I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Best Friends Don't Kiss: A Fake-Relationship Romantic Comedy by Max Monroe Narrator: Nelson Hobbs, Elizabeth Hart
Published by Tantor Audio on May 4, 2021
Genres: Humor, Romance, Contemporary
Length: 8 hours 51 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
Goal: Find a boyfriend, get married, buy a house in the suburbs with a white picket fence, and pop out 2.5 kids.
Deadline: Sixty days.
That’s possible, right?
HAHAHA. *Faints*
I’m kidding. Well, kind of. I mean, I’m not going to attempt a shotgun wedding or try to get knocked up by some guy I met on the internet, but there is no doubt that, this year, home for the holidays takes on a whole new, terrifying meaning.
I have to travel from New York City—my home and safe haven for the last fifteen years—to my tiny hometown in Vermont for Christmas, my baby sister’s wedding, and my high school reunion.
Talk about a trifecta of single-doom.
Throw in Callie Camden—aka my high school class’s version of Regina George—and it’s a recipe for certified disaster.
Especially since my mouth ran away from me when she asked me if I’d be bringing someone to our reunion, and I told her to put me down for two. Gah. Now I
can’t
go alone.
But the online dating world is a cesspool of bad manners, speedy hookups, and outright weirdos.
Handsome, single, successful—that’s what I’m looking for.And it just so happens that my best friend Luke London fits all of the criteria.
The only problem is best friends don’t kiss…
But maybe it doesn’t count if it’s pretend?
My top thoughts:
That’s more like it! I picked this book up right after finishing another Max Monroe that was pretty good, but not what I hoped for. While this was nowhere near as funny as I was hoping (that’s what I expect from Max Monroe) it was a really great friends-to-lovers romance and I fell in love with these characters!
What I liked/didn’t like:
Ava is an aspiring artist – adorable, talented, but lacking confidence and hating confrontation – starting at Columbia when she meets Luke – a sexy, super smart, super driven, Columbia Engineering student with NASA aspirations. She’s runs into him when she has quite literally started a fire in her dorm room and is running in panic. And they become best friends. We get to see that friendship mostly in the present day – 15 years later – though also through a few flashbacks. And while it’s incredibly obvious to everyone they know that they should be together, Ava and Luke are blind to it. Until Ava’s desperation to have a boyfriend for a school reunion/her sister’s wedding leader to them faking a relationship… until it’s not so fake after all.
I loved watching Ava stumble her way through online dating. I loved watching Luke push towards his dream of being a NASA astronaut. I loved their friendship and Ava’s family. Especially since we get to spend Christmas with her family and they celebrate epically. It’s just one of those super sweet romances that could be a Christmas Hallmark movie (which I love).
Narrator thoughts:
The narration by Nelson Hobbs and Elizabeth Hart was equally great. I think this is my first time listening to both of them, but I hope it’s not my last. They were a good balance to each other, delivering both POVs with complimentary voices.
Qualifies for COYER Fall Scavenger Hunt Item #19 – Read a book by an author you’ve previously given 5 stars.
I always enjoy the fake relationship ones.