The Royal's Best Friend: A Magnolia Bay Sweet Romance

by Melanie Jacobson

Two best friends. One lie.

When a hurricane destroys Peyton’s sleepy South Carolina beach town, the last person she expects at her door is her son-of-an-earl best friend, Will Maxwell. He insists on helping her save the family home. She accepts, eager for some time with her friend from London.

But when his toxic ex-girlfriend crashes the scene to win Will back, he tells Peyton there’s only one solution—fake a relationship with each other to convince his ex he’s taken for good.

Will is relieved when Peyton agrees, however reluctantly. But a new problem emerges when their fake romance leads to real feelings and a few shockingly hot kisses. He’ll have to leave his privileged life in London behind in order to have her, an idea Peyton dismisses outright. Can Will convince her that he’s ready to make the sacrifice? And can Peyton allow herself to accept it?

When the three youngest sons of British earls seek a way to make their own names in the world, a sleepy Southern beach town may hold the keys to love, laughter, and happily ever after....

Genres: Audiobook, Romance, Contemporary, Clean Romance

Audible Audio

Published October 13, 2023

Reviews

[Oceana Reads Co. · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐

Characters were good and I like the cross-continent love story.
Felt a little slow at times, but I really liked how it resolved and the narration was great!
Definitely recommend as a solid clean indie romance option!

[Katherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was pretty hard for me to get through. Both main characters were kind of dense and i felt like so many details were left out. The whole relationship with Cole was kind of pointless. I listened to the audio version and i didn’t really love how the narrator read. That might have something to do with my opinion on the book but this felt very much like a debut. It had lots and lots of potential and the storyline was good, the execution of the storyline is what fell flat for me. I probably wouldn’t be too interested in other books in this series but if you like super simple and clean Rom-Coms, this might be a book for you!

[Rhonda 🌒🌕🌘 🐈‍⬛ · Rating 3 out of 5]

🌟3.5/5 *rounded down
❤️‍🩹3/5
🥰4/5
🌶️0/5
🔎0/5
😰3/5
🎭😂3/5
🎭😭0/5
👻0/5
🔬0/5
🔫0/5
🏥0/5
✍🏼4/5
🥱0/5
🏃🏻‍♀️5/5
🌎5/5
💁🏻‍♀️4/5
🙅🏻‍♀️

⚠️⛔️TRIGGERS:⛔️⚠️
Courtesy of StoryGraph

Gaslighting
Anxiety
Classism
Emotional Abuse
Bullying

*I can’t remember any of the other triggers.

🤔🧐🤯MY THOUGHTS:🤯🧐🤔

This was a very sweet romance. A little comedy but not too much. My only complaint is that Peyton is a little too perfect. Unbelievably perfect at everything! I prefer our MFC’s to have flaws that make them more realistic. Will is fabulous!

🗯️💬BOOK BLURB:💬🗯️

Two best friends. One lie.

When a hurricane destroys Peyton’s sleepy South Carolina beach town, the last person she expects at her door is her son-of-an-earl best friend, Will Maxwell. He insists on helping her save the family home. She accepts, eager for some time with her friend from London.

But when his toxic ex-girlfriend crashes the scene to win Will back, he tells Peyton there’s only one solution—fake a relationship with each other to convince his ex he’s taken for good.

Will is relieved when Peyton agrees, however reluctantly. But a new problem emerges when their fake romance leads to real feelings and a few shockingly hot kisses. He’ll have to leave his privileged life in London behind in order to have her, an idea Peyton dismisses outright. Can Will convince her that he’s ready to make the sacrifice ? And can Peyton allow herself to accept it?

When the three youngest sons of British earls seek a way to make their own names in the world, a sleepy Southern beach town may hold the keys to love, laughter, and happily ever after...

🌎📖OVERALL REVIEWS📖🌎
Courtesy of Storygraph

COMMUNITY REVIEWS
SUMMARY OF 27 REVIEWS

Moods
lighthearted 100%
emotional 16%
Pace
medium 62%
fast 25%
slow 12%
Plot- or character-driven?
Character: 40% | A mix: 40% | Plot: 20%
Strong character development?
No: 66% | Yes: 33%
Loveable characters?
Yes: 60% | No: 20% | N/A: 20%
Diverse cast of characters?
No: 75% | N/A: 25%
Flaws of characters a main focus?
No: 60% | Yes: 40%
Average rating
3.36 ⭐️

RATING KEY:

