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The Rochesters #2
Best Friends With The Billionaire
When an innocent deal between friends turns sinful...
Cassie Cooper has never been the kind of girl noticed for her looks. But around billionaire Kirk Rochester, her best friend from college, Cassie wishes she could turn just one head--his. So when Kirk asks her to be his pretend girlfriend to thwart another woman's unwanted advances, Cassie embraces the opportunity to prove to him that she does have a feminine side.
Disillusioned by a rough marriage that had an even rougher end, Kirk values friendship more than romance. He's always had a good thing going with Cassie. But he can't ignore how sexy she is now playing the role of his girlfriend, and soon he's fighting a dangerous attraction to her. Even though their time between the sheets is scorching hot, he refuses to take it beyond " friends with benefits." He's learned the hard way that loving someone is the first step to destroying his heart, and he won't risk losing the best person in his life by falling in love with her.
The Rochesters
Book 0: When the CEO Calls amazon.com/dp/B00NKGRQ3A
Book 1: Undercover in the CEO's Bed amazon.com/dp/B00K48N94M
Book 2: Best Friends with the Billionaire
Cassie Cooper has never been the kind of girl noticed for her looks. But around billionaire Kirk Rochester, her best friend from college, Cassie wishes she could turn just one head--his. So when Kirk asks her to be his pretend girlfriend to thwart another woman's unwanted advances, Cassie embraces the opportunity to prove to him that she does have a feminine side.
Disillusioned by a rough marriage that had an even rougher end, Kirk values friendship more than romance. He's always had a good thing going with Cassie. But he can't ignore how sexy she is now playing the role of his girlfriend, and soon he's fighting a dangerous attraction to her. Even though their time between the sheets is scorching hot, he refuses to take it beyond " friends with benefits." He's learned the hard way that loving someone is the first step to destroying his heart, and he won't risk losing the best person in his life by falling in love with her.
The Rochesters
Book 0: When the CEO Calls amazon.com/dp/B00NKGRQ3A
Book 1: Undercover in the CEO's Bed amazon.com/dp/B00K48N94M
Book 2: Best Friends with the Billionaire
169 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 25, 2016
40 people are currently reading
466 people want to read
About the author
Coleen Kwan
31 books159 followersColeen Kwan writes contemporary and steampunk romance for Carina Press and Entangled Publishing.
Coleen has been a bookworm all her life. At school English was her favorite subject, but for some reason she decided on a career in IT. After many years of programming, she wondered what else there was in life — and discovered writing. She loves writing contemporary romance and steampunk romance.
Coleen lives in Sydney, Australia with her partner and two children. When she isn’t writing she enjoys avoiding housework, eating chocolate, and watching The Office.
Coleen has been a bookworm all her life. At school English was her favorite subject, but for some reason she decided on a career in IT. After many years of programming, she wondered what else there was in life — and discovered writing. She loves writing contemporary romance and steampunk romance.
Coleen lives in Sydney, Australia with her partner and two children. When she isn’t writing she enjoys avoiding housework, eating chocolate, and watching The Office.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
April 19, 2020
3.7 Stars
May 11, 2016
3.5 stars
Best Friends With The Billionaire was an OK read.
While the writing and storyline was good, I failed to connect with the characters which in turn affected my overall enjoyment. Friends to more is one of my fav romance's and it makes me sad that I didn't enjoy Best Friends With The Billionaire was much as I was expecting.
Overall Best Friends With The Billionaire was a nice afternoon's read.
Thank you Entangled Indulgence via NetGalley for the advance copy.
Best Friends With The Billionaire was an OK read.
While the writing and storyline was good, I failed to connect with the characters which in turn affected my overall enjoyment. Friends to more is one of my fav romance's and it makes me sad that I didn't enjoy Best Friends With The Billionaire was much as I was expecting.
Overall Best Friends With The Billionaire was a nice afternoon's read.
Thank you Entangled Indulgence via NetGalley for the advance copy.
March 23, 2016
This is my first book by Coleen Kwan. I was pretty excited to get my hands on Best Friends with the Billionaire because the whole billionaire-romance sub-genre has been growing on me. This one was okay ... it didn't knock it out of the park for me but it wasn't the worst thing I've ever read.
From the very first page, Cassie was NOT my favorite leading lady. Unfortunately, the book ended and I was left with the same feelings. This girl may have a tiny shred of tenacity but she was a damn doormat, no matter how you look at it. Her character just rubbed me the wrong way, actually. Cassie is written as this super tall woman whom no one really notices because she's a tomboy. Nothing wrong with being a tomboy! But there is something wrong with the book reading as if this character deserved to be invisible BECAUSE she's a tomboy and 6-foot tall. What? The book never said this outright but it was the feeling that I repeatedly got while reading this book. Cassie also behaved like a victim at times also. Something that seemed out of the blue but on the same note, it seemed right up her character's alley since she let people (everyone she knows) walk all over her.
Kirk was an okay character. He was nothing to write home about. Actually, before I wrote this review, I had to thumb through the book again to get a handle on who he was. Coming from someone who reviews books a lot ... that's not a good thing. My worst nightmare when reading a book is to have characters that are not memorable. I want characters to haunt my thoughts hours and days after I read them. I want to put the book down and immediately call my best friend to tell her about this amazing book and the awesome characters. That just didn't happen this time.
The meat of the book wasn't too bad. I enjoyed chemistry between the two characters that I didn't care for. At least there was chemistry and at least the story between Kirk and Cassie was entertaining. I was always excited to see what was going to happen next, I was just always wishing that it was happening to people that I liked, you know?
I will probably pick up another book by Kwan in the future. The plot of the book was so good that I have hope I just read this one wrong or something and the next book I read by this author will be amazing. I just hope that next time, the characters can hold their own against the plot in order to form an even stronger story.
* I received this novel in exchange for an honest review *
Check out more of my reviews at Little Miss Bookmark!
April 12, 2016
Pretty typical besties to lovers story with no real surprises. Cassie has been aware of an attraction far longer than Kirk. Kirk is seeing her in a romantic light gradually and is confused by the emotions. They, of course, resist the pull but still manage some steamy hanky panky. Wait. Did I really just write "hanky panky"? @.@ lol. The writing was well done. The characters were likeable. There honestly wasn't anything that said Kirk is a billionaire except for the explicit mention and even that was mostly about his family. No tastes or habits really that stated affluence. If you would've said he was a regular dude with a regular job, I wouldn't have batted an eye. That just made it seem to me like a hitch on the "billionaire" bandwagon. All in all it was a solid three for me with a kudos to the writing. The characters and plot just didn't win me over. Not to say that it was bad or anything, I just wasn't wowed either. Safety: No rape/abuse/sharing/OM/OW. Neither are virgins and I'm pretty sure I remember them wrapping it up.
ARC received in exchange for an honest review.
ARC received in exchange for an honest review.
April 24, 2016
DNF. boreddddd
February 20, 2017
3.5 Star read.
Cassie and Kirk are best friends from college, sharing a house, a love of sports, foods and movies-best friends. And that's just the way he sees her. Cassie is tall, rather athletic and low maintenance. She's returned home from living in Australia to attend her extremely high maintenance's sister's wedding. Between the sister and the mother, I wasn't sure who was worse. They treated Cassie like dirt.
Cassie left California for Australia when Kirk married another wealthy girl, wealth marries wealth. And they don't marry girls who are 6 ft tall. Cassie nurses her wounds there, working for her Aunt and Uncle and has a great job. She returns back only once, to attend Kirk's wife's funeral.
The story opens as they have dinner together. Cassie is a little stand offish, Kirk picks up on it a little he completely understands the issues with her mother and sister and even offers to let her live with him while she's there. As things turn out that night, she ends up staying with him.
