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Lily Darling
Eli’s known Lilith Browning since she was a bossy little princess who used to hide in trees and spy on him making out with girls. He’s known her since she was just a kid devastated by her parents’ divorce. He was there for all of it…
And he’s still there years later. Only now, Lily isn’t a girl anymore. She’s a woman. A gorgeous, infuriating woman who up and decides to crash his new bachelor pad. This after revealing she secretly writes kinky books for a living. Yeah, Eli’s known Lily forever, but has he ever really known her?
Lily’s had her eye on Elias Park for a while. Yes, there was that one incident in the tree. And all the times she used to ogle him in his rock-boy skinny-jeans as a teen. Truth? She’s been hard-core crushing on her cousin’s best friend for years. So, when an impulsive decision leads to a brilliant idea, Lily seizes the moment…
What better way to write a sexy story about a bad-boy musician than to move in with one?
And he’s still there years later. Only now, Lily isn’t a girl anymore. She’s a woman. A gorgeous, infuriating woman who up and decides to crash his new bachelor pad. This after revealing she secretly writes kinky books for a living. Yeah, Eli’s known Lily forever, but has he ever really known her?
Lily’s had her eye on Elias Park for a while. Yes, there was that one incident in the tree. And all the times she used to ogle him in his rock-boy skinny-jeans as a teen. Truth? She’s been hard-core crushing on her cousin’s best friend for years. So, when an impulsive decision leads to a brilliant idea, Lily seizes the moment…
What better way to write a sexy story about a bad-boy musician than to move in with one?
700 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 18, 2021
4 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
December 3, 2021
Thank you to Netgalley and the author for this free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I loved this book! It was slow to begin with and BOOM I was hooked. I found any opportunity I could to read this book while at work. I loved Lily's sassiness and Elias' uber sexiness in this book and the way he calls Lily 'darlin' in my head. Be aware there are trigger warnings and has mature content 😉🥵🔥 in this book.
I loved this book! It was slow to begin with and BOOM I was hooked. I found any opportunity I could to read this book while at work. I loved Lily's sassiness and Elias' uber sexiness in this book and the way he calls Lily 'darlin' in my head. Be aware there are trigger warnings and has mature content 😉🥵🔥 in this book.
March 10, 2022
Okay, this book was really great. However, I did find some little spelling errors throughout, although it was very well written and definitely kept my attention - it was really hard to put down.
This book was definitely close to a five star read for me but, I think there could have been some tweaks to the plot to fulfil the potential - it was a truly excellent plot embedded which allowed for many view point to all combine in, but there was at parts so much going on and an information overload it seemed there wasn't enough time spent on some scenes.
I had a lot of feelings through the book, tense, sad, happy, I certainly had some laughs and a cry but that made the book a lot better.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This book was definitely close to a five star read for me but, I think there could have been some tweaks to the plot to fulfil the potential - it was a truly excellent plot embedded which allowed for many view point to all combine in, but there was at parts so much going on and an information overload it seemed there wasn't enough time spent on some scenes.
I had a lot of feelings through the book, tense, sad, happy, I certainly had some laughs and a cry but that made the book a lot better.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
December 25, 2021
Lily Darling is the fourth in the series but can definitely be read as a standalone, which is how I read it.
This story follows Lily Browning who is an erotic fantasy writer who uses a pen name.
During Christmas Eve brunch she decides to inform her overprotective family of this which causes her dad to tell her to leave his house if she wants to continue.
This leads to her moving into Eli's apartment with him. Lily has known (and had a crush on) Eli for years as he is her cousin's best friend.
She realises that she can use 'bad boy' Eli for inspiration for her next novel, which leads to lots of sexy Q and A sessions.
A lot happens in this book over a very short period of time but its very well written and I loved the relationship of the two main characters.
The side characters also have interesting plots which interconnect well with the main storyline.
The only downside to this book for myself was that at the beginning of the book there was a lot of characters introduced quickly which was a bit confusing and some of the chapters were very long compared to most of the others.
Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this book for my honest review.
This story follows Lily Browning who is an erotic fantasy writer who uses a pen name.
