Any book reviewer will tell you that ‘meh, it was okay’ books are the hardest to write about. It’s easy to gush about a really great book, or complain about the ones that really get you in knots, but when a book is decent but not overly memorable it’s a challenge. How to Seduce a Bad Boy has a promising synopsis – town librarian wants to catch the eye of the resident playboy, a returned army vet, hoping he’ll help her lose her pesky virginity. The result? Meh, It was okay.

Melody Bryant is tired of being asked by the folks in her small town when she’s going to ‘get married and have babies’. She’s tired of being single, and passed over, and most especially of being a virgin at 24. The one man she’d hoped would help with this problem, 8 years earlier when she’d propositioned her high school crush, turned her down. But he’s back now and this time, she’s not going to give up so easily.

Adam Foster has returned from two tours of duty and started an auto repair shop with some mutual friends, including James Bryant, Melody’s older brother. James is still overseas but due to end his tour of duty soon. He’s asked Adam to keep an eye on Melody until he returns home. That part’s easy. The hard part is when Melody comes to Adam asking if he’ll help her ‘ruin’ her prim and proper reputation. Adam may be interested in Melody but his promise to his friend comes first, no matter how tempting she is. Can Melody convince him otherwise?

I’ve always been a fan of ‘best friend sibling’ trope stories, though I didn’t realize at the outset that this would be one of those since it’s not mentioned in the blurb. However, there’s a caveat to that, a personal revelation that I had while reading this story. I like stories where a girl has a brother who wants to date her friend. Why? Because she's generally adult about it, and for the couple in question there’s a lot of underlying sexual tension that gets resolved. On the other hand, when a boy has a sister interested in his friend, there’s an annoying trend to have the boy threaten his friend that his sister is off limits. Unfortunately this attitude, that the girl needs to be protected from the friend pervades this particular story from beginning to end. Adam feels guilt about his attraction to Melody, and his ‘betrayal’ of James, and James acts like an ass when he discovers that Adam and Melody have been spending time together.

Compound that with the improbable (to me) plot that after eight years apart, Melody would feel comfortable going to her one time crush and asking him to help her with a makeover (literally hair, makeup, clothing) to become more attractive to men like himself. Adam reacts the same way I did – what? Why wouldn’t you ask your girlfriend to help you with this? He turns her down, but then decides it’s his duty to help her and suddenly he’s sitting at the salon while she gets her hair cut and escorting her on practice dates, while trying to keep his attraction to the new Melody under wraps. There’s some contradictory behavior on his part – on the one hand scolding her for wearing a short dress in public that attracts male attention (hello, misogyny much?), while on the next page thinking that she's allowed to wear anything she wants and that it's men who are the jerks. To his credit, he thought she was beautiful before and the makeover doesn’t change that, though he appreciates that her self confidence grows with her new look and the new (though jealousy inducing) male attention.
From then on the story proceeds fairly predictably. Melody and Adam spend time together, during which they get to know each other as adults. The author does a good job making Adam’s service time in Afghanistan believable in that he discusses the good and the bad parts and has some acute and interesting observations. There are girlfriend scenes for Melody and her friend Lilly, and Adam has some heart to hearts with his co-workers. There's also a fun traditional Mexican wedding that they attend for Adam's friends Miguel and Camille.

As for other family members besides James, Melody’s parents had treated Adam better than his own parents when he was growing up so he’s comfortable with them and joins them for Sunday dinners like he used to. Her parents are both supportive of her makeover and any other choices she makes, though they seem oblivious to the tension between Adam and Melody. The story has some make out scenes but it’s a closed door romance so full sex scenes are not described (though they do occur, ending Melody’s original plight). James’s return causes a host of problems for them (as expected) and puts the onus on Adam to choose between new lover and old best friend. There’s a sweet happy ending once all is said and done, and some open plot threads for other relationships to build on as the series continues. Fans of small town romances who don't mind the annoying older brother routine may find this one to their liking.

This review has been posted at All About Romance and feedback updated with the link. It's been posted at Goodreads.

Looking back, I'm not sure why I requested this book, as it isn't really within my interest field. That said, I was willing to give it a chance. However, by partway through the book, I realized that I had a problem. It was really boring. I was reading. And reading. And reading. And nothing happened. Sadly, I was about 60% percent of the way through the book by that point, so even though I didn't like it, I wanted to know how it ended. So I skim read the last 30%, while reading some of the awful phrases out loud to my friends.

This is a new author for me and I must say I quite enjoyed this, the storyline was interesting and the characters quite likeable, I look forward to reading more.

