Badass Bloggettes: *** REVIEW ** SASS by Laramie Briscoe

BLURB

I, Cassandra Straight, have loved Reed Shamrock to distraction since I was a teenager. I even watched him fall in love with someone else and almost get married. A year ago, when he walked into his house and found his fiancée’s face in his best friend’s crotch, his life changed forever and it hasn’t been the same since. On his first night out since the horrible incident, we run into the ex-skank. Seeing the devastation in his eyes, I made a promise that I would help him get over her. I told him that a pretend relationship between us would work. It would help him move on. I didn’t count on my heart or his getting in the way. And I sure as hell didn’t count on not being able to tell when pretend turned to reality. When it all implodes, the only thing left is the truth. Sometimes though, the truth? It hides and we have to dig deep to find it. To make it come to the surface, we have to give it a little talking to. We have to give it a little Sass.

I really like this story!

I didn’t know what to expect before I started reading. The synopsis, I confess, causes my stomach to bubble with some concerns. Often the crush on big brother’s friend has the brother going too far to break up the couple and that drives me crazy. Those stories don’t ring true for me. I also worry when the couple “pretend” at coupling too. There is often too much denial and pushing away and that makes me super crazy. Sass didn’t fall into either of these scenarios. It is the right mix of protective brother, albeit a little harsh, and the couple contemplating what are real feelings and what is pretend.

Reed, Justin, and Taylor have been friends since high school. They are like the Three Musketeers supporting one another, working together to build their small businesses, hanging out, et cetera. Included in this trio is Lacey, Justin’s little sister. She hangs around crushing on Reed, then they grow up.

The prologue introduces us to Reed and the event that changed his life. He is engaged, building a very successful construction company, and believing he has it all. He puts in a lot of hours like any small business owner and this workaholic personality sometime frustrates his fiancé, Lacey. One day he comes home early and finds his fiancé cheating on him with his best friend Taylor. Devastating to say the least.

Reed has a hard time getting over the betrayal and gloats for a year until Cassandra (Sass) suggests that they pretend to be a couple and flaunt their relationship at a local bar. Suddenly Reed recognizes that Sass isn’t the young pesky kid anymore but a twenty-four-year-old, hot woman.

Can a serious relationship develop from friendship after the night of pretend? Can either of these two admit their true feelings for the other?

The story unfolds alternative between Reed and Sass’ point of view. I really like the way Ms. Briscoe develops these two characters. They question where the relationship is going and that makes sense because of the way everything started. Justin has a big brother moment or two but that also makes sense. He doesn’t want to lose his friend and he doesn’t want his sister hurt by getting caught up in a rebound relationship. He knows Reed’s M.O. before Lacey and Reed became engaged. He is right to wonder if Reed will fall back into old habits.

Sass is a fun, easy, romance with a small does of angst and some hot love scenes thrown in for good measure. My only disappointment is that the story ends a little too fast for me. The book is a quick read so I didn’t expect a big finish but it feels like it needs another page or two to solidify the relationship. It is possible that we will get more if another book about Justin is running around in Ms. Briscoe's brain. That said it is a really sweet love story that makes my heart expand in a good way. I highly recommend Sass!

4.5 Stamps

Add it to your TBR lists on Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28529181-sass?

ABOUT LARAMIE

Laramie Briscoe is the best-selling author of the Heaven Hill Series & the Rockin' Country Series. Since self-publishing her first book in May of 2013, Laramie Briscoe has published over 10 books. She's appeared on the Top 100 Bestselling E-books Lists on iBooks, Amazon Kindle, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble. She's been called "a very young Maya Banks" (Amazon reviewer) and her books have been accused of being "sexy, family-oriented, romances with heart". When she's not writing alpha males who seriously love their women, she loves spending time with friends, reading, and marathoning shows on her DVR. Married to her high school sweetheart, Laramie lives in Bowling Green, KY with her husband (the Travel Coordinator) and a sometimes crazy cat named Beau.

LARAMIE’S BOOKS

Find all Laramie’s books here: http://www.amazon.com/Laramie-Briscoe/e/B00CU0TMWK/

The Heaven Hill Series

Meant To Be

Out of Darkness

Losing Control

Worth the Battle

Dirty Little Secret

Second Chance Love

Rough Patch

Beginning of Forever

Home Free