Rebel – Laura Pavlov
Content Notes:
Published/Pages: 2021/232
POV: Dual – Hero & Heroine
Trope: Brother’s Best Friend, Fake Relationship, Enemies to Lovers, Workplace Romance
Goodreads Bookshelves: brothers best friend, contemporary romance, fake relationship, forced proximity, friends to lovers, secret crush, siblings best friend, workplace romance
HEA: Yes
Steam Level: Sensual/Steamy
Swearing: Moderate
Trigger Warnings: Alcohol, Cheating (not w/ H & h), Drugs (no use), Kidnapping, Organized Crime
My Rating:
Book Description: Jack – I’m always down for a good time. I’m that guy. I love women. I love sex. And I love my life. Go big or go home, right? My father’s death is a constant reminder of why I like to keep it simple. Life is short. Emotional attachments make you weak. Grieving sucks. And I have no interest in caring deeply for anyone outside of my family. I’m not looking for complications. Monroe Buckley is a complication. She’s driven. She’s focused. And she’s my best friend’s little sister. Not happening. But once we’re forced to spend time together…I only want more. Too bad she’s the one woman who is off-limits. MONROE – I don’t trust most people, and I have my reasons. I’m passionate about my work, and I came here to do a job. Not date the boss. Getting hired at the top media company in the city is the break of my life. But it means working for Jack Montgomery. My one-time crush. My brother’s best friend. And the current thorn in my side. He’s exactly what I want to avoid. Yet he’s everywhere I turn. Even when he’s not there—he’s in my head. He’s a magnet for attention. A heartbreak just waiting to happen. And my heart is something I fiercely protect. At all costs. They say the heart wants what the heart wants… But my heart isn’t allowed to make that decision anymore. There’s too much to lose.
My Goodreads Review (No Spoilers)
My Review (w/spoilers):
Jack & Monroe
This book is the third book in the Montgomery Brother’s Series by Pavlov. Like the others, it is a standalone. I read this one first because it is my favorite trope – Brother’s Best Friend. After reading this book and getting a glimpse of the other brothers and their families, I will definitely be reading the other two books. Plus, Pavlov is a fantastic author.
I do have to mention that Monroe is a journalist. She is investigating this man that puts his running in for President. Anyway, she finds out some bad stuff, which leads her to a sex den. Which she goes undercover with Jack. It’s mentioned twice, so if that is a trigger for you, don’t read this book.
“I WANT YOU TO PROMISE TO LIVE ONE MINUTE LONGER THAN ME SO THAT I NEVER HAVE TO EXIST IN A WORLD THAT YOU AREN’T IN.” -MONROE
At first, Monroe comes off a bit bitchy. But we soon realized that it’s because she used to have a crush on Jack in college, but he slept with her nemesis and that turned her off.
I really liked the development of Jack’s and Monroe’s relationship. I thought they fit well together and really balanced each other out. I liked that he tried to be better because of her and she tried to open up more. Jack was a great guy. He really tried to prove to Monroe that things were different with them. I mean he bought a freaking grumpy cat to impress her! Haha Of course it didn’t take her a long time to figure out that he had only had the cat for less than 24 hours. Still a sweet gesture.
“Loving you is never work.” -Jack
I knew it was going to be Monroe who would cause the break between the two. I understand why Jack was so upset, he felt like a secret. Especially after he saw her and Thyme at the store and she didn’t tell him he had been contacting her. Poor guy. His breakdown in his office with Monroe and her brother really got me. It was really sad. “You think she’s crying because I hurt her? You couldn’t be more wrong. It’s your sister doing the hurting. I’m the f****** one getting crushed here, man.” So heartbreaking. It all definitely could have been resolved had they just communicated better.
I did like that the story didn’t end on them being together, we get to see her go undercover and then get kidnapped and everything. It was different than the usual romance.
And in the epilogue, we find out they get married and are expecting a baby! How cute 🤗.
Altogether, a cute, steamy romance that I would read again.
Diary of a bookworm 
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