3 “Virgins & BFFs” Stars

ARC via NetGalley.

Thank you, Entangled Teen (Crush)!



As a huge fan of the BFFs falling in love trope, I was eager to read this book from the moment I saw the ARC. It didn't wow me as much as I'd hoped, and I ended up having similar problems with the story as I did with Monica Murphy's other book, but it was an enjoyable read.

One of the things I liked most about Saving It was how real Eden and Josh's friendship was. I truly felt like they knew each other and had been close friends for a long time, which made the scenes between them much more enjoyable.

As it happened with Daring the Bad Boy (another book by this author I read recently), the male POV worked better than the female for me, but I still liked Eden enough. She was fun and I enjoyed how worried she was about not coming out as a pimp while she helped Josh find the perfect candidate to lose his virginity with.

Eden and Josh took their time figuring out their feelings for each other, and most of their scenes were super cute. I also liked how realistic the portrayal of first time was here.

My biggest complain is probably the repetition. Eden and Josh's chapters could get really repetitive, which took me out of the story from time to time. And even though the romance was cute, I still wanted to see more chemistry between the two of them.

Overall, Saving It is a nice read for fans of the BFFs falling in love trope.

Arc received for honest review
This is a cute YA story about best friends who are fall in love. Josh and Eden have been best friends since middle school. Everyone says girls and guys can't just be friends. It's senior year and they still are best friends. Josh needs his best friend to help him out. He wants to lose his virginity asap. They come up with a plan but during the execution, things get complicated. They both are hesitant to jeopardize their friendship and cross that line. Feelings get hurt, egos crushed and a few laughs occur. You will root for the characters to get their heads out of their behinds and just get it over with. the ride to the end is fun.

It always amazes me when an author can take me back to my youth and make me feel like I'm right back there again! This author does it every time!!

Josh and Eden have been best friends forever and he asks for her help. He doesn't ask for picking out a shirt or something like that, oh no, he asks for picking out a girl to lose his virginity to. Her reaction is priceless...you know, because she doesn't want to sound like a pimp. These two crack me up.

Once she starts making a list and they start going over it and he starts making his moves that's when it starts going downhill. They start to realize that what's been right in front of them all along, but what do they do about it? What if they're wrong? What will it do to they're friendship? BUT what if they're right?

josh and eden have been best friends forever, and only just friends. sure they can recognize that the other person is hot. but their friendship is too important for casual exploration. and so they've friend-zoned each other. and it works for them.

but as saving it opens josh asks eden for help losing his virginity and everything changes. even though he's only asking her for a list of potential girls for wooing, they suddenly both start seeing each other differently.

because of the losing virginity project, they are in each other's company constantly. and this new awareness seeps into all their interactions. i loved how their friendship evolved over the course of the novel. even as their feelings grow what they want is to make sure they still can count on one another. the strength of their friendship really enhances the strength of their romantic feelings in a way that feels believable and meaningful.

this isn't to say they don't have some misunderstandings, but i still liked how everything unfolded. and there are some great bachelor references that play into the grand gesture that are just perfect.

5 STARS FOR SAVING IT!! OMG, I felt like I was back in high school the story felt so real. This is a best friends to lovers with all the feels to make the perfect story. Eden and Josh's story is the perfect blend of sweetness, teenage drama and love to keep you flipping pages. Monica Murphy know how to create beautiful stories that you never want to end. I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.

I didn't even think about it when I pressed the "request" button for this one. It's a Monica Murphy book and I adore her. What more can I say?! With Daring The Bad Boy being one of my ultimate favourites of all time, I didn't hesitate when I saw Saving It up on NetGalley. And though I didn't love it as much, I still enjoyed reading it.

Sure enough, the story isn't extraordinary. But the way the author tells the story is. I love her humor and her ideas. You can definitely tell the difference between her Entangled books and the ones she publishes through different houses. With this publisher, Monica Murphy's books are lighter, there are more funny scenes in it and it's all much more young adult. But she's an expert at both genres, I'd say - young adult and new adult. I like both her styles very much.

Eden and Josh are about the cutest characters I've come across. There are lots of other authors trying to capture friendships the right way, telling a story so similar like this, but only a few actually manage to get the reader excited about it. I definitely was excited about this book. I had a hard time putting it down in order to have dinner or go out. The world of the two characters always had me want to dive into it again and again. They are best friends, though everyone else seems to always assume they're a couple in secret. And despite Josh always having been a relationship guy, he's still a virgin. He plans on changing that really soon, though. And Eden is the one he asks for help. Not in that way, but he wants her to come up with girls he could lose his virginity to. Oh my, what a bad idea, I thought. I already saw the whole plot going downhill, but luckily, I got surprised and still liked the book.

Safe to say, in the end I thought things were a little rushed. Maybe there are readers out there who will feel the same. And maybe that's why my rating suffered a bit. That and yes, it's a story you've read about a million times, as I said before. No matter how many times I say Monica did a fabulous job and I enjoyed her way of telling this plot more than anyone else's, it's still nothing new. But... While I usually have a problem with the main characters' friends, I adored Molly and Abe somehow. Probably not so much as a couple (who knows?! If they got their own book then maybe...), but as their best mates. I didn't quite understand Abe's motives concerning Eden, but that's a different story. And those girls Josh went after... Oh my. I can't believe there wasn't a single normal one, haha. On the other hand, there couldn't be, since there's Eden.

