The Bad Idea

The Warner Park Collection #2

by M. Anderson

Sharp banter, slow burn tension, and a rivalry that is starting to feel a lot like falling.

ELI
Aubrey drives me insane. He talks too loud, laughs too hard, and somehow manages to get under my skin every single time. I tell myself it is because he is obnoxious, because he is the last person I would ever want to spend time with. But then he lets me show up for movie nights, sitting too close, tossing popcorn at my face, and suddenly the silence between us starts feeling heavier than the noise. I should know better. I probably do. But every time he smiles, it stops mattering.

AUBREY
Eli is impossible. Broody, stubborn, and allergic to admitting he cares about anyone. I swore I would never fall for someone like him. Yet here I am, watching horror movies just to make him laugh and picking fights just to keep him talking. Somewhere between all the snark and late nights, something shifted. Now I am stuck wondering if we are still pretending to hate each other, or if his bad idea might actually be the best thing that has ever happened to me.

TOGETHER
As the line between rivalry and romance blurs, Eli and Aubrey must decide if they are brave enough to risk their friendship for something real. The Bad Idea is a fast-paced, dual-POV MM contemporary romance novella that explores messy dynamics, undeniable chemistry, and the courage it takes to be vulnerable.

What to Expect:

Genre: MM Contemporary Romance Novella
Tropes: Frenemies to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Slow Burn
Perfect for: Readers who love snarky but sweet rom-coms, cozy horror movie marathons, and emotionally guarded characters falling hard.
Outcome: A short, punchy journey of healing with mild heartfelt spice and a deeply satisfying Happily Ever After.

Genres: M M Romance, New Adult, Contemporary, Enemies To Lovers, Romance, Gay

Unknown Binding

About the author

M. Anderson (or just Em) writes spicy, heartfelt MM romance for readers who crave "squishy," feel-good love stories that still pack a serious emotional punch. Whether you are looking for the laugh-out-loud humor of her earlier works or the deep, soul-stirring emotions of her latest releases, Em’s books are grounded in cozy, character-driven charm.

She got her start building a community of dedicated readers on Wattpad, where she discovered her passion for writing flawed, highly relatable characters. Today, her books explore the healing power of nature, found family, and love in all its messy, beautiful forms—taking readers on journeys from slow-burn childhood romances to darker forbidden loves.

Em doesn't just write her stories, she is also an artist. She illustrates her own book covers and creates custom artwork for her worlds, allowing readers to fully immerse themselves alongside characters who feel like old friends.

Click the "Follow" button for updates on her new releases! You can also see the artwork that goes with the stories and connect with Em at authormanderson dot com, or author.m.anderson on IG and TT.

Reviews

[Natalie]

Aubrey & Eli
Rating: 3.7⭐

- Frenemies to Lovers
- Forced Proximity
- Hurt/Comfort
- Movie Dates
- Barista/Car Mechanic
- Found Family
- Bilingual Bonding
- Chaos

These two have been apart of the same friend group for like ten years. From the start, these two were attracted to each other but start off on the wrong foot due to their crushes on two of the other friends in the group. Stepping on toes and all that.

Their crushes end up in a relationship together, throwing both of them into a funk. There was a big blowout between these two on Aubrey's 25th birthday, which creates even more tension in the group for the next two years. Eli, in his intoxicated state, decides that him and Aubrey are going to get over their crushes together. He forces his way into Aubrey's space so they can have weekly movie nights where they grumble together over their losses. This story is about these two finding friendship and comfort in each other, which baffles them both.

There are some really sweet moments in here, especially the dancing in the living room scenes. That twist at the end came out of left field, not sure how I feel about it really.

Content Warnings (may contain spoilers):
- Graphic sexual content between consenting adults
- Explicit language
- Mentions physical/mental/emotional abuse
- Toxic best friend
- Emotional manipulation
- Drug and alcohol use
- Betrayals and secrets

Verse: No
HEA: Yes
POV: Dual
Breakup: No
Cheat: No
OM/OW Drama: Yes, both are getting over their previous crushes in the friend group.
Ages: 27 & 28

[Tamára]

DNF
não tive paciência. muito childish para mim. 🙄🙄

[Maureen]

Apologies to the author but this irritated me a little, maybe I'm getting too old for multiple characters stories, I just couldn't get through it.

[Anushka Bagde]

Eli and Aubrey broke me in the best possible way with how raw and vulnerable and explosive they were. This book does contain mentions of trauma, stress related to work and finances, grief, emotional burnout among others so take caution if you believe you may get overwhelmed with these. I will keep it as spoiler free as I can but this book was beautiful and I want to share what made me fall so deeply for Eli and Aubrey. Their charm, their rapid back and forth, their playful banter and interactions? All of that and more! Both have gone through such hard times and continue to go through them and I was just enraptured with their connection. We see them in the last book and I had it from then itself that they had something and I was further convinced in this book. They both wear their hearts on their sleeves with the ones they care about and seeing them become family to each other made me cry so much because that's what they became. The struggles within their friend group pushed them together and made them each other's family. They are able to be seen by the other in a way that feels kind of precious to see as it comes to be. I loved all their quiet and sweet moments together, their dancing and laughter and so much more. How they unknowingly meet the invisible desires of the others hearts. Their turmoil is chaotic but there is an order to it which speaks volumes of quiet devotion. Life is messy and chaotic and we can't be perfect and Eli and Aubrey's pairing embraces that amidst all the seemingly perfect and unyielding ideals of some of those around them. Eli and Aubrey are my favorite couple from this series which isn't to say I don't like the others but they have a piece of my heart that has been forever changed.

