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A review by thefriscobay
Just a Little Bet by Tawna Fenske
4.0
About the book:
Kayla Gladney wants love, marriage, kids, the whole lot. Her best friend (and one time boyfriend) Tony Warren couldn't be more different: love, and all the strings? Not for him. After a night out drinking the pair agree they're both lackluster in the relationships department, but aren't exactly sure why. So they make a bet - starting with Tony - they plan to meet up with some of his exes to uncover if he's a true commitment-phobe, or just a bad boyfriend. But on the long journey through his past, something keeps reminding them both that the fire between them? Maybe never went out.
TL;DR:
- Content warnings: abusive father figure, verbal abuse, domestic violence
- 4 stars
- Sweet best friends to lovers / second chance romance. Worth reading if you're looking for a pair with incredible chemistry who are willing to work through their flaws together.
Loved:
- This was a really really solid read. I enjoyed both Kayla and Tony a LOT. It's really refreshing to read characters who clearly have flaws and know they have them, but own up to them and have a genuine interest in improving as people.
- I know this may not be a popular take, but I also actually really enjoyed how the sources of their growth and improvement came from each other. The progress they made as characters came over the course of the book, but clearly also came as a result of their year+ long friendship. Tony had serious issues to work through with his dysfunctional parent-figures and he seemed to really want to work through them for Kayla.
- Extremely steamy. Like damn. The bathroom scene?! Not only hot, but incredibly sweet.
- Best friends is one of my favorite tropes, I will never get over it. I liked how this wasn't the traditional "omg, haha we'd never date, that's so funny!" but more the "we already tried it, lol, we're not right for each other right now." It left space for character growth driving the romance.
- Kayla's family, who at first come off very old-fashioned and seem to bait her for not being in a relationship while they all are, either grow out of it or snap out of it over the course of the book. We love to see it.
Less into:
- Despite the really well handled conversations around abuse, I personally don't love when it's used as a tactic to drive fear of relationships. Given that, it was well researched and represented. I've read some REALLY bad examples of this, and this wasn't that.
- A little slow to get into, I actually took a month break after the 35% mark. But the latter 50% are quick, and make up for it.
Overall it was nice romance, and Fenske writes some wonderful characters. This is my first of her novels and I will read more!
I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Kayla Gladney wants love, marriage, kids, the whole lot. Her best friend (and one time boyfriend) Tony Warren couldn't be more different: love, and all the strings? Not for him. After a night out drinking the pair agree they're both lackluster in the relationships department, but aren't exactly sure why. So they make a bet - starting with Tony - they plan to meet up with some of his exes to uncover if he's a true commitment-phobe, or just a bad boyfriend. But on the long journey through his past, something keeps reminding them both that the fire between them? Maybe never went out.
TL;DR:
- Content warnings: abusive father figure, verbal abuse, domestic violence
- 4 stars
- Sweet best friends to lovers / second chance romance. Worth reading if you're looking for a pair with incredible chemistry who are willing to work through their flaws together.
Loved:
- This was a really really solid read. I enjoyed both Kayla and Tony a LOT. It's really refreshing to read characters who clearly have flaws and know they have them, but own up to them and have a genuine interest in improving as people.
- I know this may not be a popular take, but I also actually really enjoyed how the sources of their growth and improvement came from each other. The progress they made as characters came over the course of the book, but clearly also came as a result of their year+ long friendship. Tony had serious issues to work through with his dysfunctional parent-figures and he seemed to really want to work through them for Kayla.
- Extremely steamy. Like damn. The bathroom scene?! Not only hot, but incredibly sweet.
- Best friends is one of my favorite tropes, I will never get over it. I liked how this wasn't the traditional "omg, haha we'd never date, that's so funny!" but more the "we already tried it, lol, we're not right for each other right now." It left space for character growth driving the romance.
- Kayla's family, who at first come off very old-fashioned and seem to bait her for not being in a relationship while they all are, either grow out of it or snap out of it over the course of the book. We love to see it.
Less into:
- Despite the really well handled conversations around abuse, I personally don't love when it's used as a tactic to drive fear of relationships. Given that, it was well researched and represented. I've read some REALLY bad examples of this, and this wasn't that.
- A little slow to get into, I actually took a month break after the 35% mark. But the latter 50% are quick, and make up for it.
Overall it was nice romance, and Fenske writes some wonderful characters. This is my first of her novels and I will read more!
I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.