ARC for honest review with no compensation received from NetGalley

This is my first book by Serena Bell and it certainly won’t be my last.

Elle Dunning is a divorced, single mother who decides that maybe a one night stand will boost her up...little does she know that he might show up again when she least expects it. She sees someone moving in next door and her son ends up with a new friend...when she goes to introduce herself to the neighbor...it’s her one night stand...

Sawyer Paulson is a widowed, single dad and carpenter who since his wife passed away is determined to only have one night stands and never seeing them again. That is until he moves and comes face to face with the only one night stand he can’t seem to forget...Elle.

Can these two put their pasts behind them and build a future together or will the past keep them from finding their HEA..

Serena Bell is quickly becoming a one-click author for me. Her sweet and sexy contemporary romances are just amazing and Sleepover is my favorite so far!! This story definitely sucked me in and I felt like both Sawyer and Elle’s characters were just so likable and realistic given the pasts they were both dealing with.
Sawyer is a widower of 2 years now and a father of an amazing 8 year old boy, Jonah. Sawyer is having a hard time moving on from the grief of losing his wife who he will always love. Elle is divorced from an ex who cheated on her and also a mom of another amazing 8 year old boy, Madden. Elle is afraid to trust a man and doesn't ever want to feel like she is less than enough for someone again.
They hooked up at a bar months ago, and that was all it was, one quick and dirty hook-up, they didn’t even make it past the outside of the bar. Neither expected to ever see the other again and then Sawyer and his son moved right next door to Elle and her son. Their sons become fast inseparable friends which means they find themselves in each others’ space a lot. They become very good friends too and really enjoy being around each other but there is an insane amount of sexual chemistry there as well that gets harder and harder to ignore. They both have healing to do but maybe, just maybe, they can do it together. This was such a wonderful story that was both sexy and sweet and simply filled my heart up. I loved it!!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this amazing book!

3.5 Stars

I almost gave up on Serena Bell after her last book I read of hers was completely unappealing to me (Do Over). But I am so glad I didn’t, because Sleepover turned out to hit the sweet spot.

Actually, when this book started I was a bit leery of the hero – I’m not a fan of the manwhore to begin with, and when he’s a man who’s supposedly mourning the death of his beloved wife? That doesn’t sit well with me. At all. And if it had been brought up much more, it really would have diminished my enjoyment of this book. Now that I think about it, I guess I am more than a bit perturbed by his behavior – he apparently started going out and having one-night-stands “at least once a week since a month or two” after his wife died. Which was two years ago. I get that people mourn and cope with loss differently, but having sex with almost a hundred women isn’t an attractive personality trait to me, and doesn’t earn him any sympathy in my book. I don’t understand why authors think this is the kind of guy who is admirable, or romantic, or that it’s romantic that a guy who jumps into bed with any woman will suddenly stop when the “right” woman comes along. Geesh…how did I manage to end up liking this guy???

Sorry. Time to get this review back on track after that unplanned, ranting derailment.

Elle and Sawyer meet one night at a bar. They had a drunken hook-up in the alley, then went their separate ways. Until one day a couple months later when Elle discovers the father of her son’s new best friend is the man from the bar, and he has just moved in next door.

Turns out they both had thought about the other – frequently. But getting involved seems like a bad idea. They’re neighbors, their sons are connected at the hip…also, they each have pretty significant baggage. For Elle, it’s an ex-husband who left her for a former girlfriend – one he hadn’t ever stopped loving. For Sawyer, it’s a wife who died, who he’s not ready to say goodbye to.

The thing I really liked about this story is how organically the relationship developed. They first had an awkward friendship, moved to flirting, then decided to give a relationship a try. Elle and Sawyer did their best to be open and honest with each other, even if they weren’t always honest with themselves. And when things fell apart between them, it was for a reasonable and realistic situation which wasn’t over-dramatized or made unnecessarily angsty. My heart felt sad for both Elle and Sawyer because they both tried to do all the right things, but it took some time for each to sort out their baggage.

These are the kinds of books I like to read (minus the hero who thinks the best way get through his sorrow is by banging any willing woman). The simple stories about people figuring out their way back to happiness. There was no extra drama by outside sources, no outrageous situations, just a story about two people who’ve been a little battered by life and just happen to find the one person who can help them feel whole again. And that’s why I think I was able to overlook the hero’s pre-heroine less-than-desirable behavior. The rest of this story pretty much made me happy-sigh.

* thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Loveswept for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review

This a really sweet and sexy romance. A chance encounter leads to a very complicated next door neighbor situation that leads to sex, love and happy ever after's. Add 2 boys, friends, family and bitter sweet memories and you have the perfect read.

