Another winner for Max Monroe! Big Mack and Katie Cat are now one of my new favorite couples. This was such a fun enemies to lovers rom-com. There were so many times that it had me laughing out loud - - literally.

When a straight-laced math teacher is thrown into a beach vacation with her work nemesis, the music teacher that causes her all kinds of grief, there's bound to be trouble. Katie couldn't be more upset about it but Mack couldn't be bothered. In fact, he seems to treat it like everything else....a new adventure.

An accidental vacation together is exactly what these two needed to figure out that they have an attraction. Not just that, they both find out just how much there is to like about the other person. It's a cute and spicy little book and I really enjoyed it.

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: The narration of this audiobook was done well. The voices fit the personalities of the characters the way I imagined they would. It also helped to make the funny one liners even funnier. I often found myself laughing out loud as I was driving to work and listening to the book. It's a great entry. 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for both the early copies of the ebook and audiobook. I voluntarily chose to read/listen to and review them and the opinions contained within are my own.

Kat and Mack are both teachers in the same elementary school. Mack is the bane of Kat's existence. She's type A and serious, while his teaching style is all fun and games. She's happy to get away from him for spring break... until she realizes they will be in the same Florida rental for a week...
This is an enemies to lovers, forced proximity romance is book 2 in the It's a Funny Story series, and I don't think this one was for me. Both MCs so stupidly childish, it was really annoying. And that ending was one of my least favorite.
I received an advance review copy of this book for free and I'm leaving this review voluntarily.

Best Frenemies by Max Monroe🎶🧮

Happy Amost (just one day left aaa) Pub Day @authormaxmonroe

genre: romance
format: epub arc
pages: 266
times read: 1
date (dd/mm/yy): 13/9/23
would reread: probably not
tropes: workplace romance, forced proximity, frenemies to lovers, one bed
release day: 16/9/23
rating: 4,3⭐

review:
saw the book on netgalley and thought hm cute cover, a few hours later they sent me an arc so thank you netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange of an honest review

elementary school Math and Music teaches, Mack Houston and Katy Dayton have a not so rare case of enemies with a dash of 'they're hot and if they wanted to bang i wouldn't say no"

let me tell you i loved this, the angst and everything and when they were roomed together by accident on vacation (i forgot the place sorry 😭) so Katy calls the help support thingy and they get refunded but Mack (who doesn't hate her but plays the part) convinces her it would be a waste to go home instead of enjoying a free one week vacation. surprise surprise the enemies progress into besties when katy discovers a new side of Mack she didn't know existed (tending to wounds involved and a hilarious katy on anesthesia scene) and they get closer and she finds herself starting to like his company. until one day when she's high on meds and they end up shagging. then they go home and have to manage their newfound situationship planning a career day at school together and everything. At this point the enemies to friends became enemies to friends to lovers. then more stuff happens but i don't want to spoil your fun and ta daa the end.

I loved Mack sm he was su quirky and easy going 1000% golden retriever and Katy was a grumo who didn't like him, but i loved her all the same cs she was amazing. his niece and Katy's grandma were the mvps in this book fr like

the reason why i didn't rate this book 5 stars was bc the unexpected pregnancy threw me off a bit but yea, it ended in hea so we good.

buy this book asap cs it's goooood

⤷‧₊˚1⭑ || dnf @17%
𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞. 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫—𝐚𝐡𝐞𝐦—𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝. 𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐚𝐚𝐫. 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐭.

i'm sorry, but this is definitely not for me. I don't like the writing style and the characters in general are to put it nicely, not my cup of tea.

𝐀𝐥𝐬𝐨, 𝐢𝐟 𝐬𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐝𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐠𝐞/𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐲/𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡/𝐞𝐭𝐜., 𝐰𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝/𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐭𝐨𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐭.

this is the weirdest thing i’ve read in a author’s note so far.

thank you for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Katy and Mack’s story. Both are elementary teachers. Katy teaches math and Mack teaches music right next door. He has always gotten in Katy’s nerves. And she can’t see why everyone likes him soo much. So when spring break arrives she’s looking forward to going on vacation with her friend to Florida. And when her friend gets sick and can’t go that’s not going to stop Katy from going and having a relaxing vacation. Until Mack arrives the same condo she’s rented. Because he rented it also. And since the agency double booked there’s nothing that can be done, so they Agree to share the condo. And Katy starts to see a different side of Mack. And realize she may have misjudged him. This is a funny and entertaining read. I really liked Mack and Katy.

Quick read with lots of banter and steam. Max Monroe always captures me with quick witted characters and Katy and Mack did not disappoint!

Loved the flirty banter though they went from enemies to lovers pretty quickly. Mack could sometimes act like a child but he overcame that and ended up being the perfect man.

Thanks to Netgalley and Max Monroe for the ARC.

