Should’ve Been You by Nicole McLaughlin is the third installment in the novella length contemporary romance series Man Enough. Each novella in the series features a different couple as the main characters so it is fine to read as a standalone or out of order if choosing to do so.

In this novella readers meet Jase and Becca who have known each other since childhood but never acted on the feelings that each had for one another. Becca’s parents had looked after Jase when it became known his father had been abusive so he was in their lives quite a bit growing up but due to a bit of a misunderstanding or manipulation of Becca’s twin sister’s part Becca and Jase each thought the other didn’t care for one another.

Second chance romances are usually my favorite type of romantic story especially when the book is at novella length. The past between the couple can easily and quickly be established so the books don’t feel rushed into the love stage. In this case however there were many factors in this book that just didn’t work for me personally as a reader.

Should’ve Been You seems to be one that just in my opinion tried to do a bit too much in too short a span to have any of it come off as believable or romantic that would lead to a happily ever after. First we have twins with a bit of a territorial issue over the male lead which is a bit of a turn off to possibly be taking from a sibling but on top of that bit of a love triangle there was also another man in Becca’s life leading to a bit more of a love square.

In the end I'd rate this installment at 2.5 even as much as I actually did like the main couple when meeting each of them and looked forward to their story the story overall just didn’t really work in my mind. The biggest problem being the length and things being rushed or glossed over without being explored fully in this one.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

This is a contempotary cowboy-ish (farming at any rate) small town romance. As it turns out, although it’s a variation on one of my favourite tropes (friends to loves/childhood crush) it didn’t actually work for me. I never felt like I really got inside the heroine and hero’s heads and both of them did some slightly questionable things on their way to their happily ever after. Not for me, but well written so it may well work for other people.

Should’ve Been You by Nicole McLaughlin
Man Enough #3

Fraternal twins Hannah and Becca Walters have been friends with Jase Beckford for nearly two decades. Hannah and Jase have always been there for one another and Hannah has done her best to keep Jase for herself even though her sister had the original interest in him. When Hannah accepts the proposal of a man she has been dating Jase finally feels free and begins to see Becca in a new light. Hannah is jealous of course and Becca’s squeeze of two years puts another creates another issue to deal with but in the end true love conquers all and Becca’s childhood crush becomes her HFN with a definite HEA in the works.

I have liked every book in this series but perhaps still like book one the best. This is a simple story of friends finding out they care for one another more than they realized and also realizing that the friendship that could have been more all along was hampered by something said by another when both were much younger. A feel good story with almost spontaneous combustion one the gloves came off…might not have worked if the two had not known one another so long and if Becca had not been crushing on Jase for almost two decades.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press-Swerve for the ARC - This is my honest review.

3-4 Stars

One night changed everything. Jase can't believe that Becca is home for a visit he hasn't seen her since her mother's funeral and she is even more beautiful but he doubts that her personality have gotten any better. Becca knows that it is going to be hard being around him as she has loved him for so long but she can't hope anymore she needs to move on from her dream. And Jase has never looked at her that way he has only ever had eyes for her sister Hannah. It is time to let go. Can Jase prove to Becca that he has only ever been Hannah's friend and that he wants to be with her?. Will she give him a chance to prove that they could be good together as they have wasted so much time already. A great read.

Jase is finally happy to be back in his home town and to hopefully have a successful ranch one day. When he comes face to face with his best friends sister the one person he's always wanted but she always thought better that anyone he wonders if this is going to work if she sticks around. Becca is home for the holidays and when she runs into her crush she wants to do anything and everything to try and avoid him but it seems he is more in her life then she planned. Can they be around each other and not let there feelings come to the surface or will what they want ruin relationships with others?

I liked how the author didn’t just make the chemistry happen it was a gradual build up and the boom like a bomb going off. This book was super sweet love story. I was a bit disappointed to see it end because I really enjoyed all the characters. I hope to find out more about Aiden and Hannah. This book does have strong language and adult scenes but it was a super fun read. I have not read any of the other books in the series and I had not problem following the story at all. I do want to go back and read the other stories if they are anything like this I am sure they will be just as amazing.

I’ve just finished “Should’ve Been You” by Nicole McLaughlin, which is book 3 in the “Man Enough” contemporary series. I haven’t read books 1 or 2 but I could still follow and immerse myself into this storyline, okay. I believe that characters in “Should’ve Been You” have been present in the other books. Especially the three main characters, Jase, Hannah and Becca, so if you’re wanting to follow the characters from the beginning, start with book 1.

