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Circle of Friends #1
How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?
Joshua Lee Merrill has been a playboy for years, never content to settle and convinced there’s no such thing as “the right one”—just“the right now.” For a while, he thought he had the perfect woman—until she summarily dumped him and gave his ego a severe thrashing. His group of friends are there to help with his broken heart...but it’s his old pal Derica who suddenly has him hot with desire.
Derica Washington nursed a crush on her friend Josh for years while he went through a string of girlfriends and never gave her a second look. But now he’s broken-hearted, alone, and his sights are set on her at last. She’s determined not to give in to him, though turning the love ’em and leave ’em attitude on him is tempting. And it can’t hurt to indulge this once...can it?
Derica Washington nursed a crush on her friend Josh for years while he went through a string of girlfriends and never gave her a second look. But now he’s broken-hearted, alone, and his sights are set on her at last. She’s determined not to give in to him, though turning the love ’em and leave ’em attitude on him is tempting. And it can’t hurt to indulge this once...can it?
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First published May 1, 2012
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About the author
Asha King
36 books31 followersAsha King likes good-looking men and hot books, and often strives to combine the two in contemporary, paranormal, and suspenseful romantic stories. She lives in the exotic land of Alberta, Canada, where she doesn't ride a polar bear to work but does drink vast amounts of locally brewed beer and watches hockey.
She loves connecting with readers and you can email her at Author.AshaKing@gmail.com or visit her on the web at www.ashaking.com.
She loves connecting with readers and you can email her at Author.AshaKing@gmail.com or visit her on the web at www.ashaking.com.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 29, 2012
Reviewed for Hearts On Fire Reviews
Derica Washington is part of a group of close friends who bond together and get each other through bad times. The fact that she has a not-to-be-acted-on crush on one of them, Joshua Lee Merrill, (J.L.) is just part of keeping the friend circle complete. The friends gather for an emergency cheer up session when J.L.’s girlfriend of almost a year dumps him, and dumps him badly. No one knows exactly what was said, but he’s been glooming and dooming. They meet at a restaurant, all six of them, to make J.L. feel better. What J.L. wants this time, however, is Derica.
They’ve known each other for seven years and neither has ever given any indication of wanting the other – Derica because she doesn’t want to be just another notch on J.L.’s bedpost (where many, many notches reside) and J.L. because the friends as a group are very important to him and he doesn’t want to mess that up. Suddenly, however, it seems to him to be a risk worth taking, and he goes after Derica. J.L. has cute moments – when they go to dance and the slow song turns faster and he is afraid of appearing an idiot in front of her. But he goes right for the sex, making Derica not only feel like a rebound, but that she could have been anybody, and he didn’t really want HER.
I was disappointed in Derica when she nearly gives in to J.L. (It annoys me when otherwise clear headed intelligent women act like they have no control over their body), but Derica redeems herself, and shows herself to be the strong women I wanted to see. When J.L. confronts Derica and tells her he knows she wants him, I loved how she makes it clear that she has watched him treat women as secondary, never taking them seriously and ditching them when bored. She is not going to be one of those women and she lets him know it in no uncertain terms. Good for you, girlfriend.
I had small quibbles with this story – they call each other by last names a lot, which was mildly irritating, and I wanted Derica to be true to herself throughout (but I can see her point, she HAS been crushing on the man for years!). Lily, the ex-girlfriend, is a conniving bitch who I could see going for revenge in the manner she did. The circle of friends is so lovely, they bicker and fight but they are there for each other. This is a fairly short story, but a definite recommend.
Derica Washington is part of a group of close friends who bond together and get each other through bad times. The fact that she has a not-to-be-acted-on crush on one of them, Joshua Lee Merrill, (J.L.) is just part of keeping the friend circle complete. The friends gather for an emergency cheer up session when J.L.’s girlfriend of almost a year dumps him, and dumps him badly. No one knows exactly what was said, but he’s been glooming and dooming. They meet at a restaurant, all six of them, to make J.L. feel better. What J.L. wants this time, however, is Derica.
They’ve known each other for seven years and neither has ever given any indication of wanting the other – Derica because she doesn’t want to be just another notch on J.L.’s bedpost (where many, many notches reside) and J.L. because the friends as a group are very important to him and he doesn’t want to mess that up. Suddenly, however, it seems to him to be a risk worth taking, and he goes after Derica. J.L. has cute moments – when they go to dance and the slow song turns faster and he is afraid of appearing an idiot in front of her. But he goes right for the sex, making Derica not only feel like a rebound, but that she could have been anybody, and he didn’t really want HER.
I was disappointed in Derica when she nearly gives in to J.L. (It annoys me when otherwise clear headed intelligent women act like they have no control over their body), but Derica redeems herself, and shows herself to be the strong women I wanted to see. When J.L. confronts Derica and tells her he knows she wants him, I loved how she makes it clear that she has watched him treat women as secondary, never taking them seriously and ditching them when bored. She is not going to be one of those women and she lets him know it in no uncertain terms. Good for you, girlfriend.