During Christmas Eve brunch she decides to inform her overprotective family of this which causes her dad to tell her to leave his house if she wants to continue.
This leads to her moving into Eli's apartment with him. Lily has known (and had a crush on) Eli for years as he is her cousin's best friend.
She realises that she can use 'bad boy' Eli for inspiration for her next novel, which leads to lots of sexy Q and A sessions.
A lot happens in this book over a very short period of time but its very well written and I loved the relationship of the two main characters.
The side characters also have interesting plots which interconnect well with the main storyline.
The only downside to this book for myself was that at the beginning of the book there was a lot of characters introduced quickly which was a bit confusing and some of the chapters were very long compared to most of the others.
Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this book for my honest review.
December 11, 2021
It all started at family brunch on Christmas morning. Lily planned to reveal that she doesn’t only publish young adult novels under her own name, but also erotica under a penname. Her father thinks it brings shame to her family and her first response is to move into her cousin’s best friend Elias Park. What Elias thought about it didn’t really matter, Lily was just as bossy and got her way now as when they first met over a decade ago.
Lily got the brilliant idea that her next novel would be about a bad boy musician and what better way to get inspired than move into the skinny-jeans bearing rock-boy for a few weeks?
Lily had a crush on Elias since she was a little girl, but due to the age difference she always been his best friend’s cousin that hides in trees. Now that Elias can’t deny that the little girl is gone and became a beautiful woman, he can’t deny that there is something there.
It’s been a while since I closed the cover on my e-reader and felt so satisfied with a book that I wanted a physical copy so I could hug and sniff if. This book deserved to feel how much I loved it.
This book is very well written. I usually doesn’t like the view this book is written from and my first thought when I opened the book were “not this view again…” But 10 pages later it didn’t bother me, and I also were hooked.
The love story of Elias and Lily is both long and short. I often feel like the timeframe in romance novels are too quick, no one really goes from 0 to 1o0 in a couple of weeks. But this book never made me feel like that. The author really manages to capture the connection Elias and Lily had from the day they met even if the books start over a decade later.
The book might only take place over a few weeks, but you really feel how the relationship between Elias and Lily has been growing for years and the book is about it finally blossomed.
I really liked that the book showed that a woman can own her own sexuality. I believe that it’s important to write about sex in a healthy way – specially if the target audience is young women. I love that Lily doesn’t want to hide her erotica, that she wears sexy lingerie for her and not a guy, talking about her viberator casually and never do anything she didn’t want to do. Why are dirty books and viberators a stigma when porn and yanking off normal?
Lily Darling made me laugh, cry, gosh and laugh some more. I really enjoyed the ride, and I will definitely read this book again – maybe even get my hands on a physical copy so I finally can give it the love it deserves.
Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I also want to thank Dorothy herself for the two days I spent with Eli and Lily – it was an honor.
Lily got the brilliant idea that her next novel would be about a bad boy musician and what better way to get inspired than move into the skinny-jeans bearing rock-boy for a few weeks?
Lily had a crush on Elias since she was a little girl, but due to the age difference she always been his best friend’s cousin that hides in trees. Now that Elias can’t deny that the little girl is gone and became a beautiful woman, he can’t deny that there is something there.
It’s been a while since I closed the cover on my e-reader and felt so satisfied with a book that I wanted a physical copy so I could hug and sniff if. This book deserved to feel how much I loved it.
This book is very well written. I usually doesn’t like the view this book is written from and my first thought when I opened the book were “not this view again…” But 10 pages later it didn’t bother me, and I also were hooked.
The love story of Elias and Lily is both long and short. I often feel like the timeframe in romance novels are too quick, no one really goes from 0 to 1o0 in a couple of weeks. But this book never made me feel like that. The author really manages to capture the connection Elias and Lily had from the day they met even if the books start over a decade later.
The book might only take place over a few weeks, but you really feel how the relationship between Elias and Lily has been growing for years and the book is about it finally blossomed.
I really liked that the book showed that a woman can own her own sexuality. I believe that it’s important to write about sex in a healthy way – specially if the target audience is young women. I love that Lily doesn’t want to hide her erotica, that she wears sexy lingerie for her and not a guy, talking about her viberator casually and never do anything she didn’t want to do. Why are dirty books and viberators a stigma when porn and yanking off normal?