NetGalley granted me a review e-arc of “Should’ve Been You” so that’s why I haven’t read the other two books, previously.

There are explicit sex scenes in “Should've Been You” so I wouldn’t recommend this for anyone under age 17.

Spoilers Below...

Jase is the first character that is seen in “Should’ve Been You”. He’s a 32 year old man who wants to become a cattle herder. The book doesn’t focus on this at all. It’s just contextualises the story. He is single but has been harbouring feelings for Hannah, one of his old, close neighbours.

“Hannah. The woman in Jase’s life. Sort of. They’d never officially dated. Never had sex. And yet...they were definitely each other’s other”

Even though it says they “never officially dated above”, that doesn’t mean that Jase doesn’t feel attracted to Hannah. Hannah has a twin sister, Becca as well. Jase and Becca haven’t had an easy friendship.

“It was never...romantic love. I can see that now. I’ve known it for a long time, actually. And she has, too”

This is when Jase is trying to explain to Becca that he doesn’t want Hannah. Becca has always felt second best to Hannah. She’s always thought that Jace fancied Hannah. Jase realises throughout “Should’ve Been You” that he never truly loved Hannah and that it’s always been Becca.

Hannah gets engaged to a side character, Jonas in the middle of the story. We don’t really learn anything about him, other than he’s the lead singer of a band. The story don’t really focus on this relationship. This engagement is more of just a side story. The main story follows Becca and Jase’s relationship.

The title, “Should’ve Been You” plays into the main storyline, which is a love triangle type set up between Jase, Hannah and Becca. I thought it would be annoying but it really wasn’t. Jase thinks he loves one of the girls but is actually interested in the other...

There wasn’t any actual cheating between the three main characters, although there was for others. It was more feelings that were unexplored that became explored, throughout. For example, the first time that Becca and Jase kiss is like a totally new experience for them both.

“And it was the most divine moment of her life. She was kissing Jase Beckford. The man she’d dreamed of as long as she could remember”, explains what it’s like for Becca, while “I shouldn’t have done that. But I can’t say I really regret it” is what Jase says about the kiss. Becca already has a boyfriend when this kiss happens, Brian, who treats her terribly.

“He was successful and easy to like” is really all the description we get of who Brian is as a person. He doesn’t come off as friendly though. He’s very overbearing on Becca. He doesn’t want her kissing guys, but he’s allowed to kiss girls, for example.

“She and I kind of...fooled around last week”
is how Brian explains that he cheated on Becca. He doesn’t think that it’s classed as “cheating” because they didn’t sleep together. However, Becca thinks differently. Becca is of course, angry. She then goes into explain how she kissed Jase. Brian doesn’t accept this kiss, at first.

“Did you sleep with him?”
“No!”
“But something happened, didn’t it?”
“Yes, he kissed me. But you seem to be unfairly angry after just telling me what you did. Don’t you think”

is how the exchange between Brian and Becca goes, over Becca’s infidelity. Brian HAD just admitted that he’d also kissed someone else. But that seemed to have been forgotten about by him, here. He’s being very unfair towards Becca. That’s the main reason why I didn’t like Brian.

Brian and Becca give things a go, after their separate fumbles but realise it’s not going to work between them. This leaves Becca for Jase but will they get together or will something else stop them? You’ll need to read to find out!

What did I like about “Should’ve Been You”?

I liked how the story seemed to focus on two romances, rather than three or four. In such a short book I don’t think it would have worked is there had been lots couples to focus on.

I liked that the emotions seemed real in “Should’ve Been You”. Nothing seemed fake. I could imagine feeling the way that Becca did if I had been her.

What didn’t I like about “Should’ve Been You”?

I didn’t like how “Should’ve Been You” was so short. I grew attached to these characters and enjoyed reading about the situations they got into.

I would have liked more events to happen in this book, which kind of leans into the wanting the novel to be longer but, yeah!

I would have liked to have seen the main couple of this book either get together a little bit quicker, or for the book to have been slightly longer to accommodate more time to them as a couple.

I enjoyed “Should’ve Been You”. There were a few things that I would have changed or altered but the story was easy to follow. That’s why I give this book 3.5 Stars!. I’m interested to read the other books in this series 🙂.

I’m giving this a pass, but it’s more between a pick and a so-so. The writing is fine, the characters are fine (albeit they seemed a bit immature for 30ish), but the story was simply too predictable and really brought nothing new to the “sisters-loving-the-same-man” trope. While one sister comes to see that she and he are more like siblings, the other has been crushing on him since childhood. 3.5/5⭐️

This is a short novella, so I was easily able to finish it on a rainy afternoon. A sweet romance of childhood friends, one who could have romantic but a miscommunication leads each of them to think the other doesn't like them.

