Good read about best friends forced to marry to keep her child's father away from her. I enjoyed the guy's POV, however it was very heavy into an Irish accent and it was distracting.

I LOVE this author. She is an auto buy for me. So when I saw this book up for review I added it to my TBR pile. But it came out in August and I had read it before. I totally LOVE this series. I have read about the whole set of brother and I have loved every single book. This story was a refresher to help me remember this whole series. And I am happy to say reading the story again was just as enjoyable for the second time around.

Essentiall

Get out your tissues because this story will tug at your heart strings. Aiden has loved Maura from the first time they met but she's never been aware of it. They've been best friends over the years as she moved from a cheating boyfriend to an abusive fiancé who left her pregnant. Aiden has always played the field and Maura has just assumed that he was that sort of man, though he's been there for her through thick and thin. When Aiden offers to marry her to protect her daughter then reveals he's always loved her you can imagine her shock. This story was a real page turner for me. I loved it.

Overall a good story. Interesting plot. I liked how the story concluded.

This is a delightful, heart-warming friends to lovers romance featuring the Irish couple, single Mum, Maura Callahan, and her best friend, Aidan McKinnon. For more than a decade Maura has regarded Aidan as her go to friend in times of trouble, the godfather to her daughter and she doesn’t seem to have ever had any romantic notions about him. Desperate to keep near her, he’s never indicated that he loves her until her ex, the man who hit her whilst she was pregnant with his child and then disappeared from their lives, reappears to demand shared custody of their daughter who he has never even seen before. Aidan discovers that if Maura marries him, he can then become the adoptive father, preventing any further custodial demands and cutting the ex from their lives. It will also mean Maura might, at last, start seeing him as a man she could love as more than a friend . . . .

Whilst this is the third novel in the series, it works well as a standalone. I loved this sweet Irish romance that really tugs at the heart strings. The abusive, threatening ex, the beloved cheerful and delightful daughter are also well portrayed but it is the angst and turmoil of Maura and Aidan, the secrets they keep and their changing attitudes to each other that make this a great read.

Many thanks to the publishers for gifting me a copy of this novel, via NetGalley, with no obligation. This is my honest review.

Marrying his Best Friend by Jennifer Gracen is a marriage of convenience and friend to lover story all rolled into one. It is not a long with a fairly predictable plot. No matter, the characters and story-line make it an enjoyable afternoon read. Besides the wonderful, long-time friends Aiden and Maura there is one cute four-year-old and one abusive ex you love to loath. Now free of her ex, Maura’s life is not quite the way she had thought it would go when she was younger. Many of us can identify with that but like her, we go with it and make the best of what we have.

This is the third of the McKinnon brothers’ stories. It has been a while since I read the first two but if my memory serves me right, those brothers lived in New York. Since Aden’s work in in Dublin this has a much more Irish feel to it. As for the characters, they are likable and believable. Overall, it is a story of good people who made a good life which made for a good read.

Friends to lovers is always an interesting story plot, especially when one half of the couple truly never, ever had a clue as to how much they had always been loved. Maura and Aidan had been best friends for years, he was godfather to her daughter, the one man she could depend on for a shoulder to lean on or a good laugh when needed. Yet when her abusive ex reappears in her life demanding joint custody of the daughter he never acknowledged, Maura is faced with a possibly dangerous situation. Aidan has the perfect solution, but with his plan comes even more surprises, emotions and life changes than Maura ever thought she’d have to face. It’s possible to have it all, to be safe with the one who loves you – but is it fair to grab onto that with both hands unless you’re certain that you can love them back just as fiercely. Only time, and Maura’s heart can answer that question.

I enjoyed Marrying His Best Friend. Usually it’s the woman who has loved from afar for a long time, it was a refreshing slant to view this situation from the man’s side. We have a truly nasty piece of work to loathe, a darling little girl who will steal your heart, a woman with more questions than answers and a man who will do anything for the woman he’s always loved, even risk their friendship for a chance at a far different future.

If you enjoy friends to lovers romances then this one is perfect for you. I’d recommend this one to any Romance reader who enjoys a good story, likable characters and possibilities.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*