way through the female population as often as possible, but but but he’s a wounded man! He’s still in love with his high school sweetheart who’s happily married. And because he can never be with the woman he loves, he doesn’t do serious relationships. Oh really, I’ve never heard of this trope before. Lauren, pining away for the one man she can’t have, remains a virgin.
One night, after these two lovely people have had a fight, Lauren decides to bring some home baked cookies to Dale as a peace offering. Dale, shattered by a letter of his high school’s sweethearts step-daughter, is drunk, and I mean, really, really drunk. So drunk, in fact, that he doesn’t really recognise Lauren and gets all hot and bothered. Lauren, finally seeing a chance to be close to Dale (and get rid of her virginity), gives in, after a few half-hearted ‘Dale, no, you’re drunk!’ So they have sex, earth shattering, life altering sex, and Dale, at the throes of passion, cries out the name of his high school sweetheart. Uhm, yeah, that’s sexy. All the while, I’m being told that it’s okay to have unprotected sex because a) Lauren’s period is due in a few days and b) Dale always, always, always uses condoms. Well, apparently not, Lauren. He’s not using one now when he’s dead drunk. So how can you be sure he hasn’t done this before? Shh, shhh, don’t try to be reasonable, just don’t. Keep counting the brain cells you’re losing!
Dale thinks he must have been dreaming and that the woman he’s had sex with doesn’t really exist and continues to shag other women. In the meantime, Lauren finds out that she’s pregnant but doesn’t want to tell Dale because she doesn’t want to shackle him to something he doesn’t want. Dale finds out that she’s pregnant, gets angry with Lauren for not telling him who the father is and BAM! he finally realises he’s in love with Lauren. What? How? When? No idea, he just does. A few more brain cells are being lost in the process of understanding this particular change. So Lauren and Dale start dating properly, go to the docs, continue to have earth shattering and life altering sex and it’s all ‘Oh my god, this is beautiful!’ But but but, there’s this strange thing in the back of Dale’s mind. This woman he keeps dreaming about and still has the hots for. But he truly, truly loves Lauren, and he tells her and he wants to marry her. Hang on, he’s still lusting after this mysterious woman and convinces himself to be in love with Lauren? How does that work? No idea, no idea, still busy trying to keep my brain intact.
They get married, they love each other, they have sex, sex, sex, they’re happy. But the mysterious woman is still lurking behind the scenes. One night, Dale is dreaming of her again and starts having sex with Lauren, and finally, finally he’s having sex with Lauren the way she thinks he should have had, had she not been pregnant and in a way that shows his true passion. Hoookay! Shhh, shhhh! Lauren then starts questioning Dale, and Dale full of anger (?) and guilt, admits of thinking of another woman whilst having sex with Lauren. Lauren, please, be a good girl and dump that piece of shit already? Yes? Please? PLEASE! He gets angry with her because she’ll still not tell him who the father is and decides, it’s a good idea that they have a little distance. Lauren is about seven months pregnant at this stage.
Lauren, full of guilt for driving away the man she loves, is shattered. Throw a fucking party, Lauren! A party! She wakes up one night, her water broke, and the drama starts. Will she survive? Will the baby survive? Will Dale make it back in time? Ooooh, I love drama! No, this isn’t drama, this is pathetic. Baby is born, Lauren is alive, Dale is back in time. So, when does the grovelling start? It doesn’t. There’s not really much to say here. They seem to be all ‘I love you’, ‘I’m sorry’, ‘Let’s get back to normal’ at this stage. Lauren is convinced that Dale isn’t interested in her anymore. But isn’t she recovering from the birth? Yes, she is, and Dale, the insensitive moron, shows a bit of restraint for a change, but never fear, she gives him a good blowjob to reassure herself that he’s still into her. Ah, okay, never mind then. How’s the brain cell count going? Don’t ask.
Six weeks after the birth of their daughter, Lauren and Dale go to the doctor to get her checked, and oh, oh the doctor, who thinks Dale’s the father, which he is but which he doesn’t know and the doctor doesn’t know either, You’re confusing me now. Stop it! Not my fault, that’s the story! Where was I? Ah yeah... The doctor says to Dale ‘your daughter looks remarkably like you.’ And just like that, Dale knows he’s the father! You kidding, right? Nope! They get back home, Dale shouts at Lauren for lying to him about the baby and about her being the mysterious woman, and then has angry sex with her, which in all honesty sounds like dubious consent. Then he leaves – again – only to be told by Lauren’s best friend that it couldn’t have been rape because Lauren would have let him know, and that he shouldn’t be so hard on himself, and that he should go back to her. And so he does. They have some makeup sex, super consensual this time, happy end!
I'm going out tonight and I'm going to get hammered, I swear!
Lauren and Dale have been best friends for five years, ever since they became neighbours. She fell in love with him at first sight, so there has never really been a reason for her to date other men. Dale shags his way through the female population as often as possible, but but but he’s a wounded man! He’s still in love with his high school sweetheart who’s happily married. And because he can never be with the woman he loves, he doesn’t do serious relationships. Oh really, I’ve never heard of this trope before. Lauren, pining away for the one man she can’t have, remains a virgin.
One night, after these two lovely people have had a fight, Lauren decides to bring some home baked cookies to Dale as a peace offering. Dale, shattered by a letter of his high school’s sweethearts step-daughter, is drunk, and I mean, really, really drunk. So drunk, in fact, that he doesn’t really recognise Lauren and gets all hot and bothered. Lauren, finally seeing a chance to be close to Dale (and get rid of her virginity), gives in, after a few half-hearted ‘Dale, no, you’re drunk!’ So they have sex, earth shattering, life altering sex, and Dale, at the throes of passion, cries out the name of his high school sweetheart. Uhm, yeah, that’s sexy. All the while, I’m being told that it’s okay to have unprotected sex because a) Lauren’s period is due in a few days and b) Dale always, always, always uses condoms. Well, apparently not, Lauren. He’s not using one now when he’s dead drunk. So how can you be sure he hasn’t done this before? Shh, shhh, don’t try to be reasonable, just don’t. Keep counting the brain cells you’re losing!
Dale thinks he must have been dreaming and that the woman he’s had sex with doesn’t really exist and continues to shag other women. In the meantime, Lauren finds out that she’s pregnant but doesn’t want to tell Dale because she doesn’t want to shackle him to something he doesn’t want. Dale finds out that she’s pregnant, gets angry with Lauren for not telling him who the father is and BAM! he finally realises he’s in love with Lauren. What? How? When? No idea, he just does. A few more brain cells are being lost in the process of understanding this particular change. So Lauren and Dale start dating properly, go to the docs, continue to have earth shattering and life altering sex and it’s all ‘Oh my god, this is beautiful!’ But but but, there’s this strange thing in the back of Dale’s mind. This woman he keeps dreaming about and still has the hots for. But he truly, truly loves Lauren, and he tells her and he wants to marry her. Hang on, he’s still lusting after this mysterious woman and convinces himself to be in love with Lauren? How does that work? No idea, no idea, still busy trying to keep my brain intact.
They get married, they love each other, they have sex, sex, sex, they’re happy. But the mysterious woman is still lurking behind the scenes. One night, Dale is dreaming of her again and starts having sex with Lauren, and finally, finally he’s having sex with Lauren the way she thinks he should have had, had she not been pregnant and in a way that shows his true passion. Hoookay! Shhh, shhhh! Lauren then starts questioning Dale, and Dale full of anger (?) and guilt, admits of thinking of another woman whilst having sex with Lauren. Lauren, please, be a good girl and dump that piece of shit already? Yes? Please? PLEASE! He gets angry with her because she’ll still not tell him who the father is and decides, it’s a good idea that they have a little distance. Lauren is about seven months pregnant at this stage.
Lauren, full of guilt for driving away the man she loves, is shattered. Throw a fucking party, Lauren! A party! She wakes up one night, her water broke, and the drama starts. Will she survive? Will the baby survive? Will Dale make it back in time? Ooooh, I love drama! No, this isn’t drama, this is pathetic. Baby is born, Lauren is alive, Dale is back in time. So, when does the grovelling start? It doesn’t. There’s not really much to say here. They seem to be all ‘I love you’, ‘I’m sorry’, ‘Let’s get back to normal’ at this stage. Lauren is convinced that Dale isn’t interested in her anymore. But isn’t she recovering from the birth? Yes, she is, and Dale, the insensitive moron, shows a bit of restraint for a change, but never fear, she gives him a good blowjob to reassure herself that he’s still into her. Ah, okay, never mind then. How’s the brain cell count going? Don’t ask.