Cassie is understandably sensitive to the open and blatant criticism by her mother and sister. Kirk isn't any help when he comments she looks "nice" and deems her acceptable. He's courting a businessman and in order to get the daughter off his back asks Cassie to be his make believe girlfriend. Cassie turns every head in the place and Kirk almost swallows his tongue, but he doesn't say a word. Meanwhile, these two have kissed and are headed down the path to no return, Kirk gets Cassie revved up and himself, then totally runs the other way and shuts down. Right in front of her.
It's about at this point, I've had it with Kirk. These are two adults (supposed) who behave no better than middle school kids. Kirk also absolutely refuses to discuss his marriage with her and isn't always nice about his response to her. She thinks it's because he's still in love with the wife, a little truth would have gone a long way here.
She endures a lot of crap prior to her sisters wedding, Kirk realizes he's upset Cassie and drives to Carmel to get her. (one of the first of his very gone wrong errors), they manage to talk some things through and consummate their friendship, I can't even use the word relationship because clearly it wasn't one. Things just prior to the wedding go from bad to worse and Cassie moves out of Kirks house; she realizing he's hurt her once too many times. (WAKE THE HELL UP) She's goes home to her Mothers the day before the wedding where her mother begrudgingly tells her she has to bunk with her sister on the sofa bed, but not to stress out her sister. Her mother is more concerned that Cassie couldn't patch things up with Kirk because he's a Rochester. Rochester = money, status etc. Kirk doesn't live that way, but her mother's warped sense of values... enough said. When her sister comes home to Cassie crying and Cassie spills the story, her sister gets angry. Which was slightly redeeming on her part. When Kirk realizes Cassie is gone, he drinks himself into a stupor and blows his business deal. Cassie was again, part of that deal and she's sick of being someone's bargaining chip. Kirk's cousin Lex steps in to salvage things. Lex was ok (not) in the first book... we didn't see much of him here. What we did see was decent, he's married and so he gets it now. He tries to tell Kirk.... yeah but Kirk is an ass.
Kirk pretty much blew the book for me. Right from the beginning he was self serving and focused on himself. "Let's catch up" Sure, that's what you say to your best friend after 7 years. The person who was like an appendage. He treats her lightly and makes her a chip, even though he doesn't go for the low blows like her mother and sister do verbally, he doesn't have to. His actions undermine and contradict any little bit of confidence this woman has/ had after trying to put him behind her. His mixed messages and the rest of the bad behaviors he pulled were downright despicable. Granted he hurt himself too, but frankly I didn't care. Cassie deserved better. He made it a point never to live or act entitled but there are many ways to do that that have nothing to do with money and his was acting like he deserved her and he could do as he pleased. He should have walked away until he got his proverbial sh** together, and explained himself. There's nothing wrong with telling the other person I don't know, instead of spinning some bs story that only hurts them. The one thing I will say is that he was consistent in his behavior; that of a jackass. Misgivings, you bet. I had a billion of them.
**arc from NetGalley and Entangled for a fair review**
Cassie and Kirk are best friends from college, sharing a house, a love of sports, foods and movies-best friends. And that's just the way he sees her. Cassie is tall, rather athletic and low maintenance. She's returned home from living in Australia to attend her extremely high maintenance's sister's wedding. Between the sister and the mother, I wasn't sure who was worse. They treated Cassie like dirt.
Cassie left California for Australia when Kirk married another wealthy girl, wealth marries wealth. And they don't marry girls who are 6 ft tall. Cassie nurses her wounds there, working for her Aunt and Uncle and has a great job. She returns back only once, to attend Kirk's wife's funeral.
The story opens as they have dinner together. Cassie is a little stand offish, Kirk picks up on it a little he completely understands the issues with her mother and sister and even offers to let her live with him while she's there. As things turn out that night, she ends up staying with him.
Cassie is understandably sensitive to the open and blatant criticism by her mother and sister. Kirk isn't any help when he comments she looks "nice" and deems her acceptable. He's courting a businessman and in order to get the daughter off his back asks Cassie to be his make believe girlfriend. Cassie turns every head in the place and Kirk almost swallows his tongue, but he doesn't say a word. Meanwhile, these two have kissed and are headed down the path to no return, Kirk gets Cassie revved up and himself, then totally runs the other way and shuts down. Right in front of her.
It's about at this point, I've had it with Kirk. These are two adults (supposed) who behave no better than middle school kids. Kirk also absolutely refuses to discuss his marriage with her and isn't always nice about his response to her. She thinks it's because he's still in love with the wife, a little truth would have gone a long way here.
She endures a lot of crap prior to her sisters wedding, Kirk realizes he's upset Cassie and drives to Carmel to get her. (one of the first of his very gone wrong errors), they manage to talk some things through and consummate their friendship, I can't even use the word relationship because clearly it wasn't one. Things just prior to the wedding go from bad to worse and Cassie moves out of Kirks house; she realizing he's hurt her once too many times. (WAKE THE HELL UP) She's goes home to her Mothers the day before the wedding where her mother begrudgingly tells her she has to bunk with her sister on the sofa bed, but not to stress out her sister. Her mother is more concerned that Cassie couldn't patch things up with Kirk because he's a Rochester. Rochester = money, status etc. Kirk doesn't live that way, but her mother's warped sense of values... enough said. When her sister comes home to Cassie crying and Cassie spills the story, her sister gets angry. Which was slightly redeeming on her part. When Kirk realizes Cassie is gone, he drinks himself into a stupor and blows his business deal. Cassie was again, part of that deal and she's sick of being someone's bargaining chip. Kirk's cousin Lex steps in to salvage things. Lex was ok (not) in the first book... we didn't see much of him here. What we did see was decent, he's married and so he gets it now. He tries to tell Kirk.... yeah but Kirk is an ass.
Kirk pretty much blew the book for me. Right from the beginning he was self serving and focused on himself. "Let's catch up" Sure, that's what you say to your best friend after 7 years. The person who was like an appendage. He treats her lightly and makes her a chip, even though he doesn't go for the low blows like her mother and sister do verbally, he doesn't have to. His actions undermine and contradict any little bit of confidence this woman has/ had after trying to put him behind her. His mixed messages and the rest of the bad behaviors he pulled were downright despicable. Granted he hurt himself too, but frankly I didn't care. Cassie deserved better. He made it a point never to live or act entitled but there are many ways to do that that have nothing to do with money and his was acting like he deserved her and he could do as he pleased. He should have walked away until he got his proverbial sh** together, and explained himself. There's nothing wrong with telling the other person I don't know, instead of spinning some bs story that only hurts them. The one thing I will say is that he was consistent in his behavior; that of a jackass. Misgivings, you bet. I had a billion of them.
**arc from NetGalley and Entangled for a fair review**
February 10, 2024
Friends to roommates to lovers to stalkers to whatever they are
The main female lead is such a maddening character.MMCis rich, FMC's family is social climbers. They are friends from college onwards, he saw her as one of the guys, she carried a torch for him.
He got married to another rich society girl, she got cancer when they were thinking about separation. She dies. Everybody thought he was heartbroken, but in actuality he was grieving the friendship he formed with his wife during her last days.
FMC and MMC had drifted apart during his marriage.Once soon after his wifes death, he kissed FMC and called out his wifes name but he has no recollection of any of it.
FMC is in Australia and came home for her sister's wedding. Both her mom and her sister bully her into losing weight and shames her for her figure.
She moves to MMCs house for the time being.
She lies that she had an ex named Russell to make him jealous, but actually Russell is her gay friend. The leads began dating but things get complicated when Russell comes to US to meet her (he broke up with his boyfriend ).
Mmc mistook Russell and FMC's relationship and they breakup.Finally he realise his mistake and gets back together.
The last part of the book was just sloppy writing. I didn't enjoy it at all. I wrote this detailed review so that i won't read this book again upon being curious about what it was.
Its a Meh book
The main female lead is such a maddening character.MMCis rich, FMC's family is social climbers. They are friends from college onwards, he saw her as one of the guys, she carried a torch for him.
