Member Reviews
Never Now is a standalone written by the best selling author Scarlett Hopper. Told in single perspectives , this book tells an amazing tale of loss , love , redemption and second chances!!
This was the first book that I have read by this author and I am completely in awe of how she spun those words to completely ruin my mind. I rarely read sweet Romance stories , but this one seems like a must read for all!!
Emelia is the female protagonist of this book. She has had feelings for Reeve who is her brother's best friend. Reeves however has always seen her as the little sister. Reeves was a decent guy , for whom his friendship with Emelia's brother meant a lot. He couldn't get past the fact of what he will think when he pursued a relationship with Emelia.
After a lot of chances and rejections , Emelia has finally had enough. She decides to move on with her life and forget about Reeves. Reeves was one stubborn guy !! I wanted to smack him so many times to convince him to give Emelia a chance. He seemed caring and all but at times I don't know why he tagged Emelia along. I mean he had no chance of being with her , then why give her hope??
Overall this book was a good read for me. It was a simple contemporary romance that I finished reading in one sitting . This book is recommended to all the contemporary romance lovers out there who have addiction to themes like second chance and brothers best friend type!!
The thing I love about brother's best friend books is that the sister is always forbidden. The best friend doesn't want to ruin his friendship with the bro because he knows that's exactly what would happen and usually the sister's brother would tell his best friend to stay away from his sister.
Emilia has been in love with Reeves practically all her life. For as much as she wants him to notice her as a woman and not her brother's best friend's little sister, she knows it's not going to happen. But Reeve could never do that to his best friend nor can he or does he want to ruin his friendship with Emilia but their chemistry is just at the point where it's about to explode and it's getting harder and harder for them to deny their feelings....well more like for Reeve it is because Emilia has always shown him how she felt and she's at the point where she's giving up.
They had a beautiful friendship and sometimes when you have a great friendship that turns to more, it can either separate you for good or it can bring you closer. Another thing is that these stories will always have that cliche ending where they stayed away from each other all for nothing because the sister's brother would have approved especially if the guy is a good guy or if they're all grown up and basically the sister can pretty much do what she wants.
Either way, I enjoy this trope very much and Never Now was definitely a book that I would recommend to all those who love this trope.
Thank you NetGalley, Victory Editing and Scarlett Hopper for gifting me an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
You know the story. Older brother’s hot best friend, best friend's untouchable little sister. Sexual tension, steamy chemistry and all it takes is one person to make the first move and their love story ignites.
I have to admit, I just wasn’t feeling this one. There’s no reason other than right book wrong time. I just recently read another forbidden romance and I think I was too busy comparing the two books to fully enjoy Never Now. This book is standalone but I had to check to make sure I wasn’t missing books because so many characters are introduced in the first few chapters of the book. I was quickly confused, sometimes less is more.
All that aside Reese really won me over by the end. I will admit I was really sick of his crap pretty fast, but he proved himself and made quite the comeback. The author is already working on the next book in the series, but I won’t give away whose story it is!
Emilia is in love with her brothers best friend. Reeve knows he has feelings for her but is very confused. I enjoy A book with multiple characters. I enjoyed all the side stories mixed in with Emilia and Reeve’s story. There was a very strong sexual connection mixed in with a very heavy emotional baggage connection. This was definitely a page turner and I enjoyed reading this book.
“Don’t let your anger destroy your beauty, Emilia. You have so much to give.”
‘Never Now’ is about Emilia, an artist who pines for her brother’s best friend Reeve, a professional singer. After several rejections from Reeve, Emilia decides to let him go. When Reeve realizes his mistakes and pleas for another chance, will Emilia grant it?
Emilia suffers from survivor’s guilt and other strains after her parents' death. She’s a sweet, kind, and passionate woman. Reeve is a cute, warm introvert with family issues. All the characters in this book were relatable. Emilia loses her parents and hence values her friends more. They are her family and Reeve shares that sentiment. The background characters and their stories were well-developed. Lottie and Owen were intriguing and made the reader want to know more. Cora, Emilia’s roommate, and her cat supported the casual mood of the book.