🌟 Stars - based on the overall plot and theme or idea of the book
❤️‍🩹 Emotions - based on how emotional I got while reading
🥰 Romance - based on how well I got invested in the love story aspect
🌶️ Spice - based on how the sex scenes were portrayed and written as well as the number of sex scenes
🔎 Mystery - based on how well it kept me guessing who, how and why
😰 Scared🫣/Anxious😱 - based on how scared or anxious the book made me while reading
🎭 Comedy😂/Tragedy😭
-based on if I laughed or if there was a tragic event and how it affected me. I will mark the Masks with either a C or T to indicate Comedy or Tragedy
👻 Spooky😵‍💫/Creepy🧟‍♀️ -based on if this had any occult or paranormal themes and if those elements creeped me out or gave me anxiety!
🔬 Sci-Fi -based on the Science Fiction in the book as well as the Dystopian elements.
🔫 Action/Thriller -based on if I thought this was more of a spy action type of thriller.
🏥 Medical Content -based on the amount and the accuracy of any medical content or if the book is supposed to be a medical style thriller.
✍🏼 Writing Style -based on if I enjoyed the writing style or not and how the author portrayed the world, characters, concept, plot etc.
🥱 Boredom -based on if I was bored if it held my interest or if I’d rather be doing something else 😴.
🏃🏻‍♀️ Book Pacing -Based on how quickly I thought the book moved.
🌎 World Development -Based on how well I liked the world development of the story.
💁🏻‍♀️ Character Development -Based on how well the characters were fleshed out and if I hated or loved with a passion.
🙅🏻‍♀️ DNF -based on if the book is just stupid, boring, chilgdish, overly ridiculous etc.

**rounded up or down based on how the book left me feeling and because Goodreads doesn’t offer half stars.

***Triggers are listed most to least severe.

[Brandi | RB Momma Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a clean rom-com that falls solidly into the “just okay” category for me. It’s highly predictable, though that’s not unusual for this genre. Like a Hallmark movie, you go in knowing how you want it to end, and that’s exactly what you get.

Story-wise, I’m not a fan of the “lie to protect someone’s feelings” trope. In this case, it’s not even about sparing feelings, it is a deliberate move to convince Bianca that her pursuit is pointless and that she doesn’t stand a chance. I much prefer characters who use direct communication. I get that the lie is what drives the plot, but for me, it is a frustrating way to create conflict. I also dislike the hesitation of “we can’t date, what if we ruin our friendship; you're my BEST friend.” Honestly, some of the best marriages start with best friends, especially when the pair has a long history like Will and Peyton.

While there’s a brief mention of a “friends with benefits” situation, it’s only used to make a point to an ex, nothing actually happens. The story itself is clean, with only a few kisses.

I listened to the audiobook version, but unfortunately, the narration left something to be desired. The narrator’s tone and inflection felt flat, which made it hard to stay engaged. It’s possible I would have enjoyed the story more if I had read it myself.

[Regan]

Oof! I was going to give a rating, but I decided not to because I'm not sure if I didn't like this because of the book itself or because of the narrator. If you'd like to give this book a fair chance, read it, don't listen to it!

Her British accent was rough, making me not enjoy the MMC at all, she mispronounced words and she had no variety in tones so it was hard to get invested in the characters.

[Shelley Lawler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not the intended audience for this genre of book, but it was easy to listen to. Basically fantasy though because this whole scenario is far from reality. I guess that's part of the feel good appeal. I liked Will and his friends but Peyton was just okay. There wasn't much development there to make me really be rooting for her.

[Lexy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that this book was good

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet friends to lovers rom-com.

[Rebecca White · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book with a crazy x-girlfriend, friends becoming more, and 3 fun English gentlemen in the South. Lots of beachy fun and flirting throughout.

[Shalom Favour, Akpedje Houedou · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was AMAZING the only problem I have with it is him loving her because of a kiss but otherwise 6-star read

[Alyssa Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet, fluffy romance that made for a good car ride audiobook! It was very predictable, but most stories like this are. I’d give 3.5 stars if it would let me!

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute and easy read

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun and enjoyable!

[Mary M · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fine. I did not like the odd stereotypical “southern” things the MC said/did at times.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

[Christine Maynor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book by this author! She is a great modern day romance author. Very good and clean read.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute & clean

[Paige Pearson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Felt a little flat to me. I did this as an audiobook, and maybe a more dynamic narrator would have helped.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. A little slow and not much chemistry between main characters.

[Tess Mix]

this was cute. not my fav but still liked it

[Pully · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute novel, don’t waste your time on it.

Also, this is my first third person book, I hate it even more!