Six weeks after the birth of their daughter, Lauren and Dale go to the doctor to get her checked, and oh, oh the doctor, who thinks Dale’s the father, which he is but which he doesn’t know and the doctor doesn’t know either, You’re confusing me now. Stop it! Not my fault, that’s the story! Where was I? Ah yeah... The doctor says to Dale ‘your daughter looks remarkably like you.’ And just like that, Dale knows he’s the father! You kidding, right? Nope! They get back home, Dale shouts at Lauren for lying to him about the baby and about her being the mysterious woman, and then has angry sex with her, which in all honesty sounds like dubious consent. Then he leaves – again – only to be told by Lauren’s best friend that it couldn’t have been rape because Lauren would have let him know, and that he shouldn’t be so hard on himself, and that he should go back to her. And so he does. They have some makeup sex, super consensual this time, happy end!
I'm going out tonight and I'm going to get hammered, I swear!
April 21, 2018
I was going to DNF it in chapter three, but then I stopped because I do like to torture myself.
1. Dale was a Manwhore. He loved another woman (named Nicole Kline) for years and still, you know what they do….
2. And one night Dale slept with his best friend ‘the heroine’- Lauren when he was drunk. Dale forgot everything about it because he was dead drunk. Well, a little piece of information when he climaxed he said OW’s name (Nicole Kline – the one he claimed to love for years) so Lauren feels humiliated. She decided to hide it from Dale that they had slept together when he was drunk. And yes the heroine was virgin. And no Protection. Can’t blame the hero because he was really, really drunk, he didn’t even recognize the person he was having sex. But the heroine thought its ok because it’s Dale and her period is due in a few days so…. 🙄🙄🙄🙄
3. She got pregnant. The same old plot again, but that’s not why I want to DNF it. The reason is the way the author wrote the whole pregnancy test event.
This description leaves a bitter taste in my mouth and I decided to DNF the book at that moment. But As I said I like to torture myself. I wanted to see how bad it can get?
4. Then Lauren tells the Dale about her pregnancy and implied it was another man’s child. Dale is still unaware of the whole things.
5. Then out of the blue, he asked her out and they started dating and then lots of sex scenes. He falls in love with her, but Dale sometimes saw a woman in his dream and they were having sex(the face of the women was blank, but the author implied it was actually the drunken sex of Lauren and Dale, so Dale was actually dreaming about Lauren). He felt guilty about it, but he is sure he is in love with Lauren so he proposed and they got married. Dale still thinks that Lauren was pregnant with another man’s child.One time Lauren tried to tell the truth, but he refused to listen because it didn’t matter to him. He already loved the baby as his own. And Lauren didn’t say anything again because she thought he will get angry and she will lose him. 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄
6. One night dale again started to dream and starts having sex with Lauren. It was full of passion and Lauren somehow senses something fishy and started to question. She thought he was thinking about his ex-lover again so they had a big fight. She blamed him and then Dale started to blame her also that she didn’t tell him about the baby’s father. After that Dale left for New York and two days later Lauren water broke. Dale rushed to hospital from New York and Dale felt guilty that he left her alone.
7. Then a baby girl was born and still, he didn’t know it was his girl. Then 6 weeks later, while they go for a regular checkup and the doctor mention something about baby and Dale’s resemblance. Dale got suspicious and Lauren confessed everything. He said that he felt guilty all the time because he thought to dream other women while the truth is he was dreaming his wife.They had a big fight and angry sex. After that dale leaves again, but this time Lauren best friends act as a mediator and they reconciled. They had a great makeup sex and HEA.
Best Romance Ever!!! 🤦♀️ 🤦♀️ 🤦♀️
1. Dale was a Manwhore. He loved another woman (named Nicole Kline) for years and still, you know what they do….
2. And one night Dale slept with his best friend ‘the heroine’- Lauren when he was drunk. Dale forgot everything about it because he was dead drunk. Well, a little piece of information when he climaxed he said OW’s name (Nicole Kline – the one he claimed to love for years) so Lauren feels humiliated. She decided to hide it from Dale that they had slept together when he was drunk. And yes the heroine was virgin. And no Protection. Can’t blame the hero because he was really, really drunk, he didn’t even recognize the person he was having sex. But the heroine thought its ok because it’s Dale and her period is due in a few days so…. 🙄🙄🙄🙄
3. She got pregnant. The same old plot again, but that’s not why I want to DNF it. The reason is the way the author wrote the whole pregnancy test event.
Nearly three weeks had passed, but Lauren wasn’t feeling much better. The light period had passed, but the fatigue and general depression hadn’t. While she was sitting in the doctor’s office in Jeffersonville, Indiana, Dale was slow dancing a delicate little red haired woman who bore a remarkable resemblance to Nicole Kline Lightfoot around a New York penthouse. Had she known that, her strained nerves would have snapped. As she was being weighed, he was dancing Beth Greer into her bedroom, his hands busily unzipping her snazzy little two-piece green business suit.
Insurance information from Lauren was given to the receptionist while he guided Beth’s mouth to his shaft, and Beth was sliding a rubber on him while Lauren was led to the bathroom.
While she was peeing in a cup, he laid the owner of a ritzy little art gallery down across a bed made up with silk sheets. He was lifting her body over his, up and down on his cock while Lauren was having her blood pressure checked.
The moment the doctor confirmed her pregnancy, he was climaxing, his face buried in Beth’s hair.
This description leaves a bitter taste in my mouth and I decided to DNF the book at that moment. But As I said I like to torture myself. I wanted to see how bad it can get?
4. Then Lauren tells the Dale about her pregnancy and implied it was another man’s child. Dale is still unaware of the whole things.
5. Then out of the blue, he asked her out and they started dating and then lots of sex scenes. He falls in love with her, but Dale sometimes saw a woman in his dream and they were having sex(the face of the women was blank, but the author implied it was actually the drunken sex of Lauren and Dale, so Dale was actually dreaming about Lauren). He felt guilty about it, but he is sure he is in love with Lauren so he proposed and they got married. Dale still thinks that Lauren was pregnant with another man’s child.One time Lauren tried to tell the truth, but he refused to listen because it didn’t matter to him. He already loved the baby as his own. And Lauren didn’t say anything again because she thought he will get angry and she will lose him. 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄
6. One night dale again started to dream and starts having sex with Lauren. It was full of passion and Lauren somehow senses something fishy and started to question. She thought he was thinking about his ex-lover again so they had a big fight. She blamed him and then Dale started to blame her also that she didn’t tell him about the baby’s father. After that Dale left for New York and two days later Lauren water broke. Dale rushed to hospital from New York and Dale felt guilty that he left her alone.
7. Then a baby girl was born and still, he didn’t know it was his girl. Then 6 weeks later, while they go for a regular checkup and the doctor mention something about baby and Dale’s resemblance. Dale got suspicious and Lauren confessed everything. He said that he felt guilty all the time because he thought to dream other women while the truth is he was dreaming his wife.They had a big fight and angry sex. After that dale leaves again, but this time Lauren best friends act as a mediator and they reconciled. They had a great makeup sex and HEA.
Best Romance Ever!!! 🤦♀️ 🤦♀️ 🤦♀️
June 8, 2019
1 ⭐- Ugh! Didn't like it or triggers or pet peeve!
-----------------------------------
Spoiler
.
.
.
.
.
Our heroine is a loser who loves him from afar for years.
He loves another woman, fucks everything that has a hole, rubs the sexual conquests in the face of the heroine, treats her like one of the guys, arranges dates for her that she accepts passively. One of these guys tries to rape her.
The first time they fuck he is completely drunk because he discovered that the woman he loves is pregnant again and he when in orgasm he calls his ex's name, the idiot heroine is a virgin and she becomes pregnant and he does not even remember who he had sex with.
She does not tell him that he is the father of the child.
Horrible. All that annoys me a lot.
-----------------------------------
Spoiler
.
.
.
.
.
Our heroine is a loser who loves him from afar for years.
He loves another woman, fucks everything that has a hole, rubs the sexual conquests in the face of the heroine, treats her like one of the guys, arranges dates for her that she accepts passively. One of these guys tries to rape her.
The first time they fuck he is completely drunk because he discovered that the woman he loves is pregnant again and he when in orgasm he calls his ex's name, the idiot heroine is a virgin and she becomes pregnant and he does not even remember who he had sex with.
She does not tell him that he is the father of the child.
Horrible. All that annoys me a lot.
