Ruin the Friendship by Elle Rivers Review | A Fun Friends to Lovers Romance That’s Best Read With Snacks
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Please note this title was provided to me ahead of release by NetGalley
Synopsis
After ending a decade long relationship, Maisie reluctantly boards a cruise with her closest friend Nate. Their easy camaraderie soon starts to blur into something more, creating a fun friends to lovers story filled with witty banter, close quarters and fun chemistry.
Main Character Info and Summary
Maisie is newly single after a long term relationship and trying to work out what her life looks like now. She is funny and likeable, someone who you want to see have a happy ending.
Nate is her best friend with an ulterior motive. He’s also a very likeable guy and has great chemistry with Maisie.
Review
I had such a good time with this. It is cute, entertaining, flirty and very easy to fly through. I started hoping it would be a light read, as I hate it when a simple premise can be made overly complicated for filler sake, but that was not the case here! It was light and quite cosy!
Our main characters Maisie and Nate have great banter between the two of them and their friendship gave the romance a nice solid foundation. I liked that they already had that comfort with each other, so the chemistry did not feel like it appeared from nowhere. There was a lot of playful back and forth between them which showed their comfort with each other and their evolving relationship.
The cruise setting also worked really well! I mean I romance at sea is always going to win! Maisie also hates water, which made the whole thing funnier and I think was a nice touch. The holiday style vibe gave the book a clear setting and made the forced proximity feel natural rather than shoved in for trope reasons.
The sides characters in this also added something and weren’t just there for filler. Sometimes side characters in romance feel like they are only there to clap from the sidelines and say convenient things at convenient times, but here they helped make the story feel fuller.
I also liked that the spice we get didn’t take over the overall plot which can easily happen. I've seen it. I've read it! The plot remains the key factor making the "they finally did it" part feel like a reward! I wanted the chemistry, but I also wanted the friendship and emotional build up to play their part. Which it did!
That being said, the friends to lovers transition did feel a little rushed for me. My main issue was that the transition felt a little rushed even though I'd consider this a slow burn. Maisie had also just come out of a ten year relationship so it would have been nice to spend more time with her whilst she's trying to figure herself out and plan her next steps in life.
I think adding Nate’s POV would have been a nice edition to this story. Getting inside his head would have given the romance more depth and a bigger payoff in the end but, alas!
Who I’d Recommend This Book To
I’d recommend Ruin the Friendship if you like:
Friends to lovers romance
Cruise ship setting
Strong banter between the main couple
Forced proximity
Cute, quick romance reads
Spice that adds to the romance without taking over the whole plot
Verdict
Ruin the Friendship was a fun time read! Nate and Maisie had great banter, the cruise ship setting gave the story a cute escapist feel and the romance was enjoyable even though I wanted a little more emotional breathing room.
This book, in my humble opinion, would be best read with a cosy blanket, your favourite beverage and some comforting nibbles!
Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
But the book at Amazon (Affiliate Link): Paperback - https://amzn.to/4eOC4N0
At the time of this review, this book is also available on Kindle Unlimited
