Her Best Friend's Lover

After reading many people recommend Shiloh Walker's Her Best Friend's Lover, I decided to try it. I read it this weekend and thought it was quite good: 4 out of 5.

Lauren has loved friend and neighbor Dale for five years. She's never acted on her feelings, however, because Dale has loved another woman as long as she's known him. Everything changes one night when Dale drinks too much and starts to see Lauren with different eyes.

Spoiler (to read it, click the beginning of the white space and scroll over it): Her Best Friend's Lover is a secret baby story unlike any other I've read. Dale tends to lose time when he's drunk, so when Lauren leaves after they make love, Dale thinks it was a dream. So the child is his baby, but he doesn't know it. He helps Lauren through the pregnancy and falls in love with her in the process. Certain elements of the plot rely on coincidence, which is at times challenging to accept. The story also includes point of view changes that are occasionally abrupt.

Besides these two points, I enjoyed the story. Dale's journey from thinking he loved someone else to realizing he loves Lauren is great to watch. I loved his wonder when he goes with Lauren to the doctor. Because of her past, Lauren struggles with worry that the people she loves will always leave her. This added a poignancy to the story. This is a sexy read with plenty of sexual tension and chemistry.

This is an e-book, but I bought and read the print version. Print books are still my preference, but Walker has a book that looks interesting coming out later this month, so I'm not going to wait for it to be released in print. She has a few dozen other books, too, so I'm planning to take a look.