He got married to another rich society girl, she got cancer when they were thinking about separation. She dies. Everybody thought he was heartbroken, but in actuality he was grieving the friendship he formed with his wife during her last days.
FMC and MMC had drifted apart during his marriage.Once soon after his wifes death, he kissed FMC and called out his wifes name but he has no recollection of any of it.
FMC is in Australia and came home for her sister's wedding. Both her mom and her sister bully her into losing weight and shames her for her figure.
She moves to MMCs house for the time being.
She lies that she had an ex named Russell to make him jealous, but actually Russell is her gay friend. The leads began dating but things get complicated when Russell comes to US to meet her (he broke up with his boyfriend ).
Mmc mistook Russell and FMC's relationship and they breakup.Finally he realise his mistake and gets back together.
The last part of the book was just sloppy writing. I didn't enjoy it at all. I wrote this detailed review so that i won't read this book again upon being curious about what it was.
Its a Meh book
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 8, 2017
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Cassie Cooper is a six foot, athletic girl/ woman who works in construction. When she was in college she house-shared with a group of guys, including Kirk Rochester. Kirk is the billionaire of the title. Cassie has always been hopelessly in love with Kirk but she doesn't fit into the group of girls that he dated, she's certainly nothing like his late wife Alison, so she has settled for being Kirk's best friend. After Kirk got married Cassie fled to Australia where she works for her uncle's firm. When Kirk's wife died of cancer two years ago something happened between Cassie and Kirk, something so humiliating that she has never spoken about it.
Now Cassie's younger sister is getting married so she has returned to San Francisco for the wedding and to try to connect to her petite, girly sister and mother one more time.
Kirk has missed his best friend, he doesn't know why she left so suddenly, or why she decided to move to Australia. All he knows is that love isn't real and he never wants to fall in love or get married again, friendship is much better, especially with someone as open and honest as Cassie.
When Kirk needs assistance landing a business deal, and avoiding the lascivious daughter of his potential business partner, he asks Cassie to pretend to be his fake girlfriend. At first Cassie refuses, especially when Kirk suggests she moves into his house, but after she makes yet another mistake and upsets her mother (probably by eating more than a lettuce leaf for dinner), Cassie runs to Kirk's house - it's either that or live with one of her mother's neighbours!
As Cassie struggles to find any kind of acceptance from her family she and Kirk begin to reconnect, but with the events of two years ago ever present in Cassie's mind, and Kirk's disastrous marriage making him wary of love, can something ever come of this, or are Cassie and Kirk just friends with benefits?
I requested this book because the cover looked like Jenny Holiday's 49th Floor series of novels which I adored and I wasn't disappointed. Kirk may have been a billionaire but he was hard-working and he tried to ignore his family wealth. Cassie might spend most of her days in baggy t-shirts and jeans but she isn't an ugly duckling, she can wear heels and make-up on occasion.
Coleen Kwan is a new name to me but I found her romance to be believable and engaging, I want Cassie to be my best friend and I wouldn't mind Friday night beers with Kirk and his friends either.
Recommended for fans of Jenny Holiday and anyone who likes a friends to lovers trope - now I'm off to search for previous books by Ms Kwan.
Cassie Cooper is a six foot, athletic girl/ woman who works in construction. When she was in college she house-shared with a group of guys, including Kirk Rochester. Kirk is the billionaire of the title. Cassie has always been hopelessly in love with Kirk but she doesn't fit into the group of girls that he dated, she's certainly nothing like his late wife Alison, so she has settled for being Kirk's best friend. After Kirk got married Cassie fled to Australia where she works for her uncle's firm. When Kirk's wife died of cancer two years ago something happened between Cassie and Kirk, something so humiliating that she has never spoken about it.
Now Cassie's younger sister is getting married so she has returned to San Francisco for the wedding and to try to connect to her petite, girly sister and mother one more time.
Kirk has missed his best friend, he doesn't know why she left so suddenly, or why she decided to move to Australia. All he knows is that love isn't real and he never wants to fall in love or get married again, friendship is much better, especially with someone as open and honest as Cassie.
When Kirk needs assistance landing a business deal, and avoiding the lascivious daughter of his potential business partner, he asks Cassie to pretend to be his fake girlfriend. At first Cassie refuses, especially when Kirk suggests she moves into his house, but after she makes yet another mistake and upsets her mother (probably by eating more than a lettuce leaf for dinner), Cassie runs to Kirk's house - it's either that or live with one of her mother's neighbours!
As Cassie struggles to find any kind of acceptance from her family she and Kirk begin to reconnect, but with the events of two years ago ever present in Cassie's mind, and Kirk's disastrous marriage making him wary of love, can something ever come of this, or are Cassie and Kirk just friends with benefits?
I requested this book because the cover looked like Jenny Holiday's 49th Floor series of novels which I adored and I wasn't disappointed. Kirk may have been a billionaire but he was hard-working and he tried to ignore his family wealth. Cassie might spend most of her days in baggy t-shirts and jeans but she isn't an ugly duckling, she can wear heels and make-up on occasion.
Coleen Kwan is a new name to me but I found her romance to be believable and engaging, I want Cassie to be my best friend and I wouldn't mind Friday night beers with Kirk and his friends either.
Recommended for fans of Jenny Holiday and anyone who likes a friends to lovers trope - now I'm off to search for previous books by Ms Kwan.
March 8, 2016
Cassie has been in love with her best friend since they met in college 7 years ago. She moved away to Australia when he got married, to try to get over him. Now she's back in town for her sister's wedding and when she sees him all those feelings start coming right back to her. Kirk is now a widower and he's starting to see Cassie in a new light. He convinces her to pretend to be his girlfriend to help keep women off of his back, but the more time they spend together the more they both start to feel the chemistry between them. Eventually they begin a friends-with-benefits arrangement but Cassie wants more and Kirk isn't sure he wants to open himself up to a relationship again.
I tried really hard to like this one but I hated both of the MCs! Cassie lets everyone walk all over her and continually insult her without ever saying anything. Kirk treats Cassie awful multiple times and she lets him get away with it because she wants him so much. She came off as completely weak and it bothered me. I would have loved to see her grow a little as the story went on and let everyone have it, but she never really did. This one just wasn't a "win" for me, sorry
** I received an ARC of this title via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. **
I tried really hard to like this one but I hated both of the MCs! Cassie lets everyone walk all over her and continually insult her without ever saying anything. Kirk treats Cassie awful multiple times and she lets him get away with it because she wants him so much. She came off as completely weak and it bothered me. I would have loved to see her grow a little as the story went on and let everyone have it, but she never really did. This one just wasn't a "win" for me, sorry
** I received an ARC of this title via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. **
April 25, 2016
A nice read, but I didn’t like as much as I wanted.
We have Cassie and Kirk, best friends for years, but never lovers. Cassie has loved him for years, but to not ruin the friendship, and seeing that Kirk isn’t interested, she says nothing.
Not sure what it was, but their friendship felt a little off at times. Like, I never truly believed they were BFFs. They hid way too much from each other to be that. Because of this, I could also never really see them as lovers. Something was off between them, and I wasn’t really into them.
It also bothered me that Cassie let everyone in her life walk all over her, even Kirk at times. I don’t know, I wanted her to grow a pair and tell her mom and sister off. I also never really believed them when they actually cared for her, it felt it came out of nowhere, tbh.
All in all, though, the story is well written, and I like this author, so I’ll continue to read her stories. It just this one in particular didn’t really satisfy me, even when there were some good moments here and there.
*Thank you to Entangled Publishing for providing an ARC in exchange of my honest opinion*
We have Cassie and Kirk, best friends for years, but never lovers. Cassie has loved him for years, but to not ruin the friendship, and seeing that Kirk isn’t interested, she says nothing.
Not sure what it was, but their friendship felt a little off at times. Like, I never truly believed they were BFFs. They hid way too much from each other to be that. Because of this, I could also never really see them as lovers. Something was off between them, and I wasn’t really into them.
