Not Even Close

by Elizabeth Reyes

Bitter. Broken. Explosive.e should’ve known he was in trouble the moment he heard that sweet laugh. Normally, something that sweet would’ve annoyed his bitter ass. Instead, he was drawn to it—to her—like he hadn’t been drawn to anything in too long. He should’ve run the moment he found out she was just eighteen. Normally, he steered clear of girls that young and their drama. Instead, he succumbed to the unrelenting draw. He should’ve been relieved when she admitted she was in no way ready for anything exclusive and serious. Normally, he’d be all for that. Instead, the thought of her not being exclusively his infuriated him. Except nothing was normal about how alarmingly fast she’d brought him to his knees. In all his twenty-five years, not a single girl had ever done that. Not Even Close. But she’s still just eighteen and she still isn’t exclusively his. With his past making him so cynical it’s not a matter of if he’ll eventually blow but how badly. NOT EVEN CLOSE is a New Generation series featuring the offspring of couples from my previous series.

Genres: Romance

351 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 23, 2021

About the author

Elizabeth Reyes is a USA Today Best Selling Author of The Moreno Brothers, 5th Street, Fate, Looking Glass, De Luca Boys series' and two stand alone novels Desert Heat, & Defining Love.

Join the fun and become a royal member of TeamReyes and enjoy the perks of early announcements,cover reveals teasers, including exclusive teasers shared only the group. Along with exclusive team,giveaways,discussions, trivia, Secret Santa and much much more!

Note to readers, I don't do dark, tragic or kill off main characters no matter what it might seem like. Just keep reading and trust me you'll ALWAYS get an HEA from me!

Moreno Brothers:

Forever Mine - New Adult / Mature YA

Sweet Sofie - New Adult/ Mature YA

Forever Yours - New Adult (Angel and Sarah's follow up (college story!)

When You Were Mine - (A prequel novella to Always Been Mine)- New Adult

Always Been Mine - Adult contemporary

Romero - New Adult- Adult contemporary

Making You Mine - New Adult
(with bonus Angel and Sarah short "Only 8 days") *Tearjerker

Tangled - (A Moreno Brothers holiday novella) Featuring Romero and Izzy

Tall, Dark & Obnoxious - Adult Romantic Comedy- short featuring Izzy's uptight sister and Romero's obnoxious uncle.


5th Street:

Noah - Adult Contemporary

Gio - New Adult

Hector - New Adult

Abel - Adult Contemporary *Tear Jerker

Felix - New Adult *Tear jerker

Blindside - Adult contemporary short featuring Noah and Roni

Fate series:

Fate - New Adult

Breaking Brandon - New Adult *Tear jerker

Suspicious Minds - Adult contemporary

Again - New Adult/Adult Contemporary *MAJOR tear jerker

Rage - Adult contemporary

His To Guard - Adult contemporary

Uninvited - Adult contemporary

Boyle Heights series

Lila - Adult Contemporary

Beast - Adult Contemporary

Nine - Adult Contemporary/RomCom

Orlando - Adult Contemporary

Looking Glass

Girl In The Mirror - Adult Contemporary/psychological thriller

We Were One - Adult Contemporary *MAJOR tear jerker but TRUST ME! ;)

De Luca Boys

Remi's Choice - Adult Contemporary - Love triangle MAJOR angst - cheating but hailed one of the BEST love triangles written.




For more up to date info visit her website at www.ElizabethReyes.com

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall solid writing. It started out with so many sweet moments. From one third in until the ending, misunderstandings and poor communication drove the storyline.

I did find it easy to keep putting down the book but I also would go back to it when I had the chance.

The pranks were a weird fit with the story-
Especially the one where Byron was breaking up with Vannah and she was laughing so hard when explaining it was just a prank. Everything about her character made that scene not make sense. Perhaps her sister might have reacted that way but not Vannah.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not Even Close is Elizabeth's newest release and the start of her next series – A New Generation Series. This series is bringing the offspring of her characters from her other series – the Moreno Brothers, 5th Street and Boyle Heights. You don't need to have read any of those books to start off this series.

