[Note from Frolic: We are so excited to have author Kelly Rimmer guest post on the site today. Take it away Kelly!]
One of my favorite things about reading romance is when the author can convince you it’s for real. You get to know the characters so well. By the time you turn the last page, you genuinely believe that if this fictional couple materialize into the real world and bump into you at the supermarket in fifteen years’ time, they’re still going to be holding hands and gazing at one another with puppy-eyes, even as they debate the merits of organic versus regular oatmeal.
I’ve come to the conclusion that this kind of book-magic can only happen with a romance includes two key components: chemistry and friendship. I’m a greedy romance reader—I want the writer to give me both a uniquely scorching spark and banter and compatibility that extends far beyond the bedroom.
One of the things I love about friends-to-lovers romances is that our couple already have a history of riding out the rough times. Right from the start, you know that these two people already get one another, and as they discover there might just be new layers and depths to discover in their relationship, we get to tag along for the ride!
Here’s a list of friends-to-lovers romances I’ve loved over the last few years:
Big Rock by Lauren Blakely
This was the book that made me fall in love with Lauren Blakely’s writing style. It’s Spencer and Charlotte’s story, best friends and business partners who realize there’s something more between them after they fake a romantic relationship for a week. It’s a quick, fun, steamy read—and Spencer is one of those ‘absolute sweetheart’ type heroes (my favorite kind!).
My Favorite Half Night Stand by Christina Lauren
Millie and Reid are part of a group of friends and colleagues who decide to try out an online dating service together, hoping they can all find dates for a gala event at work. This is a delightful, funny read which flirts with some of the complexities of online dating and then hits you right in the feels.
Love and Other Words also by Christina Lauren
As everyone knows, no list is complete without at least two Christina Lauren books on it, and it took me half an hour to make up my mind between this one and Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating, which would easily have fit here too. Am I a total fangirl? Guilty as charged. In this book, Elliot and Macy were childhood friends who became something more…but then catastrophe tore them apart. You get both a friends-to-lovers and second-chance romance in one, and it’s clever and big hearted and, as you’d expect, beautifully written.
Blurred Lines by Lauren Layne
Parker and Ben were once college friends and are now (purely platonic) roommates. After Parker’s long term relationship ends, she and Ben begin to dabble in a physical relationship that’s meant to remain casual…(spoiler alert: things get complicated). Ben and Parker are flawed, believable and loveable characters and this story is a fun, deliciously easy read.
Him by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy
This M/M romance is the ultimate friends-to-lovers story, about two summer camp hockey buddies who meet up again after a separation during their college years. I wouldn’t know a hockey puck from a football and sports romances generally aren’t my thing, but despite the setting in a hockey camp, this one is light on sports and heavy on feels. It’s just a beautiful portrayal of falling in love and coming to terms with who you really are, and after I read it I went on an insane one-click buying spree loading up my Kindle with all of Sarina and Elle’s other titles, so you know it made a big impression!
The reason so many of us are drawn to romance is that we love to celebrate beautiful connections between people—and what better example of this than a relationship that’s already stood the test of time even before it evolves into love? Friends-to-lovers romances offer us passion and deep-seated friendship, and isn’t that the ultimate happily-ever-after?
As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
About the Author:
Kelly Rimmer is the USA Today bestselling women’s fiction author of five novels, including Me Without You and The Secret Daughter. She lives in rural Australia with her husband, two children and fantastically naughty dogs, Sully and Basil. Her novels have been translated into more than twenty languages.
Find Her Here:
Website: https://kellyrimmer.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Kellymrimmer/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KelRimmerWrites
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kelrimmerwrites/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5817530.Kelly_Rimmer
Unexpected by Kelly Rimmer out May 28th!
Co-parenting with her best friend. What could go wrong?
The next three decades of Abby Herbert’s life are as carefully planned out as the last three were. Best career ever? Check. Great friends, one of whom she lives with in a stunning TriBeCa apartment? Check. Perfect man to share her dream family? Surely just a matter of time. But then she gets devastating news from her doctor—if she wants to get pregnant, she needs to get started on that by…well, yesterday. On the bright side, she has the perfect person in mind to be the father.
Tech entrepreneur Marcus Ross has been harboring decidedly not-friends feelings toward Abby. He doesn’t want to lose her and, knowing his feelings are one-sided, he’s been trying to move on. When he learns about the curveball Abby’s just been hit with, he promises to be there for her however she wants him to be, even if the idea of fatherhood is a little complicated for him right now. But it isn’t long until boundaries start to blur, and a deal struck between friends starts to turn into something perilously close to feelings that could change everything…
Pre-Order Links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1335504958
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/unexpected-kelly-rimmer/1129349319
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/unexpected/id1430763330
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/unexpected-100
Google: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Kelly_Rimmer_Unexpected?id=6N5rDwAAQBAJ
