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A Friendly Flirtation by Christine Warner
Release Date: February 15th 2016 by Entangled Publishing, LLC (Select Contemporary)
Series: Friends First #3
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
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.
My Review:
Having read the previous book in the series, I was happy to find out that Warner was going to come out with a third book. In A Friendly Flirtation we get to meet Allison Hall, a social outcast who has no sense of fashion or how to get a guy to date her. With her work constantly surrounding her life, she decides to make a change and find herself a date. But first she needs a make over and her brother's best friend Jared is the right person for the job. When Allison asks Jared for help, he turns her down immediately and tells her that she doesn't need a make over to attract any guys. Which Allison doesn't agree with, and so she decides to take matters into her own hands. With no one else to help her, she does what she thinks is right but she ends up humiliating herself and that make things worse for her.
Allison is not only devastated at the outcome, but she truly doesn't know what to do next. Needless to say, Jared comes to her rescue and the make-over process begins. With his assistance, Allison quickly begins to learn about what looks good on her, and what does not. Her determination is what keeps her moving, and the more she starts to spend time with Jared, the more their connection starts to grow. That is when things start to get heat up and they take their connection to the next level in the name of learning/getting experience, at least that's what Allison thinks. But when her overprotective brother, Nick, discovers what her best-friend and sister have been doing, he threatens to end their relationship for good before it's too late. At this point, Allison has to decide what she is going to do with her now growing feelings for Jared, and her brother.
With dual point-of-views, we are able to get both Jared and Allison's part of the story, which made the story that much more interesting to read. I liked how Jared encouraged Allison to be herself without changing for a guy that may not be worthy of her. With an overprotective brother who seems to be running her life, Allison is not able to truly be herself, or do what she wants. As Jared and Allison continue with the make-over things escalate between them, and spending the night together brings out a whole new level of feelings that they didn't know they had for each other. Although the story line wasn't unique, the character's personalities made the story enjoyable to read. Overall the story was funny and truly romantic, so if you are looking for a quick read I would highly recommend giving this story a try. :)
***ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.***
My Rating:
Christine Warner is living her dream in Michigan along with her family, three laptops (she might have a slight addiction, or maybe it’s a fear of one imploding from overuse) and a much loved assortment of furry friends.
Besides laughing and a good round of humor, she enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, reading, writing but no arithmetic. A confessed people watcher, she finds inspiration for her stories in everyday activities. She loves to read and write about strong heroes and determined, sometimes sassy heroines.
A girl gone wild, at least where social media is concerned, she enjoys meeting other avid readers and writers on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, and her website at christine-warner.com.
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