Just Friends

Blue Beech, Book 6

De: Charity Ferrell

Narrado por: Aaron Shedlock, Samantha Cook

Someone should have warned me about falling in love with my best friend.

Carolina

Little did I know when Rex came to my locker attempting to bribe me that he’d turn into my everything. We’d become best friends. I’d steal his heart. He’d steal mine. Nothing has changed in the years of our friendship. Not our connection, not our feelings, or that we still hold each other’s hearts. But his heart isn’t the only thing I’ve kept. The secret I’m hiding could shatter the only man I’ve ever loved.

Rex

I’ve loved Carolina since the day she called my bluff. Our friendship always came first. She believed in me when no one else did. I tucked away my feelings because I couldn’t survive a life without her. We crossed the line once, and I swore it’d never happen again. As time passes, the harder it becomes to live up to that promise. Until finally, there’s no holding back.

©2020 Charity Ferrell (P)2021 Charity Ferrell

Wonderful friends to lovers story!

"Just Friends" is a fun, sweet and steamy friends to lovers story that I enjoyed. Rex and Carolina have been best friends since high school when he tried to bribe her to write a paper for him. They instantly become friends when she calls him out on his antics.

I loved how the story line progressed and we see their friendship grows through the years. The constant back and forth of the "will they or won't they" was wonderful and one of my favorite things about the story. Rex is super protective of Carolina and will do anything to help her. He was truly the best friend a girl could ask for. When something from her past come backs to haunt her, he is the first one to help her. Seeing Carolina grow from a shy teenager to a confident woman was a treat. The ending was perfect. This is the 6th book in the series but can absolutely be read a stand-alone.

Aaron Shedlock and Samantha Cook were amazing narrating Rex and Carolina. I'm never disappointed or bored whenever I listen to them.

Just Friends, Yea Right!

Oh my goodness, this story was just so WHOLESOME! I went into it not realizing that it was the sixth book in an interconnected series, but its placement in the series didn’t take away from the story at all!
All in all, I love this story. I’m not a major fan of friends to lovers but the way Rex was already prepared to go to bat for Carolina was just so pure and I was swooning more often than not.
And the plot twist? I expected one, BUT NOT THE OTHERS!
This is definitely a book you want to read/listen to!
The narrators were great too!

Friends to lovers with spice

I loved their journey and the added smut. Kept me interested and I finished it in a day! Sometimes the male narrator is a bitch too much for me, but all-in-all, I loved it.

Love!

I love tropey romance books! Rex and Carolina were the best of friends who happened to be hopelessly in love with each other. I thought the reasons they each had for not wanting to cross that line in their relationship made sense and were relatable. Rex has never had a good example of what a relationship should look like and Carolina felt like she could not compete with other women who threw themselves at Rex. She was just waiting for him to find someone who would take him from her. The obstacle that they faced was surprising, I definitely did not expect it.

Aaron Shedlock and Samantha Cook were easy to listen to. I had no trouble understanding or hearing them speak. Overall it was a very pleasant listening experience.

Rex (the male lead) Was A Bit TOO Overprotective At The Beginning . . .