I am actually torn on this one. There are parts that I love about this book and parts that really bother me.

Not Even Close is about Byron and Savannah (Vannah). Byron is Beast's brother and works at the 5th Street Gym. Savannah is the daughter of Alex Moreno.

Byron has graduated from college and is now part owner of 5th Street Gym. He's been through a lot and has lost people in his life and he's not quite dealt with those properly. It's only caused him to keep people at arm's length and the one time he let someone get close, he gets burnt. So he's quite intense and struggles with how to handle his emotions properly.

Savannah is just starting out her college years and has made it a point to focus on her studies. She does not want anything or anyone (especially a man) to deter her from her goals. Her family is very close and they do not hide anything from one another.

Byron and Savannah's relationship starts off slightly rocky as they allow their own insecurities to cloud their viewpoints of one another. Byron has sworn off women, especially one as young as Savannah. Savannah has her walls up because she does not want to get involved with any guy at more than surface level and have fun.

There are a lot of bumps and bruises in Savannah and Byron's journey. Byron is intense and quick to react to situations and not always in the best ways. Savannah is trying to keep things from getting too deep but also makes too many excuses for Byron's behavior.

While I enjoyed the plot and the concept of this story, I struggled with the characters and their growth in the book.

Savannah is very naïve when it comes to a mature relationship and how to handle the emotions that come with that. For me, she almost became too submissive in the relationship and let things slide too easily with much explanation from Byron. Savannah just swept too much under the rug and gave him too many excuses for his behavior and I think a lot of this has to do with her lack of experience in relationships. As a reader, I wanted more explanation as to why Savannah reacted to things so easily ( her family is filled with intense men but anyone who has not read those books won't be aware of this).

Byron really needed to work through his actions to situation and his intensity when it came to Savannah and her interactions with others. Instead of coming across as overly protective of her, he came across as more jealous and not trusting in Savannah. I felt as though Byron's jealousy and reaction to situations was glazed over and never really dealt with. You could sense that he was trying to reign in his temperament on things, but it was never really addressed and worked out. I personally felt area needed to be fleshed out more.

I wanted to love this one so much more than I did. I truly enjoyed Reyes other books in other series and she always made her characters relatable and their stories very heartfelt. This one just felt rushed and not up to par of her other books.

I still enjoyed it and loved seeing characters from the other books but I wanted more. I will still recommend readers to give this one a go, especially new readers. And I will still read when she brings us next; this will not deter me.

[Beeg Panda · Rating 4 out of 5]

🎁Alex Moreno’s daughter and Beast’s brother !!!!
🎁Byron and Savannah’s next gen story!!!!
🎁AND he works at the 5th Street Gym!!!!

Alex and Valerie - Moreno Brothers book 2 -
Beast and Allison - Boyle Heights book 2 -

🚨NTS: neaten review: grammar / tenses / typo etc

✔️Third person POV for a change

Misunderstanding 🚩 no communication🚩misunderstanding 🚩no communication
🚩The usual pusual

Why don’t I stop reading at this point?
Because:
😭😍It’s Alex and Valerie Moreno’s daughter’s book and I’m not missing out on this. Huh uh. I will suffer through this for even a glimpse of their world

😭😍He is Beast’s brother!🙌

😭😍I get to see 5th Street🙌

😭😍I was hoping to see the rest of the Moreno clan. 🙌

✔️the writing style is great

✔️He’s the poster boy for OTT moody, obsessed J/P & territorial heroes, ESPECIALLY as they’ve hardly spoken two words at this stage yet. Still, it’s believable because we get his pov. I cringed at how he tortured himself instead of just friggin communicating. He’s a 25 year old toddler who can’t think straight when it comes to her. Immature. Downright dense, if u ask me

😭😍She’s sweet and innocent and Alex Moreno’s daughter😭 🤡. She’s an influencer, hardworking and all kinda of adorable. And she’s Romero’s niece🙌😆

😅I just KNEW the H was gonna fuck up and I was hoping to see Alex beat his miserable ass good and solid. A few backhands across the face might set him straight.

