Chasing Silhouettes

by Kris M. Davey

Genres: Friends To Lovers, Contemporary, Romance, Slow Burn, Humor, Contemporary Romance, Rom Com

267 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 15, 2026

About the author

Hi all!

New indie author here,
I write betrayal and grovel tropes with HEA
My work isn’t for everyone, I’m good with that, are you?
If not, that’s cool too!
It’s a welcome mat for most, and those are my people!

-most of my stories have triggers, mind them, or don’t, either way, I’ll still be here-

Happy reading, or happy rage.
😉



I’ve taken a step back from publishing in 2026, will possibly resume later in the year. 2027 is to be determined.

Reviews

[Wendy Darling · Rating 4 out of 5]

She gets a tortoise. He woos the tortoise. He gets the girl.

amaze, amaze, amaze.

3.5 stars

[cajareads · Rating 1 out of 5]

So the H gets to date around and having girlfriends, but god forbid the h tried to move on with the same intentions. The way the H was shown making moon eyes or kissing his gf adoringly made me wanna barf. Mind you his latest gf is a serious one according to him. And then we get to see the h joining book club with other women, adopting a pet and when she tried to date, then the H started to realize his feelings for her. How unoriginal. How cliche.

I would have enjoyed this if we get to see the h to genuinely date other people and H suffering from seeing her with another person. Instead we get to see him being a manchild when the h stopped giving him attentions and the h being sad about him. Bleghhh.

Long story short, the H is dumb and the h is dumber for not confessing her feelings to him.

[Snafuzled · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, this was a delight! I was hesitant to read this because I’m generally not a fan of the unrequited love trope. However, I enjoy this author’s writing style so I figured I’d give it a chance. I’m glad I did!

It has three of my favorite things:

1. An eccentric book club that discusses orc porn.

2. A sexy pottery making scene.

3. FMC adopts an enormous, sassy tortoise. Did I know that an enormous, sassy tortoise was one of my favorite things? No, I did not. Now I do. 🐢

It was a bummer that the FMC kind of ghosts her friend group, but I got it. Sometimes you just have to put the oxygen mask on yourself first, kwim? Plus, if she hadn’t, Wesley (who was SUCH a dummy🤦‍♀️) would probably be living with that other girl right about now. It was only when he realized what he was losing that he pulled his head out of his bum.

This one left me with a smile on my face. (Authors, more tortoises please!) 🐢🐢🐢🐢

[Irene]

this girl is such a LOSERRRRRRR oh my god................................................................................... i aint even mad at him this much, jesus.

[Mona · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this story, it was funny, angsty, and sweet. I haven’t really read much books with the unrequited love /in love with best friend trope, so I found myself annoyed a bit with the fmc not mentioning to her “best friend” she was in love with him for years, then I was annoyed a bit with the mmc for having to be informed that he was in love with the fmc, and lastly, I was annoyed that after all these years
of unrequited love the mmc was now reaching out to the fmc and the fmc was denying him. But perhaps this is the trope so it was done right in that regard lol I wanted the mmc girlfriend to be a bitch or something glaringly assholery, maybe more pushy with the mmc about marriage. I don’t know , I just didn’t want to like her bc I did in the end.
I loved the book club ladies !! And the wooing of the tortoise was adorable.
When the MCs finally do the deed I found myself rolling my eyes with how the author wrote that bc I wanted it to be sweet/meaningful but it was porno-y and cliché with the “you’re mine / I’m yours”. I don’t mind this type of bumping uglies but son of a, not after years of being in love with someone-not that first time. 4 stars

My dog’s name is Rosie lol so every time I read the fmc’s name my dog’s face would pop up in my mind😄

[Sofia · Rating 2 out of 5]