I received a copy from Netgalley and I am voluntarily leaving my own honest opinion

Thoroughly enjoyed this sweet romance of the young town librarian being tired of being the miss goody two shoes so who does she ask to help but the town bad boy, even worse it's her brother's friend. Melody has always had feelings for Adam, but as their friendship develops Adam does not know how to handle his growing feelings towards Melody.

This was a fun sweet read that I could not put down, Very likeable characters. A new author for me and looking forward to reading more.

My Opinion:

I totally enjoyed this book. Mel is the hardworking librarian that needs to get out of her comfort zone and get into the dating scene. She is having a problem with getting men to pay her any attention and she is sick of it. So she devises a little plan to get what she wants. Get out of her old routine and get into the guy she has loved forever arms. Family friend Max is pretty cool and is a military vet, he has a shop where he employs only vets - totally loved that. Mel has her sights set on her brothers best friend - Adam. Of course, Adam has feelings for Mel but is afraid of them, he is afraid of everything it seems. Adam devises a bunch of barriers and it gets to be too much and you just want them to get together already. Sometimes I wanted to just shake them both (in a good way).

This is a very sweet book and there is a lot of pushing for these two to get together already and stay that way. I didn't like all the cat and mouse with this but I did enjoy them trying so hard. I think Adam could have had some better excuses when it came to Mel - all of them were just dull and dumb to me. They are both adults and can make their own decisions as far as her family and her brother - who needed to mind his own business - concerns.

Other than that the romance scenes are steamy but they are no explicit so you won't have to cover your eyes but there is enough of a romance to keep them open. Overall, I enjoyed this book and would like to read the next in the series! Overall this was a quick fun book to read for me.


I give this book 4 of 5 stars!

This is a cute contemporary romance where Melody Bryant, the girl next door, is the younger sister of his best friend and so totally off limits . . . . if only they weren't so attracted to each other! He is Army veteran, Adam Foster, and he turned her down eight years ago before signing up but now he's back in town, as hot as ever and just the person she needs to help her ruin her reputation as the prim and proper librarian who never lets her hair down . . . .

It is a fun read, with laugh out loud incidents as he continues to try to keep barriers between them but is oh so tempted! He is torn between his need to help her, his determination not to ruin his friendship with her brother and his own conscience where he just doesn't believe himself to be "good enough" for her. Melody, however, has her own agenda - and that includes no longer being a virgin when she turns twenty-five in just five weeks time . . . and her determination to enlist the help of Adam in achieving her goal. When she asks Adam for help with men, he just has to agree to date her to help protect his friend's sister - doesn't he?

Get ready for temptation, resistance, dilemmas, intrigue and romance in this fun read which I have no hesitation in recommending to anyone who enjoys reading contemporary, second chance romances with a side helping of humour and a brother/best friend on the side lines! It is the first book in a new series and I'm now looking forward to reading more about Point Beacon in future.

I requested and was gifted a copy of this book via NetGalley. I have chosen to read it and this is my honest review after doing so.

This is a first time author for me. This is a case of the title calling to me so I had to read it. When I first saw this up for review I passed on it but unfortunately or should I say, fortunately the title kept calling to me.

So I gave it a try.

I'm glad I did. I enjoy the theme of falling for the older brothers best friends because isn't that kind of what happens in life. Maybe not always the "best" friend, but one of them. Sure, it might not last or even anything come of it, but the feels are there anyway.

Since this is a new author for me I didn't know what to expect for her. I went it with open eyes and found two characters that I really enjoyed. It was fun reading how Melody worked on trying to not be such a good girl. It gave me a few chuckles.

I also liked how you realized that Adam the "bad boy" isn't as bad as you think he is. Not saying he's perfect, just not really bad. More naughty!

I will say at times the story dragged a bit for me but it did pick up so that's a plus. One other thing got in my head and it had nothing to really do with the writing or story at all. My neighbor across the street is named Adam Foster and he's about the same age as the Adam Foster in the book. How weird is that. Ha!

I really enjoyed this book. I hadn't read much for a few days and once I started this book I was totally hooked on the story! Classic Sister of the Best Buddy trope! It had moments that were a bit stilted, but not so much that it kept me from the story itself. As I have gotten older I want a story that grabs me and it keeps me going until I finish the book.


I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my open, honest review!

Cute story. I find myself interested in the story for the brother as well.

I will admit, I don't understand the whole "you can't be with my sister" trope.

This book has no cussing and no on page sex – if those things bother you there's nothing to worry about here.

Although I appreciated the opportunity to read the book, I just did not enjoy this one so I will not be reviewing this anywhere but on NetGalley.