As adults they are reconnected during the holiday season, finding out that each other holds an interest makes them question their feelings and the paths they are on.

I like that their relationship grew over time, and the situations they were in are realistic. I am also looking forward to the sisters story as well.

I had trouble getting into this story. I didn’t like how Jase treated Becca in the beginning. He was very judgmental towards her and it just made me not like him. The beginning of the story seemed to focus too much on Jase and Hannah and not enough on Jase and Becca.

It has always been Hannah. Jase has always been attracted to Becca, Hannah's twin, but she didn't like him. He hasn't seen Becca for 5 years and now there she stands in a t-shirt and underwear. When they finally start talking, they find out that things aren't always what they seem. Hannah is now engaged and Becca and Jase are looking at each other with new eyes. Good story.

Should've Been You is book three of Nicole McLaughlin's Man Enough series but can be read as a stand alone. I think the blurb was a little misleading with this book, it says,
"National Guardsman Jase Beckford wants to live a quiet life raising cattle and taking care of his mother. His childhood friend and neighbor Hannah is still his best friend, but when he walks into the Walters house one morning and sees her twin sister Becca for the first time in five years, he wonders if he missed out on something special."

Part of that is true he is a National Guardsman and he wants to raise his cattle and he's been best friends with Hannah, but it doesn't tell you that he's been harboring feelings for her sister this whole time. Or that Hannah is what I would call an attention whore, someone who has to have all the attention on her to the point she manipulates people so she gets her way. Hence why Jase and her are friends and nothing ever happened with Becca. To the point that Becca went away for college and hardly ever comes back home. It's not even like Hannah and Jase are an item, she can date and sleep with other people but she gets possessive when Jase does. Hannah basically leads Jase on a string with friendship as their main staple but with the idea that maybe they will settle down with each other someday. Until Hannah gets engaged to some hipster douche does Jase finally feel like he can move on with his life away from Hannah. Becca comes home for the holidays and sees Jase for the first time in five years and all the old feelings she hoped she was over are back and stronger than ever, only one problem is that she's dating another guy and expects to gets engaged over the holiday. Only after Hannah's surprise engagement do Jase and Becca talk and find out what Hannah did to them all those years ago and all that confessing leads to a kiss. Becca feels guilty over it she rushes home to tell her boyfriend what she did only to find out he cheated on her first and it ends. When Becca finally returns to her dad's house for Christmas with the news that she's single again Jase finally gets the feeling that they can finally start something but between Hannah and the sudden appearance of Becca's ex it turns out to not be as easy as that.

Overall, it had a nice ending and Hannah really seemed to turn over a new leaf at the end but the characters were all a mess and I really didn't empathize with them at all.

Will appear online at Romance Reviews Today in Feb. http://romrevtoday.com/

SHOULD’VE BEEN YOU – Nicole McLaughlin
Swerve (eBook only)
ISBN: 978-1250-12009-0
February 2018
Contemporary Romance

Pierson, Kansas – Present Day

Jase Beckford was raised in Pierson, and after retiring from the military, he came back to run a small cattle ranch. His next-door neighbor and good friend is Tim Walters, someone he’s known his entire life, though the man’s twin daughters are now adults and living on their own. Ever since Jase was a teen, he’s had the hots for one of the twins, Hannah, while the other one, Becca, has always been aloof towards him. While Jase can call Hannah a friend, they’ve never gone beyond that, and now she’s in love with another man. It’s almost Christmas, and Jase arrives at the Walters to discover a nearly naked Becca in the kitchen. Uh…whoa! Why is he suddenly attracted to the twin who doesn’t like him?

When Becca was a teen, she had a crush on Jase, but he only had eyes for Hannah. Because she didn’t like to see how good Jase and Hannah were together, she pretended to dislike Jase and kept mostly away from her father’s home (her mother is now deceased). But after encountering Jase in the kitchen, there’s a sudden sizzling awareness between them. Becca is currently seeing another man whom she expects to pop the question, but why is Jase making her rethink saying yes to the proposal? Will the Christmas holiday give Jase and Becca the opportunity to explore this attraction further?

