This was SO GOOD.

A friends-to-lovers romance with ALL the pining and yearning to satisfy my very single heart. The chemistry was so apparent and I could almost <em>feel</em> the pull between the characters.
The characters themselves were very interesting. Both are flawed people with their own issues. I really liked that both of them had passions and were determined to follow their dreams.

My only issue was a very small thing. The author brought in gun violence awareness with a public scene where a graphic video was displayed. It wasn't done with a trigger warning in the scene and I did not like that.
trigger warnings: death, grief, shooting, gun violence.

The conflict at the end was there only to add some issue, in my opinion. I could have done without it but at least it was short.

The book left me feeling very single.

Well this was a lot of fun! Full of lots of entertaining moments, this book was a lovely best friend's little sister romance with a lot of side pining and a slow, slow burn romance.

Wes made a promise to help his best friend's little sister. After his passing Wes is determined to keep that promise, and ignore his burgeoning feelings towards her. Annie, for her part, hates how overbearing Wes is. Yes, her life is a bit of a mess but Annie has plan, to match beats as a new DJ. She just never realised that the secret Wes keeps will bring them closer than ever before...

This is my first book by Kelly Siskind, and now I really need to read the other two books in this series because this one was just so charming! It's got the friends to lovers trope which I adore. Our hero, Wes, is such an overbearing stick-in-the-mud, constantly berating Annie's choice of jobs but only because he wants the best for her. He is so protective and kind towards Annie, some of his actions made me swoon!

I adored Annie from the moment she leapt onto the page, short skirt and all. She's 27, she hasn't quite figured out her life yet but she refuses to settle for doing anything but what she loves. She is quirky (I loved that she scrapbooks everything), and just a little sassbot, particularly when Wes is trying to boss her around. She was having none of it. I will say Wes' over protectiveness did get annoying at times and I cheered when Annie shot him down.

Both of our main characters are dealing with their own issues. Annie has a lot of grief and loss in her past, not just with her brother, and its affected how she is now. Wes has pressure from his family over a business merger, his father forcing him to do things he is not comfortable. The way Siskind dealt with these issues was both emotional and heart-breaking, I felt so sad about what they both went through and I love how they found each comfort in each other. The way the two bonded over memories of her brother and music was just so lovely.

Overall I greatly enjoyed this book and can't wait to read more by Kelly Siskind. There are fun moments, and sad ones and it all makes for one very enjoyable romantic read.

Music and romance lovers unite for this sweet and sexy story. A lot of surprises that Kelly does so well. Enjoyed it way too fast but was worth it.
I received an advanced copy from Netgalley for my honest review.

This book was super good. It was super original and I flew through it. It didn't feel like anything I've read in the past. Can't wait to read more from the author!! This book was unputdownable.

I have loved all the books in this series and this one is no exception. I loved the friends to lovers trope. It had me rooting for Annie and Wes big time! This book and family drama, tragedy, chemistry and complexity all wrapped up in a romance I really enjoyed.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me an ARC via netgalley to read in exchange for an honest review.
4/5 stars.
This was a super fun and cute romance! It definitely deals with some heavy themes (death, loss, grief) but I think they were handled really well.
I liked both Weston and Annie’s characters. They were their own individuals and were well fleshed out. Their relationship was pretty freaking cute, and I loved how it progressed from friends to something more. They had really fun banter and a ton of inside jokes and their whole relationship just felt genuine and fun.
I liked the plot, and I felt that the pacing was really good. This moved quickly, but not too fast, and it didn’t feel like it was ever dragging. I did think it was a little bit predictable with Wes’s work merger and DLP issues.
Overall, I would recommend this one if you like fun romance and you want characters that will take you on a little bit of an emotional journey. It might be sad at some points, but you’ll turn around and laugh at Felix the rabbit-squirrel and it will be okay again.

Look out for my review on my bookstagram page (alli_the_bookaholic13) tomorrow [Friday Sept. 18]!

"𝑯𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒐 𝒕𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒋𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒎."

The Beat Match by Kelly Siskind is the third book in the Showmen series. This is an adult contemporary romance with Friend's to Lover's trope. We see Weston Aldrich, who has burried himself under his father's old business and bought it to big heights.

Then we see Annie, who is his best friend's sister. Her brother died few years ago, and his last sentence to Wes was to take care of her sister. He has been keeping his promise ever since. Annie can't hold onto one job and recently has been not able to pay her rent, as she bought herself a piano.

