This has been in my Audible library for a while and I’m not sure why I haven’t listened before now.
If friends-to-lovers is one of my favorite tropes, then childhood best friends-to-lovers is my kryptonite. The focus of the story isn’t really Israel and Sam’s relationship, that’s more of a secondary story however it’s hovering just slightly in the background the entire time. The focus is on family…what it means and what it doesn’t. //
I loved Sam and Israel together. Their banter was entertaining, their protectiveness and possessiveness over each other were endearing and once they gave in, their sexual chemistry was off the charts. They were clearly meant to be together. Even their group of friends – who were amazing as well – saw what was between them before Sam and Israel admitted it to themselves. //
One of my small niggles was with Sam. He was such a strong, almost dominant, person when they finally forged a relationship it was surprising to me that he didn’t push for more instead of waiting for Israel to make the first move. The lack of communication was a bit frustrating until Israel finally decided he’d had enough. //
My other was Israel’s father…and his change of heart. It was semi-explained, but I still didn’t buy it. It was hard to believe he went from “you’re worthless” to letting Israel basically tell him to eff off. //
Joel Leslie’s performance was brilliant as always. From portraying the true emotions of each character to using a voice for the women so unlike his own I had to rewind and listen to it a few times to see if I could pick up his voice, he just nailed this. There is no doubt listening to this book instead of reading it made all the difference in the world between ‘liking it’ and ‘oh my gosh this is amazing’. //