Lily Darling made me laugh, cry, gosh and laugh some more. I really enjoyed the ride, and I will definitely read this book again – maybe even get my hands on a physical copy so I finally can give it the love it deserves.
Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I also want to thank Dorothy herself for the two days I spent with Eli and Lily – it was an honor.
December 12, 2021
Eli has known Lily, his best friend's cousin, since she was a kid, but now she is grown up. Lily writes steamy novels under a pen name and when she announces it to the whole family, there is a big blowup that ends with her moving out of her dad's house and into Eli's place, with the intention of using him as a muse for her next novel. They are immediately atttracted to one another and try not to fall for each other, blah blah. This is part of a series in which it seems that maybe each book is about a different part of this extended family. The book works as a standalone, but having not read any of the other books, there were A LOT of characters introduced rapidly that I assume I would have had a better handle on had I read the previous books. That and the ridiculous possessiveness of nearly every man regarding women in this book are my main complaints here. The women made up for it by being strong enough to deal with problems themselves while rolling their eyes at the men. 4 stars.
April 4, 2022
Yes, yes, yes. This book has it all.
4.5/5
A woman who is confident in herself and her writing. A man who is just there to make music.
The way this author managed to meld a romance between an "adult author" and a "bad-boy musician".
After shocking her family with the news of being an adult author, Lily temporarily moves in with Elias. As inspiration for a new book of hers, she wants to base a main character after Elias. Elias is best friends with Lily's older cousin so they've grown up together. Lily harbored a crush for years and after 18 years, something may finally happen.
The side storylines:
This book was packed. Alongside the romance there was: Shelby and Dani which added so many emotions to the book. These portions truly made me cry.
The only drawback: this book had so many characters. Most of them were just side characters in a few scenes but I felt like I was being bombarded with names. It also could have been shocking because I haven't read the first 3 books in the series, but I will now!
My emotions:
Absolutely all over the place. The banter was funny and sexy. The side storylines had me crying and needing a hug. Overall very well done.
“Because Eli had almost ruined one of the hottest sexual experiences of his life by freaking out over a couple of fireworks.
Nope, scratch that. It had been the hottest sexual experience of his life.”
“I’m Britni Howling, bitch. And I do my research.”
*I received an advanced reader copy in return for an honest review*
4.5/5
A woman who is confident in herself and her writing. A man who is just there to make music.
The way this author managed to meld a romance between an "adult author" and a "bad-boy musician".
After shocking her family with the news of being an adult author, Lily temporarily moves in with Elias. As inspiration for a new book of hers, she wants to base a main character after Elias. Elias is best friends with Lily's older cousin so they've grown up together. Lily harbored a crush for years and after 18 years, something may finally happen.
The side storylines:
This book was packed. Alongside the romance there was: Shelby and Dani which added so many emotions to the book. These portions truly made me cry.
The only drawback: this book had so many characters. Most of them were just side characters in a few scenes but I felt like I was being bombarded with names. It also could have been shocking because I haven't read the first 3 books in the series, but I will now!
My emotions:
Absolutely all over the place. The banter was funny and sexy. The side storylines had me crying and needing a hug. Overall very well done.
“Because Eli had almost ruined one of the hottest sexual experiences of his life by freaking out over a couple of fireworks.
Nope, scratch that. It had been the hottest sexual experience of his life.”
“I’m Britni Howling, bitch. And I do my research.”
*I received an advanced reader copy in return for an honest review*
February 5, 2022
I loved this book! Lily and Eli were wonderful, dynamic characters as was their story. I love the friends to lovers and brothers (or in this case, cousins) best friend tropes. From the beginning, I was hooked on this story, so much so that it only took me two days to read because I simply couldn’t put it down. Both characters were interesting and exciting. The supporting characters were great too. I loved the HEA at the end and how all the loose ends were tied up. I received an arc for my honest opinion. My honest opinion = Lily and Eli’s story is one of my favs!