The writing duo behind Max Monroe has quickly become one of my go-to contemporary romcom authors. I have read almost the entire catalog, and loved "Accidental Attachment" so was excited to see this mildly connected story. For the most part, it did not disappoint - the trademark banter was there along with all the requisite steam. But I didn't connect with this book as much as I have some others, in large part because I found Mack rather unlikeable for much of the book. Despite being a grown man, he often displays behavior similar to a little boy on the playground pulling the pigtails of the girl he supposedly likes. His satisfaction in pushing Katy to her breaking point is, IMHO, neither funny or cute. By the time he pushes past that, I was close to pushing past him,

I also would have loved to see how their relationship develops over time, though given how interconnected Max Monroe's universe tends to be, we probably will get glimpses here and there. Despite Mack not being my favorite MMC, I did still enjoy reading this book.

3.5 stars rounded to 4. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a complimentary ARC of this book. The opinions herein are my own.

This one was really a sweet one. I love Max Monroe books, and this was a good 4 stars read.
Why not a 5 stars?! Well, because it was just a little rushed for me. I just did not fully connected with MC.

Love that the MCs are school teachers, cute, cute, cute

The enemies to lovers and forced proximity combo is my all time favorite and Max and Monroe did it PERFECTLY in this one!

Mack is the man that Katy loves to hate and because of this- the banter is fantastic! They are total opposites so while Katy may be Type A, Mack is a go with the flow people person, so the way they react to one another is great. What’s even better is that all this animosity is undiscovered sexual tension- until that all changes. Holy Mack 🥵🥵🥵

The romantic in me was absolutely loving this one- especially the ending. I had tears in my eyes and thought it was perfect.

Oh, and Anna is a Grade A best friend (like the teacher reference? 😉)who brought SO many hilarious moments.

Perfect if you love:
Enemies to Lovers
Forced Proximity
Opposites Attract
Teacher MCs

Instagram review will be posted on 9/15
@spines.and.readwine

max's books are always hit or miss for me - I really wanted to love this but ultimately thought it was too cheesy and predictable.

This was a great vacation read for me! I found myself smiling the entire time enjoying every delicious page. There’s the enemies to lovers goodness with a reverse grumpy sunshine vibe. Katy was forced to grow up at a young age and Mack? Well Mack had the complete opposite upbringing with constant support from his family while Katy had to be the support for hers.

Being coworkers they are already aquatinted when they are thrown into a vacation rental together. I loved seeing their walls fall and when Katy let’s loose she really let loose! She was confident in herself which I didn’t expect, but really enjoyed!

Throw in a surprise pregnancy and this book had it all for me. It’s a low angst, spicy good time that will have you smiling at every page!

POV: 1st, Dual
Spice: 2.5/5
Angst: Low

I've joked before that I must like one half of this writing duo better than the other, and I just keep coming back to that sentiment. I loved Accidental Attachment from the start, yet I did not connect to this one at all. It's shorter, spicier, more overtly funny, and the heroes could not be more different, but mostly I felt like it relied on slapstick humor rather than developing the emotional connection. I'm a big fan of enemies to lovers in rom coms and forced proximity is always a win, but neither of those things helped me connect to the characters this time. They go from feuding to vacation flinging in the blink of an eye, and then stay in a shallow zone for much of the story. The hero definitely grew on me over time, but not enough to make up for the twist in the back half. All in all, I was left feeling underwhelmed and disconnected, which is not quite how I expected this to go.

The story follows Katy, a teacher who is excited for her spring break. She's booked a vacation rental, and cannot wait to spend some time in the sun. The only problem? Turns out the rental was double-booked... and Katy's unwelcome roommate is none other than her work nemesis, Mack. The two have been teaching in close proximity for awhile now, and their personalities are very, very different. The fun-loving Mack drives Katy crazy at work, so the idea of spending her vacation with him is less than ideal. But it's not long before Mack is showing a side of himself that Katy has never seen, and the tension between them is taking on a decidedly sexual edge. With the two teachers in vacation mode, maybe it makes sense to give in to the feelings... so long as everything returns to normal on Monday.

I'm a longtime fan of this writing duo, so I know that I'm always in for a lighthearted rom com with some quirkiness and a bit of heat. That holds true with this as well - it's low angst and easygoing, with even more humor than their usual. It's technically interconnected to Accidental Attachment, but easily reads as a standalone. There's a definite opposites attract vibe, a frenemies situation, and lots of forced proximity. Katy is pretty uptight, but Mack brings out a different side of her, which I liked. Mack... well, I thought he was a total tool for a significant portion of the book, but he softened up somewhere along the way. I wish we'd seen more of their relationship post-fling, not just the sexual side of things. That had me feeling emotionally disconnected to the relationship, and then Thatch would pop in for an appearance and that would get more of a reaction out of me than anything else. I'm tired of Thatch, guys. It's time to move on. Regardless, there's a reason I've read more than twenty books by this writing duo over the years - they always deliver a light, fun read.

