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The Endgame
In the exciting conclusion of Andie and Max's story, we revisit them two years after the last time they saw each other in Book One. Max is on the verge of marrying an Academy Award winning actress, and Andie is in the midst of major career transformations. A bombshell moment gives the two of them another chance to be together, but will they take the chance? Or will their past prove to be too complicated and painful for them to make it work? In The Endgame, secrets, both past and present, are revealed as Andie and Max learn the healing and transformative power of love and trust.
295 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 30, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 23, 2025
Adrienne Ruvalcaba offers a promising story arc with her My Best Friend's Wife book series. Unfortunately, that promise falls short in the final installment.
The Endgame
Ever heard the term leave well enough alone? That's what continuously went through my mind while reading The Endgame. Adrienne Ruvalcaba had something with the first two books in this series; Her Darkest Day and Beautiful Beginnings. She built a solid foundation to a romance that gave us many glorious feels. But as the story came to its conclusion, it got in its own way. Not entirely a deal breaker, but if you're going to read to the finish line, be warned, you're taking the long way through a dry desert.
A Short Summary
When we last met Andie and Max, they had finally come together (no pun intended), but not everyone was happy with this outcome. Revenge and misunderstanding collide, sending Andie rushing away from Max, maybe this time for good. While he's left to pick up the pieces and move on with his life, she's never far from his mind. On the eve before his wedding to a world famous actress, Max's ex drops a bombshell. A move she hopes will end Max and Andie's long suffering romance for good. But Max is determined not to let that happen, and pulls a couple of tricks from his own sleeve to ensure he and Andie finally get their happy ever after. Will he succeed or will Andie forever be his best friend, but never his wife?
Where it all went side-ways
I'm starting with the cons, because I want to end this review on a good note. But what can I say? With each page I read, the anticipation I had for this book, quickly diminished. Ruvalcaba spent an astonishing amount of time exploring Max's tech company woes with pages of tech jargon that caused the pacing of the story to slow to a funeral procession. Couple that with the time spent on Andie's budding opera career (that went nowhere, mind you), the story was effectively stymied. But that wasn't the only issue.
There were many redundant moments. Times when Max and Andie had lengthy conversations either with others or together that culminated in summations of past scenarios from the previous books. Given this isn't a standalone, one has to ask, why the long, drawn out recitations of the past? It's insulting to the reader. We already know that happened, now move us forward, please. But redundancy was part of the problem, not the end-all.
In creating conflict, the author made it too unreasonable for them to return to each others arms. Though I live for the slow burn, this chase became a serious drag. Aside from the story getting bogged down with too many unnecessary side plots, the melodramatic tropes Ruvalcaba included took away from the heart of the book. That heart is Max and Andie. A lot of silly misunderstandings that could have been resolved with a simple conversation.
Added to that were characters thrown in and yet left to fade into the background until the very end where it seemed she rushed to resolve their story lines. I'm left to wonder, why include them at all, they really added nothing of note to the story. I am all for drama, but it needs to make sense and not be forced for the sake of creating conflict and extending the word count. Still, by book three you'd think the author had a handle on the little things that plagued the previous books (such as copy edit issues). Nope. The typos continue into this book, and looking at it all with a culminating eye, it seems clear that this book was not professionally edited. With a professional copy and substantive edit, a lot of these issues would have been minimized if not entirely eliminated. But I won't end this review on a negative note. I enjoyed the first two books too much to do that.
Where it went right
One of the best aspects of this book and series is the strong bond between Max and Andie. The previous books built this great foundation with characters that had believable vulnerabilities, heart, compassion, dreams and motivations that made sense. Ruvalcaba created this world around Max and Andie - and it worked well in the first two books, in The Endgame, it was the only thing keeping the story from drowning under its own weight. To give an example of some of the maturity and beauty the author pens, take a look at this passage:
It's not some dazzling turn of phrase, but the simplicity of thought, and the depth of emotion the author threads throughout this story is beautiful. It's the ingredient that kept me reading even when I hit the snags and bumps. Ruvalcaba explores enduring friendship and romance in a way that feels real. Even when the characters were exhibiting moments of insecurity and immaturity, that emotional tangibility remained. Another aspect I enjoyed about this and the series as a whole, were her handling of the intimate scenes. There weren't pages upon pages of explicit sex scenes. These moments had a natural feel. There were build-ups, and moments of consummation that hit the right spot without exhausting us or breaking the momentum. The chemistry between the characters was believable. And that leads me full circle, back to where the heart of this story resides.
