I love friends to lovers stories so the blurb for this book pulled me right in. A sweet, romantic read with lots of interesting side characters and a small British village feel. This also has modern blended family dynamics which I really liked as well. Great if you’re craving a funny, heart warming read.

The story - ⭐⭐⭐
The writing - ⭐⭐⭐
Overall - ⭐⭐⭐

This was really quite funny in places, I found myself chuckling outloud several times and it was definitely a feel good read. To me the story felt like it was more about the men in Lexie's life, rather than Lexie herself. They seemed to be developed more than she was and she just seemed to be in the story as a way of linking them together, masquerading as the central character.

An easy feel good read, but there seemed to be several different opportunities to end it, and then something else would happen, it felt like the author was trying to jam every possible family drama into the book. And I bloody hated that everytime Lexie started to respond to someone she'd say 'awww'... EVERYBLOODYTIME. That was... awwwful.

Fave quote - <i>'He girded his loins – well , it was really more of a buttock-clench, since he wasn’t exactly sure how loins were meant to be girded – and stepped out into the hall.'</i>

Fave moment - Theo and Connor's chats.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. At first it took me a little while to really immerse myself in this book. I came back to it a week later and I can safely say I appreciated it a lot more the second go. It reads fairly quickly and takes you on a rollercoaster of feels. I loved it!!

I expected this to be sweet romance story however it had quite a bit more depth than the chick-lit I thought it would be.

Connor is a mature 14 year old who is living with his step mom Lexie. Lexie’s good friend Theo also happens to be Connor’s godfather. Lexie & Theo’s friendship has a long history & continues to develop into something more.

Connor’s dad (Daryl) returns, comes back into the picture, & also wants to reconnect with Lexie. Who will Lexie choose? Her new love interest Theo? Or her ex-husband Daryl? Connor’s character also shows extreme growth throughout the story.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

A slowly paced story that has that gentle British modern family vibe. The romances are sweet and readers will enjoy!

A good story about friendships which makes them lovers. It’s then what do you decide when you to make the choice between family and love.

Glad I kicked off my 2021 romance reading with this one. Two friends decide to scratch an itch together and keep on scratching. Things get more complicated because they are also business partners who think they want different things out of life, they have a teenage boy who depends on both of them, and her ex returns to add another wrench. Oh and let’s not forget the feelings they seems to have developed that just might be more than friendly. An engrossing read with a lot of heart. Conner is the best thing about the book, such a sweet and at times frustrating teenager. The ending was both too much and not enough with some over the top drama that was also way too easily resolved.

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

Quirky, fast-paced read; Swift's "Friends with Benefits" is the ideal novel for when one wants to escape reality and get sucked into a feel-good story.

This book was a pleasant surprise. It was more than a romance, I really enjoyed the relationship between step mother and son. I was expecting a fluffy romance but this was a lot deeper

Thank you to Hera Books, Lisa Swift, and NetGalley for an eARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely enjoyed this heartfelt story, but it wasn't at all what I was expecting. Many times with contemporary romance, the author doesn't quite capture other issues without it coming off as being a little flat and superficial. That was *not* the case with Friends With Benefits. The character development worked so incredibly well as we followed Lexie -- a stepmother who also has to contend with an absentee father. There's a situation with an ex returning and Lexie falling for a man who has always been nothing more than a friend and business partner. I really enjoyed this, and I'd recommend it to anyone who is looking for an uplifting read with a very powerful message.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. I'll be posting my review on Goodreads and Amazon

Lexie Whittle thought she had the perfect life with a loving husband and a great stepson. Then her husband took a job overseas and left her and Connor behind. She struggles to pay the bills and be a single parent to Connor.. She is lucky to have her husband’s former business partner and Connor’s godfather Theo to help her by being a father figure for Connor. They become attracted to each other and decide to have a friends with benefits relationship. When the relationship grows and Daryl returns, Lexie is faced with a choice to make! Good book!



Thanks to Lisa Swift and Hera Books!

This was a great rom-com. I love the dynamics of unconventional families, friends, work relations, and adults trying to navigate life. This was a great read with well developed characters and a good storyline!

Thank you to Netgalley and Hera for an early copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Could Mr Right-Now actually be Mr Right?

Lexie Whittle thought she had life all sewn up, with a gorgeous husband, a beautiful home and a delightful teenage stepson. Until husband Daryl left to work overseas…and everything changed.
A year later, Daryl and Lexie’s marriage is over. Lexie is fighting to stay on top of the bills, juggling her job at the Blue Parrot 1940s cafe in Leyholme with being mum and dad to Connor in Daryl’s absence.

The only thing keeping her from meltdown is the support she gets from Connor’s godfather: Theo Blake, Daryl’s former business partner. Theo might be a jack-the-lad, drifting from one woman to another, but Lexie knows she and Connor can depend on him.

After one too many glasses of wine leads to them falling into bed together, Lexie and Theo begin a friends-with-benefits relationship. What starts as just sex soon becomes something deeper.

But when Daryl returns, Lexie is faced with an impossible decision. Will she be forced to choose between her feelings for Theo and the boy she loves as a son?

