For six years, Parker and Ben have been fighting the notion that it’s impossible for men and women to just be friends. The two have been best friends since they met at freshman orientation, and their friendship has only become stronger through the years. In fact, they even live together. With no issues. Parker is in a long-term relationship and Ben has made it his mission to sleep with every eligible bachelorette in the Portland area. Their setup works. Why question it?
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – probably a thousand more times. Friends-to-lovers is my favorite romance trope. And in Blurred Lines, Lauren Layne has handled it very well. There’s no insta-lust. It’s not like Parker and Ben wake up one morning to find that they’re inexplicably attracted to each other. I was worried it would go the way of the regrettable drunken hookup, but that didn’t happen either.
And, even better, Parker and Ben didn’t forget about their friendship once the benefits arrived. No, they still hung out just like old times. Still had heart-to-hearts just like before. Ben still tagged along to come visit Parker’s parents on the weekends. It was great! I really appreciated that they didn’t turn into a couple of idiots once sex was involved.
However, there was one thing I couldn’t get on board with, and that’s Parker’s stupid decision at the end. I get that she was scared, I get that she was falling back into what was easy and comfortable, but I seriously wanted to shake some sense into her! For a book that had been otherwise low on the angst and idiocy scale, I was disappointed that Parker would make that kind of decision.
Anyway, overall, this book was really cute! I read it in one sitting on a Saturday night because I just couldn’t go to bed without knowing what happened next. This was my first book by Lauren Layne, but I will definitely keep an eye out for what she comes up with next.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free copy!
Final rating: ★★★★☆
The Bibliophagist 