December 24, 2021
I absolutely adored this book. I really connected with Lily and got seriously invested. And can I keep Eli, please? He's amazing. Seriously loved this book.
November 21, 2021
I received an advance review copy for free courtesy of BookSirens, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This was a really cute book that has a lot more substance than I thought it would based off the synopsis. Our FMC, Lily, is new adult/paranormal romance writer (pen name is Britni, so of course I, BrittanicaBold, like that), while our MMC, Eli, is a musician/producer. What drew me to this book was the idea of the friends-to-lovers trope, but what kept me reading was the writing. The writing was fun and light for the first half of the book, and then took a pretty dramatic turn in the second half that was interesting. When I saw how early in the book our MCs got together and started having feelings for each other, meaning it wouldn't be a total slow burn romance like usual friends-to-lover books, I wasn't sure how the author was going to keep the second half of the book interesting. The couple seemed solid enough that I couldn't really foresee an issue that could occur that would cause them to breakup and then have to come back together at the end about. Thankfully, that wasn't the case with this book, and it had a lot more interesting aspects added instead.
What I liked about this book:
1. I liked the layers of complexity this book had. Like mentioned above, it was more than a romance. It was a rom-com, a new adult story, a story of loss and tragedy and growth, a story of second chance love, and an LGBTQIA+ story. I loved each one of these layers and loved how the author added more layers like this as opposed to more issues in the couple's relationship to fill the pages of the story.
2. The premise of 3 wishes in exchange for letting her stay with him was cute and not one I've read before. I loved the third wish at the very end too!
3. While I realize there were three books before this, there are still plenty of spinoff opportunities I would be interested in reading about if they were written.
- Bennett and Lana - he is usually reserved but for some reason stopped to help her (out of character for him)
- The Colonel and Dani's past and present relationship - Maybe an alternating timeline story to back when they were younger and then again now when they reconnect older.
- A future novella for Ashley and Max perhaps?
- Cleo and Margo - total opposites attract and I would love to see Cleo and Penny's relationship grow as well
- Penny and Jack - because they seem hella cute and I want to see Jack raising Penny's confidence as the book suggested he did.
4. I would like to personally thank D. Barrett for addressing period sex. It is a thing, it feels good, and it shouldn't be hidden or shamed. Thank you for this small act of kindness you have bestowed upon the romance world.
What I didn't like about this book:
1. As previously mentioned, the writing is good, however, I feel the story could have been better told with a dual POV style, rather than third person. While D. Barrett did a good job conveying their feelings and internal thoughts, I think a dual POV would have added just a bit more gusto to the writing, especially with the Britni alter ego parts.
Also, the writing seemed to drag in the middle of the book a bit. Back-to-back chapters got longer all of a sudden, and if you've read any of my other reviews, you know that is my biggest peeve. I JUST WANT ALL THE GOOD STUFF NOW!
2. Especially in the very first couple of chapters of the book, there are A LOT of people introduced. Now, when I went to look more into this book, I then realized it was the fourth book in a series that could be read as a standalone. So this comment may be completely based on my not reading the first couple books and someone who has may not have had the same issue, but I found it very confusing trying to keep all of the people straight without a family tree to reference.
3. Like most romance books, this couple has some issues with communication, but not nearly as much as other books do, so I praise the author for that. HOWEVER, my biggest peeve with this book was that the issue that "broke them apart" for a small bit of time, was something that totally could have been avoided and was explainable, but nope, couldn't just have an honest conversation....
4 Darling Stars!
This was a really cute book that has a lot more substance than I thought it would based off the synopsis. Our FMC, Lily, is new adult/paranormal romance writer (pen name is Britni, so of course I, BrittanicaBold, like that), while our MMC, Eli, is a musician/producer. What drew me to this book was the idea of the friends-to-lovers trope, but what kept me reading was the writing. The writing was fun and light for the first half of the book, and then took a pretty dramatic turn in the second half that was interesting. When I saw how early in the book our MCs got together and started having feelings for each other, meaning it wouldn't be a total slow burn romance like usual friends-to-lover books, I wasn't sure how the author was going to keep the second half of the book interesting. The couple seemed solid enough that I couldn't really foresee an issue that could occur that would cause them to breakup and then have to come back together at the end about. Thankfully, that wasn't the case with this book, and it had a lot more interesting aspects added instead.