Dale flirted with any and every female he met.
Five years after losing her heart to him, just watching him amble in her direction, her heart still did the same little dance.
“Ohhh, yeah,” Dale murmured. “She’s…amazing.” The little actress he had spent the night with had picked up some unusual talents. That woman could do things with her mouth…
“If you aren’t careful, you are going to grow old alone, Lauren. What are you looking for? Why are you so picky?”
Dale was also still in love with a woman from his past, a girl who was happily married to her high school sweetheart.
She was going on a double date with Dale and some golf buddy and the alluring Allison, his latest actress, to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat in downtown Louisville.
It was pretty damn sad when a woman got more depressed over a friend sleeping with some bimbo actress than an attempted rape.
She knew of at least seven in the past six months, one or two lasting a few weeks before another lovely thing took her place.
Hell, maybe she didn’t even like men. He hadn’t thought of that, but he obviously didn’t know her as well as he’d thought.
“And she’s pregnant.” “Nikki.” Lauren said. “Yeah. Nikki.” he replied, his voice gone flat.
“You don’t have a love life, Dale. You have a sex life, in which you pretend every woman you sleep with is Nicole Kline. And you have a dream life, where you imagine yourself in his place, the father of her children, the love of her life.”
Lauren told herself that she didn’t care that he was turning to her for comfort, not for love. That he was drunk out of his mind. She ignored the little voice that signaled that her common sense was not quite dead—almost, but not quite. She ignored it,
His heavy lidded eyes took the sight in, even as dim recognition started to flutter in his mind. No. Damn it, he didn’t want to think, didn’t want to do anything other than taste this woman, to bury himself inside her.
Her eyes flew open, desperately wanting to see his face, see those glorious, sexy eyes, the eyes of the man she loved, but they were closed. Closed, and she knew, seeing another woman’s face.
In his mind, Dale had pictured a face, one he saw with every woman. Her image wasn’t quite as clear, but he hardly noticed as the silky flesh around him sent him into an explosive climax, the likes of which he’d never before experienced. Without even realizing he had spoken, he roared out her name while he shot his semen into Lauren Spencer’s tight little sheath, her climax milking and squeezing around his cock like a greedy fist.
Dimly, he tried to remember who she was, but couldn’t. And he didn’t have the energy needed to open his eyes and look. She’d be there when he woke up, and then he’d find out. After he buried himself in that body again.
Dale cry another woman’s name while he was coming inside her.
Baby. Sweetheart. Never once had he said her name. Not once had his eyes looked into hers. And in the end, he had cried out, “Nikki,” as he emptied his body into hers. Another substitute, that’s what she had become.
Any woman would have done. Humiliation stained her cheeks red and she couldn’t even begin...
What had happened? Hell, he hated getting drunk, hated the loss of control that inevitably happened, even if it was just the inability to remember what he had done, where he had been. Who he had been with.
While she was sitting in the doctor’s office in Jeffersonville, Indiana, Dale was slow dancing a delicate little red haired woman who bore a remarkable resemblance to Nicole Kline Lightfoot around a New York penthouse.
As she was being weighed, he was dancing Beth Greer into her bedroom, his hands busily unzipping her snazzy little two-piece green business suit.
The moment the doctor confirmed her pregnancy, he was climaxing, his face buried in Beth’s hair.
Both mind and body relaxed, Dale smiled at the pretty dark haired flight attendant. She was a Louisville native and had offered him a ride home early in the flight.
And instead, he fucks me up against a wall and calls me somebody else.”
May 2, 2022
So yesterday I had some free time, and rather than attacking my GINORMOUS TBR pile… I decided to spend the day exploring the depths of KU which is always an adventure. It’s much like fishing, you spend HOURS trying to catch something, and have to throw back ½ your finds. Once you hit a pocket, you seem to keep catching the same type of fish. My point, I’ve got several of these coming so bear with me. I’m still searching for the whopper. This review is spoilery, so please STOP if you’re interested in reading it.
Her Best Friend’s Lover is the tale of an immature manwhore and a coward girl filled with self-pity. The good news is that they’re both so damn stupid that I think they’re perfect for each other… totally deserve each other. Before we get going, I want to shout out to the safety folks that this ISN’T for you. Although there isn’t any technical cheating, there’re several scenes of the H with OW that might make your heads explode… moving on…
Lauren had a rough childhood. Her parents didn’t want her and put her in foster care when she was 10. She’s a fairly famous artist that has secretly LOVED her neighbor Dale for 5 years. Rather than being honest, making him jelly, or hell even batting her eyelashes and flashing a hint of her DD’s, her strategic plan to win her man is to act cold and indifferent, while quietly feeling sorry for herself as she watches him work his way through a bevy of OW. Dale thinks he's in love with another woman (Nikki from No Longer Mine). Rather than facing reality, journaling, or going to therapy, he deals with this devastation by working his way through a string of Nikki look-alikes. He cares for Lauren as a BFF, but has zero clue that she’s pining away for him.
This dynamic circles through much of the first hunk of the book then it gets interesting. SPOILERS And here’s where things go sideways, because that results in a stork visit, and rather than coming clean, she lies saying it’s a result of some rando. And lies, and lies and lies and lies…. Through dating, through marriage, through birth. Now if you follow my reviews, you know I’m not a fan of the secret baby trope. I try not to get hooked, but it works better if there’s a somewhat logical reason, and this was stupid… not to mention it constantly changed. She’s upset about the shout out, he’s not ready- she’s sacrificing for him, she doesn’t want to lose him… on and on. 🙄
My issues- The “Nikki situation” is resolved and put away WAY too quickly after the big deal made. His love just POOFED into existence without any real development of why he suddenly saw her as GF material after 5 years. The secret went on WAY too long. And when it FINALLY, at 90%, was revealed and I FINALLY have a shot at some angst… it petered out because she had a tough life. Her parents didn’t want her, so he should just let it go. 🙄🙄
Bottom Line- I thought they both totally sucked. I liked neither, could care less about their HEA, and was bored a lot. But I kept reading, and may peek at Nikki's book, so 2 ⭐'s.
Her Best Friend’s Lover is the tale of an immature manwhore and a coward girl filled with self-pity. The good news is that they’re both so damn stupid that I think they’re perfect for each other… totally deserve each other. Before we get going, I want to shout out to the safety folks that this ISN’T for you. Although there isn’t any technical cheating, there’re several scenes of the H with OW that might make your heads explode… moving on…
Lauren had a rough childhood. Her parents didn’t want her and put her in foster care when she was 10. She’s a fairly famous artist that has secretly LOVED her neighbor Dale for 5 years. Rather than being honest, making him jelly, or hell even batting her eyelashes and flashing a hint of her DD’s, her strategic plan to win her man is to act cold and indifferent, while quietly feeling sorry for herself as she watches him work his way through a bevy of OW. Dale thinks he's in love with another woman (Nikki from No Longer Mine). Rather than facing reality, journaling, or going to therapy, he deals with this devastation by working his way through a string of Nikki look-alikes. He cares for Lauren as a BFF, but has zero clue that she’s pining away for him.
This dynamic circles through much of the first hunk of the book then it gets interesting. SPOILERS And here’s where things go sideways, because that results in a stork visit, and rather than coming clean, she lies saying it’s a result of some rando. And lies, and lies and lies and lies…. Through dating, through marriage, through birth. Now if you follow my reviews, you know I’m not a fan of the secret baby trope. I try not to get hooked, but it works better if there’s a somewhat logical reason, and this was stupid… not to mention it constantly changed. She’s upset about the shout out, he’s not ready- she’s sacrificing for him, she doesn’t want to lose him… on and on. 🙄
My issues- The “Nikki situation” is resolved and put away WAY too quickly after the big deal made. His love just POOFED into existence without any real development of why he suddenly saw her as GF material after 5 years. The secret went on WAY too long. And when it FINALLY, at 90%, was revealed and I FINALLY have a shot at some angst… it petered out because she had a tough life. Her parents didn’t want her, so he should just let it go. 🙄🙄
Bottom Line- I thought they both totally sucked. I liked neither, could care less about their HEA, and was bored a lot. But I kept reading, and may peek at Nikki's book, so 2 ⭐'s.
June 19, 2011
Oh Lauren...seriously? You fucked Dale...got pregnant, didn't tell him when he couldn't remember, married him and STILL didn't tell him the baby was his. Not too mention pining for him for 5 years while he fucked anything with a vagina and breasts.
