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Release/Review Blitz: The Rules of Dating My Best Friend’s Sister: Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward

by - Monday, April 03, 2023

The Rules of Dating My Best Friend’s Sister
Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward
Genre: Standalone Contemporary Romance
Release Date: April 3, 2023
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From New York Times bestselling authors Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward comes a new standalone romance.
Rule number one for dating your best friend’s sister: Don’t.
Just don’t do it.

Especially when your best friend is dead and the last thing he made you promise him was that you’d keep an eye on his little sister, but not too good of an eye.

As a musician whose longest committed relationship was six weeks, I, Holden Catalano, was the last guy on Earth who should’ve been messing around with Laney Ellison.

The super smart girl whom I affectionately dubbed Lala since childhood was always off limits.

Though that didn’t stop me from thinking about her over the years, especially those times when the two of us would sneak out onto the roof and talk for hours after my buddy fell asleep. It was innocent, but I’d always held a torch for her.
After Ryan passed away, I vowed to always protect Lala. That included protecting her—from me.

Now all grown up and a scientist, Lala needed a place to stay when she accepted a temporary research position in New York. I thought I did the right thing by offering her an apartment in the building I co-owned with my three friends.

Except having her close by reignited all of those old feelings.

And things started to get complicated.
Especially since she was engaged.

And especially since, lately, I’d noticed something more in her eyes. Desire.

Lala didn’t exactly look at me like the platonic brother figure I was trying so desperately to be, even though I wanted her more than I’d ever wanted anything.

Yet, I was being good—on my very best behavior.

But you know what they say…all good things must come to an end, right?
Holden Catalano is a charming and sexy musician, drummer, handyman, and ladies' man. He has not really been in a relationship and considers himself a bad bet. 

Laney Ellison otherwise dubbed Lala since they were kids is his deceased best friend's little sister. She grew up with his tight group of friends that are still his best friends and business partners today. And she now needs a temporary place to stay in New York. So the apartment next door to him in the building they inherited from her brother makes total sense.

Lala is a sweet and smart researcher who seems to have her life mapped out with a new job and a fiance'. She has always been off-limits but they always had a connection. 

Holden and Lala have a history that no one really knows about...a bond forged in long late-night talks, and longtime secret crushes. Now the temptation is real and living right next door. It is a struggle for both of them to do what seems like the right thing while they are also obsessed with the idea of what they had never let happen before. Lala needs some adventure and experience but also has to decide between the safe option and her fantasy. Holden cannot seem to stop himself from getting involved despite himself and others telling him not to. And it could just blow up both of their lives.
 
There is jealousy, fantasies, and a lot of hot shared nights together. Things seem so good but overwhelming at the same time.

But his life seems to be going one way while hers is going another. The angst, need, want, and fear are all real. So real that they often are too afraid to say what they really want to and keep trying to do what they think is best for the other just complicating the situation and making themselves miserable. They will have to decide what they are willing to sacrifice and if they are willing to fight for a future together even if it is not what they expected or planned. And also have to face their own insecurities about not being enough for the other.

I felt bad for both of them during this story since they really struggled so much. The miscommunication, distance, avoidance, fears, insecurities, and assumptions complicated matters but they seemed to truly want what was best for the other.  But I liked them together and wanted them to find a way to get what they really wanted and needed and to find a compromise for a future together. But they truly needed to get out of their own way.

This is an angsty, witty, hot, best-friends-little-sister romance complicated by the fact that the best friend/brother is gone.  It brings back their shared protective friend group, Brayden, Owen, and Colby along with his wife and daughter. And it sets up the next book in this series.
Holden and Lala are connected by her deceased brother. Ryan was their initial connection, but they formed a bond that no one else knew about during late night chats when Ryan was alive. After he was gone, Holden promised to watch out for Lala, so when she needed a place to stay in New York while working on a research study, the empty apartment in his building just made sense. But the connection they had in their youth was also covering some attraction and secret crushes on both sides. Now that they are all grown up, those feelings are magnified by their closeness and connection.

These two had great chemistry. There are several reasons they shouldn’t be together in the beginning of the book and from early on, the angst is high. They want to explore, but are held back and hesitant.

I loved that they seemed to be such opposites, but at their core they are so good together. Holden is a bit of a playboy and his reputation precedes him. But he is so good to Lala, and always treats her with such care. He is ready to rescue her whenever she calls (and for a while there it seemed like she was always having car trouble!).

This was a witty, entertaining story with a lot of angst going on. I was pulled in by the characters and loved the journey that they were on.
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The Rules of Dating
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It all started when I hosted a little party for a bunch of new friends.
Though “friends” might not be the right word since the invitees were all the women I’d found out my boyfriend was talking to behind my back. When the guest of honor walked in—aka my now ex—things took a turn…

Unfortunately, a stranger witnessed the whole blowout. I was in a mood that night and ended up giving this gorgeous guy an attitude, too. As if my night could get any worse, before he stormed off, he informed me he was actually my landlord.

Colby Lennon, along with three of his friends, owned the building where my tattoo shop was located. He and I were total opposites. He wore a tie, oozed confidence that came with years of women falling at his feet, and wasn’t afraid to say what he wanted, which lately—was me.

I hated that I found myself attracted to him. Especially since I was supposed to be on a self-imposed dating hiatus. Yet the two of us couldn’t seem to stay away from each other. We started hanging out, as friends. I even went as far as making rules for what he’d dubbed our “undates.”

But eventually, our explosive attraction became too much to bear, and we broke our resolve. I let my guard down and started to really fall for Colby.

Nothing could have prepared me for the ride he took me on. And I certainly wasn't prepared for where I'd wind up when the ride was over.

All good things must come to an end, right?

Except our ending was one I didn't see coming.




VI KEELAND

Vi Keeland is a #1 New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author. With millions of books sold, her titles are currently translated in twenty-seven languages and have appeared on bestseller lists in the US, Germany, Brazil, Bulgaria and Hungary. Three of her short stories have been turned into films by Passionflix, and two of her books are currently optioned for movies. She resides in New York with her husband and their three children where she is living out her own happily ever after with the boy she met at age six.

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PENELOPE WARD

Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of contemporary romance.

She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor. Penelope resides in Rhode Island with her husband, son, and beautiful daughter with autism.

With over two million books sold, she is a 21-time New York Times bestseller and the author of over twenty novels. Her books have been translated into over a dozen languages and can be found in bookstores around the world.

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