BEST FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS is Book one in Candy Sloane's
Most
Likely To series. Valerie Barkin and Alec Rogers
were best friends in high school. Although they've kept
in touch over the years, Alec's rock star success and
their uncertainty about their true feelings have kept
them from taking their friendship to the next level. Now,
at their ten-year reunion, Valerie and Alec
finally unleash their hidden desires.
Since both characters give each other mixed signals at
times, it's helpful for the reader to have BEST FRIENDS
WITH BENEFITS told from alternating perspectives. Alec
always wanted Valerie but because of the dysfunctional
relationship his mom and dad had, he could never offer
her the kind of commitment she wanted. I like how complex
Sloane makes these characters. Alec is a man with
fame and wealth but his childhood left him with bouts of
insecurity. Sloane does a super job of providing
snippets of Alec and Valerie's high school years to show
where they came far and how they've grown.
From the moment Alec teases Valerie and lures her into
his erotic web, the heat between them is intense. It's
not always clear to Valerie what Alec wants out of their
naughty escapades, and as you read along you get the
sense that Alec is unsure of exactly where he wants
things to lead. The dance between trust and doubt make
for fantastic sexual tension. I like that Alec and
Valerie have such a deep connection and friendship as a
basis for the sizzling sexual relationship that takes
them by surprise.
BEST FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS is a sensual feast and lots of
fun. The epilogue is full of hope and gives the story a
little bit of a resolution. I like that Sloane
doesn't try to wrap the situation with Alec and his
parents up too neatly and give it a fake saccharine
coating. As a reader, I appreciate the way Sloane
had his family relationship imperfect and a little truer
to life. The glimpses of other characters, like Valerie's
friend Cynthia, and their reunion experiences make me
eager to read about them in upcoming stories. This series
has made me a Sloane fan and I look forward to her
next book.
Valerie Barkin and Alec Rogers survived bullies, awful
parents, and seriously shitty social standing the only way
best friends can—together. But with the unexpected sexual
tension suddenly flaring between them, surviving their
ten-year high school reunion might be a different story…
Val hasn’t changed. She still feels like the stringy-haired
band geek the popular kids teased, but Alec has definitely
changed. He’s now the front man for the Grammy-winning rock
band Chronic Disharmony, with the sexual reputation to
match. And he’s more than willing to help Val rock the reunion.
And then it happens—a drunken game of Seven Minutes in
Heaven—and their fourteen-years-long foreplay comes crashing
to the forefront…changing everything.
Seven minutes turns into a weekend of mind-blowing,
no-strings-attached sex. But these best friends won't be
able to leave their hearts out of it forever, not when the
most meaningful benefit could change their relationship for
good....