What I liked about this book:
1. I liked the layers of complexity this book had. Like mentioned above, it was more than a romance. It was a rom-com, a new adult story, a story of loss and tragedy and growth, a story of second chance love, and an LGBTQIA+ story. I loved each one of these layers and loved how the author added more layers like this as opposed to more issues in the couple's relationship to fill the pages of the story.
2. The premise of 3 wishes in exchange for letting her stay with him was cute and not one I've read before. I loved the third wish at the very end too!
3. While I realize there were three books before this, there are still plenty of spinoff opportunities I would be interested in reading about if they were written.
- Bennett and Lana - he is usually reserved but for some reason stopped to help her (out of character for him)
- The Colonel and Dani's past and present relationship - Maybe an alternating timeline story to back when they were younger and then again now when they reconnect older.
- A future novella for Ashley and Max perhaps?
- Cleo and Margo - total opposites attract and I would love to see Cleo and Penny's relationship grow as well
- Penny and Jack - because they seem hella cute and I want to see Jack raising Penny's confidence as the book suggested he did.
4. I would like to personally thank D. Barrett for addressing period sex. It is a thing, it feels good, and it shouldn't be hidden or shamed. Thank you for this small act of kindness you have bestowed upon the romance world.
What I didn't like about this book:
1. As previously mentioned, the writing is good, however, I feel the story could have been better told with a dual POV style, rather than third person. While D. Barrett did a good job conveying their feelings and internal thoughts, I think a dual POV would have added just a bit more gusto to the writing, especially with the Britni alter ego parts.
Also, the writing seemed to drag in the middle of the book a bit. Back-to-back chapters got longer all of a sudden, and if you've read any of my other reviews, you know that is my biggest peeve. I JUST WANT ALL THE GOOD STUFF NOW!
2. Especially in the very first couple of chapters of the book, there are A LOT of people introduced. Now, when I went to look more into this book, I then realized it was the fourth book in a series that could be read as a standalone. So this comment may be completely based on my not reading the first couple books and someone who has may not have had the same issue, but I found it very confusing trying to keep all of the people straight without a family tree to reference.
3. Like most romance books, this couple has some issues with communication, but not nearly as much as other books do, so I praise the author for that. HOWEVER, my biggest peeve with this book was that the issue that "broke them apart" for a small bit of time, was something that totally could have been avoided and was explainable, but nope, couldn't just have an honest conversation....
4 Darling Stars!
December 21, 2021
Honest bookworm review--
I'm not one for the Virgin tropes..but this one was deliciously well done 👏. She may have been a virgin but she was more naughty mind and spicy romance reader with dirty plans. Add in my fav trope of longstanding friends to lovers and this book had me sucked right in❤🔥
Well written sexy spicy scenes too. I give it an easy 4.5 stars out of 5!!
Only minor issue I had was sometimes there was too many sub characters mentioned to keep track or even bother to care about in the plot. This was only an issue once or twice though and luckily didn't take away from the rest of the developing plot and romance of the characters:) it may be because I am also only reading Lily darling which is noted as the 4th book in series tho can be read independently.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed, good sex scenes, good character development, reasonable drama but not overwhelming. o had all the emotions for the characters budding romance, their history, the struggle of living together. it Felt Real and 🔥🥵Hot, especially enjoyed Elias possessive 'MINE' alpha moments❤
disclaimer-- I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I'm not one for the Virgin tropes..but this one was deliciously well done 👏. She may have been a virgin but she was more naughty mind and spicy romance reader with dirty plans. Add in my fav trope of longstanding friends to lovers and this book had me sucked right in❤🔥
Well written sexy spicy scenes too. I give it an easy 4.5 stars out of 5!!
