Never Now

I was given this ARC by the author through NetGalley for an honest review. I have never read this author before and now that I've finished reading "Never Now", I am starting the fisrt book "Saint Street" since I enjoyed the first book so much. This is an older brother's best friend, younger sister romance. Emilia Ronan and Reeve Sawyer have known each other since they were children. Emilia has had a crush on tall, dark and handsome Reeve since she could remember, Reeve thinks of her as his younger sister until he doesn't and one night everything changes. This story takes you through Emilia and Reeves, hurts, doubts, struggles and love. Put your feet up, grab a glass of wine and enjoy the story as it unfolds, like I did. This is a well written, easy read and very enjoyable. book.

I enjoyed Reeve and Emilia and their confusing starts and stops on the way to happy. Reeve didn’t want to lose his family, Emilia didn’t want to be the chump, they both had hurts to get past. The funniest part was them thinking that they had any of their friends fooled. Of course, I wanted to cry for Emilia when Reeve acted spontaneously for the first time ever, but his determination to prove just how badly he wanted to deserve Emilia made it better. It’ll be interesting to see what Owen and Lottie get up to in their story.

For Emilia Ronan, Reeve Sawyer is her best friend. The one person who will sit and listen to her and will even watch romantic movies with her. The only problem is that Em has only ever loved Reeve Sawyer whilst he sees her as just his friend’s younger sister. Or so she thinks. After being rejected years ago, she decides to try again. However, the impact on this threatens their friendship and more.
This story had me hooked from the very start. I found myself reading throughout the day and whilst I hoped for a HEA, the complexity of the relationship was fascinating. This is a story that shows two very realistic characters who struggle with their past family issues or life events. Taken largely from Em’s perspective, it is still quite easy to see the relationship from both perspectives, with small aspects of Reeve’s background integrated into Emmy’s thoughts. The secondary characters also play an integral role in this story, making this more than your average romance.
I am quite pleased to have another author to add to my list to follow.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this book, the second in the series. I didn’t read the first one but immediately went and downloaded it after I read this. I LOVE a good friends to lovers romance, and I enjoyed the friendships and the banter. Thank you to netgalley for the ARC.

This is the story of Emilia and Reeve. They have been friends for most of their lives and part of the group of friends at Saint Street. This book should be read after reading Saint Street, which is Stana and Ali’s story, but can be read as a stand-alone. This is a well written friends to lover’s story that will pull at your heart and have your emotions all over the place. It is also a story about growth for both characters that resonated with me. I can’t wait to read Lottie and Owen’s story. I highly recommend this book!

Copy received from The Next Step PR and I am reviewing it voluntarily and objectively.

I say this with every book by Scarlett Hopper, but it’s true, so I am saying it with this one. This book is gut-achingly real. Real people, real situations. No extra fluff.

While so far not called a “series”, it is the sequel to Saint Street. Saint Street was Ali and Stana’s story. Now it’s the story of Emi, Ali’s younger sister, and Reeve, his best friend. This starts out concurrent with Saint Street, but jumps ahead to the present time, making it more like a sequel. While I enjoyed Saint Street, this one is exponentially better.

Emi and Reeve have been friends for years, but being the younger sister of his friend, Reeve didn’t want to take those steps. After a couple of situations, he still doesn’t so here comes the angst! Oh boy, I felt it in my toes! It’s the perfect level and amount of angst too; nothing that overtakes the story, but it is realistic and adds to the romance. Finally, just when you think things are going right, they are not.

My only critique with this book is that it would have benefited greatly with dual perspectives. If that’s even a critique, since it is more of a thought. I only say this because Reeve is going through family issues. Again, realistic issues and not stupid dramatic ones. While we know of them when he tells Emi, it would be nice from his perspective too; to read the struggle he is going through. While reading it, I didn’t feel for him as much as I probably should have, only due to the lack of perspective making it harder to connect with him.

I felt for Emi though. Her emotions were so realistic they poured off the page. The other thing Scarlett always does right is the writing. Her words are beautiful. Everything flows so nicely and I am never bored. The emotion and angst in this book was perfect.

I don’t quote books. While many have many fantastic lines, it takes a lot of memory to do so. The first and one of two books I have done so, was one by this author. And yet again, her quote: “You let go first Reeve. I’m sick of holding on” tore me to shreds! Something about the breakup scenes this lady writes…my goodness!

Like Saint Street, this one does a fantastic job setting the characters up for the next book. Late Love will feature Owen and Lottie. My only hope is that it doesn’t start where this one ends, as I need to read about them getting close and how he is with her during the months before the end of Never Now. Can’t wait!

Overall, this was a good romance novel. It was quirky and a quick read. I loved the family that was created through their friendships and the relationships that bloomed from them. I wasn't aware that this was supposed to be a second book in a series, but it can definitely be treated as a stand alone. I did not find out until after I finished that it was in a series and wasn't lost in the slightest.

I really enjoyed Scarlett's writing style, it felt fresh and relatable. The only negative I had was that at times I felt like Emilia's and Reeve's relationship felt rushed, but I guess it makes sense seeing as they have known each other since they were children. Definitely recommend to anyone looking for a fun, cute romance novel!

Disclosure: I received a complimentary eARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes. I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me this opportunity!