Diary of a bookworm

Into the Tide – Laura pavlov

Content Notes:

Published/Pages: 2023/367

POV: Dual – Hero & Heroine

Trope: Brother’s Best Friend, Small Town, Virgin Heroine

Goodreads Bookshelves: age gap, best friends sibling, bookworm heroine, brother’s best friend, contemporary romance, forbidden romance, forced proximity, friends to lovers, roommates to lovers, secret crush, siblings best friend, small town, steamy, virgin heroine

HEA: Yes

Steam Level: Extra Steamy

Swearing: Adult

Trigger Warnings: Alcohol, Anxiety, Death, Depression, Grief

My Rating:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Book Description: She’s my best friend’s little sister. Completely off-limits. But every man has his breaking point. Lila James is my best friend’s little sister and I’ve always looked out for her.
She’s five years younger than me, and when she left for college, she was just a kid. But now she’s home for the summer—and she’s definitely not a kid anymore. She’s beautiful and smart and everything I didn’t know I needed. Dark eyes. Long wavy hair. And legs that are meant to be wrapped around me. I’m the guy who likes to have a good time. Keep things light. When her brother asks me to hire her at my restaurant, it’s a no-brainer. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for her. Until she asks me for one more favor. She wants me to be her first. Take her V-card. Go where no man has gone before. Her words, not mine. And damn if I don’t want to go there more than I’ve ever wanted anything. She’s only here for the summer, and she says it will be our secret. It’s temporary. We’ll go back to being just friends at the end of summer. She promises that she won’t fall for me. She knows better. But Lila isn’t the one I’m worried about.

Goodreads Review (No Spoilers)

My Review:

Hugh & Lila 

This is book one of Pavlolv’s new series Cottonwood Cove.  And it was perfect. 

This isn’t the first Brother’s Best Friend romance I’ve read by Pavlov. The first one was Tangled, from her Willow Springs series, and it is one of my favorite romance novels. My favorite trope is Brother’s Best Friend, and Pavlov nails it every time.  

I mean Hugh… what a sexy man. He’s a good man, that really tried to do the right thing. But what man could resist the things Lila said?? Shit… 

Lila is one of my favorite heroines. She’s a woman who knows what she wants, and I admired her. The creek scene is evident of that. Oh wait, did someone mention the creek scene?? oh my… 😍🔥 I WAS HERE FOR IT. I also love that she called her vagina Vajazzle! haha 

I thought Travis handled the news of his sister and best friend being together pretty well, considering. He’s extra protective of his sister considering their circumstances. 

“It wasn’t that the hair on my arms stood on edge like what had happened to my father, or that I knew I would marry Lila James. It was a repeated clarity that I experienced day after day with this woman. My heart no longer belonged to me. It was hers. No one else would ever have it—that I was certain of.” -Hugh

The relationship between the Reynolds siblings is amazing! I have a bajillion siblings and 100% related to their teasing and banter. I loved their sibling group chats! Cage Because he’s a major snooze fest. “You’d have more in common with a rock than that dude. Good riddance, KAREN!” I really hope it continues in the next books. 

I was happy to see that Lila and Travis’ dad was able to stick with his recovery and live a healthy life. I was waiting for the shoe to drop and him to fall off the wagon. But it was nice to see a character recover.  

I loved the connection to another one of Pavlov’s series Honey Mountain. Hugh is cousins with the sisters from that series. He’s especially close with Dylan. Her story was told in the last book of that series and is called Only Mine. In this book, we get to see Dylan and her man Wolf get married. 

I straight swooned when at the end, when Hugh proposed to her. “What are you doing?” I gasped, dropping to my knees in front of him. “I don’t think you’re supposed to get down on your knees.” He chuckled, and I scooched forward. “I go where you go,” I said, my words breaking on a sob.” So precious. 

Altogether, another fantastic book by Pavlov. If you want a story with fantastic main characters and just as great side characters, and of course a beautiful love story. PICK THIS BOOK UP!