Dale...you cry baby. Get over Nikki your teenage crush/ex-gf, it's a little pathetic when she is already married with four children. Stop being an idiot and thinking the memory of having sex with Lauren is just a "vivid dream"
This book annoyed me, these two were meant for each other.
Dale...you cry baby. Get over Nikki your teenage crush/ex-gf, it's a little pathetic when she is already married with four children. Stop being an idiot and thinking the memory of having sex with Lauren is just a "vivid dream"
This book annoyed me, these two were meant for each other.
July 3, 2008
Oh, I definitely enjoyed this book. Made me laugh and made me cry. I would classify it as not quite erotica, but just at the edge!
She's loved him for years. He thinks she's his best buddy. Then they have sex while he's totally drunk. He calls out his ex's name. She's crushed. And now she's pregnant, with his child. To tell or not to tell?
A very moving story about friendship, love, and really tough decisions. It's a definite tear-jerker with a stormy, but happy ending.
Be sure to keep a glass of water and a hanky nearby.
She's loved him for years. He thinks she's his best buddy. Then they have sex while he's totally drunk. He calls out his ex's name. She's crushed. And now she's pregnant, with his child. To tell or not to tell?
A very moving story about friendship, love, and really tough decisions. It's a definite tear-jerker with a stormy, but happy ending.
Be sure to keep a glass of water and a hanky nearby.
August 21, 2015
So I started this book expecting quite a bit because I absolutely love the tropes. Hero in love with someone else, heroine in love with the hero - equals delicious angst, yeah?
Nope.
First off, I'd like to mention that the writing was a bit unprofessional, amateur-sounding. But I suppose that's normal with indie books? This is why I usually don't read indie authors.
Now I'll move onto the story. Our heroine has been in love with the hero for 5 years - which I absolutely loved. Heroines in love with the hero even before the book begins are one of my favourite things in the world (not excluding chocolate and noodles. Dammit, the thought of noodles makes me hungry. Brb
*goes to cook myself a packet of noodles*)
So she's super attracted to the hero and wants to jump his pants, but he doesn't look at her that way, effing anything with a vajayjay, trying to drown his sorrow of losing his one true love to another man. (He was, quite frankly, one of the dumbest heroes I've ever read. Anyways -) So he tries to set up h on a date with one of his golf buddies who turns out to be Creepy Groping Rapist Guy, who tries to make his move on our master karate heroine, who kicks his balls - literally. Hero sees this, apologises, beats up Rapist Guy.
So by now our h has conveniently decided that enough is enough, it's much too painful seeing him fuck the whole town. (The Rapist Guy, as it turns out, was a means to an important event. I mean, what other purpose do Rapist Guys serve?) Honestly, I didn't mind how it didn't make sense why the h didn't decide to end their friendship in the 5 long years, and as soon as the story starts, she decides to, because 'she can't bear the pain'. I mean, how else would we have a story? I kept reading because I loved the trope, and I didn't fuss too much over it. By this time I had already figured out that the makeup scene Like I said, I don't mind predictable. I love predictable *points to the incredibly large amount of Diana Palmer and Betty Neels books on my shelf*
The hero realises his love for the heroine, admits he loves her, and asks her to marry him, despite thinking that she's carrying someone else's baby. Some of the other reviews say they didn't find it believable how the hero suddenly turned around and professed undying love for our h, but I personally did find it believable. I thought it was pretty well executed.
By this point, I had nothing against the heroine - I liked her, in fact. So now everything was resolved and they're happy, and this is around page 100 of the book. But no, guess what? For some dumb reason she still doesn't tell the hero that the child is his. UGH IT WAS SO ANNOYING. She lets him think the child is someone else's all throughout, and even gives birth to a son. The hero holds child in his arms, and still doesn't realise it. It wasn't until the doctor commented, baby looks like dad that it strikes him (see what I mean about him being dumb?).
All hell breaks lose, some angry words, grovelling, ILYs and HEA.
The author could have ended the story at page 100 very nicely. But she stretched it too far, and made the heroine dishonest in the process. And that is something I hate, especially about something as big as this.
But I gave it a 2 star rating because I did enjoy the beginning, despite the horrid, lying heroine and the elongated plot.
Nope.
First off, I'd like to mention that the writing was a bit unprofessional, amateur-sounding. But I suppose that's normal with indie books? This is why I usually don't read indie authors.
Now I'll move onto the story. Our heroine has been in love with the hero for 5 years - which I absolutely loved. Heroines in love with the hero even before the book begins are one of my favourite things in the world (not excluding chocolate and noodles. Dammit, the thought of noodles makes me hungry. Brb
*goes to cook myself a packet of noodles*)
So she's super attracted to the hero and wants to jump his pants, but he doesn't look at her that way, effing anything with a vajayjay, trying to drown his sorrow of losing his one true love to another man. (He was, quite frankly, one of the dumbest heroes I've ever read. Anyways -) So he tries to set up h on a date with one of his golf buddies who turns out to be Creepy Groping Rapist Guy, who tries to make his move on our master karate heroine, who kicks his balls - literally. Hero sees this, apologises, beats up Rapist Guy.
So by now our h has conveniently decided that enough is enough, it's much too painful seeing him fuck the whole town. (The Rapist Guy, as it turns out, was a means to an important event. I mean, what other purpose do Rapist Guys serve?) Honestly, I didn't mind how it didn't make sense why the h didn't decide to end their friendship in the 5 long years, and as soon as the story starts, she decides to, because 'she can't bear the pain'. I mean, how else would we have a story? I kept reading because I loved the trope, and I didn't fuss too much over it. By this time I had already figured out that the makeup scene Like I said, I don't mind predictable. I love predictable *points to the incredibly large amount of Diana Palmer and Betty Neels books on my shelf*
The hero realises his love for the heroine, admits he loves her, and asks her to marry him, despite thinking that she's carrying someone else's baby. Some of the other reviews say they didn't find it believable how the hero suddenly turned around and professed undying love for our h, but I personally did find it believable. I thought it was pretty well executed.
By this point, I had nothing against the heroine - I liked her, in fact. So now everything was resolved and they're happy, and this is around page 100 of the book. But no, guess what? For some dumb reason she still doesn't tell the hero that the child is his. UGH IT WAS SO ANNOYING. She lets him think the child is someone else's all throughout, and even gives birth to a son. The hero holds child in his arms, and still doesn't realise it. It wasn't until the doctor commented, baby looks like dad that it strikes him (see what I mean about him being dumb?).
All hell breaks lose, some angry words, grovelling, ILYs and HEA.
The author could have ended the story at page 100 very nicely. But she stretched it too far, and made the heroine dishonest in the process. And that is something I hate, especially about something as big as this.
But I gave it a 2 star rating because I did enjoy the beginning, despite the horrid, lying heroine and the elongated plot.
February 10, 2019
Reviewed for THC Reviews
"3.5 stars" Her Best Friend’s Lover was the now-rather-prolific Shiloh Walker’s debut novel back in 2003. It’s a pretty good friends-to-lovers story, as well as having a secret baby theme with a twist. Most secret baby stories have the hero and heroine having an affair and then breaking up, with the hero finding out years later that he fathered a child with the heroine. In this one, the hero makes love to the heroine in a drunken haze and gets her pregnant. However, they live next door to one another, and while the heroine does fess up about being pregnant, she leaves the hero with the impression that someone else is the father when he doesn’t seem to remember the night in question. She has her reasons for this, most of which I didn’t agree with and which frustrated me. I’ll discuss those as well as a few other reasons why this story didn’t quite make it over the hump to get four stars from me. But it does have an underlying sweetness that I did enjoy, making it a decent read.
A lot of erotic romances are rather short on plot and characterizations, and while this one was better than some I’ve read, it still had its deficiencies. Our heroine, Lauren has lived next-door to Dale for a few years, but she basically fell in love with him at first sight when he moved in. They became great friends, but that’s all they are, even though she’d love for them to be more. Instead, she watches as a parade of women traipse in and out of his house, never staying with him for long. She knows it’s because he’s still hung up on an ex, and since he can’t have her, any other woman will do as a temporary substitute. Then one night, Dale gets drunk after learning that his now-married ex is pregnant again, and when Lauren happens to stop by, he becomes sexy and seductive toward her. Since Lauren has fantasized for years about having Dale be more than a friend, she can’t resist. It’s little more than quick and dirty sex, but she enjoys it right up until he calls out the ex’s name while making love to her. She’s deeply hurt by that and when he doesn’t seem to remember any of it the next day, she decides not to tell him about it, not even when she realizes she’s pregnant.