The ultimate strength of this book is with the two main characters, Max and Andie. I find when I read romance, there are one of three character elements that can potentially make or break it for me. The first is that neither the heroine or hero are believable or people I can believe in for the sake of the story. Two, the hero is written well, but the heroine has no personality - more of an after thought, a means to an end. Three, you have two even-keeled characters that feel real, that you want to root for. They are Goldilocks' recipe for perfect porridge. Most times I do not get number three. But if I waited to read books that only gave me that, I wouldn't read this genre at all. Sometimes you have to take the bitter with the sweet. And that's why I find this series to be a success even with snafus and poor showing of the final installment. Max and Andie made the story.
In the end
My concluding thoughts are this, the first two books are worth the read. Could the final book have been better? Yes. More concise and focused? Yes. Thoroughly edited? Of course. But it doesn't take away from the merit of the overall story. My recommendation is to read the first book on Kindle Unlimited. If you like it, then read the second (also on Kindle Unlimited). And if you like that, follow my lead and purchase the entire three book series at the low price of $5. It's worth it. These are characters I definitely want to revisit down the line, when the story has blurred in my memory. These were flawed characters, but they felt real even in the most extraordinary of circumstances. Were there stumbles along the way? Yes. Will you struggle to reach the conclusion in book three? Perhaps. But what's a few potholes to see how it all turns out? The road to romance is paved with good intentions.
My rating for The Endgame: A less than stellar 3.0
My Best Friend's Wife series rating: An in your feels 4.0
The Endgame
Ever heard the term leave well enough alone? That's what continuously went through my mind while reading The Endgame. Adrienne Ruvalcaba had something with the first two books in this series; Her Darkest Day and Beautiful Beginnings. She built a solid foundation to a romance that gave us many glorious feels. But as the story came to its conclusion, it got in its own way. Not entirely a deal breaker, but if you're going to read to the finish line, be warned, you're taking the long way through a dry desert.
A Short Summary
When we last met Andie and Max, they had finally come together (no pun intended), but not everyone was happy with this outcome. Revenge and misunderstanding collide, sending Andie rushing away from Max, maybe this time for good. While he's left to pick up the pieces and move on with his life, she's never far from his mind. On the eve before his wedding to a world famous actress, Max's ex drops a bombshell. A move she hopes will end Max and Andie's long suffering romance for good. But Max is determined not to let that happen, and pulls a couple of tricks from his own sleeve to ensure he and Andie finally get their happy ever after. Will he succeed or will Andie forever be his best friend, but never his wife?
Where it all went side-ways
I'm starting with the cons, because I want to end this review on a good note. But what can I say? With each page I read, the anticipation I had for this book, quickly diminished. Ruvalcaba spent an astonishing amount of time exploring Max's tech company woes with pages of tech jargon that caused the pacing of the story to slow to a funeral procession. Couple that with the time spent on Andie's budding opera career (that went nowhere, mind you), the story was effectively stymied. But that wasn't the only issue.
There were many redundant moments. Times when Max and Andie had lengthy conversations either with others or together that culminated in summations of past scenarios from the previous books. Given this isn't a standalone, one has to ask, why the long, drawn out recitations of the past? It's insulting to the reader. We already know that happened, now move us forward, please. But redundancy was part of the problem, not the end-all.
In creating conflict, the author made it too unreasonable for them to return to each others arms. Though I live for the slow burn, this chase became a serious drag. Aside from the story getting bogged down with too many unnecessary side plots, the melodramatic tropes Ruvalcaba included took away from the heart of the book. That heart is Max and Andie. A lot of silly misunderstandings that could have been resolved with a simple conversation.
Added to that were characters thrown in and yet left to fade into the background until the very end where it seemed she rushed to resolve their story lines. I'm left to wonder, why include them at all, they really added nothing of note to the story. I am all for drama, but it needs to make sense and not be forced for the sake of creating conflict and extending the word count. Still, by book three you'd think the author had a handle on the little things that plagued the previous books (such as copy edit issues). Nope. The typos continue into this book, and looking at it all with a culminating eye, it seems clear that this book was not professionally edited. With a professional copy and substantive edit, a lot of these issues would have been minimized if not entirely eliminated. But I won't end this review on a negative note. I enjoyed the first two books too much to do that.
