ARC Review: The Next Best Fling (Librarians in Love #1) by Gabriella Gamez
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Series: Librarians in Love #1
Author: Gabriella Gamez
Published July 9th 2024 by Forever
Goodreads Synopsis
Two broken hearts decide that the best way to get over their first loves is with a no-strings-attached relationship in this spicy and charming debut romance.
Librarian Marcela Ortiz has been secretly in love with her best friend for years—and when he gets engaged, she knows it’s long past time to move on. But before she gets the chance, she has a bigger problem to contend with in the form of Theo Young, ex-NFL player and older brother of the man she’s in love with. When she discovers Theo's plans to confess his feelings for his brother’s fiancée at their engagement party, Marcela is quick to stop him—despite how tempting it is to let him run away with the bride-to-be. She manages to convince Theo to sleep off his drunken almost-mistake at her place and when they arrive at a family brunch the next day together, everyone wrongly assumes they hooked up.
Since Theo needs a cover for his feelings for the bride and Marcela needs a distraction from her unrequited feelings for the groom, they decide to roll with the lie. Until one late night at a bar, they take it a step further and discover a layer of attraction neither realized existed. Soon, they find themselves exploring the simmering chemistry between them, whether in library aisles or Marcela's bed. There are no boundaries for the rebound relationship they form—just a host of complicated feelings, messy familial dynamics, and uncovered secrets that threaten to tear them apart before they can even admit to themselves that their rebound is working. Maybe a little too well.
Goodreads
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.
Marcela Ortiz is in love with her best friend, Ben, and has been for years. Unfortunately for her, he's just gotten engaged, and she has to put on the pretence of happiness for him, and try to move on. So when at the engagement party she overhears his brother, Theo, drunkenly plan to announce his feelings for the bride, she knows she has to stop him from making a mistake which will destroy all of their lives. Bringing Theo back to hers to sleep off his drinking, they cause a scandal arriving at brunch together, and decide to go with the flow and pretend there's more to their night together than there actually is. The plan works perfectly, until the fake feelings and romance start to develop into something a lot more real, and it's hard for them to decide whether to take the leap, or if it's just a rebound waiting to fail?
I loved this book! It grabbed my attention from the first pages, and I couldn't put it down until I knew whether Marcela and Theo had a happy ending or not. Marcela being in love with her best is not a new plot idea, but the fact that she didn't go for him in the end, and instead found that his brother was his better in every way, and loved her as she was, not wanting her to change at all, was refreshing! Theo was honestly such a sweety pie, and he fell for Marcela hard, and did not shy away from his feelings in the slightest. The fact that he was so open and honest with Marcela was perfect, and the way he waited for her to be comfortable enough to open up made it all the better. This was one of the best romances I have read in a long time, and when Gabriella releases her next book, I will immediately rush out to get a copy!
Dates Read:
February 7, 2024
Rating
4 Stars
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