Absolutely perfect. I loved Mack and Katy. Their dynamic/push and pull was wonderful and the banter was too funny.

Katy and Mack are teachers in a private Manhattan school. Mack is the hot music teacher that everyone love, except for Katy. Katy thinks she is getting away for a fun Spring vacation in Florida, but of course the rental is double booked with the bane of her existence, Mack. Of course, neither of them is going to leave, so in addition to a fun enemies to lovers story, you have a forced proximity trope as well. The characters are really fun and there are a lot of laughs. If you want a good, funny read this is definitely the book for you. I received an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The wiring duo of Max Monroe is always dependable when you’re looking for a funny, steamy romance with appealing book boyfriends. Best Frenemies is no exception. This story of New York City private school teachers Katy and Mack is a pretty straightforward opposites attract, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, grumpy/sunshine workplace romance. Mack is the charming, handsome music teacher who has a dream of establishing a music education foundation. Katy is an uptight music teacher who seemingly loathes Mack because his loud lessons disrupt her classes and he never seems to take anything seriously. It isn’t until they end up sharing a vacation rental due to a booking mixup that she begins to realize that her animosity is misplaced. However, after a childhood with irresponsible, but loving teen parents, the last thing she wants is to turn their fling into a full-blown relationship. Will Mack’s persistence pay off?

Diehard Max Monroe fans will be happy to hear that Mack is a younger cousin of Thatcher Kelly, and he and his friends Kline, Wes and Cap are all featured in this book. One interesting side note is that the authors inserted themselves into the story when this group of billionaires start talking about the stories that were written about them as if they’re real rather than book characters (although, let’s be honest, we all wish they were real). If you’re looking for a low angst love story, you can’t go wrong with this.

I received an ARC from the authors through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are strictly my own.

This RomCom was the perfect medicine! After reading a very heavy book, I went into this one blind, and the audio made me laugh so hard.

Katy and Mack's witty banter will have you in stitches, but their chemistry is off the charts.

** Coworkers
** Enemies to Lovers
** Forced Proximity
** RomCom

A hilarious mix-up with their vacation rental leads to a whirlwind of chaos for these two teachers constantly at each others throats.

This is to cringy for my taste. It's a little to predictable. DNF

*****************I received an ARC for my honest opinion from NetGalley****************

This book can only be described with one word: EPIC!! Well, there's a lot more to it than that, but you get my drift. I can't remember the last time I laughed out loud numerous times throughout a book, but this one had me on my knees, much like how Katy knocked Mack down a peg or two.

In this story, we follow Mack and Katy, two colleagues who utterly drive each other up the wall and go together like chalk and cheese. Unfortunately for them, and thankfully for us, due to a booking error, they are stuck in the same vacation rental for a week. The sexual tension was palpable, the banter was off the charts, and witnessing these two ultimately come together was priceless.

Mack was such an incredible mmc that he's immediately going on my book boyfriend list. Katy started out extremely rigid and liked everything to be a certain way so she could control the outcome, but watching her relax and realise that opening yourself up is the best way to live was spectacular. You don't stand on the edge of the pool with your toe in the water and never once get in, but watching her dive head first into life and love was incredible.

These authors know how to craft a story that will have you hooked and glued to the page; I never wanted this book to finish, but all good things must come to an end, and regrettably, this book did as well. One of the best books I’ve read this year.

Enemies to lovers ✔
Forced proximity ✔
Only one bed ✔
Work rivals ✔
Romantic comedy ✔
Sizzling tension ✔
He falls first ✔

Thank you to the author and netgalley this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

4.5 Stars.

This was great! I really loved how Max Monroe's book titles are unique and give you a good sense of the story to come. My favorite part of this book, in particular, was how they utilized the cameo characters! I feel like we got a great Thatch catch up without it feeling forced or irrelevant.

The story itself was adorable. I had a feeling I knew the direction where it was going from the beginning, but it paced nicely so it was fun to build up the anticipation to see if I was right.

I thought Mack was a fun character, typical playboy who's been in love with the girl (in the class)room next door all along. I like when enemies to lovers shows that fine line between love and hate was apparent from the beginning.

I liked Katy enough, not my favorite MFC from Max Monroe but still strong in her convictions and didn't just cave to Mack's every whim from the beginning.

Overall, a good read that was well written, easy to read, laugh out loud hilarious, had great main and side characters, and fun cameos from various other books. I love the Max Monroe universe and am excited to read Sammy and Noah's story next!

This was chefs kiss good!! It was such pleasurable read for me, I can’t help but sigh in pleasure. I loved the MCs, especially the heroine. They are sassy, quick-witted and super entertaining!