ARC Review: Friends and Lovers by Vristen Pierce

Friends and Lovers is the sequel to Between Friends by Vristen Pierce. This book picks up after where the first book left off, and I would not read it if you haven't read the first book. When Friends and Lovers starts, Stacy has just arrived home from six months in London. She was gone three months longer than she expected and she hasn't spoken to either Justin or Evan since before she left. She goes out with her friend Nina and ends up running into both of them, and things are awkward between them but the feelings are still there. She ends up asking them both to try dating for real this time, and they end up agreeing. But as she begins to date both Justin and Evan for real, their feelings grow stronger than ever. Soon they are having problems with jealousy and not only are her relationships with each of them on the line, but so is Justin and Evan's friendship. Can they figure out a way to make things work, or will they all be left alone and brokenhearted?

I was really glad to see the deepening feelings between Justin and Stacy as well as Evan and Stacy. While I really like Justin, I have to admit that Evan is my true favorite. I really felt the connection between Stacy and both of the guys though, and the feelings between them were much more real to me in this book. I do think that Stacy was good with both of them together and individually. Stacy was more comfortable with herself in this book, and she was also less afraid to ask for what she wanted. It was good to see how far she had come in the time from the start of the first book until now. The chemistry between them all was just as good in this one, but their emotional connection was much stronger. I do think that this book was a little light on the physical content this time around, and I did miss it. I thought that while the relationship growth was good, this one wasn't as sexy as the first book.

Besides the book not having as much steam, I also felt like the ending was pretty abrupt. Things just start to get settled, and then it's over. I felt like the author left it open to maybe write another one, so I am hoping that this isn't the end. If it is the end, then I am not sure its the most satisfying conclusion for these characters that they could have. I would really like to see what happens next for these three, and I hope that we get to see their HEA and not just their happy for now. I also felt like we could have seen more between the three of them. For the most part the relationships between Stacy and Justin and Stacy and Evan were kept separate. I would have liked to see them moving towards a threesome for it to be fully believable. I do think that these books are good, and I really like the characters. But I am just hoping that it continues from here, because I wasn't fully satisfied with how things ended here. I would recommend these if you are looking for a short and easy read, that has some sexy heroes and steamy scenes.

**ARC Provided by Publisher**

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