Book Couples Challenge day 12 and it’s another of my favorite tropes in romance today!
I have read many, many books with this trope. Sometimes it’s about recent friends suddenly falling in love but my favorite will always be childhood friends becoming lovers. I have read tons of books around this trope and they rarely disappointed. Here is only a SMALL part of the books I loved π
Addicted? Who me? Noooo LOL
One of the first books I’ve read with this trope is a famous one:
Amber and Liam in The Boy Who Sneaks in My Bedroom Window by Kirsty Moseley (I know the title is a mouthful!)
Synopsis
Amber Walker and her older brother, Jake, have an abusive father. One night her brother’s best friend, Liam, sees her crying and climbs through her bedroom window to comfort her. That one action sparks a love/hate relationship that spans over the next eight years. Liam is now a confident, flirty player who has never had a girlfriend before. Amber is still emotionally scarred from the abuse she suffered at the hands of her father. Together they make an unlikely pair. Their relationship has always been a rocky one, but what happens when Amber starts to view her brother’s best friend a little differently? And how will her brother, who has always been a little overprotective, react when he finds out that the pair are growing closer? Find out in The Boy Who Sneaks In My Bedroom Window.
Favorite quote:
βShe was the only thing I needed. If everything else went away tomorrow, the big house, all the cars, the money, I wouldn’t care. As long as I still got to hold her every night, I would still be the luckiest guy in the world.β
β Kirsty Moseley, The Boy Who Sneaks in My Bedroom Window


Sometimes discovering the truth can leave you more hopeless than believing the liesβ¦
Thatβs what seventeen-year-old Sky realizes after she meets Dean Holder. A guy with a reputation that rivals her own and an uncanny ability to invoke feelings in her sheβs never had before. He terrifies her and captivates her all in the span of just one encounter, and something about the way he makes her feel sparks buried memories from a past that she wishes could just stay buried.
Sky struggles to keep him at a distance knowing heβs nothing but trouble, but Holder insists on learning everything about her. After finally caving to his unwavering pursuit, Sky soon finds that Holder isnβt at all who heβs been claiming to be. When the secrets heβs been keeping are finally revealed, every single facet of Skyβs life will change forever.
βSky, I’m not kissing you tonight but believe me when I tell you, I’ve never wanted to kiss a girl more. So stop thinking I’m not attracted to you because you have no idea just how much I am. You can hold my hand, you can run your fingers through my hair, you can straddle me while I feed you spaghetti, but you are not getting kissed tonight. And probably not tomorrow, either. I need this. I need to know for sure that you’re feeling every single thing that I’m feeling the moment my lips touch yours. Because I want your first kiss to be the best first kiss in the history of first kisses.β
β Colleen Hoover, Hopeless


I love when authors have that magic wand and make me feel every sensory experience the characters live. I love when they can make us see the world through childrenβs eyes, with all the wonder, magic, awe and expectations. Thatβs what this book did or me.
It made me think about prejudice and misconception. I must admit Iβll never see the carnies the same way. Aimee was a lovely character, she was courageous and dared fight for her dream. She never shared her parentβs beliefs of βtrailer trashβ, βthievesββ¦ she saw the magic of the fair, the kinship and βherβ Kestrel.
Kestrel was complicated, proud, savage like a wild animal, never to be contained. He loved fiercely but could not say it. His pride and resentment made him make some bad moves but Aimee set him straight, telling him he did wrong. She would help him, admire him and cover for his βflawβ all along, patiently and lovingly.They are worlds apart but together, they make sense. Together, they are beautiful.
“
βDo you know what I dream about? My dream would be to die looking at the lights on the Ferris wheel. When I get old, when my body has given up, thatβs what I want to see. And in that dream, youβre standing next to me.β
β Jane Harvey-Berrick, The Traveling Man


But they did not get the chance to go further as Dean had to disappear with the promise to come back for her. He never did.”
Iβd always be watching her. And she knew now that she belonged to me. Every breath she took, every step she made, every smile she faked, Iβd always be there, watching her, waiting for her.β
β Jaimie Roberts, Deviant