Enjoyed it

What I liked:
The writing style
The characters
Standalone
HEA

I look forward to reading Brooks story.

After her divorce to her cheating ex was finalized, Elle was looking for a one-night fling. She thought she found it, until tall, dark, and broody ended up being her new neighbor and the father of her son's new best friend. With both Elle and Sawyer not quite ready to embark on new relationships, and both trying, but failing, at fighting their mutual attraction, things were bound to get complicated.

I pretty much inhaled this book. Bell did such a great job helping me understand what was keeping Sawyer and Elle from taking the plunge. She clearly painted a picture of their grief and anguish as it related to their past relationships, and though I was still really frustrated at times by the two of them, I understood why they made the decisions they did.

Sawyer's story was sad. As a man, who didn't open up to people easily, he believed he deceased wife could never be replaced. He loved her, and always would, and his struggle with finding there was something beyond attraction between him and Elle was a little painful. But Elle's story broke my heart in half. The betrayal was bad enough, but the fact that she still had to interact with her ex on some level due to their shared custody made it that much worse. I found myself wanting to reach out and hug her time and time again.

But you know what? I found solace in the fact, that she had Sawyer, who was a pretty amazing man. Maybe he didn't pour his heart out 24/7, but when he did reveal part of himself or share anything at all, it was really meaningful, honest, and pure. Elle also had two amazing friends in her corner, who gave her so much support, as well as some nudges to move her in the right direction.

Speaking of those friends, I loved Elle's besties and Sawyer's brother so much, I am hoping Bell stays in this world a little longer, and gives them their own books. The ending of Sleepover certainly set up a story for Brooks quite nicely, and I know I would love to read it.

This book was fun, sweet, sexy, and adorable. It made me laugh, swoon, rage, cry. But in the end, it left me warm and fuzzy with a big smile on my face.

4.5 - "We meet again..." Stars!

What more can you ask for than a hot widower/single daddy who is a carpenter… Well pair him up with a divorced single mom and make them neighbours and Serena Bell pretty much hits a bullseye with Sleepover.

No more falling for guys who are in love with someone else…

Having your husband leave you for his high school sweetheart is a pretty bitter pill for Elle Dunning to swallow, but she’s handing being a single mother to her son pretty well, so-much-so that venturing out for a one night thing with a random hot guy in a bar gives her enough good memories to keep her warm on lonely nights for the foreseeable. That is until the random hook-up hot guy moves in next door, and what do ya know, he is a single father too, and their boys hit it off immediately.

I want the chance to start over and do things right… We did everything backwards.

Turns out the chemistry from that one night wasn’t a fluke and it doesn’t take long before Sawyer and Elle are fighting to keep their attraction to each other to themselves. We then go from sexting to phone sex, to the more physical actions, and I loved the confidence Elle had in this regard, and the gruff dirtiness that Sawyer bought to the party. The plot moved along at a steady clip throughout, and although there is the inevitable drama bought into the story through the dead ex, it wasn’t overplayed.

"This is the best fucking foreplay ever."

Witty, sweet, sexy and emotional at points I really enjoyed this book. Loosely linked to the authors previous couple of releases it can be read as a standalone, although I am hoping that Sawyer’s brother Brody is up next, because he bought a bit of light relief in Sleepover and I'm interested in getting to know him better.

This is the first book I’ve read by Serena Bell and I can definitely say that it won’t be my last. I absolutely loved everything about this story! It was sweet, it was heartbreaking and it was sexy.
Sawyer is still grieving the loss of his wife, but isn’t against having one night stands. Elle is fresh of a divorcing from her cheating husband and her friends tell her she just needs to let lose one night. Well, what happens when you hot one night stand turns out to be your new next door neighbour and your children end up being best friends?
All of the characters stole my heart in this story. Normally, it is just the main characters, but in Sleepover I fell for Sawyer and his son Jonah and Elle and her son Madden. The two boys formed an instant friendship and were just perfect for each other. The chemistry between Sawyer and Elle was off the charts, I mean they had some hot foreplay. I think who I loved the most and I wish there was more of was Sawyer and Elle’s elderly neighbour. That lady was in the front seat for the Sawyer and Elle show!
This is a different kind of second chance romance, because they were both previously in relationships with other people but finally were able to take the chance on love again with each other. This is definitely a must read book!

A beautiful romance! When our heroine discovers her husband and the father of her son is still in love with his old girlfriend and wants to go back to her, she needs a little boost to her self-esteem. She finds it with a hot hookup in an alley with a guy in a bar.
Then she continues her life with her son. Until her son becomes best friends with the new neighbor boy next door and our heroine recognizes the boy’s hot dad from her quickie ego boost.
Our hero never hooks up with the same woman twice since he lost his wife three years earlier, so he has no intention of getting closer to his son’s best friend’s mom. But, a wedding invitation from her ex and a building friendship changes his mind quickly. Beautiful love story.