Where it went right
One of the best aspects of this book and series is the strong bond between Max and Andie. The previous books built this great foundation with characters that had believable vulnerabilities, heart, compassion, dreams and motivations that made sense. Ruvalcaba created this world around Max and Andie - and it worked well in the first two books, in The Endgame, it was the only thing keeping the story from drowning under its own weight. To give an example of some of the maturity and beauty the author pens, take a look at this passage:
It had been out of his hands since he had met Andie at twenty-three. By the time he had realized he had a heart, he had already given it to her. And he would never ask for it back. He knew that it was safe with her and always would be.
It's not some dazzling turn of phrase, but the simplicity of thought, and the depth of emotion the author threads throughout this story is beautiful. It's the ingredient that kept me reading even when I hit the snags and bumps. Ruvalcaba explores enduring friendship and romance in a way that feels real. Even when the characters were exhibiting moments of insecurity and immaturity, that emotional tangibility remained. Another aspect I enjoyed about this and the series as a whole, were her handling of the intimate scenes. There weren't pages upon pages of explicit sex scenes. These moments had a natural feel. There were build-ups, and moments of consummation that hit the right spot without exhausting us or breaking the momentum. The chemistry between the characters was believable. And that leads me full circle, back to where the heart of this story resides.
The ultimate strength of this book is with the two main characters, Max and Andie. I find when I read romance, there are one of three character elements that can potentially make or break it for me. The first is that neither the heroine or hero are believable or people I can believe in for the sake of the story. Two, the hero is written well, but the heroine has no personality - more of an after thought, a means to an end. Three, you have two even-keeled characters that feel real, that you want to root for. They are Goldilocks' recipe for perfect porridge. Most times I do not get number three. But if I waited to read books that only gave me that, I wouldn't read this genre at all. Sometimes you have to take the bitter with the sweet. And that's why I find this series to be a success even with snafus and poor showing of the final installment. Max and Andie made the story.
In the end
My concluding thoughts are this, the first two books are worth the read. Could the final book have been better? Yes. More concise and focused? Yes. Thoroughly edited? Of course. But it doesn't take away from the merit of the overall story. My recommendation is to read the first book on Kindle Unlimited. If you like it, then read the second (also on Kindle Unlimited). And if you like that, follow my lead and purchase the entire three book series at the low price of $5. It's worth it. These are characters I definitely want to revisit down the line, when the story has blurred in my memory. These were flawed characters, but they felt real even in the most extraordinary of circumstances. Were there stumbles along the way? Yes. Will you struggle to reach the conclusion in book three? Perhaps. But what's a few potholes to see how it all turns out? The road to romance is paved with good intentions.
My rating for The Endgame: A less than stellar 3.0
My Best Friend's Wife series rating: An in your feels 4.0
June 30, 2017
I have really enjoyed this series of books and I liked the way the book ended! I am glad that it was not the traditional overly sappy and unrealistic love story that many pitch nowadays. At least the billionaire in this book worked and broke his back for what he has and was not slumming it to rescue the helpless and poor heroine. He rescued her but they rescued each other and she did not want or need his money she had her own when all was said and done. I am glad that the grammar is on point and that the story flows really well. I did not find Geoff necessary in any way and kind of saw what he was and where he might show up early on but I get why he was there- the same goes for the crazy and mean spirited ex wife- even after Max tried to make things right she was still just hateful. I was not a fan of Sage either but life happens. I loved that Andie reconciled with her in laws and I am so glad that her mother in law stepped up and gave her the real talk she needed. I did sometimes get annoyed that someone with so many talents did not always know how appreciated she was but I get the thread that bonded Andie and Max together even though they handled their past in different ways. I would and will read again and I enjoyed the series.
September 15, 2017
Too drawn out
All in all, this was a decent book. I felt that it was too drawn out at certain parts of the trilogy. It reached it's peak in the second book. There were also side plots that really weren't necessary (i.e. the FBI parts) and came off as shoe horned in. Andie and Max's past was beautiful. I do like how Derek was never painted in a villainous light. However, I feel that for the most part a lot of the heartache and miscommunication fell on Andie's shoulder. She was a coward from the beginning to nearly the end. Max was too prideful and it cost him 13 years. I'm glad he got his HEA in the end.