Lauren was abandoned by her parents when she was ten and grew up in a succession of foster homes, some of which were abusive. Even though she’s now a successful artist, she has hang-ups about not being good enough and fears that no one will ever be able to genuinely love her. She’s a rare modern-day virgin, who hasn’t ever found a guy she cared for enough to make love to him until Dale, but he doesn’t seem to want her in that way. All of this combined was her primary reasoning for not telling him she’s pregnant with his child. At first, it made some sense given Lauren's background and the fact that Dale still seemed to be in love with his ex. However, once he’d cleared the air with the ex, realized he was holding on to a fantasy while the future had been right in front of him this whole time, and declared his love for Lauren, she should have told him immediately. Instead, fearing she’ll lose him, she makes excuse after excuse not to, and the longer she waits, the riskier it seems for her to tell him the truth. So she simply doesn’t until he finally figures it out for himself a few months after the baby is born. Even once the cat is out of the bag, she admits that she might never have told him, which I thought was pretty ridiculous. I’ve never been a great fan of secret baby plots in general, because I feel like a man has a right to know that he’s going to be a father unless he’s a danger to the mother and child. When a romance heroine keeps a secret like that, it erodes trust, and that’s especially true in a case like this where they were building a relationship while she was pregnant and yet she was keeping the information about her baby’s parentage to herself. That said, though, I reluctantly admit that without this artificially inflated conflict there wouldn’t have been much of a story to tell.
We don’t know a great deal about Dale, except that he’s a children's book author and illustrator, who makes occasional business trips to New York. He’s still pining for his ex, Nikki, but after his sexy encounter with Lauren, Nikki begins to fade from his mind a little. Even though he can’t remember for sure if the mystery woman was real or simply a dream, she haunts him. When he finds out that Lauren is pregnant, he begins to feel protective toward her, and when he realizes that she’s the one woman who knows him better than anyone else, he starts to think about pursuing a romantic relationship with her rather than just friendship. First, though, he has to go back home to visit the ex he hasn’t seen in three years, to find out if there’s still real feelings there or not. He discovers, to his surprise, that the feelings aren’t as strong as he thought, and returns to Lauren fully ready to declare his love and commit, but his memories of the mystery woman keep getting in the way and affecting his relationship with Lauren. Dale was a decent hero. He’s pretty much the typical womanizer, with a different lady on his arm every few weeks, who eventually realizes that there’s only one woman for him. He tends to vacillate between being a tad too dominant for my taste and sweeter, more seductively appealing moments. I enjoyed the way he dotes on Lauren throughout most of her pregnancy and he’s a loving, caring father to the baby, even before he knows he is the father. He did have a couple of moments where he pushed my buttons a little, but overall, I liked him fairly well.
On the whole, Her Best Friend’s Lover was a very readable story. I enjoyed the friends-to-lovers theme. However, the secret baby part was simply too overblown for my taste. Every time, Lauren tells herself that she needs to tell Dale the truth and then doesn’t, I became a little more frustrated with her. Everything worked out OK in the end, but she could have saved herself a whole lot of worry and conflict but just coming clean from the start. Aside from that, there were a few other lesser issues that somewhat diminished my enjoyment. I’ve never been a fan of head-hopping, and here it’s pretty extreme. Not only to do we get the ping-pong effect between Dale’s and Lauren’s POVs, making it hard to keep track of whose perspective I was reading, we also get the thoughts of practically every minor character in the book, which I didn’t need. In that same vein, I was getting pretty annoyed with all the men in the story – even the married ones – objectifying Lauren. I got that she was attractive, but I didn’t need the men’s lewd thoughts about her. The writing itself was stronger than a lot of erotic romances I’ve read, but it still could have used a better polish before publication. I found a number of typos, awkward wording, and most especially the over-use of Dale’s name in dialogue. People just don’t use another person’s name while talking nearly every paragraph, sometimes more than once per paragraph. Otherwise, Her Best Friend’s Lover was a pretty good story for a first effort. If you love friends-to-lovers or secret baby tropes and wouldn’t be frustrated by the way in which that plays out, then it’s worth the read.
Note: This book contains explicit language and sexual situations which may offend some readers, including dominant behavior, somewhat rough sex, light bondage, and a finger at the back door.
"3.5 stars" Her Best Friend’s Lover was the now-rather-prolific Shiloh Walker’s debut novel back in 2003. It’s a pretty good friends-to-lovers story, as well as having a secret baby theme with a twist. Most secret baby stories have the hero and heroine having an affair and then breaking up, with the hero finding out years later that he fathered a child with the heroine. In this one, the hero makes love to the heroine in a drunken haze and gets her pregnant. However, they live next door to one another, and while the heroine does fess up about being pregnant, she leaves the hero with the impression that someone else is the father when he doesn’t seem to remember the night in question. She has her reasons for this, most of which I didn’t agree with and which frustrated me. I’ll discuss those as well as a few other reasons why this story didn’t quite make it over the hump to get four stars from me. But it does have an underlying sweetness that I did enjoy, making it a decent read.
A lot of erotic romances are rather short on plot and characterizations, and while this one was better than some I’ve read, it still had its deficiencies. Our heroine, Lauren has lived next-door to Dale for a few years, but she basically fell in love with him at first sight when he moved in. They became great friends, but that’s all they are, even though she’d love for them to be more. Instead, she watches as a parade of women traipse in and out of his house, never staying with him for long. She knows it’s because he’s still hung up on an ex, and since he can’t have her, any other woman will do as a temporary substitute. Then one night, Dale gets drunk after learning that his now-married ex is pregnant again, and when Lauren happens to stop by, he becomes sexy and seductive toward her. Since Lauren has fantasized for years about having Dale be more than a friend, she can’t resist. It’s little more than quick and dirty sex, but she enjoys it right up until he calls out the ex’s name while making love to her. She’s deeply hurt by that and when he doesn’t seem to remember any of it the next day, she decides not to tell him about it, not even when she realizes she’s pregnant.
Lauren was abandoned by her parents when she was ten and grew up in a succession of foster homes, some of which were abusive. Even though she’s now a successful artist, she has hang-ups about not being good enough and fears that no one will ever be able to genuinely love her. She’s a rare modern-day virgin, who hasn’t ever found a guy she cared for enough to make love to him until Dale, but he doesn’t seem to want her in that way. All of this combined was her primary reasoning for not telling him she’s pregnant with his child. At first, it made some sense given Lauren's background and the fact that Dale still seemed to be in love with his ex. However, once he’d cleared the air with the ex, realized he was holding on to a fantasy while the future had been right in front of him this whole time, and declared his love for Lauren, she should have told him immediately. Instead, fearing she’ll lose him, she makes excuse after excuse not to, and the longer she waits, the riskier it seems for her to tell him the truth. So she simply doesn’t until he finally figures it out for himself a few months after the baby is born. Even once the cat is out of the bag, she admits that she might never have told him, which I thought was pretty ridiculous. I’ve never been a great fan of secret baby plots in general, because I feel like a man has a right to know that he’s going to be a father unless he’s a danger to the mother and child. When a romance heroine keeps a secret like that, it erodes trust, and that’s especially true in a case like this where they were building a relationship while she was pregnant and yet she was keeping the information about her baby’s parentage to herself. That said, though, I reluctantly admit that without this artificially inflated conflict there wouldn’t have been much of a story to tell.
We don’t know a great deal about Dale, except that he’s a children's book author and illustrator, who makes occasional business trips to New York. He’s still pining for his ex, Nikki, but after his sexy encounter with Lauren, Nikki begins to fade from his mind a little. Even though he can’t remember for sure if the mystery woman was real or simply a dream, she haunts him. When he finds out that Lauren is pregnant, he begins to feel protective toward her, and when he realizes that she’s the one woman who knows him better than anyone else, he starts to think about pursuing a romantic relationship with her rather than just friendship. First, though, he has to go back home to visit the ex he hasn’t seen in three years, to find out if there’s still real feelings there or not. He discovers, to his surprise, that the feelings aren’t as strong as he thought, and returns to Lauren fully ready to declare his love and commit, but his memories of the mystery woman keep getting in the way and affecting his relationship with Lauren. Dale was a decent hero. He’s pretty much the typical womanizer, with a different lady on his arm every few weeks, who eventually realizes that there’s only one woman for him. He tends to vacillate between being a tad too dominant for my taste and sweeter, more seductively appealing moments. I enjoyed the way he dotes on Lauren throughout most of her pregnancy and he’s a loving, caring father to the baby, even before he knows he is the father. He did have a couple of moments where he pushed my buttons a little, but overall, I liked him fairly well.
