A friends-to-lovers romance set to warm your heart. Sweet and cute 💗 Once again, Mariah Ankenman came in strong with disability rep. I enjoyed the autistic representation. Thank you!

Somebody to love. This an excellent romance showing the difficulties of social situations for people in the spectrum. But it’s a tricky situation when it involves romance with a friend, for everyone

A delightful romance of friends to lovers to parents? Penelope “Penny” Williams has given up on the happy-ever-after marriage, but she so wants to be a mother. She is a computer genius with an IQ “off the charts”, but that isn’t helping her have the baby she so desperately wants. She has already talked to her doctor, but the only one she would ask for help is her best friend Bravo “JB” Jackson. Can she work up the courage to ask him to provide what she needs to have a baby? What will he say? Will he be shocked or understand how difficult it was for her to ask him? Penny has always been his best friend from the time he protected her from school bullies. He is a bit stunned when she tells him what she wants, what she needs. As they spend even more time together, he begins to see her as more than just his best friend. What if they skip the doctor’s office and have their baby a less clinical way? What he doesn’t realize is that Penny has always been in love with him and maybe he has been in love with her as well? A beautifully written friends to lover’s romance. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (paytonpuppy)

Special thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

This book was absolutely adorable! Filled with quirky and charming moments, I found myself both chuckling and swooning!

Let's take a closer look:

Penelope "Penny" Williams is a shy, socially awkward computer genius who wants to be a mother. But after her last disastrous relationship, she realizes she doesn't need a man to have a baby. Well, technically, she does--a small something from a man: his sperm. And she has an idea of where to get it.

Bravo "BJ" Jackson, an ex-marine, is busy with his family's distillery business, especially now that they have decided to expand and open a restaurant venue. He loves women, but marriage and long-term commitment? That's just not for him, especially after witnessing a terrible loss in his life.

But when his best friend Penny approaches him with an unusual request, he begins to reconsider the idea of fatherhood... among other possibilities for his future.
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Honestly, I thought I knew what I was getting into when I signed up for this ARC. I was expecting more of a pregnancy trope-type story, where the two best friends agree to a pregnancy pact, and then navigate their feelings during the pregnancy. So, if you are worried about a book filled with pregnancy shenanigans, don't worry! This story hinges on this pact, whether they should or shouldn't and their feelings for each other.

The cast of characters are HILARIOUS! I love how distinct each character is, which I think is important when developing a huge gathering of people. I wish I would've read the first book before this book (my fault!) because there are parts that serve as an extended epilogue of the first book--so if you like a lot of updates about previous characters, jump into this series... but don't be like me. Lol read the first book first!

I loved the development of BJ and Penny and their relationship. They both are absolutely precious, and I loved how just absolutely lovely and concerned they were for each other. BJ is a fabulous book boyfriend, BTW!

I appreciated the autism representation, and I love the subtleties built into the story to normalize it!

My only "complaint"--and this can all be a matter of preference (who am I to tell an author how to write THEIR story?)-- is it felt repetitive. There were a lot of recaps that stated the premise of the story again and again, and maybe it's to create tension, but for me, it was noticeable and distracting.

Other than that, I really enjoyed this story, and I am so grateful I had this opportunity to read it before others!

⭐️- 4.0/4.25
🌶- 2.0

I really enjoyed this story!

I thought that the story was well written and it had a great flow to the story.

The characters were well developed and they worked well together.

There was some really great interaction between them - trying not to fall in love is hard!

It was a romantic and sexy story that had me turning the pages.

It is 4 stars from me for this one - highly recommended!

Somebody To Love By Mariah Ankenman is a perfect book for friend to lover romance reader.

This book have a interesting storyline where Penny needs BJ help to become a mother. As a friend, BJ will do anything to help his best friend which includes donate his little swimmer. This story are full of sweetness and angst at the same time.

✅ Childhood friend
✅ Friend to lover
✅ Friend with benefits agreement
✅ Angst
✅ Plenty of Spicy scenes intense and explicit

I'll definitely looking forward to read the next book by Mariah Ankenman which is about Charlie.

I love Ankenman's writing so I was super excited to see she was releasing a new book. And it's friends to lovers baby pact? Eeeppp!

Penny and Bravo "BJ" were so cute! I loved their relationship both the friendship & romantic one. I thought Penny was a great heroine that a lot of readers will relate to. She's shy & really wants to be a mom so it makes sense that she doesn't want the donor to be a stranger. I liked her character a lot. She was sweet and felt realistic. I also liked BJ's character a lot too. He was a wonderful friend and love interest. I liked that he had reservations about donating his sperm to Penny. To me, this is very realistic. These two together were very heartwarming and sweet.

If you love friends to lovers romances, give this a try!