“I could not put this book down. It was laugh out loud funny, hot, romantic, sweet, and it even had me tearing up in parts. A perfect addition to an incredible series.” ~ The Romance Room
“Ms Aurora has created a group of friends that you can’t help but be envious of and want in your own life. You cannot help but fall in love with each and every one of them.” ~ BJ’s Book Blog
Max Leokov has watched the people around him find love.
At one point in life, he not only wanted that, but lived for it.
He loved once. He loved with all his heart.
His heart broken, he was left to care for his young daughter.
He deserves a second chance.
Helena Kovac has spent years studying.
She has worked her ass off to get her degree.
She doesn’t have time for love. Hell, she doesn’t have time to mess around, even.
Books and work are her life. Everything else comes second.
When Max and Helena join forces to help his daughter, Ceecee, they are shocked at the spark between them.
A cynic.
A workaholic.
When love hits, it hits hard.
And sometimes, love hurts.
GOODREADS LINK: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18713135-sugar-rush
Belle Aurora’s Friend-Zoned series is one of my absolute favorites. Nik and Tina’s story and Nat and Asher’s story were both amazing 5 poison apples’ reads for me, but I’ve been anxiously waiting for Max’s story. I wanted the single, loving father to get his happily ever after in a bad way. He’s such a caring and affectionate person who lives to make his daughter happy, and after what he went through with his ex and the trauma that it caused not only himself but his daughter and family, I needed to see him realize that there was love out there for him and the right woman would not break his heart nor his daughter’s like his ex did. Who would have thought, though, that the woman who just might be the one for him is actually closer than he thinks, and she’ll definitely fit right in to his family of friends because she’s just as quirky and fun as the other crazy, affectionate women in his life because she’s Nat’s sister, Helena.
I love Helena! Belle really makes Helena’s personality shine through in Sugar Rush. She’s eccentric, swears like a sailor, loves to the depth of her soul, and is an all around amazing woman and person. She knows what hard work is and she’s very focused in helping others. Now, this doesn’t mean that she doesn’t have her flaws; she can be a judgmental bitch sometimes, but she is perfectly aware of that fact and tries her best to let first impressions go until she can truly form accurate opinions about people based on who they are not what they look like or might represent. Guys haven’t really been on her radar for quite some time due to her drive to get her degree and start her career. Being a physical therapist is extremely important to Helena, and she won’t let anyone get in her way of accomplishing that goal. But when she moves to the same town as Max Leokov, she can’t help but feel a pull towards him, even though their last encounter made her dislike him quite a bit.
For the past few years, Max has witnessed everyone around him find their “one,” and while he’s extremely happy for them, he can’t help but feel like that’s never going to happen for him. He’s not willing to risk his heart again just to get it ripped apart by another woman who seems to be perfect but then turns out to be anything but. So, despite everything that Max has to offer a woman and the fact that this sexy, successful, caring man could have any woman that he wants, he chooses to keep everyone at arm’s length, flirting with women he encounters but never fully investing because he isn’t willing to put neither his heart nor his daughter’s heart on the line. But it’s actually CeeCee, his precious daughter, who gets him to see that Helena may just be the exception to the rule because the way she cares for CeeCee and puts everyone else’s needs before her own is exactly the type of woman Max needs to help erase his past with his ex and move forward.
But it’s easier said than done when the heart and the head feel conflicted, and while there’s a mutual attraction between Helena and Max, they both are afraid to invest completely in each other because they both feel like they have too much to lose. But imagine what they can gain because they both definitely deserve their “sugar rush” – the feeling of absolute bliss and giddiness because you’ve found the one who makes your life overwhelming and full in the most delicious ways.
Sugar Rush is another absolutely amazing read from the creative mind of Belle Aurora. It has everything that I adore about romantic comedies. The internal dialogue is extremely entertaining as well as the banter between the characters. Helena and Max’s relationship as well as their relationship with their family and friends is the driving force of the text, which allows readers to get to know the characters on a personal level, almost like reconnecting with close friends after some time apart.
With the perfect blend of romance, humor, wit, and a smattering of drama, Helena and Max’s story has all of the necessary ingredients to make it one of my favorite reads of 2014.
I can’t wait for more from this series and Belle Aurora.
A complimentary copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.
5 poison apples
Belle Aurora is twenty seven years old and was born in the land down under.
At an early age she fell in love with reading. Boredom one summer had her scouring the bookshelves at home. She stumbled across Sandra Brown’s Breath of Scandal and fell in love with romance.
Having been brought up in a loud and boisterous family of Croatian descent, she developed a natural love for dramatics and humor. Only some years ago had she discovered a new love.
Humorous romance novels.
Kristen Ashley and R.L. Mathewson had opened a brand new world where she could lose herself yet feel safe and at home in their stories. Belle has been known to become a screeching banshee while anxiously awaiting their newest titles.
Belle never thought she would write. It had never interested her until recently. Friend-Zoned began to form and in February 2013 Belle typed the words Chapter One. And she fell in love.
With words.
With writing.
With a creative imagination she never knew she harbored.
Friend-Zoned is the first in the Friend-Zoned series. Keep an eye out for this cheeky author.
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