So you’re telling me that Wesley was allowed to have a girlfriend he slept with her like it’s not even implied they straight up say it her but once he finds out that Rosie loves him and she’s trying to move on he comes to the realization that he’s in love with her and he loses his shit when she goes on date like. she doesn’t even sleep with one person not one. This is what I hate about unrequited love the MMC is allowed to sleep and hook up with other girls, but the FMC is never allowed to move on even if at the end she does end up with the MMC. I want the fmc to genuinely try moving on. The fmc is always the one that has to put up with the mmc having girlfriends and sleeping with other girls. Cause once the mcc realizes he’s in love with the fmc he does everything in his power to stop her from moving on. Even the friends were annoying here instead of supporting her in helping her move on they kept asked her if she was sure and that she should give Wes another chance. Blah blah blah

[JillyB · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rose and Wesley have been best friends since college. They spend most of their free time together. So it comes as a little bit of a surprise when Wesley has announced he has found the one…but her name is Caitlyn not Rose! You see Rose has been waiting for her chance with Wesley for years, but was in the dreaded friend zone. Their friends Megan and Lake have known for a long time that Rose has carried a torch for Wesley, but Wesley is blind. Wesley doesn’t understand why Rose is avoiding him or not showing up in the morning for coffee or hanging out with him for movie nights. Why do things have to change? She is just a friend. But our gal Rose has read enough romance to know that she is NOT going to be that girl bff that causes problems in a relationship. Maybe if Caitlyn had been a mean girl, but she isn’t, not at all. So Rose removes herself from the equation. It is time for her to start living a Wesley free life! She joins a book club with some funny quirky older ladies and adopts a rather unusual pet. The ladies start planning dates for her. Meanwhile, Wesley is getting more and more agitated by not seeing his best friend, and when he finds out she is intent on dating, that green eyed monster makes an appearance. It takes a while for Wesley to connect the dots, and he makes a few mistakes along the way, but once he figures it out he is all in!

So, if you are in the mood for some angst but are tired of the same old cheating hero to get it, then I would check this book out. Kris M Davey delivers a story full of heart, laughter, some smexy times, and those moments where you feel your heart breaking.

[Nivsreview · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wish if there was a zero star rating i would've given it that too.

This book's plot was utterly nonsense in my pov.

You telling me FMC & MMC are friends for 10 years, then MMC gets a GF, MMC gets jealous without confessing her feelings for him earlier and trying to make distance by avoiding him. And on top of it bringing in a pet and acting all like a break-up situation.

She got 10 years to confess but she didn't and now she's sad. Are you for real or what ???

Whereas MMC is shown being in love with her new gf, introducing her to the friend group, asking FMC to join them for the coffee mornings. Like seriously? Are you a child or that dump or what???

Then later when FMC starts to maintain a distance between them MMC gets all insecure and worried about losing a friendship over his own relationship.

His gf is telling him that he needs to understand but here he's being manchild.

Are you fucking kidding me?? Before when FMC was with MMC, he only saw her as friends but now that he sees that she's actually happy and living a life and trying to date, he suddenly started developing feelings for her?? WTF. Classic wow sooooo original plot.

I don't even have the energy to finish this book i literally read 70 pages of it and I'm done. There's nothing in this book that can make me want to continue reading it.

My suggestion is to just skip this book and save yourself.

[alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

☆⋆｡𖦹°‧★ Chasing Silhouettes☆⋆｡𖦹°‧★

🌷₊˚ෆ💖ෆ˚₊✨ ♡ THOUGHTS ♡ ✨₊˚ෆ💖ෆ˚₊🌷

“I’m not sure if that makes it worse or better. You know you spent the entire evening last night, waiting for one person, looking for one person, and very clearly thinking about one person. And I think that you should be with that person. We both know that person isn’t me.”

THE BUZZ 🥹🩷💖 I love best friends to lovers, especially when it has been unrequited for YEARS and everyone can tell they are in love except the two main characters. Wesley was clueless until Lake called him out. He couldn’t pinpoint why he was upset or why he couldn’t stop thinking about Rosie, but he realized it once she wasn’t in his day to day mundane life. HE MISSED HER 💞💖💓🩷. He missed Rosie coming over, her presence, and playing games. Even when he reassured Caitlin, his girlfriend, he could not explain why he was so upset when Rosie wasn’t around. He only truly felt at peace whenever she was there. These two were so deep in the friend zone they assumed it was normal to spend every moment together. He didn’t know what he had until he was on the verge of losing her. She called him Wes and asked for space. OH THIS HIT 🤭👏🏽.