On the whole, Her Best Friend’s Lover was a very readable story. I enjoyed the friends-to-lovers theme. However, the secret baby part was simply too overblown for my taste. Every time, Lauren tells herself that she needs to tell Dale the truth and then doesn’t, I became a little more frustrated with her. Everything worked out OK in the end, but she could have saved herself a whole lot of worry and conflict but just coming clean from the start. Aside from that, there were a few other lesser issues that somewhat diminished my enjoyment. I’ve never been a fan of head-hopping, and here it’s pretty extreme. Not only to do we get the ping-pong effect between Dale’s and Lauren’s POVs, making it hard to keep track of whose perspective I was reading, we also get the thoughts of practically every minor character in the book, which I didn’t need. In that same vein, I was getting pretty annoyed with all the men in the story – even the married ones – objectifying Lauren. I got that she was attractive, but I didn’t need the men’s lewd thoughts about her. The writing itself was stronger than a lot of erotic romances I’ve read, but it still could have used a better polish before publication. I found a number of typos, awkward wording, and most especially the over-use of Dale’s name in dialogue. People just don’t use another person’s name while talking nearly every paragraph, sometimes more than once per paragraph. Otherwise, Her Best Friend’s Lover was a pretty good story for a first effort. If you love friends-to-lovers or secret baby tropes and wouldn’t be frustrated by the way in which that plays out, then it’s worth the read.
Note: This book contains explicit language and sexual situations which may offend some readers, including dominant behavior, somewhat rough sex, light bondage, and a finger at the back door.
October 18, 2010
Lauren and Dale are best friends, they have sex while he's drunk, the next day he doesn't remember a thing and she's pregnant and she doesn't want to inflict her pregnancy on Dale.
I didn't like Lauren. It seemed she chose the hard way by not revealing her pregnancy, but if that's her decision, why did she accept Dale courtship and love and proposal without coming clean with him at once. This was just unbelievable, I thought it was incoherent given the premises. All the misunderstanding was annoying and I couldn't feel anything for her. Dale's problem with the former girlfriend is ridiculous and it's resolved in such a simple way that you can't help from wondering what all the fuss was about.
I like the "best friends turn lovers" plots, I like them a lot, but I couldn't get into this one.
I didn't like Lauren. It seemed she chose the hard way by not revealing her pregnancy, but if that's her decision, why did she accept Dale courtship and love and proposal without coming clean with him at once. This was just unbelievable, I thought it was incoherent given the premises. All the misunderstanding was annoying and I couldn't feel anything for her. Dale's problem with the former girlfriend is ridiculous and it's resolved in such a simple way that you can't help from wondering what all the fuss was about.
I like the "best friends turn lovers" plots, I like them a lot, but I couldn't get into this one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 27, 2011
Here I was thinking I was reading a regular book and not an HP, when out of nowhere comes the oh my gosh I’m pregs and I’m not gonna tell the father theme. I would have been okay with that if the hero provided a little more angst, but before we even reach the middle of the book the guy who was in love with another woman and felt nothing for the heroine was all of a sudden forsaking all others and falling hopelessly in love with her even though he thought she was pregs for another man. I’m sorry but I need a little angst before the HEA.
December 18, 2019
I liked this story, but didn't love it. It drove me crazy that Lauren didn't come clean about the baby. It was ridiculous and made no sense, very frustrating. The story was originally an Ellora's Cave novel, so there is a lot of sex. It's written well, but I would have been okay with fewer sex scenes.
Overall it was good, not great. The friends to neighbors trope was the high point, unfortunately the hero was a manwhore.
3.5 Stars
Overall it was good, not great. The friends to neighbors trope was the high point, unfortunately the hero was a manwhore.
3.5 Stars
May 2, 2016
Lauren lost her heart to the gorgeous neighbor years ago, and suffering his hookups as a friend is hard, but she´s willing to do it to keep him in her life. But when a drunken night comes between them, she´ll have to make a decision.
Dale is unable to love ever since he was dumped by the one he loved. He didn´t realize the importance of Lauren until she was on her way out of his life. Can he make her see that he can change, for her?
Contemporary romance, feelings and smutty fluff in a great combo.
Dale is unable to love ever since he was dumped by the one he loved. He didn´t realize the importance of Lauren until she was on her way out of his life. Can he make her see that he can change, for her?
Contemporary romance, feelings and smutty fluff in a great combo.
September 28, 2011
I was in a weird position when it came to this book. After going through a book funk, my first book craving hit me. I wanted a friends-to-lovers story (which I got). So, I did my research (like a good historian) and came up with a list of books I wanted to read…prompting me to create a shelf on GR just for this type of story. Well, after adding a bunch of books to the list, one stuck with me. But, I couldn’t remember the title or author of it. I remembered that this one appealed to me, so I chose it to read. Even as I started this, that nameless book kept popping into my head. It was driving me crazy that I couldn’t remember the author or title. I had decided that I would go through every single book I added to my GR shelf until I found it. Now imagine my surprise when I realize…the book that was haunting me was the book I was reading! I think I did a little happy dance.
I’m happy to say that this lived up to my expectations….and fed my craving. Dale and Lauren had an interesting friendship. You know right off the bat that Lauren has feelings for Dale. I actually liked how they first got together and the fallout from that. But…I almost felt that Dale’s turnaround was a little quick. By the 50% mark, I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Things were going to well and you could feel that there was going to be a blow up. However, it didn’t happen like I expected. As expected, Dale went off the rails when he found out what Lauren had been keeping from him.
It was actually after the big blow up that I started having issues with the book. I didn’t like the way the makeup went down. There wasn’t really anything wrong with it, it just…wasn’t great for me. But, that’s only a minor issue with an otherwise great book.
This was definitely an enjoyable book and it will probably be a re-read for me.
I’m happy to say that this lived up to my expectations….and fed my craving. Dale and Lauren had an interesting friendship. You know right off the bat that Lauren has feelings for Dale. I actually liked how they first got together and the fallout from that. But…I almost felt that Dale’s turnaround was a little quick. By the 50% mark, I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Things were going to well and you could feel that there was going to be a blow up. However, it didn’t happen like I expected. As expected, Dale went off the rails when he found out what Lauren had been keeping from him.
It was actually after the big blow up that I started having issues with the book. I didn’t like the way the makeup went down. There wasn’t really anything wrong with it, it just…wasn’t great for me. But, that’s only a minor issue with an otherwise great book.
This was definitely an enjoyable book and it will probably be a re-read for me.
May 2, 2016
I have to admit that I'm sitting here, laughing at myself while I write this review. Shiloh Walker is a favorite writer of mine, and has been for years. Probably since the early 200o's. I've read many of her works and apparently, I've read some more than once. That is the case with Her Best Friend's Lover. I didn't even realize it until I was mid way through the story when I started getting the feeling of, "I've read this before.". You ask how it is possible that I had no clue. Well, there are a few reason.
First, the cover has been changed more than once. Second, I originally found the book on Ellora's Cave. Third, it's been years since the first time I read it, and I read numerous books a year. So, that made for a cocktail of, "Why does this seem familiar?".
Regardless of all of that, I still love this book. I still ended up giving it the same rating I gave it the second and third time around. The characters are engaging, fun, the story and plot itself is great. It gets a bit angsty like most friends to lovers books do. I don't need to go into too much on this, because if you read the blurb, you're getting exactly that. Obviously, yes, I would reread it again!
Technical details. It's an HEA, standalone. It is written from a third person POV with no cliffy. If you're a lover of friends to lovers plots, this is a sure fire one that you will enjoy. If you've never read one, it is a great place to start.
Four happy stars from me!
First, the cover has been changed more than once. Second, I originally found the book on Ellora's Cave. Third, it's been years since the first time I read it, and I read numerous books a year. So, that made for a cocktail of, "Why does this seem familiar?".
Regardless of all of that, I still love this book. I still ended up giving it the same rating I gave it the second and third time around. The characters are engaging, fun, the story and plot itself is great. It gets a bit angsty like most friends to lovers books do. I don't need to go into too much on this, because if you read the blurb, you're getting exactly that. Obviously, yes, I would reread it again!
Technical details. It's an HEA, standalone. It is written from a third person POV with no cliffy. If you're a lover of friends to lovers plots, this is a sure fire one that you will enjoy. If you've never read one, it is a great place to start.
Four happy stars from me!
July 27, 2009
Lovely read that you might need tissues for.