Both the boys were immensely good and enjoyed their love for music. Wed has been secretly performing for a band under the name of Falcon, the mask man. Everyone absolutely loves him and so does Annie. Will they fall for eachother? Or will her best friend's promise come in between?

Kelly Siskind's writing is absolutely heart warming and I enjoyed reading this book so much that I could not stop reading it till the last page. With some humor induced statements in between, to heart warming conversations of Annie in her mind, this book completely stole my heart.

It's about Wes finding his love for Annie as well as his love for music. He has to come out of his Falcon identity and tell the world, that's it's completely okay for an musician to also be a perfect COO for a leading Pharma company. Definitely going to read the previously written books in this series and others by the author.
____

Thank You to NetGalley and Publisher for providing me eARC in exchange for a honest opinion.

Thank You Netgalley and the author and the publisher for granting me this book! This review is based completely on my honest opinion.

Wes Aldrich is the possible heir to their family run business, Aldrich Pharmaceuticals. His father, Victor asks him to date Rosanna Farad, daughter of another business company, as their main aim is to merge the company with each other. Wes reluctantly agrees. Meanwhile, Annie gets a job as a bar and also got a piano so she can learn piano. She is also obsessed with a DJ named Falcon, who plays really cool DJ tunes at the nightclubs. Annie is determined to meet Falcon and also is determined to learn DJ tunes. What she didn't know is this Falcon is actually Wes Aldrich, who has been looking after Annie since Annie's brother died and he was actually having secret feelings towards Annie...

I really do enjoyed reading the story. The story was cheesy and funny at the same time. I really like the relationship between Annie and Wes as Wes is out protecting her, (after promising Annie's brother Leo) and at the same time harbors secret feelings towards Annie and at the same time, he wanted the merger to go well with Rosanna Farad. Annie meanwhile considers Wes as annoying, having a scrapbook of his pictures. I thought those two characters, Annie and Wes were cute with each other, and I was really glad that they ended up with each other. The writing was good, flowing and the author did a good job, hooking the reader into the story. Though I am not much of a romantic genre fan, this book actually intrigued me. I also like the ending, particularly the epilogue part!
Overall, I enjoyed reading this book--a cozy, warm and funny romantic story that you wouldn't really want to put it down--worth five stars!

This was a cute friends to lovers, brother's best friend romance. I liked both characters and the story was properly formulaic like contemporary romances should be. It felt like a unique read, not being too relatable to other stories and it held my interest.

These two were bonded through the heroines brother and the hero being his best friend. They stayed connected to each other through the mourning of his loss, but they connected further past that thorough mutual love for music/DJing. I really enjoyed the DJ aspect because it felt different than what I've ever read

There were several plots going on, but I didn't mind. I enjoyed the mystique of Wes being business man by day and mysterious anonymous DJ at night.

Overall, it was an easy read, was cute, made me laugh and I enjoyed it ❤️

*Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review*

The Beat Match by Kelly Siskind
Two people who could not be more different but are linked by the death of someone they both loved. He is a corporate high flyer who works non stop but has a secret that could kill his career at the family business. She flits fro. Job to job and can’t seem to follow through with anything. He promised her brother to always look out for her and he tries his best but what happens when those platonic feelings turn into something more. And can he find a way to forgive himself for her brothers death.
I loved this story. He fights his feelings because of guilt and obligation and she is just confused by them as she has known him for so long and has grown up having him always coming to her rescue. It was heartwarming and I was rooting for them with every page turn that they overcome whatever was thrown at them or they themselves created with misunderstandings.
Of course you had the villain that pretends to be the concerned friend and tries to come out on top by doing a double cross on the good guy which was obvious but other than that I really did enjoy it.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really had a hard time clicking with this story. It seemed like there was too much going on, and I found myself feeling...out of place, which might not make any sense. The characters weren't particularly compelling to me. With that being said, the book is very well-written, it just didn't work for me.

Amazing story of Weston and Anthea, one is a straight laced COO for his family’s pharmaceutical company, the other whimsical and going from job to job in search of her true calling. A friends to lovers romance amidst the world of clubbing and DJs.

This book was witty, sarcastic, and fun! I couldn’t put it down! It is the third in the series but works great as a stand alone, This book was the first I’ve read in the series, but I’ll definitely be going back to read the first two!