“I swear, if you call me Wes, not Wesley, one more time, I might actually lose it.”

“I miss you, Rosie. This…I don’t really—uh, I don’t know what to say. I just miss you. It feels like things have shifted, and I feel it here.”

“And it’s really fucking unsettling. I feel unsettled.”

Wesley questioning how much Rosie loved him because she never said anything to him 👀🫩. PACK IT UP. It is BECAUSE she loves him that she never said anything. She would rather watch Wesley be with someone else because she wants him to be happy, even if it’s not with her. MY ROSIE GIRL. She always put Wes first. She always felt like all she was, Wesley’s best friend, so I was glad that she put distance between them and started dating. Even if none of those dates went well…SHE TRIED. She was putting in a real effort, meanwhile Wesley is going out of his mind because he realized what he was missing was right in front of him. These two went in a cycle of repeated arguments. Rosie didn’t trust that Wesley loved her because it took Lake convincing him. Wesley was upset that Rosie was going on dates, and he would have understood because it took him too long to realize he was in love. They just didn’t know how to communicate. They were SO avoidant, but it’s okay. I loved them.

“But it’s unfair to expect someone to act on feelings you were hiding. It’s unfair to hold that against him.”

What annoyed me was that:

1. People in her life sided with Wesley TOO MUCH and saw where he was coming from but didn’t give Rosie the same courtesy. They made it seem like she had some fault for never saying anything. They don’t realize she would rather have some part of Wesley than not at all. Rosie wasn’t mad because he didn’t reciprocate, she was coming to terms with that. She was HURT that he didn’t realize it on his own. While they did validate her feelings and experiences, it always turned back to how Wesley was TRYING and making an effort. Just because Rosie had ten years to process her feelings doesn’t make her mistrust of Wes’s feelings less valid. Then she felt guilt for distancing herself and being a bad friend. NO. She deserved that space to get a clear head and let Wesley realize what he had lost.

2. Rosie acted like she still had to go on that date and she was out here crying. Nobody was forcing her. She was already with Wes at this point like what was making her go 😭 she could’ve just said no at her grown age of 30 years old.

🌷₊˚ෆ💖ෆ˚₊✨ ♡ OVERALL ♡ ✨₊˚ෆ💖ෆ˚₊🌷

I’m a sucker for unrequited love and best friends who fall for each other and have been clueless the entire time!! Yes, there could have been less back and forth, but I don’t care. Wes realized he loved her and fought really hard and stopped being clueless. It was his turn to pine and yearn for her and watch her be with other people.

[Mel B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fair…but kinda boring.

**SPOILERS**

Rosie has loved Wesley since she met him in college. They’ve been BEST FRIENDS for ten years and it’s been the best and worst ten years of Rosie’s life. She has had to watch Wesley date and sleep with other woman while she just waits in the wings as his permanent friend zoned buddy. But when Wesley starts seriously dating Caitlin she knows she has to step back. Wesley and Caitlin spent all this time together and Caitlin talks about getting a key to his apartment. Rosie’s heart is broken. She begins not answering Wesley’s messages and texts. She buys a tortoise, joins a raunchy book club and starts living for herself.

