The Better Man is the second book in the Allen Brothers series by Barbie Bohrman. After reading and loving The Best Man (Allen Brothers series #1), I couldn't wait to read the next book! I was really excited to get to know Max better, especially after helping the hero from the first book with his grand gesture! This book is a standalone story though, and you don't need to read these in order. That being said though, I would recommend it if possible since the first one is so good! While I loved the previous book though, The Better Man wasn't exactly what I had been hoping for.
Max Allen has it good. His job reviewing night clubs for his own TV show has him rich with cash and women. The only thing that he doesn't have going for him is the woman that is intent on beating him to every night club in town for her own reviews on her YouTube channel, Daphne Rodriguez. But when the ratings start to slide and his boss tells him that he has to secure Daphne as his partner if he wants to keep his job, Max reluctantly sets out to convince her to join his network and show. But as much as Max dislikes Daphne, she dislikes him more. Needing to provide for her family though, Daphne can't turn away the amount of money they are offering her. But the more these two are around one another, the line between love and hate starts to blur and soon the attraction is more than they can fight.
I will admit a huge part of my struggles here were Daphne and Max themselves. Max drove me nuts! He was so self absorbed and such a douche at times that it made it really hard for him to like. His most redeeming quality was how he was with his family, especially his nieces. He was adorable with them, and that was what had me not hating him at the beginning of this book. He did get better later on, but it was really hard to like him at times. Daphne while being strong for her family and a good granddaughter and sister, she was also hard to like for parts of this story. She judged Max and was irritating at times. Luckily I did like her more, and she got better as the story progressed. I never felt the pull beyond the attraction here for these two, and their relationship seemed to change from antagonistic attraction to intense like/love almost instantly. Frankly I just didn't see it or believe it.
So while I liked parts of this book, overall I just never really felt like it was 100% genuine. I wish I had seen more of a real connection grow between these two, but I don't feel like we got that here at all. They never really had any bonding moments before things were suddenly different between them and it was hard to see how they got from Point A (Hate) to Point B (Like/Love). I also have to admit that the next book is one that while I am interested in reading, I am a bit wary of. Something happened in this book to set that one up (I won't say what so as not to spoil anything) and I am still struggling with it. If things were different it would be easier to get behind the story, but having things go down the way they did here I think it will be harder for me to accept though I will definitely be reading it. Sorry to be so vague, but I really don't want to be the one to spoil it. I do like the characters in this series, and it was great to see familiar faces from the first book. I think that readers will enjoy this one, especially if you like enemies to lovers. If you are looking for a deep and emotional connection though, this one might not be for you.
**ARC Provided by Bocci PR**
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