I enjoyed this book, I felt it was a slow starter and it took a couple of readings for it to get going for me. As much as I enjoyed Lexie's story I also enjoyed Connor's and felt that maybe more attention could have been paid to this.

I want to begin by thanking Hera, Lisa Swift, and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read Friends with Benefits before it's publication date. Friends with Benefits was a modern story about blended families. Lexie was young woman when she met Daryl while at a casino as she worked. Daryl's best friend & business partner, Theo, went and tried to flirt with Lexie first, but Lexie fell for Daryl. She didn't realize that when she started dating Daryl, she was also meeting his young son, Connor. Daryl was a newly widowed man who was desperate to fill the void left when his young wife was murdered right in front of him. He was filling the void left in his heart, but also in the heart of Connor. As the years passed by, Lexie and Daryl realized that things were not good between them. Daryl also had some business issues that he did not warn Theo about. Daryl proceeded to take a job in Japan and left everyone else behind. Connor felt a great deal of resentment towards his father, but Lexie and Theo stepped and made sure that he knew he was loved. Lexie and Connor have made themselves a family without Daryl. When Connor begins acting more like the teenager he is now, Lexie turns to Theo to help him. As Theo helps Connor, Lexie and Theo begin to realize that they can help each other and they become "friends with benefits." As it usually goes, can they stay just friends with benefits? Or does it become more? Daryl surprises everyone by coming back into the picture and he does not like all that he sees coming from the home he left. He loses his temper and brings Connor to live with him, now in Manchester, England. Things unravel at a break neck speed and once all is said and done, will the foursome be a foursome? Or will things be too broken to be put back together?

I enjoyed reading this story of a current British blended family. It showed that stepparents aren't always the mean person in the story, sometimes it's our blood that hurts us the most. Ms. Swift had a way of writing that did not allow me to put my reader down. I wanted to know how the story was going to resolve itself. Connor was such a mature young man, who could probably teach a lot of adults about being true to themselves and to their families. Lexie was an amazing stepmother, but more importantly, person who loved Connor like her own child, but never let him forget his mother. Theo was an amazing friend to all, even after Daryl completely screwed him over. Daryl was a great villain in the story. He was manipulative, but also ended up repenting and truly trying to change, The only issue I had, and it was a small inconsequential issue really, was that Theo's age changed a few times in the story. At one point he tells Connor that he's 31, then he says he's 34. Nothing huge, but definitely something that stuck out in my mind. Overall though, I give this story a solid 4 stars. Thank you again to Hera, Lisa Swift, and Netgalley for allowing me to read this before it was published.

Another great book by this author. I always enjoy her work and this was no exception.
The characters were well written and likeable and the story put a smile on my face

This book was a rom-com with a lot of substance! I fell in love with the three main characters, and even with it’s fair share of “JUST TELL EACH OTHER HOW YOU FRIGGIN’ FEEL!” moments, I was hooked all the way through the story. It never got boring and I never stopped rooting for my faves to get together. Loved it!

This book was perfect. When I requested it on Netgalley, I had just expected a fluffy romance, but this was so much more than that. To really point out how unprepared for this I was, I thought this was a second chance romance, so I spent quite a bit of the book thinking that Daryl and Lexi would get back together. Thankfully, they didn’t!

In any contemporary, you really need a handful of characters that are loveable. They all have to be memorable, and they all have to have a distinct personality. Lisa Swift did an amazing job of that! I absolutely loved Lexi as a character, and Theo is right up there with her. Telling the story from alternating perspectives was definitely a smart choice, because it really allowed me to connect with every character.

Although I shelved this as a romance, the romance isn’t even the reason I loved this so much. No, it was the relationship between Connor and Lexi. I loved how, even though she wasn’t his mother, they had such a close bond. It was touching, and I’d read another three hundred pages about them alone. Even better was the relationship Connor developed with Theo! I loved watching him develop a family, and how they all dealt with their own unique problems.

I stayed up late reading this, so I apologize if this review isn’t the most coherent. What I’m trying to say, is that I loved this book, and if you like contemporaries, you should read this.

Thanks to Netgalley and Lisa Swift for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

"Friends With Benefits", by Lisa Swift, is based on single mom Lexie and her step-son Connor. Despite their close relationship, Connor is now a teenager and needs another man to talk things over with. Enter Theo, Lexie's best friend and business partner. As Theo begins to help Lexie, they start to develop feelings for each other. What begin as a friends with benefits relationship quickly turns in to something much deeper.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

This book was both beautiful, heartbreaking, and inspiring. Lexie Whittle has been dealt a rough hand, and yet she keeps playing the game – never backing down from the challenges her soon-to-be ex-husband enjoys throwing at her. But no matter how challenging or dark her life has become over the past few years, two things have remained wonderful: her stepson, Connor, and her best friend, Theo.

This book warmed my heart and kept me wanting more. I wanted to know what else Lexie would be thrown. I wanted to see how she overcame it. And I wanted to see her and Theo happy and together. Definitely one worth adding to the TBR stack for 2021!