Wesley is bewildered. He doesn’t understand why his best friend is pulling away from him. At first he’s annoyed that Rosie doesn’t seem to want to hang out with him and Caitlin, then he is seriously puzzled as she just kinda disappears from his life. Caitlin comes to him and breaks up with him, telling him he’s dense, and that he whispers Rosie’s name in his sleep. Wesley goes to his friend Lake who says, “seriously man, you’re in love with Rosie.” Wesley is flummoxed. At first he denies it, then he realizes he does love Rosie. He goes to her, but she’s dating now, and it’s breaking Wesley’s heart. He finally tells Rosie that Lake told him he’s in love with her and she yells at him and slams the door on his face (good girl). Lake tells him he’s an idiot. Tells him Rosie has loved him for ten years and has had to watch him date and have sexual relationships with other woman while he treated her as a buddy. He decides he has to woo Rosie. At first she’s resistant, she’s angry at him telling him he ignored her feelings for ten years. But he slowly breaks down her defenses. They begin to date and the book ends with them having been dating for six months.

**THOUGHTS/OPINIONS**

This book was kinda cute, and written fairly well. Lionel the tortoise was hysterical and the raunch book group ladies made me laugh. What I didn’t like…I thought the MMC Wesley was pretty pathetic. He friend zoned Rosie for ten years, talked about his girlfriends, and had her meet them (just cruel) and during this time treated her like furniture. Then when she pulls away and becomes independent and starts to date…he’s all upset and annoyed. He has no right to be annoyed. He’s a hypocrite and ridiculous! I kinda wished Rosie would’ve ended up with Rich Vincent (even though he tried to “buy” her on their first date) I kinda liked their interaction. But alas, it wasn’t to be. I get that Rosie had loved Wesley for ten years so when he comes a knocking she’s more than ready…but frankly with how Wesley acted I didn’t think he was worthy of Rosie. TEN YEARS of indifference and talking about his girlfriends I mean, seriously?!!! Enough is enough. Rosie should’ve found a good man and dated him for ten years to give Wesley a taste of his own medicine, lol!

[Shelley]

Not sure if I liked it. It could be a me thing. Maybe it’s my mood but the h was kind of a biarch to the H after he realised his feelings. I’m just unsure if it was justified…. Or if she was just being a petty biarch… because I couldn’t decide, I decided to DNF I might revisit it down the track

[Tessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was pretty entertained at the beginning but lost interest somewhere in the middle. I feel like it might be a me issue

[Meggi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book Clubs and Tortoises 🐢

Kris M Davey is one of the queens of second chance romance and angst. This had angst, but at heart was more of a romcom to me and it was just what I needed! It was just a feel good love story. I loved Wesley and Rosie from the very start and I loved their story. Watching Wesley come to the realization that the woman he loved was in front of him all along was comical and I laughed multiple times at his “bamboozlement” of his feelings, while the angst comes from Rosie, who always knew her feelings and was ready to let go. It was also refreshing that the OW was not villainized. She was genuinely likable.

The side characters were truly standouts, in particular Lionel the tortoise and the book club. I was laughing at their antics through out! They were such characters and so hilarious! I loved the way they kept crocheting pink bonnets and sweaters for the chompy tortoise. Lionel’s judgmental looks cracked me up! I even loved their friends!

This was just a beautiful friends to lovers tale and I loved it so much! It’s a keeper and one I will definitely be revisiting this one multiple times! I recommend it to anyone looking for a great friends to lovers story or anyone that just wants to smile! 💜

[I’m a Paula too… Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable…

Okay, while I loved the story I need to be clear that keeping a tortoise as a pet is NOT recommended. They have very strict environmental and dietary rules that need to be followed, and they also have long lifespans so succession plans are needed. Lionel was a cute character but don’t even consider this in real life. They can grow large enough to knock over fences and can dig large burrows in a yard.

Having said that, this story was both cute and heartbreaking. This couple met in college, and they’ve been best friends ever since. She’s in love, and he’s clueless. I think the real major issue here is that since he was clueless, he was dating and getting some, and she had to watch. Seriously I felt so bad for her. She should have left him years ago.

Anyway, it takes quite a a while because he’s really dumb about the whole relationship thing. In fact, he’s with another woman for a healthy part of the book. And sleeping with the OW.

KU and some minor editing issues but over all, this was a sweet read. Enjoyable!

