This book is part of a series but can be read as a standalone and does not take away from the story. I loved the duet narration of this book and I feel like it adds to the book extremely well. This very much reminds of the show, The Sweet Magnolias. Tracey has very hard to build her successful bed and breakfast - only for her husband to have a very public affair. Tracey must learn what her new normal is after her divorce while living in small town, Peachtree Cove. This includes exploring the single life with Brian. There is SO much drama because it's a small town and both Tracey and Brian have pretty ugly exes. It has that friends to lovers with meddling small town people. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the gifted ALC. All opinions are my own.

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This was my first trip to Peachtree Cove, Georgia and what a great trip! This was not your usual friends to enemies story, it was so much more with an added spicy twist. We meet Tracy who is a new owner of a bed and breakfast inn, her ride or die girlfriends, a soon to be ex-husband and Brian. Peachtree Cove has many different people you will all meet. Tracy is woman who is coming into her own being, while dealing with family generational traumas, marriage issues, and self worth issues. Ultimately, we see Tracy coming into her own while getting a little spice on the side! Great fun romance! I will be reading Synithia Williams other two books that take place in Peachtree Cove and meet some other people in the town.
The writing quality was excellent and the story flowed well.
I listened to the audiobook and I was not a fan of the narrator. Perhaps, the somewhat exaggerated southern drawls of the characters is normal in the South, but, I found it somewhat of a distraction. The storyline was so good that I finished the audiobook. So, I encouraging others who may also encounter not caring for the narration to stick with the audiobook and enjoy the story!

A small town friends with benefits romance between a recently divorced Black woman and the man who's had a crush for years. This was spicy, emotional and full of small town Southern Charm. Perfect for fans of authors like Talia Hibbert or Preslaysa Williams. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

The female narrator did an excellent job, 10/10

3.5⭐️ | 1🌶️

This was such a sweet romance!

I really enjoyed the story—it was fast-paced, engaging, and had a surprisingly compelling small-town setting. The subplot about the community coming together to build up their mall businesses was something I didn’t expect to love as much as I did.

Tracy and Ryan had great chemistry, and Ryan was an absolute gem. He was a fantastic communicator, the king of acts of service, and completely smitten with Tracy from the start. It was refreshing to see such a genuinely good guy as the love interest.

I also have to give credit where it’s due—this was the first third-act “breakup” I’ve read that made complete sense and felt entirely justified.

That said, I struggled with the narration style. Third-person POV isn’t my favorite, and I found it kept pulling me out of the story at times.

Overall, a charming romance with a lovable hero and a unique small-town backdrop!

Thank you to NetGalley, The Hive, and the author for the ARC.

3.75 Stars rounded up

This book was honestly a lot of fun. It was somewhat heavy and very realistic. Tracey has just finalized her divorce from the man who knocked up her business partner while they were married. She is ready to move on from all of the rumors in this small town, and what better way to do that then to get involved in a physical relationship with a man you've known for a long time that also happens to be a vendor that you work with frequently.

This was a story of growth and finding yourself while moving on after bad relationships. I wish this book would have had a little bit more angst. With a name like "Frenemies with benefits" I wanted a bit more tension and banter, but Tracey and Brian were more friends than frenemies.

I wish I would have read the other two books in this series before jumping into this book because I feel like I missed out on some of this couples' back story, but this book can be read as a standalone. If you're thinking of picking this up, I do suggest reading the other 2 books in the Peachtree cove series first. I do plan on going back and reading them. I loved all of the friend groups in this book so I am excited to go back and get some of their stories.

I was provided with both an audiobook and an e-book arc. The audiobook was really well done and I feel like the narrators did a wonderful job with these characters.

I have mixed feelings about this. I thought the storytelling promise and set up as well as the narration were excellent, but overall I was left kind of bored. I struggle to classify this as romance because the romantic relationship felt like an aside to the personal development Tracey and Brian went through. Romantically, I was wanting more. I also think these two cannot be considered "frenemies" if Brian has be noticeably pining after Tracey for a decade.

Ultimately, while this was a bit of a miss for me, I am glad I listened to it vs. reading with my eyeballs, because I think that helped me finish the book and end up enjoying it.

This was a fun time, I'm really in my small town era and I'm loving it, I didn't necessarily see Tracey and Brian as enemies like the title suggested but the benefits part? Yesssss.