So, they’re seeing each other for a week, after a month of not so cute meets. Haven’t verbally committed to each other but both are expecting more from the other.

🚩Misunderstandings yet again
🚩No communication
🚩He’s so upset he angry texts her, gets drunk off his ass & makes out with the ow (whom he occasionally gets together with, nothing serious)
Takes said nothing serious to his apartment. Wakes up with her buck ass naked and can’t recall anything except making out sessions. She tells him that he couldn't follow through cos he was so inebriated but he promised her that they would:
“finish tomorrow”. Well, it’s tomorrow, but he doesn’t have time so
doucheshnauser tells her to come around that evening so they can take up where they left off

🚩That same day Hxh work things out after yet ANOTHER misunderstanding. They have dinner (unplanned) with her family and he takes her home with him afterwards. At this point they still haven’t actually “formally”made a commitment to more than just having fun, but they agree on exclusivity
🚩Still, there’s not much necessary communication except between him and ow who called to say she won’t make it. Conveniently, for him.
🚩That evening the Hxh are hot and heavy and ((SURPRISE)) ow shows up and causes quite the ruckus.
🚩“Does she know your bed is still warm from my naked ass?”, the ow wants to know
🚩He ain’t having none of that and tells her to bugger off
🚩THEN he panicked and downright, straight out, flat out LIES to the h’s face about the ow - it’s damage control time
🚩Then he changes his bedding: “He’d already dodged one bullet. Last thing he needed was to have her detect the smell of Irma’s perfume or anything else on his sheets. He wasn’t taking any chances..
Pulling the comforter and blanket off he threw them on the floor. Savannah walked around the bed while he began to pull on the sheet, as if to help him take it off on the other side. He tugged the sheet, and something flew off and bounced by Savannah’s feet.
Nearly freezing in place, he watched as she looked around to see where it ended up. Because it was solid enough to bounce and clink on the floor, Byron was hopeful it was some kind of coin or button. Anything was better than women’s undergarments.
Continuing to pull the fitted sheet off trying not to look as nervous as this made him, he worked on getting the clean one on before he glanced up as she bent over to pick up whatever it was. The moment he saw it in between her fingers his breath caught.
She examined it silently for a second before glancing up at him, her delicate little brow arching ever so slightly.“Woman’s earring.”
Standing there like an idiot he stared at it avoiding looking her in the eyes for as long as he could. Because try as he might, even as his panicking head raced for a proper response, nothing, he had nothing.”

🚩Aaaand it’s damage control time again. And she makes it so easy for him. Poor girlie. She’s sweet, though. Sigh….she doesn’t want to rock the boat even as she knows he’s still hung up (9 years later) on his idea of puppy love if his first gf who died many years ago. (We get to read about this towards the end) She was bright and shiny like the h and sometimes reminded him of his ex gf. He was 15 at the time so it doesn’t bother me as much as it normally would

🚩 THEN his desperate panicked ass AGAIN downright, straight out, flat out LIES to the h’s face. The thought of losing her is breaking him.


Why don’t I stop reading at this point?
😅Because he’s literally floundering around LOL trying to make things right by her albeit by lying
😅His POV is both funny and irritating, filled with dread at losing her: he’s so pathetic for her that I actually felt a bit sorry for him. Arshole.
😅Plus, I’m now salivating at the thought of Alex choking the shit out of him


🚩So this fool continues to grovel a lot cos he’s got so much continuous damage control to do…sigh…He’s constantly blocking his previous lady friends, but he’s open about it because he wants to be worthy of her. Still, he’s POV is the best: “And someone I’m about to block.” Tap, tap, tap.Fuck me. He seriously had to refrain from groaning, but he was determined to be honest. Even if this happening over and over again would likely start spiking his blood pressure. He knew he’d had a good list of lady friends, but he swore to Christ he’d never been this fucking popular with them before. It’s like he was being punked with this shit already.”