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

I kept seeing great reviews for this book, so I was excited to get a chance to read this one. Reading the description, I wasn’t sure what I would think about it. I don’t know much about DJing at all, but this book ended up being a lot more than that. It was mostly about the budding attraction between two people who had never thought they would be more than a sibling-like relationship. I loved seeing their relationship slowly morph into something more

I thought the way their relationship developed was really well done. The reader gets to see that initial attraction form and then take off, gnawing at both of them until they made a move. As I was reading, I did wonder why this attraction wasn’t there before or why this suddenly sparked, but I was happy that it did. Their story was so enjoyable and cute, and it felt authentic because they already had a lifetime of loving each other as friends.

Annie’s brother and Wes’s best friend, Leo, was shot in a club one night while Wes was with him. The topic of gun violence is prevalent throughout the book and is understandably very important to the main characters. They have pushed away talking about Leo to each other or to anyone because it hurts too much, but their stance on this is one thing they both agree on. It was interesting that they were both so close to Leo, but neither of them fully processed his death. Now so many years later, they are finally ready to do something about it.

Overall, I really liked this book. I enjoyed following Wes and Annie’s relationship from the start. They are so different, but their mutual love for Leo brought them together, and laid the foundation for a great love story. I thought there were a few cheesy moments especially toward the end, but I’m a sucker for a good romcom, and that was exactly what this book was. I would recommend this to anyone who needs to escape in a good laugh and a cute (and very steamy) romance.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and CD Books for letting me read a copy of the Beat Match early! This is the third book in the Showmen series, but I haven't read any of the other books in this series and I don't think I missed out on anything by not having read any of the others. This was a fun, quick, easy contemporary romance, so if you're into those, I'd definitely say check it out! 

The Beat Match 4/5 Stars

Summary from Goodreads: Weston Aldrich is known for his devastating looks and crisp Italian suits. He's been groomed to take over his family business and is on the brink of closing a massive merger. Only two wild cards can derail him.
Wild Card One: If anyone learns he moonlights as a masked DJ, his credibility will be toast.
Wild Card Two: Annie can’t-hold-a-job Ward.
The Annie Ward he promised to help raise after her brother died. The scatterbrained girl who makes it her mission in life to drive him crazy. The gorgeous woman he’s not supposed to fantasize about, let alone kiss.
Annie hates Wes’s insanely overprotective nature, and how his ridiculous bone structure makes him look like a Greek god. His jokes about her plethora of jobs are beyond irksome. She has no plans to tell him about her latest aspiration, to match beats as a budding DJ. Until she learns what Wes does at night. Now she plans to prove Weston Aldrich has met his match.

I haven't actually read any books about DJs so that was different, but I enjoyed it for sure! I love reading about Pharma companies (I think they're fascinating!) so I was super excited that Weston's family business was Pharma. I really liked Annie and Wes as characters- they were really easy to relate to and empathize with and you just really wanted the best for them. I loved how they got together and how Annie and Wes really shouldn't be together, but they fit so well and they just make sense. I read this book so fast as soon as I really got into it and it was a super cute, super fun contemporary romance that I for sure recommend reading if you're looking for a quick easy read with a happy ending.

The Beat Match has many elements of a good book. It is written well. The characters have compelling backstories and the pacing is not bad. Despite all this, I didn’t enjoy the book as much as I hoped I would. This may just be a case of a mismatch between the book and the reader because I really do think many people would enjoy the book.

The compelling background
Annie and her brother grew up homeless, but after Leo is killed she enters the foster system until she ages out. Throughout this time, Leo's best friend Wes, who comes from a wealthy family, dutifully watches over Annie with a close eye. While Wes watches over Annie because of his obligation to Leo, he and Annie also become friends. They initially develop a sibling-like relationship that turns into friendship and eventually has the potential to turn into something more. You can't help but root for them.

The dominant tropes
It has one of my favorite tropes, friends-to-lovers. The moments where there were sparks between them were probably the best moments of the story but it felt like there were too few of those. Like many stories of friends-to-lovers, the biggest roadblock to their potential romantic relationship is each other. They play prominent roles in each other's lives but a lack of communication dominates their relationship. They keep their feelings hidden from each other and are constantly hiding who they are despite believing that each knows the other best. When Annie finally decides she wants to become a DJ, she is reluctant to confide in Wes. Similarly, Wes doesn't tell her--or anyone else really--that he moonlights as a masked DJ. The inability to confide in one other or lacking communication is a common plot device in novels. I am not a fan of this device being the driving force that keeps the plot moving, and that is exactly what happens here. It went on for a long time—about halfway through the book—and all this could have been worked out sooner. When it seems like things are finally in the clear, the lack of communication continues some more and it was frustrating.