All in all, this was a decent book. I felt that it was too drawn out at certain parts of the trilogy. It reached it's peak in the second book. There were also side plots that really weren't necessary (i.e. the FBI parts) and came off as shoe horned in. Andie and Max's past was beautiful. I do like how Derek was never painted in a villainous light. However, I feel that for the most part a lot of the heartache and miscommunication fell on Andie's shoulder. She was a coward from the beginning to nearly the end. Max was too prideful and it cost him 13 years. I'm glad he got his HEA in the end.
August 12, 2017
The long-awaited conclusion of the love story between Andie and Max. I read and read and read some more and when it felt I was getting close to the conclusion I had only gotten through part one of the book, I nearly cried in exhaustion. I thought will it take another 10+ years for Max and Andie to get married? I was tired.
The pacing of this story is a long, slow crawl toward a HEA. Long, slow, and wordy crawl. I skipped to the final three chapters because I lost all interest in seeing how Max and Andie were in a relationship. What made them sweet made them tiresome to me. Constantly bringing up Derek, Max having to deal with conniving, vindictive exes who had nothing better to do with their time, shadiness happening with his business that really added nothing to the story, I was just tired.
I'm glad they got married in the end. After ten years of Max having unrequited feelings, happy for him his patience paid off. Andie, I wish she could have done more with her life than feel sorry for herself. As someone else pointed out, she did all this vocal training with her former mother-in-law but it didn't lead to her signing a record deal with a reputable label or even being the opening act of an actual artist. She did all of that just to continue singing at a jazz club. Okay, fine. It just would have been nice to see her be more ambitious.
The pacing of this story is a long, slow crawl toward a HEA. Long, slow, and wordy crawl. I skipped to the final three chapters because I lost all interest in seeing how Max and Andie were in a relationship. What made them sweet made them tiresome to me. Constantly bringing up Derek, Max having to deal with conniving, vindictive exes who had nothing better to do with their time, shadiness happening with his business that really added nothing to the story, I was just tired.
I'm glad they got married in the end. After ten years of Max having unrequited feelings, happy for him his patience paid off. Andie, I wish she could have done more with her life than feel sorry for herself. As someone else pointed out, she did all this vocal training with her former mother-in-law but it didn't lead to her signing a record deal with a reputable label or even being the opening act of an actual artist. She did all of that just to continue singing at a jazz club. Okay, fine. It just would have been nice to see her be more ambitious.
June 7, 2022
The Endgame
I feel like as intriguing as Andie and Max's story began the ending missed the mark for me. You would think that a couple who has been separated for the span of ten years would of matured and learn some valuable lesson. Not the case with these two.
Max reasoning for keeping key pieces to why action had been taken in their beginning made no sense. The fact he had such a difficult time admitting he loved her from the beginning didn't make sense. This couple had a huge issue with the a lack of communication. This series started off good but it burn and crash at the end. Too much back and forth for me.
I feel like as intriguing as Andie and Max's story began the ending missed the mark for me. You would think that a couple who has been separated for the span of ten years would of matured and learn some valuable lesson. Not the case with these two.
Max reasoning for keeping key pieces to why action had been taken in their beginning made no sense. The fact he had such a difficult time admitting he loved her from the beginning didn't make sense. This couple had a huge issue with the a lack of communication. This series started off good but it burn and crash at the end. Too much back and forth for me.
November 20, 2018
3.5 stars for the last book in the series. I thought the book went on a bit long. The subplot of the sex trafficking seemed a bit much and there really wasn’t any depth to it. Too much computer jargon and not enough human factor. We never got to hear any success stories from all of the work that had the FBI up in arms.
I understand peaks and valleys for dramatic effect, but in my opinion there were too many. When the H/h finally get together I couldn’t enjoy it because of the added drama.
I understand peaks and valleys for dramatic effect, but in my opinion there were too many. When the H/h finally get together I couldn’t enjoy it because of the added drama.
August 10, 2022
It's never too late to be with the one you love
Max and andie have been divided between misunderstandings, endured divorces from max end and almost marriages and still the love they had for each other never died. When they reconnect it won't be easy but in the end it will be all worth it, so enjoy the end game that ends better than you ever could have imagined
Max and andie have been divided between misunderstandings, endured divorces from max end and almost marriages and still the love they had for each other never died. When they reconnect it won't be easy but in the end it will be all worth it, so enjoy the end game that ends better than you ever could have imagined
August 21, 2017
Beautiful Conclusion
This book is what we've been waiting for during this series. We get our answers and a heart warming conclusion. So sweet and beautiful.
This book is what we've been waiting for during this series. We get our answers and a heart warming conclusion. So sweet and beautiful.
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