After reading Do Over and Head Over Heels from this series and this author, I knew I had to read Sleepover and I'm definitely glad that I did! I loved all 3 of these books, but I have to say I think Sawyer is my favorite after reading this book -- he's a hot, dirty talking, single-dad widower whose as sweet as he is sexy. I loved the banter and chemistry between him and Elle. This author knows how to write romantic comedies--engaging, well-developed characters; fun, interesting secondary characters and charming, emotionally-gripping plots -- you won't be sorry for picking up this book and when you do, you won't want to put it down! Anxious to see what she has in store for us next! I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC for NetGalley.

Wonderfully sexy rom-com with delightful characters!

Elle is coming out of a really bad divorce, one that has her questioning her self-worth and ability to trust herself. A one-night stand with a bar pickup seems to be just the confidence-booster she needs. Until he moves in next door.

Sawyer lost his beloved wife two years ago, and is convinced he can never love another woman the way he loved Lucy. But when his son's new best friend next door has a deliciously familiar mother, Sawyer is forced to consider that his heart might want a life after Lucy.

The humor and heartfelt emotions keep this book from being a typical single-parents romance. The way Sawyer handles Trevor was hilarious and did so much for Elle's sense of self. The way he distracted her during the wedding reception was not just hot and steamy, but showed his deep understanding of the demons she faced. Tucking their sons in together on their many best-friends sleepovers showed more of the potential stability of their relationship than words ever could.

As a bonus, this book includes such nuggets of wisdom as:

"The way back to life isn't a straight line."

and

"You aren't really divorced till you own a ......." (You'll have to read the book to fill in the blank.)

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

Such a sweet, clever romance. I really liked both Sawyer and Elle as well as their journey to finding love.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Since Sawyer's wife died, he's made it a practice of never being with a woman more than once. So in theory, finding out that Elle, a woman he hooked up with outside a bar months ago, just became his new neighbor shouldn't be a problem. Except it is.
This was a fun but fairly realistic contemporary romance featuring two people getting a second chance at love. Elle is recently divorced and obviously wary of getting into the same situation again and Sawyer is a recent widower. Both are single parents and dealing with all that that entails. Both characters had some baggage which added realism to the story but not so much baggage that it bogged down the plot. All in all, an enjoyable romance.

This was a great read. Elle is a single mom who's ex-husband left her for his previous girlfriend (Elle was his rebound relationship that lasted longer than it should because she got pregnant). Sawyer is a single dad who's wife died. He doesn't want to fall in love with anyone again, & neither does Elle, because they don't want to chance the big hurt all over again. The big twist... they did have a one night stand together. Sawyer moves in next door to renovate the house. They realize they know each other. His son & Elle's son are the same age & become fast friends. This of course leads to the adults being put together a lot. Watching this play out is well worth curling up with a glass of wine & reading to find out what happens.

I really liked this low drama, lots of feeling, hot story. I liked how the characters were well developed, the kids had their own distinct personalities, and that the H&h both had some personal growth through their romance. I liked the pacing of the novel and there was a nice bit of humour in the story that I appreciated. Overall, a very good novel. *I received an ARC of this story from NetGalley and this is my voluntary and honest review.

This was cute and heartwarming. I loved the boys' friendship and the cozy feel of all of it. Absolutely LOVED how much they played Settlers of Catan ;) Very fun to read and sweet.

This book was provided to me by the publisher in the form of an ARC. My first book by this author, turned out to be a very sweet heart warming story of second chances. Will definitely read this author again!

This was such a great book! I love how Sawyer and Elle both have scars from their pasts that they have to deal with in order to make their relationship work and watching how the two of them decide that the other is worth putting in the emotional work necessary. The attraction is palpable from the start but watching them grow to care for and trust each other really made this book special. Definitely one I will reread.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When your one night stand turns out to be your new neighbor...Elle and Sawyer. Good story, loved the their sons and the scene at the principal's office where the boys stood up for a classmate. Looking forward to what comes next for this author.

I really enjoyed Sleepover. It was cute and sweet. And I'm a sucker for a single dad who's all broody!
My only real issues I'm sure have been addressed already. In the beginning Sawyer says he hasn't had to "take care of himself" so often since he was 15 and doing everything but, and later Elle and Sawyer are discussing firsts and he says his first kiss was at 16. Also Sawyer says the doorbell has only rung a few,times since Elle left, but then details the "huge" number of people who have. Minor,issues, but annoying.
Overall an entertaining and fun read. Can't wait for Brook's story!