The story good; it wasn’t great, but it wasn’t “just okay”, either. It was more than okay, hence good. 😊 One thing that I really didn’t like was Rex’s (the male lead) character in the beginning & that’s why I’m giving it 4 stars instead of 5. The dude seriously had NO boundaries! And I mean, NONE at all!! Rex & Carolina (the female lead) first meet in high school: she’s the shy, quiet percher’s daughter (with glasses) & he’s the “cool, hot” guy who only sleeps with girls, but doesn’t “do” relationships, & who wants to pay her to write his English paper (Yes, it IS a bit cliché, but I happen to love those kinda cliches in romance novels, so . . . ) Long story short, she doesn’t do his paper, he doesn’t sleep with her (at least not right away 😉), instead they become best friends. But, anyway, back to him having 0 boundaries: My first kinda “Uh . . . I’m not sure I really this guy” moment comes when he didn’t want his friend to ask Carolina to prom in high school. Okay, I get wanting to protect your friend from douchebags . . . That I get. But then Rex tells Carolina (that’s right, TELLS, not ask her) that she’s going to prom with him! And I’m like, “Wait, dude: #1 You’re supposed to ASK her, NOT tell her, & #2: How do you know she doesn’t already HAVE a date with someone ELSE?” If I were Carolina, that would be a MAJOR red flag for me, but no, Carolina just says, “Sure, okay” like it’s nothing that he basically DEMANDED that she go with him & not anyone else . . . But whatever they were in high school at the time, I guess; high schoolers don’t always speak up for themselves, especially high school girls who are shy by nature. BUT . . . It doesn’t stop in high school . . . No, it continue onto college. Onto the 2nd time when Rex acting like a controlling jerk when it comes to Carolina: they were at a college party (Carolina came with her roommate, not Rex) when Rex saw her and DEMANDED that she go home!! “Excuse me, WHAT?! WHAT THE *HECK*?! (I use *heck* to avoid cussing in this review, but you get the idea. 😅) Rex, you’re acting like an overly-jealous boyfriend who caught his girlfriend flirting with another guy rather than ‘protecting her’, as you CLAIM to be doing!!” Okay, again, I get protecting your friend from getting drunk and being taken advantage of, but she’s with her friend (who’s protecting her, too, btw), AND she WASN’T THAT drunk, anyway!! 😡😡 The 3rd time (& 4th time because these kinda go together) Rex showed to have NO boundaries was when he admitted to knowing her email password (& wasn’t ashamed of it, either) to hack into her email in order to change their plane ticket info!! Again, “Excuse me, WHAT?!” AND in response, she just rolled her eyes and said, playfully, “You have no boundaries” like this wasn’t a BIG deal as well as a BIG invasion of privacy!! 😡 I mean, MY BFF, who I have known for YEARS, btw, (longer than Rex & Carolina have at this point in the story) doesn’t even know my phone PASSCODE, let alone my email’s password!! I mean, what if Carolina had a VERY private email there or something . . . Rex also INSISTED that they get keys to each other places (like they were already a couple, might I add)& he even went so far as to STEAL her key and MAKE a copy for himself when Carolina didn’t have a 2nd key cause she was living with her sister at the time! I’ll say it again: SHE WAS LIVING WITH HER SISTER, IN HER SISTER'S HOME; it wasn't even HER house, but her sister's!! Once again, "WHAT THE *HECK*?!" He also took her hotel room key card (also without asking) at one point when they stayed at a hotel, btw . . . Anyway, Rex got better once they officially became a couple & I was smiling a lot more towards the end, but still Rex needed to seriously CLAM DOWN on his 0 boundaries issue & on his Red Flag jealously issues, too!! Also, I would have liked to know if Carolina ever went back to college or not (she had dropped out, but I’m not telling you why because that IS a MAJOR spoiler 😉) . . . But still, it would have been nice to know if she did or not in the end! 🥹 And I’m still planning to read the 2nd Generation Series (Only You) story of Jax (Maliki & Sierra’s son) with Amelia, Only Rivals, as well!! 👍🏻😊

Ferrell knocks at the door of your heart ....

It's easy get caught in the backstory of Rex and Lina. Ferrell knocks at the door of your heart and Shedlock and Cook blow the door wind open. Forget the cliches, ignore the overdone trope and remember the way these characters make you feel. I got lost in the heartache, captivated by the romance and couldn't walk away from the drama that is Just Friends.

Loved

OMG, I loved Rex and Carolina so much. I listened to this book in one sitting. Friends to lovers is one of my favorite type of stories. Loved this whole story. Loved listening to them fall in love and always be there for each other even when there was that bit of a wrench thrown in to their relationship. Rex was always there for Carolina. They were the perfect couple. Aaron and Samantha really brought the characters to life. They did an awesome job and I loved them as Rex and Carolina. This was the first book that I have listened to from her and I just loved it. Highly recommend this story. Gave me all the feels.

Loved this whole series!!

Excellent job writing each story. Narration was great voices didn't irritate me. Bravo! Only wish the first book in the series was available on the app.

Amazing book in audio!

Wow!! This slow burn, friends to lovers was AMAZING! The chemistry and tension between Rex and Carolina was amazing and I couldn't get enough of it! I had so many butterflies listening to Rex and Carolina's story, and loved the history we got between these two and how they are in the future. The perfect friends to lovers story!

Aaron Shedlock and Samantha Cook did such a great job bringing these two to life, and I love the added layers they bring out in their characters. These were two new narrators for me, and I loved their voices. I love when audio enhances a book, and this one absolutely sucked you into the Blue Beech world, and I couldn't put this down!

Would recommend this story, this series and this author to anyone!

Completely in love

I love Rex and Carolina‘s dynamic and their whole relationship as it evolves. The conflict in this story, and the way that it played out was different than what usually happens in this type of story. I am so happy with the way that Charity wrote Rex’s reaction. It is too hard to pick a favorite from this series, but I had been waiting on this story and it did not disappoint.