[T · Rating 5 out of 5]

* Unrequited Romance
* Friends to Lovers
* Found Family
* FMC Rosie x MMC Wesley

Loved loved loved this book, it was light hearted, funny, full of love and absolutely relatable.

I absolutely adore the book club and the side characters are funny and make this book an easy read. It was light hearted and felt like a quick read but honestly don't think anything could be added.

The book focuses on two best friends who met in college, the FMC obviously is head over heels for the MMC who typically does not realise it.

What i loved about this is the focus on growth of the FMC and her other relationships with her friends and her courage to take on new things.

Favourite quote/message:

“Sometimes, we take an unpaved path to get home. It’s not always pretty. In fact, it’s messy, but we still get home all the same, you know?”

[SC Girlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable

Overall, I had a very positive experience with this book. I thought the plot was strong, and the characters were very well developed and easy to remember, though I will say I got a little mixed up with a few of the book club members, but still overall it was a great read.

The only thing I’d probably would say and the reason it’s not five stars is I really struggled to 100% believe in his love for her. There was something about his relationship with Kaitlyn that made me feel like he felt something for her that couldn’t be overshadowed that quickly. I think it was something about the running around and him chasing her scene and then picking her up and putting her on the counter and how he talked about her with absolute hearts in his eyes. It just sat Wrong for like 75% of the book. I just couldn’t move on or believe that he let go of her when it really seemed like he did love her. And then lastly I’m definitely an eye for an eye person and I know I’m probably in the minority of romance readers, but her having to see him be lovey-dovey and then knowing that he’s basically in bed with her while they’re practically living together and then him having to see her go on three bad dates is not equivalent in my book. She went through almost 10 years of heartache pining for this guy and I know she should’ve said something. I completely get that but the two sufferings are not equivalent at all. She went through way more and really just was put through the ringer with watching him be with Kaitlyn this last time. I would’ve preferred her half of had a nice casual hook up relationship with someone for a bit because it sure seemed like she just got all the nobody’s and then Wesley was the default almost. But again, those are just my personal preferences, but overall the story was good.

[SLR · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book left me feeling icky. 

I loved how Rosie (FMC) found and came into herself by expanding her social circle. The side characters were interesting: the ladies from the book club were sweet in how they looked out for her and Carol was hilarious.

I didn't like Wesley (MMC). He was a big, fat idiot. I hated how he went from being all over Caitlin (OW), saying she was wonderful and that they both wanted a serious relationship to nothing. I don't think he gave himself enough space and time to really examine his thoughts and feelings. He just threw himself into "being in love" with Rosie, because someone else told him he was in love with her! 

I think Rosie did herself a disservice as well by giving in too soon. She barely gave any of her dates a chance (granted, not all were great) because she was so hung up and focused on Wesley. She feared Wesley thought he was "in love with her" because he was afraid to lose her but I think she was more afraid that if she didn't give in too soon, he would move on and she would lose her chance with him. In my opinion, nothing was discussed thoroughly enough for her to make sure his feelings were genuine. 

[Linda Oldham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wesley and Rosie

It started out good but then just went flat. The story ended up dragging on and on with neither one of them admitting they had feelings, even for fiction it was unbelievable that after 10 years neither one of them told the other how they felt. By the time Wesley finally realized he loved her the story was almost over, then we only got around 15 pages of them actually being together. Then boom it just ended. Never found out if they got engaged or married. When a book ends abruptly it leaves the reader wondering why they even bothered reading it.
Honestly I was disappointed, usually the authors books are amazing but definitely not this one. I wouldn’t recommend it unless you don’t mind reading a boring story with no character growth. I will say there was some funny moments with the book club ladies but not anything exciting when it came to the main characters.