😆Then the Morenos arrive! ROFLOL and so much more. Beeeeuuutifullllll😘🥰😍

🚩through all this drama, he remains insecure of her dedication to him and suspicious of every male she talks to: every phone call she’s on. He’s possessiveness
knows no bounds and he’s demanding to the point is crazy despite her sweet happy devotion to him. And he’s just about telling himself to stop being so OTT when the next bomb drops: she calls him by her ex bf’s name 🤣🤣🤣🤣 Insane is what he went. IN SANE. He doesn’t want to hear it. He’s SO cruel. The fuck.

🚩But…
Turns out it’s a prank. A TikTok prank that’s she’s filming for her channel. Ms Reyes wrote the scene tremendously well. And of course, in keeping with his all-consuming fixation on her he doesn’t completely believe her until he sees the video.

🚩Then all is hunky dory for a while until the next craptastic event: the ow tells the h that she slept at his place and lost an earring. The h’s fone switches off just as the H’s scrambling to explain why he lied. Suddenly everyone’s looking for her at the same time there’s a shooting on campus. He cries. Real terrified tears in front of her father and uncles. After some angst and miserable tears, she’s unharmed.

🚩NOW they communicate. Then get married. They’re happy, I’m happy. Everyone’s happy.

[Harv Virdee · Rating 5 out of 5]

The next generation series is finally here following on from the wonderful Moreno brothers, 5th street, fate and Boyle heights. A wonderful collision of worlds.

In this initial book we got to revisit all the wonderful characters we have grown to love in the Moreno brothers series, 5th street and of course Boyle heights. The different worlds have literally collided in the best way.

We are now getting to experience the love stories of the babies that we met in these books - the next generation. I could not put this book down. This book had it all Romance, angst and love.

Elizabeth Reyes is one of my favourite authors she never disappoints Ace author Ace book. This can be read alone as it’s a great read on it own but I would definitely read it chronologically and would definitely recommend reading the other books first. Can’t wait to read the next one.

[Ivette · Rating 5 out of 5]

FIVE FAT STARS!

Elizabeth has a way with words that keeps you wanting more with every book she writes. Byron and Vanna's story was absolutely amazing. There was a few throat punches that I want to give Byron. 🙄. You are in for treat with a few great characters come back. I know it's only book 1 of New Generation but I already know it will be amazing series! Loved it!

[Biancamarie Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow

I love this book. It had me on my toes a few times. What a great book. I love the story line. Cant wait to see who is next.

[Joyce Martinez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elizabeth Reyes never disappoints when it comes to her books. This sweet and steamy story is what I come to expect by this author. Alpha male and a wonderful heroine that besides some obstacles or challenges find their way to a happliy ever after. Byron was introduced to us in Beast's story and had many of ER's readers intrigued. When she decided to write his story I was so excited that one of the next generation Moreno"s would be his love interest. Vannah kept me guessing who her Alpha papa would be. They were a match made in heaven. Great start to this next generation series and can't wait to see what is in store for us with this generation of Moreno's. P.S. Elizabeth thank you for the quick update of many of our beloved characters. My favorite is Romero, Max and Manny's shenigans.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

Wow! Just Wow! This book has it all. I could not put it down. In my opinion noone writes the drama that comes with interpersonal relations better than Elizabeth Reyes.
She gets the nuances and lays them on the page in such a way that the reader can feel every miniscule drop of emotion contained within.

This New Generation Novel, Not Even Close, is an epic start to a whole new set of adventures which includes characters we know and love or love to hate, in some cases. The connection of these young characters to the O.G. Moreno Brothers, 5th Street, and Boyle Heights Novels is a veritable treasure trove of endless surprise and entertainment.

What I love most about Not Even Close is the intensity of not only the resident Alpha Hothead , Byron, but also the fierce match he found in the pretty and petite, Vannah. They are such opposite personalities, but so perfectly matched. It is easy to feel and believe the instant and insanely magnetic attraction they had for each other.