He thinks he's in love with a childhood sweetheart who he lost to some other guy, and all the women are just substitutes.
She's loved him for years but knows he only sees her as a friend.
Then things change when she goes to apologise to him one night only to find him drunk out of his mind. They go at it, he imagines she's the childhood chick and says so. She leaves him sleeping and hopefully not remembering.
Now she's pregnant - but should she tell him? Will she loose everything she's wanted all over again?
This was a moving story - with quite a bit of sex. To go from best friends to lovers to people who have to learn to trust in each other without hurting the other any more.
A lot of philosophy in the book too. Nice true sad philosophy:
"She had wanted, she had hoped, but she had never expected to receive anything. And she had learned long ago, to pretend not to want something. That way, it hurt less when you didn’t get it."
He thinks he's in love with a childhood sweetheart who he lost to some other guy, and all the women are just substitutes.
She's loved him for years but knows he only sees her as a friend.
Then things change when she goes to apologise to him one night only to find him drunk out of his mind. They go at it, he imagines she's the childhood chick and says so. She leaves him sleeping and hopefully not remembering.
Now she's pregnant - but should she tell him? Will she loose everything she's wanted all over again?
This was a moving story - with quite a bit of sex. To go from best friends to lovers to people who have to learn to trust in each other without hurting the other any more.
A lot of philosophy in the book too. Nice true sad philosophy:
"She had wanted, she had hoped, but she had never expected to receive anything. And she had learned long ago, to pretend not to want something. That way, it hurt less when you didn’t get it."
March 28, 2012
I thoroughly enjoyed this contemporary romance by Shiloh Walker. Most contemporary romances are predictable and follow similar patterns. And this one did too, but it did have a little twist in the plot that added a new/different idea from the usual. I also liked that both the hero and the heroine had flaws--made them much more realistic. Overall, this was a great book with lots of steamy action!
November 28, 2022
3.5 stars,Although the characters are flawed,silly and ignorant, I couldn't help but enjoy it's unique heat and subterfuge!
I have been a fan of the author in the past and plan to look up some old faves that I had enjoyed via paperback!😉
I have been a fan of the author in the past and plan to look up some old faves that I had enjoyed via paperback!😉
nope
December 1, 2018Starting with the cover... what’s that? Just horrible And the plot itself: Unbelievable... either this is the author’s idea of a joke with all these stupid tropes/plots or she’s a woman hater. 🤣😤🤣🤔
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
March 23, 2022
This is without a doubt one of the worst things I've ever read.
avoid
December 3, 2022avoid. hell no....
Lu Bielefeld has spoilers.
Lu Bielefeld has spoilers.
June 12, 2016
Before I delve into the review on this one, it needs to be said that I adore Shiloh Walker. I've read a couple of books by her and then force-fed the titles to my friends until they would read them because I enjoyed them so very much. You know how you can just grab a book by your favorite author at store, not even taking the time to read the back of the book before you buy it and you are completely confident that it will be amazing, sight unseen? Well, picking this book up, I just assumed that it would be as amazing as the other two and I was in for a nice bookish getaway. That's not entirely how my experience actually played out. Not at all.
This book is completely unlike the other books I've read by Walker. The tone is different, the writing style is VERY different, the editing is horrible and the characters are weirdly put together. It was very strange. At first, I thought that maybe I had started reading a different book than this one because it was so off. It was almost surreal. I was convinced I had picked up the wrong book. But I hadn't. This book was a derailment from what I had come to know as Walker's writing. It wasn't a crash and burn but there was some serious damage done. It was just so unlike the Walker writing I loved.
Now more in depth about the book ... not only does it always switch POV rather abruptly but these random, non-important characters get paragraphs of inner dialogue. Out of no where! It's very strange. Like, you're reading about the main character and then BOOM! her dog's uncle's grandma's best-friend's poodle's owner gives a 5 page dissertation on the art of underwater basket-weaving with a llama's toe hair. Fine. Maybe that's taking it a little to the extreme but I hope I correctly conveyed my WTF thoughts as this book played out. And it wasn't just once that this happened, it was a different dissertation topic but it was still just as random and WTF-ish.
And THEN the leading hero is an a-hole. Dale talks about Lauren like she's an irritating pest. He says and thinks these super derogatory things about her quite a bit. I'm not entirely sure if he even likes her as a human being. If my husband was saying stuff like that about me, I would karate-chop his Adam's apple and then knee him in the kiwis.
I don't know ... the book was just weird. I assumed it would be good. You know what they say about assuming ... you get punished by having to read an inner monologue about braiding your grandpa's ear hairs. So strange. Not the book for me but I'm not giving up on Walker. This book was written eon's ago and I know that her writing style has changed. FOR THE BETTER. I will say that it's interesting to see an author's growth, though. I just wish that I didn't have to learn it this way.
* I received this novel in exchange for an honest review *
Check out more of my reviews at Little Miss Bookmark!
virgin-heroines-are-sexist
June 8, 2019Who in their right mind would want to read about a man who screws everything with a pulse and impregnates you and another woman while not even remembering he had sex with you. Let alone the fact you were a virgin and he screamed another woman's name as he came.
Can you get anymore gross than that... ?
Yes, this author certainly can because as the heroine is at her doctor's confirming her pregnancy by the GROSS HERO, he's seducing another woman.
What is this crap?
There is no romance in this shit.
Shiloh Walker, I don't trust your books. They should have a warning sign posted.
Can you get anymore gross than that... ?
Yes, this author certainly can because as the heroine is at her doctor's confirming her pregnancy by the GROSS HERO, he's seducing another woman.
What is this crap?
There is no romance in this shit.
Shiloh Walker, I don't trust your books. They should have a warning sign posted.
June 6, 2023
Read first: March 1, 2011
Red XYth time: June 2015
Red XYth time: June 2015
May 2, 2014
Very good friends to lovers story. The baby was a secret only in that he didn't know he was the father. I read this years ago and was glad I did a re-read.
August 28, 2024
Nope. Not for me. Didn't like the writing style or story. Main characters were idiots. And I hate when a FMC keeps her pregnancy a secret or doesn't tell H he's the father. Instead, hides it for de lu lu reasons. Which it completely was. Zero angst for me. If you want a proper review with a rundown of what happens go read Jac K's review. It's excellent and detailed. Wish I would have read it first before diving in blindly
January 12, 2023
I just … can’t.
April 23, 2011
Let me start off by saying I really adored this book. I haven't had the chance to read a lot of books by Shiloh Walker but the ones I have read have been excellent. And this one showed me just another reason reason why I should be reading more of her work and believe me I will be doing just that.
Lauren has loved Dale for years unfortunately Dale just sees her as his best buddy. Until one night Lauren goes over to check on him and finds him drunk. They have sex ,but Lauren is left crushed when he says another woman's name.
I found this not only to be a moving story but one that will keep you on your toes. Its not only about friendship ,but love and some really tough decisions for not only one person but both parties that are involved.
Shiloh Walker gives you a plot that grabs your attention once you start reading this fantastic story. It never had a dull moment. It also has some steamy sex but that is not that whole book and I think that is why I loved this story so much. It was much more than sex... way more than sex. I loved the whole girl in love with best friend and best friend has no idea plot.
Lauren and Dale's story hit me straight in the heart. Its about real people with everyday problems, love and being there for your friends. It had some real emotions. Hell it even had me thinking that if I were in Lauren's shoes what would I have done. I loved putting myself in that scenario because you never really know what you would do. Well, at least I wouldn't.
The other day I had spent some time on twitter in the DMs talking with Shiloh's Assistant (Nicole) about books that I must read or what I have read. This one didn't come up, but she had me so interested I wanted to read something she wrote earlier. Needless to say as you can tell I loved this story. It makes me want to go buy every book she has ever written. To be honest I am sure that day will come soon and I am welcoming it with open arms and an open check book. *giggles* although hubby might not be on board with this plan, but who cares. Her books are like crack. Once you open them you wont be able to put them down!! So Thank You Nicole for introducing me to Crack! LOL
This is truly one of the best love stories I have read to date. I absolutely loved Lauren and Dale!!!! A wonderful book from start to finish. Her best friends lover will for sure be added to my re-read pile for the future. In fact I might have to re-conquer it soon but then again it wont come soon enough. Needless to say I loved loved loved ( i think i have said that a ton). Shiloh Walker is on the auto buy list now and I know I wont be disappointed. I can only hope if she isn't on your auto buy list you should be adding her because from what I read she will never disappoint you.