If you're looking for a sweet romance, best friends to lovers, then I suggest you read this one. Also if you're already a Monica Murphy fan and if you trust my review enough to give it a chance.

Here you go, Monica Murphy and YA fans: an absolutely delightful friends-to-maybe-lovers romance.

Josh and Eden have been BFFs for so long that neither knows where one ends and the other begins. They have other friends - other BFFs, even - but their relationship is so fundamental to both of them that they can't imagine not having each other in their lives. Nothing has ever threatened their friendship, not even the people they date.

When Josh asks Eden to help him find someone for him to lose his virginity with, however, the foundation of their relationship starts to quake.

For one thing, Eden isn't sure she likes being his designated pimp. And for another, when did Josh start to look so hot? And when did he start seeing Eden as something other than his closest friend? when did she get hot?

There is a sweetness to this story that grabs you from the start. And whether you consider yourself to be a YA fan or not, you will enjoy this romance. Josh and Eden fumble their ways to admitting their feelings, but what about the fallout? Can you maintain a friendship if you add in some loving, touching, and squeezing?

Monica Murphy shows you all of the teen angst of relationships. You can see the divided loyalties Eden feels for Josh and her friends, and you can feel certain jealousies people may have toward her. You can also feel Josh's conflicting emotions. The dawning of their true feelings for each other is fun (and even a bit poignant) to read.

Murphy keeps things PG-13, making this a perfect book for teen girls. As for the rest of us, I think I finally understand how SnapChat works, so thank you, Monica Murphy, for that.

I loved this book. It’s funny and entertaining.

I love how Josh and Eden are best friends, how they know each other so well and how they have managed to stay only friends. I love how Eden is so organized she needs to make a list and Josh knows it. That’s why he turns to her for help. Eden of all people should be able to find the perfect girl for Josh. She can come up with a list of girls for him.

It’s funny how everyone around them sees what they don't. They are opposites but they know little details about each other that no one does. They know how to read each other and have little secret ways of communicating without words. But still are clueless in other parts.

But they’ve managed to never be attracted to each other. I loved Eden’s personality and Josh’s. They are true teenagers who get confused and sometimes aren’t sure of what is going on. I love how Eden wants to be a matchmaker.

I would highly recommend this book. It’s great from beginning to end.

Summary
Eden and Josh have been best friends forever. They tell each other everything and are always there always there for each other. When Josh asks Eden to help him find a girl to lose his virginity with everything changed. Now, there is awkwardness and new feelings between the two of them. Can they stay friends or maybe they could be more?

Review
This is one of those books that seem just kind of okay to everyone except to it’s target demographic. As an adult reading this book my reactions include: the characters are sort of weak, teenage boys do not sound like that, and that ending was pretty obvious. However, when I considered the fact that book is for teen girls my reaction changed. If I had found this book when I was fourteen I would have loved it. The romance between two best friends is the sort of dreamy real life fantasy that will appeal to teen girls. The romance scenes are graphic enough to make the average teen reader want to keep reading but not too graphic to make them uncomfortable. Plus, the ending is perfect teen girl dream material.

Bottomline: Adult readers may be bored or annoyed with this simplistic romance however teen girl readers will probably love it.

A fun look at the trials teenagers go through when dealing with the angst and pressure of losing their V card. Eden Sumner and Josh Evans have been best friends forever. When Josh comes to Eden for help she knows she'll help but Eden's shocked when Josh reveals he wants her to help him find the person to lose his virginity to. As the search goes out it becomes clear that not just any girl will do. There's only one choice but convincing Eden may take a little work.

A nicely done story that I

There's a lot to like about this book. For one thing, I found it to be super refreshing to have Josh be the one who is the one primarily focused on losing his virginity. Most of the time, books look at this from the female perspective so it was really cool for me to get the teenage boy viewpoint. I know I forget the pressures that are put on boys in regards to sex because I am a girl so I really enjoyed that aspect.

I also loved how genuine this book was. The situation Eden and Josh find themselves in could happen anyone anywhere in the world. Eden and Josh are a great match and their connection and friendship is apparent from the start. They are great, true friends to each other and I loved that about them. The fear of ruining a life-long friendship, the pressures from their tight-knit group of friends; everything they go through is extremely relateable. I kept waiting for something over dramatic to happen as it often does with this genre but we get nothing of the sort.

What I did want to see was a little more romantic chemistry between them. Part of the reason this is somewhat neglected is that it takes these two a long time to come to terms with their potential feelings. But I wanted more than just a few comments here and there about how attractive the other looked in their clothes. For a couple that had such a strong emotional connection, I just wanted those "swoon" moments to happen a little more often than they did.

Fans of the BFF to more trope will truly enjoy this refreshing and genuine romance.

