Mae Bennett

Ok, we've discussed before that plot is not usually the primary element of a romance novel. But the plot does have to hang together a little bit, or at least a little bit more than it does here. Bennett certainly leans into her Beauty and the Beast homage, which I support, but I think if I hadn't read the publisher's blurb (and seen the Disney movie more times than I like to think about), I might have been more than a little bit confused about the set-up and the characters' motivations. show more Still, it's an enjoyable read, with all the feelings and the Happily Ever After one expects.

FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for this review. show less

Barely Even Friends by Mae Bennett
Contemporary romance. Retelling, Beauty and the Beast.
Bellamy Price is the lead contractor in a historical house remodel project. It’s her first time as lead though she’s worked in her father’s business since she was a child. She and her crew of experts will be restoring a mansion on the Killington Estate in New York but she finds the heir to the empire in residence. Oliver Killington is unwilling to relocate and doesn’t even want her anywhere near show more the west wing. It’s the family rooms of the estate and Oliver has been sequestered there since his parents died in a traumatic car accident almost ten years ago.
Faced with an impossible deadline to update the mansion for crumbling walls to party ready, has Bellamy and Oliver working together restoring his home.

Oliver is guilt-ridden, thinking he’s responsible for getting his parents killed and basically abandoning his sisters to their dictator of a grandfather.
Bellamy is confident in her restoration work, but not as much from a curvy woman relationship perspective.
Together they work on the mansion, and after a bit of fumbling, a relationship. They are comfortable in the sexual togetherness, but the emotional has yet to be decided.
Secondary characters make this novel rich with personality and humor.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley. show less