The Anti-Boyfriend ( A Man Next Door) by Penelope Ward-Review Tour
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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 31, 2020
At first, my neighbor Deacon frustrated me. Sure, he was great-looking and friendly. But our walls were thin, and on occasion, he’d bring women to his place and keep me awake while he “entertained” them.
As a single mother to an infant, I didn’t appreciate it. So, finally it was my turn. When my daughter wouldn’t stop wailing one night, Mr. Manwhore came knocking on my door.
Miraculously, at the sound of his voice, Sunny stopped crying. And when he held her…she eventually fell asleep in his arms. Deacon was rough on the exterior, but apparently on the inside? Mr. Single-and-Ready-to-Mingle was a baby whisperer. After that night, we became friends.
He’d go for coffee runs. Come over to chat. Normal friend stuff. But over time, our conversations ran deeper. We got closer. Until one night we crossed the line.
Our friendship turned into a complicated mess. I’d gone and fallen for a guy who’d sworn off commitment and kids. I knew Deacon was starting to care for me too, even though Sunny and I didn’t fit into any plan he’d ever imagined for himself. He was wrong for me—so wrong that I’d dubbed him the “anti-boyfriend.”
Then why did I wish more than anything that I could be the one woman to change him?
•••••••••
REVIEW:THE ANTI-BOYFRIEND by Penelope Ward is a contemporary, adult, stand alone erotic, romance story line focusing on twenty-five year old, former ballerina, single mother and PR rep Carys Kincaid, and twenty-nine year old, former football player and IT specialist Deacon Mathers.
Told from dual first person perspectives (Carys and Deacon) THE ANTI-BOYFRIEND follows the slow building relationship between twenty-five year old, former ballerina, single mother and PR rep Carys Kincaid, and twenty-nine year old, former football player and IT specialist Deacon Mathers. After ‘hearing’ one too many night time forays from her neighbor next door, Carys Kincaid ‘politely’ notifies Deacon Mathers about his very noisy and very vocal bedroom conquests. Feeling guilty and a little bit attracted, Deacon apologizes with daily coffees and the occasional babysitting offer when needed in a pinch but Deacon Mathers doesn’t do relationships, and when their building friendship starts to turn into something more, Deacon begins to pull away, leaving a heart broken Carys in his wake. With weeks and months passing, and their dance of friendship continuing to straddle the line, jealousy reveals a mutual attraction that will be threatened when Deacon runs without looking back. What ensues is the slow building romance and relationship between Deacon and Carys, and the potential fall-out as Deacon is unable to let go of the past, and Carys is once again left heart broken when the man with whom she is falling in love, no longer wants Carys in his life.
The relationship between Carys and Deacon is one of immediate attraction but Deacon’s nightly conquests are a reminder of a life of which Carys is not a part. Once an up and coming football star, Deacon’s career ended before it began mirroring Carys’s life of dance that was destroyed in an instant. Deacon doesn’t do permanent relationships and struggles with the idea of family and kids, and in this Deacon prefers a friends with benefits arrangement that is about to implode when the heart is unable to accept the truth. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.
We are introduced to Carys’ boss Cynthia; her ex Charles; Deacon’s friend Adrian, as well as Carys’ infant daughter Sunny.
THE ANTI-BOYFRIEND covers several months and a few years in the life of Deacon and Carys. A slow building romance and relationship wherein weeks to months will pass where the reader is not privy to current events but you will not feel like the missing information is a necessary reveal. The premise is captivating; the romance is seductive; the characters are energetic, colorful and strong.
Copy supplied for review
Reviewed by Sandy
Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author. She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor, before switching to a more family-friendly career. She is the proud mother of a beautiful 11-year-old girl with autism and a 9-year-old boy. Penelope and her family reside in Rhode Island.
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