Never Gonna Happen on June 16, 2020
Pages: 349
Format: eBook
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five-stars

No. Absolutely not. He will not fall in love with his best-friend’s little sister. He is not that guy.

So…yeah, okay, Alyssa Kyle is gorgeous and funny, and she’s slipped into more than a few of his fantasies over the years, but Sebastian Ridgeway is not about to cross that particular line. No way. No day.

Today is the day.

Alyssa’s in trouble. Someone shot at her—actually shot at her—and now she’s getting all kinds of threatening messages. Messages that say she’s about to pay for her brother’s crimes. Only her brother is a computer gaming designer, not some secret agent. The bad guys out there have obviously made a mistake.

There is no mistake.

Sebastian and Alyssa’s brother, Antony, have been working the spy game for years. They started as hacking teens but graduated to the big leagues—and their gaming company is just their cover. Apparently, their cover has been blown. Now some of the bad guys they’ve taken down want payback—and Alyssa is being targeted. Her brother is out of the country, gone dark on an assignment, and Sebastian can’t just leave Alyssa on her own to face the wolves. Not happening. So…

Time to get close.

He moves Alyssa into his home. Provides twenty-four seven protection for her. He figures he can keep his secret desire for her in check—he’s done it for years, after all—or at least, that’s the initial plan. Until he finds out that Alyssa has been longing for him. That he’s starred in more than a few of her fantasies, too.

All bets are off.

He’s held back for years, thinking he was doing the right thing. Thinking he’d never truly deserve a woman like her. But if Alyssa wants him, if Alyssa needs him, nothing will stop him from claiming the woman who owns his heart. Not the bad guys who are closing in, not the government who wants his tech, and not even Alyssa’s big brother.

Keep his hands off her? Stay away from Alyssa? Sorry, that’s…NEVER GONNA HAPPEN.

Absolutely, one hundred percent…Sebastian will not let her go, and he will prove that he is the guy—the only one—for her.

In Never Gonna Happen, Sebastian is at his best friend’s 21st birthday party when the birthday girl overhears him promise to never date her. But she of course hears the worst part with no context. This sets off how their relationship works for the next few years. He feels like she barely tolerates him, but for his line of work, he figures that it’s for the best. She feels he only sees her as his best friends little sister, which he does, but to him, she’s off-limits.

Alyssa never knows how to act around Sebastian. He’s a big part of her life, and she sees him often, but she doesn’t want him to think of her as an annoying younger sister tagging along after her brother’s friend. But when Sebastian gets a text from her brother saying that his cover is blown and to protect Alyssa at all costs, all bets are off. He’s the kind of man who sets his sights on a goal and focuses all of his energy on that goal. Now? Alyssa is that goal. He is trying to keep his hands to himself every time she’s near, and she’s trying to figure out why he’s so concerned for her safety. The back and forth between them leads to some fun scenes, and I really enjoy when they bicker.

But this is more than a cute best friend’s little sister trope. There’s something big happening behind the scenes, and a couple of really big secrets are coming out. Can their budding relationship weather that storm?

This book is tangentially connected to the Wilde Ways series in that Eric Wilde is mentioned, but it’s a stand-alone book. This is a Romantic Suspense, but it’s not nearly as intense as some of this author’s other works. It is however, fun, sassy, suspenseful, and exciting all at the same time. With the fun cover, the lighter tone, and the great cast of side characters, this book has all the elements of my favorites, and I can’t wait to see if the author does more with it as a series!

***ARC courtesy of the publisher via Netgalley

five-stars