[Nikki ღ Navareus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I avoided this story for quite a while. I read somewhere on FB that the heroine was the "other woman" and that's not my favorite theme, so I avoided. But I finally decided to dive in, and man was I wrong. This sweetheart heroine wasn't the "OW" like I had imagined in my head. Rosie was SECRETLY and madly in love with her (many years long) best friend (the Hero) who recently found himself totally smitten with another woman. This sweet heroine (doing the right thing in her mind) pulled away from not only him, but their shared friend group. She wasn't being awful though. She had been secretly in love with her best friend for so many years. She had to pull away. It was a move of self preservation while she licked her wounds watching her best friend move on with his new love.

This story turns very cute and entertaining from this point on.

Rosie pulls away from her friend group, and decides the only way for her to get through this tough time is to stay extremely busy. She gets a pet. She get a second job. AND joins a book club. I LOVED Lionel. He was such a little (enormous) stinker! And I would seriously kill to be in a book club with the amazing women Rosie found in her new friend circle. They were the best.

It was fun experiencing Wesley come to realize he's actually in love with his best friend now that she's completely exited from his life and his circle of friends. He missed her so much, he became an emotional mess.

The story is sweet and adorable, with a whole cast of friends to envy. It was a very nice palate cleanser from all the gut punch/devastation stories I've been reading lately. I loved it all.

[☆Laura☆ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Para Wes, Rosie es como su playera vieja favorita: cómoda y reconfortante.

No hay comparación entre cómo describe a Rosie y cómo describe a Caitlin,su novia. Después de darse cuenta de que supuestamente la mujer a la que amaba era Rosie, esperaba que hablara de ella de la misma forma en que hablaba de Caitlin, me quede esperando.

Apenas conoció a Caitlin y ya estaba pensando en matrimonio.

Yo adoré a Rosie. Ella estuvo enamorada de Wesley durante diez años, pero nunca se lo dijo. Cuando lo ve con una novia seria, se pregunta qué habría pasado si hubiera confesado sus sentimientos. Sin embargo, solo lo piensa, también dice que jamás se metería en una relación ajena y que Caitlin era muy linda, así que nunca le haría algo así. Al final, acepta que fue su decisión quedarse con la duda y que tendrá que vivir con ello y superarlo.

Mientras tanto, el tipejo está feliz con su novia, convencido de que ella es la indicada y que se van a casar. Rosie les da espacio, primero por su salud mental y porque es momento de dejarlo ir y segundo por respeto a la relación y para que Caitlin no se sienta insegura. Entonces el muy idiota malinterpreta una situación, cree que Rosie también tiene novio y se enoja por eso. O sea, él sí puede ser feliz en pareja, pero Rosie tiene que quedarse soltera y disponible para él. El descaro.

Ese cambio tan abrupto de pasar de imaginar un futuro con Caitlin a darse cuenta de que amaba a Rosie se sintió forzado. Luego sale con que cuando la conoció sí le gustaba, pero que no estaba listo para una relación; después solo la veía como amiga, aunque en el fondo seguía viéndola como mujer. 🙄 Aja, ni el mismo se lo creía. Es que fue de risa como paso de decir que se casaría con C a según darse cuenta que a quien realmente amaba era a R, todo esto de una página para otra.

Ella anhelándolo durante diez años; él anhelándola durante una semana.

[Tania Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a read I enjoyed. The book centres on Rosie and her bff Wesley. Rosie, completely in love with Wesley, realises her unrequited love for him is going to go nowhere, decides to limit her involvement in Wesley's day to day life, especially with his more serious nature with his current girlfriend Caitlin, which is a full on involved relationship.

Wesley really is TSTL. Wesley flounders through relationships and we see him get involved emotionally and physically with Caitlin. Caitlin, wary of relationships where the bff is of the opposite gender, questions Wesley multiple times through the book on his feelings for Rosie, is consistently reassured that there is nothing more there than just good friends.

The story moves forward with Rosie getting on with her life, while we see Wesley become increasingly more at a loss of what is wrong, plodding along in his current relationship and falling apart emotionally.

This book has a good cast of supporting characters, whom can clearly see Rosie's love for Wesley, and Wesley's deeply hidden love for Rosie. Without these supporting characters I'm not sure Wesley would have ever realised where his true feelings lie.