Only minor issue I had was sometimes there was too many sub characters mentioned to keep track or even bother to care about in the plot. This was only an issue once or twice though and luckily didn't take away from the rest of the developing plot and romance of the characters:) it may be because I am also only reading Lily darling which is noted as the 4th book in series tho can be read independently.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed, good sex scenes, good character development, reasonable drama but not overwhelming. o had all the emotions for the characters budding romance, their history, the struggle of living together. it Felt Real and 🔥🥵Hot, especially enjoyed Elias possessive 'MINE' alpha moments❤
disclaimer-- I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
December 22, 2021
Eli was Lily's safe place and best friend for as long as she could remember. He understood her as no one else did. But he didn't know her biggest secret, the one she kept from everyone. And she didn't know his, the fact that he for some time his feelings for her didn't stop at friendship. So when she landed up his roommate, it made for them getting close as they've not been before. But what will happen to their friendship if they explore this? This is an emotional story with a lot of angst. It hooked me from the first page, the honest way in which it is written and them not playing games, just rather hiding from what they knew to be true. And having to face their ghosts in order to move on. I am new to this author but definitely look forward to read more of her books.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
December 6, 2021
Loved LD! The story of Elias and Lily was written so well. It was so heart warming to read their story. The details are written so well, so much so, that I could picture all the places, parties, clothing, etc! I can't imagine what it takes to write your books, but so impressive! I could not put the book down and devoured it (;-)) in 2 days! That says a lot, especially with the demands of each day at home! Oh… and the hot, spicy parts - well, that made it even better and knocked it out of the park! Awesome! Love the references of Sacramento and Dillard road (the name of the road I have actually traveled many times growing up). Keep the books coming as I can't wait for the next one! Your fan!! Alice.
December 6, 2021
Lilly Darling was the first rock star story that I had ever read by D. Darling. It was a surprisingly good book with action to keep the reader moving quickly. It was a wonderful friend to lovers' slow-burn love story. It had family drama in spades, friends supporting friends, and finding out what each character needs to be happy. I enjoyed this story so much that I sought out D. Darlings' other books to read. This book was an enchanting love story with a HEA. I highly recommend one reads all of D. Darling's books, and you won't be disappointed.
December 16, 2021
Great story by this author. This was the first book I’ve read by her. I like this type of story of friends to lovers, and this one was no different. Lily and Elias have have been friends for years. They have been with each other through it all. Parents divorcing and growing up. Lily is a romance author and after getting kicked out of her house goes and lives with Elias. There they really get to know each other. This book was really well writer and I enjoyed it all.
I received this ARC through #netgalley and I am voluntarily reviewing this book
I received this ARC through #netgalley and I am voluntarily reviewing this book
June 20, 2022
This was a very good book! Lily & Eli fall in love and a lot of things happen to them but they hang in together!it’s a bout a writer and a fellow in the music industry! I would reccomend this to anyone!
December 18, 2021
I generally don't prefer lengthy books but this book interested me from the very beginning.I enjoyed the characters and the story line.I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
November 29, 2021
The book is a good, and enjoyable bad boy rock star romance read. The story has a good story line. The characters are good, and they have good chemistry. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
November 23, 2021
This was my first read from this author. While I'm not the biggest fan of chapters having titles and third person point of view of the story because it makes the story impersonal in my opinion, I liked the storyline itself. I will be reading more from this author in the future. I received an ARC copy of this book through Booksiren in exchange for an honest voluntary review.
December 19, 2021
Lily Darling by Dorothy Barrett.
The Browning Series Book 4.
Eli’s known Lilith Browning since she was a bossy little princess who used to hide in trees and spy on him making out with girls. He’s known her since she was just a kid devastated by her parents’ divorce. He was there for all of it…
And he’s still there years later. Only now, Lily isn’t a girl anymore. She’s a woman. A gorgeous, infuriating woman who up and decides to crash his new bachelor pad. This after revealing she secretly writes kinky books for a living. Yeah, Eli’s known Lily forever, but has he ever really known her?
Lily’s had her eye on Elias Park for a while. Yes, there was that one incident in the tree. And all the times she used to ogle him in his rock-boy skinny-jeans as a teen. Truth? She’s been hard-core crushing on her cousin’s best friend for years. So, when an impulsive decision leads to a brilliant idea, Lily seizes the moment…
What better way to write a sexy story about a bad-boy musician than to move in with one?