It also bothered me that Cassie let everyone in her life walk all over her, even Kirk at times. I don’t know, I wanted her to grow a pair and tell her mom and sister off. I also never really believed them when they actually cared for her, it felt it came out of nowhere, tbh.
All in all, though, the story is well written, and I like this author, so I’ll continue to read her stories. It just this one in particular didn’t really satisfy me, even when there were some good moments here and there.
*Thank you to Entangled Publishing for providing an ARC in exchange of my honest opinion*
April 24, 2016
Emotional entanglements can be a tricky business. Especially when secrets, friendships and insecurities come into play. I received an ARC of Best Friends with The Billionaire in exchange for an honest review. In the past my issues with Ms. Kwan's stories have been that halfway through they start to become dull and erratic. With Best Friends with The Billionaire it started out unsure but built up the pace rather quickly. Kirk and Cassie were like any other couple trying to work through past hurts on the road to something more. The fact that such a strong friendship had been practically blown apart by half truths, heartbreak and fear of the unknown was the tragedy of the story. With Friends with the Billionaire, Coleen Kwan delved into the most treacherous and hard to understand puzzle to date: THE HEART. Secretive, sensitive but intriguing non the less.
March 6, 2016
Kirk can be a sweet guy, “your dress is crazy hot,” he murmured, closing in on her. “As hot as you are.” There are times Kirk doesn't mind his woman setting the pace, "he settled his hands on her hips as a wicked gleam entered his eyes. “I’m going to be your electric bull, this time. And you’re going to ride me as hard as you can. Want to try it?” I liked this book, I liked Kirk.
March 25, 2016
***Review to come. :)***
September 17, 2017
My absolute fave trope is friends-to-lovers and this Indulgence romance was a fab addition. I really enjoy Coleen Kwan's writing. Her 'heroines' are always good at standing up for themselves in a way that makes the real and honest, and in this book, 6 ft Cassie who works in construction, is no exception as she seizes her opportunity to make Kirk finally notice her in a way that isn't silly, or too contrived. I also really loved how believable the relationship between Cassie and her sister was.
June 28, 2017
3-3.5 stars. Read in 4 hours.
I don't have much to say on this book. It's quite average, though there were some things I really did like about it.
It's fairly predictable and cliche at times, but sometimes that's what you need when you're craving a light read.
Other than that... yeah, I don't really have much thoughts on it.
I don't have much to say on this book. It's quite average, though there were some things I really did like about it.
It's fairly predictable and cliche at times, but sometimes that's what you need when you're craving a light read.
Other than that... yeah, I don't really have much thoughts on it.
March 10, 2022
Good read
I enjoyed from start to finish, I only read this book. I never read book 1. This doesn't leave you hanging
I enjoyed from start to finish, I only read this book. I never read book 1. This doesn't leave you hanging
January 24, 2024
Solid 3.5
Ok story, low spice but written decently
Ok story, low spice but written decently
March 5, 2017
I went into this book knowing it was a fluffy palate-cleanser. And I think that's the only way you can read it. If you're expecting something that will blow your socks off, this is not it.
Let me back up: I'm a huge fan of the friends-turned-more-than-friends trope. So I enjoyed that part of this story. But the characters were SO self-involved! And I get it; it makes the story move. But it was wicked annoying, especially from Cassie. Her family constantly craps on her and makes assumptions about her, yet she does the same thing about Kirk.
Also, it was a lot of build-up for a mediocre payoff. And as far as steaminess goes, I've definitely read better. Thankfully this book is short enough that I was able to breeze right through it.
Even though it's a fluff piece, I wouldn't recommend it. There are better fluff pieces out there.
Let me back up: I'm a huge fan of the friends-turned-more-than-friends trope. So I enjoyed that part of this story. But the characters were SO self-involved! And I get it; it makes the story move. But it was wicked annoying, especially from Cassie. Her family constantly craps on her and makes assumptions about her, yet she does the same thing about Kirk.
Also, it was a lot of build-up for a mediocre payoff. And as far as steaminess goes, I've definitely read better. Thankfully this book is short enough that I was able to breeze right through it.
Even though it's a fluff piece, I wouldn't recommend it. There are better fluff pieces out there.
May 10, 2016
Check out more of my reviews on at Home. Love. Books. - The best place to find your next book! http://www.homelovebooks.com
I don't know about you guys but I really love fake relationships! There is always so much set up to make the relationship believable to the outside world and then of course the build up to will they or won't they give the relationship a real genuine shot, man I just love build up in romances.
In this particular case the fake relationship is going on between two people who are very close friends. I really liked these two, and their friendship. Cassie has always had a crush on Kirk, and she really wishes that just once he would see her as something more as his close friend from school. The thing about Kirk is that he was married before, his wife passed away, and for Cassie watching him get married was hard for her, but seeing him destroyed after his wife passed away was just as hard. But time has moved forward and Kirk is trying to close a deal that he really needs to have a girlfriend around for, he never really ever considered that things with Cassie would ever go beyond the fake relationship.
I loved how Cassie was the one who pushed forward in trying to get a friends with benefits relationship with Kirk, she puts forth this confident attitude and goes for what she wants, even though she isn't really that confident when it comes to him. And these two really do heat up when they finally do go beyond just a simple friendship. I will say that Cassie does have some issues that go beyond just what is going on with her best friend, she has serious family issues. Her mother is seriously a giant piece of work who only seems to be interested in status, so let's just say that Cassie is not at all interested in having her mom find out who her close friend is. Plus her sister is getting married, so to say that Cassie is not under a lot of pressure to be the perfect sister and daughter for them would be an understatement.
Now as for Kirk, I wouldn't necessarily say that he was the most open guy. He's really kind of jaded. I mean I get it, his wife died, obviously that whole experience must have been a hard one for him, but he is seriously a closed off dude. I mean even though he is clearly interested in Cassie he is completely unwilling to risk having any kind of feelings for anyone, it's like he just completely believes that it is not possible to have good relationships. I will say that I thought Kirk grew A LOT during the course of the book, and his evolution as a character really made the book so much fun reading.
I really did enjoy reading this book, and wondering if the fake relationship was ever going to become something real. I liked the writing style, and the amount of heat in this book. The pacing was solid for me, and it was just in general a really good read for me.
This review was originally posted on Home. Love. Books. - The best place to find your next book!
I don't know about you guys but I really love fake relationships! There is always so much set up to make the relationship believable to the outside world and then of course the build up to will they or won't they give the relationship a real genuine shot, man I just love build up in romances.
In this particular case the fake relationship is going on between two people who are very close friends. I really liked these two, and their friendship. Cassie has always had a crush on Kirk, and she really wishes that just once he would see her as something more as his close friend from school. The thing about Kirk is that he was married before, his wife passed away, and for Cassie watching him get married was hard for her, but seeing him destroyed after his wife passed away was just as hard. But time has moved forward and Kirk is trying to close a deal that he really needs to have a girlfriend around for, he never really ever considered that things with Cassie would ever go beyond the fake relationship.
I loved how Cassie was the one who pushed forward in trying to get a friends with benefits relationship with Kirk, she puts forth this confident attitude and goes for what she wants, even though she isn't really that confident when it comes to him. And these two really do heat up when they finally do go beyond just a simple friendship. I will say that Cassie does have some issues that go beyond just what is going on with her best friend, she has serious family issues. Her mother is seriously a giant piece of work who only seems to be interested in status, so let's just say that Cassie is not at all interested in having her mom find out who her close friend is. Plus her sister is getting married, so to say that Cassie is not under a lot of pressure to be the perfect sister and daughter for them would be an understatement.
Now as for Kirk, I wouldn't necessarily say that he was the most open guy. He's really kind of jaded. I mean I get it, his wife died, obviously that whole experience must have been a hard one for him, but he is seriously a closed off dude. I mean even though he is clearly interested in Cassie he is completely unwilling to risk having any kind of feelings for anyone, it's like he just completely believes that it is not possible to have good relationships. I will say that I thought Kirk grew A LOT during the course of the book, and his evolution as a character really made the book so much fun reading.