[Selena]

This story was pure chaos in the best and worst way. Eli and Aubrey are both all over the place in their own way. They have been in the same friend group for a decade and can't stand each other. Mutual heartbreak because of unrequited love within the group makes them bond and slowly open up to each other. Until their movie nights turn into dates and their hatred turns into love and obsession.

This was a slow burn with some miscommunication along the way. I also iabsolutely detested Aubrey's very toxic "best friend", who's also the one he was hung up on. I didn't particularly like the friend group as a whole.

Several times while reading I asked myself how Aubrey managed to get to his late twenties, because he felt quite incapable at surviving at times.

It was a fun read, but the amount of times I rolled my eyes or was annoyed (especially at their drinking) keeps me from giving four or five stars.

What you get
- one friend group
- unrequited love
- toxic friends
- absolutely chaotic MMCs
- movie nights to get over heartbreak (with lots of alcohol)
- slow burn to obsession

📖 The Bad Idea by M. Anderson
Rating 3.75⭐

#reading #bookstagram #review #mmnovella #enemiestoloversslowburn

[Bel]

This felt really wattpady.
This is like what a 13yo thinks an adult life is. Drama, yearn/crush that goes wrong and a frenemies to lovers. A little police chase and then nothing more.

It was really uncomfortable to read tho, for the way somethings a structured/established. It felt like the author said "let's put a bunch of random scenes together and that's it" at the beginning of this book.
Some chapters seemed to just be put in there with no reason. Could be better if the flashbacks were integrated in chapters about the present time, instead of doing it separately.

At some point it was shown that Todd talked badly about Elijah to Aubrey, but that never came to a conclusion/resolution. I definitely wish that there was a little scene of them talking it out.

About the characters, I liked them both, but at the same time they acted randomly strange, like I didn't catch the personality of either. Sometimes seemed like Eli was just rude or over the top, but that's just him being extra???? I guess. I liked Aubrey more def

Overall it was a very easy read, took me like 1 day to finish it. For a short story, this was ok I guess. I'm eager to see this author grow with its audience.

[Sissa]

"Son, do you know why romantic shit is even romantic in the first place? Because you're puttin' yourself on the line for someone. It's supposed to feel fuckin' dumb. It's supposed to feel stupid, and unnecessary, and over the top. You're showin' someone that they matter more to you than the risk of bein' made fun, of or gettin' rejected.
You're puttin' your heart on the line.
That's exactly what makes it romantic for them. So just fuckin' do it."
—————————-
“Your crazy is what my crazy always needed”

[Tina Turner]

I absolutely love this book!

I was so angry that I started this book and had to stop because of work! I didn’t want to put it down. I’ve accomplished nothing this evening because as soon as I got home I went straight to reading. Eli and Aubrey such a great love story. Love is love…I loved the building of their relationship and the way it continued. I loved how they were just what each other needed. I didn’t want the story to end. Great read!

[han :)]

I did really like the way Eli and Aubrey became friends, lots of sweet moments, but damn they have a seriously toxic friend group.

anyways DNF at 63%, as soon as I saw the classic AI sentence structure I had to stop 🙃

also, you’re going to write bilingual characters, please consult a native/fluent speaker to make sure the translations are correct… why are tou vousvoie-ing and tutoie-ing your friend in the same sentence?

[J*ay*yo*J]

Eli was too much of a jerk for me to enjoy the story. He was portrayed as this psycho yet sounded rather normal when I finally got to his chapters, it was just jarring how manic he was from Aubrey POV. They were both a mess tbh.

I don’t rate for dnf but I really disliked whatever I managed to read though.

[Sophie]

No you accidentally started this wattpad book in the middle of the workday and maybe have been reading it all day. Thought it was awesome, except for the “twist” at the very end but otherwise perf. Great pining! And great art!

[Hannah]

This is what I call easy, cheesy romance. Was the writing great? No. Was the editing perfect? No. But that’s not what I read these types of books for. It was a sweet little love story about a sweet couple and I really enjoyed it. I just love reading about love

[Deborah A.]

The best

Such a great combination of sad and happy moments. Loved Eli and Aubrey’s bantering throughout the story. Hated how Todd treated Aubrey. The camp chats were the funniest and most hurtful at times.

[Syd]

What in the Wattpad was that…

[Ashlee Stevenson]

This was a great way to show that you can get over someone by getting under someone else 🤣totally just kidding. But it was a really good book with enemies to lovers in the cutest way. Both guys did not want to be nice to the other like at all 🤣but thankfully they did and it became the cutest love story. Still pretty mad at Todd and Wayne but I guess every story needs a villian.

[unhingedreaderaunt]

M. Anderson very kindly gave me an ARC of her upcoming holiday romance Snow for the Holidays (review to come!) featuring these two MC’s, so of course I had to read up on where they got started! I loved this. I really vibe with Em’s writing style, and her characters are lifelike, messy, and real. Highly recommend!