Lauren has loved Dale for years unfortunately Dale just sees her as his best buddy. Until one night Lauren goes over to check on him and finds him drunk. They have sex ,but Lauren is left crushed when he says another woman's name.
I found this not only to be a moving story but one that will keep you on your toes. Its not only about friendship ,but love and some really tough decisions for not only one person but both parties that are involved.
Shiloh Walker gives you a plot that grabs your attention once you start reading this fantastic story. It never had a dull moment. It also has some steamy sex but that is not that whole book and I think that is why I loved this story so much. It was much more than sex... way more than sex. I loved the whole girl in love with best friend and best friend has no idea plot.
Lauren and Dale's story hit me straight in the heart. Its about real people with everyday problems, love and being there for your friends. It had some real emotions. Hell it even had me thinking that if I were in Lauren's shoes what would I have done. I loved putting myself in that scenario because you never really know what you would do. Well, at least I wouldn't.
The other day I had spent some time on twitter in the DMs talking with Shiloh's Assistant (Nicole) about books that I must read or what I have read. This one didn't come up, but she had me so interested I wanted to read something she wrote earlier. Needless to say as you can tell I loved this story. It makes me want to go buy every book she has ever written. To be honest I am sure that day will come soon and I am welcoming it with open arms and an open check book. *giggles* although hubby might not be on board with this plan, but who cares. Her books are like crack. Once you open them you wont be able to put them down!! So Thank You Nicole for introducing me to Crack! LOL
This is truly one of the best love stories I have read to date. I absolutely loved Lauren and Dale!!!! A wonderful book from start to finish. Her best friends lover will for sure be added to my re-read pile for the future. In fact I might have to re-conquer it soon but then again it wont come soon enough. Needless to say I loved loved loved ( i think i have said that a ton). Shiloh Walker is on the auto buy list now and I know I wont be disappointed. I can only hope if she isn't on your auto buy list you should be adding her because from what I read she will never disappoint you.
April 27, 2016
Unrequited love for a woman who grew up abandoned just squeezes my heart painfully. I am a sucker for characters who are admirable and all alone. The desolation and confusion they feel from being unwanted just breaks my heart. Lauren is a self-made woman. She is an artist who is reserved with few friends. Her past is a baseline which makes her so fragile in some ways. I hurt for Lauren and the last twenty-five percent of this book, I wept silently the entire time. This is why I loved the book. Because Ms. Walker invokes such emotion for me. I have never been abandoned. I have felt unwanted by my parents but never to the degree Lauren has felt. So perhaps this is a kind of book that speaks to me more than others.
The conflict in this book is well done. It is a miscommunication and usually these feel too contrived for me and I hate them. Ms. Walker pulls it off so well in this one for me. It is easy to see why it happened and why Lauren did what she did with Dale. Dale is an aggravating character for me. I should hate him and think he doesn't deserve Lauren, but for some reason I can't. Ms. Walkers creates two characters who hurt each other unwittingly and instead of wanting to smack them upside the head, I wince and wish I could help them both. They are both a little lost and a little bruised from life. The chemistry between the two characters is very well done and when they are together, it is magic. The slow simmer to boiling hot is arousing. This story is not about insta-love. It is about learning to bring down walls and trusting someone. And who better to trust, than your best friend? This is recommended for hopeless romantics who enjoy friends to lovers themes.
*provided by NetGalley
The conflict in this book is well done. It is a miscommunication and usually these feel too contrived for me and I hate them. Ms. Walker pulls it off so well in this one for me. It is easy to see why it happened and why Lauren did what she did with Dale. Dale is an aggravating character for me. I should hate him and think he doesn't deserve Lauren, but for some reason I can't. Ms. Walkers creates two characters who hurt each other unwittingly and instead of wanting to smack them upside the head, I wince and wish I could help them both. They are both a little lost and a little bruised from life. The chemistry between the two characters is very well done and when they are together, it is magic. The slow simmer to boiling hot is arousing. This story is not about insta-love. It is about learning to bring down walls and trusting someone. And who better to trust, than your best friend? This is recommended for hopeless romantics who enjoy friends to lovers themes.
*provided by NetGalley
May 10, 2011
The writing seemed bland at times and the conflict and interactions seemed a tad cliche. The desperation of the heroine in the beginning made me want to delete the book off of my kindle, numerous times.
I powered through however and it got slightly better though the heroine still bugged me. Her reasons were so selfish and only proved to complicate an uncomplicated thing. So it felt like the author was just hinging all the drama on a very dumb point of conflict, letting it go on and on.
I understand that she had issues but the whole thing didn't really mesh together in my opinion perhaps because I wasn't really digging the style of the writing or the main character.
It also came off as a bit wannabe-fairytaily for me to enjoy, where the princess just pines and sighs waiting for some guy to give her life meaning. I didn't like that she couldn't even respect herself enough to try and make herself happy - noble perhaps that she didn't want second best but it looked like she wasn't even willing to give anyone else a chance to make sure her feelings were true esp. stating that she'd rather die alone, feeling sorry for herself but not doing anything about it.
The love interest seemed alot smarter than her in my opinion which kinda highlights how dumb females are perceived to be. The sex scenes were done pretty well I thought so I guess thats a plus. Oh and the ending was cute I suppose.
I powered through however and it got slightly better though the heroine still bugged me. Her reasons were so selfish and only proved to complicate an uncomplicated thing. So it felt like the author was just hinging all the drama on a very dumb point of conflict, letting it go on and on.
I understand that she had issues but the whole thing didn't really mesh together in my opinion perhaps because I wasn't really digging the style of the writing or the main character.
It also came off as a bit wannabe-fairytaily for me to enjoy, where the princess just pines and sighs waiting for some guy to give her life meaning. I didn't like that she couldn't even respect herself enough to try and make herself happy - noble perhaps that she didn't want second best but it looked like she wasn't even willing to give anyone else a chance to make sure her feelings were true esp. stating that she'd rather die alone, feeling sorry for herself but not doing anything about it.
The love interest seemed alot smarter than her in my opinion which kinda highlights how dumb females are perceived to be. The sex scenes were done pretty well I thought so I guess thats a plus. Oh and the ending was cute I suppose.
November 4, 2025
Dale is a man whore, sleeping away his lost love by imagining each of his conquests as his ex-girlfriend.
Lauren is Dale’s neighbor and has been in love with Dale since the moment she set eyes on him.
Dale has completely friend zoned Lauren until one night when he received a letter from his ex. The letter told him that she was pregnant with another child which drove Dale into a drunken bender. When Lauren comes over he forcibly pursues her sexually until she consents to give him her virginity up against a wall.
Lauren becomes pregnant and Dale decides to become her support, her coach and finally starts to notice Lauren as a potential interest.
Lauren is afraid, after a life time of being abandon, to open up to anyone and decides not to tell anyone who the father of her baby is…Dale. Keeping Dale in the dark long after he's proven he's worth the chance.
Dale is plagued by erotic dreams of the shadowed vision of a woman he took during his bender, not knowing it was Lauren.
I am a little conflicted on this one. The steam factor on Her Best Friend’s Lover would be 5 burning stars but the actually story only hit a 3 (I want to shake the crap out of you, you idiots) stars. There is heartfelt emotion and character connection which bumps my finally rating to 4 stars.
I received this ARC copy of Her Best Friend's Lover from Shiloh Walker, Inc. in exchange for a honest review. This book is set for publication April 15, 2016.
Lauren is Dale’s neighbor and has been in love with Dale since the moment she set eyes on him.
Dale has completely friend zoned Lauren until one night when he received a letter from his ex. The letter told him that she was pregnant with another child which drove Dale into a drunken bender. When Lauren comes over he forcibly pursues her sexually until she consents to give him her virginity up against a wall.
Lauren becomes pregnant and Dale decides to become her support, her coach and finally starts to notice Lauren as a potential interest.
Lauren is afraid, after a life time of being abandon, to open up to anyone and decides not to tell anyone who the father of her baby is…Dale. Keeping Dale in the dark long after he's proven he's worth the chance.
Dale is plagued by erotic dreams of the shadowed vision of a woman he took during his bender, not knowing it was Lauren.
I am a little conflicted on this one. The steam factor on Her Best Friend’s Lover would be 5 burning stars but the actually story only hit a 3 (I want to shake the crap out of you, you idiots) stars. There is heartfelt emotion and character connection which bumps my finally rating to 4 stars.
I received this ARC copy of Her Best Friend's Lover from Shiloh Walker, Inc. in exchange for a honest review. This book is set for publication April 15, 2016.
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