Review - Best Man with Benefits (Wedding Dare #4) by Samanthe Beck

Image and blurb from Goodreads

Title: Best Man with Benefits
(Wedding Dare #4)

Author: Samanthe Beck

Category/Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance
Publication Date: June 9th, 2014
Publisher: Entangled (Brazen)

A sexy category romance by Entangled’s Brazen imprint…

How far can one favor go…

Logan McCade arrives at his best friend’s wedding overworked and in desperate need of a vacation, only to discover his best man duties have been…expanded. He must coax Colton’s sister out of her shell, or risk her hiding in her room all week. Logan figures he can handle one introverted bridesmaid, but he’s not expecting how much he enjoys “handling” Sophie…or how much she enjoys being handled. 

Socializing has never been web designer Sophie Brooks’s strong suit, but she’s determined to shed her wallflower image and embrace the “New Sophie”—a feat made easier with the supremely sexy Logan McCade tempting her to explore all her forbidden fantasies. If she’s not careful, she just might fall for the best man.

Sophie’s sweet, sexy, and delectably awkward demeanor brings much-needed calm to Logan’s hectic life. With the nuptials only days away, Logan is forced to face the possibility that his favor to a friend might have become something else entirely…and that he’s not willing to let Sophie go. Ever.

Grab the rest of the Wedding Dare series! 

• Dare to Resist by New York Times bestselling author Laura Kaye

• Baiting the Maid of Honor by New York Times bestselling author Tessa Bailey

• Falling for the Groomsman by New York Times bestselling author Jen McLaughlin, w/a Diane Alberts

• Seducing the Bridesmaid by New York Times bestselling author Katee Robert

Goodreads

Buy Links: Amazon

3.5 “Falling for the Best Man” Stars

ARC via NetGalley

Thank you, Entangled (Brazen)!

This was a sexy, body-positive story with one of my favorite romance trope, so it’s no surprised I enjoyed every minute of it.

If you read the blurb above then you know this is a part of the Wedding Dare series, but this can still be read as a stand-alone. I did. Of course there’s always that feeling that you could be enjoying it even more if you’d read the first titles, but that’s basically because you want to know more about the other characters, too. When it comes to Logan and Sophie, the main characters, their story starts with this book, so no worries there.

Sophie takes her brother’s wedding (hello, LI and MC from the first book in the series! Nice to meet you!) as a much needed opportunity to test her new self: a more outgoing and determined woman.  While sleeping with her brother’s best friend (the best man) wasn’t her initial plan, it might help move her plan along. It also doesn’t hurt that he’s super sexy and super into her.

Logan knows when his best friend asked him to take care of his little sister and help her come out of her shell during the wedding festivities, he probably meant a less hands-on approach. But when Logan sees the new Sophie, he doesn’t think he can deal with the situation any other way. Flirting and falling in love seems to be the only way to go.

So that’s what they both do.

We start the book in Logan’s POV and that was the absolute right call for this, because we’re immediately aware of Logan’s promise to Sophie’s brother, but also that what motivates him to flirt with her has nothing to do with that. Logan is attracted to Sophie fro who she is, which clears any suspicious. Of course Sophie doesn’t know that yet, so she can’t understand why a guy like Logan is interested in a woman “like her”.

Here’s when we understand that Sophie isn’t only shy, but she’s also very insecure about her image, which we later come to know is partially a result of having to deal with a mother who was always ready to critique her. Thing is, Sophie isn’t a tall, skinny woman. She has curves, but she doesn’t see it as a good thing.

While the “I’m overweight so I’m not sexy” theme can be jarring, I liked how this author portrayed it here, especially when it comes to Logan. He not once looked at Sophie as if she was different (better or worse) because she wasn’t skinny. He just saw her and he liked what he was seeing. He didn’t try to compare her with other women, and when she showed him how insecure she was about her body, he showed her how he saw her in a very, very sexy scene that should’ve wiped all doubt from her mind.

So, yeah, I truly loved that about him. And it wasn’t the only thing great about this man. Logan was hard-working, funny and friendly. Sure he was a workaholic, but that was his arc and I liked how it gave him room to develop as a person.

Sophie’s arc also gave her a lot of room to grow. She went from “I’m the girl hiding in the corner so don’t look at me” to “I’m the woman who spent a small fortune on a sexy red dress”. I liked how she put herself out there in the end, and the prize was totally worth it.

Together, Logan and Sophie had the kind of chemistry I came to expect from Brazen’s books. They were fun and sexy and their relationship developed at the right pace.

This book delivered on what it promised, so if you liked “falling in love with your best friend’s sister” stories, you should check this one out.

*If you liked this review (or not), if you read the book (or not), come say hello and leave your comments bellow.