The relationships between everyone in the gang were meaningful. The connection between Emilia and all her loving buddies was so profound. The conflict that occurred in Emilia and Reeve’s relationship due to fear of losing their friends was reasonable. The flashbacks were heart-warming and explained the actions taken by the characters in the present. The entire novel had a light, playful tone to it. Some of the comparisons made from the narrator’s point of view were hilarious.
Reeve’s character was incomplete and he felt flat. The reader doesn’t know much about Reeve and his explanations for his faults were desolate. There was a ton of foreshadowing, though it worked at times, it felt forced occasionally. There wasn’t much detail on the surroundings other than the names of the locations. The author did not offer specific detail regarding the settings, it could be Emilia’s apartment, the performance locations, Reeve’s home. That works both ways because it would offer the reader freedom to imagine whatever but also a minus for detail-freaks.
This book is recommended to all new adult romance genre readers. ARC provided by NetGalley. Thank you.
This is the story of Emilia and Reeve. They have been friends for most of their lives and part of the group of friends at Saint Street. This book should be read after reading Saint Street, which is Stana and Ali’s story, but can be read as a stand-alone. This is a well written friends to lover’s story that will pull at your heart and have your emotions all over the place. It is also a story about growth for both characters that resonated with me. I can’t wait to read Lottie and Owen’s story. I highly recommend this book!
Copy received from The Next Step PR and I am reviewing it voluntarily and objectively.
I say this with every book by Scarlett Hopper, but it’s true, so I am saying it with this one. This book is gut-achingly real. Real people, real situations. No extra fluff.
While so far not called a “series”, it is the sequel to Saint Street. Saint Street was Ali and Stana’s story. Now it’s the story of Emi, Ali’s younger sister, and Reeve, his best friend. This starts out concurrent with Saint Street, but jumps ahead to the present time, making it more like a sequel. While I enjoyed Saint Street, this one is exponentially better.
Emi and Reeve have been friends for years, but being the younger sister of his friend, Reeve didn’t want to take those steps. After a couple of situations, he still doesn’t so here comes the angst! Oh boy, I felt it in my toes! It’s the perfect level and amount of angst too; nothing that overtakes the story, but it is realistic and adds to the romance. Finally, just when you think things are going right, they are not.
My only critique with this book is that it would have benefited greatly with dual perspectives. If that’s even a critique, since it is more of a thought. I only say this because Reeve is going through family issues. Again, realistic issues and not stupid dramatic ones. While we know of them when he tells Emi, it would be nice from his perspective too; to read the struggle he is going through. While reading it, I didn’t feel for him as much as I probably should have, only due to the lack of perspective making it harder to connect with him.
I felt for Emi though. Her emotions were so realistic they poured off the page. The other thing Scarlett always does right is the writing. Her words are beautiful. Everything flows so nicely and I am never bored. The emotion and angst in this book was perfect.
I don’t quote books. While many have many fantastic lines, it takes a lot of memory to do so. The first and one of two books I have done so, was one by this author. And yet again, her quote: “You let go first Reeve. I’m sick of holding on” tore me to shreds! Something about the breakup scenes this lady writes…my goodness!
Like Saint Street, this one does a fantastic job setting the characters up for the next book. Late Love will feature Owen and Lottie. My only hope is that it doesn’t start where this one ends, as I need to read about them getting close and how he is with her during the months before the end of Never Now. Can’t wait!
Overall, this was a good romance novel. It was quirky and a quick read. I loved the family that was created through their friendships and the relationships that bloomed from them. I wasn't aware that this was supposed to be a second book in a series, but it can definitely be treated as a stand alone. I did not find out until after I finished that it was in a series and wasn't lost in the slightest.
