TEST
Life-long friendship combines with hot sex to create a wonderful story with friends crossing the line and becoming lovers. Paul Candellano is the quiet and dependable Candellano brother who works as a computer programmer. Always there when needed for investment advice or a shoulder to lean on, he’s the perfect sibling. Except that he’s long been in love with his sister’s best friend – who also happens to be his brother’s ex-girlfriend. He never had the courage to tell Stevie his true feelings, insteading standing on the sidelines as one of her closest guy friends, watching as his brother broke her heart, and consoling her as only a friend could.
Stevie Ryan spent her whole life feeling as though she didn’t fit in, not until she moved to northern California. There she met her best friend, Carla, and her first love, Nick. Even after their breakup she felt like she belonged to something bigger, and had something she’d always craved – a family. She set down roots and opened a coffee ship. Life, in her opinion, was great until Carla’s wedding, when her life turned upside down.
As friends often do after a wedding, Stevie and Paul talk about the nuptials. What happens next, however – a night of shared passion – isn’t what friends normally have. They are both amazed at the sexual attraction they have for one another and spend most of the book trying to keep their hands off each other. Falling in love with Paul is a major problem for Stevie; she’s always loved the Candellano’s and fears losing that relationship. Worse, what if she and Paul break up? She’ll lose one of her best friends.
There are many obstacles to their happily ever after. The first hurdle is Paul’s brother Nick, who’s decided that he wants Stevie back. Then there’s Stevie’s need for family, which moves to the forefront when she discovers her abandoned, special needs sister. Finally feeling as though she’s needed by someone, how can she cope with her new demands while entangled in a new relationship? And then there’s the Candellano family – what will they think about the relationship? Given the backstories of these two characters, they have quite a few issues to overcome as a couple.
But don’t think this is some serious and melodramatic book. Knowing You can be lots of fun. There’s a great fight between the two brothers when Nick finds out about his brother and Stevie, and the argument the two lovers have near the end of the book had me howling with laughter. Child does a great job of connecting the reader to the characters in this book – far better than in Finding You. I especially appreciated the family truly dealing with the issue of Stevie having dated Nick. In most romances with this premise, the issue is glanced over, but not in this story.
This is a funny and sexy book that I could not put down until it was finished. All the effort the author put into the secondary characters in the first book pay off in this book, and I look forward to the third book in the series – Nick’s story, Loving You.
Grade: B+
Book Type: Contemporary Romance
Sensuality: Hot
Review Date: 19/05/03
Publication Date: 2003
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Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.