***There are spoilers in this review.***

Despite the fact that both characters are adults, this book (especially Mel) felt more like a young adult book about a couple of 17 to 19 year olds than an adult contemporary story. Mel is a virgin who is almost 25 (What an old maid! Gasp!) and she basically loses her mind over that fact and decides that the problem isn't her personality or that she hasn't met the right man or maybe that she doesn't need a man at all to be happy; the problem is that she isn't sexy enough. Of course, under her old lady nerd clothes is a total curvy vixen with a smokin' body, so she gets the stereotypical teenager-movie-nerd-to-hottie-makeover and suddenly becomes a total siren! And of course, that makeover leads to her long time crush falling head over heels with her because she's so hot and he's always loved her all along. In Adam's defense, he had definitely noticed her “great rack” before the makeover so the fact that he wound up wanting to sex her up once she started dressing like a sex kitten wasn't surprising. Needless to say, I didn't particularly care for Adam. At all. His attitude was arrogant and obnoxious from the start, and I honestly was hoping Mel would find someone else to end up with, but alas, she couldn't shake her immature crush on him. And immature is the only word that I can use to describe Mel. She acted more like a teenager than a responsible adult. She was even disappointed that her brother was coming home from deployment earlier than expected because it would mess up her sexy time with Adam. Because her having sex is more important than her brother returning from deployment? That's not the reaction of an adult, that's the reaction of a selfish and spoiled teenager. James wasn't much better, acting like his sister is 12 rather than 25, but to be honest knowing how childish Mel acts, his total overreaction actually made a bit of sense.

This book did have some fun parts, and Ms. Douglass has a really nice writing style, but this story line and these characters just didn't work for me.

How to Seduce a Bad Boy was a fun, entertaining, and interesting twist for falling for your best friends sister...with a uniquely choreographed plot to win the man she's always loved. Douglass has created a contemporary romance that provides a marvelous book-cation.

I received this ARC copy How to Seduce a Bad Boy from Entangled Publishing, LLC - Bliss. This is my honest and voluntary review. How to Seduce a Bad Boy is set for publication Jan. 14, 2019.

My Rating: 5 stars
Written by: Traci Douglass
Print Length: 169 pages
Publisher: Entangled: Bliss
Publication Date: January 14, 2019
Sold by: Macmillan
ASIN: B07L86SBH9
Genre: Contemporary Romance

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Traci Douglass is a new to me author. I’m happy to say I have found a new author to read. How to Seduce a Bad Boy was definitely an enjoyable read. The story combines two of my favorite troupes, best-friend/sibling and friends-to-lovers. The result is a sweet romance with likeable characters and the start of a new series.

Melody Bryant is the epitome of prim-and-proper. The twenty-four-year-old is the local librarian. She rocks twinsets and pearls like she’s someone’s grandmother. She even has a cat that she carries on conversations with. By all accounts, she seems to be happy. Melody would be over the moon if her dating life wasn’t in the toilet. After yet another disastrous date, Melody is ready to shake things up. She vows to be a different person by her birthday, and that includes losing her v-card. When Melody hears the roar of a Softail Fatboy, she knows just the person to turn her from prim-and-proper to a bad girl. “Let Project Seduce Adam Foster begin.”

Adam Foster has served his country and gained a little respect from the good people of Point Beacon, Indiana. Now this Army vet is back and starting up a new auto repair business with his best friend James Bryant, Melody's older brother. James is still in Afghanistan and since Adam arrived home before him, he asks Adam to look after Melody and his family until he returns. When Melody asks Adam to help her ruin her reputation, he knows he should stay away. But not wanting her to be taken advantage of he agrees. Over the course of helping Melody change her appearance and gain confidence in social settings, Adam’s resolve starts to waiver. Soon, Melody is even more in love with Adam and he's kicking himself for having his own feelings. When their secret fling is discovered, the two are going to have to decide if being together is worth risking everything.

I'm a huge Entangled Publishing fan and I read various imprints from them. Their Brazen line is spicy and tends to be open door. I found How to Seduce a Bad Boy to have a Brazen feel, but without the bad words or dirty talk. For me, this was a sweet Brazen book. Melody, Adam, and the secondary characters are great and easy to like. Melody and Adam seem to see more in each other than those around them do. When you talk about love completing you, that’s so true of these two. They are already good people, but when they are together, their goodness shows.