SHOULD’VE BEEN YOU is about a missed connection between Jase and Becca years ago. When they were both teens, they liked each other and maybe could’ve seen it grow into a romance, but Hannah sneakily interfered by telling each of them a lie about the other. This led to an estrangement that exists to this day. Why did Hannah lie? Because she was jealous of popular Becca and afraid she’d lose Jase as her best friend. Insecurities are terrible when you’re a teenager, and neither Jase nor Becca questioned each other about what Hannah told them. Becca is now a schoolteacher and has a boyfriend whom she thinks she’ll spend the rest of her life with, and is hoping he’ll pop the question at Christmas. But it’s Hannah who gets an engagement ring first, and this propels a lot of things to change for Jase and Becca in SHOULD’VE BEEN YOU.

Jase had hoped Hannah would see him as more than just a friend. But it’s Becca’s despair at his pain over Hannah’s engagement that causes him to look at her differently, just as he realizes that he wasn’t ever really in love with Hannah. A kiss soon makes Jase and Becca want more. But this kiss causes guilt for Becca. She has to tell her boyfriend what happened and when she does, something unexpected happens. Will it lead to a chance for Jase and Becca? Will Hannah’s old insecurities cause a problem for them despite her engagement to another man?

SHOULD’VE BEEN YOU is a sensual and enjoyable romance that I recommend booklovers pick up at their favorite online bookstore.

Patti Fischer

I loved this story! Typically I prefer 350+ page books, but this novella did it right. It may have had a quick pace and resolution, but it was fantastically done. There really wasn't anything I didn't like about it. Great hero and heroine, plausible conflict, and heart-tugging romance. Just a great story all-around. Should've been you is the third book in the Man Enough series, but I hadn't read the first two and I really didn't feel like I missed anything. I surmised that some of the secondary characters were previous H/h's from the first two books, but only because I knew there were two other stories. Nicole McLaughlin's writing is wonderfully compelling with engaging dialogue and an absorbing story arc. I've already purchased the previous books in the series and can't wait to experience more in this story world. (This is my voluntary and unbiased review of Should've Been You via the publisher and Netgalley.)

Publisher's Description:

Childhood neighbors get a chance at love in Should’ve Been You, an achingly romantic novella in Nicole McLaughlin’s Man Enough series!

National Guardsman Jase Beckford wants to live a quiet life raising cattle and taking care of his mother. His childhood friend and neighbor Hannah is still his best friend, but when he walks into the Walters house one morning and sees her twin sister Becca for the first time in five years, he wonders if he missed out on something special.

Becca Walters has nursed a secret crush on Jase since childhood, but he always preferred Hannah, so she buried her feelings assuming her sister and Jase would one day turn their flirtation into a real relationship. And this Christmas, she is anticipating a proposal of her own, so Jase’s reappearance in her life doesn’t mean anything. Much. Okay, maybe more than Becca would like to admit.

However, when Becca’s sister gets engaged to someone who’s not Jase, Becca and Jase find themselves spending more together. And when secrets are revealed, suddenly those dormant feelings come back to life; but is the possibility of something between them worth risking the happiness of everyone they love?

My Thoughts:

This is a well written second chances, friends to lovers novella.
Both of our characters have a past together leading the reader to think that just maybe they should be much more that simply friends.
Becca has loved Jase since they were preteens. His abusive father made matters more complicated than one would expect.
Now they have come together in this surprisingly sweet and sexy romance.
I gave this book 4.25 of 5. Stars for storyline and characterization and a sensual rating of 4 of 5 flames. There is only a small sampling is this book.
I received a complimentary digital copy of this book to read and review.
This in no way affected my opinion of this book which I read and reviewed voluntarily.

Note to self: Do not let a novella be the first thing you read by a romance writer.

In the past I've indicated how difficult I believe it is to provide a believable romance as a novella. Frequently it's hard to do in a full-length novel. Characters have to connect and fall in love, but in a believable way. I've also mentioned that one way to make this happen is to have had the characters know each other in the past.

While Should've Been You succeeds on that last score with Jase and Becca knowing each other for 18 years and Becca crushing on him just that long, so many additional complications were tossed into the mix that the slim pages of a novella just couldn't do it justice. 

I'd like to be more specific, but I can't without spoiling the novella. Let it suffice to say that in a romance novella, it's best if neither character has any strong attachments to any one else.

I can be more specific about what I did like. Jase and Becca were cute together, teasing, sweet, and steamy, which is one reason why I will read something more by Nicole McLaughlin. Characters actually having chemistry is the sign of a good romance writer and Jase and Becca had it.

Also, I liked the other characters. I liked Hannah, although she was the reason that Jase and Becca never found happiness earlier. I could understand her lack of self-esteem that drove her to be jealous of Becca. Obviously, McLaughlin cares about her characters.

