Diary of a bookworm

Deal Dilemma – Meagan Brandy

Content Notes:

Published/Pages: 2022/504

POV: Dual – Hero & Heroine

Trope: Brother’s Best Friend, Virgin Heroine

Goodreads Bookshelves: 2023, age gap, best friend’s sibling, bookworm heroine, brother’s best friend, college romance, contemporary romance, dark romance, forced proximity, foster brother, friends to lovers, opposites attract, read, roommates to lovers, secret crush, sibling’s best friend, steamy, virgin heroine

HEA: Yes

Steam Level: Extra Steamy

Swearing: Adult

Trigger Warnings: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Anxiety, Assault, Attempted Murder, Car Accident, Death, Depression, Foster Care, Gambling, Grief, Murder, Violence

My Rating:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Book Description: I want her. She wants to feel wanted. Those are two very different things… I never expected my best friend’s little sister to become the one I craved, but it happened anyway. In the beginning, we were both young, then she was too young, and then suddenly … she wasn’t. Unfortunately for me, things got complicated, so I took off, but this girl? She followed. Now she’s sitting across from me, asking me to do something I’ve thought about more times than I’ll admit.
Something I really shouldn’t do. She wants me to take her virginity. The problem? No way I could kiss her and not keep her, but she’s not looking to be claimed. She wants to feel, not fall, but walk away and allow someone else take what’s meant to be mine? Yeah, that’s not about to happen…

Goodreads Review (no spoilers)

My Review:

Crew & Davis 

This is my second Meagan Brandy book. The first one was Say You Swear, which is one of my all-time favorite books. So, I definitely had high expectations.  

Davis is about to graduate college and determined to lose her virginity. There’s only man she wants for the job, the man she’s been in love with since he moved across the hall, Davis Taylor. Her brother’s ex best friend and foster brother. Only problem? He refuses to give in, even though he clearly wants to. Will they finally find their way to each other? Or will outside forces tear them apart? 

Brandy does a great job at suspense and unanswered questions. I was going mad trying to figure out what happened with Memphis. All the events and the answers, crazier than I anticipated.  

“She brings me to the edge of the cliff, but what she doesn’t know is I’ve already jumped. I’m just waiting for my baby to leap, so I can catch her.” -Crew

Crew was definitely a fantastic book boyfriend. Absolutely everything he did was for Davis, and that was both beautiful and heartbreaking. He’s definitely an alpha man, whose 110% possessive. (As usual, something I am 110% okay with 😅) 

I related a lot to Davis. She was an awkward little nugget that didn’t have experience with boys. I loved her quirks and that she was honest and often blunt. I liked that she was obsessed with sweet stuff. When I found out where she got her first candy necklace, I might’ve cried… 

Poor Memphis. He couldn’t get past his demons. He definitely redeemed himself, even though they were in that terrible situation because of him. His final words I think definitely provided a bit of peace for Davis, “It doesn’t hurt anymore”. Yeah… I’ll be in a corner, crying 😭.  

This story had a bunch of really fantastic side characters. I loved all of Crew’s friends. I also was happy to see that Davis’s parents moved to where she and Crew were. 

Altogether, a really great angsty read. Not like other books I’ve read.