What I did love was his determination to have a normal life. He never let his difference get in his way. He had a goal in life and worked hard to attain it.Elisa is fierce when it comes to Julian. She hates when other kids mock him. She is brave and would risk her life to protect Julian. But she also is frightened by her feelings and does not want to face them at first. She runs, turns her back on him.
I like when characters are in shades of grey and come with flaws, like everybody does.”
βYouβre imprinted all over me. I see my life and youβre always there. When you were born, when you moved away, and my world became nothing but shades of gray. Then you came back, and I didnβt understand then like I do now why I suddenly came back to life. The first night we kissed, the first night we made love.β
β Marie Hall, The Wright Brother


“Kyland was so many things: deeply lonely, kind, beautiful and always selfless. He did not think he was worth much and wanted Tenleigh to have so much more than he could give her. Tenleigh had to open his eyes and push him many times. He was so worthy and did not even know it. β Itβs okay to want something for yourself sometimes. Itβs okay to want me.
βYou make the darkness go away. You bring me some kind of peace. I donβt know what to do with it. β
βTake it Ky. You deserve some peace. Let me give it to you.β
βAnd what do I give to you , sweet Tenleigh?β He whispered sounding broken. βWhat can I possibly give to you?β
I thought about it for a second. βYou help me believeβ. βIn what?β. βIn goodness, in strengthβ.
So Kyland did not want to hurt Tenleigh but she was strong and would prefer hurt than feel nothing at all.
βI think that when enough time has passed, when youβve survived that which you didnβt imagine you could, thereβs dignity in that. Something you can own. A pride in knowing the pain made you stronger. The pain made you fight to succeed. Someday, when Iβm living my dreams, Iβm going to think of all the things that broke my heart and Iβm going to be thankful for them.β
And suffer, they both will. What Kyland did was so foolish and yet so admirable, I did not know if I wanted to slap him or hug him. But what he did, he did it for Tenleigh: βBecause I wanted more for youβ.
Alex and Jess in The Mason List by S.D. Hendrickson

“It would be too simplistic to reduce it to a childhood sweethearts love story. This is so much more. This book is poignant, enthralling, beautiful and thrilling. This is your ticket for a sleepless night. And the day after youβll feel drunk and high on emotions (youβll also have eyes like dead fish from the crying but itβs so worth it!).
It took me by surprise and I fell in love with Alex and Jess love story. I was overwhelmed by so many feelings, a kaleidoscope of emotions.
β Sometimes we donβt have concrete facts and answers. Sometimes all we have is faith and hope and you just have to trust it.β


When youβll read about how he protected and cared for Mallory when they were young youβll fall for him too.He would always read her The Velveteen Rabbit when she was sad of frightened. Time and again the same story even if it made her cry. Because the rabbit was Malloryβ¦ but it was Ryder too.
βIt was sad.β βThe rabbit becomes real in the end. I donβt know how many times I explained that to youβ. βBut he was old and shabby and β¦All the rabbit wantedβ¦ was to be real and loved.β
Goodreads -> https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26721568-the-problem-with-forever
Amazon -> http://amzn.to/2hohKUW
Have you read these books? Who is your favorite “friends to lovers” couple?
Thanks for reading!
I loved Deviant by Jaimie Roberts as well, the others I haven’t read yet.
Hi Rebecca they are totally different genres indeed! I loved Deviant it’s my favorite by Jaimie so far π
Good choices Sophie! I’ve never heard of the one by Kirsty Moseley but it sounds like a good one!
Oh Trisy it’s a “classic” π I mean so many of my friends on GR have read it! I loved this story it had a “little something something” that hooked me up right from the start!
Nice Post! I’m not fan of friends to lovers trope but these books sounds pretty interesting.
Thank you Raven! I love the trope (obviously) and these books were the bests in this category!