Best Friends to Lovers | Once Upon a Sure Thing by Lauren Blakely [ARC Review + Excerpt]

[book-info]

Don’t want to read the excerpt?  Click to jump to the Review?

~Ally~

Miller holds open the hobby shop door for me. “After you, my warrior princess. I believe we have a castle to create.”

“Chloe left me a list of items to pick up, since she’s seeing her therapist.”

“Never miss a shrink visit, I say.” Miller stops in front of a remote-controlled helicopter display. “How are they going for her, anyway?”

“Good. She’s almost done with the appointments. She’s doing so well now, but it took a while,” I say, smiling as we go inside, proud of my girl.

“I’m glad she’s doing better. It’s all because of you.”

I wave off the compliment as we head down the aisles. Pom-poms and fabrics abound, nestled alongside scrapbook boxes and glitter glue, which cuddles with glitter guns and ribbons. I stop at an aisle bursting with silver ribbons, polka-dot ribbons, and ribbons with tassels. I scratch my head. “I don’t understand why there are so many ribbons.”

Miller leans in close and whispers, “The better to tie you up with, my pretty.”

A tingle spreads over my shoulders, surprising me, even thought I’m not surprised by his words. He’s a natural-born flirt, and I’m used to his naughty banter. It’s never directed toward me, per se. He’s just having fun. It’s Miller being Miller, like when we play Bananagrams and he tries to make as many naughty-sounding words as possible, like caulk and diphthong. “In that case, let’s make it a polka-dot ribbon. I can wear it with my famous polo shirts and ponytails,” I say, referring to the super-sweet style I wore when I sang online with my brother.

“Ooh, that makes it even naughtier, and it proves my point.”

“What’s that?”

He holds up a finger. “I have a hunch craft stores are frequented by the Fifty Shades crowd.”

I laugh. “DIY BDSM-ers?”

He wiggles his eyebrows. “Ribbons are for typing pretty wrists.” He circles his hand around my wrist, sending another unexpected charge through me. I do my best to ignore the sensation. He lets go quickly and leads me to an aisle of wooden frames, birdhouses, and, oddly enough, paddles. “Those paddles are not for school projects, I tell you.”

“Whatever are they for?” I ask, feigning innocence.

Miller mimes spanking my butt. Next, he gestures to the candle-making section. “Exhibit B that hobby shops are fronts for kinky sex clubs—just imagine all this wax dripping on bellies and butts tonight.”

“How on earth am I supposed to work on a project with Chloe now that you’ve put these thoughts in my head?”

He runs a hand lightly over my hair and says in his raspy baritone, “I suspect those thoughts were already there.”

Were they? Are they? Images scroll through my mind, mostly involving ribbons.

Don’t want to read the whole review?  Click to jump to the Skinny Review.

This time, Once Upon a Sure Thing caught my heart (pun intended)! I didn’t expect to fall in love with this book, but I did!

Ally and Miller have been best friends for 6 years and I love that this was not an unrequited romance but a true friends to lovers romance! It was obvious, even in the previous book that Ally and Miller had chemistry and I loved how their romance and their feelings slowly developed!

I was a little surprised at the twist in the end! I didn’t expect that! I can’t wait to read Miles’ book! Also, this book is set during Christmas, so you get a few Christmas parties which really brought on the feels for me.

I highly recommend this book and I enjoyed it much more than Once Upon a Real Good Time!

[rating-report]

affiliate links below

Once Upon a Real Good Time Review

Do you love the friends to lovers romance trope?

What are your favorite books with this trope?