Deal Breakers by Laura Lee

This is a well-worn path and you may be forgiven for believing that you have read one friends to lovers book that you have read them all and in many cases this is true but I was pleasantly surprised by what Laura Lee managed to bring to the table.

This Riley’s and Devyn story and it is spread out over a number of years.

Being in college a big deal for them both and for the four years that they are there, they form a friendship that is so solid, they truly are the very best of buddies.

But what Riley is hiding is the fact that he has wanted Devyn from the minute that he laid eyes on her. He has respected her enough to take the friendship that she has offered – bolstered by the fact that it isn’t just him that he is determined to keep at arm’s length – this little lady isn’t interested in relationships – full stop!

But when this strong minded, determined girl decides that she is ready to embrace the woman she has become it is to her best friend that she turns for help.

She takes the wind from his man-whoring sails when she asks him to be the first man that she will have ever been with.

Damn, I bet he didn’t see that one coming ?

That was always going to be an interesting proposition given the way he has felt about her for so long!

I liked the fact that this was an empowering moment, one that Devyn lead from start to finish. She did what she wanted to do when she wanted to do it and she was confident in her choice and her decision to approach Riley. I admired her fortitude.

Riley might have been less that saintly during his college years but he was nothing other than a gentleman with Devyn, his feelings for her had never dwindled and no matter who he had in his bed, his heart was never their’s but when he actually takes time to think about what Devyn has asked of him he knows that this will change the dynamic of their relationship and things will never be able to go back to how they have been.

Little did he know that he would lose her altogether?

The story jumps forward a few years and they are eventually reconnected, but the kicker is what Riley finds now he is back.

Devyn has a secret that she has kept from him and Riley quickly discovers that he has a son… and what a little cutie he is.

I couldn’t help but find a smile plastered right across the page each and every time the delightful Nathan was in the picture, he may have been only four but he was magical!

With all things laid bare, Riley is faced with one thought and one alone, to get Devyn back and to be the father his little boy deserves.

So let the romance commence.

I loved Riley he was an ass at times but he really did love Devyn and the way he was with Nathan just made me smile.

The story was fairly light hearted but where is the harm in that – it made for a story that while it had a few anxious moments, it wasn’t angst riddled.

The character’s brought life to the page, they swept through the paragraphs and drew me into their lives with ease, they were quirky and fun loving and I enjoyed my time with them.
A book that I would certainly read again