This was a good read. Slow but readable.
Good characters and story. 4*.
Advisory: This book contains mature content and is only intended for readers 18 and older. It also contains discussions of subject matter that may be triggering for some
The Browning Series Book 4.
Eli’s known Lilith Browning since she was a bossy little princess who used to hide in trees and spy on him making out with girls. He’s known her since she was just a kid devastated by her parents’ divorce. He was there for all of it…
And he’s still there years later. Only now, Lily isn’t a girl anymore. She’s a woman. A gorgeous, infuriating woman who up and decides to crash his new bachelor pad. This after revealing she secretly writes kinky books for a living. Yeah, Eli’s known Lily forever, but has he ever really known her?
Lily’s had her eye on Elias Park for a while. Yes, there was that one incident in the tree. And all the times she used to ogle him in his rock-boy skinny-jeans as a teen. Truth? She’s been hard-core crushing on her cousin’s best friend for years. So, when an impulsive decision leads to a brilliant idea, Lily seizes the moment…
What better way to write a sexy story about a bad-boy musician than to move in with one?
This was a good read. Slow but readable.
Good characters and story. 4*.
Advisory: This book contains mature content and is only intended for readers 18 and older. It also contains discussions of subject matter that may be triggering for some
February 16, 2022
Lilith Browning is a writer; in fact, at twelve years of age, she is the founder of the Unicorn Writers Club of Maison Hills. Her love of Haiku rivals her love of writing as many "dirty words" in her journal as she can. Quite the free spirit! Elias Park is her neighbor; someone she loves to watch from her hiding place up in the magnolia tree because, well, he's special. They have a kinship that is a sort of safe place for her, what with all the chaos of divorce happening in her home. Years later, Eli is surprised to see his Lily Darling at her family's Christmas Eve brunch and she's not the girl who wrote in her pink journal anymore; she's a beautiful woman. She's an author, but not just any author, a highly acclaimed writer of children's literature with a secret. She has a pen name, Britni Howling, and those books are kick-ass erotic romances. Her father is livid when he finds out and orders her to stop, immediately! How does he think he can do anything about it when she's 21 years old and answers to no one! When her father threatens to kick her out of the house, she glibly answers that she's already made plans. Up until that moment, she hadn't even thought about it, but the obvious answer is to move in with her childhood friend, Eli. He owed her from long ago and how can he deny her this one little thing, but when one little thing becomes an exceedingly big thing, all bets are off and all rules go out the window. As Eli and Lily first live together, there's a slight learning curve and a bit of insecurity about how close they should allow themselves to be, especially for Eli. His best friend is Lily's cousin and Eli promised him that he'd keep his hands off of her and never hurt her, but his concern goes out the window when they can no longer deny their feelings. I like the rock star/country queen aspect of the book and the antagonists are a disgrace. ***Spoilers*** Whip Hollis, the Harvey Weinstein-like character, is completely irredeemable. The angst surrounding his crimes against girls and women is palpable and his victims are blackmailed into silence. Lily's country star mother is one of his targets and, when she is ready to go to the media and he realizes that the truth is closing in, he assaults Lily to keep her mother from testifying. At 90%, the story goes off the rails and doesn't ring true. The behaviors and dialog don't fit the narrative nor the characters. Lily and her mother have discussed her rape and how it ruined her parents' marriage, at length, but right after her assault Lily doesn't immediately go to her mother to tell her that Whip assaulted her, too. It takes her a long time to tell the man she loves so much, and who loves her, and when she does, Eli's reaction is to get mad. He's angry because she kissed another boy and his first reaction is to get mad. When she shows him the evidence of being choked, it gets worse. As Lily's explaining to Eli what happened, Whip texts incriminating photos of her to his phone and Eli orders her to get out. He sits stewing for four days, unable to forgive her or get over being mad. He needed to grovel and he didn't. Overall, the storyline is well conceived and the main characters are vividly drawn and believable. It's a story of young love waiting to become true love. I like the rock star, country queen aspect of the book and the villains are completely disgusting! Lily Darling is an enjoyable read, and I think with some tightening of the story and characters, it could be a wonderful story.