This wasn't too heavy on the drama although there were several characters that had me rolling my eyes and wondering where they got the audacity.

Frenemies with Benefits held my attention the whole time, funny, smart, entertaining with the perfect amount spice.

I listened to the book via audio. I didn't enjoy the narrator because the southern accent/Georgian accent wasn't good. The narrator is from Philly and I believe they created the disconnect.

Now to the story, it was an easy read. I enjoyed listening the the MC grow more into herself. I would t describe the romance as slow burn but it took a bit for it to develop. Would recommend this to my home girls to read.

This was such a fun book to listen to! The narrator did a great job bringing the story and characters to life!
Read if you like:
🥧 friends with benefits
🥧small town vibes
🥧dual POV
🥧second chance romance

Great characters! Great story! This is an enemies to friends storyline done right. I like the author and her storytelling method. I love the narrator, even though it would have been good to have more than one voice.

Overall: 3.5
Spice: 2
Narrator: 3

We are back in Peachtree Cove and this time we how Tracy is doing the drama in the previous book. This books the FMC decides to come into her own and start living for herself instead of living for everyone else. It's powerful to see her become the strong and sexy woman she has always been.

A good love story. They were both frenemies but they did support each other through messy past relationship partners dipping in and out of their lives.
The story was medium paced and a good attention getter.

4.75 ⭐

I was fortunate to receive an ALC and it did not disappoint. The audiobook brought the story to life. Just like the eARC I did not want to put it down. I fell in love with Tracey and Brian all over again. High recommend the audiobook AND the eBook if you like small-town romance, dislike/enemies to lover, workplace romance.

The book's title was somewhat misleading, as the "frenemies with benefits" theme was not fully developed. When the arrangement finally took place, it was mentioned only infrequently. Instead, the narrative focused more on Tracey’s journey to grow her business and boost her self-esteem. While I admired Tracey's evolution as she stepped out of her comfort zone and pursued her ambitions, the continual emphasis on her self-doubt and insecurities stemming from Bernard and her past felt repetitive and somewhat frustrating.

3

DNF. I think the narrator threw me off with the accents for every character that I just couldn’t get into it.

Good story. I loved Tracey and her boldness. Her growth was beautiful to watch. I really enjoyed the story and the characters but struggled with the narrator.

Small town
Friends with benefits
Messy exes
Starting over

Audio review
Narrated by: Adenrele Ojo


Characters: Brian and Tracey

This is the 3rd book in the series but definitely can be read as a standalone.


Growing up with parents in a toxic relationship, left Tracey with a deep sense of self awareness. She felt like she had to prove she was different. She didn’t trust easy. When she married the town’s favorite son, she tried to be the perfect wife. She own’s a very successful bed and breakfast. However, her marriage fell apart, and it rocked her.

Brian was involved with a woman who had him twisted. He dropped out of college, did some modeling and ended his marriage. Now he runs the town’s florist and is doing well. His marriage left him bitter. He is no longer interested a relationships.

Brian had a thing for Tracey when they were in school. She was standoffish. When she decided to get back out there and have fun without the drama of a relationship, Brian volunteered to help her out.

The story was engaging. The characters were likable. Fast pace with steam and drama.

I enjoyed this book, I'm not sure I would call it "Frenemies". The 2 main characters are friends and do end up being friends with benefits, but I don't feel like they are ever not friends. There is some drama, and I do love that the characters are in their 30s instead of being so young. I would definitely read more from this other and now that I know there are more books in this series, I will be checking those out as well.

When I first saw this book I thought it would be a cute fluffy romance. But I was pleasantly surprised that to see that this book touches on many real life issues like self worth, addiction, chasing your dreams. I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone that is interested in romance.

Slow burn acquaintances to friends to lovers with truly AWFUL exes on both sides providing plenty of drama! I'm not convinced "frenemies" is accurate here but I enjoyed the story.

Tracy runs a bed & breakfast in a small town and is just finalizing a nasty divorce, complete with a pregnant mistress who was her former employee. Brian owns the local plant nursery and has been divorced for a few years, but while his cheating ex is re-married, she's trying to reinsert herself into his life. To prove a point, Tracy decides to look for a hook up and reawaken her sexuality, but Brian offers a no-strings attached deal with himself instead. Even if he is definitely becoming attached...

This is a great pick if you like messy external conflict with a couple doing a decent job with each other. Even if they're working on their communication. The audio narration is really good! I received an audio review copy via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.