Should've Been You is the third in the Man Enough series. I think I'll visit the others and then get back to you. Or if you get there first, let me know.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sweet, small town romance centering around two people who have known each other all of their lives but have thought the other didn’t like them. Jase has always loved Becca but he has also always thought he knew that she didn’t like him at all. He is best friends with her twin sister and when he gets a glimpse of Becca after several years his attraction is as strong as ever. Becca has had a secret crush on Jase since they were kids but he has always been partial to her twin sister so she has kept her distance. Now Christmas brings them all back together and when her sister gets engaged Becca tries to make sure Jase is ok and they start telling truths to each other. But the problem is that Becca is  in a long term relationship and is hoping for her own engagement soon, so when they share a kiss, she feels totally guilty and rushes home. There is drama, strife, passion, secrets and lies all rolled up into a sweet romance about two people finally getting together and finding their true happily ever after. I enjoyed it. It was strong, tense at times, had highs and lows and a good steady pace in development.

I received an invitation via email to read and review this book. And let's face it, for me that's the same thing as walking into a bookstore and having an employee say "Psst, you over there! Come here and get this free book!!" So I did the internet equivalent of skipping to the bookstore counter and downloaded the book without reading a description. (Yeah, I can't say no to books...lol.)

Soon after starting this book I thought about giving up on it. The characters were shallow, the story boarded on awkward, the pace of the story was slow, and the writing seemed off. Granted this was my first read by this author so I wasn't sure what to expect but I think it's safe to say I was disappointed. However, since I had downloaded the book I decided to trudge on and finish it. Though at times this seemed to be a chore. It was almost like trekking through the desert looking for water and realizing the end was just a mirage. I finally had to turn off the feature on my Kindle that told me how much longer I had till I was finished.

It's beyond safe to say that I didn't like any of these characters at the beginning. Hannah seemed wild, Becca reserved and perhaps a bit on the uppity side, and Jase, well, Jase just seemed happy wanting to play the field between the two sisters if he could. His relationship with Hannah which is described as somewhat as siblings but almost lovers but not quite just seemed strange. His relationship with Becca seemed painful and as the story went on it is understandable I think as parts of the plots are revealed. It just took forever to get to those parts. By the end of the book I think I liked the characters slightly less than not at all but I certainly didn't love any of them. I think there was also the unnecesary character of Jonas. He could have just been mentioned in passing as he really didn't add much to the story.

As for the story itself it could have been good but somehow the author turned it awkward. Jase had an abusive parent and was rescued by Hannah and Becca's father, Tim. He was included as part of the family and so had a close relationship with the sisters, both of which were attracted to him. This is the good part. But when the author described the relationship between Jase and Hannah as adults it seemed weird. Almost like lovers without the physical part. And how quickly he switches from one sister to the next was a bit rushed and not really believable.

The story and the writing in the second half of the book seemed much better than the first half. Once Hannah wasn't such a part of the story it seemed like the story picked up the pace. The writing seemed different, too. There was a better flow to the story.

This book is not one that I would describe as memorable except for all the wrong reasons. I haven't yet decided if I want to give this author another chance. Perhaps her other books are better and this was just a stumble on the writing path for her.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley and was not required to write a review. All opinions are mine.

Nicole McLaughlin has come up with some pretty interesting characters in Should've Been You which is the third book in her A Man Enough series. I enjoyed meeting Jase Beckford in the previous stories. He is a really good guy. His relationship with Hannah is a bit confusing since she seems to use him, but things are different with Becca Walters. Becca is Hannah's twin sister. I enjoyed how they managed to come together after trying to avoid each other for years.

The storyline here flowed well and the pace was decent. Nicole Flocton has a good sense of writing realistic but interesting characters. I liked reading this story and seeing Jase and Becca have a happy ending.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It is a very good book and such a pleasure to read too. Enjoyed the storyline and how the author has written this story. Has amazing characters that are very likeable and such a joy to read about the journey they go on. Best part is the romance which is sweet and wonderful and really makes this book so much a enjoyable read. I will be trying more books by this author in the future and I would recommend

Should’ve Been You by Nicole McLauglin was a good book that I enjoyed. It was well written and held my interest through the entire book. The plot was easy to understand and follow, and the characters Becca and Jase were well developed. There were other mini stories going on concerning Becca’s father finding love and Becca’s twin sister getting engaged. I loved reading about all the interactions with all the characters. Although this book is in a series, it can be read as a standalone book. I look forward to reading more books by Nicole McLaughlin in the future!

I was given an ARC on NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.