I gave this four stars as I felt the HEA for Rosie and Wesley was forced through their friends rather than something Wesley would have gotten to with Rosie under his own steam.

[Khou Yang · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Rosie has been in love with her best friend Wesley for years. They have always dated other people casually and she's always been on the sidelines watching him silently. When he enters a new relationship, she decides she's done waiting for him to notice her feelings. She starts a new life without him, joining a book club (accidentally) and getting a pet tortoise. After being shut out, Wesley realizes that his feelings for her are more than friendship. Now he's wondering if he can save them and have the love he's always imagined.


I enjoyed the book. Kris does a great job in her books of making the man work for it. I was annoyed with Rosie cutting everyone in her friend group off because of a man. And she never told him how she felt, just expected him to see she was in love with him. Wesley is kind of oblivious the whole time, but once he realizes it? Oh man the thing she did for her. Joining her book club, learning about her tortoise, it was so good. The middle got a little boring but picked up again. The secondary characters were great. I loved the ladies in the book club. And Larry! Poor Larry! I would recommend this if you need an easy read, with little conflict.

[Barbara L. Knieff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unrequited Love and A Much Needed Wake Up Call

Kris M Davey’s books never disappoint. The characters are so well developed that you feel their heartache, angst, devastation and happiness. Basically, the story is of unrequited love with a happily ever after. When the female main character (FMC) realizes the one she loves, the main male character (MMC), will never love her back, she decides to move on and remove herself from the MMC’s life. That turns out to be just the wake-up call he needed to realize the love he was after was with him all along. Throw in an 200 lb tortoise, a book club that focuses more time on matchmaking then books and an endearing group of friends that only want the FMC and MMC to be happy and you’ve got yourself a great little love story. I’ve read the book three times. Once as a chapter by chapter work in progress, once as an advanced read copy and lastly the published version in Kindle Unlimited. I enjoyed the book each time I read it. Read the book, you won’t be disappointed. Ms Davey is a great author and I’m already looking forward to her next book.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

31 years old Rosie and Wes. Unrequited love.

Rosie has been in love with Wes for 10 years and never told him. Both dated other people, but when Wes wants to get serious with one girlfriend, Rosie finally tries to start letting go. She doesn’t actually ever let go or move on since this is the same time that Wes starts to see that he has feelings for her too.

It did make me sad that she pinned for him for 10 years while he was blissfully unaware. Even though Wes had a bit of retrospect and realized he may have actually had feelings for Rosie earlier he did live for his life as if she was just his friend. Though to be fair, this is Rosie’s fault because she never said anything and I did want to smack her on the head a couple times. But I get it she didn’t want to lose him.

As Rosie’s pulling away, Wes is pushing forward. He tries to woo her pet tortoise in order to get on her good side again.

Ends with HEA but no epilogue years later which I’m always a sucker for because I like to see a glimpse into their happy future.

Notes:
no cheating
no evil OW drama (but OW tension because Wes does have a serious girlfriend)
no descriptive sex scenes with other people

[Authentic Annalist · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unpopular Opinion But If You Are Going To Nuance A Cheater, Let His Cheated On Get A Bit Too. Cheating The Whole Time

This stunted Liberal and Conservative pretense that men like this don't know they are in a romantic relationship, annoys me.

He knows fine rightly hes gettinf everything he wants from a romantic relationship, just none of the commitment and sex.

Genuinely, I always hope the girl realises they are not only already in a romantic relationship, but that hes been happily cheating on her the whole time.

Men are very aware of the trauma bonds they make and stoke and starve when appropriate.

Especially the best friend trope.

Sorry ladies, he always knew, he just wanted to see how much you would let him dip.

The MMC always reads like a DARVO fantasy.

Men don't accidentally romantically bond with women and then get confused.

They are very emotional creatures, Male Supremacy affords them their emotions, where is denies a woman hers, and they know what they are doing.

Silly Colonial women let men pretend the problem is "miscommunicated ignorance" instead of Premeditated Arrogance.