I really enjoyed Scarlett's writing style, it felt fresh and relatable. The only negative I had was that at times I felt like Emilia's and Reeve's relationship felt rushed, but I guess it makes sense seeing as they have known each other since they were children. Definitely recommend to anyone looking for a fun, cute romance novel!
Disclosure: I received a complimentary eARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes. I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me this opportunity!
Never Now is a New Adult/Romance book by Scarlett Hopper. Emilia has been in love with Reeve (her brother's best friend) for a long time. When she decided to make a move and he tells her it was a mistake she tries to move on. But, when Reeve realizes he can't hide his feelings anymore he tries to win her back. This book was an ok romance and all the characters were relatable.
•I’ve received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a review•
“Never now” tells the love story between Emilia and Reeve, one of her brother’s best friends.
This book is a good romance novel, a quick read about love, struggles and finding your own family.
I liked Hopper’s writing, it is fresh and perfect for teenagers or people in their twenties.
All the characters were well written and had the right amount of presence in the story. Emilia was my favorite and I had mixed feelings about Reeve: at the beginning I really loved his personality and manners, but during the book he let out his true character and I think I preferred how he was before.
The only sort of negative thing I have to say is that the love story felt a little rushed sometimes. I wished Hopper’s had spent more words on Emilia’s recovery instead of letting her come back with her love interest every time after a few chapters.
Lastly, I didn’t know that this was the second book of a series: the first one is called Saint Street, but since they can be read as stand alones I will probably give it a shot in the future.
3.3 stars
I was given this ARC by the author through NetGalley for an honest review. I have never read this author before and now that I've finished reading "Never Now", I am starting the fisrt book "Saint Street" since I enjoyed the first book so much. This is an older brother's best friend, younger sister romance. Emilia Ronan and Reeve Sawyer have known each other since they were children. Emilia has had a crush on tall, dark and handsome Reeve since she could remember, Reeve thinks of her as his younger sister until he doesn't and one night everything changes. This story takes you through Emilia and Reeves, hurts, doubts, struggles and love. Put your feet up, grab a glass of wine and enjoy the story as it unfolds, like I did. This is a well written, easy read and very enjoyable. book.
I enjoyed Reeve and Emilia and their confusing starts and stops on the way to happy. Reeve didn’t want to lose his family, Emilia didn’t want to be the chump, they both had hurts to get past. The funniest part was them thinking that they had any of their friends fooled. Of course, I wanted to cry for Emilia when Reeve acted spontaneously for the first time ever, but his determination to prove just how badly he wanted to deserve Emilia made it better. It’ll be interesting to see what Owen and Lottie get up to in their story.
For Emilia Ronan, Reeve Sawyer is her best friend. The one person who will sit and listen to her and will even watch romantic movies with her. The only problem is that Em has only ever loved Reeve Sawyer whilst he sees her as just his friend’s younger sister. Or so she thinks. After being rejected years ago, she decides to try again. However, the impact on this threatens their friendship and more.
This story had me hooked from the very start. I found myself reading throughout the day and whilst I hoped for a HEA, the complexity of the relationship was fascinating. This is a story that shows two very realistic characters who struggle with their past family issues or life events. Taken largely from Em’s perspective, it is still quite easy to see the relationship from both perspectives, with small aspects of Reeve’s background integrated into Emmy’s thoughts. The secondary characters also play an integral role in this story, making this more than your average romance.
I am quite pleased to have another author to add to my list to follow.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
I enjoyed this book, the second in the series. I didn’t read the first one but immediately went and downloaded it after I read this. I LOVE a good friends to lovers romance, and I enjoyed the friendships and the banter. Thank you to netgalley for the ARC.
I really loved Emilia and Reece’s story, friendship to love or not, keeps you guessing throughout.. A first for me from this Author but will be looking for her again. Can’t wait to read Lottie and Owen’s journey.
I haven't moved all day because I could not put this down. There were so many things that charmed me about this book. I loved the way it showed the ups and downs of adult friendship. The romance is sweet and charming. This book is a warm hug perfect for a rainy day inside or a light summer read.