Review: One Summer Weekend (Cedar Street #1)

One Summer Weekend (Cedar Street #1)

by Shannon Stacey

Blurb:

Noah Stafford loves his life—his happy, single life. So what if he made up a fake girlfriend to stop his boss’s matchmaking? He kept things close to the truth—Carly really does have long, sexy legs and a killer sense of humor. She just happens to be his best friend. His wicked awesome and completely platonic best friend.

But now his boss is having a destination wedding, and Noah is expected to attend…with Carly, his girlfriend.

Carly Randall has no interest in living out a rom-com plot. But Noah is her best friend, so she agrees to help. Still, once they arrive on Cape Cod, she can’t explain the sudden butterflies she feels when he looks at her that way. Or why she doesn’t mind when Noah’s hands stray a little south of her back.

What happens on the Cape stays on the Cape.

Except not really, not at all, and once their sexy faux-cation is over, Noah and Carly return to a reality where everything’s changed. Going for it would mean risking their friendship…but forgetting how good they were together just isn’t an option.

Themes:  Contemporary

Rating: 4 stars

Heat Rating: 

Review:

 Stacey has always found a way to worm into my heart and libido with her writing and this new series kicks off with one of those typical romance tropes that you just think would be boring.  Thankfully she reminds us that sometimes the reason the friends-to-lovers idea is used so often in stories is because it works so beautifully!  I love most everything I have ever read by Shannon Stacey and Noah and Carly’s story is one that is both fun and sexy while showing that sometime love can sneak up from the most interesting places and bit us on the butts.  Noah has been best friends with Carly his whole life, but has never looked at her as more than a friend, so he’s not really sure why he told his boss she was his girlfriend except he lost his mind in the moment.  Now he’s in a serious jam and needs Carly to pretend along with him for a long weekend away while his boss gets married. Carly has never imagined Noah in a romantic way either, but once the idea is in her head it’s hard to get out and soon they are both dealing with the heat of a passion that takes them by storm, but even more scary are the emotions that run even deeper.  Could their friendship all these years have really been hiding a love for the ages? Carly and Noah were both interesting characters.  Noah is a not really a playboy so much as that fun guy that everyone enjoys being around, especially Carly, but seeing his past with women definitely puts her on alert when feelings develop.  Thankfully Noah seems up to the challenge of proving that he is just for the guy for the gun-shy and daring Carly.  He is sweet guy for sure even if he doesn’t quite know how to handle the changes in his life as he accepts that maybe he was hiding behind friendship all these years with Carly out of his own fears.  Carly has reasons to be cautious of love, but she begins to trust in Noah and I began to like her more as she spread her wings and explored their passion and love more.  She was a bit of an enigma, but I did enjoy her relationship with her cousin and her strength was apparent.  The heat between Carly and Noah began at a slow simmer as they both began to see one another differently, but the buildup and ultimate burn were amazing to watch.  I am looking forward to the next story where we get to see Carly’s cousin find love as well.  Keep up the amazing writing Ms. Stacey, you have a fan for life here.

*ebook provided by publisher (via NetGalley) for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review.  No compensation was provided.