[Gabriella Herman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh this book was BORING!!!!

I’m not gonna lie I was skimming…ALOT..I’m talking like every 5 or 6 chapters and you know what? I WAS NEVER LOST! That’s how little was happening.

I also sorry, did not buy his feelings for her whatsoever! I didn’t blame her for thinking he just didn’t wanna lose that stability cause I also thought that. And her? Listen I love a good grovel but only when it’s warranted and imo he didn’t do anything wrong so the constant rejecting him got old real fast and started rooting for him to move on. Like the fact he was begging her for weeks for a chance and she constantly shut him down and when their finally about to hook up he stops cause he wants to know she’s all in cause he doesn’t want it to be just a hookup and what does she do? CONTINUES TO GO ON THE BLIND DATES! Like honey I’m sorry but you’re lucky this guy didn’t have a backbone if that was me and I found out the person I liked was still going on dates after I’ve been begging for a chance for weeks I’d cut my losses and move on. And you know what? I just know if he did try to move on she’d get mad I just know

[Amy Mandell · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really like Rosie's character, but hated Wes. He had no personality and was so uninteresting. Also, there was zero chemistry between them, she had more with her friend Lake.

My favorite parts of the book were when Rosie set out on her own and finally started doing stuff for herself, joining book club, adopting Lionel, and working at the diner. If the book had just been her doing her thing and finding herself I would've loved it!

I disagree with what some other reviews are saying that she abandoned her friends when Wes got a girlfriend. She gave them space, it would've been weird if she kept their relationship as it was while he was seeing someone else and would've been super disrespectful to the new girl. Nothing wrong with taking space when you need it. This time also allowed her to spread her wings and do new things as mentioned above. I stopped about halfway when Wes couldn't just give her the space she requested, I just couldn't stand it anymore and had to stop reading.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

fighting feelings trope

I’m not a fan of unrequited love or hidden feeling or fighting the inevitable and most of all miscommunication. This book is all of those. The MCs have known each other for over a decade and everyone knows they love each other but the MMC is the only clueless one. The FMC tells the MMC everything except that she (at minimum) finds him attractive. This whole plot could have been resolved with a simple honest conversation.

She likes him but never says, is crushed cause he is living life without her, and then is mad at him once he is clued in and wants to be with her. The whole plot is based on immaturity and petulance and I don’t find that interesting. I like missed opportunity friends to lovers, or love epiphany friends to lovers, but not unrequited love or hidden affection. There has to be other things going on to carry the story this book didn’t have that. It was a lot of repetition about the FMC not speaking up and making the MMC a villain because of it.

[Sarah Wilvert · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it!!

This book was an absolute delight! Rosie’s wit and humor had me laughing out loud, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching her grow as a character. She ventured out, made new friends, and had experiences that transformed her into a better person. Wesley, while frustratingly clueless at times, managed to be charmingly so. Caitlin, the other woman, was refreshingly nice and not the typical villain, which was a pleasant surprise. I really hope she finds her own happily ever after—Wesley’s blunders are not her fault! Lionel was amazing and the journey Rosie had with him was perfect! Lionel added fantastic comic relief, and the book club ladies were a riot, tying the whole story together beautifully. I can’t wait till the next story! This heartwarming light read is a must-try

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unrequited friends to lovers at its best. Your heart breaks a little for Rosie in the beginning as she watches Wesley, her completely oblivious friend who she’s loved for years, get serious with another woman.
Wesley is truly clueless in understanding his feelings for Rosie and you will face palm more than once but it’s a struggle to be truly mad at this loveable goofball.
Rosie is determined to push herself through the heartache and ends up with a Lionel, some new friends and a book club of amazing women who are heartfelt, scandalous and laugh out loud funny.
Seeing Wesley realise his feelings and then his efforts to win over Rosie for their HEA is heartwarming and gives all the feel good fuzzies. A short, sweet and adorable romance with a little angst, many laughs and all the love 🥰🐢