Big Rock by Lauren Blakely
Series: Holiday/Hammer #1
Published by EverAfter Platinum on January 6th 2016
Genres: Contemporary
Pages: 250
Goodreads

“I think it was one of those things where the one for you is just right under your nose, but we didn’t realize it for the longest time.”

FINAL DECISION:  Funny and sexy (in a seriously dirty way), I enjoyed the male POV. While the story seems like it is going to be raunchy and more sex than emotion, I actually found the story sweet.

THE STORY:  Spenser Holiday is a man who makes it his mission to please as many women as possible.  His womanizing ways, however, may be a liability when his father is attempting to sell his jewelry store business to a conservative family man.  Spenser decides to make himself more palatable by inventing an engagement to his longtime best friend and business partner, Charlotte.  As their pretend engagement progresses, the two find out that the sexual heat between them is explosive.  The only problem is how do friends stay friends once they become lovers.

OPINION:  This novella was the first thing I have read by Lauren Blakely and I will definitely be reading more.  Because the book is written from the point of view of Spenser, it has a different tone than a female POV.  At first, the hero is almost too cocky, too self-assured, but I found his progression through this story to be sweet.

I love a good friends to lovers story and this is a hot one. The two quickly move into a sexual relationship.  Sometimes a book with a lot of sex can become a clinical Tab A into Slot B exercise.  This book always emphasizes the emotional connection between these characters.  Spenser and Charlotte are funny and sexy and I liked them.  One thing I especially like about this story is that the male POV demonstrates how vulnerable and uncertain Spenser is because he doesn’t know Charlotte’s feeling.

This novella is definitely not for everyone.  I’ve been reading a number of male POV books recently along with erotica so the tone of this book was not unfamiliar to me.  Those who prefer knowing less about what men might actually be thinking might want to skip this one.

WORTH MENTIONING:  This novella is told completely from the male point of view.

CONNECTED BOOKS:  BIG ROCK is the first book in the loosely connected Holiday/Hammer series.

STAR RATING:  I give this novella 4 stars.