Champagne Charade by Leighton Greene (Friends of Friends #5)

Title: ⟫ Champagne Charade (Friends of Friends #5)

Author: ⟫ Leighton Greene

Rating: ⟫ 4/5

Blurb: ⟫ It was supposed to be fun - but things are getting too real, too fast.

After I got dumped, I never got around to telling my best friend. Why relive the pain? But his New Year’s Eve wedding is coming up soon, and I also never got around to removing my ex from the guest list.

Cue my current hookup and Dom-on-demand, Damon Kirk, joking that he could stand in as my ex. A fake name, a fake relationship…

It’s a terrible idea. Of course I’m not going to do it.

But when I run into my best friend unexpectedly, I can’t bring myself to interrupt his dream wedding, and the little white lie just…

Slips out.

It’s only for the wedding. Only for New Year’s Eve. One little charade…

I know Damon isn’t interested in anything real. I know all those kisses and hugs are just for show. But I still can’t help falling under his spell.

I have to remember: after the wedding - and the year - is over, so is our fake relationship.

The clock is ticking down…

But what if our charade isn’t just an act?

***

Champagne Charade is a 31,000-word novella wrapping up the kinky Friends of Friends series with humor, heart, and a whole lot of heat. Say goodbye to the old year and hello to the new with this fake relationship romance, including hookups pining for more, a winter wedding for old friends, and a fresh start for everyone at the stroke of midnight.

Review: ⟫ This was a lot of fun to read.

The beginning – oh my, it should come with a warning! The book begins with a scene between Damon and Tyler that is hot, kinky and dirty and I really thought that was how the rest of the book was going to go. Boy, was I surprised because this entire book was about feelings (interspersed with hot sex). Tyler doesn’t want to worry his friends, but he also doesn’t want to be pitied by them which makes things complicated. On the one hand, he’s doing this whole charade to ensure that his best friend, Jonny, is concentrating on his wedding rather than worrying about Tyler. On the other hand, he doesn’t want to find himself at the other end of well-meaning comments and match-making attempts that make him feel like a project.

Damon tells Tyler that he is using the fake relationship weekend as a way to avoid his ex, but it pretty soon becomes obvious that he has some intense feelings for Tyler that he is too scared to say, Which is how he finds himself in the uncomfortable position of lying to a bunch of strangers who seem to be watching his every move to figure out if he is good enough for their friend.

I really enjoyed catching up with the characters from the previous books and seeing how their HEA is going, but this story was most definitely about Tyler and Damon and about the need for them to confess the truth – to Tyler’s friends and to each other. A quick, satisfying read with some laugh out loud moments – wedding planning should come with a warning and a large bottle of alcohol – as well as some sexy ones, with a heart-warming happy ending.

I received an ARC from GRR.

Haunted Hearts by Leighton Greene

Title: ⟫ Haunted Hearts (Friends of Friends #4) 

Author: ⟫ Leighton Greene 

Rating: ⟫ 5/5 

Blurb: ⟫ Lord Arden is an arrogant, prickly, critical jerk…and I’m falling for him. 

 After a disastrous first weekend as his service sub while he's on a working vacation in LA, I give in to the pleas of my friends and return to try again. 

Haughty Hottie, I call him. 

Never in his hearing, or I’d get another five infractions marked down in the little card of punishments he's tied around my wrist. The more time we spend together, the more his icy exterior seems to melt. But as hot and haughty as he is, he’s also haunted… And he won’t share his heart. 

After the Halloween masquerade, he'll be gone. Back to England, back to his lonely life. Can I persuade him to open up before then, or is he already planning to ghost me? 

*** 

Haunted Hearts is the fourth book in the Friends of Friends series. HFN/HEA guaranteed, and no cliffhangers. While this book is part of a series, it can be read on its own, but characters from previous books do show up in cameos. 

Review: ⟫ I’ve never really understood the whole service kink thing so I went into this wanting to learn. And boy howdy, did I learn! This book steamed right through my expectations and showed me exactly what’s so sexy about service. 

I adored Oliver – I thought he was an honest, straight-forward, cool guy. But I LOVED Lord Elliott. I haven’t read any of the other Friends of Friends books, but I will definitely be adding them to my list because I was blown away by this book. The pain Lord Arden was suffering from was apparent in every word he spoke and every move he made, but so too was his instant attraction to Oliver and his desire to find a way out of the rut he had found himself in. 

I had tears in my eyes on more than one occasion, but I think it was the walks in the maze and the music that really touched me the most – this book really surprised me in so many ways. 

I liked how respectful of each other they were – and how they were both willing to admit to their failings when they messed up – and their honesty was refreshing. Yes, there were moments when I wanted to shake both of them, but it wasn’t through lack of effort on either of them – it was about reality and how things don’t always come tied up in a sweet little bow, perfectly fitting in with your plans. 

I have enjoyed Leighton Greene’s mafia series previously and this definitely reached the same heights – really pleased I read this and open to the idea of reading more about service. 

I received an ARC from GRR.