Eli Reyes did and excellent job of keeping the strong sense of family and long held tradition alive while balancing it with new and very modern-day conventions. She had me yelling, gasping, swooning, and laughing out loud at the experiences shared by Byron and Vannah. Their angst and drama is off the charts.

I enjoyed every second of this story and cannot wait for the second installment of this series. I long to meet the young people of this new generation while simultaneously longing to go back and revisit the iconic moments of the original Eli Reyes' characters. The New Generation Series is aptly named as these characters blaze their own trails to their futures and the hearts of readers like me.

[Frances Hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book blow me away! I wish I could give this book 10 stars!
Hands-down one of the best book Elizabeth has ever written . I couldn’t put it down. This book captured my attention so much when they laughed I laughed when they cried I cried and when they were sad I was sad and when they were happy I was happy when they were smiling I was smiling oh my goodness I just I can’t express how much I really enjoyed reading it!
This is a great beginning to the next generation Series.
I can’t wait to see who is next.

[Jewel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love seeing the 5th street and Moreno family meet and join together. I love Savannah and Byrons story. Laughed and enjoyed.

[Claudia Arensdorff · Rating 5 out of 5]

I already need a re-read!!!!

Not Even Close was absolutely amazing, it had me laughing, A little sad but most of all super excited about all of the things happening. All I needed was to keep reading because I needed to know what was going to happen next. Reading about the new generation was absolutely as captivating as it was reading about their parents. ITS A NEED TO BE READ BOOK!!!!! Definitely worth more than five start.... 😍💗

[Tiffany Kirk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another must read

Elizabeth has done it again. I loved reading every minute of the book. If you love her books, then you will love this next generation. I can’t wait to read the next one.

[Mrs Darcy reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love!

In typical Reyes fashion this was was so entertaining and great to read! I also love that we are seeing the new generation and snippets of our old favorite characters!

[Frances · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG, those pranks! I would be so maaaaddd if I had been on the recieving end of them. That first one though was VERY RISKY! I wouldn't have played with fire.

[Kelly Junior · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super hot

I loved this story with bryon. Savanah was great a character and her sister twins. Awesome next generation story to read.

[Copper78 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm giving this 2 stars b/c it was just ok. Reyes writes one book with different character names and she switches the details up. But it's all the same book with the same hero. The heroines are similar too. I have come to expect this so I don't actually have a huge problem with this. She has a formula that works for her. I just felt this book was not very well written. First, there are TONS of grammatical errors. I highlighted several. They are abundant in this book. Was it edited or proofread at all?? I don't understand how so many could be missed. I didn't particularly like either the H or h in this book, their isn't a lot of chemistry or steam, everything is rushed, the h plays a very childish prank that could have easily backfired badly. It almost did, but it was contrived and just thrown in for some drama. I loved Alex and Valerie's story, especially their prequel, but we didn't get much of them in this book. I do like the idea of tracking all the kids of the original series, but I hope the rest are better executed and edited than this one. I didn't hate it, but I also don't really think it's worth reading.

[Stephanie Hammack · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible

I really liked all the books about the Moreno brothers but this book was terrible. They were immature and in their heads to much.

[Elizabeth Ospina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat disappointed. Grammatically, the book is a disaster. Needs serious editing. Storyline is incomprehensible. Pranks are immature, cruel to a certain extent. Alex, as portrayed in his own Morenos book, would never, ever consent to the final escenario described in this book. No comparison to Ms Reyes original Morenos Brothers series. She needs to up her game in this new generation series. I know time has changed since her original series, and also the new younger generation is different, but not much difference in values and beliefs have occurred from one to the other than all of a sudden an 18 year old Inmature college freshman decides to get married and is immediately accepted by the whole three generational family. Perhaps I am biased because I am from Alex’s generation and the Ms Reyes’s readers Are now from the generation she is depicting in this book, reason why there is such disparity in the reviews.

[Mehtap · Rating 4 out of 5]

The words use and overall review shouldn’t reflect personally on the author or any other of her series and books.

