Author: R.S. Grey
Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: N/A
Publication Date: August 9, 2018
Source: Bought
"Oh my god. Who is that?"
I get asked this question a lot.
"Oh him?" I reply. "That's just Ian."
Just Ian is the biggest understatement of the century.
Just the Mona Lisa. Just the Taj Mahal. Just Ian, with his boring ol' washboard abs and dime-a-dozen dimpled smile.
Just Ian is... just my best friend.
We're extremely close, stuck so deep inside a Jim-and-Pam-style friendzone everyone at works assumes we're a couple - that is until one day, word spreads through the teacher's lounge that he's single. Fair game. Suddenly, it's open season on Ian.
He should be reveling in all the newfound attention, but to our mutual surprise, the only attention he seems to want is mine.
He's turning our formerly innocent nightly chats into x-rated phone calls. Our playful banter sports a new, dangerous edge.
I want to assume he's playing a prank on me, just pushing my buttons like always - but when Ian lifts me onto the desk in my classroom and slides his hands up my skirt, he doesn't leave a lot of room for confusion.
I'm a little scared of things going south, of losing my best friend because I can't keep my hands to myself. So, I'm just going to back away and not return this earth-shattering kiss - oh who am I kidding?!
Goodbye Ian, ol' buddy, ol' pal!
Helloooo mister not so nice guy.
This was my first R.S. Grey book in a while. I've always been hit or miss with her writing and the last books I read of her's -- Anything You Can Do -- annoyed me so much that I pretty much swore off reading her stuff. However, when I heard the summary and the hype for Not So Nice Guy, I decided to throw caution to the wind and give her another shot. And man, am I happy I did! Not So Nice Guy was a happy surprise of a read and one that has reignited my interest in R.S. Grey's other books!
My two favorite romance tropes are enemies-to-lovers and friends-to-lovers -- I love the tension and the conflict these two scenarios create so I was so excited when I heard the summary of this one. We were sort of thrown into Sam and Ian's (the main characters) friendship from the start which can sometimes lead to some reader whiplash or make me feel like I'm missing something but that absolutely wasn't the case with this book! I felt so comfortable reading about Sam and Ian as friends -- I loved their routine and the humor they shared and their fun traditions. It all felt really natural and it was easy to fall into. Plus, it made it all the better so see their friendship heat up. Their relationship -- both friendship-wise and romantic-wise -- was so rewarding and it made me want to read more and more about them!
One thing I wasn't super thrilled about was the direction and the pacing of the plot. Once things got rolling . . . holy cow, did they roll fast! I sort of felt like I was a little cartoon character hanging onto the bumper of a car racing down the freeway. Things happened really quickly and it made me sort of . . . sad. Like, it felt like we were supposed to believe all these really big decisions they were making were the right decisions just because they knew each other as friends. And, I mean, they did, but it just felt a little fake. Like they were rushing because they didn't want to slow down and consider their options or talk things through. I don't know, I just wished we'd been able to see more development of their romantic relationship at a more reasonable pace.
Even though things did move rather quickly, I still enjoyed reading Not So Nice Guy. It had some great funny moments, a swoon-worthy friends-to-lovers story, and a super sweet romance. This book had definitely won me over and I plan to read more by R.S. Grey soon!
“One second, he’s my best friend, and the next he’s the not so nice guy, the man who handles me like he’s barely resisting the urge to devour me whole.”
Four out of Five Teapots
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