A Friendly Flirtation by Christine Warner – a Review

A Friendly Flirtation by Christine Warner – a Review

 

A Friendly FlirtationAmazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / BAM / The Book Depository

Description:
Allison Hall is fed up with being a social outcast. Even at the tech company where she works for her brother and his best friend, Jared, she’s the invisible nerdy girl. What she needs is confidence—and that requires a makeover and dating tips. And she knows just the man to help…

Jared Esterly is shocked when Allison asks for his assistance and turns her down, knowing that her brother—his business partner and best friend, Nick—would kill him if he dated her, even if it is just for practice. But when Al’s attempt to make changes on her own fails spectacularly, Jared reluctantly steps in. Things heat up quickly, and soon lessons move from the salon to the bedroom.

When overprotective big-brother Nick discovers Jared is dating Allison, their friendship and business partnership sour. Allison, consumed by guilt, must make a choice: stay with Jared, even though that means ruining his friendship with Nick and possibly his career, or leave the one man who sets her on fire.

Review:

A Friendly Flirtation by Christine Warner is the third book in her Friends First series.  This book belongs to the third Esterly brother.  You don’t need to read them in sequence.

Nerdy girl seeks adventure and a new image, and a lot more confidence, so she asks her brother’s friend and business partner to help. When he turns her down, she tries to go it alone, the result ….. Epic fail !!!

Allison comes from a male dominated family, so being a tomboy was the norm, and now she is sick of being ignored, no dates on the horizon, and she’s still a virgin.

Jared has no such problem, tall and a ladies man, he has no problem with the opposite sex. So he takes pity on her and helps her out. And along the way he falls for her…..

You get the feeling that both Allison and Jared have a few secret feelings about each other.  Jared wants what Allison wants, he wants love and family, he’s not really the playboy everyone thinks he is. But even pretending to date his best friend’s sister is a line he just can’t cross. He loves his second family, they have been the family he always wanted.

After falling for each other, Allison’s brother finds out, and so say he’s not best pleased is an understatement. Will the friends remain friends ?

And what about Jared and Allison, will their friendship and new love flounder? Or like the Hershey kisses they both enjoy, will it be sweet and forever.

It’s a great read.

Reviewed by Julie B.

Copy provided by Publisher

Share

A Friendly Engagement by Christine Warner – a Review

A Friendly Engagement by Christine Warner – a Review

 

A Friendly EngagementAmazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / BAM

Description:
Omar Esterly is married to his job. But when Omar sets his sights on a potential, family-oriented client, his confirmed bachelorhood becomes a problem. Fortunately, his friend and employee, Devi Boss, has the perfect plan…

Okay, so it wasn’t exactly Devi’s plan to become her friend’s fake fiancée. Lies aren’t her style. However, Omar offers her a big, beautiful raise—enough to track down the missing father she’s never known—and Devi reluctantly agrees to the whole engagement hoax…

This was supposed to be a no-strings-attached win-win for both Devi and Omar, but when they cross the line between friendship and…well, something more, Devi realizes she’s made a huge mistake that just might cost her both job and friend—falling for her fiancé.

 

Review:

A Friendly Engagement by Christine Warner is the first book in her Friends First series. When old friends and work colleagues get together, you can always rely on drama and tears.  Within the first few pages, I thought Omar was half in love with Devi, he wants to be more like her. She is free spirited, but has a great work ethic, work hard, play hard on the weekend.

Omar was brought up with the ethics of work hard, work harder on the weekend. He wants his father to be proud of the achievements he had brought to the family company. He wants the contract that his father never could. The only problem, the contract will only work with family orientated businesses.

So Omar plans to get an invite to a week long ocean retreat, and show this company what they are missing. Omar and Devi’s relationship starts out as mutual friendship. They like each other, they work well together, so why shouldn’t they pretend to be a couple, it’s all for the greater good.

But Devi isn’t convinced, she hates lies, and liars. She might live her life as a free spirit, but Devi isn’t comfortable lying.  Omar has it all planned out, and in his head it all sounds perfect, what could possibly go wrong ????   Devi grudgingly agrees. And an engagement is announced, from there it all goes …..not exactly to plan.

Omar starts looking at Devi in a different light, he is wondering why now, why does he feel the need to hold her in his arms and the fierce need to kiss her !?  This could complicate things, he wants the contract, but I don’t think he wants it at the loss of his friendship with Devi.

The week long retreat starts, and both Devi and Omar realise that their mission to snag the new contract might be harder than they thought. Trying to pin the boss and talk to him was proving harder than Omar thought. And what with his untoward feelings for Devi, poor Omar is in a bit of a bind. And if he had realised that Devi had thinking the same thing, I think he would have taken a few more chances. And when they finally get together, the sparks flew and everything was glorious.

They decide to continue this new development,(neither want to say relationship) both wanting each other, but afraid to say what’s in their hearts.   The fall out when it happens isn’t a pleasant one !!!  There are a few twists and heartache that soon follows, family betrayal soon threatens to tear the new couple apart. Will they survive, how do they go back being just friends? You will need to read this book to find out. 🙂

Reviewed by Julie B.

Copy provided by Publisher

Share