February 9, 2022
Lily Darling is my first Dorothy Barrett book. Eli and Lily's story was engaging for me throughout the entire book. From childhood to adulthood, many characters and situations influenced and affected their lives. I loved their growth and journey to and HEA. I really liked reading this book.
January 4, 2022
This book was decent. The premise was interesting, but the story didn’t quite match up. Eli definitely wasn’t the bad-boy musician he was advertised to be—he didn’t have the big, masculine presence I expected. Lily was fine, but I wasn’t particularly impressed by her actions with Billy. Neither main character was that relatable, nor were the side characters. However, Lily and Eli did have good chemistry, and I enjoyed some of their sweet moments together.
The beginning of the book was slow, but it picked up over time. The novel was very long though—far longer than it needed to be based on the content. The plot would’ve been more exciting if there hadn’t been so many slower moments to fill in the pages. The Hollis subplot was intriguing, and the conclusion of the book was quite satisfying.
Overall, this was a good book that could’ve been better if it had been more concisely written. I recommend it to those who enjoy dramatic, friends-to-lovers stories.
*I received an ARC of this novel. This is my complete and honest review.*
The beginning of the book was slow, but it picked up over time. The novel was very long though—far longer than it needed to be based on the content. The plot would’ve been more exciting if there hadn’t been so many slower moments to fill in the pages. The Hollis subplot was intriguing, and the conclusion of the book was quite satisfying.
Overall, this was a good book that could’ve been better if it had been more concisely written. I recommend it to those who enjoy dramatic, friends-to-lovers stories.
*I received an ARC of this novel. This is my complete and honest review.*
February 2, 2024
Eli and Lily have been friends since childhood. Lily is a hopeless romantic with a few secrets up her sleeve. Eli is a rockstars son with his own music studio. Lily gets into an argument on Christmas with her dad and announces that she is living with Eli. He is shocked to have a new roommate and they have to get used to the close proximity. Will they embrace their growing feelings or ignore it and stay friends?
I really enjoyed the story. There are some trigger warnings but I liked how strong Lily’s character is and how she makes the most out of every situation.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I really enjoyed the story. There are some trigger warnings but I liked how strong Lily’s character is and how she makes the most out of every situation.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
December 21, 2021
I received an ARC from the author and am voluntarily leaving my review. Lily has been a closet writer up until now. When she finally decides to confess all, things do not go so well. She and Eli have known each other for years. Now they get to live together. Eli realizes that Lily appeals to him like never before. She is going that he might finally see her as a young woman. This is a pretty long and busy story. It is set over a short period of time.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
December 29, 2021
3.5 stars. This book was a lot longer than I was expecting (like 700 pages long) and I'm not going to lie, I skimmed a bit of it. The book was well written, but did really start to drag toward the end. I felt like there were a lot of characters introduced part way through without any context (this is the fourth book in a series and I have not read the others so maybe they were from those books). I loved the premise and really did think it was well written, but it was just more than I needed it to be.
January 14, 2022
Quite a long way round to this HEA story but for what starts as something so sweet and innocent develops a romance that is full of hot fantasy and desire. The story does have quite a few characters which did, occasionally feel a little too much to keep on top of, but this may be because I haven’t read any others in this series. There is also a darker, more serious thread to the storyline that is neatly woven into the background and has its own moment for top billing. The mother daughter discussion about this is powerful and written well, it was nice to feel that female power shine through.
December 27, 2021
Needs a trigger warning for discussions of past rape and assault. A good book for those looking for a friends to lovers type of thing, I just couldn't seem to get into this one. Their long history lead to a very believable fast moving relationship. Having only read this one of yhe series, it wasn't confusing to read about other characters. Would read another book by this author. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
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December 16, 2022He’s so sexy! She is sassy and a straight shooter. An old crush turned roommate , some fun and sexy question sessions and a realisation that they’ve all grown up. A bit of a slow burn but when it gets there, it’s hot. Eli and Lily are beautiful and have become one of my favourite couples.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
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