I really did enjoy reading this book, and wondering if the fake relationship was ever going to become something real. I liked the writing style, and the amount of heat in this book. The pacing was solid for me, and it was just in general a really good read for me.
This review was originally posted on Home. Love. Books. - The best place to find your next book!
March 3, 2017
Loved it
4stars
I simply loved this book I can't just brought me into the book and held me to the very last page. Who says your best friend can't be your best lover.
The sex was tame but romantic.
Happy Sexy Reading
4stars
I simply loved this book I can't just brought me into the book and held me to the very last page. Who says your best friend can't be your best lover.
The sex was tame but romantic.
Happy Sexy Reading
March 5, 2017
Hot..
I give this book 5 stars. I couldn't put it down. This book will make you laugh, cry and I love the HEA ending.
I give this book 5 stars. I couldn't put it down. This book will make you laugh, cry and I love the HEA ending.
April 25, 2016
Cassie is back in San Francisco for two weeks for her sister’s wedding and uses that time to catch up with her longtime college friend Kirk. She’s always had an unrequited crush on him but when Kirk urges her to pretend to be his girlfriend in front of a potential business partner’s daughter to discourage her advances, Cassie is given the unexpected chance to get Kirk to notice her as more than a best friend. Scarred by his romantic past Kirk doesn’t want to enter into any relationships especially with Cassie since this would jeopardize their friendship which he values a great deal. Their physical attraction however is undeniable and both Kirk and Cassie embrace it for their own reasons even if love isn’t in the cards for them.
Can their friendship withstand a physical relationship and can Cassie protect herself from utter heartbreak?
I’m a big fan of friends to lovers stories and Best Friends with the Billionaire ticked all the boxes for me.
Cassie Cooper is not the typical ‘drop-dead-gorgeous in a supermodel way but doesn’t know it’- character that I’m used to in these friends-to-lovers novels. She’s actually tall and a bit awkward, has never fit in well with her immediate family and is used to being treated as one of the guys. Despite all that she isn’t an ugly duckling without any confidence either. She is successful at her job and has managed to build a life in a foreign country. Generally, she’s was relatable and didn’t come across as a stereotype even if she might sound like one at first glance.
Kirk is a Billionaire but he isn’t the ‘player-with-a-dark-past-and-a-heart-of-gold’-character I read too much about. He has real emotions and motivations and isn’t a cad. He doesn’t throw his money around but appreciates his wealth. He cares deeply for Cassie from the very beginning and values and respects her as a friend throughout the novel. The only thing that’s new in their relationship is the spark of romance developing between them.
The misunderstandings and miscommunications between Cassie and Kirk were typical for this type of book but didn’t seem too contrived. My heart hurt for Cassie when she interpreted Kirk’s behavior as indicative of his romantic indifference towards her and I could also relate to Kirk’s need to hold onto his long-standing friendship with Cassie and his reluctance to put his trust into a romantic relationship again after suffering his past disappointments with love.
The pacing of this novel was excellent. I wasn’t tempted to skip ahead and was motivated to read the whole thing in one go because it managed to capture all of my attention.
Best Friends with the Billionaire surpasses its premise, excelling as a cute, sexy and moving romance with authentic characters to root for. This book left me squealing at the end and kept a smile on my face for hours after finishing it.
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I received a review copy from Entangled Publishing via NetGalley.
Can their friendship withstand a physical relationship and can Cassie protect herself from utter heartbreak?
I’m a big fan of friends to lovers stories and Best Friends with the Billionaire ticked all the boxes for me.
Cassie Cooper is not the typical ‘drop-dead-gorgeous in a supermodel way but doesn’t know it’- character that I’m used to in these friends-to-lovers novels. She’s actually tall and a bit awkward, has never fit in well with her immediate family and is used to being treated as one of the guys. Despite all that she isn’t an ugly duckling without any confidence either. She is successful at her job and has managed to build a life in a foreign country. Generally, she’s was relatable and didn’t come across as a stereotype even if she might sound like one at first glance.
Kirk is a Billionaire but he isn’t the ‘player-with-a-dark-past-and-a-heart-of-gold’-character I read too much about. He has real emotions and motivations and isn’t a cad. He doesn’t throw his money around but appreciates his wealth. He cares deeply for Cassie from the very beginning and values and respects her as a friend throughout the novel. The only thing that’s new in their relationship is the spark of romance developing between them.
The misunderstandings and miscommunications between Cassie and Kirk were typical for this type of book but didn’t seem too contrived. My heart hurt for Cassie when she interpreted Kirk’s behavior as indicative of his romantic indifference towards her and I could also relate to Kirk’s need to hold onto his long-standing friendship with Cassie and his reluctance to put his trust into a romantic relationship again after suffering his past disappointments with love.
The pacing of this novel was excellent. I wasn’t tempted to skip ahead and was motivated to read the whole thing in one go because it managed to capture all of my attention.
Best Friends with the Billionaire surpasses its premise, excelling as a cute, sexy and moving romance with authentic characters to root for. This book left me squealing at the end and kept a smile on my face for hours after finishing it.
______________
I received a review copy from Entangled Publishing via NetGalley.
October 19, 2016
Rating: 2,5/5 despite the issues I had with this book, I still enjoyed it and read it in one sitting, so I gave it a 50% score.
Warning: (major) spoilers ahead
Title: literal the female main character is the best friend of a billionaire, the male main character; him being a billionaire does not pay a big role at all, so I guess it’s just an attention grabber. (I didn’t know it was a Harlequin, silly me).
Main characters: Cassie Cooper and Kirk Rochester; I liked Cassie slightly more than Kirk, but that doesn’t say much. They were both kind of annoying. Kirk decided to swear off romantic relationships, based on his failed marriage; this was not only immature, but I though it didn’t go with his character. Both based on how he used to be and based on how he was after the death of his wife, he seemed to me like someone who would understand that not all women are like his deceased wife. In the end it just seemed incorporated in the story so that there would be some sort of drama, before the main characters could be together. I know it’s normal and expected to have some drama in a romantic story, but in this case it all felt contrived.
Side characters: not memorable enough to mention. The side characters didn’t have any dept (not that the mains did) and were only there to be shoed in at convenient moments.
Plot: clichéd lots of moments were predictable. What annoyed me most was how certain moments were a bit too convenient; like her mother kicking her out of house, his previous marriage not being so great after all, the opening scene (be-my-pretend-girlfriend trope was used within a couple of pages), to name a few. I would have liked the story better if all these moments were incorporated more organically.
I though this whole Russell is my ex was handled immaturely as well. IMO Cassie was written unrealistically; for someone who tried to keep a distance, and had (in her mind) been rejected two years ago, she is quick to take the relationship a bit further. And when she realizes she is in too deep, she doesn’t have the courage to confess (their friendship will never be the same anyway, so why won’t she take the chance. She literally had nothing to lose anymore). Instead, she waits and hopes Kirk would feel something for her too and confess first, stop her from leaving, etc. Returning to Sydney is a big decision to make, so it’s a pity she didn’t take matters in her own hands. She made a lame attempt at getting him to confess, but she would have gained more points if she confessed at that point. Kirk could still decide to turn her down (based on the oh so convenient previous marriage that didn’t meet his expectations), so the later wedding drama scene could still play out the same.
Sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes; English is not my native tongue.
Warning: (major) spoilers ahead
Title: literal the female main character is the best friend of a billionaire, the male main character; him being a billionaire does not pay a big role at all, so I guess it’s just an attention grabber. (I didn’t know it was a Harlequin, silly me).
