I have mixed feelings about this book. I am usually a friends to lovers girl so I was pretty excited about this one. I enjoyed how the friendships were displayed. It felt like real interactions that I would have with my own friends. I didnt love the constant discussion regarding her obsession with food. its Just felt odd for the sorry line at times and overall I just didnt think the FMC was that great of a friend.

The book does a great job of providing helpful advice and a good dose of optimism to address common relationship problems. Finding satisfying relationships requires personal development and self-awareness, which is why McCoy takes a pragmatic but optimistic approach.

Even though the book covers a lot of ground, there were certain sections that seemed a little superficial. I had hoped for a deeper examination of a few ideas, particularly those concerning maintaining committed relationships and negotiating more intricate emotional dynamics.

All things considered, "The Good Ones Are Taken" is a valuable book for anyone looking for inspirational sayings and advice on finding love and happiness in their lives. Although it might not cover every facet of relationships, McCoy's honest voice and approachable guidance make it an invaluable addition to anyone's self-help library.

The Good Ones Are Taken focuses on Maggie, who is searching for 'the one' after a horrific break-up. She thinks she has found him in Blake, a cute doctor she met at the gym. But then her best friend for years, Garrett, shares his long-term feelings for Maggie. What's a woman to do?
I really enjoyed this story, though we could all see who Maggie was going to pick in the end! I also loved the friendship between Maggie with her best friends, Savvy and Joanie. I recommend this book to readers who love a fun friends-to-lovers story with strong female friendships! Note: I received an advanced reading copy of The Good Ones are Taken, receipt of which did not impact my review.

I wish the Christian undertones were disclosed bc they can be very triggering and this is not something I would’ve picked up had I known.

Did not finish book. Stopped at 60%.
Kink shaming, friends who are fucking mean (not intended to be mean by the author they just were low key bullies?), weird fat re. Audio narration was terrible.

I read through 42% of it, and I just couldn’t get into it. It was way too slow, and while I liked the premise, I got too bogged down in the details. Given that it was an arc, it may have been edited and better in the final version. With how it stood, it was a DNF for me.

black love its just good and amazing, I really love love love this book it made me think a lot about a lot of things and it was amazingly written. sometimes you need this type of books to believe in yourself and love and that you deserve to be loved

A friends to lovers romance with a bit of a twist. I really enjoyed it! This book was hilarious! I laughed out loud so many times reading . The humor was the standout of this book. A rom coma that’s actually funny and not in a cringe way? I loved this story so much and I highly recommend.

I am really liking Taj books I have read all of them now. In this book you have a young woman who is looking for new love after her relationship of a year ends. Here she has her best friend since college trying to help her by being her wing man. Then she meets the Dr at the gym and she thinks she has met the right one. But as time goes by she see that he is the not the man she thought. And her best friend is right there in more way then one.

This was just ok
I felt like the characters lacked depth and it was pretty predictable. However I am still a fan and will still continue to support this author
Thanks NETGALLEY for the ARC

This was a cute book! Loved the storyline and the characters! I will be checking out more books from Taj McCoy. Thank you for sharing this story with us!

The Good Ones are Taken is the latest offering from author Taj McCoy. This novel introduces us to Maggie. Maggie is on the heels of a bad breakup and is beginning to lose hope on ever finding her happily ever after. Her friends talk her into joining a dating app and so begins the search for Mr. Right.

This story was cute, flirty, and fun. There were definitely some laugh out loud moments. I knew who I was rooting for very early on. Maggie was definitely feeling the pressure of being the only single friend in her friend group. And speaking of her friend group, I loved the sisterhood that they shared. They were rooting for Maggie all the way, even though there were more than a few instances of Maggie comparing herself to where they were in life. I would have loved more scenes between Maggie and Mr. Right to help build on their chemistry but overall, I enjoyed this romcom and found it relatable as well as realistic.

Thank you to netgalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing | MIRA, and Hear Our Voice for allowing me to read this book. This was such a fun and cute read. I loved the friendships and sisterhood.

Thank You to Harlequin Trade Publishing for allowing me to review this ARC. Honey... this was a read!!! I enjoyed this book so much. Two black guys and one black girl! its just amazing and such a good time reading this

This was a cute little romance story. I enjoyed it. It was different and unique, Im not sure if Id recommend it. It was a little slow at times, but an overall good plot. I did like the characters though.

I love seeing black romance being traditionally published. However, I do feel like this one was just okay. It was highly predictable, and our FMC - Maggie, was a bit too clueless about the feelings of one of the MMCs - Garrett and was really insensitive to his feelings once she was made aware. I was hoping that the development of the story was going to have a twist on why she was so blind to his feelings, but no, she was just self-absorbed., kind of unlikeable. I wasn't rooting for her to find love at all. At best this was just an okay read.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

I'm a big fan of friends-to-lovers tropes so I was sold on this one before I even began reading. And while I didn't love the book completely I still think this was a solid read that made me smile.

Maggie is a single professional who is ready to settle down, her friends are both locked down and she wants her person too. After having no luck with online dating she finally meets the perfect guy at her gym. He's a successful doctor and checks all the boxes. But soon after she hits it off with the doctor she finds out that her longtime guy bestie also has feelings for her. Maggie is then put in a situation where she has to choose.

I thought the book was cute. I did find it slow at times but it worked out. I did really enjoy the friend group, I thought they felt very real and enjoyed their banter.

An absolutely captivating read from start to finish! This book masterfully weaves together compelling characters, an intriguing plot, and beautifully descriptive prose. Each chapter left me eagerly anticipating the next, and I found myself completely immersed in the story. Highly recommended for anyone looking for an exceptional literary experience! Five stars well deserved.

3.5 stars (rounded up).

"The Good Ones Are Taken" by Taj McCoy is a cute read and an excellent love story featuring black love, but it's ultimately a little frustrating because the main female character, Mags, can't see what's right in her own face with the main male character, Garrett! I wanted to pull my hair out because they (read: Mags!) just couldn't see that they were meant to be! I am typically not a huge fan of the friends-to-lovers trope (give me all that sweet, sweet tension and loathing, hahaha), but McCoy does an excellent job handling it! I really, really liked Garrett! What a terrific book boyfriend... the way he remembers Mags' food orders, is there for her when she needs him, how he does so much for her... to me, it's shocking that she couldn't imagine him being in love with her. Like, HELLO!!??! He is SO obsessed with you! Blake never, ever stood a chance against Garrett, even if he was a doctor! I do think that Mags acts a lot younger than she is. She's pretty immature, but it all works out in the end. There is also a lot of funny, witty dialogue and banter that kept me giggling. This book also has a lot to say about discovering oneself after heartbreaking, about getting back out there and being your authentic self to find what you reall want in life. It might be a little predictable, but ultimately, this is a solid read!

Thank you to NetGalley, Taj McCoy, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and MIRA for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

This one was cute at points but wasn’t a favorite for me! I didn’t fall in love with our main MC + found myself frustrated with her for almost the whole book! I did love Garrett + their friendship so that was lovely! Overall it was fun + steamy!