Paperbacks and Planners

Title: Not So Nice Guy
Author: R.S. Grey
Genre: Romance
Edition/Pages: Audiobook, 7 Hours
Goodreads page

Summary

Sam and Ian are high school teachers that have been best friends since they met at orientation years earlier. When Sam accidentally lets it slip to the other teachers that they’re not a couple, Ian is bombarded by eligible teachers. But Ian only wants Sam. He just needs to convince her to take a chance.

Overview

➸ POV: 1st Person from Sam & Ian’s POV

➸ Ian: Chemistry teacher, soccer coach, tall, dark and handsome, secretly in love with Sam

➸ Sam: Journalism teacher, red head, secretly in love with Ian

➸ Content Warnings: None

My Thoughts

Ugh I’m so sad about this rating… This book started off with so much promise. I was fully expecting to give this a 4 or 5 star rating because this book had me smirking and laughing out loud. I loved the characters and their chemistry was perfection. But then the last half happened…

First I’ll start with what I liked. I thought this book had really great humor. The characters were witty and had amazing banter which made their chemistry even more palpable. It can be difficult connecting to or believing the chemistry in a friends to lovers romance since they have so much history developed before the reader gets there. But this book had it in droves.

Where this book lacked for me was in the transition from friends to lovers. I loved the build up but they dove into a relationship so quickly and definitively. Which 1 was wholly out of character for the heroine who was built up to be terrified of change. And 2 underwhelming and insta-lovey. I get that they were friends forever first, but they went from “testing the water” to engaged in a week…. The pacing felt so rushed and I wanted more baiting and will-they-won’t-they.

And because of their quick changeover to a couple, the second half had lacked any plot or purpose… There was a some semblance of a conflict around the halfway point, then remainder was just their HEA. Which was honestly boring AF. While I liked these characters, there was no point in 3 entire hours of them just be together… I wanted something. Anything to keep me engaged.

Overall I just found this disappointing. While I loved the tension and banter of their friendship, their transition to more than friends was too quick.

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