Main characters: Cassie Cooper and Kirk Rochester; I liked Cassie slightly more than Kirk, but that doesn’t say much. They were both kind of annoying. Kirk decided to swear off romantic relationships, based on his failed marriage; this was not only immature, but I though it didn’t go with his character. Both based on how he used to be and based on how he was after the death of his wife, he seemed to me like someone who would understand that not all women are like his deceased wife. In the end it just seemed incorporated in the story so that there would be some sort of drama, before the main characters could be together. I know it’s normal and expected to have some drama in a romantic story, but in this case it all felt contrived.
Side characters: not memorable enough to mention. The side characters didn’t have any dept (not that the mains did) and were only there to be shoed in at convenient moments.
Plot: clichéd lots of moments were predictable. What annoyed me most was how certain moments were a bit too convenient; like her mother kicking her out of house, his previous marriage not being so great after all, the opening scene (be-my-pretend-girlfriend trope was used within a couple of pages), to name a few. I would have liked the story better if all these moments were incorporated more organically.
I though this whole Russell is my ex was handled immaturely as well. IMO Cassie was written unrealistically; for someone who tried to keep a distance, and had (in her mind) been rejected two years ago, she is quick to take the relationship a bit further. And when she realizes she is in too deep, she doesn’t have the courage to confess (their friendship will never be the same anyway, so why won’t she take the chance. She literally had nothing to lose anymore). Instead, she waits and hopes Kirk would feel something for her too and confess first, stop her from leaving, etc. Returning to Sydney is a big decision to make, so it’s a pity she didn’t take matters in her own hands. She made a lame attempt at getting him to confess, but she would have gained more points if she confessed at that point. Kirk could still decide to turn her down (based on the oh so convenient previous marriage that didn’t meet his expectations), so the later wedding drama scene could still play out the same.
Sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes; English is not my native tongue.
April 28, 2016
3.5 Stars - Nice friends-to-lovers Romance
Cassie struggled with her looks because she could never live up to her mom’s expectations and her little sister's perfection. By the time she gets into college, she becomes one of the guys hiding behind baggy clothes, blue hair and facial piercings. There she meets Kirk, a billionaire heir, who also just wants to be one of the guys and they become best friends. All through college Cassie hides the fact that she has feelings for Kirk, but then he marries little Miss Perfect - her complete opposite - and she moves to Australia
Kirk’s marriage, from the beginning to its very sad ending, was far from what he hoped it to be. This left Kirk disillusioned in love and thinking the only relationship worth the work is friendship. Kirk knows he can always count on Cassie. For anything. So when a business deal comes with a pushy girl who can’t seem to take no for an answer; and he can’t be rude to her for fear of losing the deal with her father, he enlists Cassie to pretend to be his girlfriend. Now is the chance Cassie always wanted to make Kirk see her as a woman. But she never counted on Kirk fighting himself when he does notice how sexy a woman Cassie really is.
So basically, Best Friends With The Billionaire is about Cassie repeatedly trying to entice Kirk and giving up, and Kirk getting all hot for Cassie but fighting his feelings because he believes in friendship and not in romantic love. By this I mean there’s a lot of hot and cold going on… almost meriting a Katy Perry soundtrack.
As usual, when people don’t want to be straightforward about their feelings there’s a lot of misunderstandings and miscommunication going on. With fake girlfriends, fake ex-boyfriends, family drama, secrets and bottled feelings, this was a very entertaining story. While I can’t say I loved their main issues since they could have just… you know, talked like grownups, I did like them together. It took Kirk a long freakin’ time to get his head out of his ass but when he finally did, he did good.
Both Kirk and Cassie had issues to work through. Kirk needed to accept his past and what it really meant. Cassie's confidence issues were a bit harder for me to get behind. Luckily these moments were mainly when she was with her mother so it wasn’t so bad.
Sexy, sweet, funny, I’m happy I gave Best Friends With The Billionaire a chance.
*I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
Cassie struggled with her looks because she could never live up to her mom’s expectations and her little sister's perfection. By the time she gets into college, she becomes one of the guys hiding behind baggy clothes, blue hair and facial piercings. There she meets Kirk, a billionaire heir, who also just wants to be one of the guys and they become best friends. All through college Cassie hides the fact that she has feelings for Kirk, but then he marries little Miss Perfect - her complete opposite - and she moves to Australia
Kirk’s marriage, from the beginning to its very sad ending, was far from what he hoped it to be. This left Kirk disillusioned in love and thinking the only relationship worth the work is friendship. Kirk knows he can always count on Cassie. For anything. So when a business deal comes with a pushy girl who can’t seem to take no for an answer; and he can’t be rude to her for fear of losing the deal with her father, he enlists Cassie to pretend to be his girlfriend. Now is the chance Cassie always wanted to make Kirk see her as a woman. But she never counted on Kirk fighting himself when he does notice how sexy a woman Cassie really is.
So basically, Best Friends With The Billionaire is about Cassie repeatedly trying to entice Kirk and giving up, and Kirk getting all hot for Cassie but fighting his feelings because he believes in friendship and not in romantic love. By this I mean there’s a lot of hot and cold going on… almost meriting a Katy Perry soundtrack.
As usual, when people don’t want to be straightforward about their feelings there’s a lot of misunderstandings and miscommunication going on. With fake girlfriends, fake ex-boyfriends, family drama, secrets and bottled feelings, this was a very entertaining story. While I can’t say I loved their main issues since they could have just… you know, talked like grownups, I did like them together. It took Kirk a long freakin’ time to get his head out of his ass but when he finally did, he did good.
Both Kirk and Cassie had issues to work through. Kirk needed to accept his past and what it really meant. Cassie's confidence issues were a bit harder for me to get behind. Luckily these moments were mainly when she was with her mother so it wasn’t so bad.
Sexy, sweet, funny, I’m happy I gave Best Friends With The Billionaire a chance.
*I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
April 19, 2016
I have read several of Coleen Kwan's books before and I can say that I am never sorry that I picked one of the up. Kwan definitely knows how to keep your attention and adds just the right amount of romance to keep you on your toes. This is a old story line but Kwan puts her own twist on it that I felt was unique. Well done!
Cassie is a young lady that has always been sort of an outcast with her own family. Cassie tried and tried to have her mom see her in her own light, but she always bought clothes for Cassie and made her wear things that she really didn't care for. So, when Cassie went to college, she went her own way and changed her appearance just to get back at her mom basically. With her sister getting married, they are all on Cassie to look the model Bridesmaid part and that is hard for Cassie. Her mom harps on her about what she is eating and tells her that she needs to loose just a little bit of weight so that her "back fat" won't be showing at the wedding. I could totally relate to Cassie because we are all not the perfect Bridesmaid look and it is hard to feel comfortable in anything when you have people hounding you about it. Cassie is pretty much done with trying to please her mom and sister and relies on Kirk, her best friend from college, for a shoulder to lean on.
Kirk is a billionaire and tries hard to not let it show. His family is where he gets his money from, but you would never really guess he was a billionaire if you saw him. Kirk does a very good job at hiding it and it is only known in the story because we are told that. When Kirk has the job of sealing a deal with a client, he is hesitant to meet with them because of their daughter that has hit on him before. She played footsie with him under the table and was pretty forward with several things that made Kirk just feel uncomfortable. When Kirk comes up with a brilliant idea for Cassie to play the part of his girlfriend so that this client's daughter will not advance on him more, he never knew what he was getting himself into with Cassie!
Although Cassie and Kirk had been friends and even roommates at one point, they never crossed the friend line. Kirk is coming off of a rough marriage and an even rougher end to that marriage. Is he willing to sacrifice his friendship with Cassie to forgo an actual relationship with her? You have to read this great friends to lovers story to find out if they really do become lovers or if they just stay friends forever. I thought these characters were well developed and that the story line flowed really well making this an enjoyable read!