Just a few more things
The book builds up to a few side plot reveals that end up not being very impactful. The ending disappointed me. There were a lot of moving parts throughout the novel and the ending felt abrupt. Generally, things that seemed important to the story happened outside of it. What do I mean by this? We’re simply told about a few important events rather than having them unfold within the pages of the book.

I was disappointed that I didn't like the book as much as I hoped I would, Despite this, I think it has a lot of good things going for it, including characters that you want to root for. I think many individuals will like the book, especially if they can connect to the characters.

The Beat Match by Kelly Siskind is the first of the author's books that I've had the privilege of reading. It is an entertaining and sweet friends to lovers/off limits romance embedded within a deeper plot of tragedy, family drama, and business dealings. I really enjoyed reading this book and getting to know the characters. I enjoyed watching the characters develop together with the common theme of music, and I felt like Wes and Annie were extremely relatable characters. At times, Wes felt a bit too parental toward Annie, though I feel like this was well explained given the characters' backstories. I found it hard to put the book down once I was invested in the plot and the characters! I appreciated the chemistry between the characters and the complexity of their relationship. I would highly recommend this to fans of romance!

Thank you to NetGalley and Xpresso Tours for providing a copy of this title in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Just like NEW ORLEANS RUSH and DON’T GO STEALING MY HEART, THE BEAT MATCH has unique and truly original characters. Wes is driven, loyal and protective: Annie’s brave, strong and quick-witted; it is the main reason I loved THE BEAT MATCH so much; the romance between Annie and Wes is truly meaningful, because of their long history and strong bond. I was truly invested in these two and I loved their banter so much! Oh, and it has some good steam too.

If you are looking for a well-written, heartfelt, feel-good and satisfying romance novel with witty banter, deep emotional connection and multi-layered characters, I highly recommend THE BEAT MATCH!

Friends to lovers, off limits romance.

Wes has been looking after Annie since they were teenagers, after he promised to her dying brother he would do so. Between handling business mergers by day and performing as a masked DJ by night, he has started to notice Annie in a different way....

The characters and dialogue between them are great in this book. Annie is particularly likeable, having been through such a tough childhood yet seemingly becoming such a positive person. They both have their demons to battle, many of which appear as obstacles to them being together.

Alongside Annie and Wes, Siskind has created some great supporting characters, several of which I would have been happy to see more of, particularly Wes’ secretary, Marjory. Whilst certain elements of the plot were predictable, it was still enjoyable and I whizzed through this really quickly as I wanted to see how things would turn out.

I haven’t read any of the previous books in this series but would pick them up after enjoying this.

This is my sixth time reading Kelly Siskind. Out of the five previous books I’ve read, I was never able to say I had a favourite book by her. That’s no longer the case.

The Beat Match captured my entire soul and being. I can’t put into words to express my need for you to all read this book.

It has the most brilliant banter I’ve ever read. I made the mistake of drinking a cup of tea when I started reading. Needless to say there was a spit take mess that needed cleaning. I love Annie and Wes so much.

I’ve said it before when it comes to Siskind’s books; she writes more than a “romance” - she tells a story. She’s an incredibly clever writer who puts so many layers into the stories she’s crafting.

Her books are a gift.

And if you’ve read Don’t Go Stealing My Heart, have some tissues handy when reading that epilogue. I was ugly crying.

Weston Aldrich and Annie Ward seem to be at odds, in so many ways. Weston is destined to take over the family business and is known for wearing designer cloths and never stepping out of line. Annie is the complete opposite to Wes, driving her crazy with her careless nature. Whilst Wes promised Annie’s brother, Leo, as he was dying, that he would always care for Annie, his feelings are more than just sisterly. Wes fantasizes about Annie, yet can’t bring himself to follow his feelings, as it will mean that he has to confess his part in Leo’s death. Yet when Annie’s plans to become a DJ are revealed, Wes finds that he has to confess to Annie of the other life that he is leading. Wes is the infamous ‘Falcon’, the DJ that Annie has been following in the hope that he can mentor her.
The Beat Match is the perfect combination of sweet romance, between two great characters, who are repressing their true feelings. The chemistry between them, leapt from the pages, yet their banter and arguments were also so entertaining to read. Both Annie and Wes’ family stories add to this storyline, providing the complexity that had me thoroughly engrossed from the very first page. This is definitely an author that I will be following.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.