Review: “My Brother’s Forbidden Friend” by Piper Rayne

Series: The Greene Family #9

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Steam: 🔥🔥🔥

Release Date: October 4th, 2022

Add to Goodreads | Amazon.in

CW: one scene of physical violence (against the FMC)

I’ve gone from crushing on my brother’s best friend to wanting to crush him.

Cameron Baker and I have a few things in common. The first being that we were both born and raised in our small Alaskan town. Second, is that we hide our feelings and keep our hearts closed off from anyone who could break them.

But hiding my feelings is harder to do with Cam than most. When I was five years old, grieving the loss of my mother, he showed me how big his heart is, and I’ve never forgotten.

He comes from the richest family in town. Cam’s bad boy gorgeous, flirts like he has a Doctorate in charm, and he’s my brother’s best friend. That last part is where it gets tricky and the sole reason we’ve never crossed the line.

Now, his parents have cut him off to force him to prove himself. I never thought he’d open a competing business to mine. So, I do what I do best, shove all my feelings aside and ready myself to crush him. Game on.

 

I feel like I’ve spent a good portion of my reading life with the Greene family, so to know that this is the last book (till the 2nd generation series comes out) makes me sad. But also happy, because all of them discovered something about themselves and they’ve found love and happiness of their own. And if you’ve been reading the series from the beginning, then like me, you’ve been waiting for Chevelle and Cameron’s story. I like that there was absolutely no doubt—from the beginning—that these two would end up together, so to finally have it in hand felt pretty awesome.

In My Brother’s Forbidden Friend, you’ll find:

✨ slight forbidden

✨ brother’s best friend

✨ childhood crush to lovers

✨ forced proximity

✨ roommates!

✨ wild family times

✨ the old folks at Northern Lights retirement community

✨ pranks and bets and fun times

✨ banter and frustration

✨ the amazing Greene family

Chevelle’s gone through a lot in her young life—starting with losing her mother when she was five, to coming to terms with her mother’s death not being her fault—and through it all, she’s had Cameron by her side. Their relationship and friendship has always helped her through things. Even when Cameron gets really protective and sometimes even treats her like a little sister, Chevelle has held him close. For Cameron, being the son of one of the wealthiest people in Sunrise Bay means that he’s held to a higher standard. A lot more is expected of him than anyone else and he does everything he can to be the person his father wants him to be. But it’s hard. And when the man Chevelle is dating hurts her, Cameron’s protective side rears up and takes over. Not only does that land him in jail, his father also cuts him off till he can get his head on straight. And with no home thanks to this incident, Cameron ends up living with Chevelle.

These two had great chemistry and it was fun to watch them go through the motions of resisting and fighting their feelings and attraction to each other. I loved the pranks and the bet, because it was fun to see how they’d one up the other. While at times it felt juvenile, it also felt so lighthearted and that was definitely a big win in my books. And they have years of history on their side, so all the tension that’s building is more about accepting and dealing with those feelings than anything else. I definitely liked how Cameron saw Chevelle and paid so much attention to the little details. I also loved how the two of them kept coming together to make sense of these lingering feelings and things they’ve been ignoring for years.

While not my favourite of the series, I definitely enjoyed all of the scenes where the Greene family gets together. Marla and Hank are the best of the best and their love for each other and their little blended family is so special. I love how deeply rooted love for family is in their marriage and the story. And the little teasers for Rylan and Calista have me even more excited for their story!

Thanks to Valentine PR for generously providing me with an advance copy. I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.