Cassie is a young lady that has always been sort of an outcast with her own family. Cassie tried and tried to have her mom see her in her own light, but she always bought clothes for Cassie and made her wear things that she really didn't care for. So, when Cassie went to college, she went her own way and changed her appearance just to get back at her mom basically. With her sister getting married, they are all on Cassie to look the model Bridesmaid part and that is hard for Cassie. Her mom harps on her about what she is eating and tells her that she needs to loose just a little bit of weight so that her "back fat" won't be showing at the wedding. I could totally relate to Cassie because we are all not the perfect Bridesmaid look and it is hard to feel comfortable in anything when you have people hounding you about it. Cassie is pretty much done with trying to please her mom and sister and relies on Kirk, her best friend from college, for a shoulder to lean on.
Kirk is a billionaire and tries hard to not let it show. His family is where he gets his money from, but you would never really guess he was a billionaire if you saw him. Kirk does a very good job at hiding it and it is only known in the story because we are told that. When Kirk has the job of sealing a deal with a client, he is hesitant to meet with them because of their daughter that has hit on him before. She played footsie with him under the table and was pretty forward with several things that made Kirk just feel uncomfortable. When Kirk comes up with a brilliant idea for Cassie to play the part of his girlfriend so that this client's daughter will not advance on him more, he never knew what he was getting himself into with Cassie!
Although Cassie and Kirk had been friends and even roommates at one point, they never crossed the friend line. Kirk is coming off of a rough marriage and an even rougher end to that marriage. Is he willing to sacrifice his friendship with Cassie to forgo an actual relationship with her? You have to read this great friends to lovers story to find out if they really do become lovers or if they just stay friends forever. I thought these characters were well developed and that the story line flowed really well making this an enjoyable read!
April 19, 2016
Rating 3.5
This is a well written, light-hearted friends to lovers second chance romance with plenty of history. Cassie Cooper and Kirk Rochester stayed in the same house whilst at college and became best friends. There’s never been any romance between them, even though Cassie has loved him for years. He’s rich, from a prominent wealthy family but has never made much of his wealth and really appreciated how honest Cassie has always been, never being with him for his family name or money but because they were best friends. He’s seen little of her since his marriage and is welcoming the chance to catch up again after she returns to San Fransisco from Sydney, Australia, for the imminent wedding of her sister. He looks on the timing as fortuitous as he’s in the midst of a business deal where the unwanted attentions of the daughter of the man he’s trying to do business with are proving trying. He wants a make believe girlfriend. Now being his girlfriend is Cassie’s dream, should she risk her heart in the role? Will he actually start to see her as an attractive woman? Is it worth risking their incredible friendship to become friends with benefits?
This is an easy read, exploring a variety of issues in the journey to their HEA. Cassie has always seen herself as the ugly duckling in her family, finding it difficult to relate to her slim, petite mother and sister whilst being a six foot tall amazon herself. That doesn’t, however, mean that she doesn’t have a very strong feminine side, one that is somewhat hidden as she finds it much easier to hide her insecurities by relating to her male friends as another friend rather than a romantic partner. She’s also been in love with Kirk for years and is an expert at hiding this from him. Kirk is the poor rich kid who actually has had a dreadful few years with his loveless marriage, the loss of his unborn child and his wife’s illness and death. He’s determined not to fall in love again, little realising just what he’s been missing until the return of Cassie. It is intriguing to read how the attitude of Cassie’s family and Kirk change during the story and there’s plenty of drama and angst in the process making this a great read to while away an afternoon or evening!
I received a free ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.
This is a well written, light-hearted friends to lovers second chance romance with plenty of history. Cassie Cooper and Kirk Rochester stayed in the same house whilst at college and became best friends. There’s never been any romance between them, even though Cassie has loved him for years. He’s rich, from a prominent wealthy family but has never made much of his wealth and really appreciated how honest Cassie has always been, never being with him for his family name or money but because they were best friends. He’s seen little of her since his marriage and is welcoming the chance to catch up again after she returns to San Fransisco from Sydney, Australia, for the imminent wedding of her sister. He looks on the timing as fortuitous as he’s in the midst of a business deal where the unwanted attentions of the daughter of the man he’s trying to do business with are proving trying. He wants a make believe girlfriend. Now being his girlfriend is Cassie’s dream, should she risk her heart in the role? Will he actually start to see her as an attractive woman? Is it worth risking their incredible friendship to become friends with benefits?
This is an easy read, exploring a variety of issues in the journey to their HEA. Cassie has always seen herself as the ugly duckling in her family, finding it difficult to relate to her slim, petite mother and sister whilst being a six foot tall amazon herself. That doesn’t, however, mean that she doesn’t have a very strong feminine side, one that is somewhat hidden as she finds it much easier to hide her insecurities by relating to her male friends as another friend rather than a romantic partner. She’s also been in love with Kirk for years and is an expert at hiding this from him. Kirk is the poor rich kid who actually has had a dreadful few years with his loveless marriage, the loss of his unborn child and his wife’s illness and death. He’s determined not to fall in love again, little realising just what he’s been missing until the return of Cassie. It is intriguing to read how the attitude of Cassie’s family and Kirk change during the story and there’s plenty of drama and angst in the process making this a great read to while away an afternoon or evening!
I received a free ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.
March 15, 2016
Best Friends with the Billionaire is a standalone by Coleen Kwan. Her style is witty, entrancing and you will be able to visualize as you read.
Cassie and Kirk are best friends since college. Cassie is insecure, tomboyish and vulnerable but is loveable and adorable. She looks like a pushover in a few scenes, but love makes you weak - doesn't it?
As for Kirk, a billionaire but one who doesn't really flaunt his wealth but is a playboy. He likes Cassie but as a friend and they spend a lot of time together. However, they grow apart after his marriage since Cassie moves to a different continent.
Now, Cassie has to come back to her place for her sister's wedding, which means, she will have to meet Kirk. Things happen and they're thrown together and Kirk falls for her - but will he come out and accept his love for her? He doesn't want to go beyond friends with benefits arrangement as he doesn't want to muddle his friendship - or does he?
He is thrown off kilter due to his changing feelings and acts like a jerk to Cassie, at times. Will he wake up and man up before it is too late? Or will Cassie decide it is time to give up and take up her uncle's offer and move to Australia permanently?
Best Friend - Lovers isn't a new plot. Falling for your best friend is one of the most trying issues, and I know that having married my best friend! You don't want to lose your friendship, at the same time can't see them with someone else, can't open up and neither can you hide! This is dealt well in this book in my opinion.
Kirk is sweet and sexy and really cares about Cassie. Cassie is a great friend though she has feelings for him, helps him during difficult times. A heartwarming read from Entangled Publishing you mustn't miss if you love friends - lovers plot.
** I was offered an ARC through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
Cassie and Kirk are best friends since college. Cassie is insecure, tomboyish and vulnerable but is loveable and adorable. She looks like a pushover in a few scenes, but love makes you weak - doesn't it?
As for Kirk, a billionaire but one who doesn't really flaunt his wealth but is a playboy. He likes Cassie but as a friend and they spend a lot of time together. However, they grow apart after his marriage since Cassie moves to a different continent.
Now, Cassie has to come back to her place for her sister's wedding, which means, she will have to meet Kirk. Things happen and they're thrown together and Kirk falls for her - but will he come out and accept his love for her? He doesn't want to go beyond friends with benefits arrangement as he doesn't want to muddle his friendship - or does he?
He is thrown off kilter due to his changing feelings and acts like a jerk to Cassie, at times. Will he wake up and man up before it is too late? Or will Cassie decide it is time to give up and take up her uncle's offer and move to Australia permanently?
Best Friend - Lovers isn't a new plot. Falling for your best friend is one of the most trying issues, and I know that having married my best friend! You don't want to lose your friendship, at the same time can't see them with someone else, can't open up and neither can you hide! This is dealt well in this book in my opinion.
Kirk is sweet and sexy and really cares about Cassie. Cassie is a great friend though she has feelings for him, helps him during difficult times. A heartwarming read from Entangled Publishing you mustn't miss if you love friends - lovers plot.
** I was offered an ARC through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
May 6, 2016
"Best Friends with the Billionaire" by Coleen Kwan is book number two in the "Rochester" series. This is Cassie Cooper and billionaire Kirk Rochester's story.
Kirk and Cassie were best friends in college. Cassie has been secretly in love with him. After Kirk's marriage, she moved to Sydney to get on with her life. Cassie is back in San Francisco for her sister's wedding. She hasn't seen Kirk since his wife's funeral.
Cassie is a six foot tall girl and is more at ease with hanging out with the guys. Her mom and sister are girly girls and she just can't seem to do anything that pleases them. Cassie hoped that during the time that she is home for her sister's wedding they can become closer before she goes back to Sydney.
Kirk's marriage was not good even before his wife died. He never wants to marry again. Kirk believes that friendship and his job are more important than a romantic loving relationship. He is in the process of making a big business deal. The daughter of the man that he is dealing with keeps flirting with him. Kirk doesn't want anything to mess up this business deal. Since his best friend Cassie is in town, he is hoping to convince her to pretend to be his girlfriend. Cassie agrees to be girlfriend hoping that she can get Kirk to see her as a woman and not as a buddy. What could go wrong?
This story is a friends to lovers trope with amazing chemistry, hot intimate scenes, family dynamics, and miscommunication or lack of communication. I did enjoy the book. As far as cons go there were some scenes that didn't flow with the story. Overall, this story has a good plot and a HEA. I will definitely read other books by Coleen Kwan.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley/Entangled Publishing for an honest review. FYI, contains mature content.
Kirk and Cassie were best friends in college. Cassie has been secretly in love with him. After Kirk's marriage, she moved to Sydney to get on with her life. Cassie is back in San Francisco for her sister's wedding. She hasn't seen Kirk since his wife's funeral.
Cassie is a six foot tall girl and is more at ease with hanging out with the guys. Her mom and sister are girly girls and she just can't seem to do anything that pleases them. Cassie hoped that during the time that she is home for her sister's wedding they can become closer before she goes back to Sydney.
Kirk's marriage was not good even before his wife died. He never wants to marry again. Kirk believes that friendship and his job are more important than a romantic loving relationship. He is in the process of making a big business deal. The daughter of the man that he is dealing with keeps flirting with him. Kirk doesn't want anything to mess up this business deal. Since his best friend Cassie is in town, he is hoping to convince her to pretend to be his girlfriend. Cassie agrees to be girlfriend hoping that she can get Kirk to see her as a woman and not as a buddy. What could go wrong?
This story is a friends to lovers trope with amazing chemistry, hot intimate scenes, family dynamics, and miscommunication or lack of communication. I did enjoy the book. As far as cons go there were some scenes that didn't flow with the story. Overall, this story has a good plot and a HEA. I will definitely read other books by Coleen Kwan.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley/Entangled Publishing for an honest review. FYI, contains mature content.
May 1, 2016
Received in exchange for a honest review.
We are going to try a new type of review. A quick and dirty one. New for us.
Kirk-love and it was fun watching him realize how he felt for Cassie. Watching him deny and be confused as if she felt the same way and what to do about it but also want what was best for her. He really was a very buttoned up guy when it came to his life wow.
Cassie-awesome. She kicked but and took names. Comfortable in her skin until her mom started in on her. I liked watching her relationship with her sister change over time. Watching her with Kirk and all the questions these two had about their feelings toward each other was entertaining. They both were lost in their own heads. Her remembering a moment after his wife died. A moment that wasn’t what she realized. Kirk’s marriage is misconstrued by Cassie and his promise to his wife before she died is keeping him from telling her although when he finally does wow that opens up so many things.
The story-entertaining and fun. Watching these two be befuddled by their feelings for each other, trying to figure the other out but not wanting to lose their friend is fun and sweet. These two characters are made for each other and both are just sweet and kind.
Overall a nicely written, well paced story of two friends who are lost in their own heads and afraid to act on their feelings. One needs a favor so they ask as a couple and that is when the fun begins. We see them truly get to know the other and fall deeper. We see their confusion slowly be revealed as are their feelings and we watch them fall more in love. We see rough times but smooth sailing at the end as they realize being together is worth the risk. A wonderful risk that gives us a fun book as they figure this out.
We are going to try a new type of review. A quick and dirty one. New for us.
Kirk-love and it was fun watching him realize how he felt for Cassie. Watching him deny and be confused as if she felt the same way and what to do about it but also want what was best for her. He really was a very buttoned up guy when it came to his life wow.
Cassie-awesome. She kicked but and took names. Comfortable in her skin until her mom started in on her. I liked watching her relationship with her sister change over time. Watching her with Kirk and all the questions these two had about their feelings toward each other was entertaining. They both were lost in their own heads. Her remembering a moment after his wife died. A moment that wasn’t what she realized. Kirk’s marriage is misconstrued by Cassie and his promise to his wife before she died is keeping him from telling her although when he finally does wow that opens up so many things.
The story-entertaining and fun. Watching these two be befuddled by their feelings for each other, trying to figure the other out but not wanting to lose their friend is fun and sweet. These two characters are made for each other and both are just sweet and kind.
Overall a nicely written, well paced story of two friends who are lost in their own heads and afraid to act on their feelings. One needs a favor so they ask as a couple and that is when the fun begins. We see them truly get to know the other and fall deeper. We see their confusion slowly be revealed as are their feelings and we watch them fall more in love. We see rough times but smooth sailing at the end as they realize being together is worth the risk. A wonderful risk that gives us a fun book as they figure this out.
June 25, 2016
Best Friends With The Billionaire by Coleen Kwan is an entertaining read. It is nicely written and slightly emotional at times. I found the pace to be a bit slow in the beginning, but it picked up soon after. I liked all the characters and Ms. Kwan does an excellent job of creating nasty and condescending personalities.
This is the love story between billionaire businessman Kirk Rochester, and Cassie Cooper, a building project manager who calls the land down under her home. Kirk and Cassie have been best friends since college. Cassie has always been in love with Kirk, so when he got married two years ago, she moved to Sydney to start a new life. Now she is back in San Francisco to be a part of her younger sister's wedding, finding it quite difficult to deal with her always uppity, pushy, and downright mean at times mother. Cassie's sister is a chip off the old block, so needless to say, Cassie's visit is not a happy one. Luckily, Kirk is around and she ends up staying with him prior to the wedding extravaganza. For the first time ever, Kirk notices Cassie in a sexual way and their chemistry is amazing. Lots of obstacles stand in the way of their road to happiness, which makes for an interesting read.
I enjoyed this book. Ms. Kwan has a way with words and her sex scenes are very seductive. Kirk and Cassie are hot in the bedroom. The plot is good and this story is a nice addition to the best friend romance trope. I found Cassie to be a very well-defined character, and I felt her emotional pain throughout the book. Overall, a solid read.
Complimentary copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.
This is the love story between billionaire businessman Kirk Rochester, and Cassie Cooper, a building project manager who calls the land down under her home. Kirk and Cassie have been best friends since college. Cassie has always been in love with Kirk, so when he got married two years ago, she moved to Sydney to start a new life. Now she is back in San Francisco to be a part of her younger sister's wedding, finding it quite difficult to deal with her always uppity, pushy, and downright mean at times mother. Cassie's sister is a chip off the old block, so needless to say, Cassie's visit is not a happy one. Luckily, Kirk is around and she ends up staying with him prior to the wedding extravaganza. For the first time ever, Kirk notices Cassie in a sexual way and their chemistry is amazing. Lots of obstacles stand in the way of their road to happiness, which makes for an interesting read.
I enjoyed this book. Ms. Kwan has a way with words and her sex scenes are very seductive. Kirk and Cassie are hot in the bedroom. The plot is good and this story is a nice addition to the best friend romance trope. I found Cassie to be a very well-defined character, and I felt her emotional pain throughout the book. Overall, a solid read.
Complimentary copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.
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