I liked that the story ended with the potential to see Melody and Adam in future books. In fact, I’m envisioning this being at least a three book series. The four people I see making up the future two couples are definitely going to be fun to watch.

in how to seduce a bad boy, melody bryant is a 24-year-old virgin who dresses like june cleaver and works at her local library. basically a living stereotype. after another bad date, she decides she needs to shake her image—get a makeover, get some flirtation tips, get some. so she decides to ask her brother's old friend adam. he turned her down before so why she thinks he will say yes, is...befuddling.

why she asks a guy for makeover help is also...strange. and maybe it's because he told her way back when that she should wait for someone special to do it, and she's still waiting and thinks he's plenty special. but none of it makes sense.

i'm not a huge fan of these 'i must lose my virginity by x age' plots, because they seem to be so fixated on the wrong thing. and while melody's makeover and the changes she makes clearly give her more self-confidence, it's not clear that she's addressing whatever deep-seated issues caused the lack of confidence.

when she talks about her past, one that adam shares with her, it doesn't quite compute that she'd be such a mouse. granted her older brother is kind of a giant douche going all 'don't touch my sister' when he finds out that she and adam hooked up. and there's some additional weirdness with melody's best friend who is really, really a crappy friend.

this one didn't work for me, i guess.

**how to seduce a bad boy will publish on january 14, 2019. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/entangled publishing (bliss) in exchange for my honest review.

Okay
This is my first book by Traci Douglass.

What I liked:
The writing style
The characters
Standalone
HEA
Epilogue

I was able to finished How to Seduce a Bad Boy by Traci Douglas. Well, this story was an adorable read. We have Melody Bryant who has been in love with her brother's best friend forever. However, Adam Foster is going to look after his best friend's little sister. Basically, Melody sets out to try to catch her Adam's attention with a makeover. Which works and so the story begins.

Of course, that's the over simplification of How to Seduce a Bad Boy. The first half is kind of too sweet for my taste. We are lacking the no you shouldn't be hanging out with the bad boy. Yes, they grew up as friends, because Adam is best friend's with her brother. There were times I had to put the book down, because it was too sweet. However, it wasn't until we got closer to the end that I did enjoy the story. Granted more drama appear and making it worth the time. I think the whole "oh no I shouldn't be with my bro's sister" became more real when her brother comes home. So, the story does pickup when the time table comes to the end.

Overall, it's a cute read. If you like stories that have behind closed doors love scenes this is your read. If you are a fan of best friend chasing friend's sister, hey you might like this one. It's a little slow at the beginning, and does progress about halfway through the story.

Copy provided by Entangled via NetGalley

Rating:
3 1/2 Stars

Interesting, fun, entertaining story about falling for the best friend's sister.
I simply enjoyed reading it from the start till the end. I loved the plot and characters Melody Bryant and Adam Foster, local librarian and ex military now working in auto shop bad boy.
It is a perfect story to pass the holidays during this snowy and cold weather.
I am looking forward of reading the next books written by this author.

I had a blast with “How To Seduce A Bad Boy”, and I loved every moment of Adam’s and Melody’s adventure into true love.

It could be so easy to get tripped up over the tropes involved, the cliché situations… yet neither Mel nor Adam really fit into neat little boxes, they are each unique and those tropes and clichés fit them just perfectly.

Hidden beneath the bad boy, best friend’s little sister trope or the boring librarian turned into a super sexy chick cliché lies a sweet story of two people who have been attracted to each other for a very long time. Now, with Mel taking a risk in turning to Adam for “help” they have a chance to see where that attraction may eventually lead… in spite of outside influences and people’s opinions.

So, yeah, I’m onboard with a fun, charming, entertaining and smile producing romance that doesn’t really fit in any box except the “I enjoyed the heck outta this one” box.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

Melody is a easy character that you could picture yourself being like her. With Adam in the picture you also can see why the pulse quickens around him. With him also being a ex military he has the heart sealed. This one is easy to fall into with the characters giving you a good one to melt into. Like I mentioned you can easily feel the parts with it being something that could happen for sure. Not being to fond though of the brother story line since it gets used alot still enjoyed this story.

It's a cute best friend's little sister romance. Fast paced and sweet. Did it wow me? No. But it was an okay read.
I had a bit of trouble connecting with the characters. Adam and Melody just didn't have that magic I strive for from my literary couples.

This was my first book by this author and it definitely won't be the last. I need to read more of the Victory Vets!!

Mel has a birthday coming up and with Adam now home from his last tour overseas, she's ready to recruit him for her improvement project. Restyle herself and finally lose her V-card. With the guy who turned her down before he left 8 years ago.

I loved these two together. They balance each other so perfectly but they also push each other to be more than others think they are. I loved the other characters introduced in this story and I can't wait to see what comes next.

*This is my voluntary review of an advanced reader copy*