Not So Happily Ever After

3.75 stars--NOT SO HAPPILY EVER AFTER is the third instalment in Christina Phillips’ contemporary, adult BRITISH BAD BOYS romance series. This is investment banker Will Hamilton, and med student/artist Mackenzie Carter’s story line. NOT SO HAPPILY EVER AFTER can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary. Told from dual first person perspectives (Mackenzie and Will) NOT SO HAPPILY EVER AFTER follows the friends to lovers, best friend’s little sister / friends with benefits relationship between investment banker Will Hamilton, and med student/artist Mackenzie Carter. Two years earlier Mackenzie Carter crossed the line with her brother’s best friend Will Hamilton, and in the resulting aftermath Mackenzie lost her best friend and the man that she loved when Will didn’t show up for her gallery showing. Fast forward two years wherein Mackenzie, now about to enter her third year at med school, struggles with her future direction including her ongoing attraction to the man that broke her heart. Enter Will Hamilton, Lucas Carter’s best friend, and the man with whom Mackenzie had fallen in love. What ensues is the friends to lovers, best friend’s little sister / friends with benefits relationship between Lucas and Mackenzie, and the potential fall-out as our couple keep secret their forbidden affair, as Mackenzie prepares to return to university, leaving a heart broken Will behind. A promise to her dying mother meant Mackenzie Carter’s career had all but been procured by a university scholarship, but our heroine’s heart was destined for something else . Two years without her best friend, and the love of her life, pulled Mackenzie away from her art, and head long into her studies, studies she had no desire to continue or proceed. Will Hamilton has no idea why Mackenzie Carter pushed him away two years earlier but family obligations prevented Will from looking too closely, obligations that tied our hero to a job he no longer enjoyed. The relationship between Will and Mackenzie is one of second chances, of a sorts, between former best friends who spent one glorious night together but the aftermath destroyed any hopes for a future. Mackenzie has never stopped loving the man who broke her heart but miscommunication, secrets, and family commitment meant Will and Mackenzie went their separate ways. The $ex scenes are intimate and seductive without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text. There is a large ensemble cast of colorful secondary and supporting characters including Lucas and Violet (Once Upon a Player #2), Lucas’s friends Caleb, Harry and Alice (Cinderella and the Geek #1), Atomic Fire, boy band member Jake Myers, and their manager Jax; Lucas and Mackenzie’s father and his girlfriend Margo, and their friend Duke; as well as Will’s mother Cynthia, and her boyfriend Jeremy. The world building follows several paths –from boy band melt-downs, to the lack of communication between parent and child, and the misunderstanding between former best friends. The multi-troped relationship between Will and Mackenzie has out couple treading a fine-line between secrets and lies, secrets they fear will break their family’s hearts. NOT SO HAPPILY EVER AFTER is a story of family and friendships; secrets and lies; second chances, and startling revelations. The premise is engaging and energetic; the romance is emotional and encouraging; the characters are sexy and spirited. NOT SO HAPPILY EVER AFTER has a little bit of everything including romance and love; heart break and grief; humor and fun.I did have a small issue with the numerous thoughts and ‘asides’-we spend an inordinate amount of time inside the characters’ heads.

Loved this book! It drew me right in from the very first page. Mac is the girl whose brother is Will's best friend. Mac and Will have always been good friends, until they had a one night stand that ruined everything and they've avoided each other ever since. When circumstances throw them back together, they realize how much they've missed their friendship. However, it's hard to just be friends when the attraction is still there.... The characters were engaging and flawed enough to feel real. While their tale is predictable, the way it was told was entertaining kept me hooked until this last page. If you enjoy a friends to lovers romance, you will love this book. Additionally, I loved that the characters from the prior books in the series made an appearance. However, while this is part of a series, this is a stand alone novel. Put this one at the top of your TBR list.

Enjoyable return to London and this fun cast of character with this being Will and Mackenzie's story. While this is the third book in the British Bad Boys series it is easily read as a standalone. Will and Mackenzie are great characters and I chuckled throughout the book at their sexy banter. Will and Mac have some history to get past but once they do their relationship really begins to change. Will this just be a friends with benefits fling or will it turn into a whole lot more? You'll want to grab a copy of this one and find out. I definitely recommend it.