Saving It, takes the unconventional route to romance. Ms. Murphy paves her own way with a often explored theme adds a bit of a twist. Love, friendship and virginity are explored through the eyes of teenage angst and adult themed narration. Get out of your head, listen to your heart and take a chance on a true original.

Saving it
By: Monica Murphy
📚💕⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💕📚

True friendship to lovers...Amazing

Oh my, my, my talk about a book that can take me back to my own youth and the memories created.

Monica Murphy captured real teen problems in this book. I have a junior and senior both boys and could literally see every single thing written playing in my mind.

Book blurb: Josh Evans and I have been best friends forever. He knows all my secrets, and I know all of his. So when he randomly asks me to help him lose his virginity, I sort of flip out. That’s a question that sends your mind to places you’ve seriously never considered before. Like, you know. Having sex. With your best friend. Except Josh doesn’t want to have sex with me—he wants me to help him find a girl. A nice girl who’s funny and smart and cute. Except he already knows a girl just like that...
Josh: Eden Sumner is my best friend. So of course she’d be the person to help me find my perfect match, so I can drop my V card before I head off to college. Except the more we search, the more I realize that maybe the right girl has been by my side all along. I don’t need Eden’s help in finding me a girl to love. I’m pretty sure I’m already in love with Eden. But now she thinks I’m only after one thing...with anyone but her.

What’s not in the authors discretion of the book was the chemistry. Josh and Edes will slowly discover that the friendship that they’ve always had could be so much more. They are both so intertwined into one another’s lives it’s like having a second family. Are either willing to chance loosing the friendship for the chance to explore something amazing. What happens when they hurt each other as they figure it out.

I loved this journey I took into Saving It. The entire book from the first to the last page will have you completely engrossed and rooting for them to give in and be vulnerable to each other. Josh and Eden are very likable even with their imperfections.

Written in dual POV my personal favorite. I’d like to thank Monica Murphy and Netgally for letting me read and review!!!

I am a fan of Murphy's NA and adult books, so I was interested to see what she had to offer in the YA realm. I found Saving It to be fun, light, and flirty and I was throughly entertained.

•Pro: The number one reason why I wanted to read this was because it was a friends-to-more story. I love this type of romance, and I absolutely liked the way Murphy let it evolve.

•Pro: The friendship between Eden and Josh was very solid. They had known each other for many years, shared a lot of history, and had been besties since 8th grade. They shared a lot of special moments and some TMI moments, and it was a friendship I envied.

•Pro: I was a fan of both Eden and Josh as well as Eden&Josh. They were both very likable, and super easy to ship.

•Pro: The Bachelor references were fun, and a grand gesture will always win me over.

•Pro: This was a fun, light, cute romance, and sometimes that is exactly what you are looking for.

•Con: I struggled a little with the friends. Eden's other BFF was a little too angsty at times, while Abraham was too much of bro, though at times he was pretty decent.

•Pro: The ending was the type of ending I love. So, it definitely left me with a happy feeling.

Overall: A sweet and fun friends-to-more romance, laced with some really touching moments and just enough drama to keep it interesting.

Best friends to lovers is one of my favorite troupes so I was excited to check it out after I read the blurb.
Here you have Eden and Josh who pretty much have been friends forever; but they'll soon go to college so Josh decides he doesn't want to go being a virgin and so decides to ask Eden for help to find a girl. But as they go ahead with this plan, they both start experiencing new feelings and sensations, they start to see each other in a new light; of course they don't realize what exactly is happening or what they're experiencing so you can expect some drama, a bit of angst and misunderstandings but not too much to make the reader feel overwhelmed or annoyed.

Josh and Eden are pretty much perfect for each other so I was definitely rooting for them.
This is a great light, funny and sweet romance story.

This friends to lovers story was a quick read! Definitely a YA book- but I enjoyed it!

Saving It tells the story of two best friends: Eden and Josh. They’ve been friends since they were young and know every secret of each other. One day Josh randomly asks Eden to help him lose his virginity to someone. Since that question, everything changed. Now they both start to second-guess their feelings for each other…

Saving It is the perfect contemporary read. Saving It was so cute and adorable, I couldn’t stop reading! It was so fast paced and enjoyable to read. I really like Eden and Josh. They’re so perfect for each other yet they don’t see it themselves. I really liked that they started to notice each other like girlfriend and boyfriend material instead of just best friends. 

I really recommend Saving It if your up for a contemporary read that will make you smile non-stop! I cannot wait to read more books written by Monica Murphy!

This book was sweet and simple. It was just a perfect love story. I definitely recommend this book and this author.

I thought this book was cute and fun. I've read several of Monica Murphy's books, and this is my favorite out of the one's I have read. I'm a sucker for friends to romance stories.

The beginning of the book was a bit slow and it jumped right in with Josh asking Eden to help him lose his virginity. I would have liked to have some introduction to the friendship first and know the characters a little bit before that happened. Without knowing them and their relationship it was a bit creepy to me. That said, I enjoyed the middle part on. Abraham and Molly added to the mix without really knowing what Josh and Eden were up to. The parts near the end were my favorite when they figure out what they really wanted. It was realistic and humorous. I received a copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest review.