Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This sexy story will touch your heart, July 11, 2005
Love at first sight. That is what Lauren experiences the first time she sees Dale Stoner, and has been living with those feelings ever since. After years of loving Dale, Lauren knows something has to change. It hurts too much to even be around him anymore when all she can do is wish he felt the same way. She tries to lose herself in her art, creating visions of sad beauty that echo what's in her heart.
But Dale is not in love with her. Instead he sees her as only his best friend, his rock. The one constant in his ever-changing world of women. No one will ever take the place of the one who owns his heart. It will never be his to give to another anyway. However rather than live a celibate life like his friend Lauren, he chooses to drown his sorrows in temporary encounters where there are no strings attached and no one gets hurt.
With both experiencing the pain of unrequited love, eventually something was bound to happen. A bittersweet reminder from Dale's past leads to a night of passion, only Dale is too drunk to remember who he made love to. Now he's haunted by erotic dreams of a sexy mystery woman who fulfills his every fantasy, and he can't stop thinking about her, wanting to be with her. If that wasn't making him crazy enough, now he's constantly struck by sexy images of his best friend Lauren, and to make matters worse, he's beoming irrationally jealous of this mystery man she's so desperately in love with, whoever he might be. Lauren's not talking.
"Her Best Friend's Lover" will touch a chord with anyone who's ever been intensely in love with someone who didn't feel the same way. It will break your heart and make you smile, and ultimately have you believe that sometimes love does grace us with its presence when we need it the most. It's moving, sexy, and erotic. Definitely a keeper.
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27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Shiloh Walker's first Ellora Cave's book, April 24, 2005
is a mesmerising page-turner. It is no accident that she is now a fast rising star in the romantica genre.
Lauren and Dale are neighbours and the best of friends, only Lauren wants to be much more than that. For five years, she has lived with the painful knowledge that she is in love with someone who can never love her back and watched as Dale ran through a succession of women. Then one night of mind-blowing sex changes everything. Both Lauren and Dale must overcome insecurities and shadows from the past before they can be happy together.
The plot device may not be new but Shiloh Walker's unique voice and strong characterisation gives the story an exquisite poignancy. Lauren and Dale are sensitively drawn with layers that are slowly revealed as the story progresses. Their journey to happiness is by turns heartwarming and heartwrenching.
While the sex scenes are incinerating, they never come across as indulgent. Infused with tender emotions, they reflect how Lauren and Dale's relationship have evolved. This is a story that will linger in your heart long after you have closed the covers on the book.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Solid, sexy, heartwarming, December 11, 2006
Lauren Spencer is a beautiful artist living next door to the man of her dreams. Dale Stoner is crazy about Lauren, too, but as his best buddy, the woman to whom he confides all his secrets and romantic woes. Dale goes through a series of relationships hoping to replace Nikki, the girl who got away and married another man years earlier. Each day is a fresh pain for the quiet, reserved Lauren as she watches Dale take up w/ one Nikki clone after another, but she has resigned herself to the fact that Dale will never have deeper feelings for her.
After Lauren and Dale fight over a blind date gone bad, she goes to Dale's house with an apology gift of home-baked cookies. She is met by an inebriated Dale, who is drowning his sorrows over some recent news about Nikki. Things get out of hand and the two have a torrid sexual encounter. The only problem is, Dale has little memory of the incident, and has no idea Lauren was his partner. Convinced that he will never love her, Lauren is determined to never tell Dale the truth, even when she learns that their night of passion has lasting consequences.
Ms. Walker has penned a good romantic tale, with well-drawn characters and a developed plot. Dale can be a little dim at times, and his fixation on Nikki is a little tedious, but he has his moments and comes through in the end. Lauren is a bit of an icicle on the outside, but this is a survival mechanism she developed as a child. Underneath her reserve, she is a warm friend and a passionate lover. Readers will want Dale and Lauren to overcome their obstacles and find happiness with one another.
This is a good, sexy read and I recommend it to other readers without hesitation. One drawback I am compelled to note, however, are the abrupt changes in perspective. The transitions were not handled smoothly and I frequently had to re-read sections trying to figure out who was "speaking", breaking the flow of the storytelling. There were also a number of typos throughout the book. These are things that should be taken care of by basic editing and proofreading. (Hint, hint, EC.) But, these relatively minor quibbles shouldn't put readers off an otherwise solid and heartwarming story.
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