It’s been a while since I finish a book! Like maybe since last year or beginning of this year! But I surely like this one. I love this age gap range and it will surely go in my recommended age gap books list I have here in GR! I love how Bryson was romantic at times and she was a pretty cool Lead girl.

The reason this wasn’t a 5 stars is that Bryson was a bit too much at times and I get the jealousy streaks Latino man can get but still not cute, the YouTube stuff and pranks were a bit to silly or cringey to me. And the romance was just to Insta.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elizabeth Reyes keeps me coming back for more. I love the dynamics of her characters. At the root there is family. Having a family or building a family of friends gives a solid foundation to these characters.
This book falls under the category of next generation. We get to meet one of the daughter's of an original character from The Moreno series. from the beginning chapters I knew who she was related to and squealed with excitement when I got confirmation.
Vannah and Byron are possibly one of my favorites for the mere fact that Hannah had enough sense to communicate her feelings. It was still scary for her being that she was young, but I thought it was refreshing to see a relationship form without all the miscommunication. Byron is older and he was communicating his feelings and telling truths because he wanted the real deal. These two are amazing together.
I know I will be back for other books. Elizabeth has a way of storytelling that just feeds the book nerd's soul. You knocked this one out of the park, Elizabeth.

[Karja26 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Epic Alpha-ness from Byron from the first page! Byron we know as Beast (Boyle Heights Series) little brother and he’s got a massive chip on his shoulder and trust issues when it comes to the ladies.

Vannah’s identity is revealed pretty early on especially if you’ve read Elizabeth’s original series and can remember the updated family tree 😬😬 I don’t want to give too much about her because trying to solve her identity was really fun. Elizabeth just loves teasing us with these secrets!!

Byron gave me ALOT of WTH dude moments 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ Vannah held her own against his personality (guess with parents like hers she was ready).

Reading “Not Even Close” brought back such great memories from Elizabeth’s earlier books and I’m loving it!

[Amazeballs Book Addicts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not Even Close is a good read. It is a New Generation series featuring the offspring of couples from Elizabeth Reyes previous series but that really didn't mean anything to me because this one was my first read by the author. Byron is a little older and has graduated from college and runs a business. He has a brother he's super close with and a couple of friends who are like family to him. He has a pass and has his insecurities from it. Savannah is just 18 and starting out at college. I liked her. She has her walls up and doesn't want a relationship. She catches Byron's eye. He doesn't really want to be attracted to her but he can't help it. They had a great connection and a good story.

[Marcy · Rating 3 out of 5]

***3.5 stars***
I like this story and seeing the Moreno's again. It was really fun to see how they are now as parents. Byron and Savannah had a few years between them, but they did have great chemistry. I thought Vannah could be a bit naive at times, but she was a sweetheart. Byron was a typical hot headed alpha. It could be over the top sometimes, but not any different than the Moreno brothers when they were falling in love.

[Stace]

BETA READ

I won’t rate this until I read the revised and final edition. I had a LOT of problems with Byron and E.R. knows them all, but I was in the minority so I don’t think he’s going to change much....I’ll still try and read this again when it is “finished” because she does write heroes I do love....Noah and Nine are 2 of my faves. 😁

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book

This book fits with all of the others in intensity and fierce protection. Only reason it's a 4 instead of a 5 is due to more than a couple spelling or grammar errors. Otherwise, it's amazing.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Elizabeth Reyes books and have fallen in love with her characters. This book doesn't disappoint. Yet another brooding alpha and his temper keep you enthralled to the very end.

[Lucinda Ramirez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fabulous read! I love the Morenos and now we get to read about the new generation! There were a couple of things that had me 🤔 but the story was just amazing anyways.

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Insta love. some steam but not super steamy. A lot of inner dialogue that was super repetitive. The guy was a little too controlling for my liking but sorta sweet in away.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great story!

I really enjoy this series and Byron’s story is one of my favs. I love how the 5th street series and the Morenos combine in this book.