ARC Review – Friends to Lovers (Aisle Bound #3) by Christi Barth

This book was simply a sexy thrill ride from start to finish and I was more than happy to jump on and throw my hands up in the air while enjoying it! ~ Slick, Guilty Pleasures

Description:
As florist and co-owner of a successful Chicago wedding planning business, Daphne Lovell has been there for the happiest days of other people’s lives. As for her own life? Well, it’s hard to be perfectly happy when you’re carrying a torch for your sexy, womanizing and oblivious best friend. So when the lights go out on New Year’s Eve, she seizes the opportunity to kiss him senseless.

British expat Gibson Moore has a lot on his plate. The hotel he manages is being bought out, his family is crazy and someone just kissed him in the dark. When the lights go on, he searches the room, trying to find the mystery pair of lips. Only, he never thinks to ask the woman standing by his side. He’s shocked when he discovers that Daphne is the woman he’s been searching for. But Gib’s also eager to act upon the attraction for her he’s always fought to ignore.

It takes trust to move from friends to lovers, and as Gib’s work situation worsens, he is no longer sure he can risk the friendship he relies on most. It’s up to Daphne to convince him that some things are worth fighting for…

Review copy provided for an honest review

This book’s title is one of my favorite romance novel plot themes. I found Christi Barth’s Friends To Lovers to be the perfect blend of friendship, romance, and super sexy fun. From the first book, I knew this was going to be a spectacular series and while I’ve enjoyed the books so far I flat out LOVED this one. This book was simply a sexy thrill ride from start to finish and I was more than happy to jump on and throw my hands up in the air while enjoying it!

Gibson (Gib) Moore from the first time he appeared in this series, I was hooked and I really hoped he would end up with his own story. By the second book, I was in love with him and because he’d become an unofficial member of the Aisle Bound crew I knew he’d get his own book and I couldn’t be happier. Gib is just one of those men that draws people to him men and women alike and by all accounts Gib has enjoyed many, many of those women. He has a dynamic personality and is known for getting things done. He has no plans to change his bachelor lifestyle until New Year’s Eve during a blackout he is kissed by a woman that turns him upside down, but when the lights come back on his “Cinderella” is gone and only his best friend Daphne Lovell is by his side and many, many wedding guests.

Daphne has had feelings for Gib for years and while they’ve enjoyed an easy friendship, if she’s being honest she wants more with him. After taking a chance on New Year’s Eve and kissing him during a blackout, she realizes that Gib will never think of her as more than a friend when he doesn’t even consider she could be his “Cinderella.”

I enjoyed the interplay between these two, they know each other well and are comfortable with each other and watching them move from friends to lovers was satisfying and emotional. They both were worried about ruining their friendship and Gib honestly didn’t know how to date someone special because he pretty much used the same “date MO” on every woman. The fact that he had to work to prove to Daphne that she was special to him made this book even more special.

Their journey was complicated, fun, and very sexy. I love that they had the whole Aisle Bound crew behind them to offer a shoulder when needed and for support. Friends to Lovers is one of those stories that reminds you that love is around you day in and day out and sometimes you just have to take a risk to help it find you, it isn’t always easy and sometimes it’s messy but in the end it is so worth it!