I had small quibbles with this story – they call each other by last names a lot, which was mildly irritating, and I wanted Derica to be true to herself throughout (but I can see her point, she HAS been crushing on the man for years!). Lily, the ex-girlfriend, is a conniving bitch who I could see going for revenge in the manner she did. The circle of friends is so lovely, they bicker and fight but they are there for each other. This is a fairly short story, but a definite recommend.
July 24, 2012
Description: After getting dumped by his girlfriend, former playboy, Joshua Merrill, begins looking at his friend, Derica, in a whole new light. But can she forget about his past and give him a green light to her heart?
The Good: It was nice to read a novel populated by people in their early twenties, and I love the “circle of friends” concept. Super-cute cover!
The Bad: Unfortunately, this read like an episode of Beverly Hills 90210 during the post-college years — which I actually loved — but in this case, way too much time was given to other characters, and since we haven’t seen the episodes that came before this one, there was a lot of telling us about main characters and their back stories as opposed to actual character development.
For example, we’re told Joshua was a big horn dog before the girl that dumped him came along, but all we’re shown is him coming out of a committed relationship, which he only felt s0-so about. This makes the heroine seem paranoid for resisting him, even though she ostensibly has a huge crush on him.
That sounds like a somewhat dramatic situation, but because of the execution, the story is almost boring in its straightforwardness. There’s barely any conflict, and the little that there is is easily overcome. The characters don’t earn anything, which makes the HEA feel rather hollow.
The Naughty: Sensual>Steamy. Friends become lovers. Explicit language.
Editing issues: None noted.
Publisher: Phaze Books
Length: 51 pages
Final Grade: C
Happy Reading,
Theodora from irbookreviews.com
The Good: It was nice to read a novel populated by people in their early twenties, and I love the “circle of friends” concept. Super-cute cover!
The Bad: Unfortunately, this read like an episode of Beverly Hills 90210 during the post-college years — which I actually loved — but in this case, way too much time was given to other characters, and since we haven’t seen the episodes that came before this one, there was a lot of telling us about main characters and their back stories as opposed to actual character development.
For example, we’re told Joshua was a big horn dog before the girl that dumped him came along, but all we’re shown is him coming out of a committed relationship, which he only felt s0-so about. This makes the heroine seem paranoid for resisting him, even though she ostensibly has a huge crush on him.
That sounds like a somewhat dramatic situation, but because of the execution, the story is almost boring in its straightforwardness. There’s barely any conflict, and the little that there is is easily overcome. The characters don’t earn anything, which makes the HEA feel rather hollow.
The Naughty: Sensual>Steamy. Friends become lovers. Explicit language.
Editing issues: None noted.
Publisher: Phaze Books
Length: 51 pages
Final Grade: C
Happy Reading,
Theodora from irbookreviews.com
July 15, 2012
Originally posted at: http://whippedcream2.blogspot.com/201...
Joshua Lee Merrill, or J.L., was a cause for concern for his friends because he had just been dumped by his girlfriend of nearly a year. His friends Cole, Jessalyn, Derica and Kashayla practically had to drag him out of bed so that they could cheer him up.
Derica, who has had a crush on him for a while, was sad to hear he was upset but glad Lily was out of the picture. Once he got to the pizza parlor, looking sad and dejected, his friends went into cheer up mode. JL however can't take his eyes off Derica, who he also secretly liked. His brother Aiden is the only one who really knew the truth behind his breakup with Lily. Aidan was surprised by his brother's interest in Derica, because they were friends, but he supports him.
It was interesting to see how Derica and Joshua came together, and how each of their mutual friends responded to it. The story endeared me to the characters, with the only negative being that I really didn't have time to sink my teeth into it before it ended. It seemed a little rushed, but that didn't take away from the beauty of it. I liked Derica and J.L. together and there's also an attraction between J.L.’s best friend Kashayla and his brother Aiden. It was a cute story and one that I would recommend. I look forward to reading Kashayla and Aiden’s story in the next book of this series.
Joshua Lee Merrill, or J.L., was a cause for concern for his friends because he had just been dumped by his girlfriend of nearly a year. His friends Cole, Jessalyn, Derica and Kashayla practically had to drag him out of bed so that they could cheer him up.
Derica, who has had a crush on him for a while, was sad to hear he was upset but glad Lily was out of the picture. Once he got to the pizza parlor, looking sad and dejected, his friends went into cheer up mode. JL however can't take his eyes off Derica, who he also secretly liked. His brother Aiden is the only one who really knew the truth behind his breakup with Lily. Aidan was surprised by his brother's interest in Derica, because they were friends, but he supports him.
It was interesting to see how Derica and Joshua came together, and how each of their mutual friends responded to it. The story endeared me to the characters, with the only negative being that I really didn't have time to sink my teeth into it before it ended. It seemed a little rushed, but that didn't take away from the beauty of it. I liked Derica and J.L. together and there's also an attraction between J.L.’s best friend Kashayla and his brother Aiden. It was a cute story and one that I would recommend. I look forward to reading Kashayla and Aiden’s story in the next book of this series.
June 23, 2012
Frienship as well as lovers can they have it all ? Sexy little 49 page read.A good little story of friends tapping into unspoken feelings that neither of them wanted to admit to. A cute story.
December 12, 2012
3.5 STARS
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews