Friends With Benefits

by Kelly Jamieson

Kerri Harris makes a good living as a yoga instructor, but to everyone she knows, she’s still the youngest Harris sibling with the flaky, “woo-woo” job, not a “real” businesswoman like her oldest sister.

Well, Kerri’s going to fix that. She has just one item left on her “She’s Got It All” list—marriage. Once that ring is on her finger and she’s popped out a couple of desperately wanted kids, maybe everyone will start showing her some respect.

When Kerri asks him to fix her up with some suitable prospects, Mitch MacAuley is horrified. All his life, he’s watched love cool and marriages melt down, from his own parents to the couples he shepherds through divorce court. The last thing he wants is for his best friend to suffer the same heartbreak.

After three disastrous dates, Kerri suspects Mitch isn’t hooking her up with the cream of the dating crop. When their heated argument ends with an even hotter kiss, they discover the truth has been right in front of them all along. And it could lead to the end of a beautiful friendship…

Genres: Romance, Friends To Lovers, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Erotica, Adult, Erotic Romance

226 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 14, 2009

About the author

Kelly Jamieson is a USA Today bestselling author of over 70 romance novels and novellas. Her writing has been described as “emotionally complex,” “sweet and satisfying,” and “blisteringly sexy.” She likes black coffee, white wine and high heels…and of course cheering on her Winnipeg Jets during hockey season! She loves hearing from readers, so please visit her website at www.kellyjamieson.com.

Reviews

[Saly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad read but not something I would re-read. h/H have been friends forever, she runs a yoga studio, he is a divorce lawyer. She at 30 suddenly wants to get married, pushes him into setting her up. They share a kiss in anger, she further acts like an immature child. They have sex, she thinks let us do friends with benefits. He kind of feel used and they make it more. He is anti-marriage, being a divorce lawyer and seeing his parents example. Their love is not enough for her, she wants marriage, she walks off in a snit, refusing to take his calls. He figures out that if having her in his life means marriage he will do it. She on the other hand had the lamest excuse to want to get married, she thought her family didn't respect her and she was in the shadow of her older more successful sister. I didn't find the heroine super likeable.

[Christi Snow · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Review:
Again, my favorite trope...friends to lovers, but OMG, this one was done so well. I really, really LOVED this book!!! The book description above is really well-done so I am not going to add anything about the setup of the story and get right to the review part of this review.


I love the way that these two characters were written so realistically. Yes, they are absolutely best friends, but when things heat up between them sexually, everything becomes REALLY awkward and tense for Mitch & Kerri. All of a sudden, they are fighting constantly and sniping at each other about everything. That's one of those things that only works with really good friends...they may be there for each other, but OMG, they know how to push each others buttons too.


Kelly wrote this really well...you can see that the sexual chemistry between the two is sizzling, but they are using aggression to fight it. But when that aggression becomes too much and they do give into the sexual tension...OMG, it is so incredibly HOT. I think that I can honestly say that the sexual scenes in this book are absolutely the hottest and most erotic that I have ever read. There is so much emotion written into and woven throughout them...OMG, really amazing writing!!!


The real issue with this relationship long-term is that Mitch truly does not believe in marriage. He had a horrible home-life growing up and now he's a divorce attorney. All he has ever seen is the destruction wrought by the institution of marriage. But for Kerri, she is 30 years old. She wants a family with all that it entails...a husband and kids. As these two realize that they are in love, they don't know how to get past that huge difference in ideals, without giving up their love. There is a fabulous character arc for both of them that is so sweet and truly beautiful. It's amazing writing. I loved both of these characters and watching them connect...LOVED IT!!


Really just a fabulous book. You will definitely be seeing more of Kelly Jamieson's books in my coming TBR piles!!

[Mareli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is so sweet. Very romantic! And the sex is hot but not blatant! A wonderful, hot, sweet love story. I love how this author describes her heroes and heroines, like normal people, with feelings and doubts and errors, so human.

I had some doubts because of the title (and the cover too, I don't like it), because I hear too many stories of real life about this new kind of relationship between a man and a woman and I can see that women have all to lose and nothing to gain in this unbalanced game. But this story is really good and well written.

Thanks, Ms Jamieson!

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun story -

I have a little problem with Kari in places though. She comes off as a strong woman who owns her own Yoga business, very successful. She has a great relationship with her best friend Mitch, but sometimes she just seems really ditsy. She doesn't seem to always look at things from other peoples perspective, which kind of bugs me.

BUT for the most part - I enjoyed this book.

We start off with Kari and Mitch having a drink. Nothing big, they go out a lot, just to hang out. When Kari starts to realize that she's now 30 years old. She's not getting any younger, and she's always wanted a husband and a lot of kids... So when She asks Mitch to help her find a husband, he couldn't help but be taken back by the thought.

See Mitch is a divorce lawyer. He's always in the middle of 2 people trying to hash it out over everything they own, kids and pets be damned.
His own father has been re-married so many times, it's ridiculous.
So when his best friend asks him to hook her up with a nice guy to see if he's Mr. Right ... He can't help but want to only look out for her.

Mitch sets her up with a couple of Mr. Wrongs. All the while, Mitch can't seem to help but be happy about it.
When Kari accuses him of setting her up with guys she wouldn't hit it off with on purpose, he loses it.

And by losing it, I don't mean his temper.. He drags her to him and kisses her! She doesn't know what to think.. This is MITCH! They're best friends...

Could this one kiss destroy their friendship?

It was a cute story. I love reading about best friends falling in love.

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my second Kelly Jamieson novel (first was Rule Of Three) and it won't be my last. She has a very even writing style and excellent character development. I will be putting more of her books on my to-read list for sure. I'm almost a little disappointed that this one was a borrowed book and not one that I bought because I don't get to keep it!

I greatly enjoyed this book. I really loved the characters Kerri and Mitch and how their friendship went into romance quickly. I am glad that the whole "let me set you up with my friends" routine didn't last long and the majority of the book focused on them.

I toyed with tagging this erotica. The only reason why I did was because there was a tantric sex scene which was pretty hot. Otherwise, the sex was pretty vanilla, but no less hot.

My absolute favorite thing about this book was how the two of them came to the conclusion to get married. She realized that she didn't need to be married to define her success (realization came through her work) and he realized that he had no reason to fear being married since losing her, married or not, was just as bad (realization came through HIS work).

Very romantic, very sweet, and pretty funny...even her lawyer jokes. :)

[Heather in FL · Rating 4 out of 5]

Friends to lovers is one of my favorite themes, and this one did not disappoint. Kerri wants to get married, so she enlists her best friend, Mitch, to introduce her to guys. She's getting older and isn't into the bar scene, and she owns her own yoga business, so it's not like she has a lot of opportunity to meet new guys. Mitch, a divorce attorney and self-described bachelor for life, grudgingly agrees, but all of a sudden, he's noticing Kerri in a new light. And sparks fly.

Ms. Jamieson does such a great job with vanilla m/f. She builds great characters before they even touch each other, and then you're invested in where they go together. Such was the case with this one. They had wonderful chemistry, but of course they get that from being best friends for so long. I felt their lust, I felt their confusion, I felt their uncertainty with each other, I felt their heartbreak. It was great (well, not the heartbreak part, lol). The conflict was real, but I loved how it was resolved in such a natural way. Nothing felt rushed, just a great, fun story with a great HEA.

[Diah Didi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommended by Veeta, guess she knew how much I love friends to lovers theme. And I do love this.
Nggak terlalu dgambarin detil sih di awal kalo Mitch sendiri punya perasaan tertentu ke Kerri. Jadi waktu dia tau-tau nyium Kerri emang agak ngagetin. Apalagi dengan cara marah gitu. Hmm... Smoking! :D
Nggak nyalahin Mitch jg kalo agak bete ama Kerri for being a bit bitchy sometimes. Apalagi istilah yang dpake sama Kerri, FwB/FB. Uugh! Istilahnya nggak enak, kasar. No wonder Mitch syok berat and cooled off, just like that. :D
Enaknya di situasi seperti ini, nggak peduli betapa canggungnya, mereka akan terpaksa ngalahin ego karna ngga mau kehilangan temen baik. Apalagi mereka punya teman yang sama, dan Mitch udah deket sama keluarganya Kerri. Sukaaaaa... Benar-benar terasa nyaman dan hangat.
Felt like singing Lucky I'm in love with my best friend... :)

[Lesley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would have given this book 3 stars right up until the very end. The story was well done and realistic until then. But then, a) the heroine reveals that the only reason she ever wanted to get married in the first place was to get respect and be taken seriously by her family, and once she accomplished this via a career breakthrough, she had no more need to get married, and b) the hero does a complete 180 in his stance on marriage in the space of about 90 seconds because he doesn't like the thought of the heroine marrying someone else someday. Needless to say, this ended the book on a sour note for me. Changing a character's motivation at the very end of the book just does not work for me. Not only is it unrealistic, but it is a weak way to resolve the story and cheapens any personal growth that the character(s) might have had up to that point. Meh.

[April Avelino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Friends with Benefits or should I say Friends with all the benefits really exceed my expectations.. Thought this will be a lot similar with the movies no strings attached and Friends with benefits but not quite! I loved how the story goes.. Best friends turning to lovers. Kerri looking for a husband while Mitch who believes nothing good will come out in marriage eventually finding themselves right for each other.

I had fun reading the story with a bonus of hot sex scenes. <3

[Alanna Baker · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not one of my favourite books to be honest just didn't do it for me

[Becky Hedge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book. I would recommend this book to everyone. Excellent story line kept your interest and attention making it hard to put down.

[Pretty Little Bibliophile · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this in just one night. I loved it. Friends with Benefits is a trope i enjoyed reading very much. the development of feelings is always nice to read.

[Angie Ngiam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yoga instructor vs lawyer


This books flows well with decent editing. The resolution seemed to be a bit rushed, but the sex scenes made up for it. K Jamieson has published other books with more depth. But if you were coming off of an emotional trilogy, this book is a good casual read.

[Tracy · Rating 2 out of 5]

~* 1.5 Stars *~
Little Benefit Here
Yoga instructor and business owner Kerri Harris and divorce attorney Mitch MacAuley have been best friends for years. Only friends. But when Kerri and Mitch are out one night sharing a friendly drink, she tells him she wants to marry and asks Mitch to introduce her to some single, eligible men. There's nothing Mitch wouldn't do for Kerri, but her request bothers him. A lot.

As she starts to date the guys he reluctantly introduces her to, he gets more and more uncomfortable and tension rises in their friendship. Soon the friendly quips between them that used to be teasing fun take on more bite and a decade long friendship goes from smooth to rocky. Tensions and tempers rise between them. Pushed to the brink, a fight between them ends in a kiss - a wild, tempestuous kiss that changes everything...but solves nothing. Can two friends accept the fact that they're made for each other or will the differences between them kill their friendship and destroy the chance for love?

~*~

Despite the fact that the friends-turned-lovers theme is one of my favorites in contemporary romance, I had way too many problems with this book to be charmed. The plot was two dimensional and predictable, the narrative lacked sophistication, the dialogue lacked conversational flow, and the characters lacked charm.

The characters were the biggest problem. More specifically, Kerri. Mitch had little to recommend him as a romantic lead, but he wasn't overly objectionable, despite an unhealthy anger management issue or two. Kerri, on the other hand, I found to be utterly contemptible. She blames Mitch for everything that goes wrong in their relationship, takes no responsibility for her own actions or feelings on any matter, flits between wildly contradictory emotions at a blink, is pathologically immature, and is grievously self involved. I may not have warmed up to Mitch, but I actively disliked Kerri.

The romance started to improve towards the end, but ended up floundering when the dialogue took a turn for the worse. Two comments in particular stick in my mind, at the turning point for the relationship between Mitch and Kerri, Mitch says the following:

"I want to be with you, and most of all, I don't want anyone else to be with you.You think you need a husband? Fine, then - it's going to be me."

"You want kids and I want them to be mine. Nobody else's."

Neither one of those comments come anywhere near my idea of romance, nor do they inspire a lot of confidence in the relationship. Mitch comes off seeming less interested in being with Kerri because he loves her and more interested in making sure that she's not with anyone else. Admittedly, these comments are taken out of context, but they provide examples of the problems I had with the dialogue.

On the positive side, Jamieson writes very sensual, erotic sex scenes. The naked yoga in particular was a sultry, seductive delight, and as a whole the sex was very well done and provided the best written scenes in the book. The rest, unfortunately, didn't work for me.

Note: Originally reviewed 11/18/10.

[Ree · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great friends-to-lovers story.

Mitch and Kerri made me antsy, but greatly intrigued about their relationship. Though the novel itself is not explicitly erotic, some scenes had me a bit squirmy lol. I loved the overall feel-good vibe the novel gave.

[Netanella · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very satisfying friends-to-lovers read that went down easily, like a nice tall glass of sweet iced tea on a hot, humid day in Florida. Mitch is a cynical divorce lawyer, best friend for years to hottie Kerrie, a yoga studio-owner and currently desperate to find a man to marry, settle down and have kids. When Kerrie asks Mitch to help her find a man to marry, their relationship slowly progresses from that of friendship to something more. I enjoyed this one, particularly the series of dud-dates that Kerrie suffered through. There's also a particularly hot naked yoga scene that sparked my fancy. Recommended.

[Elaina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Friends to Lovers Story

What better way to start a relationship than as friends? But there is always the question of "is it worth the risk to possibly lose the friendship?" Once Kerri and Mitch start to acknowledge their attraction to one another, their chemistry is hot and undeniable. I laughed, squirmed a bit in my seat and had my heart ache. This book was well written and I truly enjoyed reading it.

[elstaffe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pull quotes/notes
"'It’s a mixed-use development consisting of a hundred-and-twenty-square-foot, two-story executive office building'" (32/247) what. 120 sq feet???

"She just wanted a marriage. Someone to love, to spend the rest of her life with, to have a family with. And…as a married woman, and some day even a mother, people would have to take her seriously." (46/247) girllll get yourself to therapy

[Shelvy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Friends to Lover theme..
Mitch a divorce lawyer, not believe in love and marriage
Kerry a yoga teacher - own her yoga studio, looking for a husband because of her biologic clock is ticking - tick tock tick tock and she really wants kids of her own
So, Kerry asked Mitch to help her find a potential husband

[Under The Cover · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a lot of fun reading this book. I'm a sucker for stories about friends finally realizing they love each other.

I really liked the characters. Mitch is very interesting, and even though he comes across as a little rough on the edges, he feels deeply. Kerry was nice and funny.

I didn't really relate to the yoga/karma theme but it was interesting and gave the book a special touch.

[Mrs. Perkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, but not great

Characters were not well developed. For two people who have supposedly been best friends for a long time, they just didn't seem to have a good connection. She was unkind to him and never seemed to pick up on how much he disliked her jokes at his expense. Not awful, but just ... eh.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Someone mentioned I might enjoy this book, so I figured what the hell. It's a little more "trashy romance novel" than I would normally enjoy, but it was ok all in all. Quick read. Steamy. Definitely not my normal cup of tea, so to speak.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book but wasnt thrilled with the ending....I was hoping for a second book, to finish where this left off, but all in all, it was very entertaining.
The writing was very descriptive and well done. I will be reading more by this author soon.

[Summer · Rating 4 out of 5]

******
If you liked this book you may enjoy the following groups:
Erotic Enchants Group
Menage Readers Group

[Cari Quinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really liked this one a lot! One of my favorite tropes and very sexy and fun. The scene in Kerri's studio...delicious!

[Shelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it!!!!

[Angelina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A friends to lovers theme. I really enjoyed this book. No fake angst or ridiculous plot twists. The love scenes are really, really hot.

[MBR · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this one a long time back and remember loving it!

[Melody · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kerri's reactions were sometimes a bit annoying.