REVIEW: Blurred Lines by Lauren Layne

Blurred Lines by Lauren Layne
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Book Description: 

In a novel that's perfect for fans of Abbi Glines and Jessica Sorensen, USA Today bestselling author Lauren Layne delivers a sexy take on the timeless question: Can a guy and a girl really be “just friends”?

When Parker Blanton meets Ben Olsen during her freshman year of college, the connection is immediate—and platonic. Six years later, they're still best friends, sharing an apartment in Portland's trendy Northwest District as they happily settle into adult life. But when Parker's boyfriend dumps her out of the blue, she starts to wonder about Ben's no-strings-attached approach to dating. The trouble is, even with Ben as her wingman, Parker can't seem to get the hang of casual sex—until she tries it with him.

The arrangement works perfectly . . . at first. The sex is mind-blowing, and their friendship remains as solid as ever, without any of the usual messy romantic entanglements. But when Parker's ex decides he wants her back, Ben is shocked by a fierce stab of possessiveness. And when Ben starts seeing a girl from work, Parker finds herself plagued by unfamiliar jealousy. With their friendship on the rocks for the first time, Parker and Ben face an alarming truth: Maybe they can't go back. And maybe, deep down, they never want to.

I’m totally on a Friends-to-Lovers kick right now and this just hit the spot.

I’m a huge fan of these types of stories and while I love the stories of friends from childhood eventually falling for each other, this one was different, and kind of refreshing.

Parker and Ben have been friends for only 6 years. They met as Freshmen in college and just clicked….in the friendly sense. And I loved their friendship. They bickered and had banter and talked and they were awesome. Ben was there for Parker when her mom got sick, when she got better, when she needed someone to talk to and when her boyfriend broke up with her. That’s where things started to get interesting…and one of the decisions that I didn’t care for on Parker’s part.

Parker decides that she wants to be like Ben…she wants to play the field and have meaningless sex. Now, there’s nothing really wrong with that but…I didn’t like the reasons behind the decision. So I was glad when she decided that her best bet was to hook up with Ben and they could use each other as sex buddies as well as best friends. And man, did they have chemistry!

Some of my favorite parts were when Parker and Ben spent time with Parker’s parents. And the scene between Ben and Parker while at her parents’ house was beyond sweet and it made me root for them even more. But at the same time, with them finally realizing their feelings, you knew that things were going to go bad…and boy did they. I have to put out there that I hated Lance (Parker’s boyfriend). The way he dumped her was horrible and I never quite believed that he wanted her back when he came crawling back to her. And I didn’t like Parker’s decision to go back to him. It was out of fear for her feelings for Ben that she went back to Lance. And I couldn’t help but feel like the stunt Lance pulled during Karaoke with Ben was because he knew Parker wasn’t really all in with him the second time around.

But, overall, even with the minor issues, I did enjoy this. It was my first book by Lauren Layne but it definitely won’t be my last!