Friendly Fire By Saxon James
Genre: Contemporary Romance, GLBTQ, MM
Tropes: Childhood-best-friends-to-lovers
Released: August 23, 2021
Publisher: May Books
Series: Never Just Friends, Book 4
Cover Design: Story Styling Cover Designs
Rafe
It started in high school.
We grew apart. Bit by bit, then all at once.
The friend who was my ride or die suddenly wanted nothing to do with me.
Now Cam’s back from college, living in the house next door, and pulling stupid pranks just to annoy me.
Between my intense family and my failing relationship, I’m struggling enough without his antics.
But Cam won’t go away. And I’m not so sure I want him to.
Cam
It started with a smile.
A touch.
A shared look of mischief.
Rafael Ortega stole my heart before I realised it was mine to give away.
We were best friends from the time we were in diapers right up until the unthinkable happened: he started dating.
I put distance between us to save myself, but now I’m back, willing to do anything for his attention again.
Because the only thing worse than Rafe breaking my heart…
Is him not getting a chance to.
Friendly Fire is the final book in the Never Just Friends series. It’s a low angst childhood-best-friends-to-lovers romance with skinny dipping, sex toys, and one final happily ever after.
Reviewed by ButtonsMom2003
I loved it; I will miss this series.
Every book in this series has been a 5-star read for me and I am going to miss these characters. Friends-to-lovers is one of my absolute favorite romance tropes and this one is wonderful.
Cam and Rafe were besties until Cam went off to a private high school and left Rafe behind. Ten years later and they now live next door to each other. Cam has always wanted Rafe but believed him to be straight (so did Rafe 😊).
I liked how the author gave us glimpses of things that happened in the past. The time shifts were clearly marked and were individual chapters and very easy to follow. I also loved reading Rafe’s self-discovery into his sexuality (most likely ACE).
These two characters have a lot of history with each other but there’s also a lot of hard feelings between them. I liked how they didn’t just immediately reconnect and become besties again. It was a process and Rafe had a lot of stuff to deal with before he could move on and have a real relationship with Cam.
I wish I could find better words to tell how much I loved this book. It really touched me and gave me all kinds of feels. I’m going to miss this series.
♥♥♥♥♥
O Factor: Scorcher
Available to borrow with Kindle Unlimited.
“So what are we watching?”
Rafe drops onto the cushion next to mine, and I hate that he can’t do something as simple as that without my breath catching. Someone needs to turn the hose on me.
“Dunno. There has to be a series or something that looks interesting.”
“You want to start a series with me, Rafe? Wow. That sounds like a big commitment, and I’m not sure our relationship is ready.”
He blinks at me.
I grin. “Kidding. Obviously. Carry on.”
He’s quiet as he scrolls through the options, and I notice him glance at me from the corner of his eye a couple of times.
“What?”
He jumps at being caught. “Just thinking.”
“About?”
“Whether your mouth has always been so out of control.”
“There’s a lot about my mouth you don’t know.”
Rafe shakes his head. “I walked into that one, didn’t I?”
“Less walked and more steam rolled, but yep.” I adjust my baseball cap, then point at the screen. “You’re still as indecisive as ever.”
He huffs and tosses me the remote. “You choose.”
“Fine.” I hit play on some Sci-Fi show he’d hesitated over.
We get through most of the first episode before he speaks again.
“Is this weird?”
I know he’s talking about us. Being here. The space between us. So many things are rolled into that one question that I hesitate on how to answer at first.
“Oh yeah.” Might as well agree. “I think we’ve well and truly passed that line.”
“At least it’s not just me.”
“Why do you think it’s so weird? We spent most of our lives together, but for some reason the last few years are the ones that seem to count.”
He frowns. “I don’t think that’s it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I think they only count, because the ones before them counted more. Maybe. Does that even make sense?”
“I think so.”
“Like …” He tugs at his hoodie sleeve, looking unsure. “Even though this feels weird, I’m still glad I’m here.”
That smooth motherfucker. This is a serious conversation. I shouldn’t be smiling. I shouldn’t. “Me too.”
“Which makes it weirder.” He lets out a frustrated sound. “Shouldn’t I be making excuses to bail, instead of wishing things could go back to how they were?”
Every word he’s saying lightens some of that pressure on my heart. Maybe we’re not doomed. Maybe our friendship really can be given a jumpstart.
“I wonder if your need to be here is the same as mine.”
He looks up at me, pinning me with those dark eyes that I can’t stop dreaming about. “Which is?”
“I missed you.”
To celebrate the Release of Friendly Fire, Saxon is giving away a $20 Amazon Voucher!
Saxon James is an author from Australia who’s obsessed with writing queer characters. She has a range of books from YA to adult and they all have one thing in common: swoony, sweet love.
When not writing, Saxon exists on a diet of coffee and chocolate while putting her KU subscription to the test.
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